Herbed Zucchini "Noodles" with Shrimp

This is a really light, tasty summer meal and a great way to enjoy "pasta" if you're gluten free or dieting.  Pair with a glass of white wine & enjoy.

Ingredients: 
(Makes 2 large portions)

1 large organic zucchini or 2 medium,
1 lb wild-caught shrimp
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil (and a bit more to drizzle)
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley (divided)
1/2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or use 1 dried chili pepper, crushed)
1 tsp sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Directions: 
Slice zucchini as thinly as possible, lengthwise, and then cut into strips imitating linguini.  Heat olive oil in a large sautee pan or a wok.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add shrimp and cook until just pink.  Now add your zucchini, pepper flakes, salt.  Stir and cover.  Uncover and stir every few minutes until the "noodles" are soft & flexible, but not mushy.  Sprinkle with basil and 1/2 of the parsley and stir for one more minute.

Plate shrimp & zucchini.  Drizzle with a tiny bit more olive oil if desired, and garnish with the rest of the parsley flakes!

Nutrition: 
380 calories
18 g fat
48 g protein
8 g carbs

Quick n' Easy Stuffed Zucchini!

I found some gorgeous, HUGE locally grown zucchinis this week at the farm market at a steal of a deal and had some leftover chicken that I had grilled up last night. This took all of 45 minutes total with prep, is super healthy and delicious!  Zucchini is one of the foods that is especially good for gut health & digestion.

To make this a vegan option, use black beans instead of chicken...

Ingredients:

1 HUGE zucchini, like I had, or 2-3 large zucchini sliced lengthwise in half
1/2 c dry rice (white, brown, long grain, wild, whatever you have on hand)
~8 oz  cooked chicken breast (diced)
1 tomato (diced)
1/2 white onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 c water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Prep all veggies.  Prep zucchini by slicing lengthwise in half and scooping out seeds in the middle, making them into boats. Poke each with a fork a few times and place in a glass baking dish with a bit of water in the bottom.   Bake covered with tin foil for about 15 minutes.

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant.  Add tomato and stir for a few more minutes.  Now add dry rice, spices and 1 c water.  Bring to a boil and then return to low and cover.  Simmer for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is just past al-dente.

Take your zucchini and stuff it with the chicken & rice mixture.  Bake for another 15 minutes, covered. Uncover for a couple more minutes to let the top of the rice crisp up.

Food Renegade

Scottish Oatmeal with Blueberries, Raw Sunflower Seeds & Maple Syrup

This is one of my favorite breakfasts, especially on a chilly morning.  It's filling, nutritious and so yummy.  Using whole organic oats and natural ingredients here is key.  When you see "quick" or "instant" oats, it means that the grain has been processed, removing the germ and bran which contain the nutrients and fiber.  Also - most table syrup brands like Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth's etc. use corn syrup and little to no actual maple syrup.  Enjoy your "complete" whole food breakfast! ;)

Scottish Oatmeal with Blueberries, Raw Sunflower Seeds & Maple Syrup

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 c scottish oatmeal (or any kind of WHOLE oats)

1 c  organic blueberries (fresh are best, but frozen work in a pinch)

1/2 c raw sunflower seeds 

2 tsp ghee (or sub real butter or coconut oil)

1/4 tsp sea salt

100% real maple syrup to drizzle (optional)

Directions:

Prepare oatmeal to package instructions.  Near the end of the cooking process (1-2 minutes left), stir in the ghee or coconut oil.  Top with blueberries, sunflower seeds and a light drizzle of maple syrup and serve immediately. 

Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale + Carrot Super-Food Salad

Ever heard anyone asking to take home leftover...healthy salad??  This one was so delicious, attendees of Dr. Matt's grand opening were spooning it into plastic drinking cups to take home the leftovers.  The sesame & citrus flavors are bright & exciting, and the fact that the kale is massaged takes a lot of the "rawness" out of eating raw kale.  I especially love Eden Foods  Organic Sesame Gomasio sprinkles as part of the dressing to tie everything together and add even more nutrition (seaweed & sesame).  This salad is loaded with healthy fats (olive oil, sesame & avocado), rich in iron, magnesium, calcium, vitamin c, k, antioxidants, carotenoids and fiber. The texture is great as is, but some sunflower seeds or peanuts would add a great extra crunch!  


...and it's vegan/dairy/gluten free ;) !

Asian-Inspired Massaged Kale & Carrot Super-Food Salad

Salad:
1 large head of curly red or green kale, washed, thick stems removed and torn or chopped into bite sized pieces
2 large carrots, shredded (approx. 3/4 - 1 c)
1 avocado, diced
Salt
Olive oil

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
1 tbsp local honey
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR rice wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 tsp sea salt
Red pepper flakes to taste
1.5-2 tbsp Eden Organic Sesame Gomasio (see link)

Directions: 
Combine all dressing ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a food processor. 

Prep kale and place into large mixing bowl. Pour a bit of olive oil and sea salt onto it. Give it a good massage with your fingers for 1-3 minutes (depends on how thick/coarse the kale was to begin with), until it softens and loses about 1/3 of the volume. Add carrots. Toss with dressing. Fold in avocado right before serving! 

This salad is best served 1-4 hours after prepping to allow all the flavors to meld.

Juicing: Top 10 Pros and Cons

Juicing is such a hot topic in food and health right now!  If you're like me, you watched the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and ran out to immediately buy a juicer.  I even attempted a juice detox to cleanse and "reboot".  Now, after having the juicer about a year, I have to say that while I enjoy the occasional juice and its benefits, there are certainly some cons too.   After being gifted 6 lbs of carrots today (long story!) and 4 cabbages, I decided to make some juice.  Here's the good, the bad, the messy and the recipe! 

PROS:

1. Floods your body with nutrition

Yes, this is a very quick way to get your nutrition in!  You can really get your creative juices flowing (lol) and change up the veggies to suit your body and your dietary needs.  ;)

2. Great way to use leftover veggies

Say your garden is overflowing with tomatoes or cucumbers...or maybe you over-calculated the amount of {Insert fruit or veggie here} you needed for a recipe. Or you're going on vacation and need to get rid of all fresh produce.  Now you have a use for all of that goodness before it goes bad! 

3. Helps with detoxing

A quick dose of vitamins and minerals help the liver detox (flush out toxins) naturally. Juicing is a much safer detox than fasting completely, keeping you hydrated and nourished!

4. Easy to absorb

It doesn't require any real digestion because it lacks fiber and other complex carbohydrates.

5. Creates fantastic compost (seriously.)

The super-fine fiber remnants that are leftover decompose way faster than other veggie scraps, leaving you a rich compost for the garden.  

CONS:

1. Expensive

Very.  Especially if you go organic with your juice (which is a great idea especially when juicing your vegetables), it can cost a pretty penny.   A 4-day cleanse for 2 people cost us somewhere between $120-150!

2. Creates lots of waste

It's pretty sad to see that huge bowl/tub full of waste.  ESPECIALLY if you do not compost!

3. Messy clean-up

Imagine juice (beet juice especially) splattering your kitchen walls, counters.  Pulp everywhere.  A juicer that must be washed by hand.  This is not a quick and easy process.  It takes about 15 minutes to scrub the juicer down, and another 10 to wash, prep and juice your veggies. 

4. Removes fiber and it's benefits

Man cannot live on juice alone!  Fiber is what cleans our gut and is the food that our probiotics thrive on.  Plus, it moves things along... 

5.  Tons of SUGAR!

Most people like the taste of sweet, so they end up picking fruits and veggies (but mostly fruits) with a high sugar content.   While these drinks are delicious, it's a better idea to use the 80-20 rule (80% vegetables to 20% fruits) in order to keep your drink nutritious and cut back on the sugar.  One 16 oz glass of juice (as recommended as a meal replacement)  can have 90+ grams of sugar if you're picking (for example) apple-orange-pineapple!

(Look how much FIBER and SCRAPS are left over to make just over 50oz of juice!)

RECIPE 
Apple-Carrot-Ginger-Cabbage Juice

Carrots -  6 lbs peeled
Apples - 4 
Cabbage -  1 softball sized 
Ginger - 3 inch piece
Sea Salt  - to taste

Pretty tasty and kind of "zingy" with the cabbage & ginger.