grain free – Page 3

21
May
2014

Quinoa Salad with Watermelon, Strawberry, and Feta

categories: Recipes

This salad is so pretty! And yummy! And easy! And healthy! And did I mention how pretty it is? Light and fresh, and perfect for Spring or Summer. This would be great to bring to a potluck or picnic.

All you do is cook and cool quinoa (I really like the tri-color for this), which can be done in advance. Then top with cut watermelon, strawberries, and feta. Drizzle with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper. Then finish with basil and sliced almonds. That’s it! I used some purple basil from my garden, isn’t it pretty? It tastes just like regular Genovese basil.

You can serve it in a platter, or individual containers – up to you! I think it would travel pretty well, especially if you pack the dressing separately. It’s also really satisfying – you have crunch from the watermelon, almonds, and even the quinoa (which is also very filling), and a salty-sweet combo that is just awesome. (more…)

14
Apr
2014

Miso Butter Four Ways

categories: Recipes

This innocent looking container holds a magic ingredient that will take your food to the next level. What is it? Miso butter. Two ingredients – miso and butter – combine to make a perfect substance. So simple, but so good. You could just slap this on some toast and call it a day. But if you want to get a little more creative, I have a bunch of ideas for you.

First up – scallops seared in miso butter. That’s it, it’s that easy. I served these with my other miso obsession – miso creamed kale.

Next – broiled salmon topped with miso butter, served with miso butter glazed baby carrots and coconut-miso barley.

Moving away from seafood for a bit, I made this coconut chicken recipe and replaced the regular butter with miso butter. It made it so much better than the original, which I was already a fan of. I also used cherry preserves in the sauce because that’s what I had, but apricot or peach would work better. I made a side salad with romaine, sliced radishes, blanched green beans, and a carrot-ginger dressing to go with it.

Lastly, we have a stir-fry made with miso butter. Fast, easy, and delicious. The salmon was broiled with a store-bought red miso and yuzu glaze. I’d say it wasn’t any better than the salmon topped with the miso butter.

Best of all? All these meals are healthy and low-carb. Most of them are grain-free! What would you do with your miso butter? (more…)

09
Dec
2013

Spiced Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

categories: Recipes

Is there anything better than a big pot of comforting beef stew in the Winter? Maybe if you add a lot of veggies, Middle Eastern spices, and some apricots for sweetness. Yum, yum, yum. At least I thought so – my husband wasn’t really sold on the whole sweet things in a stew concept, and he doesn’t like all those vegetables getting in the way of his meat. But whatever, I thought it was awesome. If you are not limiting carbs, you could serve this over some couscous and let it soak up all the juices.

Start by cooking some red onion and browning some beef chuck that has been seasoned with cumin, ginger, and cinnamon. I feel like red onions only work well in specific places, and this is one of them. Cooking them enough that they start to caramelize and release some sweetness is the way to go, here. Remove the meat to a plate temporarily and deglaze the pot with some red wine to scrape up all those browned spices and good bits that are stuck to the bottom.

Add in some sweet potato, apricots, and a can of whole tomatoes in their juices; then add enough water to cover and let simmer for a few hours. Your house is going to smell AWESOME. For reals.

After it is done simmering and the meat and potatoes are all soft and luscious – throw in some chickpeas and spinach. Oh my gosh. There is so much going on here! The apricots absorb the liquid and plump up, and the sweetness from them and the sweet potatoes contrasts the warm spices. I love all the different colors and textures, too. Let’s get cooking, peeps! (more…)

25
Oct
2013

Healthy Moroccan Lamb

categories: Recipes

Super comforting spiced lamb on top of creamy mashed potatoes – how could that be healthy? Well for starters, there are no potatoes – that is a cauliflower and white bean puree. This looks like comfort food, and it totally is, but it is all veggies and protein with no carbs!

Start by caramelizing some carrots to release that sweetness. Then brown up some lamb. I used lamb chops and discovered that there is very little meat on them – next time I am definitely using cubed meat.

When the lamb is browned, add in garlic, spices, chard, and chickpeas (more protein!). I wondered why the original recipe didn’t call for tomatoes – they make so much sense here. So I went ahead and added them. The original recipe also just used paprika, which I thought was a little boring. I used paprika, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander.

Another change from the original was that it called for polenta to serve with the lamb. Polenta is cooked corn meal, and I am trying to avoid grains. So I used a cauliflower puree instead and it was creamy and delicious – a good counterpoint for the tangy spiced lamb. (more…)

16
Oct
2013

Paleo Chicken and Carrot Cauliflower Puree

categories: Recipes

I am trying to avoid carbohydrates and starches as much as possible for health reasons (and not being very successful). For this reason, I like it when I happen upon a tasty looking Paleo recipe. I do not follow the Paleo diet by any means, but I do agree with some of their basic assumptions – like grains and processed vegetable oils are bad, and animal fat is good.

I liked this recipe even more when I saw that it was for the slow cooker. Loaded up with carrots, cauliflower, onion, garlic, and chicken stock – a pot of goodness!

Now, I usually don’t like chicken thighs, especially skin-on and bone-in, but I get that breasts dry out and fall apart so I followed the recipe on this one. Picking around the bone was still pretty irritating to me, but that skin that I crisped up (twice) in bacon fat? Yum city. I also threw a little fresh thyme in here because I grow it and why not?

The flavor is rich and satisfying, really great as comfort food. I will say that the proportions of this recipe as written are off. There is so little meat on these thighs that it would take 3-4 to fill someone up, especially if you don’t make some other kind of side (greens would have been so good!). And there was a huge amount of puree – I had enough leftover after serving to turn into a soup! So next time, I would double the amount of chicken and will reflect that in the recipe below. (more…)

27
Sep
2013

Not Pasta – Veggie Julienne

categories: Recipes

I am trying to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, my carb intake. But, man, I just really love pasta. If anybody else is struggling with this, and I’m sure there are many, this is a really great recipe. I know what you’re thinking – it’s not the same – and you’re right, it’s not. But I don’t think you will miss the pasta when you discover how much flavor and texture these have!

Mmmm – veggies. I got my mandoline out, thinking it would make this a breeze, but it turns out that my particular one really sucks at using the whole length of the vegetable. So I switched to this bad boy and it worked brilliantly.

The colors! Now I really like using spaghetti squash if I have a great sauce, but this recipe has more color and flavor, making it great on its own.

Bonus – I followed the recipe and used red onion and garlic, but I think that you could use shallot in place of both and make it even simpler! Super bonus – it cooks in less than 5 minutes!

Sauteed Vegetable Julienne
adapted from Skinny Taste
serves 2-4

1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz zucchini, cut into julienne strips (with a mandolin or peeler)
8 oz yellow squash, cut into julienne strips (with a mandolin or peeler)
4 oz (1 medium) carrot, cut into julienne strips (with a mandolin or peeler)
salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and onions and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

Increase heat to medium-high and add the remaining vegetables, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Adjust salt as needed and serve hot.

19
Aug
2013

Summer Succotash

categories: Recipes

This stunning dish comes to you from my weekly vegetarian lunches with Melissa from Smells Like Brownies. Consisting of just vegetables with a little feta, this is about as healthy as you can get! It’s also super filling and surprisingly delicious. I say surprisingly because let’s be honest, most people don’t go around graving a pile of veggies. But this is so good that even my veggie hating husband liked it! Served warm with a variety of textures and flavors, vibrant basil, and salty cheese – it really leaves you feeling satisfied.

Great on it’s own as a lunch, served as a side to chicken or steak (which is what I did with leftovers), or even stuffed into a pita pocket – this is a super healthy AND yummy Summer dish. It can also become vegan quite easily. So how about it? Let’s get some veggies into our lives! (more…)

05
Aug
2013

Kanikama Salad

categories: Recipes

Kanikama is the imitation crab meat you find in cheap sushi rolls. It is made from white fish (pollock usually) that is formed and colored to look like crab. Sounds gross, but is actually pretty tasty – and way cheaper than real crab. Kanikama salad is a pretty typical way to prepare imitation crab outside of sushi rolls. It usually involves kanikama, shredded vegetables, and mango in a light mayonnaise based dressing and is sometimes topped with tobiko.

My version is kanikama and mango over lettuce, served with avocado (I meant to get tobiko, too, but I forgot!) This is really light and refreshing, and a little bit sweet – perfect for summer. It’s important to realize that Japanese mayo is different from American – it is lighter, thinner, and made with rice wine vinegar. For my dressing, I bought Yum Yum sauce thinking it would be good as is (it’s a mayonnaise based sauce that they use at Hibachi grill restaurants). But when I tried it out, it was a bit too sweet and bland. So I added a splash each of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, and toasted sesame oil (easy on that last one, it is very strong).

I don’t really have a recipe – it’s more of a play with seasonings til you like it kind of thing. You could add in julienned carrots, cucumber, even summer squash. You could dice the avocado and fold it in with the mango (which I did on subsequent days). You could toss the lettuce in the dressing as well, instead of setting the dressed kanikama on top. There are lots of ways that you can make this your own. Leave a comment telling me how you like your kanikama salad!

29
Jul
2013

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

categories: Recipes

Melissa of Smells Like Brownies has been doing a CSA this year, so for one of our weekly vegetarian lunches we decided to use up some of the beets and lettuce she had received. This super delicious and filling salad involves sweet roasted beets, fragrant toasted walnuts, and creamy goat cheese. Simple and fresh – this is a great way to enjoy beets!

Warm Beet and Chèvre Salad
from Smells Like Brownies
serves 2

Ingredients:
3/4 lb beets (about 3 medium)
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra as needed
1 tbsp honey
salt and black pepper
1 wheat baguette, cut into 1/4″ slices
1 medium head lettuce, such as Bibb or Boston
1/3 cup walnuts, lightly toasted, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
4–6 oz goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350°. Wrap the beets tightly in foil and roast them for 1–1.5 hours, or until they are soft enough to pierce through the thickest part with a butter knife. Unwrap the beets and let them cool 10–15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Lightly brush the baguette slices with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Set the slices on a cookie sheet and broil in the oven for 3 minutes.

Rinse and tear up the lettuce. Sprinkle the toasted, chopped nuts and oregano over the greens.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub the skins off the flesh. Cut the beets into slices or wedges and sprinkle over the salad.

Top the salad with crumbled goat cheese and a drizzle of the oil and vinegar dressing.

22
Jul
2013

Caprese Stuffed Burgers

categories: Recipes

Hello, Summer! Juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil, all stuffed inside a hearty burger – oh yeah, baby!

This is a fairly straightforward recipe, the key is in the setup – have all of your ingredients close by and ready to go. Season your beef however you like (I put bacon in mine!) and form into thin patties; make an indentation in the center.

Load up with halved grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella bits, and ribbons of basil.

Place another thin patty on top and seal the edges to encase the filling.

Then grill as you normally would!

Inspired by Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom

Well Dined

Tag: grain free

Quinoa Salad with Watermelon, Strawberry, and Feta

Miso Butter Four Ways

Spiced Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

Healthy Moroccan Lamb

Paleo Chicken and Carrot Cauliflower Puree

Not Pasta – Veggie Julienne

Summer Succotash

Kanikama Salad

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Caprese Stuffed Burgers