Monthly Archives: May 2015

Sides

Cauliflower and Bacon “Potato” Salad

Leave a comment

Cauliflower and Bacon "Potato" Salad - Healing and Eating

Happy Memorial Day! I love summer picnic style food, especially since it’s so easy to make ahead. This dish I particularly love because it combines all my favorite ingredients: roasted cauliflower, bacon, homemade coconut oil mayo, and scallions. Seriously, how often do I use these ingredients. I’m surprised it took this long to throw them all together, for a very delicious, light, and surprisingly refreshing “potato” salad. The lemon flavor in the coconut oil really makes this dish shine. Otherwise, the bacon and mayo will feel too fatty and heavy. Plus, I think everything tastes brighter and definitely fresher with a little bit of lemon juice.

Cauliflower and Bacon "Potato" Salad
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 8 oz pork shoulder uncured bacon
  • 2 heads of cauliflower
  • 1 cup coconut oil mayo
  • ½ cup chopped scallions
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease with coconut oil for easy cleanup.
  2. Chop cauliflower and roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour or until desired firmness.
  3. Cube bacon and saute for 15 minutes or until bacon starts to brown and most of the fat is rendered.
  4. Then let bacon drain on a plate with paper towels.
  5. In a large bowl, add roasted cauliflower, bacon bits, coconut oil, and chopped scallions. Mix and smash cauliflower for "potato" salad texture.
  6. Garnish with some fresh chopped scallions and serve.

Dinner

Baked Peruvian Chicken Legs & RawSpiceBar Subscription Review

2 Comments

Baked Peruvian Chicken

This was my first time making a Peruvian dish, and I am very happy with the results. I used a spice blend from RawSpiceBar called Peruvian Spice Rub, and it smelled and tasted heavenly. It contains smoked paprika, ancho chiles, cumin, ground black pepper, and Mexican Oregano.

RawSpiceBar is a subscription service for $6 a month that sends you a large envelope with three spice blends to try that are good for one or two dishes. Each box features a theme, and as you can probaly guess, this month features Peruvian spices and recipes. Each package contains three recipe cards featuring each of the spice blends, and a description card that gives you some background information on the cuisine and regional flavors.

RawSpiceBar Subscription

If you’re like me and love trying new spice blends, but don’t want to commit to a ful sized bottle or bag, then this would be a great service for you. At $6 a month, it’s not very pricey for some high quality samples, but keep in mind they are still samples. Don’t expect to get a large portion in each packet. That being said, it’s a great way to step outside your comfort zone in the kitchen, without making a large monetary commitment. It’s also a great way to learn more about food, and it may inspire you to create some exciting new recipes.

RawSpiceBar also gives you the option of purchasing this as a gift for a friend or family member who loves cooking. Subscription services make great gifts, because the gifts keep coming each month. At $36 you can get them a subscription for six months! Personally, I think that would be really fun to get in the mail. There is also a large social media following, so you can share your creations with the RawSpiceBar community.

Baked Peruvian Chicken Legs
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 skin-on bone-in chicken legs
  • 1 tsp Peruvian spice rub
  • 2 limes
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp of coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean up and grease foil with coconut oil.
  3. Pat chicken legs dry and squeeze the juice of one lime over chicken, then sprinkle and/or rub in Peruvian spice rub.
  4. Sprinkle chicken legs with sea salt, then bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
  5. Use a meat thermometer to make sure thickest part of chicken is over 165 degrees.
  6. Quarter one lime and service with finished chicken legs.

Disclaimer: I’m not being paid for this review. RawSpiceBar sent me this complimentary packet in the mail for me to try out.

Soups

Carrot Cumin Soup & Eat Right For Your Sight Review

1 Comment

Carrot Cumin Soup - Healing and Eating

This carrot cumin soup recipe from the Eat Right For Your Sight Cookbook was a delicious and easy one pot meal. I’m a huge fan of blended vegetable soups. They fill you up, and if you watch your weight, are usually little to no calories. I made this soup vegan and left out the Greek yogurt, but the original recipe whisks in 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt at the end. I also used fresh cilantro instead of cumin seeds as a garnish. I’m not the biggest fan of seeds or nuts in my soup, and I like a pop of color, so I usually use some fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper as my garnish. What’s nice about this recipe is the flexibility. Add or leave out whatever ingredients you like. You should keep the carrots though, especially if you are worried about Macular Degeneration. Carrots contain a ton of Vitamin A, beta-carotene, and minerals.

Each recipe in the cookbook comes with a little bit of information and the nutritional profile of the dish. Not only will you want to make the recipes because they look delicious, but also because of the healthy nutrients each dish contains. To learn more about Macular Degeneration check out the website for the American Macular Degeneration Foundation. There is also a healthy vision blog party to celebrate the release of this cookbook tomorrow, May 14th.

I'm Blogging for Eye Health, #EatRightforYourSight
Eat Right For Your Sight Cookbook Review - Healing and Eating

For more details, such as where to get this amazing cookbook, check out this link.

 

Carrot Cumin Soup
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lb large carrots, chopped
  • 2½ cups of vegetable broth (low sodium)
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ¼ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • freshly ground black pepper for garnish
  • fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute the onion for a three minutes, then add garlic and saute for another minute.
  2. Add carrots, broth, cumin, coriander, and sea salt. Bring to a boil.
  3. Then reduce the heat and cover and let simmer for fifteen minutes, or until carrots are tender.
  4. Then transfer soup to a high speed blender, add some fresh lemon juice and puree until smooth.
  5. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and chopped cilantro.

 

Recipe from Eat Right For Your Sight: Simple Tasty Recipes That Help Reduce the Risk of Vision Loss from Macular Degeneration, By Jennifer Trainer Thompson and Johanna M. Seddon, copyright © American Macular Degeneration Foundation, 2014. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.