Kayla’s Zucchini Avo-Fredo (Alfredo)

Hello everyone!

Last night I was scrambling for something to eat for dinner.  I had no idea what to make, I was getting hungrier by the minute, and I needed something quick and easy.

No big deal right?

Well, I took to Pintrest.  Naturally. 

What I found was a whole lot of Gluten Free imitation versions of casseroles that made me go… ICK!  The tricky thing with gluten free versions of gluten ridden foods, is they often have higher calorie, carb, and additive numbers.  I wanted something fast, but I didn’t want to sacrifice quality or nutrition.

I found inspiration from a few different recipes and came up with something that I thought I would enjoy!  Here is my recipe, I hope you enjoy!

Kayla’s Zucchini Avo-Fredo (Alfredo)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

Sauce:

-          ½ medium avocado

-          2 tbsp ricotta cheese

-          1 handful fresh basil

-          ¼ cup Chicken stock

o   Used to thin out the sauce.  You want it to coat the back of a spoon, but not too thick

-          2 tsp lemon juice

-          Sea salt

Remaining:

-          1-2 medium zucchinis

o   Made zucchini noodles with your zucchinis

-          1 medium tomato

Optional:

-          1 chicken breast

Instructions:

-          Make noodles out of your zucchini, set aside

-          Chop your tomato, set aside

-          In a Vitamix Blender, add:

o   Basil

o   Avocado

o   Lemon juice

o   Half of the amount of chicken stock

-          Blend until thick and smooth

-          Add in your ricotta cheese, blend

-          If needed, add remaining chicken stock

o   You want your sauce to be thick and creamy, not soupy!

-          Warm a large saucepan on medium heat

-          Add your Avo-Fredo sauce and gently warm

-          Once warmed through, add your zucchini and toss in the sauce until coated and zucchini warmed through

o   You still want some crunch to the zucchini

-          Toss fresh tomatoes in

-          If you are using chicken, toss in your chopped, cooked chicken breast

-          PLATE AND ENJOY!

This was absolutely DELICIOUS and tasted just like Fettuccini Alfredo, my fave pasta dish!  It was creamy, dreamy, and very satisfying!  I used 1 medium zucchini and 1 chicken breast and ate all of it.  It was fantastic!

Please let me know if you try it and what you think!

Enjoy!

Kayla

Breakfast Smoothie

Hey everyone!

Thought I would share a new recipe for a delicious breakfast smoothie!

Ingredients:

1 red apple
1 banana
Greek yogurt
Almond milk
Ground cinnamon
Almond butter
Protein powder of your choice

Chop the apple and add ingredients to a blender (I use the Vitamix). Blend until you reach the consistency you like!

It tastes and smells like apple fritters from the St. Jacobs Farmers Market!

Very filling and absolutely delicious!!!

Enjoy :)

Chicken Chili

I was looking for something to spice up my 2nd and 3rd meal of the day and I decided to use my chicken and make chili!  Here is what I did and it was DELISH!

Ingredients:

- ground chicken
- 1 green pepper
- 1 small onion
- 1 jalapeno
- 1 clove garlic
- can of tomatoes (diced, whole, whatever you prefer)
- chili seasoning
- kale

Instructions:

- dice onion, green pepper, garlic and jalapeno; set aside
- heat a deep frying pan or pot
- drizzle some oil in the pan and add the onions and peppers; cook until onions begin to brown
- add garlic
- add ground chicken and cook thoroughly
- add tomatoes
- add kale
- season with chili, salt, pepper, whatever spices you prefer
- turn the heat down low and allow the chili to simmer

You can allow the chili to cook for as long as you want on low heat but I needed chili and I needed it FAST so I just let it simmer for about 10 minutes and then I devoured it!

Fast and easy chili!  Total time was maybe 30 minutes!  The kale adds a delicious little spin on chili and is SO nutritious!!!

Enjoy!

K

Oat and Egg White Pancake

Do you miss eating pancakes with the family on Sunday mornings?  Well I have a recipe that will make that problem disappear!  You will be enjoying Pancake Sunday’s with the family again in no time at all :)

What you need:

-        Food processor or blender or magic bullet

-        4-6 Egg whites

-        ¼ Cup of Quick oats

-        Cinnamon

-        Small frying pan

-        Flipper

-        Spatula

-        Oil of your choice

What to do:

-        Take your oats and blend them in the food processor or blender or magic bullet until it looks like the consistency of flour (in our case it would look like Gluten Free Flour, right!)

-        Add cinnamon now or sprinkle it on top of the finished product

-        Measure and add your egg whites to the food processor or blender or magic bullet and blend.  This will incorporate the ingredients as well as make the egg whites fluffier.

-        Add a very small amount of oil to a non-stick small frying pan and once the pan is ready, add the mixture and wait for small bubbles to form throughout the pancake.  Then you know it’s time to flip!  I like to use the spatula to lift up the pancake so I can slide the flipper underneath it and flip.  Less risk of breaking the pancake that way!

-        The second side takes less time to cook; about a minute or 2 or until golden.

Voila!  You have your Oat and Egg White Pancake! 

Here are some possible toppings for your pancake:

(NOTE: I am just making suggestions, I am not saying this is appropriate for everyone's meal plan!)

-        Mashed banana (this can also be added INTO the pancake ‘batter’)

-        Maple Syrup

-        Cinnamon

-        Cinnamon and Splenda

-        Berry Compote

-        Peanut Butter and Banana Slices

-        Any kind of fruit

-        Or my guilty pleasure that I will try again once I reach my goal… NUTELLA!

You can also make this a savoury pancake by adding spices instead of cinnamon and use sour cream and a possible topping.  Think of Potato Pancakes, but healthier :)

Give this recipe a try and let me know if you do!

I hope you enjoyed this post and I will talk to you all very soon!

K

Almond “Breaded” Chicken Fingers

When I was a little kid (and throughout most of my life lol) I have loved chicken fingers.  When I was younger and got to go out for dinner with family (sans mom and dad) I took the opportunity and ran with it; I ordered chicken fingers.  Sadly, those darn things aren’t that good for you and the breading makes my tummy turn.  Darn gluten…  Have no fear, my friends… I have a delicious alternative :)

Almond “Breaded” Chicken Fingers

What you need:

-        Chicken breast (you decide how many you need depending on how many people you are cooking for)

-        All natural almonds

-        Food processor or blender

-        Egg whites (2 eggs worth should be plenty depending on how much you are making)

-        Spices

-        Tongs

-        Flipper

-        Frying pan

-        2 Plates (1 to spread the chopped almonds on and 1 to place the cooked chicken on)

-        Cooling rack (to place cooked chicken on) OPTIONAL

-        Rectangular dish (to hold the egg whites)

-        Oil (you can use EVOO, coconut oil, or whatever you have on your meal plan!)

Instructions:

-        Take your almonds (I used about a cup) and throw them into the blender with whatever spices you like and chop them up!  I used a little bit of chili pepper flakes.  You can decide how fine or chunky you want the pieces of almond to be, but aim for a finer consistency.  Spread it out evenly on the plate.

-        Whisk the egg whites slightly in the dish.

-        Slice your chicken breast into thin slices.  This will help the chicken cook faster!

-        Dip each slice of chicken into the egg white and then over to the almond mixture and then place the “breaded” chicken on to a clean plate.

-        Once you have all of the chicken “breaded” put it in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes so the “breading” can adhere. 

-        While your chicken is sitting in the fridge you can heat up the frying pan.  Make sure to cook this on Low-Med heat as you don’t want to burn the almonds before the chicken has a chance to cook thoroughly.

-        Lightly oil the pan, I like to use a brush so I can spread out the oil evenly and limit the amount I need to use.

-        Once the chicken is ready to cook, space the slices out evenly in the pan and cook 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness.  I like to leave the sides of the chicken almond free so I can see when the chicken turns colour.

-        Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly use the flipper to remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack (or plate).  The cooling rack will allow the chicken to cool on both sides without the bottom getting soggy from the condensation on the plate.

-        Depending on what you are allowed to eat on your meal plan you can use whatever dip you like!  Mustard is great or you can create your own veggie dip by pureeing some of your fave veggies!  A roasted red pepper dip sounds delish, don’t you think?

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you try it!  I will talk to you all very soon!

K