So my beautiful sister, Ashley, is not only a fitness inspiration to me but her recipes are always clean, healthy and delicious. Going to her house for dinner I know I won't have to worry about not having the right things to eat. She passed on this yummy tuna salad recipe and I had to share it with all of you.

Ingredients:
1 c. fresh organic romaine lettuce
1/2 c. natural albacore tuna packed in water (Mandi's note: I get mine at Sprouts.)
1 hard boiled organic egg
1/2 avocado 
a sprinkle of sliced almonds

Instructions:
Wash lettuce, toss ingredients and enjoy! Ashley mixed her tuna with a high quality Greek yogurt, but to be dairy-free friendly, she said lemon juice works well also! 

So, when I first met my husband he wanted to cook for me. On one of our first dates he made me a delicious meal known as a "foil dinner." It was chicken breast, veggies and gobs of butter wrapped in foil and baked in the oven then served with ketchup. It's a dish I missed since not only it was delicious but it reminds me of many early dinners in our relationship curled up in front of the fire or a movie.. so I improved upon the recipe and they are now enjoyed weekly in our home.

Instead of using aluminum foil as I am trying to detox metals from my system, I just use a ceramic baking dish. I still use the chicken breast and veggies, but instead of "gobs of dairy laden butter" I use olive oil, herbs and a small pat of dairy free butter on each breast for moisture. We also of course no longer use store brand ketchup because of the vinegar and sugar, I either serve it with fresh tomatoes or a wonderful Apple Cider Vinegar sugar-free ketchup I found at Sprouts which I will be reviewing later.

On with the recipe! PS. this serves two, so find someone who you like to share with ;) 

Ingredients:
2-4 chicken breasts (this also works great with turkey cutlets or pork chops)
two teaspoons Earth Balance soy-free, dairy-free butter or healthy cooking fat for AIP & Whole 30. 
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil 
olive oil
2 zucchini
2 ribs of celery
1 large fresh tomato (exclude for AIP)
sea salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a casserole baking dish place chicken breasts and drizzle olive oil on both. Add thyme, a pinch of sea salt, garlic powder and basil and any other seasonings you prefer. Oregano works great with turkey. Turn breasts over and apply olive oil and seasonings to the other side as well. 

Cut up zucchini into rounds, not too thin as they will cook down and chop celery. Add on top and around the chicken. Cook covered for 1 hour or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Serve with cool fresh tomato.

*I've also cooked the tomato sliced on top for an italian taste and it came out wonderful. 
** If you are feeling like adding some starch to the dish sweet potatoes make a wonderful addition as well. Cut up two sweet potatoes and add them around the chicken similar to cooking a roast. 

I was really missing soup. As I got away from all "ready made foods" due to gluten, MSG, sugar, salts, chemicals and all of the other lovely things found in food today I found myself longing for comfort food. Then I got a bad cold in January and the need for soup increased, haha. Then I came up with a recipe that was not only delicious, but it soothed me like soup did when I was a child. So if you feel the sniffles coming on, make a pot of this delicious "homestyle" gluten-free chicken zoodle soup. 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Earth Balance butter (substitute avocado or coconut oil for Whole 30)
4 carrots
2 celery ribs
8 cups chicken broth (I use Imagine Gluten Free, chicken or vegetable)
1 lb boneless, skinless  natural, organic, free range chicken breast, cubed
8 oz. of prepared zoodles (spiralize and blanch 2-3 zucchini until tender)
½ tsp sea salt
You may also add herbs of your choosing to give more flavor and color



DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, add butter. Wash celery and chop into bite size pieces. Add to saucepan and stir. Peel and chop carrots into bite size pieces. Stir. Sauté for 3 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, dice cooked chicken into bite size pieces. Add chicken broth and chicken. Cover and bring to a boil.

3. Add herbs and salt. Add prepared zoodles. Stir and serve!

INGREDIENTS
4 large green bell peppers, bottom trimmed, cap end cut off and diced, and seeds removed
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. natural ground turkey or grass fed beef 
1/2 tsp. dried oregano 
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste (if tolerated)
1 C. Cauliflower Rice or brown rice if eating grains. 

INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare cauliflower rice for paleo/grain free/gluten free or traditional rice for just gluten-free and set aside. .

Preheat oven to 375F. Trim bottom of bell peppers so they have a flat surface to stand on. Cut off a fairly generous amount of the stem end of peppers, then remove seeds. Place hollowed-out peppers in a baking dish that you've sprayed with non-stick spray or olive oil. (A dish that's close in size to the peppers will work best.)

Remove stem part from the pepper caps and trim off any white membrane, then dice pepper caps and the onion into fairly small dice. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, then saute diced pepper and onion for 3-4 minutes, until they are starting to soften but aren't browned. Remove pepper-onion mixture to a bowl, add 1 tsp. more olive oil.. cook turkey until it's almost fully cooked.

Put the onion-pepper mixture back into the pan with the turkey, add the dried spices, and saute 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. Then add cooked cauli rice, season the mixture with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, and cook just long enough to warm, about 1-2 minutes.

Stuff the filling mixture into the hollowed-out peppers, using a spoon to press the mixture down so it's tightly packed into the pepper shell. If you have any extra filling, you can put it in a small ramekin and bake along with the peppers. Bake peppers for 45 min. Serve hot. 

INGREDIENTS
1 small spaghetti squash
15 large basil leaves
1 small clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tomato, diced

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and fibers. Place in a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave 8-9 minutes. Remove from the microwave and scoop out flesh with a fork into a large bowl.

In a small blender combine basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and  pepper and puree until smooth.

Combine pesto with two cups spaghetti squash (save any remaining squash for another recipe). Add tomatoes and season with additional salt and pepper.

INGREDIENTS 
18 ounces of high-quality cod
½ c. coconut flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ c. almonds, finely chopped
½ c. pecans, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut into 3-4 in lengths. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl combine coconut flour, and garlic powder. Whisk the eggs until frothy in a small bowl and put the chopped nuts on a small plate. Coat fish in flour mixture, dip in eggs, then coat in nut mixture. Place strips on well-oiled baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake 20 minutes.  

So I didn't know I was a fan of cabbage. Had no idea. When I got my test results back and was given a list of what I could eat and what I couldn't, the list for what I couldn't was much longer. So I decided to try some new things from the list of the foods I could, and I found cabbage. I didn't grow up in a cave, so I've had cole slaw, and the occasional red cabbage salad, but I had never cooked it. I decided one night when Mr. Charming had class that I wanted to make something easy that I could just pop in the oven so I tried a baked cabbage recipe. It's 3 ingredients and DELICIOUS. 

Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
Garlic powder
Bacon (I use a nitrate free, preservative free natural turkey bacon from Sprouts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut cabbage into wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle garlic powder generously over cabbage and lay strip of bacon a top each wedge. Cook for 30 minutes or until bacon is to desired crispness. Enjoy!