Healthier Holiday Substitutions: Cranberry Sauce and Gravy

These are both pretty traditional fixin's. They are both really easy to make from scratch, but many people choose to buy cranberry sauce in a can (a BPA plastic lined can with copious amounts of glucose added!) and to sprinkle some chemical/MSG laden packet of "gravy spice mix" along with a ton of wheat flour into the turkey drippings for the gravy. Don't do it!

These are 2 of the easiest things to make quite healthy and natural. This is how I do mine:

Cranberry Sauce:
Add 1 cup of unsweetened natural orange juice and a pack or two of fresh cranberries to a pot on the stove. Bring to a low boil for a minute or two, then turn down and let simmer for about 10-15 mins until all of the cranberries are popped and it looks juicy. Let it cool, then put it in the fridge. Done!

Gravy:
I'm going to try a new one this year (I'll let you know how it goes over tomorrow :) I cooked up a bunch of onion and garlic tonight and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. I will be taking all of the turkey drippings (fat included - unlike traditionally where you would strain it then add the flour to thicken), then add some of the cooked onions/garlic, a bit of chicken stock, as well as some thyme and rosemary and then blend it all up in my HealthMaster Blender (I can use a high speed and the contents get hot!). I know it wont be as thick as flour gravy but I prefer to skip the gluten. I have read you can also add a bit of arrowroot powder, but I didn't get around to getting any - so this will have to do! It sounds like the flavour will be nice :)

Healthier Holiday Substitutions: Brussel Sprouts and Bacon

So this is what I am substituting for a some peoples traditional creamy green bean casserole with bread crumbs in my Christmas meal.  I often make this dish anyway and we really like it.  As with all of my recipes, it is easy! 

Ingredients:
Brussel Sprouts - chopped and kind of shredded apart with your fingers...
Bacon
Fresh ground pepper

When I do this on a regular night I only use 2 strips of bacon, but for 11 people I will probably use about 10 pieces of bacon.  Chop it up and fry it up in a pan.  Remove the bacon bits and set aside.  Pour out some, but not all, of the bacon grease.  Cook the chopped brussel sprouts in the bacon fat, when they are just about tender (don't overcook!) add the bacon bits back in and grind a bit of pepper in.  It's still quite rich and decadent tasting with the bacon - Enjoy!  

Healthier Holiday Make-Over: Paleo Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

While treats are always treats, I at least like to try to make them a little less damaging by avoiding some of the awful things found in packaged and store bought goodies or even white sugar and canola oil in most home baking.  Like the tart recipe in the last post, these mini cupcakes were super easy to make and they taste and look great too!




Ingredients:
* 3 cups almond flour
* 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
* 1/3 cup unpasteurised raw honey
* 3 eggs
* 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp sea salt
* 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325, line a mini cupcake pan with liners.
- In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet and dry and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Spoon batter into the cupcake liners.
- Bake for 15-20 mins until a toothpick poked in comes out dry.
- Remove pan and let them fully cool before trying to ice them....

Maple Cream Cheese Icing:
So you could also do this icing with coconut milk if you wanted to be more strictly paleo. Just leave the can upside down in the fridge overnight, pour the liquid off, scoop the hard cream off and whisk it like crazy to get it fluffy.

* 1 package full fat cream cheese - room temp
* 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
* 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Whisk it all together!  I used an icing bag with a nozzle to swirl the icing on, but a knife would probably be just as effective.  Then I put some unsweetened shredded coconut in a bowl and gently dipped the tops in the coconut for a pretty "snowball-like" effect :)

Enjoy!

Paleo Chocolate Tarts!

I made these today on a test run for Christmas dinner dessert.  I'm also going to do a pumpkin pie filling for half of them when I make them for my Christmas meal :)

Crust:
* 1.5 cups pecans
* 2 tbsp almond flour
* 1 x-large egg white
* pinch of salt
* sprinkle of baking powder (sorry I don`t measure!)

I used my magic bullet to pulse grind the pecans into a flour.  Try not to make a paste, it will be moist though.  I put it in a bowl, added the almond flour, baking powder, salt and egg white.  Grease the tart pans.  I rolled balls of pecan tart flour into balls, then carefully flattened them into circles and pressed them into the tart pans.  Bake on 325 for 15-20 mins until they feel done.  Set them aside to cool.

Chocolate filling:
I simply used my favourite paleo chocolate pudding recipe for the fill (previous post).
http://flipfitnesscanada.blogspot.ca/2012/06/week-of-new-recipes-paleo-pudding.html

Be sure to let the cups cool completely before adding the chocolate filling.  I put them in the fridge and the pudding firms up a bit more. Garnish with a pecan or a raspberry.  So easy and yummy - and they look nice for your holiday guests too!  I can`t wait to try the pumpkin pie filling for Christmas!

 

Meat Muffins

I made these from a recipe from a new cookbook I just got called "Well Fed".  I think they will be a great ski snack and also a great grab and go breakfast or anytime snack!  Here's the recipe I used (loosely - as I don't often take the time to measure :)  I might also make mini ones for
appies for Christmas!

Ingredients:
* one pack ground beef
* 1/4 of a large onion
* 2 packs frozen spinach (defrosted and water squeezed out)
* 2 tbsp coconut oil
* Chinese 5 spice
* ground black pepper
* garlic (fresh is best, but minced dried is ok too)
* 2 eggs
* cayenne pepper

Prep:
- preheat oven to 375
- chop onion and cook until translucent in the coconut oil
- add beef and brown, add Chinese 5 spice, cayenne, garlic and pepper
- mix in drained and well squeezed spinach
- set aside and let cool
- line the muffin tins with muffin papers
- I used a 1/4 cup measure to pack the meat mix in and then transfer the ball to the muffin papers

- bake for 35-45 mins until browned on the top and cooked through. Remove and let cool.
- I will freeze half of them and take them out when needed.
- mix up the eggs and add to the meat when a bit cooled

Healthy Holiday Substitutions: "Candied Yams"

So I am playing grown up this year and hosting Christmas dinner for my in-laws.  I am excited to share the full menu with you beforehand to give you some ideas about how to make the usually extravagant (and food-coma inducing!) meal a little bit healthier.  I test drove this substitute for candied yams yesterday and I love it.  Not only does it taste fantastic, it literally took me 5 mins to prepare!  I will be hosting 11 hungry people so the recipe below will be a large portion - feel free to half it!

Ingredients:
3-4 medium sized yams
2 medium sized gala apples
3/4 can coconut milk
splash of organic pure vanilla extract
cinnamon
all-spice
salt/pepper
1/4 cup unpasteurised liquid honey (or you could prob use pure maple syrup too...)
1 cup whole pecans (more or less to your liking)
1/2 cup raisins (more or less to your liking)

Prep:
* Chop yams and apples into cubes and toss into the slow cooker.
* In a bowl, mix together the coconut milk, vanilla, some cinnamon, some all-spice,  a dash of salt and pepper and the honey.
* Pour the mixture over the yams and apples and slow cook on low for 6 hrs.
* Mix in the pecans and raisins about 15 mins before you serve to let the pecans soften a bit.

It also makes the house smell wonderful! This will be my stand in for the candied yams and also for the stuffing (we don't eat bread and I also gag when trying to stuff it inside the turkey!! :)

33 Day Transformation - Week 5:

Things I prepped this week:

Before

* Lean green turkey
* Chicken breast
* Salad stuff
* Chicken egg quiche
(I ate a lot of extra lean white meat to
prep for the photo shoot this week
on Thursday!)


Monday 22nd: 132.6

6 - lean green turkey and veggies
6:30 - coffee
10 - lean green turkey and veggies
(12:30 upper body workout and walk)
1:30 - salad with chicken, avocado, peppers, cucumber, balsamic vin, oil)
2 - coffee
5 - red snapper fish
6 - cucumber

After

7:15 - pumpkin seeds and dandelion tea

Tuesday 23rd: 131.4

9 - lean green turkey, coffee
11:30 - snapper and green beans
(1 - leg workout)
2 - salad with cucumber, 1/2 avocado, chicken, balsamic vin, oil)
6 - chicken breast, snapper and green beans
7 - dandelion tea

Wednesday 24th: 131.2

5:30 - lean green turkey, coffee
9 - cucumber
(12 - upper body workout)
1 - chicken breast and green beans
3 - salad with 1/2 avocado, peppers, balsamic and oil
6 - salmon and asparagus
7 - dandelion tea

Thursday 25th:  Photo shoot day!

7 - coffee and egg whites with cinnamon
9 - 11:30:  phootshoot!
12 - lunch at Montana's: Burger with no bun and yam fries! Then 3 mini Crave cupcakes!
A nice treat for all the hard work :)


Things I might have done differently....
I don't mind eating similar things every day (as long as they are things I like), but some people do get bored.  If I wasn't quite as busy with work, I could have been more creative - I do often make more of a variety of meals.  One thing to keep in mind is that when your looking at the food I ate above - you can always swap out any white meat for other white meat 9if I had chicken you can have fish or turkey, you can swap green veg for green veg... etc.  This can keep your taste buds a little happier if you tend to crave new tastes.  I also used a variety of spices each time to make the same meal taste a little different - hot spices and Indian spices are particularly nice :)

Following this last week or last 10 days can even make you feel extra good if you have a special event or trip coming up (sexy tight Christmas party dress or bikini/beach vacation!).  It's just a lean, clean way to eat to tighten up a little bit :)

I hope this 5 week series helped you understand that you can dramatically change your body in as little as 5 weeks with just a little planning and prep - and most importantly, in a healthy way!  My skin looked great, my digestive system felt great, I woke up feeling quite refreshed and lean (not puffy and groggy), I wasn't hungry... It's a safe and effective way to lose body fat while maintaining your muscle mass and energy. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me directly (my contact is on our website www.flipfitnesscanada.com) for more info or to get more help in starting your own 5 -8 week challenge in the new year!  Keep checkin in on the blog for more recipes and fitness tips to come!
Thanks for following :)