Avocado Bacon Sammies

Not having bread in my life was a struggle during the WLC - I love sandwiches!!!!! But I realized you don't need bread to enjoy a sandwich! Recently I've been eating a lot of zucchini sammies...you could probably figure out how to make them just by looking at the picture, but I'll give you brief instructions anyway.

What you  need...

• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil 


• 1 zucchini, sliced


• 1/2 and avocado


• 2 slices of bacon

How to make them....

Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Sautée your zucchini until tender. Placed a bite of bacon and a mini slice of avocado in between. Use a toothpick to hold them together. Annnndd then eat those little guys!

{Photo courtesy of @kick_ass_girl_va}

I've also made these sammies with cucumbers or sauteed mushrooms instead of zucchini - both are really good as well. K, byeeee.

Bacon Avocado Burger

This isn't really a recipe, but more of a quick and easy dinner idea that I thought I'd share. This one is actually brought to you by Sara...

Last night I had no idea what to eat because my mom made tuna noodle casserole...FACK, can't have that. I had a ton of avocados (a result of my frist Costco adventure this past weekend), so I knew I wanted to use one of those. I ended up mashing up an avocado and added lime juice, cilantro, and cayenne pepper. Then I cooked a hamburger patty really quickly on the stove and topped it with whole blob of avocado mixture. I also cut up tomatoes and added them on top. It was DELICIOUS. Definitely an easy yummy dinner.

...Sara emailed me this dinner idea and I thought it sounded so good I made it that same day. OF COURSE I added bacon.



Next time you need a quick and easy dinner, you should give this a try! K, byeeee!

Trail Mix

Who doesn't love a good trail mix?

What you need...

• 1/3 cup cashews


• 1/3 cup almonds


• 1/3 cup walnuts


• 1/3 cup dried bananas


• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes


• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

How to make it...

Pretty simple, put all the ingredients in one container and mix! I like to portion out 1/3 cup of the mix into snack bags so you can have a snack ready to go when you need it!



Obviously this recipe is easy to adapt, so add your favorite nuts or dried fruit! K, byeeee.

Bacon Avocado Deviled Eggs

I have been craving deviled eggs for a while, but I'm way too lazy to make paleo mayo (even if it is easy - I don't like mayo enough to put in the effort). I saw a pin the other day for avocado deviled eggs and realized I could just as easily make them without mayo! So I did, and they were great! (Of course I added bacon.)

What you need...

• 8 hard-boiled eggs (why 8? that's all I had and it ended up working great)


• 1 avocado


• juice of half a lemon


• 1/4 tsp dried mustard


• 3 strips bacon, cooked crispy and diced


• salt and pepper, to taste


• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)


• paprika (optional)

How to make them...

Peel off egg shells and cut eggs in half. Carefully scoop out yolks. In a bowl (or food processor if you like - I just did it by hand and it wasn't difficult), combine yolks, avocado, lemon juice, mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Once everything is blended, mix in the bacon. Transfer to a ziplock bag and cut one of the corners. Squeeze mixture into the egg halvs. Top deviled eggs with paprika, more bacon, or any spice of your choice! Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.



K, byeeee.

Almond Pulp Hummus

After I made my first batch of Almond Milk I was left with a lot of perfectly good almond pulp and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I turned to the interweb for some inspiration and found a lot of really good ideas. I decided to turn it into hummus and it turned out really well!

What you need...

• 1 1/4 cup almond pulp (all the leftovers from the almond milk)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• juice of 1 lemon


• 2 cloves garlic, pealed


• 3 tablespoons almond butter


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


• 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder


• 6-8 drops of hot sauce (optional - I used Franks)


• pepper to taste

How to make it...

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If its not creamy enough, add more water or oil and blend. Repeat until you reach the desired consistency.



I garnished mine with some chili pepper flakes and paprika.



I served the hummus with celery, carrots, and cucumber slices. The hummus was so good, I couldn't even tell it wasn't made with chickpeas! K, byeeeeee.

Almond Milk

I had never tried almond milk, but I decided it was time to change that. Before attempting to make it, I did a some reading and learned that you need to have cheese cloth or a nut milk bag (haha) to strain the milk after blending. I went ahead and ordered a nut milk bag because cheese cloth seemed like it would be too much effort/I would end up making a mess. The bag worked great, I definitely recommend getting one!

What you need....

• 1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water overnight


• 3.5 cups water


• 2 pitted dates, or to taste


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

How to make it....

Place almonds in a bowl and cover with water. Soak them overnight (for 8-12 hours).

Rinse and drain the almonds and place into a blender along with water, dates, and vanilla extract.

Blend on high until smooth (1-2 mins depending on how awesome or terrible your blender is).



Hold the nut milk bag over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag. [At first I tried using a mason jar...there wasn't enough room to pour all the milk, go with a bowl.] Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk. It took me a few minutes to get all the milk out.

Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Add the cinnamon and blend on low for a few seconds to combine. Pour into a jar to store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. Shake jar very well before using as the mixture separates when sitting.



I immediately brewed some coffee and had some almond milk with my coffee, YUM!

K, byeeeee.

Fried Bananas

I really wanted to make fried plantains (even tho I have no idea if I even like plantains?), but they didn't have any at the grocery store, so I decided to try using regular bananas. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I gave it a try and I was pleasantly surprised.

What you need....

• 1 ripe banana, sliced


• coconut or olive oil


• cinnamon


• honey (optional)

Cover the bottom of a skillet in oil.  Heat on medium low heat until the oil begins to sizzle a little. Then add the bananas.  Fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side. Once the bananas are looking golden, remove them from the pan and place them on a plate.  Lightly sprinkle with cinnamon.

I can't have any sugar during the WLC, but I think drizzling the slices with honey would be really good! Go ahead try it for me and let me know how awesome it is. K, byeeeee.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was walking around the grocery store yesterday trying to decide what I was going to have for dinner. I ended up grabbing portobello mushrooms thinking I could try and make a WLC-compliant version of stuffed mushrooms. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but holy crap, the result was magical. I was cooking for one, so this recipe only serves one. Double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe as needed!

What you need...

• 1 portobello mushrooms


• premium pork or turkey sausage roll (I cut off a 1 inch piece, equivalent to approximately two sausage patties.)


• a big handful of spinach


• 1 egg


• 2 tsp flour (I used coconut flour)


• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce


• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

How to make it...

Preheat the oven for 400 degrees. Clean the mushroom with a damp cloth, remove the stem, and  spoon out the gills. Spray both sides of the mushroom with olive oil (I suggest you invest in one of these). Place on a baking sheet gill side down and bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven, flip the mushroom so gill side is up, and set aside.



While the mushroom is baking, brown the sausage in large skillet over medium heat. Once the sausage is cooked all the way through (no more pink), drain the grease and remove from heat. While the skillet is still hot, throw in a handful of spinach and toss it around - it will wilt quickly. Pour the sausage/spinach into a bowl and mix in the red pepper flakes, egg, and flour.



Top the mushroom with all of the sausage mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 10 mins.


Once the mushroom is done baking, turn the oven to broil and leave it in for 5 mins or until browned (just keep an eye on it...no one wants to burn this yumminess).



Top with tomato sauce and DESTROY THAT SHROOM.



Oh my lord it was so good. Try it, you won't be sorry. K, byeeeee.

Salmon In A Bag

Salmon is delicious AND good for you. Don’t be fooled into thinking you have to waste your money at an expensive restaurant (or even worse, a horrible cheap one) to enjoy a good salmon dish. Cook your fish in a bag! It’s as easy as it sounds.

What you need...

• 1 salmon filet 


• 1 tablespoon of butter


• 1 lemon, sliced


• salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it....

Stack your lemon slices, salmon, butter, salt and pepper on tin foil and wrap it up tightly. If you want to get really fancy, slice-up some vegetables and throw them on top before sealing the bag.



After a quick bake in the oven (325 degrees for 35 mins) you will have restaurant quality dish worth posting on instagram. Good ol' fish in a bag. DO IT. K, byeeee.

Spicy Avocado Lime Dressing

This dressing is amazing. I made it yesterday and have used it for every dish since then, including:

• a salad with chicken


• as a dip for carrots, green peppers, and cucumbers


• as sauce on a burger


• for breakfast on top of a bed of spinach with 1 fried egg and bacon, YUM!

Basically, its awesome on everything.

What you need...

• 2 ripe avocados


• 1 jalapeno pepper, stem removed (or not if you want the extra heat)


• 2 cloves garlic, peeled


• large handful fresh cilantro (literally just grab a handful)


• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt


• 1/2 cup water


• 1/4 cup lime juice

How to make it...

Put all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth! If you aren't happy with the consistency, add another 1/4 cup water.



Then PUT IT ON EVERYTHING because its that good.



K, byeeee!

Quick Cucumber Snack

This is another one of those instances where I'm cheating by calling this a recipe, but whooooo cares?!

What you  need...

• 1 cucumber, sliced


• 1 tbsp lemon juice


• 1 tbsp olive oil


• a sprinkle of chile powder


• salt and pepper to taste

How to make it...

To be 100% honest, I made up those measurements. I'm just trying to make this look like a legit recipe......it's not.

Just cut up the cucumber and sprinkle all of the ingredients on top until you're satisfied with the taste. Sometimes I skip the lemon juice and use red wine vinegar instead. Sometimes I just use vinegar! Regardless of how you make it, this is a great snack! I like to make it ahead of time so the juices [whatever they might be] have time to soak into the cucumber, yum!



How do you like your cucumber? I'd love to know! K, byeeee.

Coconut Cream Pie

Larabars are the shit. Every single flavor is more delicious than the next. Why has it taken so long for someone to figure out that squishing these natural ingredients together would create such tasty treats?! More importantly, why wasn't that person me? I could be making bank selling Mallobars at $1.80 a piece! Which brings me to my next point, they're not cheap! However, because there are so few ingredients, I figured they couldn't be that hard to make! Annnddd I was right! I started with my current favorite flavor, Coconut Cream Pie, and after some trial and error I found the perfect balance of the ingredients! This recipe makes four larabars mallobars.

What you need...

• 1/2 cup raw almonds


• 1/2 cup unsweetened organic coconut flakes


• 8 large dates, pitted


• 1 teaspoon extra virgin coconut oil

How to make them....

Put all of the ingredients in a food processer and blend well. It should looks something like this:



Dump the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form a rectangle, and place it in the fridge for about 10 mins and allow it to harden. Remove it from the fridge and cut it into four bars (I used a pizza cutter). Wrap them individually with plastic wrap to avoid eating them all in one sitting :)



I should also mention that the real coconut cream pie larabars contain cashews. I didn't have any cashews and these taste awesome, so I'm going to say they're not necessary!

So which would you prefer, store bought larabars @ $1.80 or homemade mallobars @ $0.60/bar?! Seems like a no-brainer to me! K, byeeeeee.

 

Brussels Sprouts

I hardly ever ate bacon before the WLC started. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BACON, avoiding it just seemed like a necessary evil in order to fit into my jeans. However, since the WLC started, my basic food groups are fruits, veggies, and bacon. We all know bacon makes everything better. It’s true. Yes, even chocolate. I’m crazy like that.

Anyway this post isn't actually about bacon, its about brussels sprouts - haha! I had never cooked brussels sprouts before. My immediate reaction to them is yuck, they smell bad. But during the WLC I've been branching out a lot and trying new things, so why not try making brussels sprouts?! After some careful research on the interweb, I found that roasting or sautéing them is the way to go. Adding bacon, well that was just a given.

What you need...

• 1 pound brussels sprouts - trimmed and halved


• salt and pepper to taste


• 6 slices bacon (0r an entire package, whatever works)


• 3 cloves of garlic - minced or sliced thinly, your choice

How to make it...

1. Peel off any bad leaves from the brussels sprouts and cut them in half lengthwise.


2. Heat a pan over medium heat, add bacon (I cut my bacon up in to small pieces), and cook  for 1 minute.


3. Add the brussels sprouts and fry until they start to brown around the edges.


4. Add garlic slices and fry 1 minute until softened.


5. Drain brussels sprouts to remove excess oil and serve immediately.

Pretty easy right? Personally, I still think brussels sporuts smell like feet. My apartment smelled for a solid two days after I made these, BUT they're quite tasty...so I guess it's worth it? I'll let you all decide for yourseleves. K, byeeeee.

Spaghetti [Squash] & Meat Sauce

Before I started the WLC pasta was a staple in my diet. About two weeks into the challenge I was dying for some spaghetti! I had never had spaghetti squash before, so there was no better time for me to give it a try. It was so easy to make, and I didn't even miss having real pasta in the dish. The sauce I threw together was amazing, and super easy to make.

What you need...

• 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed


• 1lb grass-fed ground beef OR turkey OR italian sausage


• 1 (14oz) can tomato sauce


• 1 tablespoon dried parsley


• 1 tablespoon dried basil


• 1 tablespoon dried thyme


• salt and pepper, to taste

How to make it...

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, use a spoon to remove the seeds and excess threads. Place spaghetti squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.



While the squash cooks you can make the sauce! Add the meat of your choice (I didn't have any ground beef or turkey so I used spicy Italian sausage and I loved it!!) to a medium skillet and cook until browned. Drain the meat to get rid of the grease, and add parsley, basil, and thyme and a bit of salt and pepper.



Then add your can of tomato sauce and mix well!



After 30 mins, remove your spaghetti squash from oven and use a fork to dethread the squash.



Top it with the meat sauce and enjoy!



I was surprised how much 'spaghetti' the squash made, I ate left overs for days. It's super easy to make, it tastes awesome, and you get to enjoy it for several meals...what could be better?!! Nothing. K, byeeee.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

I won't lie, so far the WLC has been prettyyyyy easy - I work from home, so I always have my entire kitchen at my fingertips; I haven't gone out at all, which means I haven't had to face any temptation to drink; and let's be serious, it hasn't even been a full week - but tomorrow this will all change! I am heading to Florida for four and half days with my best friend Meredith.



Meredith and I will be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday. After the race...and probably after a shower and a nap...we plan on celebrating. I have already planned for Sunday to be one of my cheat days during the challenge (the other? St. Patrick's Day, of course :)), but every other day I'm there is going to be so...challenging (ha, guess that's the point though, right?!). I will be faced with every temptation in the book!! So, here's to hoping I have enough willpower to make it through!!

Before I leave I wanted to share my recipe for prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. It is so simple I probably shouldn't call it a recipe...but I'm going to! It is great for breakfast, as an appetizer, or side dish. It fits in perfectly with paleo eating...and they're freaking delicious, so you should try them regardless!

What you need....

• 12 slices prosciutto (only ingredients should be pork and salt)


• 1 bunch of fresh asparagus


• olive or coconut oil for frying

How to make them....

Wash and dry the asparagus spears and cut off the tough end. Cut the prosciutto in threes, lengthwise. Start at the bottom of the spear and wrap the prosciutto around the asparagus until you get to the top – it does not have to be completely covered. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the asparagus on medium-high for about 3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.



Like I said, SUPER EASY and amazingly delicious. K, byeeee.

Sautéed Greens with Pine Nuts & Rasins

As I mentioned before, my friend Sara and I are participating in the WLC together. She is actually the person who introduced me to the idea and, three days prior to the challenge, I made the hasty decision to join her...silly me. ANYWAY, I'll turn it over to Sara now.....

It was day two of Whole Life Challenge and I needed to find a paleo-friendly side dish to go with london broil. My kale was about to go bad, so I knew I wanted to use it, but I also wanted something more exciting than just sauteing it with garlic. After spotting some leftover pine nuts in my fridge, I turned to google to for inspiration and came up with this recipe - sautéed kale and spinach with pine nuts and rasins. It is easy to make and the raisins are amazing in this dish!

Ingredients:

2 tbps olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
bunch of kale
1 cup spinach
3 tbps pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins

Directions:

Step 1: Heat a large saute pan to medium-high heat and add the pine nuts. Toast them until they are fragrant and begin to brown, but make sure to pay attention as pine nuts burn easily. Stir the nuts frequently. Once they are toasted, remove from pan and set aside.

Step 2: Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds; the pan should already be hot, so it won't take long for the garlic to begin to brown. Add the spinach and kale and saute until the greens begin to wilt. Once they do, add the pine nuts back in, along with the raisins. Stir for about another minute or so and then remove from heat.

For those of you that haven't jumped on the kale train - you are missing out! Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat and it comes with a ton of benefits. Just to name a few, kale aids in detoxification and weight loss, strengthens your immune system, gives you healthier hair, skin and nails and is an anti-inflammatory. Plus, it is a winter green so now is the time to get it!

.....I actually have not jumped on the kale train with Sara, but seeing how this dish looks super easy AND delicious, count me in. I will be buying kale the next time I'm at the store...and you should, too! K, byeeee.

Bacon & Avacado Dip

I woke up on day one of the WLC with only a handful of cuties in my apartment to eat. In the days leading up to the challenge I was so busy eating all the things I couldn't have for the next eight weeks, that I had neglected to plan a single meal. So, while trying not to eat my computer, I planned a week worth of meals and heading to the grocery store. Once I got home from the store with all this fresh, delicious, healthy food...of course, I was in no mood to cook a meal. Grouchy and starving, I settled on making Bacon & Avocado dip. Not only was it quick and easy, but it was delicious and super filling!

What you need....

• 1 ripe avocado


• 4 slices bacon


• quarter of a lime, juiced


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 tsp chives, very finely sliced


• sea salt and black pepper to taste


• optional: 1 tbs sour cream

How to make it....

Cook the the bacon until browned and crispy. Let it cool then cut/chop it into small pieces.



Mash the avocado until its smooth (or at least as smooth as you can get it) and stir in lime juice.

If you feel like  making your dip pretty, set aside some of the chives and bacon for topping, then stir in bacon, garlic, and chives.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with remaining bacon and chives. Chill dip for an hour...OR, if you're like me and you're starving, serve immediately (although I think it is slightly better cold)!

  For clean eating, serve with your favorite vegetable (celery, carrots, cucumbers...the possibilities are endless)!

If clean eating isn't something you're concerned about, stir in a tablespoon of sour cream to make it creamery and serve with chips! K, byeeee.