What’s On Your Plate Wednesday

 What’s your favourite kind of salad dressing? 

Did you know making your own dressing could be SO EASY and QUICK?

Plus no need to have 12 different dressings taking up space in your fridge! Control the quality of your ingredients - a lot of store bought dressings use oils that are inflammatory to both the digestive tract as well as to your muscles/joints! 

I whipped up this dinner tonight for the family in under 30 minutes - the chicken was done in the BBQ and seasoned with Montreal Chicken spice from Epicure and served with Caesar salad!  

If you want to learn more about Epicure solutions and don’t already have a spicy crack dealer aka Epicure consultant - my friend the lovely Lisa  Maybery is a consultant and she can hook you up! 

Bon Appetite

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life  

*post contains affiliate links 

Ooey Gooey Queso cauliflower with Lime Guacamole Pork Chop!

If you’ve been following me you know I just LOVE Epicure meal solutions and seasonings! 

They make clean eating a snap! 

Plus you can think outside the box so to speak and use items anyway you want to explore! 

Tonight I used the Ooey Gooey Queso dip to make a sauce for our roasted cauliflower side! I used half the suggested amount of milk and stirred it up and poured over chopped cauliflower florets in the large steamer. Added handful of bacon bits and chives and tossed to cover the cauliflower evenly. Sprinkled 1/2 cup shredded cheese over the top and baked in oven on 400F for 45 minutes until the cauliflower was tender and the cheese browned up on the edges.

I created a marinade for our pork chops using the Guacamole seasoning, lime juice and a wee bit avocado oil. 

Popped it all in a ziplock baggie and let the pork chops sit in fridge for a couple hours before grilling them on BBQ! 

So delicious! 

What’s your favourite Epicure meal solution? 

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Like, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life  

Cheesy Low Carb Cabbage Casserole

 Nom nom - saw this recipe on a video on Facebook and had to give it a try! 

 

What you need:

• 250 grams cabbage or if your lazy like me Coleslaw mix
• 1/4 of an onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 cup spinach, sliced
• 200 grams Cream Cheese, softened
• 50 grams Parmesan cheese 
• 3 eggs, room temperature
  
• 1 tsp Epicure Marinara seasoning or swap for Oregano 
• Salt & Pepper to taste 
• 4 ounces shredded cheese of choice - we like old nippy cheese
  

 

What you do:

 

1. Gather up all your ingredients - you want the cream cheese to soften so that it blends well so I let it and the eggs sit to room temperature first before getting my other items together. Preheat oven to 350F.

 

 

Next chop up your onion, tomato and spinach and set aside.

Mix the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and spices until it forms a creamy sauce - than fold in the Cabbage and mix well so it is all covered in the sauce.

Gently fold in the onion, tomato and spinach to mix well.

Grease a baking dish with Extra Virgin Olive oil

Spread mixture into the dish and top with grated cheese of your choice - I did a mixture of the White Fox and 5 year old cheddar for this round.

Bake at the 350F for 30 minutes

Serve with your favorite protien option - or this is so tasty it would be lovely on its own for a lunch size serving.

Bon Appetite 

 

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

*post contains affiliate link

Loaded ‘Cheese, Chives & Bacon Baked Potato’ salad - low carb version

 Who loves potato salad? It is the one comfort 'grain' based food that I miss but thankfully there is always ways to adapt one's favorite recipes to a healthier low carb alternative! 

Meet the 'Faux' Loaded Cheese, Chives and Bacon Baked Potato!

Now the original recipe I found that inspired this said to 'steam' the cauliflower however I found the texture of that method less than desirable - not a fan of steamed cauliflower! 

So I roast mine! Cut them into bite size pieces. Toss with some extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes on 400F until they are tender and start to get some caramelized edges. Let cool.

While the cauliflower is cooling chop up your favorite veggies - either traditional potato salad veggies or I like a lot of colour so to mine I have added 1/4 cup each of onion, chives, celery, shredded carrots, red pepper from my garden and radish. I have also chopped up 4 slices of crispy bacon!

Now for my potato salad sauce I love the quick and easy spice blend from Epicure ...just need 2 tablespoons and add in 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/2 cup of plain Greek Yogurt! Mix well!

It looks and tastes AMAZING!!!! And swapping out the Potatoes for Cauliflower lowers the carb count and insulin reaction considerable so I can enjoy this tonight with a nice BBQ pork chop guilty free!

 

Come on over to our Facebook community for more conversations about healthy eating, living and self care!

Bon Appetite 

Margaret 

Live, Laugh, Love 

Be Totallyawake

*post contains affiliate links

Grain Free Yorkshire pudding!

Hmmm gonna have to get a roast beef so I have a reason to try this grain free Yorkshire recipe from Carb Manager!

 

Do you love Yorkshire pudding?

 

Bon Appetite!

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

Spagetti Squash Au Gratin

I Love Spaghetti Squash! It is such an amazing alternative to pasta and potato dishes for grain free eating or trying to reduce your carb count! It basically takes on whatever flavor you add to it with very little flavor of it's own - if you do not overcook it it has an el dente pasta or shredded potato texture to it.

What You Need:

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small sweet onion - very thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
• 1 teaspoon Epicure Fine Herbs or Paris Bistro
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

What You Do:

• Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. 
• Either bake 30 minutes face down at 350 or microwave 8-10 minutes on high . 
• In a medium sized pan over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and fine herbs and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Add pepper to taste and salt optional (I don’t cook with it personally).
• When squash is cooked use a fork to scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl. 
• Combine the squash, onions, yogurt and half the cheese together and mix well. 
• Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
• Place into a 375º oven for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Serve with a protein and side salad to balance your plate!

My favorite sides for this are Ham and steamed Broccoli because they remind me of Scallop Potatoes!

Happy eating

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life

Lemon Dilly Tuna Wraps

They say that April showers bring May flowers apparently but for me April brings daydreams of picnics at the park and spending more and more time outside with the crew! I love spending time outside which means this time of year I typically want to spend less time in the kitchen making food!

The weather is warming up, the days are getting longer and I am craving 'lighter meals' so today I whipped myself up some lovely Lemon Dilly Tuna Wraps for lunch ... so quick and easy a meal fixing but still with such a pleasureful punch of crispness and flavor and oh so filling! 

 

 

 

 

What You Need

•  1 can of low sodium water packed tuna
• 1/2 cup of diced sweet onion
• 1/4 cup of celery
• 1/4 cup of sweet peppers (red/green/orange)
• 4 large leafs of romaine, rinsed and patted dry
• 1 tbsp. of mayo
• 1 tbps. of Epicure lemon dilly seasoning 
• Pepper to taste

 

What You Do

• Mix the tuna, veggies, mayo and seasonings in a bowl
• Scoop 1/4 into each of the romaine leaf and wrap up like a burrito
• Let marinade in the fridge for a couple hours if possible for the flavors to blend 

 

Have an amazing day!

 

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

Spicy Cheese and Jalapeno Bites

Had a craving for deep fried cheese sticks after being out this past weekend for dinner with a friend who ordered some so came home and opted for some grain free Epicure inspired cheese bites! All the flavor and a fraction of the calories!

What you Need:

• Head of cauliflower - washed and broken up into bite size pieces
• 1 tbsp Coconut oil melted 
• 1 tbsp Cheese and Jalapeno seasoning
• 1 tbsp black pepper

What you Do:

• Toss cauliflower in melted coconut oil 
• Sprinkle in seasoning and pepper and toss to coat. Can add more seasoning if you want extra cheesy/spicy. 
• Bake at 400 F on a parchment lined pan for 20-30 minutes until crisps up
• Serve as a side with a meal or as a snack with some marinara sauce for dipping!     

Have an amazing day!


Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with a TWIST

So my family thinks I am crazy for taking the time to 'flower' our radishes but I totally think they taste BETTER when they are sliced like this ... I enjoy them sliced thing in a salad, sliced thin and sauteed with garlic and spices and I enjoy them floral inspired like this but I totally get wigged out trying to bite into a fully intact radish! 

So with trying to reduce my legume intake for a while to heal my gut after years of Celiac abuse I went searching for an option for my beloved hummus that was 'legume free' and found this tasty version from Meatafied  so thought I would give it a whirl with a bit of an Epicure Twist! 

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 

 

What You Need

• 1 cup soaked, rinsed and drained organic raw cashews 
• ¼ cup tahini 
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin or I used a tablespoon Epicure Garlic hummus blend
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
• ¼ cup coconut milk 
• 8 oz roasted red peppers, roughly chopped. Make sure to drain well if from a jar.
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika 

What You Do

• Pre-soak your cashews over night, rinse and drain.
• Add the cashews, tahini and garlic cloves to your mini food processer or blender and process until the mixture is a thick paste.
• Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and cumin and process to combine.
• Add the coconut milk, roasted red peppers and smoked paprika. Process one final time until the peppers are the consistency you like.

To garnish:

• Spoon the hummus into a bowl. Sprinkle extra with smoked paprika and some extra fine chopped roasted red pepper to finish.

My first time recipe review

While it is not an exact mimic of 'traditional hummus' I actually did not mind this at all the texture if very close ~ and I found the 'leftovers' much taster the next day so think the key might be to make it ahead and let it sit for a day before serving so that the spices can get absorbed into the mix and hide the bit of 'cashew' flavor that I found it had the first day! 

Have an amazing day!

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life 

Savory Paleo Butternut Squash Latkes

So what to eat when you are grain free and recoverying from a Rota-virus and the recommended 'BRAT DIET' of bananas, rice, applesauce and toast ends up being the BA diet of Bananas and applesauce! 

Look in the fridge and throw together what you think might be 'safe' to digest from the leftovers there so you do not to spend too much time standing at the stove and yet will still have lots of healthy benefits to get you back on your feet!

Butternut squash  packs a lovely punch of vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems so lets use up t hat!

Parsley  is rich in many vital vitamins, including Vitamin C, B 12, K and A. This means parsley keeps your immune system strong, tones your bones and heals the nervous system, too. It helps flush out excess fluid from the body, thus supporting kidney function.

Garlic which helps to boost immunity and detoxify the body so is an awesome aresenol in the diet to fight off sickness! 

Ginger has a long history of use for relieving digestive problems such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness and pain. 

Onions improve the working of Vitamin C in the body, thus gifting you with improved immunity.

Bacon  ~ well everything tastes better with bacon but it is actually GOOD for your health too!

So put them together with a couple clean eating staples like an egg, almond flour and coconut oil and what can you make?  

Savory Paleo Butternut Squash Latkes

Makes approximately 6 Latkes how many that serves depends on your appetite!

What You Need

• 2 cups of cooked butternut squash ~ scooped out of the skin.
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of almond flour
• 2 slices of cooked bacon very finely diced to help with digestion
• 1/2 an onion finely diced to help with digestion
• 1 Garlic glove minced for its antibacterial punch
• 1 pinch of ginger for its soothing tummy affects
• Few sprigs of fresh parsley 
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

What You Do

• In a bowl beat the egg well and add the remain ingredients to mix.
• Melt coconut oil over medium heat and drop a 'patty full' scoop onto the frying pan and flatten even with flipper. 
• Brown on each side for about 4 minutes until heated through.
• Serve as a meal on their own or as a side with some meat and veggies!

Nutritional Breakdown  

Based on the recipe making 'six' latkes ... the coconut oil and bacon gives it a bad 'saturated fat' rating but you need to decide for yourself if you feel this is a 'healthy fat' option or a 'bad fat' option cause IMO their analysis does not discriminate between fats when I put nuts in there they say they are bad too and nuts are full of healthy fats!

Have an amazing day!

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much!

Be  Totallyawake4-life

Savory Paleo Butternut Squash Latkes

Brussel Sprouts that taste like STUFFING??

What You Need
Serves 2 adults as a side dish or replacement for your grain dish

• Brussel sprouts about 20
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup of pecans ~ chopped
• 2 teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Epicure Apple and Sage seasoning or a stuffing season of your choice
• Tin foil

What You Do

•  Wash and cut brussel sprouts in half remove any brown core part
• Place brussel sprouts on a sheet of tin foil ~ add remaining ingredients over top and close up the tinfoil to form a pouch.
• BBQ over 400 F for 30-45 minutes until tender or could bake in the oven the same way I just prefer to cook on the BBQ cause it adds that additional flavor. 
• Pairs well with any meat ~ we had it with Pork chops this week

Have an amazing day!


Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life

Two ingredient jam ~ in minutes!

I was so excited when my friend Lisa told me that Epicure has come out with their own 'quick blend' Chai Jam seasoning ~ allowing for two ingredient jam ready to serve in minutes!

 Epicure Chai Jam

 

What You Need

• 2 cups of chopped fruit. Fresh or frozen  (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, mango, apples you choose or mix them up)
• 2 tablespoons Epicure Chai Seasoning blend

What You Do

• Prepare your fruit ~ remove stems, pits, seeds and skin as needed. Chop into small pieces to speed cooking and make it easier to 'puree' later.
•  Cook the fruit until it is able to be pureed with ease using a spoon. Either on the stove top 5-10 minutes or in the microwave ... only needed 3 minutes for the frozen option!

• Mash with a spatula or fork or using a handheld immersion blender to get your desired 'fruit puree' ~ we like chunks in our berrie jam so just use the fork to mash but with mango/peach we puree with the handheld.
• Add in 2 tablespoons of Chai seasoning blend stir until mixed. Let cool to room temperature and than transfer to a glass storage container ~ keeps 2 weeks in fridge if it hangs around that long! I made a batch today and served it to the crew over our two ingredient ice-cream so will need to make a second batch for the weekend!

Look how yummy it looks served over the homemade ice-cream we made with the daycare crew for a snack this afternoon!

If you are not fortunate enough to have an Epicure rep who can make your life easier and shave off time measuring and guessing in the kitchen ~ here is the 'traditional' from scratch method for Chai Jam ... it is awesome too but sometimes when chasing 5 kids around and trying to eat clean finding ways to shave off a few minutes in the kitchen is a godsend!

Regular Chai Jam

What You Need

•  2 cups of chopped fruit ~ fresh or frozen (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, mango, apples you choose or mix them up)
• 1-2 tablesppons of lemon juice - to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons of sweetener to taste (I prefer NONE but you can add honey, agave, maple syrup or regular sugar)
• 2 tablespoons chai seeds ~ plus more if needed

What You Do

•  Prepare your fruit ~ remove stems, pits, seeds and skin as needed. Chop into small pieces to speed cooking and make it easier to 'puree' later.
•  Cook the fruit until it is able to be pureed with ease using a spoon. Either on the stove top 5-10 minutes or in the microwave 4-6 minutes
• Mash with a spatula or wooden spoon or using a handheld immersion blender to get your desired 'fruit puree' ~ we like chunks in our berrie jam so just use the spoon but with mango/peach we puree with the handheld.
• Stir in the lemon and sweetener ~ taste test to get the flavor you desire. Add more sweetener as desired
• Stir in your chai seeds let stand 5 minutes on the counter. If you'd like 'thicker' jam add more chai seeds which might be needed with particularly 'juice' fruits. Add 1 teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
• Transfer to a glass jar with air tight seal when cooled to room temperature and store in the fridge. It will last for about 2 weeks in fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

 Have an amazing day!

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much! 
Be Totallyawake4-life



 

BBQ Squash French Fries and Poco Picante Chicken

BBQ Butternut Squash Fries with Poco Picante Chicken

BBQ Butternut Squash Fries

Used the process from here but used different flavoring ~ the Epicure BBQ chip seasoning however  you can easily DIY your own BBQ seasoning for this as well I just prefer having the guess work taken out.

Epicure BBQ Chip Seasoning

DIY BBQ Seasoning


What You Need

• 1/2 cup paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
• Salt ~ optional most recipes call for this but I personally do not add salt to any recipe

What You Do

• Mix all spices into a air tight container ~ use to taste in your recipes

Poco Picante Chicken

What You Need

• 4-5 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 4-5 teaspoons Poco Picante Spices ~ again lazy chef I use Epicure blend because it is quick and easy but if you do not have access to Epicure Selections representative you can DIY using Salsa spice 
• 1 tsp Coconut oil

What You Do

• Grease your casserole dish with coconut oil
• Rinse your meat and sprinkle each piece of chicken with 1 teaspoon of the poco picante seasoning
• Bake in the oven at 350F for 30-45 minutes until no longer pink in the middle or if using a meat thermometer the temperature of 165 F is reached when inserted in the middle.

 DIY Poco Picante DRY Seasoning

What You Need

Epicure Selections Poco Picante

• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp red chili peppers
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste for 'hot preferences'
• 1 tbsp garlic seasoning 
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp ground oregano 
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp onion flakes

What You Do

•  Mix all spices and store in air tight container labelled 'Poco Picante spices'

 

Poco Picante Chicken with BBQ Butternut Squash

This is one of my favorite meals cause it packs a lot of flavor but is low sodium, low carb and high protein and full of awesome nutrients and ready in under 45 minutes from start to finish most of which the time spent 'cooking 'is very low maintenance so I can be multi tasking other things! 

Have an amazing day!

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Totallyawake4-life