Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

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While doing my March detox, I stumbled on this salad when I had avocado and grapefruit to consume before traveling one week.  It was one of the most addicting combos I have ever tasted!   Why?  I have no idea, but you should try it even if you don’t like grapefruit.  It’s like when their flavors get together it creates something different than I have ever experienced!  I should also add that it’s super easy, too.
Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Ingredients:
Avocado
Grapefruit
Lemon
EVOO
Salt and pepper
Protein addition optional
Directions:
Section grapefruit and slice avocado.  Place them together.  Mix juice from a lemon, a splash of EVOO, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Pour over the salad.  Add cooked shrimp or other protein if desired.

Kale, Peach, and Avocado Salad

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This recipe was born out of the necessity to use massive amounts of kale, basil, and parsley in addition to having peaches that needed to be used before they went bad.  I used my Brussel sprouts and avocado salad as a foundation and switched things around as I needed to based on what I had available! Instead of straight sesame seeds, I also opted to use seaweed Gomasio, which is a combo of sesame seeds, seaweed, and salt.  This is an awesome opportunity for those trying to support their thyroid function to use food as medicine! Kale is a hearty green, so leftovers hold up nicely in the fridge if you don’t eat it all in one sitting.
Kale, Peach, Avocado Salad
Ingredients:
5 cups of kale, chopped
2-3 avocados, diced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped basil
2 peaches, diced
1 Tbsp seaweed Gomasio (or sub just sesame seeds)
dressing
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients and enjoy!  Feel free to mix and match ingredients based on what you have, what was on sale that week, or what is in season!

Bell Pepper Boats

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Are you getting tired of recipes that aren’t recipes?  I hope not, because I post this stuff for you guys!  I’ve shared this idea tons of times, but I figured it’s helpful to have it on the list of snacks (or quick meal ideas).  Nature has created perfect portable options for us that are free of plastic, free of lids, free of hassle.  Sometimes people don’t have time to cook, and throwing fresh ingredients together can be a great option to get clean food in your belly without much hassle.  Feel free to stuff your boats with whatever you have on hand: tuna salad, leftovers, ceviche, store-bought guac, scrambled eggs, etc.
Bell Pepper Boats
Ingredients:
1 bell pepper, halved lengthwise and core removed
1 avocado
salt and pepper
cilantro
optional: lime, tomato
Directions:
One the bell pepper has been halved, fill it with half the avocado and mash it up a bit in each boat.  Top with salt and pepper.  Enjoy like this or add cilantro, fresh lime juice, tomato, tuna….whatever floats your boat!

Kale, Strawberry, Avocado Salad w/Chia Citrus Dressing

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Once again, a recipe that isn’t really a recipe!  However, kale is super easy to grow and strawberry season is around the corner.  If this salad convinces you to grow some kale or eat some organic berries, then my job here is done.  Since I am a crazy person in the kitchen, I don’t measure anything.  You shouldn’t either.  You know what you like, give yourself enough to have multiple elements in every bite and a little extra of the things you enjoy the most. That wasn’t technical, but it works everytime. Kale (or any winter green) is bitter, so you need some sweetness and some acid to balance it out.  The strawberries could be switched for whatever fruit you have on hand.  The lemon in the dressing could be switched for your favorite vinegar.
Kale, Strawberry, Avocado Salad w/Chia Citrus Dressing
Ingredients:
kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
organic strawberries, hulled, halved
avocado, diced
a couple glugs of EVOO
juice of half a lemon
zest of a lemon
pinch of salt and pepper
dollop of honey
1/4 tsp chia seeds
Directions:
Chop all the salad ingredients into bite size pieces and toss together.  Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour over salad.  Kale is hearty, so even a dressed salad can store nicely in the fridge.

Chicken Tenders

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I recently had an old friend message me and tell me that she has a picky eater on her hands…her husband.  I am a former picky eater, and I am pretty sure I spent about 10 straight years eating nothing but chicken tenders at fast food restaurants and regular restaurants.  That may have even been the criteria for choosing where to eat: Does the menu have chicken tenders?!  I’ve outgrown the picky eating thing but that doesn’t mean I don’t still have a place in my heart for the nostalgic foods of my picky days.
These chicken tenders taste so good.  I chose to fry them but my guess is that you could bake them just fine?  I just haven’t tried it. When choosing spices, you can use your imagination.  Even if all you used was salt and pepper, they would be great!
Chicken Tenders
Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
2 eggs with a splash of water
1/2 cup palm shortening or bacon grease
Directions:
Place chicken breasts in a large ziploc bag and beat it with a heavy bottom pan in order to thin out the chicken.  Once thin enough, cut the breasts in to strips.
In 2 shallow dishes, one will have the eggs and water whisked together.  This will be the first stop for the chicken.
The next dish will have all the dry ingredients and spices.
Heat oil over medium high heat until it sizzles when water hits it.  As it is heating, dip strips in egg wash and then coat in flour.  When the oil is hot enough, place the coated chicken in the oil and fry 3 minutes on each side.  Remove and place on a dish with a paper towel to soak up any extra oil and sprinkle salt on immediately.  Keep frying in batches without overcrowding the pan because this will decrease the temperature of the oil.
Serve with veggies!

Blood Orange and Fennel Salad

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For those of you that follow me, you’ve heard me say before that I don’t eat salad regularly because I just don’t enjoy it that much.  However, I went the store to get veggies a couple days ago and saw a bulb of fennel that I just had to have.  Shortly after that, I saw they had blood oranges in stock, which doesn’t happen that often!  They are the PERFECT pair.  Blood orange is a dark reddish color and the flavor is like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange.  I threw together a salad with the two ingredients and could not get enough.  It’s a shame to call this a recipe, but it is really just simple ingredients, but it was worth a formal publish!!
Blood Orange and Fennel Salad
Ingredients:
1 blood orange, peeled and sliced
thinly sliced fennel
spinach
a few pinches of feta (organic, unpasteurized)
drizzle basil infused EVOO (regular would work too)
drizzle barrel aged balsamic (regular would work too)
protein of choice
Directions:
Throw it all in a bowl and eat!!!

Chicken, Avocado, Black Bean, Mango Salad

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I recently got black beans in my CSA box.  I don’t typically eat beans but I don’t oppose them if they are prepared correctly, which means soaked in an acidic environment for 24 hours and then cooked for 4 more).  I’m usually too lazy to do that, but when life hands you beans, you take the time to soak them.  I actually love black bean hummus, black bean burgers, etc, but this idea of Mexican chicken salad kept creeping into my mind.  I originally wanted to do this with shrimp but forgot to thaw them….so….chicken it is!  Use your imagination switching out ingredients and just use what you have on hand! I hadn’t thought about it prior but this would probably be amazing with a red onion, too!
Chicken, Avocado, Black bean, Mango Salad
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped into bite size chunks
1 mango, peeled, cored, and diced
1 avocado, diced
handful of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup black beans (soaked and cooked)
1 red pepper, diced
Dressing Ingredients:
1/3 cup nut butter (I used cashew, but you could use almond)
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp honey
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp brown mustard seed (optional)
Directions:
If you are starting from scratch, you will need to cook the chicken and beans.  However, if you have cooked chicken and beans, add all the ingredients to a bowl.  Then whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.  Pour over the  salad and toss to coat..  Eat like you’ve never eaten before!

Tomato, Avocado, Cucumber Salad

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Right now my cherry tomato plants are going a little too crazy! I planted three different kinds in addition to a roma tomato plant, so I could have homemade tomato sauce frozen throughout the winter. I had no idea my plants would get so big! I am getting a shirt-full of cherry tomatoes every single day. I haven’t made any sauce yet, but this salad was a great opportunity to use some up along with cucumber that I know everyone has growing like crazy, too. I used basil as the herb because I have tons of that in my garden and from the CSA, but you could easily use cilantro, parsley, dill, etc. This salad is fresh, slightly creamy from the avocado, and perfect for a summer side dish! It stays nicely in the fridge for a couple days but will have some browning of the avocado and basil, so if you are making it for an occasion, make this dish the day of.

Tomato, Avocado, Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cucumber, cut into bite size chunks
  •  2 avocados, diced
  •  2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  •  1 sweet onion (I used one like a giant green onion but you could use a quarter red onion)
  •  juice from one lemon
  •  Olive oil drizzled over the top
  •  salt and pepper to taste
  •  Basil cut into thin strips and garnished on top

Directions:

Add all the chopped veggies into a serving bowl, add the lemon and olive oil and toss to coat. Just before serving, add salt, pepper, and basil.

Paleo Butternut Squash Soup

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The weather is changing around here which means so is the produce from the CSA!  Luckily, I am starting to get a little less in my box every week.  I have been working like crazy to make/freeze/preserve all the veggies this summer.  I have been doing a good job, but even I get a little tired of having to worry about how on earth I am going to consume it all!  One thing I love to make in the fall and freeze is butternut squash soup.  I have tried many varieties, but I think this recipe I the best one I’ve ever tried and it is the most simple!

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped into cubes
  • 2 apples, chopped into cubes (choose gala, Fuji, jonathan, etc.)
  • 2 onions (you could use your leek from the CSA as 1 of the onions)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 Tbsp butter (I like butter but you could use any cooking fat)
  • 4 cups chicken stock (homemade is best!)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat butter in a dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté until translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so.  Add the apple and butternut squash cubes and pour the chicken stock over the veggies.  Allow to simmer until the butternut squash and apples are fork tender.  Use an immersion blender to blend it all together until creamy (you could also move batches to the blender).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If you consume dairy, some plain Greek yogurt dolloped on top makes this a hearty, satiating, complete meal.

Avocado and Brussels Sprout Salad

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This was a salad brought to the last book club meeting and the minute I ate some, I knew I had to have the recipe!  If you like cold salads, this is right up your alley!

INGREDIENTS:

Vinaigrette:

  •  ½ cup rice vinegar
  •  ¼ cup olive oil
  •  1 tsp sesame oil
  •  ½ tsp sea salt
  •  1 tablespoon honey
  •  1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Salad:

  •  3 cups shaved Brussels sprouts
  •  2 cups shredded cabbage
  •  6 green onions, thinly sliced
  •  ½ cup dried cranberries
  •  3 ripe, fresh Avocados, seeded, peeled and diced in ½ pieces
  •  1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  •  2 tablespoons sesame seeds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients for vinaigrette in a small glass jar. Cover tightly and shake well.
2. Place one half of the vinaigrette in a large bowl. Place diced avocado in bowl with vinaigrette and gently stir to coat. This will keep your avocados beautiful and fresh looking.
3. Add remaining ingredients except sesame seeds to bowl with avocados. Toss gently. Drizzle with a bit more dressing and toss again.

NOTES:
Trim the hard root end from all of the Brussels sprouts and remove any bruised outer leaves. Slice and then chop.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on right before serving. Instead of sesame seeds you could substitute toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts.

ENJOY!