Patriotic Pops

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Happy 4th of July!  I hope everyone's plans for the holiday include lots of delicious eats! I've traded my cold and foggy San Francisco weather for hot and humid Cincinnati for the weekend, meaning a cold and refreshing treat was a perfect compliment to our BBQ. 

These take a bit of planning ahead but I promise they are worth it! Red, white and blue popsicles made from fresh raspberry purée, a thin layer of coconut milk and topped of with a blackberry purée. Skip the artificial flavoring and food dye and make these for your cook out! 

Cheers!  

Patriotic Pops

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Freeze Time: 4 hours 

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh raspberries 
• 1 cup fresh blackberries 
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup simple syrup (to make boil 1 part sugar & 2 parts water, cool before using)
• 1 lime
• 1 Popsicle mold or 8 paper cups and Popsicle sticks  

Directions

1. Purée raspberries with 2 tbsp simple syrup and juice of 1/2 lime. Pour first layer of popsicle into mold and set popsicle sticks. Put in freezer for 45 min to allow for first layer to set.
2. Whip 1 cup coconut milk with 2 tbsp simple syrup just to incorporate the two ingredients. Remove popsicles from freezer and pour thin layer of coconut milk on top of the raspberry layer. Return to freezer for another 45 min. 
3. Repeat step 1 with blackberries for the last layer of the popsicles. Return to the freezer to allow all layers to set for another 2.5 hours.  

Happy Fourth of July! 

Bison Pesto Meatballs with Zucchini Ribbons

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OK. So it may be a stretch to call this a "recipe". I mean, it is so simple and I didn't make everything completely from scratch (gasp!). However, this combination of flavors is just too good not to share. 

The zoodle craze (zucchini noodles, for those not in "the know") has really taken over. I had yet to jump on the zoodle train, merely because I couldn't justify spending $50 on a kitchen tool that could do just one task: spiral slice vegetables. However, the more and more I saw new recipes involving zucchini noodles, the more I really wanted to try them. Enter: my mandoline slicer. 

THIS kitchen tool has many uses, and I find myself using it more and more lately. I set my mandoline to the thinnest setting and sliced my zucchini length-wise. The result were these delicate and elegant zucchini ribbons. The thought of weighing these down with heavy marinara meat sauce seemed just wrong. These noodles needed something lighter and vibrant. Zucchini is a summer squash after all, they needed a summertime flavor profile! 

The pesto still allows their zucchini ribbons to keep their shape, unlike a heavy tomato based sauce which would weigh the ribbons down. The lemon zest really sets this dish apart, in my opinion! It adds an element of brightness and awakens all the flavors. 

This dish is simple, elegant and light - try it tonight!

Bison Pesto Meatballs with Zucchini Ribbons

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground bison (if you want to make this extra lean use 93/7 ground beef but I highly recommend bison)
• 4 zucchini
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 oz pesto, pre-made or homemade
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Prepare your zucchini ribbons. Slice all 4 zucchini length-wise on the thinnest setting of your mandoline. You could also use a spiralizer or in a pinch, you can thinly slice your zucchini.  Once you have your ribbons, thinly slice your asparagus into 1" pieces (not with the mandoline), cutting the thicker parts in half length-wise. 
2. Heat your cast iron (or metal) skillet over medium heat.
3. Mix together bison and 1/3 of pesto. Form into 12 meatballs.
4. Evenly space meatballs in hot skillet. Brown for about 2 minutes each side, turning until all sides are cooked and a nice crust has formed. 
5. While meatballs are cooking, sauté garlic in the olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat until garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and asparagus and toss. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add remaining pesto and mix thoroughly. Turn off heat to skillet. 
6. Zest lemon over the vegetables and lightly toss. Plate your zucchini mixture and top with meatballs and additional lemon zest, if desired. 

Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of vegetables and 3 meatballs)

370 Calories - 28 g Protein, 12 g Carbs, 23 g Fat

*This may seem to be high in fat but these are healthy fats! Remember, we need to be sure to include enough in our diets. This is a great meal option for when you are eating low carb for a day. 

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf

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Today I bring to you a comfort food classic: meatloaf. This isn't just any regular meatloaf, however. It is wrapped in bacon and coated in BBQ sauce. Traditionally, meatloaf is made with full fat ground beef, whole eggs and bread crumbs. I've lightened this dish up AND added bacon, all while keeping the total fat lower than the original recipe but not skimping on any of the flavor. You're welcome.

My favorite way to develop recipes is to ask my family and friends what they feel like eating...and then I will create that with my own twist. That is exactly how this recipe came about. This is my idea of a fun game! I was staying with my sister, Greta, in LA last weekend and to show my thanks I offered to cook dinner for us. I asked her to think of something (anything!) that is normally unhealthy (but delicious) and I would make her a healthy version. Some may not agree with my idea of fun, but hey - we all have our thing. 

She requested "comfort food" which for me means a rich, meat and potatoes type dish. I offered up meatloaf (which she gladly agreed to) and then decided to one up myself and make it (turkey) bacon wrapped meatloaf brushed with BBQ sauce instead of boring ol' ketchup. And to top it all off - make it lighter and gluten free. I came up with this recipe on the fly as I was chopping and mixing. The end result was better than I could have ever imagined. Lucky for you all I remembered to write the recipe down in my iPhone immediately following dinner. 

So what makes this "lighter"? I used 93% lean ground beef instead of 80/20 ground beef, turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, egg whites instead of whole eggs and coconut flour as the binder instead of bread crumbs. The end result was juicy and moist but definitely tasted rich and full of comfort. 

Thanks to Greta for requesting this meal or I may never thought of this recipe :) Enjoy! 

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes (30 minutes at 400F and 20 minutes at 350F)

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or bison (if you want to make this extra lean use 93/7 ground beef!)
• 5 strips turkey bacon
• 2 egg whites
• 4 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/4 c yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 c green bell peppers, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp BBQ sauce, divided 
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 4000F. 
2. In a skillet over medium high heat, sauté onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until onions become golden brown. Remove mixture from heat to a small bowl to cool. 
3. In a mixing bowl combine  the onion and pepper mixture with the ground beef, egg whites, coconut flour, worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce plus salt and pepper to season. Using your hands, mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. 
4. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and form into a loaf. Wrap with strips of turkey bacon so that meatloaf is fully covered. 
5. Place meatloaf into oven and allow to cook at 400F for 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, brush the meatloaf with the remaining 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes at 4000F. 
6. After 30 minutes total at 400F, reduce oven temperature to 350F and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until meatloaf is cooked through.
7. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Slice into 4 equal pieces and serve with additional BBQ sauce if desired. 

Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of recipe)

310 Calories - 33.5 g Protein, 10 g Carbs, 15 g Fat

Chili Lime Plantains

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I recently tried my hand at making tostones. Tostones are a popular side dish in many Latin American countries, coming from the Spanish word tostar which literally means "to toast". You make them by frying unripened sliced plantains, draining excess oil, flattening the plantains and then frying them again. Not the healthiest of snacks but damn if they weren't delicious! While these baked plantains are in no way a substitute for crispy and fried, they are a healthier alternative (and in my opinion, more flavorful).

I used my mandoline to slice the plantains uniformly thin. I love this kitchen tool but a word of caution - if you aren't careful you may be slicing more than just the plantain! Be extra careful as you slice the plantain and when you are near the blade, use the hand guard to finish. If you don't have a mandoline, not to worry! You can simply slice the plantains thinly with a knife. 

Throw the sliced plantains into a large mixing bowl and combine with lime juice, melted coconut oil, chili powder, garlic and salt. Give them a quick toss and lay out evenly on a baking sheet. 

Into the oven they go for 40 min, flipping halfway through. These are best when eaten straight from the oven - serve as a side dish or eat them as a snack all on their own!

Chili Lime Baked Plantains

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 slightly ripened plantains (not green, but not completely brown)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Thinly slice plantains, either with a mandoline or with a knife. (USE CAUTION with mandoline!)
3. Toss with lime juice, coconut oil, chili powder, garlic and salt. 
4. Evenly lay out the plantains on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 
5. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Enjoy!

Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of recipe, approximately 1/4 cup)

136 Calories - 1 g Protein, 24 g Carbs, 4 g Fat

Coconut Cream of Asparagus Soup

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Annnd we're back! Sorry for the gap in posting, I had the brilliant idea to leave on vacation for 2 weeks and move immediately after I was back. I managed to pack and move within a 3 day time period - thank goodness for movers! Now I am finally getting settled AND I have a kitchen that I can call my very own...which means plenty more delicious creations to come!

I'm the type of person who will go out to eat at a restaurant, order a dish I end up loving, and decide that I can make the exact same dish at home. This recently happened at a restaurant called Reverb here in San Francisco. I had the Asparagus Soup, which had a lemon coconut ice cream with grilled asparagus. I loved the flavor profile and made a note to create my own recipe with these same flavors.

My recipe isn't exactly the same, as I didn't include the lemon coconut ice cream. I did, however, use coconut as the cream base to the soup as opposed to using heavy cream like most cream based soups. 

While the name suggests that this is a heavy, creamy soup it is actually quite the opposite. The base of the soup is asparagus and chicken broth, with just 1/3 cup of coconut milk added to the entire recipe, along with plenty of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

This soup is ridiculously easy to make. There are only 7 ingredients and the most challenging task is sautéing onions and asparagus. The recipe makes quite a bit of soup, but it freezes nicely. You can have this hot out of the pot or you can chill the soup and enjoy on a hot summer day!  

Coconut Cream of Asparagus Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 7 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• 6 cups asparagus, chopped (2 bundles)
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (full fat, shake can before opening)
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Sauté  onion and butter in a large pot over medium high heat until onions begin to soften, 5 minutes.
2. Add asparagus and salt and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once at a full boil, cover pot with lid and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes. 
4. Once soup has cooked down, transfer in batches from main pot to blender and blend until liquified. Be VERY CAREFUL at this step! The soup will be extremely hot. I also advise that you have a good, powerful blender and make sure it is large enough to handle all of the soup. If it isn't - blend in batches.
5. Transfer soup back to pot and stir in lemon juice and coconut milk to combine.

Nutritional info (1 serving, approximately 1 cup)

97 Calories - 3 g Protein, 9 g Carbs, 5.5 g Fat