Spring has sprung and that means family picnics, holidays beginning again and basking in my second trimester "glow". I'm glad to have gotten back into the swing of working and taking care of our home again. The first trimester was rough on me. You can read about that here and here. But the nausea and fatigue has subsided and I feel productive again. (YAY!) There are many exciting things in the works for the blog & my nutrition business launch, as well as my role as Managing Editor for BASIC Magazine. We are wrapping our second issue, our Spring issue, and that's taken most of my time lately, I was even proofing in between prepping tonights delicious dinner. With St. Patrick's Day just a couple of days away, I wanted something traditional that's easy for you all to prepare as well. Trader Joe's has an amazing pre-cooked Corned Beef right now that you just throw in the oven for 35 minutes and voila! you have dinner. We tasted it on a recent shopping trip and knew it had to be the star of our dinner to celebrate the Irish holiday. I'm also thankful I have my appetite back. For so long I was too nauseous to eat much of anything, then it was weird random cravings, followed by a short lived (thank God) vegetable aversion and finally the baby has tapped into his or her mama's foodie style and now I'm back to craving all of my Paleo favorites. Eggs are still the star that make me feel the best. We went with the traditional white fingerling potatoes to accompany the corned beef, even though white potatoes aren't my best friend some days. I've abstained from potatoes for the most part so we splurged tonight. They are best served warm with vegan butter, herbs and sea salt or paleo ketchup. If you are off white potato, try the corned beef with one of my following side dishes that would pair wonderfully with this traditional dish: I also added my Maple Thyme Carrots for some added vegetable content in the dish. And of course, it wouldn't be the full traditional meal without my Apple Cider Cabbage which you can prepare and cook while your main dish is in the oven. It has amazing cleansing benefits and adds a great nutrient boost. I would love to know if you enjoyed if you tried any combination above or share what your favorite St. Pattie's Day meal is!
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It's officially Fall. This fact means my palette begins to crave all the fall favorites. Soups, stews, turkey, sweet potatoes and all the traditional Thanksgiving-related fixings. However, living in Arizona, it's still reaching triple digits and it doesn't sound like the funnest afternoon to have my oven heating the house to temperatures that will melt us. That's where my Thanksgiving-inspired salad comes in. This is one of my favorite go-to lunches right now. Super simple, crisp and cool, I still get to please my palette with falls favorite tastes. Juicy turkey breast? Check. Sweet, tart cranberries, check. And to top it off I pair this with a cool, savory side of bacon and sweet potato salad and boom, it's like Thanksgiving and summer made a love child.
A love child of crisp, cool, crunchy goodness that bursts with all the flavors of the holiday season. Ingredients: Fresh turkey breast, shredded 1-2 C. Organic Romaine Lettuce Steve's Paleo Goods Cranberries (no added sugar or corn syrup) Toss & top with a cranberry vinaigrette or Apple Cider Vinegar & enjoy! After Mr. Charming and I spent the day Dating Our City, we knew we wanted to end it with a lovely evening at home with a delicious meal. And we wanted to try something new. There seems to be a new phenomenon in the Paleo world in the form of a new book. Being a part of the Paleo community, I'm probably more exposed to things of this nature than most, but I couldn't deny that a certain title kept coming up again and again and again. Paleo Takeout by Russ Crandall. Russ Crandall, like many of us in the Paleo world, suffered health ailments that brought him to the realization that food can heal. Except he struggled with much more than the average 20-something. At the young age of twenty-five, Crandall suffered a stroke and has since used his struggles and his story to inspire others through food. A concept very near & dear to my heart. Not only is his story inspiring, but he is hands on with his readers. Answering questions, helping to tweak recipes and touring to meet his fans and readers face to face. In the day and age we live in, it's so refreshing to still see that since of connection & community. And aside from all of the RAVE food reviews after people trying out his recipes, it was something endearing that made me RUSH out to pick up my own copy. Now, here on Nosh & Nurture, I try to infuse a lot of "comfort" food and easy recipes here, to show you that you CAN cook healthy and fast at home. Russ shows us that delicious take-out doesn't have to be a thing of our past. With a background in food, he put together a curated collection of a delicious mix of foods from around the world that are typical 'fast food' eats - and then made them Paleo. The first one I tried was a dish I've missed for nearly five years. Honey Sesame Chicken. I altered the recipe slightly to my specifications and needs, (ie: no sesame seeds pictured on mine) but I can tell you hands down that 1. It was 100% satisfying. 2. It was 1000% delicious and 3. I will be serving this at a dinner party in the very near future. That third statement is huge. When it comes to hosting dinner parties I only ever serve food that is not only Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar free, but I serve food that will pass off as the "real deal". Food that kids will not only eat but enjoy and foods that make people ask, "where can I get more of this?" Mr. Charming and I will be trying many more of Mr. Crandall's recipes and I can tell you it's the best $20 I've spent in a long time. For more information on Paleo Takeout visit his website here, or the facebook group here, where you can connect with all of us foodies who are trying out his book, page by delicious page. P.S. this is not a sponsored post. Just a post by a fan who wants to hug this man for bringing crispy honey chicken back into my life. I've been really, really bad at doing recipe testing and food photography lately. Finishing up school for my diploma in Personal Nutrition, working full time, trying to start our family & blogging gets to be a bit much (don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do, but by the end of the day, I'd rather make something I know it quick and nutritious. I'll get back to making more elaborate and yummy special stuff, but for tonight. Here's #WhatIAte. When shopping at Sprouts over the weekend they had a box of Organic Turkey Patties in stock - just two ingredients: Organic Turkey & Rosemary. They were a bit pricey, but with multiple case studies, work and the blog - paying $10.99 for a whole box was worth it to me to make sure I'm eating protein over carbs when I'm in a time crunch.
I bought a pre-diced container of organic onion while I was there too. Makes it so easy to throw a handful into the pan while the meat is cooking (I did 8 minutes on each side for the patty, I like my meat a little more 'done' than most.) My friend and I hit Whole Foods while we were in the area (the closest one is about 25 miles from me) and I found a bag of Paleo cranberries. Again just two ingredients - cranberries & pure apple juice for the preservative/sweetener. I rarely do dried fruit, but for some reason I was craving a salad with fruit on top so I added some along with fresh organic pear on a bed of butter lettuce and topped it all with Apple Cider Vinegar to give it a tangy kick that will help detox. It's become one of my new favorite summer lunches. What is on your plate this season? I love Chinese takeout. OK. Let me rephrase that, I LOVED Chinese takeout. I think it's probably been close to three or four years since I've gotten take-out because of how they prepare the food, so I make it a mission to recreate old loves on a regular basis, in a much healthier, more organic way. I found a gluten-free, spaghetti squash recipe that I wanted to try, but it used brown sugar and spices that I couldn't have, and some other items that are on my list of can't's so I altered it to make my own version. I make this when Mr. Charming and I need a vegan meal to break up the week, but you can add seafood, chicken or steak if you wish. We personally like to top ours with strips of fresh avocado. But what DON'T I like to top with avocado? Ingredients: 1 Spaghetti Squash 1/2 Onion 3 cloves of minced garlic 1-3 tsp of fresh grated ginger (use 1 and will have a stronger soy sauce/garlic flavor, using 2-3 with make it spicy and gingery, I go back and forth depending on my taste buds.) 1/2 C. gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos if you are avoiding soy 2 C. cole slaw lettuce mix 1 stalk of celery 2 TBSP. of olive oil Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash open length wise and scoop out seeds. Place in a cake pan with open sides down and fill shallowly with water so that the cut open portion is submerged. Place in oven and cook for 40-50 minutes until soft. While squash is cooking, dice onion and celery and sautee in olive oil over medium-high heat until warm, but not too soft. Toss in cabbage and cook for two to three minutes until fragrant. Set aside. In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, minced garlic and grated ginger. Set aside. Once squash is done put all ingredients into a wok or large pan over medium-high heat and mix until warm. Serve immediately with chop sticks and top with any items of your choice. Shredded chicken, steak strips or avocado would be my top suggestions. For an added touch: Try pairing the meal with these awesome gluten-free fortune cookies from the Instructables Blog.
Mandi's Tip: Replace the Cornstarch with Tapioca or Potato Starch. And use organic sugar in place of regular sugar. This pasta dish is incredible. It's hearty, it's comforting, and it's perfect for fall and winter mealtime. The best part? It's gluten and dairy free, made with the highest quality ingredients and PACKED with vegetables. Ingredients: 1 Lb. Grass Fed Beef 2 C. Rice or Quinoa Pasta 1 Jar of organic pasta sauce with no preservatives. 1 head of broccoli, steamed 1/2 C. frozen spinach Directions: Brown meat in pan. In a separate pot, boil water for pasta. Chopped steamed broccoli florets and set aside. When meat is browned, add the jar of sauce as well as the frozen spinach leaves and chopped steamed broccoli. Cook pasta as directed, once drained combine meat sauce and pasta in a large serving bowl, stir and serve hot. You can also make this dish vegan by omitting the beef and packing in more veggies such as onion, bell peppers or fresh tomatoes. These little things are so good. We eat a lot of baked chicken and grilled chicken with veggies and on salads. But one night I was craving CRUNCHY chicken. Like fried chicken, but healthy. I can't handle grease anymore, and of course it needed to be gluten free. So I came up with these little fingers and they were so delectable when paired with the Nature's Hollow BBQ Sauce. They ARE dry without sauce, because of the coating, (inside they are super juicy though!) so you will want a good dipping sauce whether it be a paleo BBQ sauce, honey mustard or ketchup. I did a review of the sauce here. And you can buy it online. Sprout's use to carry it, and still carries the ketchup at some locations, but I can only find the BBQ sauce through their website now. Read on for the recipe. P.S. mine got a little crispy, because it was my first attempt, and I left them in a little long. I have adjusted the recipe below. Also, the crackers I used DO contain egg, but you could use a gluten-free cracker without to make these also egg-free. Ingredients:
1 C. Gluten Free BBQ Sauce (I use Nature's Hollow) (divided) 1/2 C. Honey (divided) 1-2 Lbs. Free-Range Organic Chicken Tenders Olive Oil or Coconut Oil Cooking Spray 2 Cups Gluten-Free Crackers (I used Yahuda's Gluten-Free Matza) Directions: Mix 1/2 c. BBQ Sauce and 1/4 honey to create marinade and put in low dish or ziploc bag. Add chicken tenders and shake or mix well. Put in fridge for 1 to 4 hours. Take a box of Yahuda's gluten free matza crackers or something similar and crush until you have fine crumbs. Pour into a bowl and cover chicken tenders until coated completely. (the marinade will allow the cracker crumbs to adhere nicely.) *They DO make gluten-free bread crumbs you could use to make a breaded chicken, however those contain yeast and other preservatives that I cannot have, and I LOVED the crunch these crackers provided. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet (I used organic olive oil cooking spray) Bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. My crackers got a little too done at 35 minutes, so I altered the recipe to a shorter time. Make SURE your chicken is cooked all the way through. You could also alter it to a lower temp at the longer time. Each cracker/cooking spray is different for how it cooks the gluten-free cracker because they are so dry. Combine remaining BBQ sauce and honey to make a dipping sauce & enjoy! This is a Whole 30 inspired recipe that I altered using my recipe for the potato buns and implementing nutritious bone broth into the pork. Read more about Whole 30 by clicking here.
Ingredients: For The Pork: 1 Medium Sweet Onion, cubed 4 Large Carrots, cut into small chunks 2 Lb. Boneless Pork Roast 1 C. Homemade Bone Broth BBQ Sauce (I use Nature's Hollow Hickory Maple, see my review here) For The "Buns": 1 large sweet potato, very round and thick Organic olive oil Sea Salt Garlic Powder Directions: For The Pork: Place cut up vegetables and bone broth in bottom of crock pot. Cut twine from pork roast and place on top of vegetables in broth. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and garlic powder. Set to Low and cook for 8 hours. Longer if you have a larger roast. Once cooked, place on cutting board and using two forks, shred finely and add to a bowl with desired amount of BBQ sauce. For The "Buns": Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel sweet potato. Using a large knife, cut potato into 1/4" rounds. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Top with sea salt, garlic powder and any additional spices or herbs of your choosing. Black pepper works great as well. Flip each slice and do the same on the opposite side. Cook for 35 minutes or until crispy and golden. Assemble your sliders, top with lettuce and extra sauce. Serve hot with a side of fresh avocado and a chilled, summery homemade lemonade. On a recent wellness retreat I wanted to make a hearty and filling salad for my friend and I after an afternoon by the pool. I adore cobb salads tossed with fresh olive oil but didn't have any turkey breast on hand at the resort so I came up with this "no gobbler cobb". It was a hit! The cool fresh tomatoes make it the perfect summer lunch dish! Ingredients: 4 C. Crisp organic romaine or butter lettuce 8 Organic cherry tomatoes 4 Organic eggs, hard boiled 4 Pieces of nitrate free pork bacon 1 Medium sized avocado Olive oil and sea salt Prep: Split lettuce into two bowl, 2 C. each. slice cherry tomatoes in half and toss in. Cut up hard boiled eggs and add with crumbled bacon and cubed avocado. Toss with olive oil and sea salt and serve. Ingredients:
3 lbs of ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped 1 medium onion, diced 1 medium chopped green bell pepper 4 cloves of garlic 7 tbsp. chili powder 1/8 tsp. cayenne 1 1/2 tbsp. cumin 1/2 tbsp. oregano 1/2 tbsp. paprika 1/8 tsp garlic powder 2 1/2 tsp sea salt 16 oz tomato sauce 14 oz chopped tomatoes 1 can organic chili beans Instructions: In a large pot, brown the ground beef until cooked. Drain and saute onions and pepper with meat until tender. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and tomato sauce. Stir well. Drain the tomatoes, and save the liquid. Add tomatoes to the pot mixture. Add enough water to the tomato liquid to equal 3 cups. Add to pot. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Once cooked let the chili cool about 1 hr then cover and put in fridge for 24 hours. To serve, reheat on the stove in a ceramic pot and top with diced onions. *recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens to be gluten-free and dairy-free. |
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aboutNosh & Nurture was born of this journey I am on to better the health of myself, my family and those around me. What started as a simple compilation of recipes has grown to a all-around lifestyle journal with ways to incorporate organic products into your home, pantry and beauty cabinet. I also include stories on pregnancy, new motherhood, travel, Proverbs 31 marriage, and spiritual health, as I am a Christian who couldn't do any of this without my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. For more of my story you can click here.
All recipes are gluten-free and dairy-free with a lot of soy-free, grain-free, sugar-free options. |
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