Paleo Pear Crisp

It’s pear time! And while apples get all the attention, pear can be just as good!

Paleo Pear Crisp:

  • 4-5 pears, cored, and sliced
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

Topping:

  • half stick of butter (or 1/4 cup coconut oil)
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp of apple pie or pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour

Directions:

Mix the filling ingredients together until coated and put in an 8×8 or 9×13 depending on how thick you want it.  Crumble the topping ingredients together and cover the filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  Turn the oven to  broil and brown the topping  for about 3 minutes!


Guide to Health-Conscious Foodie Dining: OneFourteen

I have had a series of restaurant reviews in the hopper for a long time now.  Like 3 years… I’m officially ready to give you my opinions on some dining options.  I wanted to accomplish a couple things when doing these reviews so it fits the needs to my readers.

  • Quality of ingredients
  • Adaptability for dietary needs
  • Taste
  • Experience
  • Price and accessibility

I wanted to follow a set of rules when going through the dining experience because I believe food is somewhat of an art, and I think going in changing everything alters the original intention of how the dish was intended, the experience around it, and the flavor profile.  So, here are couple rules I plan to follow with every review:

  • Order as it’s intended on the menu
  • Order anything that is hard to find elsewhere
  • Order a meal and a cocktail (if available)
  • Ask the server about their favorite thing on the menu

Welp, here it goes.  A review of my experience at the new restaurant in Mishawaka/South Bend called One Fourteen.

Here is the website. Here is the menu.

What I ordered: Parm Fries, the Onefourteen burger and the Cold Killa cocktail

Quality of ingredients:

While there isn’t a lot of information provided on the ingredients used, it does appear that they are trying to use ingredients that are thoughtful.  You will not find grassfed beef on the menu despite the array of burger options, but you will find plenty of options that include plants.  Since quality screams nutrient content in my opinion, this is important to how high somewhere rates for my readers.  The burger I ordered had pate and marrow.  These are ingredients you won’t find in many places and are packed full of nutrients!  Organs are one of my favorite things that patients are recommended to experiment with, and if they can have someone else prepare them, it’s a win-win.

*Update: I got some more details that I thought I should update!  The get their meat from Sawyers Meats in South Bend Farmers Market, buns from Breadsmith of South Bend and as much local produce as they can find.  Every sauce, dressing, and condiment is made in house!

Adaptability for dietary needs:

If you are trying to avoid gluten, meat, or dairy, you WILL be able to eat.  I ordered the burger with the bun, which came to me packaged with gold leaf on top.  You heard me right.  My bun had actual gold leaf on top. A nice touch that you may miss if you order sans bun.  I ate some of the burger with the bun but, quickly ditched it.  You could order any burger without a bun.  They also have plenty of vegetarian and vegan options for those avoiding meat.  Since vegan options are available, that means some alternative dairy, as well.  If you are trying to stay low carb, there are veggie options to replace fries.  I do not know if they rotate, but asparagus was the option when I went.

Taste:

This is the one everyone cares about, right?  Who cares how healthy or unhealthy if it doesn’t taste good.  The burger was good.  Since my burger choice was fatty in nature, I thought it could have used an acidic addition to cut through the richness.  I notice they do this with many dishes by using kimchi.  It was messy, which doesn’t bother me because I usually don’t hold it anyway.  The fries were amazing.  They are thoughtfully seasoned with herbs that I couldn’t pinpoint exactly, but I do believe rosemary is part of the blend.  They are well seasoned and there’s nothing fake about them.  I have a place in my heart for places that do fries well.  The cocktail was a smoky mescal garnished with a beautiful flower and the rim dipped in coarse salt.  I usually HATE smoky drinks, but this was pretty perfectly balanced.  I would definitely order it again just to drink with my eyes if nothing else!  I also tasted the herb spritzer and this is right up my alley being refreshing, herby, and light.  This would be my go-to if I was a frequent flyer.

Experience:

The service was attentive but not pushy, which is just how I like it.  The place is a little gangsta with a modern twist.  The décor is clean with thoughtful touches such as a penny floor as you enter, navy napkins that liken to denim, and a winged selfie wall in the bathroom.  I love the idea of interaction.  There aren’t many places you can go where Tupac adorns the wall and gold leaf tops your burger.  The perfect match for the age group that grew up listening to Biggie, Tupac, and Dré but has developed a palate for interesting flavor profiles and twists on the classics.

Price and accessibility:

I order the most expensive burger on the menu topping it out at $18.  However, I’d say most pricing was standard for a sit-down burger joint with craft cocktails.  It is somewhat quaint inside, and they do not take reservations.  So, it may be a wait if you go during peak times and if you are coming from Elkhart, it’s a jog.  However, it’s got an antique shop next door that can occupy the time while you wait, and they have plenty of standing room in the bar area for a cocktail.

Overall, I would give onefourteen an 88% if I’m throwing back to my professor days.  I think they have done an awesome job as a new restaurant because let’s face it, starting a restaurant isn’t easy!  They have dared to experiment and offer interesting options, and they have thought about the experience.  I have to take away some points for quality in terms of healthy meaning top shelf: grassfed, organic, local, etc.  I would love to hear about your personal experience!  If there are any other pieces of information you would like me to touch on, let me know and I will try to include that in future reviews.


Meyer Lemon Muffins

When Meyer lemons are in season, you take full advantage!  I went through an entire bag in 2 days!  They are different from regular lemons in the sense that are sweeter and almost a cross between a lemon and an orange?  So, they tend to be a good option for baking. These muffins have no nuts, so that’s a plus for those that may be allergic or trying to save money.  They are pretty high in protein because of the egg content, but keep in mind these are still a treat!
Meyer Lemon Muffins
Ingredients:
2/3 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
8 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk or almond milk
zest from 2 lemons
1/ cup honey or maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Place all the ingredients, except the butter, in a bowl and mix until blended.  Once blended, start to slowly add the butter until incorporated.  Place in silicone lined muffin tins and bake for 22 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Breakfast Bowl

We have all probably heard about acai bowls at some point in our life, and they are super tasty!  However, acai is not the most convenient ingredient to get ahold of.  The concept of a smoothie in a bowl topped with goodness is not one that must be reserved for acai.  This is the same concept with more readily gained ingredients.  Drink it through a straw or eat it with a spoon, the power is in your hands.
Strawberry Banana Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients:
1/2 frozen banana
4 frozen organic strawberries (part of the dirty dozen!)
1/2 an avocado
1 heaping Tbsp of gelatin (Great Lakes is the brand I use)
1 tsp maca (for hormone balance)
almond milk
4 walnuts, chopped
Directions:
Place the banana, berries, gelatin, avocado, and maca in the blender and cover the ingredients in almond milk or coconut milk until you can see bits and pieces peaking above the milk level.  Blend until smooth.  Top with chopped nuts and eat like a bowl of cereal!  But way healthier and more homemade.

Soup and Cracker Shortcut for the Sick

In an ideal world, we would all have some homemade chicken stock in the freezer that we can bust out at any given time.  Heck, maybe we are even lucky enough to have some soup made with that stock in the freezer!  When you feel yourself getting a little under the weather, the first thing you want to do is consume something warm that helps your immune system; however, the last thing you feel like doing is taking time to make homemade broth, make soup and gluten-free crackers.  It is totally within your capability, but totally outside your realm of desire at that moment.
Chicken soup has been linked to what people give you when your sick because the gelatin in broth is so healing!  However, storebought broth doesn’t contain that healing element.  So, here is the best shortcut you can do if your caught in the predicament of needing healing food but have no time or energy. It’s much healthier than Cambell’s and saltines!
Cheater Soup and Crackers
carton of organic, gluten free soup (any kind)
unflavored gelatin
store-bought crackers such as Simple Mills
Directions:
Heat up your soup and add 1 Tbsp of gelatin.  Consume with grain-free or sprouted crackers.
*In addition to your soup, make sure you are getting adequate Vitamin D, probiotics, garlic in everything, and an immune support supplement to manage symptoms if needed.

Paleo Apple Crisp

It’s apple time! I made this a long time ago and continue to make it “as is” because it’s so good!!

It’s time to go apple U-Pick!  Make sure they are organic because apples are part of the dirty dozen, meaning they are heavily sprayed with chemicals. ;(  I like the u-pick location: Earth First Farms!

Paleo Apple Crisp:

  • 4-5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder

Topping:

  • half stick of butter (or 1/4 cup coconut oil)
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 Tbsp of apple pie or pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour

Directions:

Mix the filling ingredients together until coated and put in an 8×8 or 9×13 depending on how thick you want it.  Crumble the topping ingredients together and cover the filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  Turn the oven to  broil and brown the topping  for about 3 minutes!

Lurong: 1/4 of the entire thing would be your sugar allotment for the day.