Breakfast Casserole

I made a breakfast casserole for Christmas this year and I thought I would share it with you.

Ingredients
6 large organic eggs
1 small onion
1 medium sized sweet potato
4 links Bilinski spinach & garlic chicken sausage
1 1/2 cup Almond Breeze (or Silk brand) Vanilla Almond Milk
2 cups chopped spinach
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp coconut oil
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp thyme

In a greased casserole dish place peeled and chopped (1 inch cubes) sweet potatos. Layer on top chopped onion and season with oregano, coriander, and thyme. Chop chicken sausage and layer in the dish. In a pan sautee spinach in coconut oil and chopped garlic for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add spinach layer to casserole. In a bowl, mix eggs with almond milk, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mix over casserole, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 400 degrees about 30-40 minutes.

Sweet Potato Leek Soup

Ok I made a delicious soup tonight, thanks to my brother who brought up "potato leek soup" during conversation about leeks and got my brain rolling. I didn't measure anything out so I am going to give you approximations.

Ingredients:
3 small to medium sweet potatos
2 leeks
1 package boneless skinless chicken tenders
1 large yellow onion
1/2 - 1 tbsp salt*
1 tbsb coriander
1 tsp dill
1 tbsp oregano
2 cups almond milk
1/2 brown rice flour
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger

*your call on how much salt you want

Saute leeks (chop up the light green part in the middle), chopped onions and garlic with olive oil in a sauce pan about 7 minutes. You want to let the flavors out but not overcook it.

Add sweet potatos (peeled, sliced, and cubed) and chicken to the pot. Then add leeks, onion and garlic. Add brown rice flour, almond milk, ginger, spices, and about a cup and a half of water and bring to a boil. Boil about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Someone told me a trick this weekend "if the potatoes are cooked, the meat is cooked." I lso like to let it simmer a few minutes in the pot before I eat it to let it thicken up a bit.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving! Sweet Potato Casserole

What you will need:
4 Large Sweet Potatoes
4 Gala Apples
2 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Nutmeg
1 Cup Almond Milk (Vanilla)
Brown Rice Bread Crumbs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice Sweet potatoes and create bottom layer in a greased glass baking dish*. Add layer of apples then sprinkle brown rice bread crumbs over top to create a light coating. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg. Add second layer of sweet potatoes and apples, almond milk, salt and pepper to taste, brown rice bread crumbs, and cinnamon. Cover with foil and bake about 35 minutes at 375 degrees (or until sweet potatoes are soft).

*Baker's and Chef's 100% Canola oil non-stick cooking spray

Happy Thanksgiving! Turkey Stuffing!

This recipe is actually my Mother's. She made delicious Thanksgiving stuffing for me!

What you will need:
1 lb ground turkey browned
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch celery, diced
1 egg (or egg replacer powder/egg substitute)
Orgran yeast free, gluten free, sugar free, casein free, soy free bread mix*

Mix together in a bowl and stuff turkey then cook. Enjoy!

*Bake bread then slice and toast in the oven. After toasted slice into 1/4 inch cubes.

Energy bars and smoothies

So I decided to try my hand at making energy bars.

What you will need:
2 cups of raw oats (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats)
2 cups Almond Breeze milk (Vanilla)
1/3 cup Agave nectar (honey would work just as well)
1 tsp salt
3 ripe or overripe bananas
1/3 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
2 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp cayenne pepper *totally optional

Blend ingredients together until smooth and then spread on a cookie sheet (with cooking spray). Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Again, I really just use the toothpick test to check if it is done. Also, my oven is old and might be different from yours so keep checking them!

When done, leave 15 minutes to cool then cut them into bars and wrap in wax paper. Place in refrigerator for a few hours then enjoy!

As for the smoothies I used the same ingredients but you will probably have to add more almond milk and ice to the mix.



Energy and persistance alter all things -Benjamin Franklin

Stromboli Pie

Ok so I tried to make stromboli. My only problem is that instead of trying to make the correct shape on a pan I ended up making a pie because I wasn't thinking that If I put my stromboli in a pie pan, it would probably not turn out to be shaped like a stromboli. Nevertheless it was delicious.

I follow the instructions for Orgran Pizza Mix and once it is all mixed together I dust the bottom of a pie pan with brown rice flour then spread half of the dough in the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven 400 degrees. Then add on top of the first layer of dough:

5 cloves (big) of chopped garlic
dill (1 tsp)
basil, (1 tbsp)
thai basil (1 tbsp)
salt/pepper to taste
Muir Glen Organic Pasta Sauce (1/2 cup or enough to layer the dough)
1/2 cup chopped fresh kale
1 cup chopped zuchinni

Then add second layer of pizza dough on top. Bake at 400 degress for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden (or I always just use the toothpick test!) Enjoy. This turned out really good and it lasted only a few days after making it!



"We are indeed much more than we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are." Adelle Davis

Born to Run

Through these past 3 years of dealing with my yeast problem I have learned that the best thing I can do to help myself is eat healthy, chew my food slowly, and stay active. I find myself becoming a health nut more and more each day most likely because of what I know about food now, and being more in tune to how my body functions.

Speaking of health and fitness I am reading the book "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall. The book is about ultrarunners, who are runners that run 100 mile races for fun. The book also delves deep into the culture of the Tarahumara, a tribe living hidden in the Copper Canyons. The Tarahumara call themselves "the running people." They eat chia seeds (pinole) to give them energy and run hundreds of miles in sandals. The author also writes about a U.S. ultrarunner that refers to fatigue as "the beast." She says that during long runs she talks the beast away because she knows it is just out to break her down. Even though it may not be in all of us to run 100 mile races on a regular basis, I think we all would be surprised at what we could do if we talked the beast down.

I find myself left wondering why so many of us today don't take care of our bodies. We suffer from physical ailments, stress and anxiety but do not want to eat healthy and exercise. In this day and age, it has been made clear that human beings are meant to be active. What is keeping us from doing it? Tired? Not enought time? Working long hours? It's too hot out? It's too cold out? It's raining? Can't find an activity we enjoy? Sometimes it feels like we have more reasons to not work out.

I find that activities that involve other people, like a team or partners is great because they can be a great motivator. I play on an ultimate frisbee team and I've noticed that when other players become motivated it increases my own motivation even though I am a beginner. It is also nice to have someone cheering you on and being outdoors once in a while couldn't hurt. It's like the Boss always said, "baby we were born to run."


Christine