Cajun Chicken Zoodles

It was pointed out to me last night that it’s been a while since I shared a recipe and that’s something I’d been thinking about for a while myself.  I haven’t been very creative in the kitchen lately.  I’ve been so run-down and busy that most of my eats have been quick and easy, minimal thinking and effort required.

I did however a couple of weeks adapt an old favourite recipe of mine, Cajun Chicken Pasta with the intention of sharing it and I think the time has come.

This recipe used to call for cream, butter, pasta, it was a real treat and one that I had far too often (insert bulging stomach here), however my new way of having it tastes pretty much exactly the same, is gluten and dairy free, low carb and most of all, full of goodness.

Cajun Chicken Zoodles

For two serves:

3 tbsp coconut oil
200 gm chicken breast, diced
1 diced onion
5 sliced button mushrooms
1/2 red pepper sliced
1/2 can coconut cream (refrigerate overnight and scoop out the white from the top)
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tbsp thyme flake
Salt and pepper to taste
2 zucchini

In a large pan heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium heat.

Brown chicken for 3-4 minutes then set aside.

Heat remaining oil, then soften onions until translucent.

Add mushrooms and peppers and sautee for 2-3 minutes.

Add chicken back into pan.

Add the white part of the coconut cream.

Mix in Cajun, lemon pepper and thyme well.

Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, approximately 20 minutes.

During simmering, use a spiralizer to cut the zucchini into noodles (zoodles), or thinly slice them.

Season the chicken mixture to taste.  You may want to add more Cajun or lemon pepper as well.

Stir in zoodles and heat for a couple of minutes until the zoodles are softened, but still a little firm and the cream has reduced a little.

Serve immediately.  I also like to make extra as it reheats nicely the next day for lunches.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, would love to know what you think if you try it.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

 

 

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

Salads don’t have to be restricted to the summertime and this one is an absolute favourite of mine.  I was at a bit of a loss for what to have for lunch over the weekend and there wasn’t a huge amount of selection being so close to grocery day. Then I remembered this salad I used to make a few years ago.

This is not my own creation, but I’ve adapted it over the years to suit my tastes. I remember showing up to the family Christmas lunch one year with it and my cousin had prepared the same dish with her own twists! It’s a great way to use quinoa too which is bursting with nutrients. As always this recipe is gluten and refined sugar free and as a bonus this weeks recipe is also egg, nut and dairy free (although I sometimes add sliced almonds or feta)! The quinoa also makes it protein rich, which is an important quality for salads.

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

1 medium orange kumara (sweet potato) cubed (approx 2 cups)
1/4 crown pumpkin, cubed (approx 2 cups)
1 red onion cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves
2 cups shredded spinach
1 tbsp basil
1 cup quinoa
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (to taste)
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

In a saucepan, place quinoa and 2 cups of water (or stock to add more flavour)

Bring to the boil then simmer until all water is absorbed, stirring occasionally

Once ready, fluff with a fork then set aside in a bowl

Line a baking dish with tinfoil

Spread pumpkin and kumara and garlic cloves evenly across baking dish

Sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil

Bake for 15 minutes

Toss vegetables and add red onion.  Bake for a further 10 minutes

Add roasted vegetables to the quinoa and mix well

Add balsamic vinegar and mix well

Add spinach and mix well

I like to have this salad on it’s own, it’s good hot from the oven, reheated in the microwave and is just as good cold too.  It also makes an excellent side dish.

Smiles and Sunshine

Katie

Seven Healthy Breakfasts to Kickstart The Day

It’s hailed as the most important meal of the day and with good reason too. There are many studies that have shown that people who eat a healthy breakfast have better concentration, lower cholesterol levels, better strength and endurance and most of all are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.  My personal experience with eating a healthy breakfast, as opposed to my old habit of rushing through the McDonalds drive-thru on my way to work can support these claims too.

It can be difficult though.  The last thing a lot of us have time for in the morning is cooking a healthy breakfast from scratch which is why so many of us grab something less healthy but convenient on our way out the door, or skip it all together, which is not ideal at all!

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, it’s probably the one I have the most fun with, but that has been a long time coming.  When I first started on my healthy journey, breakfast was a confusing meal for me and the one I stuffed up the most.  However with a bit of trial and error, some planning and a lot of preparing ahead, I’ve gotten my breakfasts into beast mode and subsequently had a lot of success with my weight loss and my day to day health.

What constitutes a healthy breakfast varies depending on where you source your research from.  There is a lot of conflicting information out there and it can be quite confusing, hence why I had to play trial and error to start with.  What I’m sharing today is what works for me.

My breakfast requirements are simple.  I want something gluten free and refined sugar free that is relatively simple to prepare and will keep me full for a few hours until morning tea time.  It also needs to be delicious otherwise I’ll lose interest very quickly!  As a general rule my breakfasts are low carb, although I quite often add carbs like fruits because I think that a variety of fruits and vegetables are important.  All my breakfasts have a decent amount of protein and fat in them though as this keeps me fuller for longer and also aids in my health, exercise and weight loss goals.

Cheesy Egg Cups

Simple, delicious and healthy, these cups tick all the boxes. The best thing is they freeze really well so can be made ahead of time and reheated in the microwave when you’re ready to eat them.  Chop up any vegetables you want and divide them amongst a 12 cup muffin tray.  Beat 6-8 eggs and pour over the vegetables.  Top with a little cheese then bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.  I like to have kale, zucchini, onion, mushrooms and broccoli in mine but the possibilities are endless.

Smoothies

Smoothies are a delicious way to get in a couple of servings of fruit, or even vegetables and done right they can keep me going all morning.  All of my smoothies have a base of frozen banana for texture and coconut milk for fats and then I add whatever I want.  Berries, dates, peanut butter, apple, kiwifruit, even chocolate! The possibilities are only limited to what you like to eat or get adventurous with kale, spinach, celery and other vegetables for a power loaded green smoothie.  I like to add nuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseed (linseed), maca powder and other ‘boosters’ too.  Keep it sugar free with a little honey for sweetening and give it a protein boost by adding chia seeds after blending.  I have a few smoothie recipes here and I also share them as I make them on Instagram.  I often make my smoothies the night before and freeze or refrigerate them.  Certainly saves a lot of time in the morning!

Mug Cakes

Cake for breakfast?  Why wouldn’t you!  It’s a quick and easy way to get a nutritious breakfast in and because its cake it feels like cheating! Mix 1 tbsp of almond meal and coconut flour, 2 tbsp oat flour and 1 tsp baking powder with an egg and 2 tbsp coconut milk.  Add anything you want, chopped spinach, grated zucchini, cheese, bacon, again the possibilities are limited to your imagination.  Divide the mix up between two mugs and microwave for 1 minute 30 to 2 minutes and it’s ready.  I like to serve mine with a poached egg but if you were in a hurry these can also be made ahead and frozen too.  Prefer it sweet?  Swap the coconut milk for mashed banana and then add any fruits or nut butters you want, even cocoa is a great option!

Pancakes

Yes, pancakes.  Done right pancakes are delicious and still healthy and because they are so filling you can get a whole lot of life out of them.  My favourite recipe is coconut flour pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp coconut flour, 2 tbsp coconut milk, 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt, combined and cooked like normal pancakes.  Top them with a little liquid honey, some fruit, nuts, seeds, anything healthy you feel like for a healthy breakfast that feels like a treat.  Or go nuts and blitz some spinach into the mix and have savoury pancakes with bacon!

Savoury Muffins

A nice breakfast on the go, make these ahead of time and freeze.  They only take a few minutes in the microwave and you have a low carb protein packed breakfast that you can eat on the run.  My personal favourite is my Ricotta Muffins with kale and bacon.

Baked Oats

Baked oats or Boatmeal are all the rave in winter and super easy to make.  Mash half a banana and mix with 1/2 cup of quick oats.  Add some coconut milk for moisture and anything else you want, like cinnamon, sunflower seeds or other fruits.  Bake in the oven at 180 for 20 minutes and serve warm with berries, fruit purees and nuts.  These also freeze well so can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave when needed.

Omelettes

Got a little more time?  Why not whip up an omelette.  These are ridiculously simple and can be filled with absolutely anything.  Simply beat a couple of eggs and fry like a pancake on both sides (be careful with the flipping).  I like to fill mine with bacon, mushrooms, onion, tomato, kale and cheese.

These seven breakfasts are on rotate in my kitchen.  I have most of them weekly and like to vary what I add to them each time to keep it interesting.  These are not my only options, but by far my favourites.  My breakfast game has changed a lot over the years, from toast and cereal as a child, to nothing as a teenager, to McDonalds almost daily for a huge portion of my adult life and now to a wide range of delicious healthy breakfasts that leave me the most satisfied of any of my morning food phases.  I look forward to breakfast more than any other meal now, especially when theres bacon involved, and it’s so exciting to be able to eat a nice big breakfast every single day and still say healthy and maintain my weight.

Smiles and Sunshine

Katie

No Bake Coconut Lemon Slice

Last week I reintroduced butter into my diet.  I don’t eat bread anymore so there hasn’t been a lot of need for me to have butter this year, but I do like to use it in some of my cooking as I find it adds a nice flavour.  After a few days of having a little bit of butter each day with no reactions, I decided that it was time to do some baking with it!

When I was little mum did a lot of baking.  She made all sorts of goodies, my favourite being ‘nanas chocolate fudge’ but she also made some that I wasn’t so keen on, like Citrus Slice.  I just couldn’t for the life of me work out why anyone would want to eat a biscuit that didn’t have chocolate in it.  Honestly, I thought she was crazy.  Sorry mum!

I’ve grown up a bit since then.  To be honest, I would have turned my nose up at a citrus slice even a few years ago, but since being on my elimination diet and with Junk Free June this month, I’ve had to branch out a little bit.  And it’s been good for me, my treats are no longer solely chocolate based! So with mums slice in mind I decided to see what I could do and I have to say I’m really happy with the result.

I posted a picture of these yesterday on my Instagram and Facebook pages and I have to say I’ve never had so many requests for a recipe, so I’m sharing due to popular demand. So excited that I can actually say that!

This is a gluten free and sugar free no bake slice reminiscent of mums Citrus Slice that I never used to like as a child.  I think I may finally be a grown up!

No Bake Coconut and Lemon Slice

For the base:

10 dates, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
50 gm melted butter
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup coconut flour
A few drops of liquid stevia (to taste)
Juice of 1 lemon

For the icing/curd:

Juice of 1-2 lemons (depends how strong you want the lemon taste)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
50 gm butter, cubed
3-4 drops of liquid Stevia (to taste)

Coconut flakes and/or lemon zest to garnish

 
Line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Whisk the lemon and egg and stevia for the icing together in a small saucepan.

Turn the heat onto low and add in the butter.

Stir until butter is melted.

Turn heat up to medium and stir continuously until the mix thickens, it should be quite thick and not too runny.

Push the mixture through a sieve to remove any eggy bits and set aside.

In a food processor or blender mix all base ingredients well. If the mixture is too wet a little more coconut flour.

Press dough into the lined loaf tin.

Spread icing evenly over.

Top with coconut flakes and/or lemon zest.

Put in the freezer for 2 hours to set before cutting.

 

This slice can be stored in the fridge as it gets a little soft at room temperature. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do and as always would love to know what you think of it.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

 

 

Butternut Squash Zucchini ‘Pasta’

Since I started my elimination diet I’ve also adopted Meat Free Monday. We’re always being told that we eat too much meat so I thought since I’m getting healthy anyway, why not? And now I really look forward to experimenting on Mondays with vegetarian meals.

Pumpkins are everywhere at the moment and they’re also one of my favourite vegetables so I wanted to make a different meal using pumpkin, and this ‘pasta’ is the result.

It’s gluten free, dairy free (aside from the cheese garnish), refined sugar free and 100% good for you. Creamy and delicious like a pasta should be, except with zucchini noodles, also known as zoodles, instead of pasta giving you an extra serve of veggies for the meal.

Butternut Squash Zucchini ‘Pasta’

1 butternut pumpkin
1 red capsicum
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp coconut cream
3 tbsp vegetable stock (I made my own)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
6 button mushrooms halved and sliced
4 zucchini
1 onion diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Grated cheese to top

Preheat the oven to 180℃.

Peel and chop the pumpkin into cubes.

Place pumpkin cubes, whole capsicum and garlic on a oven tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.

Bake for 40 minutes or until pumpkin is soft.

Meanwhile using a spiralizer cut the zucchini into noodles. Alternatively you can thinly slice them into noodles.

In two frying pans heat 1 tbsp of oil each on medium.

Fry the onions and mushrooms in one pan and the zoodles in the other until soft.

When the pumpkin is ready, remove from oven and put in a bowl.

Chop the stalk off the capsicum, remove the seeds and add to the bowl.

Add the garlic to the bowl.

Add stock and coconut cream.

Using a stick blender, blitz the pumpkin until it makes a saucy texture. If necessary add more stock and cream.

Season to taste.

Add sauce to zoodles and add mushrooms and onions. Mix well.

This will serve 3-4 people, top each serving with a little cheese if desired.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, it’s become a regular on my menu.

Today was the first day of Junk Free June for me, a fundraiser for The Cancer Society of New Zealand. I am giving up all forms of chocolate for the month as that is my only vice at the moment and I tend to overdo it. My aim is to raise at least $200 for this very worthy cause. If you would like to sponsor me, please do so here

Smiles and sunshine
Katie

Recipe of the Week: Spiced Pumpkin Bread

It seems really strange that this is my first post in a few days. Friday night was particularly weird. No topic to write about, the first time in thirty days, it seemed so strange sitting down after a really long day at work and having nothing that absolutely had to be done. It was quite nice actually.

I’ve had a very up and down week this week and I’m actually struggling to stay positive today. Monday was a public holiday. ANZAC day was Mondayized this year (such a strange word). I’m not sure that I agree with the Mondayization of such an important day, but I have to admit that an extra day off was really nice. Until the evening when I started to feel sick.

Tuesday was just horrible. I felt absolutely awful all day. I had to call in sick to work which was scary, because my boss changed roles a few weeks ago and he was the only person who knew how to cover my job! I had started training someone last week but it was minimal training so I really didn’t want to not be at work. I went back on Wednesday expecting the worst but they did really well considering. I did have a very long three days though, the start of the month is always busy and I did two 11 hour days which was exhausting.

On Tuesday I also discovered that my car battery was flat, so it was the bus for me this week. I had a friend come over and double check everything yesterday and we put it on charge overnight. This morning it went fine but then I got stuck at the supermarket with it flat again.

It seems like everything happens at once and when you least need it. Car batteries aren’t cheap and it’s an expense I could do without at the moment. It’s definitely not the end of the world but with everything else that’s going on it’s a little disheartening. I’m still positive, but I’m certainly being tested at the moment and wouldn’t mind a break. Luckily I get one in a few weeks time!

Today marks the end of the 15th week of my elimination diet and a new food back into my diet. This week I added gluten free oats back in and it’s been one of my favourite weeks food wise!

I had oat flour pancakes, made chocolate and peanut oat cookies (work in progress), a banana oat bar inspired by fellow blogger Apple Jam Jelly, if you’re egg free you should check this out and I also made a successful bread that I even got to have a burger with! That I ate with my hands! I was so excited about the fact that I made a bread that didn’t require a knife and fork!

Spiced Pumpkin Bread

I was making my pancakes for breakfast on Monday morning when I thought up this recipe. I was halfway through the mixing when I noticed the texture wasn’t right for pancakes. I made some adjustments and fixed the problem, then thought, bread.

After a bit more thought, bread became pumpkin bread. After breakfast I got to work on it and had an immediate success. Admittedly this is not a typical bread, it’s soft, yes, but dense and it has no yeast. I’m using the term bread because that is how I ate it. I toasted it and made these grilled cheese sticks below with homemade tomato sauce, mushrooms, zucchini and cheesy goodness, and made a burger with it too.

200 gm crown pumpkin
2 eggs
1 cup gluten free oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 180℃

Slice the skin off the pumpkin, cut into cubes and boil on the stove until soft.

Drain the water and mash with a fork.

Add the spices and mix well.

In a bowl whisk the eggs until well mixed.

Mix in the oat flour and baking powder.

Add the pumpkin and stir until combined.

Line a baking tin with paper. I used a square baking tin for this, because I wanted a flat bread. As it doesn’t rise much, use the tin of your choice. A loaf tin would work well for a taller bread.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. A knife test should come out clean.

This is nice cold or toasted under the grill. It tastes great on it’s own and the flavour is subtle enough to add many different toppings. I made a burger with some of mine, with mushrooms, onions, tomato, lettuce, cheese, beef and my homemade tomato sauce.

Zombie came into the kitchen at one point and asked if I was making Hot Cross Buns. The cloves give off a lovely aroma during baking.

Hope you enjoy this pumpkin bread. Next week I’m taking a week off from reintroducing foods. I won a health and fitness competition on Instagram from @dangerdoll and the prize included some low carb wraps. They have gluten in them which I already know I’m intolerant to, but I can handle small doses so I’m going to use them up in the first few days of the week then go back to my current standard eating to get the gluten out of my system.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

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Recipe of the Week: Clean Eating Beef Nachos

The fourteenth week of my elimination diet is done and it has been another successful reintroduction and another food back on the menu!

This week I reintroduced beef. It’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten red meat more than once a week and I loved having something other than lamb and chicken.

Now I wasn’t expecting my eczema to react to beef, that would just be weird, but I was monitoring myself for energy levels and sleep, which were unaffected!

Obviously I’m not going to be eating beef every single night so I only had it three times during the week. I had an amazing roast that a friend cooked on Tuesday and then on Thursday I had nachos! Then again on Friday as leftovers.

Clean Eating Beef Nachos

Nachos are an absolute favourite of mine. I used to eat them any excuse I could get, usually loaded with cheese, sour cream and way too many corn chips. I do make pretty amazing nachos. When I started eating healthier nachos became a rare treat due to all the processed extras (canned tomatoes etc I used to add to them), I think I ate them once in a three month period. When I started the elimination diet they were completely out the window. Pretty much the only part I could eat was the onion!

The last few months I’ve been experimenting making elimination diet friendly versions of foods that I used to eat. Experimenting has made it more fun and I think a bit easier, since I’m not just eating the exact same things over and over. There have been a few failures and a few successes, and nachos was an absolute success.

Instead of corn chips I made kumara (sweet potato) chips, an idea I found and tweaked to my liking from Millie at Clean Eatz NZ and you know what, so glad she shared that idea! I think I prefer it to corn chips!

I can’t have beans yet, so I omitted these, but I did separate Zombies half and add chilli beans to his and gave him corn chips and he still liked them even though it was a healthier version than he’s used to.

Since I didn’t eat anything spicy for such a long time my heat intolerance has gone down quite a bit, so I used minimal spices for this recipe. If you want it hotter simply add more spices to taste.

For 4 serves

300 gms mince
2 medium orange kumara (sweet potato) thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 onion diced
5 tomatoes diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 cups freshly chopped spinach
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
A little grated cheese
2 tbsp coconut or extra virgin olive oil

In a saucepan immerse the sliced kumara in cold water and bring to the boil.

After boiling for 10 minutes, drain the water from the kumara and set aside.

Heat two frying pans on medium with a little oil in each.

In one pan, place the kumara slices in a single layer. Fry for 20 minutes or until golden brown, turning often.

In the other pan sweat all the chopped vegetables for five minutes then set aside in a bowl.

Add the mince to the pan and brown.

Add back the vegetables then all the spices and mix well. This is the point where I separated Zombies and added the beans.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Arrange your kumara chips on a plate as you would if you were having corn chips.

Top with a little cheese, then the mince mix, then more cheese.

Zombie had his with sour cream but I was good. I actually think I prefer this version to the nachos I used to eat, which is awesome!

Tomorrow I am reintroducing gluten free oats. I’m pretty excited about this. New flavours for pancakes, more baking options, breakfasts, it’s going to be good. Fingers crossed it all goes well.

This post is linked up to Tasty Tuesday

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

Recipe of the Week: Almond Pancakes

Another week down, they just fly by at the moment! This is the end of the 13th week of my Elimination Diet. 13 weeks of healthy foods, nothing processed (aside from a little cheese once it was reintroduced), no sugar, no gluten, no soy minimal nuts, minimal dairy, no bacon and absolutely no cheating. And I’m still going strong.

My sister and her partner were in town for a wedding for this week so we had a family dinner to celebrate on Thursday. As usual my wonderful mother cooked me a separate meal, which was much appreciated then I experimented in making a clean eating apple pie, with pastry and everything for dessert! Taste wise it was well received by all, but the pastry needed work. I will definitely be working on this though and hopefully will be able to share with you soon.

Today my sister, her partner and I went for a hike up the Rapaki track. Zombie was going to come with us until he realized the Red Wings were playing. They’re his favourite team so of course he was going to watch the game. I’m pleased to say the ascent was my fastest time yet, even though I haven’t done it for a while. Even faster on the way down, especially because she convinced me I should run down!

We refueled afterwards with some delicious almond pancakes, the recipe for which I’m sharing below. This weeks food reintroduction was almonds. I’m not sure about these. My eczema seems to be a tiny bit worse that previous weeks, but I have been overly anxious and stressed out this week about a couple of things that could also be a factor. These stresses are now gone as of Friday and my skin has seemed to calm down a little over the weekend (it takes a while to heal) so my first guess is that it’s the stress, which I’ve known is a contributor for a while.

Almond Pancakes

If you read My 10 Favourite Foods post, you would know that I’m absolutely obsessed with pancakes since being on my healthy journey. I love that I can eat pancakes and still be healthy and lose weight! It just takes a few tweaks here and there. This is a basic almond pancake recipe, that I have tweaked a little to my liking.

These pancakes are gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free and low carb. For an egg free pancake please check out my Vegan Pancakes post, they are just as good.

Topping possibilities are only restricted to the imagination. In the picture above of this mornings pancakes I have topped with banana (I always have banana on my pancakes, it’s my favourite fruit), liquid honey, shredded coconut flakes, sliced almonds and some cacao nibs. In the picture below of the almond pancakes I had earlier in the week I topped with banana again, homemade apple sauce, shredded coconut and sliced almonds. You can add any fruits you want for different nutrients, berries are great too and even peanut butter!

I also recommend bacon. I can’t have bacon yet (my choice but grrr) but it goes damn well with pure Canadian maple syrup and pancakes.

1 cup almond meal (ground almonds, found in the bulk bins)
2 eggs
1/2 – 3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 – 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil as needed.

Preheat oven warming draw.

In a mixing bowl, beat or whisk eggs well. The more you whisk these the fluffier your pancakes will be.

Add almond meal, cinnamon, salt and mix well.

Add coconut milk slowly to thin the mixture out. If should be the same texture as regular pancakes.

Heat a little of the olive oil in a pan on medium heat.

Spoon desired amount of batter into the pan in a circle. I usually use 6 dessert spoonfuls.

Heat until small bubbles appear on the top (not as many as regular pancakes) and carefully flip.

Heat until desired colour is achieved.

Place on a plate in the warming draw and repeat until all batter is used.

This makes about four pancakes using the 6 spoonful method which I find with the right toppings is the perfect amount for a post workout breakfast that keeps me going most of the morning. You can also make these ahead and freeze for a quick and easy breakfast later on. I often pull them out of the freezer the night before and when its time to eat I just throw them stacked in the microwave for a minute then top.

If you make these let me know what toppings you use, I’m always keen for new ideas.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

Recipe of the Week: Banana and Peanut Butter Stuffed Crepes

Double whammy today! Earlier I posted Day Five of my blogging challenge, but I didn’t want to skip my weekly Elimination Diet update and recipe share so I’m writing it out twice today.

This week I reintroduced peanuts. I know I’m not allergic to them, but I wanted to know if they were contributing to my health issues and I really really missed Pics Really Good Peanut Butter. It’s so good!

I’ve been putting it in everything this week. I had a few raw peanuts here and there, but mostly I just used the peanut butter. Their peanut butter is amazing. The ingredients list? Peanuts. Can’t get much more natural than that! And it’s made in one of my favourite New Zealand cities, beautiful sunny Nelson.

I used it in two smoothies this week. Just added a spoonful to the mix. Yum! I made some gluten free and vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies which were delicious and even got the rare Zombie approval, he even snuck a couple throughout the week! I feel that these cookies need a bit of work though so I’m not sharing today. I also made a clean satay stirfry for dinner and dipped carrots in it for snacks. I’ve certainly gotten my Pics fix this week!

And I’m pleased to say, nothing has changed. My skin has been fine, I’m still full of beans, still sleeping well and no stomach pains! So peanuts are back in the menu. Next week I’m reintroducing tomatoes which I’m very excited about. I’ll be able to make sauces! Wish me luck with this one because I really miss sauces.

Onto this weeks recipe, Banana and Peanut Butter Stuffed Crepes

I’m not the best at making food look pretty but I promise you that these are ridiculously tasty. I had them for breakfast but they would be just as good for desert too.

Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, these are also pretty healthy. I certainly didn’t feel bad about scoffing them down.

Crepes

2 eggs
2 tbsp buckwheat or coconut flour
2 tbsp water
8 drops liquid stevia
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp olive oil

Filling

2 bananas, sliced
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cacao nibs or chocolate chips
1 tsp olive oil

Topping

Liquid honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the eggs in a bowl until fluffy.

Add flour, water, cinnamon and stevia.

Mix well to combine.

Heat oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat.

Pour half the batter on the pan and spread evenly to the edges.

Cook for 2-3 minutes until to top dries out. It won’t bubble.

Carefully turn the crepe and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Set aside and repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Heat more oil in the pan.

Sprinkle bananas with cinnamon.

Add the bananas to the pan and cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Don’t forget to turn them.

Divide the bananas onto the crepes, in the center of each. Don’t rinse the pan.

Spread peanut butter over bananas.

Sprinkle with cacao nibs or chocolate chips.

Put the unwashed pan back onto the heat.

Fold up the crepes and place overlapping side down in the pan.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and repeat.

Serve with liquid honey and more cinnamon if desired.

I’m considering having these for breakfast again tomorrow. It’s a stat day, they’re tasty and filling and relatively guilt free, so why not.

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie

Recipe of the Week: Gluten Free Zucchini and Feta Fritters

A couple of days late due to my eventful weekend, which I’m still on a major high from. I’ll be sharing two recipes this week, one today for last weeks cheese test and one on Sunday for this weeks – drumroll please – chocolate test!

That’s right. Cheese passed the test. No itchiness, no stomach pains, no noticeable negative impacts on my body after eating cheese all week, so now I’m moving on to chocolate.

As with the egg test and the cheese test, I’m nervous. I know that chocolate can be a trigger for skin issues in some people. And to be fair I don’t eat a heap of chocolate, but I’m really hoping for another positive result because I really don’t want to cut chocolate completely from my diet.

I bought dark chocolate. It’s lower in sugar and additives plus it’s known to be a natural antidepressant, which is always a plus in my books. In moderation chocolate is a great thing. If you can eat it without going overboard or having intolerances I personally see no issue with having a few bites here and there. I always feel my mood lift, even if I’m already happy, after chocolate.

But we’re talking about cheese today. I like cheese. A lot. I’ve yet to try a cheese I don’t like (aside from those processed plastic-like slices). And cheese goes with everything savoury. Egg meals, casseroles, salads, sandwiches, it’s only limited by the imagination.

And like with everything else, in moderation it’s not a bad thing. I’m not about to go out and eat it by the block, but it’s a tasty way to add protein to a meal so I’m happy to eat a little of it everyday.

I had quite a bit of cheese last week. More than I would in a normal week, but I needed to get a lot of it into my system to see if it would disagree with me at all. I made some cheesy egg baskets for breakfasts and lunches, had some on a quiche, added some to a clean pasta dish I made, had some pumpkin and feta muffins for snacks and even had a couple of slices straight off the block.

Any changes? No. My skin is still healing, I’m still sleeping well, I haven’t felt sluggish or had a sore stomach, so I’m counting it as a win. Very relieved about this because I’d like to have at least one more burger in my life and you can’t have a burger without cheese!

I’m sharing my favourite and most successful cheese recipe from last week today.

Zucchini and Feta Fritters

Gluten free, sugar free, nut free and delicious, these are great for breakfast, lunch or even a meat free dinner. They’re super quick to whip up too which is becoming a necessity for me these days.

1 zucchini
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1/2 onion
20 grams Feta
2 eggs
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp olive oil.

Grate zucchini into a mixing bowl.

Slice spinach into ribbons and add to the bowl.

Dice onion and add.

Crumble feta into the bowl and add all the other ingredients.

Mix well. If it’s a bit too wet add some more buckwheat flour.

Heat a frying pan on medium heat and add olive oil.

Spoon fritter mixture onto the pan and heat until golden on the underside, approx 3-4 minutes.

Flip and brown the other side.

I served the fritters in the picture as a stack with a poached egg. They would be delicious dipped in smashed avocado too.

Hope you all have a fantastic week, I’m off to eat a little chocolate!

Smiles and Sunshine
Katie