Jun 26 2012

Dairy Free Chocolate Ice Cream (No Refined Sugars)

Creamy and chocolatey, it has the taste and look of real chocolate ice cream, but it has no dairy and no refined sugars. Score!

I’ve made ice cream in my Vitamix many times by using both bananas and ice as a base. While I love the recipes, they are more soft-serve or frozen yogurt style, and I wanted something scoop-able! This is the perfect recipe (though it had already melted a tad by the time I took my pictures).

After a few months of making the other recipes, I was longing for traditional chocolate ice cream. I just wanted a healthy chocolate ice cream that was creamy, not icy, and tasted like chocolate, not chocolate banana! It has no ice, so it does not have that “icy” consistency, and it has no bananas, so no banana flavor. The secret ingredient that makes it creamy? Coconut oil!

I’m envisioning a lot more ice cream flavors in the near future …

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP pure maple syrup (or honey, if you prefer)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a VitaMix and blend until thoroughly mixed (it may be best if the coconut oil is softened first, though I didn’t need to do that). Pour mixture into ice-cube trays and freeze until hard, at least 4 hours.
Place as many ice cream cubes into Vitamix as you want. With your Vitamix Tamper, blend on high and simultaneously push down hard. Mix just until creamy, acting fast enough as to not melt the ice cream. Use an ice-cream scoop to serve.

Serves 2 people

Note: If you do not have a Vitamix or other high-speed blender, it’s possible that you could make this in a food processor, but I have not personally tried this myself. Regular blenders cannot handle so much frozen food.

This recipe was shared on Traditional Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Whatcha Whipped Up Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday

Jun 24 2012

Grilled Summer Squash

The hubs is not a picky man. Not at all. I’m really lucky to have a guy that actually loves all the healthy meals I cook. But he has been breaking my heart with one thing: squash. He hates it!

Look, I love the guy a lot. I mean, a lot. But I was tired of picking up squash at the grocery store but then putting it back because I didn’t want to cook it just for myself. And I think my squash-loving heart cried a little each time I put it back.

Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme.

But it was true: every time I’d cooked squash before, the hubs would try it and not like it. But I knew I would change his mind if he could just have grilled squash. It’s my absolute favorite way to eat squash! Only one problem: I had no idea how to use the grill. So, I told the hubs we were having squash for dinner and that it would be grilled and I promised he’d like it. And I also asked him to pretty please teach me how to use the grill.

I cooked the squash with Lime Grilled Chicken on the grill and in the time that I took to prepare a small plate for myself with only four pieces of squash and take pictures of it for the blog, the hubs had taken care of the rest of the squash. Gone. Buh-bye. No more. Yeah, he ate all my squash!

Well, good news is, I can make it again and again and again. But, I’m serious y’all, if you’ve never had grilled squash, try it! It’s incredible. A guy that hated the squishy texture and wouldn’t even touch it absolutely devoured this squash. And I like me some sauteed squash, but this is really on a whole ‘nother level. Seriously!

Oh, by the way, all you need to make this recipe is squash, olive oil, and salt and pepper (oh, and a grill). Please, can this be any more awesome?! I don’t think so!

Ingredients:

3 Summer Squash
Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Olive oil spray (or olive oil & a brush)

Directions:

Slice squash longways to 1/4″ thick. On a baking sheet (line with foil to avoid a mess), lay out squash side by side, not layered. Spray (or brush) with olive oil and grind fresh sea salt and black pepper to your desired taste. Flip and repeat on other side.
Grill at 500* for 4-5 minutes on each side. Squash will have grill marks and be flimsy, not firm, when it’s cooked.

This recipe was shared at Meatless Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Jun 23 2012

Lime Grilled Chicken

FINALLY! I know how to use the grill! (*squee!*) Up until a couple days ago, I didn’t even know how to turn the thing on. That is just not okay for a girl who likes to cook everything herself. I felt handicapped, like I could make any recipe in this world … unless if it was grilled.

So is not the case anymore! The hubs taught me how to grill! And since it’s a gas grill, it’s incredibly easy and I’m kind of mad that I waited this long to ask how to use it. Now we’re going to have a grill-ified summer!

This chicken is super easy to prepare and cook. You don’t need any fancy ingredients, yet it’s still very healthy and flavorful. The kick of lime gives it a Key West flair.

Here is my grilled chicken along with one of my all time favorite veggies, grilled squash. I’ve been holding back for a long time on buying squash – even though it’s my favorite – because the hubs swore up and down that he didn’t like squash. I had a feeling this recipe would change his mind. Boy was I right. And it’s also super simple, and will be posted soon

Garnish this chicken with a little extra lime juice if you like it a little stronger (like me). It has just a hint of lime flavor straight off the grill, but the extra lime juice squeezed over it really took it over the top for me. Mmmm, sooo good!

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2″ thickness, fat trimmed off
1 lime
salt & pepper
garlic powder
poultry seasoning

Directions:

Pound chicken to 1/2″ thickness and trim off fat. Cut lime in half and squeeze juice from one half onto chicken on both sides. Season to taste with salt & pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning.
Grill at 500° for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through.
Drizzle with juice from remaining lime half, if desired, and serve.

This recipe was shared at Melt in Your Mouth Monday

Jun 11 2012

Coconut Crusted Snapper with Mango Salsa

And now, for the meal that came after the fire. I’m sure you guys were all on the edge of your seats for this one … ha!

But really, even through the craziness that was an oven fire, somehow a really nice meal came out of it. And for the firemen that continually asked if they could stay for dinner (I think they were serious!), I felt bad that I didn’t have enough to share with them all. A couple pieces of fish were certainly not going to feed a truck full of hungry firemen. But had they been able to stay, I think they would have been pleased. And they would have left feeling great, not sluggish, because this fish is baked, not fried!

I was actually terrified to turn the oven back on right after the firemen left even though they assured me that everything was A-OK and that I could cook again without a problem. I knew that they knew what they were talking about, but a part of me freaked out when I pressed the button to pre-heat just minutes after they left. Part of me wanted to tell the hubs that we would be eating out and I would be taking a break from cooking for a while.

But thankfully, the hubs told me to turn the oven on, because certainly if the firemen said it would be okay, then it would be. And they were all right! Everything was okay, and a fancy-schmancy dinner followed. See exhibit A:

This is certainly a meal that dressed to impress. From the the way it looks to the way it tastes, it will not disappoint. Call this one a crowd-pleaser. Use any mild fish for this recipe to satisfy even the taste buds of those who don’t like fish (really, there are people out there who don’t like fish? I guess that sounds weird to a fisherman’s daughter …)

This fish doesn’t judge, it just wants a hungry mouth to feed…

Ingredients:

For the Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup red onion
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded (you can leave the seeds in for some extra spice)
3 TBSP fresh-squeezed lime juice

For the fish

3 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP orange juice
1 TBSP fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp sea salt
pepper to taste
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1.5 lbs snapper filets, or other white fish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.
Prepare mango salsa: dice mango into large chunks. Dice red bell pepper and red onion, chop cilantro, and mince jalapeño. Mix all together with lime juice in a small bowl. Cover and put in refrigerator while you prepare and cook the fish.
Prepare fish: In a wide-mouthed bowl, mix together melted butter, orange juice, lime juice.
In a separate wide-mouthed bowl, mix together coconut and bread crumbs.
Line a baking sheet with foil. Dip fish filets into the wet mixture and then into the dry mixture, being sure to coat well. Set fish onto baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Turn on the broiler, and cook just a minute longer or until the coconut crust is slightly browned.
Top with a generous amount of mango salsa, and serve!

*Note: I apologize if the cooking time and temp is incorrect. Due to the oven fire, I was very “off” and did not write down the instructions for the fish. I cannot remember what time & temp I cooked it at but this is most likely very close to correct as it is what I would normally do to bake fish. Also, the thickness of the fish filets will determine the cooking time. The fish is cooked when it flakes easily with a fork. Sorry for any confusion!

This recipe was shared on Mouthwatering Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Makin’ You Crave Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Jun 7 2012

Lightened Up Blue Cheese Dip

Let’s face it, blue cheese dip is not exactly known for being low on the fat and calorie content. It’s known for being an indulgence, something to get kids and adults alike to eat their veggies.

What makes this one so much lighter? Can anyone guess?

Not sour cream, or mayo, or any of the traditional base ingredients for blue cheese dip. Plain greek yogurt! If you stick around long enough, you’ll realize I have a thing for greek yogurt these days. It makes an appearance in a lot of my recipes.

Here is the nutrition content for the whole batch (1.75 cups).
Calories: 394, Fat: 20g, Protein: 41g, Carbs: 10g

Not bad, really. I don’t know anyone who would sit and eat 1.75 cups of blue cheese dip in one sitting, but hey, if you really want to, I think you’d be okay You may not want dinner, though. I suspect you’d be really, really full!

For comparison, here is the nutrition info for 2 tablespoons of a popular pre-made blue cheese dip.
Calories: 160, Fat: 17g, Protein: 1g, Carbs: 0g

You have nearly the same amount of fat in 1/14th the amount! Holy cow! And my recipe is jam-packed with protein, just as low on carbs (two tablespoons only yields 0.7 carbs), and much lower in calories (just 28 per serving). For a list of the per serving nutritional content in this lightened up dip, check it out below the recipe.

This recipe makes a great appetizer or party dip. No one will ever know it’s made with yogurt, trust me!

It’ll be our little secret

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 TBSP blue cheese (separated)
1 cup plain greek yogurt
2 TBSP finely chopped onion
1 TBSP dried parsley
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

Melt 1/2 cup blue cheese in microwave until melted, about 30 seconds.
Mix yogurt and melted blue cheese together until mixed. Add in remaining 2 TBSP blue cheese, onion, parlsey, celery seed, and garlic powder and mix until combined.
The dip can be served immediately, however, it’s best if left to chill in fridge for at least 4 hours while the flavors meld.

Yields: 1.75 cups dip

Nutrition Info
Serving Size: 2 TBSP
Calories: 28, Fat: 1.5g, Protein: 3g, Carbs: 0.7g

This recipe was shared on Full Plate Thursday, Meatless Monday