Author Archives: Karolina

recipe, vegetables

Zucchini Noodles

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Check out my favorite new kitchen tool, the Spiralizer!

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This gadget set me back $34.99 on amazon.com, but it’s well worth it for the sweet potato curly fries and zucchini noodles I can make with it!

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Ingredients:
2 zucchini or summer squash, julienne’d or spiralized
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Sprinkle the zucchini spirals or shreds with salt and toss to coat evenly. Allow to rest in a colander for 15-20 mins to get excess moisture out. Soak up the moisture with paper towels and squeeze gently.

2. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic briefly. Add the zucchini shreds and sauté for about 2 minutes.

3. Serve with your favorite sauce or sprinkle with toasted almond meal!

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I brought these to a potluck at work today and am happy to say they reheat well!

recipe, treats

Paleo Shortbread Cookies

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Coconut flour is my latest culinary obsession and challenge. I failed miserably at making paleo bread out of it this weekend, but these cookies turned out splendidly! Enjoy a few with coffee!

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Ingredients:
3/4 c + 1/2 c extra coconut flour
1/4 c arrowroot starch
1/2 c coconut oil or butter, melted
1/8 tsp sea salt
5 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 c dark chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients except chocolate and 1/2 c extra coconut flour in a mixing bowl. Mush up with a fork and add additional coconut flour until the mixture is crumbly.
3. Dust a clean, smooth surface with coconut flour. Press the crumbly mixture out with your fingers to make it smooth and somewhat flat. Dust with coconut flour.
4. Roll the dough to about 1/8-1/4 inch thickness using a rolling pin. Cut shapes out of the dough. Roll the scraps up into a ball and flatten to cut more shapes out.
5. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool.
6. Microwave the chocolate chips for 10 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until they are melted. Drizzle cookies with the chocolate. If the chocolate is not very runny, add a tiny amount of coconut oil and stir.
7. Allow the cookies to cool in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until the chocolate is set.

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These cookies are wonderful! You’ll be surprised. They are buttery and crumbly just like regular shortbread, and they stay intact well!

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protein, recipe

Moroccan Turkey Meatballs

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Every Monday morning I make my lunches for the week. They usually consist of some variation of ground turkey with a bunch of vegetables. I go between Mexican flavors and Italian. Sometimes I do Asian lettuce cups. Today I tried something different!

Here’s a great weekday lunch recipe for you- Moroccan turkey meatballs! They’re delicious with curried cauliflower.

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Ingredients:
for the meatballs
1 lb ground turkey (or beef or chicken or lamb)
1 big handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tbs paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

for the sauce
1/2 tbs coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c tomato paste
1 c chicken stock
1 big handful fresh parsley, chopped

1. Mash up all meatball ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated. Form 1″ balls using wet hands and set aside on a baking sheet in the fridge while you make your sauce.

2. Sauté onion in the coconut oil until translucent in a large, deep stock pot. Add the garlic and spices and sauté just a moment longer. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, and parsley. Bring to a boil and dissolve the tomato paste. Reduce heat to simmer.

3. Carefully place the meatballs into the sauce in a single layer. This might be tricky, so use a spatula to gently push the meatballs to make room for all of them. Cover the pot and simmer for 40 minutes. Take the cover off and simmer for another 15-20 mins to allow the sauce to thicken.

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Love this dish! The base recipe came from the book Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan. I simply halved the recipe and made some minor adjustments. Whether you’re eating paleo or not, I highly recommend this cookbook for flavorful recipes!

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breakfast, recipe, treats

Raspberry Muffins

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This is a healthier raspberry muffin recipe! It features gluten free flours, reduced butter content, and a combination of applesauce and stevia for the sweetener. The trick to making these muffins light and fluffy is whipping the egg whites into a foam and folding them in gently at the end.

Ingredients:
1/2 c gluten free oats, ground into a powder with a food processor or blender
1/2 c almond meal
1/3 c coconut flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, whites and yolks separated
3 tbs butter, melted (can sub melted coconut oil)
1/3 c greek yogurt (plain)
1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
3 droppers full of liquid stevia OR 1/4 c honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar
36 fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350. In one bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients except egg whites and raspberries.

2. Whip the egg whites into a stiff foam using a hand mixer or stand mixer.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in the egg whites gently. Fill a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners with the batter. This should fill 12 liners 3/4 full.

4. Press 3 raspberries into each muffin. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

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I’m bringing these to bible study this morning! They’ve already passed my taste test. Moist, light, and just a little sweet!

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Hungry yet?

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recipe, treats

Blueberries and Cream Protein Ice Cream Bars

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I live on the opposite side of town from my mom and sister. On the rare occasion that my mom comes over, she has me blend frozen blueberries and half & half in the vitamix with a bit of powdered sugar to make an easy ice cream treat. This is my healthy variation that will keep in the freezer for surprise visits :)

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup half & half (or use another 1/4 c milk)
1 scoop vanilla whey isolate powder (I use Dymatize Elite Gourmet Vanilla)

1. Blend all ingredients in a powerful blender until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Pour into 6 ice pop molds and freeze for at least 2 hours. To remove the ice cream bars, run hot water over the ice pop mold for a few seconds to loosen.

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recipe, starch

Garlic butter pasta sauce with tomatoes and mushrooms

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I hope you all had a great 4th of July! Colby and I enjoyed fireworks from our balcony and snacked on mojito ice pops (recipe to come!)

As promised, here is another pasta sauce variation that’s a bit lighter than the cream sauce I posted earlier this week.

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Ingredients:
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 container cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 c fresh basil leaves
1 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken sausage link, sliced
White wine
Chicken broth
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, and sausage. Sauté until the mushrooms are beginning to soften and sausage is getting golden.

2. Add a splash of white wine and chicken broth when the skillet starts to look a little dry. Continue to cook to reduce the liquid. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add fresh basil and serve your favorite cooked pasta tossed in this sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if you’d like.

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This colorful pasta sauce has great, fresh flavor. It’s perfect for a summer meal alongside a leafy green salad.

recipe, treats

Healthy gluten free cheesecake bites

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Happy Independence Day! Colby and I celebrated with a hike at Mt Charleston… Sort of. It was too hot up there for me so we cut it pretty short. When we got home, I whipped these up as a festive 4th of July snack:

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These mini cheesecake tarts are made without butter or oil. The filling is protein rich and the crust is gluten free!

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1/2 c gluten free oats
3 tbs almond meal
1/2 banana

For the filling:
1.5 cups plain nonfat greek yogurt
2 tbs lemon curd
1-2 tbs gelatin, dissolved in small amount of water or milk
(You can use sugar free instant cheesecake pudding mix instead)
Fresh berries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulverize the oats in a blender. Mash the “oat flour” with banana and almond meal to form a thick batter.

2. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Scoop a dollop of batter into each cupcake liner and flatten to fill the bottom of the liner. You should be able to fill 9-12 cupcake liners this way. Bake for 15-20 mins or until crisp and golden.

3. While the crusts are baking, make the cheesecake filling by combining greek yogurt with lemon curd and unflavored gelatin OR sugar free pudding mix.

4. Allow the crusts to cool. Top each crust with filling and berries.

5. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

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You can eat these with a spoon or carefully take them out of the liners.

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recipe, starch

Creamy mushroom pasta

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Las Vegas farmer’s markets have a limited selection of fresh foods this time of year. You may have seen my purple cauliflower post recently, and I got some really good strawberries there too. Another great find at the farmer’s market was fresh porcini mushroom pasta. It was made the morning I bought it using ground up dried porcinis and semolina. So good!

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Fresh pasta only takes about 2-3 minutes to cook. I tossed mine with two different mushroom sauce variations- a creamy one and a lighter garlicky one. Here’s how to make the cream sauce.

Ingredients:
1/2 container cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 chicken sausage link, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs olive oil
Splash of white wine
1 tsp thyme
2 tbs half & half
2 tbs milk
Salt & pepper

1. Sauté the onion and diced chicken sausage in olive oil. Once the onion is translucent, add garlic, mushrooms, and a splash of white wine.

2. Once the mushrooms begin to soften, add the milk, half & half, and thyme.

3. Simmer the sauce until it thickens, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Toss the pasta sauce with your favorite cooked pasta and top with shredded parmesan.

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The fresh pasta was amazing with homemade sauce! Much better tasting than jarred Alfredo sauces and cream of mushroom soup based sauces. Stay tuned for the garlic butter sauce recipe!

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recipe, snacks, treats

Fresh Fig Jam

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I had lots of leftover figs from this weekend. Enjoy this sweet summer fruit in a homemade jam!

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh figs
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1/4 c honey
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick

1. Place chopped figs and all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat until boiling.

2. Stir frequently as the sugar dissolves and the jam begins to thicken. This will take about 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.

3. You’ll know the jam is ready when it doesn’t drip off a spoon easily. You can store it for up to two weeks in the fridge!

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Serve on toasted baguette with goat cheese.

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Drink some unfiltered pear cider with it (yum!!)

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Try swirling some into plain greek yogurt!

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Any way you serve it, you’ll love the ginger, cinnamon, and honey flavors complementing the sweetness of the figs. The lemon juice and zest balances the sweetness nicely! Next time I’ll see what happens when I use stevia instead of sugar.

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