If you don’t prefer to consume dairy and looking for an alternative, almond milk is perfect for you. I’ve been using organic store bought almond milk for couple a while but even that has a very long ingredient list that is difficult to pronounce. So, I started to make my own almond milk. I doesn’t stay more than 3-4 days in the refrigerator but it tastes yummy and I know what’s in it!

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
2 cups water
2 pitted dates (optional)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla (optional)
water to soak the almonds

Directions:

1. Soak the almonds overnight or at least 8 hours, drain and discard the soaking water.
2. Bland the almonds, 2 cups of water, dates and vanilla in the blender container and blend them until smooth.
3. Strain the blended almond mixture using a cheesecloth or other strainer, I use a nut milk bag.
4. Put it in a glass jar and keep it in the fridge.You can add more or less water according to your taste for consistency of your milk.

   Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from http://everydaypaleo.com website. I changed it a little according to my taste.

Meatballs:

3 lbs ground beef (I use organic, grass fed meat)
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup apple finely diced
1 egg
2 tablespoons curry powder
½ tablespoon sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

1. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well using your hands.
2. Form into meatballs just a little bit bigger than a golf ball and place into a large glass baking dish.
3. Bake for 25 minutes.  Makes approximately 24 meatballs.
4. While the meatballs are cooking prepare the sauce!

Curry Sauce:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon raw organic honey (I didn’t use honey because I don’t like sweet tastes much in the dishes)
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth instead)

1. In a large skillet saute the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the honey, curry powder, and tomato paste and whisk together.
3. Add the broth and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth.
4. Bring to a simmer.
5. After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce in the skillet and coat well.
6. Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Serves 6-7.

Enjoy!!

Last weekend we decided to go out of the town to visit a friend for couple of days. I had to put all the fresh vegetables in the freezer before we left. When we came back, I decided to make a soup with those frozen vegetables. You can use fresh or frozen vegetables, you can even use the leftover vegetables from the previous night.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 mins
Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
3-4 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 small potato (small cubes)
1 bunch chopped spinach
1 bunch collard greens
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
¼ cup yogurt or fresh cream to season

Directions

1. In a large frying pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat about 5-6 minutes until they become soft and translucid.
2. Add potatoes and stir periodically until they become soft.
3. Add spinach and collard greens and cover. (I had those at home but you can use any green leafy vegetable you want) Cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically until all vegetables is slightly soft and cooked.
4. Place all ingredients into a blender, add the broth and blend until smooth.
5. Put them in a pot, add salt and pepper or any other spices you want to add.
6. Cook in medium heat until you start seeing the bubbles and turn the heat off.
7. Whisk the yogurt in a bowl.
8. When you serve the soup, put one tablespoon of yogurt (or fresh cream) to season.

Enjoy

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings

I found the original recipe from internet. It had white sugar and white flour in it, so I changed them a little bit with healthy alternatives:))
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/holiday-left-over-sweet-potato-cake/detail.aspx.

Here is my gluten free, grain free recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup molasses (I used carob molasses from Turkey)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup beer-optional (you can use gluten free beer if you can find it or if you can’t you can use ginger ale)

Directions

1- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
2- Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
3- Stir together the molasses and coconut oil in a large bowl until smooth.
4- Beat in the eggs one at a time,  then stir in the sweet potatoes.
5- Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl; stir into the batter 1 cup at a time,  alternating with the beer just until everything comes together.
6- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
7- Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven,  or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8- Cool completely before serving.

It is an easy and healthy cake alternative whenever you crave for a sweet taste next to a cup of tea.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb of large frozen shrimp (21-25 per pound)
1 tablespoon of powdered ginger, cayenne pepper, sea salt, garlic powder and turmeric mixture.
2-3 tablespoons of your favorite fat (I used olive oil and butter)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, washed
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
1 lime (optional)

Directions

I used wild cought and shelled frozen shrimps but you can use fresh ones if you want. In that case you shell and devein them first. If you use frozen, defrost the shrimps first and dry off the shrimp with a paper towel, place them in a bowl, and season them with the spice mixture. (You can add other spices as well.)

In a large skillet, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and sauteé until they are soft and translucid. Then, add in the cherry tomatoes and minced parsley. Don’t cook the tomatoes until they explode! When they are warm and a little soft take them to a plate.

Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and increase the temperature to medium high. Sauteé the shrimps for about a minute on each side.

When the shrimp were finished cooking take them on a service plate and top them with the sauteéd tomatoes, onions and parsley. (You can squeeze lime juice on it, if you haven’t already.)

Enjoy!

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30-40 mins

Ingredients

5-6 beet roots (you can use the stems if you want)
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ tablespoon sea salt
2 cloves garlic (crashed or chopped)

Directions

1. Cut the stems and wash the beets with a vegetable brush.
2. Put the beets in a pan. Cover with water and boil for 30-40 mins until they become soft inside but be careful not cook too much. (You can put the stems in the pan if you want to use them)
3. Take the beets out of the water and wait until you can touch them. (Don’t wait until they are cold)
4. Peel the beets pressing with your fingers.
5. Chop them 1” cubes.
6. Chop the garlic.
7. Put the beets, stems, chopped garlic, vinegar, salt and the boiling water in a airtight jar and put it in the fridge.
8. It will be ready to eat the next day.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

1 glass of boiled chickpeas (or you can use a can if you perefer)
1 bunch collard greens, chopped (or any kind of chard, spinach, kale —your choice of greens)
1 tomato, chopped (you can use tomato paste if you want)
1 medium size onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloces, minced
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (you can add cayenne pepper if you like spicy)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes.
2. Add the garlic and the tomato and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring for one to two minutes until they soften.
3. Add chopped greens stirring often, for five minutes.
4. Add the chickpeas and ¼ cup water, lots of freshly ground pepper and bring to a simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. Taste, adjust salt and cayenne and serve.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 55 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
1 tsp oil or butter
2 cups broth or water (I use home made vegetable broth)
¼ cup nuts, seeds and dried fruits (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranbarries, raisins etc.)
1 cups fresh vegetables, chopped (carrots, leak, scallion, squash, mushrooms etc.)
herbs and seasonings to taste (dill, parsley, cinnamon, salt, pepper, mint etc.)

Directions

1. Heat oil/butter in a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid on medium heat.
2. Add rice, stirring for 5 minutes or until grains are lightly roasted.
3. Heat the broth/water in a separate pot.
4. Add broth/water, cover tightly and cook for 45 minutes.
5. Stir in vegetables, nuts/seeds, herbs cover and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Pilafs involve sauteing of raw grains to add a nutty, toasted flavor. Always use a wooden spoon to stir rice to avoid breaking the grains.

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup soy or rice milk
1 cup berries
1 cup diced melon
1/2 cup almonds
2-4 ice cubes

Directions

1. Mix in blender for 1-2 minutes and serve.

Note: You can add other ingredients for added nutrition such as a spoonful of bee pollen, coconut oil, flax seed oil, spirulina powder or a scoop of protein powder.

Ingredients

1 sweet potato
2 beets
2 parsnips
2 carrots
2 turnips
olive oil
salt and pepper
herbs: rosemary, thyme or sage (fresh if possible)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash and chop all vegetables into large bite-sized pieces.
3. Place in a large baking dish with sides.
4. Drizzle with olive oil; mix well to coat each vegetable lightly with oil.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs.
6. Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes until vegetables are tender and golden brown, checking every 10 minutes to stir and make sure veggies are not sticking.

Note: Any combination of vegetables will work. Roasting only one kind of vegetable also makes a nice side dish.