All posts by Lauren Bolanos

Dinner

Baked Peruvian Chicken Legs & RawSpiceBar Subscription Review

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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
 
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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

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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
 
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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.

Desserts

Mango Lime Popsicles with Chili Powder

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Mango Lime Popsicles with Chili Powder - Healing and Eating

Popsicles, also known as paletas, are traditionally a Latin American dessert made with fresh fruit. I’m a huge popsicle fan since they are so easy to make, and are a relatively healthier option for dessert. Another common snack, or dessert, are mangos sprinkled with chili powder. So I thought why not make it into a popsicle?

Now I don’t recommend you use any old chili powder, because I don’t think it would taste good, especially if it’s heavy on the powdered onion and garlic. I use Tajin Clasico Seasoning with Lime, which is used traditionally over fresh mango or jicama and can be found in Mexican groceries stores, or amazon. There is only dehydrated lime juice, sea salt, and chili peppers in this mix so you’re getting a great blend to eat with tropical fruit.

Mango Lime Popsicles with Chili Powder
 
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Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 can of light coconut milk
  • 16 oz bag of frozen mangos
  • juice of two limes
  • 1 tsp chili powder (tajin clasico seasoning with lime)
Instructions
  1. Mix ingredients together in a high speed blender or Vitamix.
  2. Then scoop into popsicles molds. This mixture is a bit too thick to pour.
  3. Then cover mold and add in popsicles stick and freeze overnight.
  4. Take them out the next day, by running mold under hot water.
  5. Then sprinkle chili powder over popsicles and let them melt for 3-5 minutes.
  6. Then pop them back into freezer so chili powder stays on popsicles. Then enjoy.

Appetizers

Chunky Guacamole Cucumber Bites

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Chunky Guacamole Cucumber Bites - Healing and Eating

This chunky guacamole tastes delicious on top of sliced cucumbers for a healthy paleo friendly appetizer or snack. It’s a bit heavy on the red onions, but I always add a ton to mine, since they are full of sulphur containing compounds as well as Vitamin C, B6, iron, folate, and potassium (1).

I  used cherry tomatoes, even though they can be annoying to chop, because they are a bit sweeter than the larger varieties. I also prefer persian cucumbers because you don’t have to worry about seeds and the skin is thin, so you can just slice and eat. Cucumbers are on the dirty dozen list, and since you are eating the skin, it’s best to buy organic (2).

Chunky Guacamole Cucumber Bites
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 2 avocados
  • ½ chopped jalapeno (2 tbsp)
  • juice from 1 lime
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp finely minced fresh cilantro
  • 3 chopped cherry tomatoes
  • ½ cup chopped red onions
  • (optional) 4 sliced cucumbers
Instructions
  1. Slice avocado in half and remove the pit.
  2. The slice across avocado and scoop to get slices of avocado.
  3. Then chop cherry tomatoes and add to bowl.
  4. Then mince cilantro and add to bowl.
  5. Chop a jalapeno in half and remove seeds. Then finely chop and add to bowl.
  6. Squeeze juice from one lime into bowl
  7. Then add sea salt to bowl and chopped red onions.
  8. Mix and serve guacamole.
  9. (Optional) slice cucumbers and spoon guacamole on top.

Sources:

  1. What’s New and Beneficial about Onions by Dr. Mercola
  2. Ten Tips for Saving Money on Groceries Pt 2 by The Rising Spoon
Snacks

Sliced and Salted Avocados

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Sliced and Salted Avocados - Healing and Eating

Sliced and salted avocados are one of my favorite sugar free snacks. You don’t have to cook this, so it’s as fast as fast food can get. Plus, you only need two ingredients – ripe avocados and sea salt. This snack works for practically any diet whether it’s AIP, vegan, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and even sugar free. When I’m starving and wandering around my kitchen looking for snacks that aren’t there, this is usually my favorite option.

Sliced and Salted Avocados
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 avocado
  • ¼ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
Instructions
  1. Slice avocado in half.
  2. Remove the pit.
  3. Then slice across avocado for easier scooping.
  4. Sprinkle halves with sea salt and enjoy.

Snacks

Pickled Carrots and Jalapeños

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Quick Pickled Carrots and Jalapeños

Instead of chips and dip, quick pickled carrots and jalapeños are an easy snack food to make for Cinco de Mayo, that’s paleo friendly. You can make it ahead of time in bulk, so you can enjoy your party, instead of slaving away in the kitchen. This recipe is pretty spicy, even though I only used one jalapeño, so if spicy food isn’t for you, you might to seriously reduce the amount of chopped jalapeños. The carrots are the best part anyway. I love pickled carrots!

Pickled Carrots and Jalapeños
 
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Serves: 16 oz
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of water
  • 2 cups of white vinegar
  • ½ cup of honey
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 3 grinds of fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1½ cups of chopped carrots
  • 1 cup of chopped red onions
  • 1 sliced jalapeño
Instructions
  1. Peel and chop carrots on a bias.
  2. Chop red onions and slice Jalapeño.
  3. Add chopped veggies to a saucepan with water, vinegar, honey, sea salt, black pepper, a bay leaf, and ground cumin.
  4. Bring everything to a boil, and let boil for 5 -10 minutes. 5 minutes for firmer vegetables.
  5. Then transfer to jars and fill with remaining brine.
  6. Refridgerate for at least 24 hours. Then enjoy.