Tag Archives: sandwich

  1. Low Carb Keto Biscuits {paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free}

    These low-carb Keto Biscuits have become a bit of a staple around here. A bit of a legend, if you will. These low carb Keto Biscuits work amazing for savory recipes like breakfast sandwiches or biscuits and gravy or you can easily go sweet with my keto strawberry shortcake or just a smear of homemade berry chia seed jam. However you serve them up, these low carb Keto Biscuits are a breeze to make, whether you eat low carb, or not.

    Keto Biscuits {paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free}

    While I’ve personally been eating keto since January 2017, for therapeutic reasons while I seek to get my autoimmune disease into total remission, hubby isn’t necessarily exclusively low-carb all the time – so I am always working on recipes that will please us both. I created these delicious Low Carb Keto Biscuits for my Paleo Biscuits and Gravy Recipe, which also happens to be keto/low-carb, as well.  That recipe is already a hit with so many of you, but also a lot of you have simply made just the biscuits just on their own, for epic breakfast sandwiches topped with fried eggs and some sausage or bacon. It’s a favorite around here, for sure. So, I felt these perfect little Low Carb Keto Biscuits deserved their own recipe post.

    Keto Biscuits {paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free}

    These low carb biscuits are a really great way to switch up breakfast and get those classic egg sandwich vibes I feel like you might be craving. I know I crave an epic breakfast sando, now and then. Beyond breakfast sandwiches, or a side to a comforting bowl of soup, these Low Carb Keto Biscuits are lovely toasted up and slathered with a little grass-fed butter or homemade ghee, maybe a drizzle or honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon, or just give them a spread with your favorite nut butter or maybe even coconut butter. For a sweeter treat, try my Keto Strawberry Shortcake, they are amazing, you can also top your Keto Biscuits with chia seed jam or honey sweetened marmalade. (obviously this won’t be quite as low carb) Shoot, guys, I feel like you could also smash a fabulous grass-fed burger into your face with one of these biscuits. Just sayin’.

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  2. Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Sliders

    Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Sliders

    I would be a liar if I said I never craved junk food. The foods from days of yore, before I knew better, before my health declined, before I gained weight. Thankfully logic and common sense (and the threat of a super unhappy gut) keeps me from running out and eating the junkiest junk foods ever created, but this doesn’t mean that now and again I don’t think of it. Every so often I find myself fondly dreaming of those foods I used to indulge in.

    The good news is, from these random cravings oftentimes I am inspired to create a healthier version of those old dishes.

    Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Sliders

    Around here I find myself far more inclined to create dishes using seasonal produce. I want to inspire you to get creative, to find ways to introduce more healthy vegetables and fruit, to possibly look to foods you wouldn’t otherwise, inspiring meals you maybe wouldn’t have thought of. Nothing makes me happier. But on the rare occasions I recreate these old foods, I feel like it’s just as important to share these. If I am craving these flavors, surely I am not alone.

    Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potato Sliders

    I grew up in Buffalo, NY. Special occasions, birthdays, graduations, Christmas eve, even visits to the hospitals, funerals, and the like – these are often celebrated (or not) with pizza and wings. It’s a Buffalo staple. It’s been a long time since I could just bust into the box of sheet pizza and go to town. Buffalo wings, oftentimes are likely gluten-free, but sometimes breaded or coatedthey are also just so loaded with grease, tons of butter (or butter-like flavor) and who knows what else. Beyond that, chicken fingers, which used to be my junk food jam, those are just as bad, if not worse. Oh by the way, speaking of foods I will never, ever, eat again, if you haven’t had a chicken finger sub in Buffalo, you haven’t lived.

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  3. Cauliflower Sloppy Joes

    Cauliflower Sloppy Joes

    Hey all, Happy Monday to you! I am going to start off this post asking you to bear with me today as I get a bit off topic. Of course, you can always just feel free to just skip ahead to the recipe, while I rant. I have just had so much on my mind these past few weeks as I work my way through this elimination diet, as well as the several other transitional journeys I have found myself embarking on.

    Something that has been weighing heavily on me is the idea of identifying yourself with certain traits or the things that you think make you, who you are. What we think people see when they look at us. Our ego. We all have many traits that we identify with. Maybe it’s your job or career path, maybe you are always the funny one in a group, maybe it’s you identifying with being quiet and shy or eating a certain way – whatever. With my diagnosis late last year of IgA Nephropathy, an autoimmune form of kidney disease and now being in the first rounds of this elimination diet, these together have caused me to challenge much of what I have always identified with.

    Although I have had the restriction of gluten on my diet for over 10 years, I have still always identified with being a non-picky eater. For the most part I would try anything once (as long as it was safe), I was continuously up for checking out new restaurants and I was always happy to go with the flow of whatever food situation I was in, hanging with vegans, being around paleo folks and so on. I had gotten into a nice routine of knowing what was safe for me and how to communicate what I needed in a very clear and quiet way. Without passing judgement, I always truly felt bad for those that have a laundry list of restrictions (self imposed or otherwise), where going out to a restaurant or someone’s home becomes a hassle and every meal, a massive challenge. I have always been so grateful that beside the many, fairly simple, self-imposed restrictions I’ve put on my diet and of course, gluten – I would never ruin other people’s experience, I felt like I could keep it to myself and I could always find something I could eat, almost anywhere.

    Cauliflower Sloppy Joes

    This elimination diet for me, which currently is no gluten (duh), meat, dairy, eggs and legumes, will continue to change and evolve as we work towards finding what might be affecting my kidneys. I now find myself having to have full blown interrogative-style conversations with servers at restaurants, grilling them about every single ingredient. Rather than a democracy, I basically  have to tell whoever I am going out to eat with, where we are going, because my options are so limited. I walk the aisles of stores having to rethink what I used to buy and I now have to look at meal planning in a whole new way and sadly my husband is collateral damage to all of this. Though I have certainly been here before and for now, the extremity of the situation for me, is theoretically temporary, I also know for many of you this is normal, every day life! So, I hope you don’t confuse this as a complaint against dietary restrictions, but more I hope you take away the challenge in changing what we know, breaking habits and being forced to look beyond the outward of what we cling to.

    Throughout this process, I have also found myself feeling vulnerable and weak, it took me forever to even be able to tell people about my diagnosis. I feel like people expect for me to be the picture of health, I am so careful and mindful about every single thing I consume, I talk a big game about how important it is to know where your food comes from, avoiding processed foods, opting to make things yourself and taking control of your health with your diet. Now somehow, here I am, the one diagnosed with kidney disease and battling a slew of random symptoms from taking a few rounds of pharmaceuticals. I have always prided myself on taking control of my health and avoiding crazy treatments or drugs and those closest to me could see the changes in my health from where it was before, to where it was after years of eating mindfully. So, you can imagine the discouragement I felt with this diagnosis. I truly felt like I had lost a sense of who I was.

    Cauliflower Sloppy Joes

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  4. Sloppy Joes – Gluten-free + Vegan

    Sloppy Joes – Gluten-free + Vegan

    It is so rare that I make a dish that is meant to simulate an actual meat dish, but sometimes there are those old classic comfort foods that need to be re-imagined and updated. Hubby and I do eat meat, although at most we eat it once a week at home, and we get all of our meat from a local farmer, Sojourner Farms, who raises all of his meat on pasture without hormones or antibiotics. Since we tend to try to make the meat from him last, I make many vegan meals throughout the week, which not only is easier on my digestion it just feels better.

    I’ve made these vegan sloppy joes a few times now and they have been a huge hit over here. Mark asks for them on almost a weekly basis. The first couple of times I made them, I didn’t really measure, I just added ingredients as it cooked, tasting and deciding what it needed. That is my favorite way to cook. I think I have the recipe pretty close to the way I like it, but I am known to squirt in a little more sriracha or add another spoonful of mustard.

    Sloppy Joes – Gluten-free + Vegan

    These sloppy joes taste much like the original, but in my opinion even better. The sauce has so much great flavor from the smokiness to the hint of heat. If you don’t eat soy, consider replacing the textured vegetable protein with cooked lentils or chopped up cooked portobello mushrooms, both would be delicious. And as always with my recipes, play with the sauce, make it your own, add more heat, take out the sriracha if you don’t want any spiciness, add in your favorite BBQ sauce, etc. Play!

    When I was contacted recently by the very sweet and lovely, Cara, from Forks & Beans, to share a recipe with her readers, I immediately thought of this one. Cara encourages us to have fun with our food, play with it, make it exciting and I am not sure what is more fun and whimsical that sloppy joes. It’ll instantly transport you to being a kid and having your fingers and face covered in sauce.

    This recipe was originally shared on Fork & Beans. Please do head over there and make sure that you have some time to spend on Cara’s site, you’ll want to click around and check out all of her incredibly fun and delicious looking gluten-free and vegan recipes, your mouth will be watering in just a few short minutes.

    Sloppy Joes – Gluten-free + Vegan
    [print_this]Sloppy Joes – Gluten-free + Vegan
    Makes 6-8 servings

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 small onion (or 1/2 of a large), diced
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 green bell pepper, diced
    • 2 cups textured vegetable protein TVP – (cooked green lentils or chopped up cooked portobello mushrooms would also be great here)
    • 1 28-ounce can of organic crushed tomatoes
    • 1/4 cup organic tomato paste
    • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (make sure it is gluten-free and vegan)
    • 1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce (optional)
    • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
    • 1 tablespoon stoneground or wholegrain mustard
    • 1 tablespoon maple sugar (brown sugar or any other sugar of your choice)
    • 3/4 – 1 cup water (you may need a little more if it is too thick)
    • Salt and pepper to taste

    Heat olive oil in large sauté pan over a medium heat. Add diced onion,
    green bell pepper and garlic, sauté for 5 to 8 minutes.

    Add the TVP, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce,
    sriracha sauce, liquid smoke, mustard, maple sugar, 3/4 cup of water, salt
    and pepper to the sauté pan. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 40 –
    45 minutes. Stirring often. You may find you want to add more water if it
    seems too thick. Serve on gluten-free/vegan hamburger rolls.[/print_this]

  5. Gluten-free + Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf

    Gluten-free + Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf

    Hey guys, sorry it was a bit quiet on here last week, we were getting ready for and working our (Hero Design Studio) Pop-Up Shop over the weekend. It went super well and I can’t wait to share some photos from the event with you guys. I am a bit behind on recipe posting from being so busy last week, so look for lots of new recipes this week!

    I am super duper excited to not only share this new recipe with you, but to also be the guest blogger at Healthful Pursuit today! If any of you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you will probably remember my extreme excitement about 2-weeks ago when I finally got this Lentil “Meat” Loaf recipe right. I had messed around with a few different versions, but no matter how delicious my loaves tasted, they just didn’t want to stay together, they ended up being a crumbly, sloppy mess on the plate when I would serve them. I finally got it figured out and I couldn’t wait to share it with anyone who would listen, it’s that good.

    Gluten-free + Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf

    When Leanne, from Healthful Pursuit, contacted me to share a recipe on her blog with her readers while she is on an incredible trip to India, I was in the middle of experimenting with this recipe, so I knew this was the one to share. Plus, knowing it would be out there in front of even more people, it gave me an even more incentive to try to get it right and perfect.

    Leanne’s blog has always been one of my favorites, I found her through her comments on my blog about a year ago and I was always so inspired by what she was making in her own kitchen. In addition to having a similar approach to health and well-being as I do, as a Holistic Nutritionist, Leanne, also has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to foods, eating and our health. Finding Healthful Pursuit brought a wonderful new breath to my cooking and has affirmed all of my decisions about food. I promise after just one visit to HP, you too will be adding it to your bookmarks.

     

    Gluten-free + Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf

    This Lentil “Meat” Loaf pretty much sums up so many of my feelings for food. It is healthy, comforting, satisfying and you won’t feel like you are missing out on a thing when you eat it. It is hearty without being heavy and it is packed full of foods that are great for you. In addition to all of that, the most important thing to me is that it stayed together when I sliced it and it looks beautiful, instead of a lumpy pile on the plate 🙂

    This lentil loaf is almost a little meaty and is sure to satisfy even the meatiest of meat-lovers in your family, I promise. My hubby, Mark, LOVED it. He even made up a song for it. Reheat a slice or two of this loaf up in a cast iron skillet to get it a little toasted on the outside and toss it on your favorite gluten-free (or not) bread, with a little more BBQ sauce and some pickled red onions for a delicious “meat” loaf sandwich. The perfect hearty and healthy lunch.

    Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce

    In addition to the loaf, I also made a delicious and spicy vegan BBQ sauce to go on top. You could certainly use your favorite store bought BBQ sauce, but I urge you to try making your own, even if just one time. It is much easier than you think, you can skip all the gross refined sugar or corn-syrup laced store brands and you can tweak the ingredients to have a taste that is all your own. My BBQ sauce is a tad bit spicy (you can make it as spicy as you’d like), a little tangy and just a tad bit sweet. I love it.

    This recipe was originally shared on Healthful Pursuit.

    [print_this]Gluten-Free and Vegan Lentil “Meat” Loaf
    Makes about 8 slices

    2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
    6 tablespoons boiling water
    2 cups cooked green lentils, cooled and split into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup
    1 cup mushrooms, diced
    2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 onion, diced
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 tablespoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped
    1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, split in half
    1/2 cup almond flour
    3/4 cup spicy vegan BBQ sauce (see below)

    Preheat the oven to 375º. Add the ground flax seeds to a small bowl, pour the boiling hot water over and stir to combine well. Set aside and allow it to thicken and cool.

    Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5-8 minutes until the onions are tender. Add in the mushrooms and cook another 3 to 5 minutes until the mushrooms are tender, add in the thyme and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, stir to combine and turn off the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, if it needs it.

    Process 1 1/2 cups of the cooked lentils and1/2 cup of the oats in the food processor until smooth (some whole bits may remain, that’s ok). Spoon the mixture into a large bowl, add in the remaining lentils and oats, plus the flax “egg”, almond flour and vegetable mixture. Stir really well to combine. Then get your hands in there, just like you would with a regular meat loaf or meatballs, and make sure it is mixed and mashed together really well.

    Spoon the mixture into a parchment paper lined 9″ x 5″ loaf pan, (leave a bit of the parchment paper hanging over so you can easily lift the loaf out when it is cooked). Using your hands, you really want to press it in good. Brush on the remaining 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce over the top.

    Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes at 375º. Cool in the pan for about 5, pull the loaf out by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper and lifting up and allow it to cool for another 5 to 10 minutes on a cooking rack. Slice and serve.[/print_this]

    [print_this]Spicy Vegan BBQ Sauce
    Makes about 1 quart of sauce

    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 large onion, diced
    3-4 garlic cloves minced
    1 teaspoon celery seed
    24-ounce jar of strained (or crushed) tomatoes (or a 28-ounce can)
    7-ounce jar of tomato paste (or a 6-ounce can)
    2 tablespoons Sriracha (if you don’t like spicy, you can skip this, add less or use just a pinch of two of red pepper flakes instead)
    1/4 cup cider vinegar
    1/4 cup whole grain mustard
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
    2 teaspoons liquid smoke

    Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onion is slightly tender, add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine, reduce the heat to a medium-low and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Taste the sauce and make sure you don’t want more of anything, you may want it more sweet, spicy, sour, salty. I like my BBQ sauce tangy and smoky, so I added another 1/4 cup of vinegar and another teaspoon of liquid smoke. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for a few minutes, then puree until smooth in the food processor or blender.[/print_this]

  6. Open-Face Chicken Salad Sandwich

    Open-Face Chicken Salad Sandwich

    On more than one occasion after roasting or grilling one of whole chickens from Sojourner Farms, we have taken the leftovers and thrown together the tastiest chicken salad we’ve ever had. I decided to take one of the chickens this week and roast it, with the sole purpose of making the best chicken salad ever! I roasted it very simply with just salt and pepper, no oil or anything else.

    Simple Roast Chicken

    One 3- to 4-pound farm-raised chicken
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

    Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
    Salt and pepper the cavity. Now, salt the chicken— try to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it’s cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.

    Place the chicken in a roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I left it alone—I didn’t add butter or olive oil; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I didn’t want. Roast it until it’s done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.

    Chicken Salad
    4-cups (or thereabouts) of chicken from a whole roast chicken
    1 cup of homemade aioli (or any mayo of your choice)
    2 to 3 green onions, sliced thinly
    kosher salt
    fresh ground black pepper

    After the chicken has cooled enough to handle it, remove all of the meat and skin. Put the skin to the side or give it to your husband as a late night snack, like I did. Using kitchen shears or a knife and fork, cut the meat into bit sized pieces or shred it. I placed the chicken in a bowl and allowed it to cool overnight in the refrigerator.

    After the chicken is cooled, add the aioli and green onions to the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to coat all of the chicken. Add more aioli if needed. This can be made ahead of time, covered and chilled.

    The Sandwich

    2 slices of your favorite sandwich bread (see my recipe for gluten-free sandwich bread)
    Aioli
    1 plum tomato, sliced thinly
    Arugula or Lettuce
    Salt and Pepper
    Any other condiments of your choice

    Toast the bread to your liking. Spread a thin layer of aioli on each slice of bread and top with the chicken salad, top with a bit of fresh ground pepper. Place two thin slices of tomato on top. Add lettuce or anything else you might like. Enjoy the tastiest chicken salad you will ever have.

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