Healthy Cupcakes

November 15, 2017

With the holidays fast approaching, sharing a scrumptious dessert recipe felt like the right move. My good friend Jenny Carr just released her anti-inflammatory cookbook, Peace of Cake. I've enjoyed Jenny's super yummy treats for years and was thrilled to learn she was making her recipes public with her book. As a (mostly) healthy eater, I really appreciate her angle. She shares food swaps that allow you to change out what you might be used to (the less healthy version) to healthy alternatives that don't compromise taste. It's brilliant!

(Disclosure: This site uses affiliate links. All products are chosen at my discretion and promoted as other blogs promote products that reflect the lifestyle of the blogger, brand, and ethos. I only post brands and items I support.)

To celebrate the launch of Jenny's book, we got together with Lindsay Linton to capture the making of one of my favorite recipes from her book: Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Avocado and Cacao Frosting. Making the cupcakes was easy and fun, and I have no shame admitting I ate two in a row once they were done. If you have an upcoming party that you are either hosting or attending, these sweet treats will be a wonderful addition. Be sure to check out Jenny's book for more healthy recipes (especially if you have little ones you want to eat better) including breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, and of course dessert.

One more thing I want to mention is how healing this book can be. If you or someone close to you has ever battled health issues, choosing an anti-inflammatory diet could be a huge help. Jenny bravely shares her own and her children's health challenges and how she found her way to making food for her family that was healing and supportive of their natural immune system response. Food is medicine. I truly believe that, and Jenny's book is an incredible and tasty guide to incorporating this knowledge into the every day. Okay, now for the recipe! Follow along below.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cake...

1/2 Cup Coconut Flour

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

6 large eggs

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

4 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

For the Frosting...

3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

1 extra large avocado (ripe)

4 1/2 tablespoons cacao powder

1/3 cup raw honey

1. Make the Cake Batter.

In a food processor, combine coconut flour, salt, and baking soda. Add eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.

2. Bake the Cupcakes.

Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners and scoop ¼ cup into each. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes. Cool for 1 hour.

3. Frost the Cupcakes.

Process all ingredients in a food processor (or high quality blender) until smooth. Let the frosting cool for a few minutes before icing the cupcakes.

If these cupcakes and Jenny's anti-inflammatory approach to food is resonating with you, here's a little more about Jenny and ways you can follow or contact her to work with her. xx

Jenny Carr is an anti-inflammatory health coach, a motivational speaker, a mom and an international best selling author of the book Peace Of Cake: The Secret To An Anti-Inflammatory Diet. She went through a near death experience due to chronic illness and survived, by walking her talk in regards to anti-inflammatory living. Jenny specializes in helping people reverse chronic symptoms through anti-inflammatory eating without feeling deprived or overwhelmed.

Visit: Jenny-Carr.com to download your FREE copy of her new book, Peace of Cake.

Follow: @JennyCarrHealth

Many thanks to Lindsay Linton Buk for the beautiful images in this post and her all around awesome energy! xx

Vegan Tempeh Tacos

October 6, 2017

I've had a revived interest in cooking, and food in general, in the past few months. A lot of it came from helping a friend out and making meals for him and his family to help support them through a hard time. I found that cooking is such a beautiful way to be of service and truly pour your love into something as a way of 'gifting' your love. And, it's a great way to be creative!

So, when GlobeIn reached out and asked to collaborate, I thought there was no better way than to feature their amazing 'Chef Set!' GlobeIn is a curated marketplace that showcases artisan made goods from around the world. They also offer their sets which make great gifts, or you can subscribe to their monthly box and get a new set each month. Having been the recipient of one of their curated boxes, I can definitely see myself gifting their sets.

The Chef Set I received felt like it had a Mexican flare to it and so I decided to whip up some fresh Mex with some of the produce I received from my local farm's crop share. I did purchase a few extra things to make it all come together, and was really pleased with the result. You can check out my recipe and some amazing photos by Lindsay Linton below. Please leave your recipes suggestions in the comments. I'd love to see how ya'll do Fresh Mex!

INGREDIENTS:

mixed lettuce

baby kale

peaches

pepitas

radishes

tomatoes

corn

purple onion

yellow onion

garlic

peach

cilantro

fresh chives

yogurt (non-dairy)

tempeh

corn tortillas

limes

salt

cumin

red pepper flakes

chili powder

apple cider vinegar

grape seed oil

1. Cook the corn.

Boil water in a large pot with a pinch of salt. Add corn and cook 10- 20 mins (depending on your altitude). Remove from water and let cool. Cut corn off of cob and place in bowl.

2. Make the Dressing and Taco Sauce.

For the dressing, mix 1/4 cup grape seed oil with 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar with fresh lime juice (to taste) and red pepper flakes. Cut peaches and squeeze them as you add them to the bowl so that you get some peach juice. Let peaches 'marinate' while you prepare the corn relish.

For the taco sauce, in a small mixer blend one single serve container of plain greek style yogurt, fresh chives, and 1-2 teaspoons cumin until smooth. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

3. Make the Corn Relish side dish.

Chop tomatoes, onion, cilantro and slice limes. Mix tomatoes, onion and cilantro into bowl with corn. Squeeze lime juice to taste on top with a sprinkling of salt to taste.

4. Make the Salad & Dress it.

Place washed and dried baby kale and lettuce mix in a large bowl. Thinly slice radishes. Sprinkle radishes and pepitas on salad. Using a slotted spoon add peaches. Toss everything together. Reserve adding peach juice marinade dressing until just before you are ready to serve the salad so it doesn't get soggy.

5. Cook the Tempeh.

Heat a medium size non-stick skillet over medium/high heat with 1-2 tablespoons grape seed oil. Chop 1/2 a yellow onion and 1-2 cloves garlic. Cook for a couple minutes to release their flavor. Crumble tempeh into pan and sautee. Sprinkle salt, cumin and red chili powder to taste. Stir and cook for 10- 15 minutes until tempeh has a nice golden brown hue.

6. Warm the Tortillas & Serve.

Use a non-stick pan to heat the tortillas on each side over medium heat for a couple of mins and then transfer to a basket with a napkin or towel to keep them wrapped and warm. Create a buffet line on the kitchen counter or place everything in the center of the table for a Mexican fiesta!

Ursala's Delicious Baked Salmon

June 29, 2017

As you guys already know, I spent last year I living in Los Angeles. It was an experiment I was running... I had always wanted to see what living in LA would be like, and so I packed everything up and bought a car, and got a year lease in Pacific Palisades. I will admit that I wasn't in the best place (emotionally, spiritually, socially...) as I was going through a major breakup. Less than a year later I moved back to Jackson, WY. So, yeah, LA didn't quite pan out for me, but what I will take with me are the deepened friendships of some amazing people I got to know better and the memories of our shared hikes, dinners, and impromptu costume dance parties (you know who you are!).

One of my fondest memories is of a very lovely dinner hosted at my friend Ursala's home in Manhattan Beach. She's the epitome of a beautiful, carefree European woman where everything in her life just flows. And her cooking is no exception! Her frig is stocked with a vast assortment of whole foods prime for making yummy meals, and she has a wine frig to accompany whatever delicious creation she concocts. It's a fabulous combination!

In preparation for the dinner party, she asked me to come early and gab while we prepped the meal. I was thrilled. The wine flowed, and so did the conversation, but I kept on eye on what she was doing because I knew I would want to learn from this woman. She really is something extraordinary and her friends say that everything she touches is 'Ursi-fied.' I believe it! Through the blur of a couple tasty glasses of wine, I committed her baked salmon recipe to memory and am pleased to say that ever since my preference to cook salmon has been Ursi-fied! The result is a moist and fragrant piece of fish that melts beneath your fork. I pull this one out for fancy dinner parties when I want to impress and also remain confident I can pull off a great dinner with a small amount of work. I urge you to try this for yourself and make any adjustments to make it your own. Ursala will be proud.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Prep the salmon.

Rinse the salmon and pat dry with paper towel. Holding the salmon over your glass baking dish, pour about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil onto salmon and rub into the fish.

2. Season the salmon.

Place salmon in glass baking dish (skin down). Salt and pepper over fish. Then layer fresh cut herbs. Add a second layer with the sliced lemon or lime rounds so that salmon is completely covered. This will help seal in juices and keep the fish moist. Pour about 1/4 cup of white wine over salmon so that there is a little layer at the base of the baking dish. This will help steam the salmon as it bakes.

3. Bake the salmon.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil and a clean dish towel to keep in heat. Keep covered for 8- 10 minutes to continue cooking the salmon until it is perfect, delivering a medium rare temp. Serve immediately and enjoy.

fresh caught wild salmon, filleted

2 lemons or limes, sliced into thin rounds

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (or parsley), chopped

2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

grapeseed oil

white wine (cooking wine is fine, and I subbed Mirin for wine too)

salt & pepper

Allan's Awesome Asian Salad

June 17, 2017

I'm exploring the Paelo diet and picked up a copy of Paleo Magazine's 2017 Recipes. It is very inspiring, and I must say, the instructions are so concise it makes you feel like you could make anything in 15 mins! Okay, in all fairness, it does take longer than 15 minutes (more like 30), but it is worth it.

I spent the last few days attending a Yoga Fit Fore Golf retreat in Vail, Colorado. It was beyond beautiful and really wonderful to incorporate yoga moves and stretching before getting out on the course. Coming home the back way to my parent's house, there wasn't really a great spot to stop for groceries, and I figured there would probably be enough food in the frig to make a yummy dinner. Altering a recipe in Paelo's 2017 Recipes (page 73), I drummed up an oriental style dinner that was a huge hit! My step-dad, Allan, declared that it had all his favorite things and so I've named it for him as Allan's Awesome Asian Salad.

I worked with the ingredients I had on hand, and would have added some chopped cashews or toasted black sesame seeds to finish it off. Sub things as you see fit, and add more or less depending on what kind of salad you are feeling like (ie: a meal or a side dish). This was our main dish and it was very satisfying.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Make the egg.

Beat two eggs in a bowl with a teaspoon of Mirin. Heat medium size pan over medium- light heat with grapeseed oil (about a teaspoon or two). Spread egg out on bottom of pan to cook a thin even layer (about 1-2 mins), cut in half and flip. Cook 1-2 more mins. Remove from heat and place egg directly on cutting board to cool.

Once cooled, layer the two halves and in half lengthwise. Then cut into smallish strips. Place in bowl and set aside.

2. Cook the veggies.

Reheat medium-size pan with some grapesedd oil (about 1-2 teaspoons) over medium heat. Add carrots and cook 1 minute. Salt with a couple light pinches of salt. Add onions and cook 1 minute more. Add bell peppers and cook 1- 2 minutes. Remove veggies from pan and set aside.

3. Make the dressing.

In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup grapeseed oil with 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 1-2 teaspoons Mirin, 1-2 teaspoons amino acids, and 1-2 tablespoons rice vinegar. Wisk together using a fork.

4. Cook the shrimp.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Using the same pan as before, heat grapeseed oil over medium heat. Before it gets too hot, add minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to release flavor. Add shrimp. Cook 1-2 minutes. Flip. Pour a touch of tamari sauce (about 1 teaspoon) over shrimp and add scallions. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes. Place shrimp in one corner of individual serving dishes. Pour excess oil, garlic and scallions into dressing and wisk once more.

8 oz fresh or frozen shrimp (peeled and deveined)

2 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon Mirin mixed in

2 carrots, thinly julienned

1 red bell pepper (or 4 small ones), thinly julienned

1/4 of a whole red onion, thinly sliced

1-2 heads butter lettuce, coarsely chopped

1/2 ripe avocado, chopped

1 scallion, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

black sesame seeds, toasted

salt

grapeseed oil

tamari sauce

mirin

rice vinegar

amino acids

toasted sesame oil

5. Assemble!

Place lettuce in one corner of serving dish and top with avocado and dressing. Place cooked veggies in another corner, and the chopped egg in the remaining open corner. Top with cilantro and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Serve and instruct guests to mix everything together to insure a yummy mouthful with each bite.