Skinny Coconut Crusted Chicken Tenders

September 17, 2014 Amanda Plott

It's been a long looong few days. As some of you may know, I wasn't around this Monday (as I usually am) since I was out of town visiting my grandfather in the hospital. Long story short, he went in with pneumonia... and incidentally they found a bleeding ulcer, three clogged arteries and stage four small cell liver cancer. He isn't in very good shape right now, but we're all being strong for him and each other as we go through this difficult time as a family. First thing is first, chemotherapy will be starting in the next few days and he's extremely determined to beat this!

So, I apologize if this is all a bit scattered and disorganized today. My mind is just elsewhere...

Anyway - on to the beautiful, colorful, brightness of this tasty tropical inspired dish!...

Chickpea & Quinoa Cakes

September 12, 2014 Amanda Plott

So, I'm not really a huge fan of seafood. Okay... and by that... I mean I absolutely cannot and will not eat any sort of seafood. I've been that way for my entire life, even after living on the Oregon coast for 5 years! It has nothing to do with taste or texture, because honestly... I've had very few tastes of seafood. It is completely a mental block.

My mom says that if I would just try seafood, I would love it. Hah. Good luck getting me to try any! With all of that being said, I can't help but day dream and wonder when I see a beautiful fresh seafood dish. One thing I think I would enjoy is a crab cake.

So, this is basically my vegetarian... vegan... paleo take on a crab cake!

Cauliflower & Hominy Smash

September 10, 2014 Amanda Plott

This cauliflower hominy smash is a perfect lower carb substitution for potatoes. In fact, I would say that I enjoy this smash just as much as mashed potatoes, if not more. The texture of the two vegetables, along with the milk and a touch of butter leave this side dish tasting very close to a cheesy smashed potato with hardly any of the guilt!

Not that potatoes are a bad thing at all. They have their place in my heart too.

You get a nice heaping half cup of this smash for only about 72 calories and 13 grams carbs, and trust me... you won't miss their potato counter part at all. What's even better is that they are gluten free and clean!...

Skinny Spinach & Basil Pesto

September 8, 2014 Amanda Plott

My basil plant is suddenly going a little crazy. Of course it is at the very end of summer. One of my favorite things to do with my fresh basil is to make pesto! I think that I've loved pesto most of my life. The first time I ever had it was atop a pizza, and I was hooked from then on.

Pesto is an amazing blend of fresh greens, cheese, pine nuts and olive oil. It's usually a pretty fattening thing! I like to cut mine down by using a lot less oil and pine nuts. Plus, adding spinach gives an extra little boots to protein and vitamins. At least I don't feel as guilty with eating it with all of my justifications, right?

Right!...

Skinny Honey Mustard Salad Dressing

September 5, 2014 Amanda Plott

I've been doing my best to eat less and less gluten lately. Not for any particular dietary reason other than general health and well being. So, when I planned on making my own honey mustard dressing this week, I was more than surprised to come to realize that almost all dijon or stone ground mustards have gluten in them.

It's mustard! Isn't it just ground up mustard seeds? You would think so! But, apparently not.

The only brown mustard I found that was gluten free was 'French's Spicy Brown', though I'm sure there has to be others out there as well. I just didn't happen to venture down the gluten free isle. Spicy brown would work perfectly for what I wanted it for.

Something it be aware of if you're wanting to actually make this dressing 'gluten free'...

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

September 3, 2014 Amanda Plott

We love pickles in this house.

My little girl alone goes through about a jar every week or two this summer. She's especially fond of pickled carrots as I've found out recently. And have you seen the price for pickles? Holy moly! If you're wanting a good pickle, you're going to be paying $3-4 bucks a jar. Eep!

The past few weeks I've been playing around with a grocery service that delivers organic and local produce straight from nearby farms to your home. I've been getting the 'local box' which comes with a variety of that weeks 'special' produce, fruits and herbs. It's been fun and very interesting. I get to work with a lot of new-to-me ingredients that you normally wouldn't find at the grocery store either; such as sweet potato greens, hon tsai tai, and cucamelons.

Well, I was supposed to get cucamelons, but unfortunately they were swapped for something else after I had planned on pickling them. Bummer. Oh well! I did still get some fresh organic dill in my delivery so I decided I'd just pickle some cucumbers and carrots instead!...