I am a sucker for Buffalo sauce but the idea of biting into greasy chicken skin makes me a little nauseous . These Buffalo chicken meatballs have all of the flavor of chicken wings without any greasy guilt. They are loaded with carrots and celery as well so you can even call them a health food! 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground cicken
1 egg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free crumbs for GF option)
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 green onions
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Frank's Buffalo Sauce
blue cheese or blue cheese dressing, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Chop the celery, green onions and carrots into very fine pieces. A food processor works great. Add the remaining ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls. I use a cookie scoop and roll by hand. You can add some blue cheese crumbles also if desired or a couple T. of  blue cheese dressing to the mix. Line on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes. This makes about 25 balls. 

Drizzle with additional Buffalo sauce and/or blue cheese dressing if desired.

I served this over brown rice that was cooked in bone broth and garlic roasted veggies. 

​**Recipe adapted from Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. 

Ingredients:

6 eggs
2/3 c. pumpkin puree
2/3 c. coconut milk, full fat (can substitute other types of milk)
2 T. coconut oil or avocadoil oil
1/3 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 c. cassava flour
1/4 c. coconut flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. pumpkin pie seasoning
1/4 tsp. sea salt


Directions:

Blend wet ingredients in the blender then add the dry ingredients. Blend till just smooth. Add more milk as needed. Bake on a hot griddle and serve with pecans and real maple syrup! **Recipe adapted from www.adventuresofasickchick.com
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These little chimmies are a perfect bundle to wrap when you have left over mexican food ingredients. There aren't too many rules to follow but no cheese is needed or frying! These are wrapped and baked and perfectly yummy. 
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Ingredients:

Taco Meat mixture:
3/4 pound or more grass fed hamburger (to make vegetarian, use more veggies)
1 small onion, chopped
Bell pepper, any variety, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
Salsa
cumin, chili powder, chipotle season, salt and pepper to taste
1 c. sweet corn
2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed
1 zucchini, julienned or chopped finely

Directions:

Cook hamburger with onion, garlic and bell pepper till no longer pink. Add zucchini, black beans and corn and cook a little longer till tender. Add in the seasonings to desired taste. Generally I add about 1 tsp. cumin and then chili powders as desired. Add the salsa, just enough to moistened the mixture. Heat till warm and flavors absorbed. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Salsa Brown Rice:

Ingredients:

1 c. brown rice
1 1/2 c. water
1 cup smooth salsa
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Stove top directions:

Bring all the a boil, simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Add more minutes if needed. 

Pressure Cooker:

Bring all ingredients to pressure on high pressure for 20 minutes, let natural release for 10 minutes. 

To make the chimmi:

I love to use the Costco organic, uncooked tortillas. Cook up about 18. Place 
some taco mixture and rice in each tortilla, Roll up folding ends in before you roll. Brush top and bottom with avocado oil or oil of choice. Place seam side down on a baking pan, lining them all up together. Bake at 350 until golden, about 25 minutes. To make this vegetarian, omit the beef and use sweet potatoes and more veggies. You can add cheese if desired. 

These waffles are proof that gluten free doesn't have to taste like cardboard. I am so thankful that there are new options now in gluten free cooking. Cassava flour has been a blessing to the GF world! These are super crispy and perfectly chewy. Make a bunch and freeze them up!

Ingredients:

1 C. cassava flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe banana
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 T. coconut oil
1 1/2 cups milk of choice 

Directions:

Throw every single one of those ingredients in the blender, give it a whirl till
all mixed and cook it on a hot waffle iron. That's all!

**Recipe from Otto's Naturals

Soup is so very easy and filling, I don't care if it's fall or summer, soup is always good. This soup has very little ingredients but is very hearty, like a stew and perfectly seasoned. I make this in a pressure cooker to make it faster but I'll give you both directions. I haven't made a soup without a pressure cooker so I feel for you ladies who have to take the slow route!  INVEST. 

Ingredients:

3 T. oil of choice
1 onion, chopped
8 cups chicken broth (2 boxes of Costco's organic broth)
1 cups wild rice blend (I use the Trader Joe's Organic Wild Rice Blend)
2 cups chopped chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups sliced carrots
4 celery stalks, chopped (works fine without also)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2- 1 tsp. Spice Hunter's Smokey Turmeric (optional but it is the BEST)

Stove top directions:

Heat oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for about 5 minutes. Add broth and rice to the onions and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for about 35 minutes. If you don't have cooked chicken at this point, cook chicken while the rice is cooking.  Add the cooked chicken, carrots and celery to the pot and bring back to a boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer about 15-30 minutes until veggies are tender and the soup is thick. Add more broth or water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste and the smokey turmeric. 

Pressure Cooker Directions:

Sauté onions in the pressure cooker for a couple minutes. Add the broth and rice and bring to pressure for 20 minutes. Release pressure and add veggies and and chicken ( I had my frozen chicken in the George Forman cooking for 12 minutes while the rice was cooking). Bring back to pressure for only a minute. Let it natural release then add salt and pepper, turmeric and let simmer in the pot for 15 minutes or until thick and veggies are tender. If you are in a hurry, just pressure for 2 minutes after adding the veggies and natural release. The veggies should be tender and you can eat it at this point. I like to let mine simmer after a minute so that veggies don't get over cooked. You can let the soup sit on the warm setting for as long as you like! 

Crockpot Directions:

Place all ingredients, and frozen, raw chicken in a crock pot on low for about 7-8 hours. Remove chicken and shred when finished and place back into crock pot. 
​

These banana muffins are my new favorite because they are not so sweet but
oh, so moist and yummy! They are refined sugar and dairy free unless you want a little turbinado sugar on top for some crunch!

Ingredients:

1/3 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. honey
2 eggs
1 cup smashed, ripe bananas
1/4 c. milk of choice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 c. whole grain flour (I used Kamut)
1/3 c. oats (  plus more for the top)
1 tsp turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top if desired

Directions:

Beat melted coconut oil and honey together. Add eggs, mashed bananas and milk. After combined, stir in the baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Add the flour and oats and mix until just combined. Scoop into 12 muffin tins and sprinkle with a little oats and turbinado sugar if desired. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until done. 

**Recipe from cookieandkate,com!
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This vegetarian taco filling is great in a good tortilla or even as a skillet meal topped with a fried egg. We did both. You can add extra veggies as well but the flavors are delicious!

Ingredients:

1  1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 c. avocado oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup diced onion
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 can black beans or pinto beans
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
3 T. honey
3 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. chopped cilantro

Corn tortillas, pico, avocado, lettuce, etc. for toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix spices and toss with avocado oil on sweet potatoes. Spread them on a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast till golden, about 20 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, sauté onion and bell pepper in oil for about 5 minutes then add the garlic, corn and beans. Continue cooking until tender. Add in the honey, lime juice and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the sweet potatoes to the skillet mixture and simmer a few minutes to blend flavors. Serve bowl style or in tortillas with all the fixings. 

**Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

These cookies are more like a flat cake with a mildly sweet, dark chocolate taste. They do the trick when you want a grain free choice! I keep these in the freezer to help them stay fresh. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Melt coconut oil and cocoa powder together and mix till smooth. Let Cool. Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir in the cocoa mixture. Whisk in the coconut flour until smooth. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Coconut flour thickens as it stands. Drop with a cookie scoop onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10-14 minutes. Do not overtake. 

I have loved the banana and egg pancakes but without any flours at all, they are a bit harder to flip and cook. I decided to try adding some cassava flour today to see how it worked at they were perfect! They have the texture of regular pancakes without any grains at all. Cassava flour is a root so no grain to feed that yeast. 

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 eggs
1/4 c. cassava flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

Add everything to the blender and blend a quick second till smooth. Cook on griddle till golden on both sides. I also love to add blueberries to the pancakes on the griddle while cooking. This makes about 7-8 pancakes. They are great to eat cold later with some almond butter. 

Horrible picture, delicious cookies! These cookies are totally grain and dairy free. I use coconut sugar so other than the amount in the chocolate chips, they are refined sugar free. I use the Enjoy life brand chocolate chips for a healthier option. 

Ingredients:

1/4 c. coconut sugar or brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 T. coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups fine ground, blanched almond flour
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Directions:

Blend the coconut sugar and almond flour in the blender real quick to make
the coconut sugar and flour a bit finer. Add in the sea salt and baking soda and stir till combined. Add in the egg, coconut oil and vanilla. Stir until all moist. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop tablespoon size balls on a greased or Silpat lined baking sheet and flatten them about 1/2 inch. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool a couple minutes before removing from pan to a cooling rack. Store in the freezer.