Strawberry Lime “Jello” (AIP, paleo)
Ruby red and perfectly tangy, these fruit-filled jewels are a healthy upgrade from the sugar-filled, artificially flavored and colored jello that we all grew up with. I have been playing around lately with different fruits and flavor profiles, but I have to say that this combination of strawberries and fresh lime is my favorite, and it's just heavenly. If the thought of jello makes you want to run the other way, I dare you to try these! The texture is kind of like sorbet in a square, and the mix of strawberries and lime reminds me so much of the fruity daquiris that my parents used to make in the summertime when I was little, minus the rum of course (my dad would always make a non-alcoholic batch for us kids).
In addition to the strawberries, lime, and a touch of honey, my fruit snacks are made with wholesome grass fed gelatin. Gelatin is a superfood that is loved for its anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, gut healing, joint rebuilding, and beautifying properties. It's also incredibly protein-rich, in that each tablespoon delivers 6 grams of protein, so it really is a staple for those of us who don't eat nuts, legumes, or dairy, but want a protein-rich source other than meat or fish. I try to consume a little bit of gelatin a few times per week, whether its in the form of homemade jello, via bone broth, or through a couple of tablespoons of collagen in my smoothie (collagen is the precursor to gelatin, and unlike gelatin, it dissolves in cold water). Gelatin is also said to be a sleep aid, so I find these squares to be a perfect bedtime snack, and I have personally found that it does help deliver sound sleep! You can read more about the health benefits of gelatin here.
Health benefits aside, my taste testers all agree that this Strawberry Lime “Jello” is just plain yummy. We never tire of eating it in my house, and it’s even become our favorite snack to take to the beach- I just nestle the squares into a plastic storage container, and then sandwich the container between two ice packs in the cooler or insulated bag. The cubes hold up really well until we are ready to feast.
INGREDIENTS:
4 heaping cups frozen organic strawberries, thawed *
1/3-1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (use more or less depending on your taste)
1/4 cup grass fed gelatin (I use the Great Lakes brand, the red can)
2 tbsp honey
*feel free to use fresh strawberries if you wish, just be sure to hull them before putting them in the blender
DIRECTIONS
1. Place the strawberries in a large, shallow baking dish, and allow them to defrost either at room temperature, or by placing them in a warm oven until defrosted. Once the berries are soft, puree them in a high speed blender or food processor, along with the lime juice. You should end up with about 3 cups of puree.
2. Pour the pureed fruit back into the shallow baking dish, then sprinkle the gelatin over the top, to allow it to "bloom" for about 10 minutes. This important step softens the gelatin, preventing it from sticking together in hard clumps when it is heated. Once the 10 minutes have passed, stir the pureed fruit and gelatin well to combine.
3. Pour your mixture into a medium saucepan, and heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until the gelatin has completely melted and everything is smooth. You should not have any white, gelatinous clumps.
4. Remove the fruit and gelatin mixture from the heat, and stir in the honey until everything is well incorporated. Do a taste test to see if you would like to add more lime juice or more honey. Remember that the outcome will taste less sweet once it is cold.
5. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 ceramic or Pyrex baking dish, then place the dish in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, until it has set completely.
6. Cut your jello into squares, and enjoy! I like to store my cut jello in a plastic or Pyrex storage container in the fridge, where it will stay fresh for a week, although ours never lasts that long.
Sneaky Veggie & Beef Soup (paleo)
We all know that some kids are better at eating their vegetables than others. Well, If you happen to have a picky eater in your house, then this recipe is for you. Why do I call it Sneaky Veggie and Beef Soup? Because I sneak 3 stalks of celery, one whole red bell pepper, and 3 packed cups of hearty kale leaves in this dish, but all of the vegetables are blended into a purée before cooking, so nobody would ever know! With the fresh, familiar flavors of tangy lime, smokey cumin, and sweet red bell pepper, this sneaky soup sure pleased all three of my guys at dinner last night, and Nikhil (my fussy one) had no clue that he was eating green vegetables.
To make a meal out of it, I served our soup over jasmine rice that I spiced with a quarter teaspoon each of turmeric and cinnamon, and my two year old gobbled up his first serving and quickly went in for seconds. If you can tolerate dairy (lucky you!), I'd bet that a dollop of sour cream would be a divine accompaniment. And if you are eating Paleo or grain free as I am these days, you could enjoy this delicious soup alone, with slices of ripe avocado, or with some roasted squash or sweet potatoes. No matter how you decide to enjoy your Sneaky Soup, I hope you and your family loves it as much as mine!
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound grass fed ground beef*
1/4 cup dried onion or 1/2 cup fresh yellow or white onion, finely diced (I used dried onion because that's all that I had in the house. Be sure it's dried onion flakes, and not onion powder.)
1 large red bell pepper, seeds removed, roughly chopped
3 large stalks celery, roughly chopped
3 packed cups kale leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups chicken broth**
1.5 tbsp ground cumin
1/2-1 tsp sea salt (depends on your preference and how salty your broth is)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* If you don't care for beef, ground turkey would be a great substitute.
**If you use reduced sodium broth, you'll most likely need to add extra salt at the end to achieve the right flavor.
DIRECTIONS:
Pour 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a large soup pot and heat over a medium setting. Add in the dried onion or fresh onion plus your ground beef, and begin to break the beef apart with a wooden spoon. Continue cooking the beef over medium-low heat, crumbling the meat as much as possible, and stirring everything to allow the onions to cook through until at least translucent, if you used fresh onions. If you used dried onions, they will do their thing and turn a little golden brown.
While the beef and onions are cooking, prepare your vegetables: Place the red bell pepper, celery, garlic, and chicken broth in your blender cup, and process until everything is blended into a smooth puree. Add in the kale leaves, and blend again until the kale is pureed (you could try adding all of the veggies on the first try, but kale is pretty bulky so it might not all fit). You'll have a somewhat frothy, watery, strange looking liquid, but don't worry- this will all cook down and turn into a beautiful soup.
Once the beef and onion have cooked through, add the pureed veggies and broth mixture, ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to the pot. Give everything a good stir, and then bring it to a boil. Once you've reached a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and let it cook uncovered for about 20-30 minutes until the liquid has reduced and you're left with a rich, somewhat thick soup. The consistency of the soup will be almost as thick as chili, but definitely "soupier."
Once you've reached a consistency that you're happy with, turn off the heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and fresh lime juice. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy!
Cilantro Lime Chicken (paleo)
I absolutely love the fragrant, tart flavor of limes- especially in the summertime. As you may have noticed in my last post, I have been on a lime kick recently, and I've been using every opportunity possible to incorporate these citrusy gems into my cooking. A few weekends ago, we went on a family hike to a waterfall that is just a few miles from our house. The boys were so tired when we got home that they all took an afternoon nap (Ben included), so I decided to get creative in the kitchen and make a yummy dinner from the stuff that I already had in my fridge. The result was this savory and tangy Cilantro & Lime Chicken, which I served alongside an easy vegetable curry that I made up that afternoon as well (I'll post that recipe soon). It was a hearty and satisfying dinner that is both kid and grown-up friendly. Although the chicken was tasty for dinner that night, it was 100% better the next day for lunch after a couple of leftover breasts had a chance to marinate in the fridge overnight. So, I highly recommend marinating your chicken for at least 8 hours before cooking it, which tenderizes the meat and infuses it with the intense flavors of the lime, cilantro, garlic, and cumin. I promise it'll be worth the wait. One of the best things about this juicy chicken is that it's super versatile. It would be delicious on top of a crunchy romaine salad, inside of a sandwich, with sauteed greens and jasmine rice... feel free to get creative and pair it with some of your family's favorite sides.
INGREDIENTS:
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, excess fat trimmed
MARINADE:
Juice of 2 limes
Zest of 2 limes
5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp sea salt
20 turns of the pepper mill
1 tsp ground cumin
DIRECTIONS:
First, mix all of your marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Place the chicken breasts in a shallow dish, then pour the marinade over the chicken and quickly massage the mixture into the meat to make sure it's evenly coated. Cover the dish and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 8-24 hours.
When you are ready to cook your chicken, remove it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature before cooking (this is one way to help prevent the meat from drying out during the cooking process). In a large, heavy skillet with a lid, heat 3 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture, then place your chicken in the hot skillet, ensuring that the chicken is not too crowded (too much meat in the pan will result in the chicken steaming instead of searing). You may need to cook the chicken in a couple of batches.
Cook each side for 3-4 minutes, allowing a nice crust to form on each side. After you've cooked the second side, reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet, and let it cook for another 3-5 minutes. You want your chicken to be cooked through (no longer pink inside), but still tender and moist. Be careful to not overcook your meat, as it will continue to cook a bit even after you remove it from the heat.
Remove the chicken onto a cutting board and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. You can cover it with foil to keep it warm, if you wish. This step allows all of the juices to reabsorb back into the meat so that you're left with moist, juicy chicken when you cut into it. After it's had a chance to rest, cut your chicken on an angle and against the grain.
Enjoy!
Banana Lime Magic Bars (raw, vegan, paleo-friendly)
Aloha Everyone!
It has been almost 3 months since I last posted. Yikes! We've had a very busy (and beautiful) spring here in Honolulu, but now that it's almost officially summer, it feels like things are starting to slow down a bit. I created this recipe yesterday evening while my littlest one was taking an unexpected nap, and I am super excited to share it with you. Sweetened only with fruit, these tangy freezer bars are the perfect summertime treat for the whole family, and they are so easy to whip up. Ben and I each enjoyed one for dessert last night (they weren't ready until after the boys had gone to bed), and he loved them so much that he called them "magic." I think you'll feel the same!
PREPARE THE CRUST:
1 cup raw cashew meal (I bought mine at Trader Joe's, but you can easily grind raw cashews in your food processor to make your own)
or use 1 1/4 cup raw pecans or walnuts and grind them in the food processor or blender
7 soft Medjool dates, pits removed
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled, plus more to grease the pan
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Drizzle a little bit of coconut oil into a dry, 9x5 inch loaf pan. Spread it around with your fingers, then line the pan with a piece of parchment paper, allowing for extra paper on the sides (you will use the excess to pull the frozen mixture out of the pan). The coconut oil on the pan prevents the parchment from slipping around while you're trying to line the pan. Do your best to press the paper into the corners of the pan, making it as smooth as possible. Don't worry if it looks a little awkward.
Place all of your crust ingredients, including the 2 tbsp virgin coconut oil, into a food processor fitted with an "S" blade, and pulse until the ingredients are all well incorporated and you have a sticky, crumbly looking "dough." If you are making your own cashew meal, first grind the cashews, measure out exactly one cup, then add that back into the food processor with the rest of your ingredients.
Turn the dough out into your lined loaf pan, then use your fingers to press the dough into the bottom of the pan, creating your crust. You want to get the crust as evenly thick as possible. Put the pan into the freezer to allow to the crust to firm up, and get started on your filling.
FOR THE FILLING:
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (I used 2 white apple bananas from my local farmers market, but regular bananas will work just as well).
3-4 tbsp fresh lime juice (you may want to add a bit more if using regular bananas, as apple bananas tend to be more tart)
1 tsp (packed) lime zest
1/2 cup raw coconut butter (I love the Artisana brand)
1 tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled
tiny pinch of fine sea salt
To prepare the filling, first mash the bananas with a fork until you reach a pureed consistency, then measure out 3/4 cup.
Place all ingredients into a bowl and process with a hand immersion blender until smooth. You can also use your regular blender to achieve the same result.
Remove the crust from the freezer. Pour the filling onto your prepared crust, then use a spatula to gently spread it out so that it's evenly distributed over the crust, taking care to avoid thin or thick spots. When you cut your bars after freezing, you want them to have a uniform thickness.
Put the pan into the freezer and let it all set up for at least 3 hours (it may take longer depending on how cold your freezer is). If you are going to leave it to freeze overnight, I suggest covering the pan tightly with plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.
These bars are best served straight from the freezer. When you are ready to indulge, remove the pan from the freezer, let thaw for about 20 minutes then pull up on the sides of the parchment paper to remove your slab of goodness onto a cutting board, keeping the parchment paper intact.
Use a large, sharp knife to slice it into uniformly sized bars. You can make them as big or as small as you'd like. I cut mine into about 2X3 inch rectangles. I think it would also be fun to make them into little 1 inch squares for smaller fingers.
Store your Banana Lime Magic Bars in the freezer in an airtight container, and separate the bars with sheets of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. For the best flavor, allow them to sit at room temp for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
