Tag: recipes

Chili Garlic Cucumber Salad

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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.

Serves 2

Miso Peach Salad

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This is a nice little salad – a little salty, some nice umami and a punch of heat.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Miso Peach Salad

1 tsp white miso

2 Tbsp balsamic glaze

3 Tbsp olive oil

Dash lime juice

Dash of heat – I’ve been using chili garlic sauce from Indifoods and adding more to each serving before eating

Salt & pepper

3 small cucumbers, chopped

500g mixed greens

1 kohlrabi, peeled and julienned

3 peaches, chopped

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

Optional toppers: tikka spiced chicken, crunchy seed mix, flaky salt & cracked pepper

In a big bowl, whisk the miso, balsamic, oil, lime juice & heat to form a dressing.

Toss the rest of the ingredients in the dressing and serve with optional toppers.

Serves 3 as a big salad

Strawberry Breakfast Grains

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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.

Serves 7

Steak Salad with Spicy Mango Dressing

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This is a fantastic lunch – or dinner – salad. It’s quick to make, bright and fresh, and with a hit of protein.

gluten-free, paleo

Steak Salad with Spicy Mango Dressing

Dressing:

1 mango

1 thumb ginger

4 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp orange juice

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Sprinkle red chili flakes

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp hot & sweet sauce from Indifoods

Juice of 2 limes

Salt & pepper

Salad:

Leftover cooked steak

~ 1/2 c radish, sliced thin

3 small cucumber, sliced into thin half moons

1/3 – 1/2 c frozen peas, thawed

500g baby spinach

10-20 cherry tomatoes, halved

Assemble all dressing ingredients in a blender. Whiz to combine.

In a large bowl, assemble all salad ingredients and toss.

Toss with dressing and serve – I top with my favorite seedy salad topper mix.

Serves 3-ish if you’re having a big lunch salad

No Added Fat Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes

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This is a killer weeknight crispy potato recipe that comes together quickly and requires zero added fat.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo

No Added Fat Crispy Air Fryer Potatoes

1 large baking potato, cut into bite-sized pieces

Lots of salt

A seasoning – I used chicken salt, but your current favorite potato seasoning would be perfect

Generously salt a pot of water.

Add your potatoes and bring up to a boil.

Boil until fork tender, about 8 mins.

During the last few minutes of cooking, preheat your air fryer to 400F.

When the potatoes are tender, drain and chuck back into the pot you cooked them in. Vigorously shake to break the potatoes up a bit and get them messy. Toss with your seasoning and air fry about 12 minutes, shaking a couple times during cooking, until your desired crispiness has been reached.

Serves 2, but can be quickly scaled

Heenat Salad

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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.

Serves 4

Tropical Overnight Oats

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These decadent-tasting overnight oats are so freakin good – just the thing to welcome myself back into the swing of not-vacation life.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Tropical Overnight Oats

1/3 c rolled oats

2-3 Tbsp pineapple chunks

2 Tbsp coconut flakes

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp protein powder of choice

1/3 c your favorite milk

2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Few grinds salt

Optional topper: seed mix (my fav is a pumpkin & sunflower mix)

Combine all ingredients but the pineapple in an airtight container. Shake vigorously to combine, and let sit overnight.

To serve, top with the pineapple, a few flakes more coconut if desired and your favorite seed mix for crunch.

Serves 1 but is easily scalable

Simple Stir Fry

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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

Air Fryer Steak

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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. 😆

Serves 2

Pork Belly Meatballs

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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