Decadent Chocolate Bar (Non-SCD Legal)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I successfully introduced cacao after 2 years on SCD. Although cacao isn’t SCD legal, I feel good about eating it because it’s chock-full of antioxidants. Chocolate is really one of the handful of foods I truly missed since starting SCD, so I’m very thankful I can enjoy some now. I love having it after dinner as a treat—I love the slightly bitter and mildly sweet taste of it. The funny thing is that pre-SCD, I was a milk chocolate fan and a dark chocolate hater but since then, I’ve really grown a deep love and appreciation for dark chocolate. Needless to say, milk chocolate has taken the back burner. I won’t eat it because it includes milk and refined sugar, among other things, and I stay away from both of those, even now that I have advanced further into SCD. SCD has taught me the fundamentals of healthy eating, and going back to refined sugar isn’t an option for me. Plus, dark chocolate is so much healthier and better for you, and it doesn’t upset my stomach, which is always a win-win situation in my book.

I do want to mention that I only eat cacao with either nothing added to it or with honey added to it; I want to stick as close as possible to SCD, even though I am eating a non-SCD legal food item. When I first sought to introduce cacao, I was on the hunt for a wholesome product, and that’s when I came across a brand called Honey Mamas. They sell fudge-like chocolate bars made with cocoa powder, which are only sweetened with honey. I was buying them for $5.99 a bar, and the bar is pretty small, though worth it to me for a treat I wasn’t able to have for 2 years. I have a friend who is also on SCD and who recently introduced cacao into her diet, so I told her about Honey Mamas. She told me she had actually been making her own chocolate for weeks! I was amazed because I always thought making chocolate was a complicated process but after she shared her recipe with me, I realized just how easy it truly is. All you do is basically mix a few ingredients together, pour your chocolate mixture into a chocolate mold or on parchment paper, freeze for 20 minutes, and you have chocolate! This is the chocolate mold I used that I bought on Amazon; you get 5 right now for $8.99. Below is her recipe. If you’re on Instagram, be sure to give her a follow at @abundance_of_honeysticks. She shares a ton of incredible SCD legal recipes.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp because I really love vanilla, so feel free to use more)
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1 tbsp nuts, chopped (optional)
• Sea salt flakes (I used this one from Amazon)

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, sprinkle sea salt flakes on chocolate mold (if using a mold), pour in chocolate mold or on parchment paper, freeze for 20 minutes, and enjoy! It’s really that simple.

I made this first bar without any nuts. I also added a few drops of peppermint extract.

For this second bar, I added a few chopped pistachios, shredded unsweetened coconut, and cacao nibs.

Look how beautiful these bars look! They look like something fancy you would buy at the store. Best of all, it’s so much cheaper to make your own chocolate, and you know exactly what’s going in your product, which also means you have the freedom of controlling your ingredients. You can create so many different variations of chocolate bars by using different extracts, spices, nuts, etc. The possibilities are truly endless. The consistency of these bars are fudge-like and decadent, hence, the decadent chocolate bar recipe name. Even though they taste decadent, they are pretty low calorie (provided that you don’t finish the whole bar in one sitting!) at 22 calories per square. You can store them in the fridge but I like storing mine in the freezer.

I hope you make these chocolate bars and enjoy them as much as I have been.

Nutrition facts per serving (serves 24): 22 calories, 1.3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.3 g protein, 2.4 g carbs, 0.7 g fiber, 1.4 g sugar

Banana Date Buttercups

Last year, while my husband and I were watching Shark Tank, I saw an episode for this no sugar added date spread called Wanna Date. The founder of the company, Melissa Bartow, is who initially drew my interest to her product. She was young, spunky, confident, but most importantly, she was SO passionate about her product. To boot, we all know how hard it is to find commercially sold SCD legal products, so seeing that episode gave me a glimmer of hope that her products (minus the chocolate flavor) could truly be SCD legal. I began following Wanna Date on Instagram (@EatWannaDate) and reached out to Melissa to ask if they added anything extra to their products other than what was listed on their labels. I immediately knew she ran her company Instagram page herself when I reached out, told her I had a question, and she casually asked,

“What’s up?!” and proceeded to answer my question by telling me they don’t add any anti-caking “crap” to their products.

I love it when a company is not PC and can just act real, and doesn’t have a team of “experts” running their page. It says so much about a company when the founder is still so involved.

Melissa assured me that they didn’t add any ingredients that aren’t already listed on their labels. I asked if they use any anti-caking agents, like I mentioned above, and she confirmed that they do not. Their products have no added sugar or sugar syrups; they use ground vanilla bean for their vanilla flavor, and the dates they use are Deglet Noor, which haven’t been packed in sugar. She told me she’s just as sensitive as I am to processed foods and hidden ingredients, and that she eats Whole30 style, which was very reassuring. Those who care so much about what is going insides their bodies very likely have integrity and care just as much about what goes inside the bodies of others.

For the purposes of something being SCD legal, you do have to get this type of confirmation on company letterhead via a hardcopy letter, so I do want to put that disclaimer out there. I did not send a hardcopy letter to Melissa but rather, I sent an email and followed-up via Instagram. Personally, I have been on SCD for more than 2 years and feel comfortable with virtual confirmations of SCD legality of a product but each person has to do what they feel most comfortable with. So, please, proceed at your own discretion. I have ordered Wanna Date twice now and really love having something readily available for me to healthily snack on, since anyone on SCD knows that we pretty much have to cook 100% of our own meals.

The Wanna Date date spreads come in the following flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Original, Pumpkin Spice, and Vanilla. As mentioned, only the chocolate flavor would not be SCD legal since chocolate isn’t allowed on SCD. However, after 2+ years on SCD and according to what’s allowed in the BTVC book, I have successfully introduced chocolate/cacao and have done well with it. I have tried all the Wanna Date date spread flavors and although it’s tough to pick an absolute favorite, I would probably say my #1 favorite is chocolate (it tastes like pudding to me! So good!), with a close tie between vanilla and cinnamon next. But all the flavors are amazing and have their own uniqueness to them. In addition, each flavor only has 25 calories a tbsp, is vegan, oil free, Paleo, has no added sugars, and is cholesterol free. I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot with these yummy date spreads! You really can’t find a more wholesome and nutrient-dense product.

If you follow Wanna Date on Instagram, you’ll see that Melissa always posts fun recipes to make with her date spreads (things I would have never thought of!), so I decided to try the banana date buttercups she posted. She didn’t provide exact measurements, so I played around with it myself and came up with this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 24 tbsp Wanna Date date spread (use the flavor or flavors of your choice but no chocolate if you want to keep it SCD legal)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

Preparation:

Fill each cupcake liner or silicon cupcake mold with 2 tbsp of date spread. Freeze for an hour or until firm.

Blend the bananas and coconut milk until smooth.

Pour the blended bananas mixture on top of the frozen date spread (about 1.5 tbsp in each silicon cupcake mold)

Freeze for several hours or until hardened completely and enjoy!

This is such a healthy treat to eat that is relatively low calorie, too, which is a win-win in my book. I love eating one between meals to hold me over or after a meal for dessert when I want to satisfy my sweet tooth without overindulging.

Nutrition facts per serving (serves 12): 75 calories, 0.6 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 0.2 g protein, 19 g carbs, 2.5 g fiber, 12.6 g sugar

Spoodles: Sweet Potato “Noodles”

A few years ago, I heard about the phenomenon of spiralizing vegetables to create noodle shapes. When I saw pictures of the spiralized creations, I was puzzled as to how they got to be in that shape. That’s when I found out there are actual devices that spiralize the vegetables to create the effect of spaghetti, and decided to buy this spiralizer from Amazon. You can spiralize zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots — the possibilities are endless!  The price is relatively inexpensive for the creative, fun dishes you can create.

Today’s recipe is sweet potato noodles (or “spoodles,” as I like to call them), sauteed in coconut oil, sprinkled with salt, cinnamon, and coconut sugar, and melted in a dab of butter.  I added some chopped chicken breast on top, which added a nice sweet/savory combination of flavors.

Ingredients:

• 2 small sweet potatoes, spiralized
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 tablespoon coconut sugar
• A dash of cinnamon
• A dab of butter

Preparation:

In a large nonstick pan, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add the spoodles to the pan.

Cook them in coconut oil for 10 minutes or until the spoodles turn very soft. Add salt, cinnamon, coconut sugar, and butter. Toss to coat. Remove from heat.

You can eat the spoodles alone or you can add chopped chicken on top like I did.

I really enjoyed this dish, and hope you do, too!

Coconut Flour Breaded Shrimp

Coconut shrimp is sinfully delicious. I can just picture the golden brown coconut exterior that’s been fried to perfection and the crunching sound it makes as you bite into it. It was this craving that came to mind one day that made me want to adapt a gluten-free version of it. The recipe I came up with is so easy but so good at the same time. With minimal ingredients, it’s my go-to meal when I’m in the mood for a lazy dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional, I’ve left this out before and it tasted just as great)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 24 small shrimp; thawed, raw, tail-on, and deveined
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for frying

Preparation:

Heat a nonstick pan over medium high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

While you wait for the pan to get hot, mix the coconut flour, shredded coconut, pepper, and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs.

Dip the shrimp in the eggs and then, press firmly in the dry coconut mixture, making sure to coat each shrimp completely.

Drop the shrimp into the hot pan and fry for about two minutes on each side or until golden brown. Let the shrimp cool on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil. You can enjoy the shrimp as is or drizzle with some honey for extra flavor.

Deliciously Crispy Paleo Waffles

I admit that my waffle maker, until recently, had been quietly stashed away into a dark corner in one of my cupboards. I like waffles and have experimented with some recipes but none of them gave me that classic crispiness that traditional gluten waffles are known for. Luckily, I recently ran across Ashley’s 3 Ingredient Crispy Waffles recipe on her blog and decided to give it a go. I figured I didn’t have much to lose with a recipe that requires only three ingredients.

I didn’t have any full-fat coconut milk, so I used the light coconut milk I had on hand and prayed for the best as my waffle sizzled away in the waffle maker. Needless to say, my heart was quickly won over by these waffles! The tapioca flour made the waffles crispy but also gave them this incredible elasticity that made them chewy at the same time. The waffles were also subtly sweet from the coconut milk with a hint of a nutty undertone from the almond flour. They were so good that I had them two days in a row and plan to make more this weekend.

I topped mine with melted butter, a dash of cinnamon, chopped pecans, bananas, and maple syrup! Be sure to head over to Ashley’s blog for this brilliant recipe.

Savory Beef & Vegetable Stir Fry

Valentine’s Day today was perfect. I feel like when you’re with the one you love, every day should be a day where you express your love and appreciation for one another. Sure, getting flowers, chocolates, and gifts are always nice, but now that I’m married, I find that every day is Valentine’s Day, and that I don’t necessarily need material things to make me happy. What makes me happy these days is my family and knowing that at the end of a long day, I can come home to the ones I love and count on them to cheer me up, no matter what may have gone awry. So, for Valentine’s Day today, my husband and I didn’t have anything extravagant or lavish planned. We randomly decided to have a fun day out, a family day so to speak, with each other and our son. We woke up together, shared a delicious breakfast, and decided to take our son to the park since the sun was shinning brightly in the bright blue California sky and the temperature was a perfect 70 degrees.

Afterward, we grabbed a bite to eat, did some shopping since the President’s Day sales were so enticing, and came home to unwind. We were hungry by then, as lunch had worn off, and wanted to make something relatively simple. I looked in the fridge and saw we had the basics: beef for stir fry and a load of different vegetables that needed to be used before they spoiled. They say the more color you add to your diet, the better it is for your health and your waistline, so I was excited that we had so many vegetables that I could use. Tonight’s dish was a winner; the ingredients meshed beautifully together to create a savory stir fry that was packed full of flavor. The end result was a beautiful and colorful dinner that my husband couldn’t stop raving about and one that my son loved, too.

One thing I want to mention is that I didn’t measure how much olive oil I used. As a rule of thumb for this dish, use olive oil liberally any time the pan gets dry and you need a little more moisture to nicely sauté the vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef for stir fry (it should already come thinly sliced)
• 2 small red onions, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups mini bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Chop all your vegetables and set aside. Look how gorgeous all the bright colors look next to each other!

Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a nonstick pan and cook beef over medium heat until browned.

Once browned, drain the fat in a bowl to discard later. Add a few splashes of olive oil, and season the beef with salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika; stir.

Add the onions and cook for a few minutes.

Continue cooking the onions. Add the bell peppers. Feel free to add more olive oil, if needed.

Add the garlic and mushrooms.

Continue cooking until the onions get nice and soft and the bell peppers become tender.

Add the green onions.

Cook the green onions until they are slightly soft, but not mushy, and still a little crunchy. Then, add the cilantro.

Mix all the ingredients around to combine and remove from heat.

Here’s the finished product!

Nights like tonight, when I’m in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by my loved ones, I’m reminded that you don’t need to go overboard on these commercialized holidays in order to feel the true essence of what the holiday should really be about. Yes, it’s nice to dress up, go out, and eat at a fancy restaurant, but equally so, a night in to celebrate can be just as lovely, if not lovelier, when you’re in your home with your loved ones and don’t have to worry about overpriced menus, hidden ingredients, long waiting times, and crowds.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Paleo Cinnamon Cookies

Let’s talk snickerdoodles. They’re soft, they’re chewy, they’re sweet, they have cinnamon all over them, and like all other cookies, they taste great with a cold glass of milk to wash them down with. When you’re on a gluten-free or strictly Paleo diet, more often than not you crave a good cookie. When I came across this pin on Pinterest for Paleo Cinnamon Cookies and saw that the cookies not only looked easy to make but needed minimal ingredients (all of which I had in my pantry), I was thrilled. The only alteration I made was using almond flour, instead of almond meal. Using almond meal gave the cookies a more grainy, undesirable texture and taste for me.

I love that the recipe calls for coconut oil, instead of butter, as I found using coconut oil gave these cookies a richer and moister taste. Be prepared to make a few batches of these babies because I assure you, they will be gone fast.  Like most other Paleo treats I make, these don’t last very long in our home. I highly recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe to have extra batches on hand.

Succulent Pressure Cooked Lamb

Shortly after our son was born, we decided it might not be a bad idea to invest in either a slow cooker or pressure cooker. After watching an infomercial for a pressure cooker on TV, we were sold. We bought one from Target and the particular one we got definitely gives you the most bang for your buck because it’s both a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, all in one. Each time we’ve used it, it’s cooked meat (and our meals, as a whole) to perfection. When we recently got some lamb, I knew that the pressure cooker would, once again, come to my rescue. I love using it because it’s pretty much foolproof and cuts down your cooking time significantly. You just throw everything inside and let it work its magic.

With it I made lamb, which had been stuffed with cloves of fresh garlic, and then, generously seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. It stewed in broth, along with onions, golden potatoes, and sweet potatoes. The lamb was so tender and juicy that it fell apart at the touch of our forks.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lamb, boneless, cut lengthwise into 2 inch pieces
• 10 cloves garlic, cut into thirds
• 4 golden potatoes, quartered
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 4 inch pieces
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1/4 cups of chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
• 4 tablespoons dried rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Wash, rinse, and pat the lamb dry. With a sharp knife, cut small slits into the sliced pieces of lamb, and insert a few pieces of garlic in each.

Season each side of the lamb generously with salt, pepper, and rosemary.

Turn on your pressure cooker and pour the oil inside the inner pot. Place your lamb inside and sear the meat until it is lightly browned on all sides.

Remove the lamb and set aside in a bowl.

Place the onions and potatoes inside the same pot and cook for a few minutes.

Add the tomato paste and broth. Put the lamb back in the pot.

Place the lid on the pressure cooker and program to cook for 30 minutes. Once done, turn the valve of the pressure cooker to release the steam. When the steam is completely released, remove the lid.

Now, get ready to breathe in the delicious aroma of lamb that looks like it’s been braising all day in a slow cooker.

Transfer to a Pyrex or baking dish to serve.

You can eat the lamb and vegetables on their own or serve with white rice or cauliflower rice.

I wasn’t kidding when I said the meat was literally falling apart.

Perfection in as little as 30 minutes! You can easily fool everyone into thinking you slaved over this meal all day in the kitchen.

Bon appétit!

Stuffed Butternut Squash with Balsamic Reduction

I recently came across a stuffed butternut squash recipe that I tried out for dinner.  The end result was a beautiful and satisfying dish! I made some minor modifications to it:

• I used turkey bacon, instead of regular bacon
• I ditched the celery and added baby bell peppers, instead
• I used the balsamic vinegar to make a balsamic reduction

Here’s my version of the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, halved
• 1 pound organic, grass fed lean ground beef
• 6 slices of turkey bacon
• 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
• 6 baby bell peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• A few dashes of pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Cut your butternut squash in half and scrape the seeds out.

Place your squash face down in a Pyrex that’s filled with 1/2 inch of hot water.

Put in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick pan, cook your ground beef until browned. Add the olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent, then, add the bell peppers and continue cooking. Add the salt, pepper, cinnamon, and stir.

Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

Cook the turkey bacon until crispy, remove from heat, and once cooled, crumble and add it to the bowl.

Remove your squash from the oven and wait for it to cool. Then, scrap out the insides, leaving 1/4 inch of squash, and add the scooped out squash to the bowl, mixing all the ingredients. Stuff your squash with the beef mixture and place back in a 350 degree heated oven (without the water) for 20 minutes.

In a small pot, add the balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and then, reduce to low heat. Keep stirring, for about 15-20 minutes, until the liquid reduces and thickens.

Remove from heat.

Take the squash out from the oven and drizzle the balsamic reduction on top.

Cinnamon Bun Muffins

The aroma of gooey cinnamon rolls baking in the oven is probably one of the most heavenly scents ever. During my teenage years, I worked at a department store and remember the sweet, overpowering smell of them baking at the Cinnabon that was all the way on the other side of the mall. Back then, I didn’t have a metabolism to worry about, so, I indulged in them whenever the craving hit me. Now that I’m older, though, and don’t have quite as quick of a metabolism, I’ve realized that while cinnamon rolls are, in fact, still amazing, that their accompanying calories are not.

Needless to say, when I came arose Elana Amsterdam’s recipe for Cinnamon Bun Muffins, I was ecstatic, especially since she used basic ingredients that I had laying around in my pantry.

Here are how mine turned out. Aren’t they lovely?!

One batch of these was gone in just a day, which didn’t stop the inner fat kid in me from making subsequent batches. I love that they’re in muffin form, too, which makes them portable and easy to grab in the mornings when you’re on the go.

Head on over to her page for the recipe (in case you resisted the urge earlier and haven’t already)! And, don’t say I didn’t warn you about how incredible these taste. They will be sure to become a favorite in your home and win your tastebuds over.