Gary Taubes to Appear on Dr. Oz March 7th!

Gary Taubes, author of "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It" will appear on Dr. Oz next Monday, March 7th.  Please visit my fellow blogger Jimmy Moore at Livin' LaVida Low-Carb for an excellent explanation of why you should not miss this episode!

Guaranteed Kid Pleaser!

Every family has an all-time favorite meal and at our house it is most definitely my "Coconut Crusted Salmon" recipe. But the salmon aren't running right now so tonight I decided to try the same recipe on chicken breasts.  All the kids loved it so I'm convinced I can put this topping on just about anything and they will eat it with joy. I wish you could see them fighting over who gets to scrape the last of the buttery coconut off the bottom of the casserole dish!

Coconut Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 t. paprika

1 t. sea salt

4 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Butter the bottom of a pyrex casserole dish and add chicken breasts. Mix melted butter with salt, paprika and shredded coconut in a small bowl. (I usually add more butter and coconut because we like extra topping!) Bake for about 30 minutes until crust is lightly browned.  If your topping starts to brown before the chicken is done, just turn down the heat a little and keep an eye on it! 

Pureed Sweet Potatoes

1-2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

4 T oil

4 shallots, diced

1/4 t. pepper

2 T roughly chopped fresh rosemary (if you use dried, be sure to chop into small pieces!)

1/2 cup of chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 1t. salt, reduce heat, and simmer until tender 14-16 min. Reserve 1/4 c. of cooking water, drain. Mash in the pot or transfer to food processor.

In a skillet, heat  4 T of oil over med-high heat. Add shallots, rosemary and pepper. Cook, stirring until shallots are tender (3-4 min.) then add nuts and stir another 1-2 min. Serve over the sweet potatoes. Sounds like a lot of work but it's super easy and oh, so worth the taste!

Mashed What??

No, that's not a bowl of hot mashed potatoes. Can you guess what it is?? It's a bowl of pureed cauliflower with butter and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. My older kids won't eat this as a side dish yet but they sure don't know the difference when I use it in Shepherd's Pie!

Low carb, very tasty and super easy to make. Just break apart one whole head of cauliflower and steam until soft. Then throw into a food processor, add butter, cream and salt (or whatever you'd normally add to mashed potatoes) and serve! The mouth feel is excellent and you will love the taste. 

And by the way, cauliflower also makes a great rice substitute! Very lightly steam, then throw into a food processor and blend until it resembles rice texture, then saute in a pan with oil.

The Dirty Dozen

Whether you are on a budget and need to prioritize your organic purchases, or you would simply like to know which type of produce has the highest pesticide residues—and which do not—the following guide from the Environmental Working Group will help. 

12 Most Contaminated Peaches Apples Sweet Bell Peppers Celery Nectarines Strawberries Cherries Pears Grapes (Imported) Spinach Lettuce Potatoes 12 Least Contaminated Onions Avocado Sweet Corn (Frozen) Pineapples Mango Asparagus Sweet Peas (Frozen) Kiwi Fruit Bananas Cabbage Broccoli Papaya Click HERE to download a copy of the wallet guide.

Breakfast-15 Minutes Pan to Plate

My 5th grader has band on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:30am so breakfast must be on the table earlier than usual. Normally I make smoothies on these days but today I opted for a super-quick, hot breakfast.

First, I grabbed some frozen sausage links (from Pawnee Pride) and threw them into a cast iron skillet with a little Blue Breeze Coconut Ghee. Then I started some oil heating in another skillet while I cracked 12 eggs into a bowl and mixed in about 3/4 cup of milk.  While the scrambled eggs and sausages were cooking, I threw about 10 pieces of shrimp into a steamer (that's just for Scott and I, the kids won't eat shrimp yet). After about 5 minutes, shrimp are done and ready for chopping!

Finally, threw the shrimp and cheese on top of the eggs and served with sausage. Fifteen minutes from pan to plate!  If you work outside the home, I realize you probably won't have time to clean up the kitchen before you leave but wouldn't you rather come home to a few dirty dishes and know your family got a healthy start to their day?

Breakfast Smoothies

Today, Gracie had an 8am basketball game so we had a quick breakfast with  Carrot Banana Nut Muffins leftover from yesterday's after school snack and smoothies. Here's what we threw into our smoothie today:

Breakfast Smoothie (makes a whole pitcher full)

1 can Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
3 farm fresh eggs (yes! raw eggs!)
10 oz. of frozen mixed berries (rasberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.)
2 scoops of protein powder (right now we are trying Plant Fusion)
Top off with water and a handful of ice.

Kids love this, as long as Gracie doesn't see me put the protein powder in!!  Raw eggs...no problem. Protein powder? Deal breaker.

Low Carb Survival Guide

Are you trying lose weight or heal your body from some sort of ailment? Are you already eating "low carb" or trying to head in that direction but struggling to understand exactly what it means and how to do it? I have to highly recommend "The Low Carbers Survival Guide: Practical Wisdom For Low Carbers Trapped in a High Carb World" by, Adam Kosloff.

I know from experience that cutting out refined processed foods and sugar can lead to amazing health benefits. And it's not just about the weight loss. I genuinely love the way I feel when we eat healthy foods -- high quality meats, veggies, and low sugar fruit.  Adam does a great job of offering practical explanations and solutions to the challenges we face when trying to live a low-carb lifestyle in an insanely high-carb world!

Fast & Easy Teriyaki Chicken

Fast and Easy Teriyaki Chicken

If you only have 30 minutes to prepare dinner, here's a surprisingly tasty twist on Teriyaki Chicken!  It's savory, filling, and even the kids ate it.  Just don't forget to take your chicken out of the freezer the night before!

Ingredients (to serve 6):
2 lbs. of chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 T olive oil
2 C. diced pinapple
1-2 C. chopped onions (depending on how much you like onions)
1-2 C. chopped peppers (I used a mix of green and yellow)
Buttercrunch lettuce or other greens
Wheat-free Tamari sauce

Instructions:
1.Heat the chicken and olive oil in a pan on medium heat until nearly cooked.
2.Add Tamari sauce midway through cooking so it cooks into the chicken. (I just splashed the Tamari over the chicken, probably about 3 tablespoons worth)
3.Add onions, peppers and pineapple.
4. Cover and cook another 10 minutes and serve over a bed of lettuce or other greens.