-
Grain-free Spicy Cauliflower Fritters {Keto, Paleo, Whole30}
These Grain-free Spicy Cauliflower Fritters are an amazing way to embrace the cauliflower love, taking the cauli-rice trend to a whole new level. These versatile patties can be adapted to whatever flavor and spice blend you’d like and served with your favorite sauce, we like Chipotle Lime Aioli.
Veg based fritters have always been a favorite of mine, either as a quick bite appetizer or snack, or atop a large bed of greens as a main dish, I find them to be quick, simple, cheap and versatile. Since I have removed both grains and beans from my diet, due to my autoimmune conditions and my digestive issues, I haven’t really messed with too many veggie-based fritters, cakes and patties in recent years. But, after a recent exploration with cauliflower, which is one of my favorite, versatile, low carb, starch-like veggies – these fritters were born and they have quickly become a new fav.
-
Lemon Tahini Dressing {Paleo, Vegan, Whole30, Keto}
This Lemon Tahini Dressing is a kitchen staple food for us. It’s naturally paleo, vegan, keto, nut-free and Whole30-compliant, so it’s a really great option for entertaining. Creamy, flavorful and so quick to whip up it makes an amazing dressing, dip or sauce with just a few ingredients.
If you haven’t sensed the theme, this year on Tasty Yummies, it’s been all about getting back to basics. Both with the foundations of cooking and in our health. I think both have gotten somewhat unnecessarily complicated. I find that having a solid base of pantry staples, meal prep and batch cooked recipes, sauces and dressings that you always have on hand – this is key to being prepared and ready to take on the busy weeks with your health and well-being at the forefront. No excuses.
I have been taking notice of the kinds of foods we make week in and week out, in our house. The uncomplicated, not-so-fancy, easy-to-make foods that keep us organized and feeling in control. We have several non-negotiables around here, top of that list, is always having a solid, super tasty, homemade, dressing on hand. Since we have Big F-ing Salads just about daily around here, having a tasty dressing already made and waiting, makes it even easier to make good choices.
For us, it goes between Dad’s Greek Dressing, Homemade Dairy-free Ranch Dressing, 5-Minute Green Goddess Dressing and this tasty Lemon Tahini Dressing. This thick and rich dressing is one of my personal faves, because I will forever love a good creamy dressing, but definitely prefer to avoid dairy. Not only does this Lemon Tahini Dressing not have any dairy, but there’s no mayo or eggs, no nuts, just simple ingredients. Tahini is a paste made from toasted and ground sesame seeds. This dressing is paleo, vegan, keto, Whole30 compliant, nut-free, etc etc so it’s great for entertaining a crowd.
-
Lemon Garlic Black Pepper Shrimp {+ Video}
Ready in a flash, at 15 minutes or less, this one-pan Lemon Garlic Black Pepper Shrimp is garlicky, buttery, with a fresh, bright flavor from the lemon and just a little heat from the black peppercorns. Pair with zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice or cauliflower mash for an easy-to-make meal, perfect for a busy weeknight, but elegant enough to serve up to guests.
Since I have launched the Meal Plans Service and especially as I have continued to work one-on-one with nutrition clients, I have found myself very drawn toward creating simple, yet still fairly epic weeknight meals. Meals that ‘WOW’ without a ton of fuss. This is what I am loving creating more than nearly anything else right now. Recipes that people will actually make! Most specifically I have been loving those of the one-pan, ready-in-under-30-minutes variety. It’s been so rewarding getting the instagram notifications, on the very same day a recipe posts here on the website, that you guys are already making them. That says something and it’s the ultimate compliment.
-
Spring Salad with Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing {Paleo, Dairy-free, Whole30, Vegan}
This Spring Salad features a vibrant Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing that is creamy, tangy, fragrant and bright! It’s aromatic and complimentary to so many dishes, from grilled or roasted veggies, potatoes, crudite, or even chicken or fish – but it’s especially perfect with a seasonal salad with bright, spring veggies.
This gorgeous Spring Salad with Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing features Silk Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative. A great option for those that have to eat dairy-free. In addition to being dairy-free and plant-based, Silk’s Almondmilk Yogurts are free from high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives are verified by the Non-GMO Project, they are responsibly produced and are free of gluten, casein, peanuts, egg and MSG. Now available in NEW Almondmilk 24oz tubs (Plain & Vanilla), if you wanna give it a try, grab a coupon for Silk’s Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative here.
This beautiful, golden Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing comes together in minutes using the blender. It’s rich, creamy, thick, tangy and vibrant and it can be used in so many other recipes, beyond your standard green salad. Try drizzling over roasted veggies like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or bok choy or grilled eggplant or asparagus. It would also be lovely over chicken or fish or overtop your cauliflower rice.
-
How-to Make Infused Olive Oil {+ Video}
Infused Olive Oils make really great and beautiful gifts for the food lovers in your life! They are also great to have on hand in your own kitchen for your own cooking adventures. The flavor possibilities are endless and it is truly a fun and unique gift.
There are lots of great options for simple homemade gifts here on TY: Healthier Hot Cocoa Mix, Homemade Chocolate Bark, Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in a Jar, DIY homemade Vanilla Extract, Essential Oil Holiday Room Sprays, Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter, Coconut Butter, Nut Butters, Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Mix, Chai Concentrate, just to name a few of my favorites.
A handmade gift, made with love, packaged up sweetly with beautiful custom labels and a thoughtful note, to me, is what the season is all about. Sharing something you created with your own two hands, especially for the person receiving it.
There are so many various ways you can infuse olive oil and there are just as many posts floating around the web telling us about them. Some heat the oil, while others just throw it all together in the bottle and call it a day, some leave in the ingredients in, others strain them out before bottling. I have done a lot of reading and no matter what method you choose, there are a few concerns we have to take into account when making infused olive oils.
-
Grain-free Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Tart {Paleo, Gluten-free + Vegan} + Video
As if I could find a better pairing, two of my favorite foods come together in the perfect marriage, for this rich, silky, decadent treat that’s low carb, low in sugar, grain-free and vegan. The smooth fruity taste of Terra Delyssa’s organic extra virgin olive oil is the perfect compliment to super dark chocolate and in all it’s impressiveness this dessert comes together in no time.
Truth be told, I am not much of a baker. Mostly it comes from a lack of caring about most baked goods and sweets. I know you’ve heard this story before, in the nearly 8 years of Tasty Yummies. What I do love, admittedly daily, is a couple of squares of high quality super duper dark chocolate. It’s really just about all I need.
-
Is Your Olive Oil the Real Thing? Terra Delyssa Is.
Is your olive oil the real thing? Can you trust that what you are cooking with is safe? I know you are all concerned about fake, substandard olive oils. We’ve all seen the news reports and media coverage of the market being flooded with olive oils making big health claims, yet many being found to be mislabeled and adulterated with other substandard oils like soybean or canola – it’s SO important to find an olive oil you can trust. There are so many reasons I choose to cook with Terra Delyssa Olive Oil and why I personally stand behind and recommend it, to my nutrition clients and to you, my readers, as well as my very own family.
Terra Delyssa does not hide it’s origin. Their olive oils are one of very few that are actually offered to consumers directly by the farmers / producers. Obtained from the first cold press of freshly hand picked olives grown on farms that have been passed on and run for many generations, cultivating and producing Olive Oil, the traditional way, known to the region of Sfax in Tunisia, situated on the Mediterranean coastline.
Terra Delyssa fully controls their olives from tree to bottle, crushing all of their olives within 24 hours of harvest, testing every single batch in their state of the art laboratory. By honoring of traditional production methods of hand selection and true cold-pressing this keeps the oil’s acidity low, while maintaining it’s high levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients high.
-
Green Tahini Sauce {+ Video}
Tahini is my life blood. If you aren’t yet aware of what tahini is, it is a condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds, with a consistency similar to other nut butters. It has come to be one of my most coveted pantry staples. I almost always have a homemade tahini dressing or sauce of some sort, on hand, if not two. My garlic tahini, or some variation on it, is mainstay in my kitchen weekly.
Recently with all the fresh, local herbs in season I have been veering off and getting a bit more creative with my tahini sauce. This vibrant, herby, Green Tahini Sauce is so versatile. It’s wonderful simply as a dip for crudités, grain-free crackers or chips. It makes am amazing creamy, salad dressing for a traditional green salad, or better yet the perfect way to dress up a summer potato salad. It’s a lovely compliment to grain and veggie bowls or simply just steamed, roasted or sautéed vegetables of any and all kinds. It is also great in place of mayo on sandwiches. This Green Tahini is also a wonderful sauce for seafood, chicken and pork, especially when grilled or roasted.
-
Crispy Grilled Chicken Wings – Three Ways
These Crispy Grilled Chicken Wings are a summertime entertaining staple at our house. A recipe developed and perfected by my husband Mark, I am so excited to now share it with all of you.
I have to say, in the over 7 years that Tasty Yummies has existed, I cannot believe we’ve never had my husband Mark as a guest contributor here. While I do most of the cooking around here, the grilling duties land nearly exclusively on his shoulders and this man has truly mastered his craft.
These are a low and slow method, so they aren’t a quick throw them on the grill recipe, but this actually makes for a great recipe when entertaining. Our grill is front and center on our large deck, we all gather round with drinks and snacks while Mark tends to his duties. He likes having a job and I love relinquishing some of the cooking control. Don’t rush these, the crispiness and lack of dryness is all thanks to the indirect method Mark developed.
What Beth Says: Mark takes his grilling very seriously and he is always tweaking and adjusting his methods, creating new ways to use old tricks. This grilled chicken wing recipe of his is by far the most popular. Based on the concept of his long-perfected beer can chicken these wings are now legendary and the reputation of these wings might just precede Mark, at this point.
I love this particular recipe for so many reasons. 1) it’s created by the human I love most in this world. DUH! 2) this recipe has afforded me a little more opportunity to actually enjoy dinner guests, especially in the summer months. With most of the cooking generally being my responsibility, with good reason, I usually host dinner and feel like I spend more time preparing and cooking, than I do being able to visit. Now I can craft a few sides, a salad and a dessert and leave the main up to my man! 3) being from Buffalo, I feel like it’s in my DNA to love chicken wings. However I am usually underwhelmed and left feeling crazy gross with almost all restaurant chicken wings, so I just never eat them. I can assume that likely the feeling of hot gut death is because they are submerged in hot, rancid, oxidized garbage vegetable oil. With these grilled wings cooking low and slow, they are crispy, without being dried out and there is not of those horrible, ‘what did I just do?’ feelings in your tummy. 4) We get invited to a lot more BBQs, with the request that we show up and make these. Fair enough!
Thanks for the photo Gustavo Jaimes
What Mark Says: Marky love wingy. They say everything in art is inspired by something else, well at least that’s what I hope they say – because I say it all of the time. The idea for my backyard Crispy Grilled Chicken Wings came from two other works of art. Years ago before Tasty Yummies was the powerhouse it is today, we experimented with the infamous Beer Can Chicken and the Butterflied Chicken (link below), these types of meals gave me a chance to give back to the woman that feeds me everyday and, if we’re being totally honest, looks after my nutrition like hawks fly around roadkill. The grill became my thing, I got good at it and for a food dummy, Tasty Yummies was proud of me.
-
Don’t Fear the Fat // The Basics
Why Are We Talking About Fat?
The reason I write this post, is that even though, for so many us, we have woke to this knowledge and have worked hard to reframe our approach to nutrition and no longer fearing the fat, we still have so much work to do. After many decades of low-fat propaganda, the “fat makes you fat” rhetoric is still so deeply ingrained in the collective psyche. Many people STILL greatly fear fat, even though study after study shows that fat is not only harmless 1http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract but that it is in fact, quite necessary to many important functions in the body. I myself see this fear weekly in my nutrition clients, all over the internet and in my social feeds, at the grocery store, at restaurants, at the gym, etc and of course, all of the many side effects of low fat eating – we HAVE to change this dialogue!!
The Basics
It is beyond challenging to decide where to even start on such a huge, huge topic. Chatting about dietary fat is a big undertaking and we are going to merely just scratch the surface with this initial post, decoding the myths and where the fat fearmongering began, along with the crucial reasons we need fat in our diet. So, let’s get to the basics.
First and foremost you need to know that fat is a necessity in our bodies. This vital macronutrient provides building blocks for the brain, hormone and cellular membranes throughout the body, it is essential for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K and it is deeply hydrating!
By adequately increasing my healthy fat intake, more than any other change I have made in my lifestyle and diet, I have personally seen profound affects on my health, from my digestion to my skin including chronic hormonal and cystic acne, from my moods to my ability to concentrate, hormonal imbalances to libido (YUP!). Fat is a powerful anti-aging food, both internally and externally. Consumed as part of a healthful diet, fatty acids (the building blocks of fat) help stabilize blood sugar – allowing your body to release fat, protect it’s lean muscle, and surge with energy. When our focus is on creating meals that are rich not only in healthy fats, but also quality well-sourced proteins and fibrous green leafy veggies, we can thank especially the healthy fats for keeping us satiated. Staying satisfied for longer means so you won’t find yourself searching for the junky, processed snacks in between these healthy, whole food meals.
References
1. ↑ http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract -
5 Minute Green Goddess Dressing / Dip {Dairy-free, Paleo, Whole30}
This gorgeous, vibrant Paleo Green Goddess Dressing is ready in under 5 minutes and it’s loaded with so much flavor. This creamy, dairy-free Whole30-compliant condiment can be served up as a salad dressing, dip, sauce or spread. Sorry not sorry in advance if you become as addicted to it as we are!
I am not sure exactly where the term “Green Goddess” originated when speaking of a tasty green dressing, but I am not mad about it. Not at all. Clearly something this beautiful, brilliant and delicious is female! DUH.
I have seen many many iterations of the Green Goddess dressing and many call for yogurt or other dairy and ALL the green things. This particular rendition gets it’s creaminess from avocado and delicious avocado oil mayonnaise. There is a prominent basil flavor and aroma which is peppery and fresh, with parsley is a backup singer. If you want to have some fun, swap out the basil with cilantro (I’d say go with more like 1/2 cup since it’s a bit stronger), swap lime for the lemon and add jalapeño. Voila, another version of this amazing sauce.
-
Sheet Pan Roast Chicken and Veggies Dinner {+ Video} Gluten-free + Paleo
This Sheet Pan Roast Chicken and Veggies Dinner is extremely simple to toss together, it’s ready in just about 30 minutes and you can easily adjust the recipe’s ingredients to your personal favorites. Swap out the veggies, try a different herb and spice blend.
Sheet pan dinners are the ultimate in one-pan meals. These versatile meals are easy to customize for even the pickiest of eaters. With a trusty sheet pan, just a few pantry staples and your favorite in season produce in just about 30 minutes of cooking, you can have a hearty, tasty dinner on the table any night of the week.
Get Creative
This recipe is highly versatile, you change out the veggies depending on the season and your family’s preferences. Here we went with Brussels sprouts and butternut squash, two of our personal favorites – but you can also use cabbage, green beans, squash, peppers, onions or shallots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes (white or sweet), zucchini, carrots, etc. Go with the best the season has to offer and of course, your family’s favorites.
-
Cast Iron Charred Lemon Garlic Asparagus
Cast Iron Charred Lemon Garlic Asparagus, a simple, 10 minutes side dish, celebrating the best that Spring has to offer and one of my favorite cooking tools, my cast iron skillet!
If you couldn’t tell by now, I am more than a little bit obsessed with my cast iron skillet. That baby is ALWAYS on the stove, often with a nice layer of bacon fat, but always seasoned and ready to go.
Besides being super convenient, easy to clean and just a solid, dependable kitchen tool cast iron is also a healthier option. Choosing cast-iron pans is a great source of iron in your diet. Iron deficiency is a fairly common place issue worldwide, especially among women, some research shows 10% of American women are iron-deficient.
A study published in the July 1986 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that cooking in cast iron skillets added significant amounts of iron to 20 foods tested. For example, the researchers reported that the iron content of three ounces of applesauce increased from 0.35 mg to 7.3 mg and scrambled eggs increased from 1.49 mg to 4.76 mg of iron.1https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/cooking-with-cast-iron/
References
1. ↑ https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-home/cooking-with-cast-iron/ -
Greek Gyro Meatballs {Paleo-friendly}
These Greek Gyro Meatballs aren’t your standard ground meat Greek meatballs, instead we are bringing the flavor and more importantly the texture of gyro meat. So you can skip the multiple steps and the need for delicate, thinly sliced meat and condense the work into these tasty bites!
My love for Greek food runs very very deep, you guys know this. Last year when I created, basically the best homemade gyro ever, I realized that I had been sorely missing out for basically an entire lifetime. Growing up Greek there were loads of recipes and dishes that were handed down from generation to generation, things we just always grew up eating – souvlaki, avgolemono soup, lamb meatballs, pastitsio, leg of lamb, Greek Potato Salad and that list goes on and on.
Though we all loved it very much, gyro wasn’t exactly one of those foods, it just wasn’t part of my family’s Greek food repertoire. Souvlaki was always the go to for this time of meal and if and when gyro was served, at our house, it was the store bought stuff (eeeeek over-processed, gluten-containing and not so good – so, I always passed). When I broke into the homemade gyro game, after years of being without it, it quickly became a dish that is requested every time I am home in NY visiting my family.
-
Kale Salad with Balsamic Roasted Beets, Horseradish Tahini Dressing and Spicy Maple Pepitas
DOLE® Fresh Vegetables is a sponsor of Tasty Yummies. DOLE® provided me with Organic Salad samples for the purpose of this post, as well as compensation for my time. All content, ideas, and words are my own.
You guys know how I feel about my daily greens and more importantly about the quality of all the foods that we eat in our household. Sourcing organic is of top priority to me so when I received word that DOLE® was expanding their organic product line to include new salad mixes, I was beyond excited to get into the kitchen and start creating with them.
It is an absolute given that at all times I have organic baby spinach and/or kale in the fridge. Whether it’s wilted down in my morning eggs, tossed into a blended smoothie or the base of an epic, seasonal salad I find these to be the most versatile veggies to always have on hand.
If I am being fully honest with you, I have been known to just save a fistful of baby spinach or baby kale into my mouth mid-day if I have been slacking on my greens consumption. Hey – you do what you gotta go sometimes.
-
How-To Make Grain-free Granola {Paleo-friendly}
For my granola loving friends, I am super excited about this how-to and recipe. Most commercial granolas, even when gluten-free, are loaded with gut-upsetting grains, and worse yet – vegetable oils and loads of sugar. After lots of experimenting and playing around, I created the perfect base recipe for this paleo grain-free granola, with two variations. Sweet and Savory.
Using the formula for the base on this paleo recipe, you can get creative there with your favorite nuts and seeds and then when it comes to flavor combinations, the sky is the limit – so get creative and make it your own.
-
Sheet Pan Steak Fajitas
You guys have probably noticed a lot more simplified, entree-based recipes here on Tasty Yummies over the last few months. Much of this is due in large part to me having more nutrition clients and being able to speak one-on-one to the average, busy working person, who is oftentimes just beyond overwhelmed by the concept of making better choices with their food. This feeling of being unsure and overwhelmed can lead to failing before they even try. I hate hearing and knowing that. I also feel incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to step away from myself and see things from a different perspective. Food is my life but I know for many, even just one home cooked dinner a week is already more than what they are doing!
My first and foremost goal with this website has always been to inspire and empower, in the kitchen and with nutrition. I want everyone to know that eating well and making your health a priority, these things are totally accessible and possible. Read the rest of this entry »
-
Salsa Macha
We returned home last Monday after spending over a week Loreto, Mexico, in the Baja California Sur, celebrating the nuptials of our very good friends, Debbie and Dan. Since I was coming off a full month + of exceptionally strict eating, since I did Whole30, I was feeling really, really great, but on top of it, I was also several weeks in on experimenting with the ketogenic diet, as an attempt to get my autoimmune kidney disease into remission (more on this soon as I continue to experiment).I had some slight trepidations in spending a week at a resort, both in how hard it would be for me to keep up my preferred way of eating, but also from the standpoint of my actual health and well-being, if 1 week away would ruin 1 month of hard work.
The answer is it wasn’t hard and no it didn’t.
-
Roasted Beet Cauliflower Hummus {Paleo-friendly}
A bean-free hummus that’s pretty enough to be a work of art? Say what? No seriously, this cauliflower hummus features roasted beets and garlic and it’s about to take your snack game to a whole new level!
After years of working on healing my gut, dealing with a parasite and unhappy gut bacteria, among other things, I am proud to say that my gut and my digestion has never ever been better, I don’t date say that I am cured and everything is perfect, but I feel incredible and that is absolutely something to celebrate.
-
Instant Pot Beef Stew {Paleo, Gluten-free}
With the busyness of this time of year, I am finding myself far more called to creating nourishing, comforting food that doesn’t eat up half the day in prep work, but that also cooks quickly and leaves us time for all the other crazy tasks we have on ours lists right now. This time of year I just want the most comforting foods, soups and stews, roasts and other hearty, seasonal meals. This Instant Pot Beef Stew is basically the best ever version of all of this! Ready in under an hour, it’ll taste as if had been cooking ALL day long.
Last year I got myself the Instant Pot, after hearing from so many people how amazing it is. I am still, after a year, learning all the things it can do. I recently began playing with the sauté feature, which allows you to sear meat, before pressure cooking it. I find this seals in the flavor and the caramelized flavors from the browning really brings more depth and richness to the overall dish. Plus, it gives us little brown bits to deglaze, which is one of my most favorite things to do when cooking.
This is comforting, winter food at it’s finest. It actually reminds me of being a kid, this is the food we grew up on. My mom made a killer beef stew on the stove top. It tastes of love, coziness and comfort.
-
Roasted Garlic Parsnip Cauliflower Mash
In an effort to lighten things up, I have definitely made mashed cauliflower as a swap for mashed potatoes in the past. Listen, I am not going to lie to you guys, mashed cauliflower it’s not “faux mashed potatoes”. Mashed cauliflower is mashed cauliflower. It’s really freakin’ good, but it’s also fairly flat. It lacks the starchiness of mashed potatoes, it lacks the heft! It doesn’t hold up to a thick, luscious gravy.
