My Favourite Guacamole!

I love avocados so naturally I love guacamole.  This is my recipe:

* 2 ripe avocados
* fresh juice from 1/3 of a lemon
* finely chopped cilantro
* garlic powder or fresh pressed garlic
* onion salt
* Cajun spice

Combine the above in a glass dish and mash with a fork.  So simple!  It is delicious with cucumbers or carrots dipped into it.  I even like to use it on a burger patty as a topping or on chicken breast.  The lemon keeps it from going brown as well and it keeps in the fridge nicley for at least 4 days.

Simple Series: Meat and Veggie Bowl

All of the ideas I've shared are meals I have obviously made for myself and thought, 'this is just too easy - I gotta share!".  Many of them I made in the same week (as you can see they include some of the same ingredients used differently.) This is one of those meals as well.  I ate this for breakfast.  I had some ground beef and veggies left over from the casserole dish I threw together earlier so I simply tossed them all together, added some garlic and onion powder, basil and pepper and heated it up.  Sounds too simple to be any good huh?  But it was delicious, healthy and filling!  Stop thinking great food can't be easy and simple and you will watch the excuses for not eating clean vanish (and watch your results improve exponentially!). I'm not saying doing a fun complex dish here and there isn't amazing - I love to whip something special up now and then - but these ideas are for everyday living and to get you on track toward your healthiest, leanest body yet :)

You can do this with any leftovers (chicken, sausage, any veggies...) - simply add a few new spices and reheat for a whole new taste!

Simple Series: Chicken Veggie Cilantro Salad

I love cilantro! So this is a great fresh meal I can whip up in 2 minutes with leftovers. Sometimes I also don't feel like having lettuce with a salad - this has a great hearty texture without it.

Simply mix the following ingredients:
* Chopped cold leftover chicken (cubes)
* Fresh yellow and orange peppers
* Chopped carrot
* English cucumber
* Fresh chopped cilantro
* Small handful of raw pumpkin seeds
* Dress with olive oil, balsamic vin and squirt of lemon juice.

Could this get any easier?  I love the fresh cool flavors and texture of this super simple meal - and how incredibly healthy it is!

Simple Series: Chicken veggie omlete

This is such a yummy meal!  Because you should always have some cooked chicken on hand from your bulk cook :) its fast and easy too!  In a pan, cook up some onions and peppers until soft and toss in the leftover chopped chicken to reheat. Pour 2 to 4 whisked eggs into another pan. Flip when one side is cooked, add the chicken, pepper, onion filling, fold over and finish!  I
love this omelet with some salsa and slices of avocado.  SO easy, yet so filling and satisfying.

Are you starting to see how simple healthy eating can be?  Don't overthink things and you can enjoy your healthy meals without the stress and mess of a big cooking ordeal!

Simple Series: Simple Salad

I personally don't think salad is boring or think of it like a "diet" food.  Salads are yummy! And super easy if you have a few things prepped ahead of time.

As many of you know, we always cook in bulk on Sundays for the week.  We include things like the beef veggie casserole I shared with you 2 posts ago, maybe some spolumbos and burgers on the BBQ, and some chicken in the oven.  We also will chop up a ton of different lettuce and put it in a huge container in the fridge so we can just grab a handful for salads like this one.  It really reduces the prevalence of the much used excuse for it "taking too long to chop everything for a salad".  I often also boil 4 or 5 eggs for a week and keep them in the fridge for a quick snack on the run or again, for a salad like this.  Make it easy for yourself and your health will benefit in such a positive way!

Ingredients:
* mixed greens (we usually use spinach, romaine hearts, and a tub of the mixed field greens all mixed together in a large container in the fridge)
* 1/3 of an apple chopped (if you made yesterdays breaky bowl with another 1/3 apple, you will now have a 1/3 apple left for tomorrow too... Fruit is best in small amounts instead of a whole one so you don't effect your blood sugar and insulin as much... yet you can still enjoy the yummy sweet taste. I rarely eat a whole fruit in one sitting :)
* 1 hard boiled egg chopped
* 1/2 an english cucumber chopped
* 1 or 2 tbsp hemp seeds

I make my own salad dressing and keep it on hand.  Sometimes I do a simple olive oil and balsamic vin but the favourite dressing I make is a honey mustard vinaigrette:
* olive oil
* balsamic vin
* big squirt of organic stone ground mustard
* tiny squirt of unpasteurised raw honey
* dried garlic
* black pepper
* sea salt

Keep it simple and enjoy!

Simple Series: Breaky bowl

Here is a super quick breakfast (or anytime!) meal that you can whip up if you are running low on your bulk food or if you feel like a bit of a treat but don't want to jump off the healthy food ship :)

I find it makes a nice breakfast or snack when I crave something a bit sweet.

Ingredients:
* 3 spoonfuls plain cultured coconut milk (it looks a bit like yogurt but a bit more slimy and thick)
* 1/3 of an apple - chopped
* sprinkle of walnut or pecan pieces and/or raw pumpkin seeds
* sprinkle of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and enjoy!  It has a nice texture with the different ingredients but it is still dairy and wheat free. Its a great snack for those wanting/needing to increase their healthy fat intake.

Simple Series: Beef Veggie Casserole

Who says healthy eating has to complicated?  True, whole fresh foods often do take some measure of prep in relation to processed packaged foods, but it is MUCH more of a minimal task if you know what you are doing and prepare in bulk.  And let's face it - processed foods should not even be an option at this point if you have any regard for your health and wellness at all!

Here is my first super easy recipe that your whole family will love and you can munch on all week.  It really feels like comfort food and works well for any meal of the day.

Ingredients:
* ground beef
* 1 sweet white or yellow onion
* brussel sprouts
* 1 frozen bag of cut green beans
* fresh spinach
* tomato sauce (I always choose a brand in a glass container with no corn syrup and no sugar in the ingredient list - or I get some crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and add my own spices for a sauce)

To make:
1) Chop then cook the onion until clear (I use coconut oil or organic butter), set aside.
2) Cook beef, drain and add the onions back into the wok/large pan.
3) Add chopped brussel sprouts, some frozen green beans, chopped spinach and the tomato sauce.
4) Cover and simmer on medium/low mixing every so often until spinach is wilted and beans/brussels are tender.
5) Done! So easy and quick - reheats well or can even be yummy cold. A bowl of this casserole is really healthy as it has great protein and nutrient density with both the beef and veggies - a complete meal!

Almond flour cake/cupcakes

I've served this to a few friends lately and I keep getting asked for the recipe - so here you go!
It's my go to recipe when I want to make a treat for someone or a party/Christmas etc. I just tweak it a little for the occasion.  You can do it in a cake form or as cupcakes. I keep the cupcakes plain, then make either a maple cream cheese icing or a coconut milk icing.  For the cake you can be a little naughty and add chocolate chips (which makes it not paleo :), or you could add walnut pieces and raisins, or mashed banana and pecan pieces...experiment!  The base works well for a lot of different variations.

Here is the recipe for the cake in the picture:

* 2  1/2 cups almond flour
* 1/2 cup flax meal
* 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
* 1/4 cup raw unpasteurised honey
* 3 eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 2 tsp stevia (if I use chocolate chips, I only add 1 tsp since the chips make it really sweet already)
* 1 cup semi sweet or dark mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Grease a cake pan with coconut oil (or line cupcake pan with liners).
3. Mix all dry ingredients.
4. Whisk all wet ingredients in separate bowl.
5. Combine and stir with wooden spoon until just combined - don't over mix.
6. Empty batter into cake pan or cupcake liners.
7. Bake 25 mins for cake or until toothpick comes out clean and it's golden brown on the top (or a little less - 20-23 mins for cupcakes)
8. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan.  It's nice warm or I like to put it in the fridge for a few hours and serve cold either alone as narrow slices you can eat with your hands from a napkin for guests with a coffee, or at dinner parties I serve it with homemade banana soft serve icecream from the yonanas machine.