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?

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. 

This recipe is not to be confused with my veggie pasta, where I actually incorporate gluten-free noodles.  This pasta is completely grain-free, 100% all veggies and it is amazing.  It's super easy, surprisingly very filling if you have a large bowl, and great hot with dairy-free butter or high quality butter/ghee if you tolerate dairy.  There are two options here in making this dish. The convenient way if you're on the go like I was on Easter, or the more involved option that I like to do when I'm home in my own kitchen.









Ingredients:
For on-the-go:
Pre-packed mix of shredded broccoli, cabbage and carrots

For at home: 
Broccoli Stalks 
Carrots
Red Cabbage
Earth Balance Dairy Free/Soy Free Olive Oil Butter
Sea Salt

Prep:
Wash all vegetables thouroughly.  Slice cabbage leaves into thin strips.  For the carrots and the broccoli stalks, you may use a mandolin or food processor to get uniform strips.  

For fresh, or bagged mix, heat Tbsp. of EB Butter over low-medium heat and place veggie mix in a heated pan.  Add a little more butter to your preference as well as sea salt and any additional spices or herbs of choice.  I'm doing a more gentle body detox right now, so I didn't add anything additional this time and it was still very flavorful.  Cook on medium heat, covered, until "noodles" are soft but still hold a little bit of crunch. 

Serve warm with a protein on the side.  Enjoy! 

The possibilities for this veggie stir-fry are endless, however I kept it to veggies that are safe for Auto-Immune Paleo, as I was using a lot of peppers/tomatoes in my dinners lately and I havn't been feeling as well, so I thought I'd omit them with this tasty dish.    There is also a  meat option, and if you eat tofu you may add that as well.  I do not promote the consumption of soy products due to so much soy being GMO, and the way it messes with my hormones. The beauty of this dish is you can alter it to your specifications anyway you like. 

Ingredients:
Vegetables -
1 Medium Size Organic Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Olive Oil
6 Leaves of Organic Kale

Base -
1 C. Brown Rice
or
1 C. Quinoa
or
Zucchini or Sweet Potato Noodles (For Grain Free)

Toppings -
Chicken Breast (optional)
or
Non-GMO Soy Tofu (optional)


Instructions:
Sauté 1 diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 6 leaves of cleaned, diced kale.  Kale cleanse the blood as well as the intestines.  Add additional veggies of choicem,  1 package of cooked tofu for protein or grilled chicken, and serve over 1 cup brown rice, quinoa or vegetable noodles.

Ingredients:
Olive oil cooking spray
2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lb), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, divided (if well tolerated) 
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for garnish
1 tablespoon pure balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 can (15 oz) organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced orange or red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
4 cups baby arugula




Instructions:
Heat oven to 375°. On a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, place potatoes in a layer; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes; let cool. In a bowl, whisk juice, vinegar, garlic, remaining 1/2 tsp sea salt and remaining 1/4 tsp white pepper. Add sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, and mint; toss; serve over arugula, and garnish with lime wedges.

Ingredients:
2 medium organic sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance butter + 2 Tsp. Earth Balance butter
1 large sweet onion
1 large Hass avocado
Handful of organic cherry tomatoes
1 rotisserie chicken
1 clove fresh garlic
Handful of fresh organic spinach 




Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Poke holes in potato to allow steam out.  Place sweet potato on cookie sheet and bake for 75-85 minutes or until soft. 

When the potatoes have about 20 minutes remaining, shred chicken and saute in large frying pan with 1 Tbsp. EB butter and clove of chopped garlic over medium heat. 

Chop onion and in a separate small frying pan, cook onion, covered, over low-medium heat with 1 Tsbp of EB butter until brown and caramelized. 

Once potato is cooked, cut open and insert 1 tsp EB butter into each potato and allow to melt.  Top with carmalized onions, spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes and avocado. Serve with shredded chicken and organic unsweetened applesauce. 

*for vegan, omit the chicken. 

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef (I used turkey)
2-3 large sweet potatoes
1 pack organic frozen peas and carrots
2 TBSP. Earth Balance soy-free, dairy-free butter or other healthy cooking fat for AIP
Minced Garlic
1/4 C. diced onions
Sea Salt to taste


Instructions:
Cook meat with minced garlic and sea salt over stove until browned, add peas, carrots and onions half way through until cooked through.

Cook sweet potatoes until soft, and blend in bowl with melted butter or healthy fat.  Place meat and veggie mix in a baking dish and smooth blended potatoes on top. Place in oven for 10 minutes, Allow to cool, serve with organic paleo ketchup (omit for AIP). Enjoy! 

This was a last minute inspired idea when I wanted to make Mr. Charming a yummy dinner after coming home late from class one night. It's a yummy, warm dinner perfect for chilly fall nights.

Pork Chops:
2 Pork Chops, fresh.
Sprinkle of sea salt
4 tsp. Earth Balance butter or other healthy cooking fat
1 clove of minced garlic

Rub pork chops with butter, garlic and sea salt and bake on 350 for one hour.

Vanilla-Honey Carrots:
1 bunch of fresh, organic peeled baby carrots (10-12 carrots)
1 1/2 TBSP. Honey
1 tsp. organic vanilla
Sprinkle of sea salt
1/4 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Lay carrots in a pan, and coat with the remainder of the ingredient. Heat on Medium-High until fully cooked. (Soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside.) (I was going other tasks so I placed a lid on to help steam the carrots and lock in the sweet flavors and put it on low for a bit. Overall they cooked to our preferred doneness in about 20 minutes.)