Creamy Avocado Smoothie

This smoothie is much like my seedy green smoothie. It is very creamy and very green. Avocados, bananas and blueberries are great for your skin, so this is a great combo.

• 1/2 small ripe to semi ripe avocado
• 1-2 cups of fresh spinach or kale (or combo of both)
• 1 banana (fresh semi-ripe)
• 1 sliver of fresh ginger
  
• 1/4 cup of frozen cherries
• 1/4 cup of blueberries (fresh-preferred)
• 8 oz hemp milk (unsweetened)
• 2 oz spring or filtered water
  
• 2 Tb protein powder
• 1 Tb cocao nibs
• 2 Tb of water soaked chia seeds
  

Put everything into a blender in this order and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Tuna and Fennel Pasta Salad

This pasta is easy to make and delicious. I usually make this when I want pasta for lunch or want to make an easy dinner. Enjoy it hot or cold.

• 1 can light chunk tuna in spring water-drained
• 1-2 cups of dry Tinkyada brown rice fusilli pasta
• 3 Tb Vegenaise (high omega 3 preferred)
• 1 tsp coconut or apple cider vinegar
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 red bell pepper diced
  
• 2 Tb diced onion
  
• 2 Tb fresh chopped Italian parsley
• 1 layer (or whatever you call it) of fennel diced-makes about 3 Tb's
  
• 1 tsp dried dill
• ayenne pepper to taste
  
• Himalayan sea salt to taste
• dash of old bay seasoning
• dash of chili powder

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking add all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. When pasta is done you can drain out all the water and add hot to the tuna mixture. Eat hot if you want, or you can chill it and eat it later.

Sausage and Peppers

This is a really easy dish that is really tasty. I love to eat this with brown rice.

• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 chicken, turkey or beef sausage (if you can get an interesting fresh sausage that is great! I get mine from Whole Foods Market's meat department. I really love the chipotle cherry chicken sausage for this dish.) Italian can be the next best choice if you can't get a hold of fresh uncooked sausage.
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves very thinly sliced or minced
• sea salt and cayenne pepper
• 2 Tb olive oil

Place sausage into a pan and broil in the oven until brown on each side will be about 85% cooked. Let cool a bit.

Slice onion and bell pepper into about 1-2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide strips. Sautee onions first with olive oil. Then slice semi-cooked sausage into diagonal circles. Add sausage and garlic to pan. Season with sea salt and cayenne. Cook till onion is a bit transparent and sausage is cooked thoroughly.

Dry Rubbed Chicken Drumsticks

I made this the other night and it tasted pretty darn good. I don't have measurements, because I just sprinkled all the spices on top and then rubbed them in. So you might get something a bit different than me.

• However many bone-in chicken legs you will need (I made 5) skin removed
• 2 Tb paprika
• 1 dash coriander
• 1 Tb garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 Tb sea salt
• 1 small small dash of cinnamon powder
  

Mix all the spices in a small bowl and them pour over chicken legs. Rub spices into the legs until all legs are covered.

Let marinate for maybe day, but not totally necessary.

I cooked these on my cast iron grill pan, so grill as you like, but this is what I did:
Grill once on each side on a oiled cast iron grill pan. Each side should have dark brown grill marks and start smoking a bit. When you flip the legs over on the 2nd side preheat oven to 300 degrees. When 2nd side is done put pan into oven and let the inside get fully cooked. Let stand for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

This is one of my favorite fresh dishes to make. It is semi-raw, you can make it totally raw by sprouting the quinoa, don't ask me how to do it, I haven't done it yet! Anyway, this is great as a main course with tortilla chips, rice chips, pita or brown rice tortillas or as a side dish to any great meal! I actually eat this warm sometimes as well.

• 1 bunch of parsley, minced
  
• 2 big leaves of kale (green, red or dino is great), minced
  
• 3-4 lemons, juiced
• splash of Apple Cider vinegar
• 2-4 Tb olive oil OR 2 Tb of Tahini butter
  
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 3 shallots, minced
  
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
  
• 2 Tb garlic powder
• Himalayan sea salt to taste
  
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 5 cherry tomatoes, diced (optional)
• 1 small shredded carrot (optional)

Directions: Place the water and quinoa in a pot to boil. When boiling cover with a lid and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, goal is to have no water left without burning it. Let cool.

Throw everything in a bowl, diced or minced as directed. You can dice everything really small if you like or you can leave some chunky. I like to use a big Tupperware container and just shake the heck out of it to mix everything and then you chill this in your fridge for hours. The longer it marinates the better! Enjoy!

Chickpea and Fennel Salad

I had this dish at the Laughing Seed, a vegetarian restaurant in Asheville, NC. I think I have re-created it in my own way. It is fresh, simple and yummy!

• 2 cups fresh cooked and chilled chickpea/garbanzo beans (canned won't taste as good, you can cook a big batch ahead of time and save left overs in freezer for hummus another day!)
  
• 2 fennel bulbs
• 3 lemons juiced
• 2 Tb olive oil
• 1 Tb garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp or less cayenne pepper
• 1 Tb raw coconut or raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tb Himalayan sea salt
• 1 dash of onion powder (optional)
• (you can also add onion, bell pepper and tomato if you want more color and flavor)
  

Rinse fennel and beans. Remove core of fennel and thinly slice and then lightly dice, do not mince, you just don't want them too big! Put everything in a bowl and mix, let chill for a while and then serve. I like to use a container instead of a bowl so I can shake everything instead of stirring and then it's ready to put in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Creamy Baked Tilapia

This dish is tangy and creamy, dairy free, gluten free and totally delicious.

• 2 fresh tilapia fillets
• 4-5 Tb Vegenaise (or your favorite dairy free/gluten free mayo)
• 1 tsp dill (fresh or dried)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tb Rice Parmesan
• 1 tsp Himalayan salt (or other sea salt)
• 1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper
• optional: a bit of lemon zest or juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except fish. Place tilapia in a baking pan (will get juicy) and spoon mayo mix over the fish and smooth to cover top of fish. Sprinkle a bit more Rice Parmesan on top and then bake until fish is ready and mayo top is a bit brown. (about 15-20 mins)


Note: Not actual picture of this recipe (but closest I could find!)

Favorite GF/DF Products

This list is ever changing, so check it often for updates!

Tinkyada Pasta

Udi's Bread

Lundberg rice chips

Quinoa (love to use this for salads, tabouli, etc.)

Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds,
etc.

Bob's Red Mill has some great GF products as well

Pamela's

Glutino products are great

Ener-G crackers (their bread is the worst in the world, don't do it!)

Gluten Free Oats

Galaxy Nutritional Foods: Rice shreds and parmesan

Vegenaise: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free!

Enjoy Life: Brown Rice Tortillas and Cookies

Whole Foods Market Gluten Free Bakehouse: Pie Crust!!! (great for quiche and pies!)

Wow Baking Co: Cookies and more!

Walnut Kale Pesto

This is an great dairy free pesto, especially good if you don't have much fresh herbs on hand and if you are on a budget since pine nuts are freaking expensive. I just made this on the fly, and it turned out really good. I have a little basil plant, but it doesn't produce much basil, so I had to improvise.

• 2 tb fresh basil
• 1 tb fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh kale
• 1/4 cup walnut halves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 Tb rice Parmesan cheese (or regular parmesan, or soy parmesan... I love the rice kind by Galaxy Nutritional Foods)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp sea salt (Celtic or Himalayan is best!)

Throw everything in a food processor and pulse/blend till smooth!

Enjoy on pizza, with bread, on pasta, on sandwiches, salads as a dressing... or whatever you like!

Japanese Raw Ginger Dressing

This salad dressing is my new favorite. It's a bit toastier that what you probably have had at sushi restaurants, but it comes close!

• 1 Tb finely chopped fresh ginger root
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 2 tb chopped celery
• 1/2 bragg's liquid amino's
• 1/2 coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cold pressed grapeseed oil
• 1 garlic clove chopped
  

Throw it all in a blender and enjoy cold over your favorite lettuce and/or spouts!
I would also imagine this would be great as a marinade.

My Seedy Green Smoothie

This smoothie is packed with protein, omega fatty acids, fiber, live greens and fruit, antioxidants, etc. To me it tastes almost like cookie dough. I started using Chia Seeds every morning and my digestive system is working better, I don't feel sleepy throughout the day hardly at all anymore, in other words I have more energy. I have many variations of this smoothie, I will give you a basic recipe and then I will give you options on my expansions to it.

• 2 Tb Chia Seeds
• 1/4 cup spring or filtered water
• 1 Tb Matcha (green tea) Powder
• 2 Tb Unflavored/Unsweetened Protein Powder (I use Nutiva's hemp protein)
• 2-3 leaves of Kale (sub mixed greens, spinach or broccoli if you desired)
  
• 8 oz (1 cup) of unsweetened Hemp, Rice or Almond Milk
• 1 fresh semi ripe or ripe banana
• 1 Tb Cocoa Nibs
• 1 Nickle size slice of fresh ginger (more or less, whichever you like)

Directions:

Soak Chia seeds in the water, stirring frequently. When Chia seeds have fully gelled (usually takes up to 10 minutes) they are ready!

Put all of them in a blender and blend till smooth! Drink ASAP so you get all benefits before they oxidize!


Variations:

• Add a bit of any other fruit you like, sometimes I add frozen cherries and that tastes amazing!
• Sometimes I will use 1/2 cup of unsweetened or sweetened chocolate almond, rice or hemp milk and the other half unsweetened original flavor. I wouldn't use soy milk because you probably don't need all those unnecessary hormones, right?
  
• You can also use fresh broccoli instead or in addition to the other greens, it makes it taste a bit grassy, but is a good way to sneak in fresh broccoli! I use it sometimes if I'm out of everything else.
• Just have fun and tailor this to your needs, its all about getting in fresh veggies, fruit and seeds in an easy way!

ps. I stole this picture from the internet, but you get the idea!