So good. I’m thrilled chili garlic sauce is having a moment – I’d completely forgotten about how damn delicious it makes pretty much everything.
This is a nice and light salad – perfect for a quick lunch, or you can beef it up with orzo or soba for a really nice company side. If you need it up, I’d double the dressing.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Chili Garlic Cucumber Salad
1.5 Tbsp chili garlic crisp sauce
1 Tbsp sushi vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
Salt & pepper
3 small Persian cucumbers, chopped
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
150 g small sweet peppers, cut into rings
1/4 c red onion, cut into thin half-moon slices
4 Tbsp mixed herbs (I used dill, lemon thyme and mint), minced
2 Tbsp sushi ginger, chopped
Optional mix-in: rotisserie chicken or other protein
Mix all liquids together in a large bowl to form a dressing. Toss in all the veggies & ginger. Mix in your protein if desired.
This is a vague nod to the strawberry grain pot from Starbucks – ala @fitmenchef on Instagram. It’s hearty, packed with protein, and quick to whip up in a batch.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Strawberry Breakfast Grains
First, set the grains on to cook by combining:
1c quinoa
3C water
And cooking like you usually cook quinoa. I put mine on the “rice” setting of my slow cooker.
While that is working, make the strawberries.
To do so, combine:
800g frozen strawberries
100ml orange juice
6tsp cinnamon
4t butter
Sprinkle salt & black pepper
1 tsp vanilla powder
Sauté over medium until most of the water evaporates and the mix gets syrupy.
While those are both cooking, make the crème by combining:
350g soft tofu
10Tbsp collagen protein
1c oat milk
1tsp vanilla powder
Blend to combine.
When the quinoa is finished, mix in:
1.5c rolled oats
Let sit to cool.
When all is done, mix the crème into the grains and divide into 7 portions. Top with the strawberries.
To serve, you may want some added sugar – I ended up adding about a teaspoon and a half of maple sugar to each portion. I also added some of my favorite seed mix, though shaved almonds would be even better.
This is a blind stab at recreating the show-stopping salad served at Heenat Salma Farm last month during the yoga/Pilates day retreat I went to.
It’s not perfect – by far – and I meant to “fix” the issues the original had (too sweet dressing – needed acid and/or heat), but I’m not sure this hit the mark. It’s been like a month since I’ve tasted the original, and all those ingredients were organic farm fresh – so I did what I could.
This rendition is fantastic. Not the same as the other, but definitely craveable.
gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan
Heenat Salad
2 nectarines, chopped
8 dates, seeded and chopped
200g feta (I used vegan feta from Sheese), cubed
~2c kale, chopped
~4c red lettuce, chopped
~1/4c red onion, sliced into wafer thin moons
~1/2c walnuts, chopped
~1/2c (roughly 20) black olives, chopped
~1/4c cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
3Tbsp date syrup
2tsp cardamom (ground)
3Tbsp lime juice
6Tbsp olive oil
1tsp smoked paprika
Salt & pepper
Whisk dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add all the salad ingredients (minus the feta) and massage in. Add the feta, generous salt & pepper and toss to combine.
This is a quick-n-dirty stir fry I threw together the first week back from vacation inspired by Thai flavors – without having to source a few specialty ingredients.
gluten-free, paleo
Simple Stir Fry
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
Zucchini, sliced into half moons
Bell pepper, chopped bite sized
Yellow onion, sliced into thin half moons
Green beans, chopped bite sized
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp fish sauce (check your labels for paleo & gluten free)
1 Tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
2 tsp ketjap manis (check your labels)
2 tsp molasses
Chop your veg. You are looking for about 5 – 6 cups total veg in whatever configuration you’ve got. Add to a large bowl.
Chop your chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the sauces. Pour over the veg & meat and toss.
Preheat your air fryer to 400F for 3 mins.
Air fry your mixture for 8 or 9 minutes (I did 2 batches for a total of 19 minutes), tossing once or twice per go.
Serves 3 – 4 with no carbs; can easily stretch with carbs
We’ve been eating one of these steaks most nights we have been home these last few months – DH has perfected his method to a science. I just tried it and smoked the damn house out (again) 😂🙄🤷♀️.
gluten-free, paleo, keto
Air Fryer Steak
A steak – preferably ribeye or strip of about 12 – 14 ounces and an inch thick
A little butter
Your favorite seasoning (we use Lowry’s Seasoning Salt)
Preheat your air fryer on 400F for 3 minutes.
Season 1 side of your steak, add to the basket of the air fryer seasoning side down and season the other.
Let cook 3 minutes.
While that’s cooking, get a pan ripping hot. When DH does this, he uses the center burner of our stove – which apparently doesn’t get as hot as my favorite burner, which smoked the house out.
Cook 1:30 per side.
Remove from the heat, pop your little bit of butter on, and let rest a few minutes.
We slice ours into bite-sized pieces because we are heathens and have been having great fun with ‘kitchen steak’. Seats are for sides. 😆
These babies are a riff on Lions Head meatballs and use up a chunk of the bounty pork belly my wonderful DH brought home last week. One can only have so many days of pork belly slices in a row.
gluten-free, paleo
Pork Belly Meatballs
Meatballs:
500 – 600g pork belly, skin off
1 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (check your labels!)
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp sichuan pepper (I mashed 6 – 10 peppercorns with the butt of my knife to crush)
To form the meatballs, chuck all the ingredients in a food processor and work into a paste. Form into ping pong sized balls and set aside.
Simmer Sauce:
1.5 Tbsp oil
1 cube sugar
2 Tbsp ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sichuan pepper
2 tsp 5-spice powder
2.5 c water
2.5 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 c mirin
2 tsp sweet soy (check your labels!)
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
Bring all simmer sauce ingredients but the cornstarch to a hard simmer in a large pan. Let simmer 5 minutes to reduce a bit and get the flavors to start working together.
Add the cornstarch slurry and let cook, stirring, a minute or so until you think it’s beginning to thicken.
Nestle the meatballs in the pan and cook, covered, 5 minutes.
Add 1/2 a package snow peas, halved, and a couple bok choy, chopped.
Pop the lid back on and let go 3 minutes. Take the lid off and continue cooking another 2 – 3 minutes.
Serves 3 – 4 for dinner as a stand-alone, if fleshed out with a carb could stretch another serving
Gastography 