Chicken Zoodle Soup (GF & DF)

It snowed.... again...

It is officially spring... someone upstairs must have forgotten that!

Needless to say this white stuff all over the ground made me crave soup!

Mr. Kat has been on this health kick after watching some infomercial type thing about heart health.  He wants to load up on veges and cut back on grains.... blah blah blah....

While the snow made me want comfort food, I wanted to do it in a way so that I didn't hear anymore about how we need to be eating healthier.... as if we can really be eating must healthier! Come on now!

This was the perfect compromise!

Chicken Zoodle Soup

2 lbs chicken breast- cut into bite sized pieces

1 onion- diced

2 large carrots- sliced
3 stalks of celery- diced
4 C chicken broth
4 C vegetable broth
3 medium zucchini- spiralized

4 garlic cloves- minced

salt & pepper- to taste

1 T nutritional yeast

1 T parsley

1 T chopped chives

Throw your broth in a large soup pot.  Turn the heat up to medium and let it come to a boil while you chop your veges.  Throw your veges into the pot.  Dice your chicken, throw that in too.  Let it boil for about 20 more minutes, until the veges are tender and the chicken is done.  While that is cooking make your zoodles.  Once the veges and chicken are done throw the zoodles in with all the seasoning.  Let simmer for about 5 more minutes, until the zoodles are soft.

Quick Pepper Steak (GF & DF)

We had some delicious Asian food on our trip to Punta Cana.  I was missing it! 

For my inspiration click here!

Quick Pepper Steak

Marinade:

1/4 C soy sauce- Make sure it's GF!!

1/3 C water

2 T rice vinegar

1 T corn starch

1/8 t black pepper

1 lb flank steak- slice it thin

2 T EVOO

12 mini sweet peppers- sliced

2 scallions- sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 T fresh ginger- minced

4 garlic cloves- minced

sesame seeds- just for a fancy garnish

Add all marinade ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the sliced steak, and toss in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the sweet peppers and white part of the scallions, ginger, garlic, and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a plate.  Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to the pan. Remove the steak from the marinade with a slotted spoon (reserving the marinade) and saute about 2-3 minutes until browned, stirring occasionally. Transfer steak to plate with the veggies.  Add the reserved marinade to the skillet and cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Add the steak, veggies and green parts of the scallions to the skillet, and stir to combine. Cook for an additional minute, then remove from heat.  Garnish with the green part of the scallions and some sesame seeds (these aren't in my picture... sorry!)


Serve with a side of steamed Asian veges and some brown rice!

DIY Mouthwash

So funny story:  Not only do I do my squats while I brush my teeth, I plank while I swirl my mouthwash!  It's hilarious, and it's efficient.  This way I always know I spent enough time taking care of my smile.. and I get my squats and planks done for the day!


I loved Hello Products... but my local target stopped carrying them :(


I completely ran our of mouthwash, and instead of worry about it I opted to figure it out.  I made my own!  And as usual, it is cheaper, so simple, and better for us!


There is no real science to this... as with most things I do (even though I am technically a scientist.. haha!! the piece of paper on my all says so!)


1 part hydrogen peroxide
1 part distilled water
throw in a teaspoon or so of baking soda
peppermint essential oil- enough until you reach your desired scent/flavor


Mix it all together in a bottle.  Shake it a bit before you use it each time. Swirl it around (planking optional!) and spit!  You don't want to swallow peroxide (or the oil for that matter), unless you want to evacuate your belly!

Another funny story:
 I store this in an empty Jack Daniel's bottle! :)
 It's so pretty!

Ever since I have been using this my dentist has been commenting about how healthy the tissues in my mouth are!  She asked me what I've been doing  :)

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

Mr. Kat declared this the best chicken strips he has ever had!  Not sure they deserve that title, but they are pretty yummy!

 

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders

1.5 lb chicken tenders

1 egg + 1 t H2O

1 C Rice Chex Crumbs- use corn if you prefer

3/4 C ground almonds- I use my dry grains container for my Vitamix!

1/2 t sea salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/2 t garlic powder

2 T butter- I use Earth Balance to keep it dairy free

2 T EVOO

Preheat your oven to 400.  In a medium bowl combine the chex crumbs, almonds, and seasonings.  In another bowl beat your egg and add the water.  Dip each tender in the egg before dredging in the crumb mix.  If you have enough crumbs left you can repeat this to process if you like them with a lot of crumbs on them.  Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium.  Cook the chicken until lightly browned, a couple minutes per side.  Put in a greased pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.

These are great dipped in honey mustard!

Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cake (GF & DF)

This coffee cake has no real sugar, no diary, and of course no gluten!

Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cake

Cake:

1/4 C coconut oil

1/4 C honey

1 egg

1 t vanilla

1/2 C coconut milk

1 C GF All Purpose Flour- use your fave, mine is Sarah's 

1/2 C almond meal- I just ground some almonds up in my Vitamix

1 t cinnamon

2 t baking powder

1/2 t sea salt

Topping:

1/2 C almond meal

2 T GF All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 T coconut oil

1 T honey

2 t Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Stir coconut oil, egg, vanilla and honey together in a bowl.  In a small bowl, combine almond meal, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt.  Add dry ingredients to wet along with milk, and stir until smooth.  Pour into an 8×8 baking pan.  In a small bowl mix the topping ingredients.  Spread the topping over the cake then kinda swirl it around with a knife to get it mixed in a bit.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

You can find the original recipe here.  The only thing I changed was the flour, I didn't have any almond flour... and I really wanted this coffee cake so I made it work!

Breakfast of Champions??
Bloody Mary and Coffee Cake!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF & DF)

These cookies are almost healthy enough to eat for breakfast... not saying that "almost" ever stops me! :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C natural peanut butter

2 eggs

1/2 C brown sugar

1 t vanilla

2/3 C GF oats

1 t baking soda

2/3 C Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.  Throw some parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Mix the peanut butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. In a small bowl stir the baking soda into the oats.  Add the oat mix and the chips to the peanut butter mix and stir until well incorporated.  Use a cookie scoop to place the dough on your prepared cookie sheet leaving a couple inches between cookies.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  Don't over bake them, you want them to stay a bit chewy!

I have been playing around with these to make them for sure healthy enough for breakfast!  I'll let you know when I get them just right!

Easy Gluten & Dairy Free Buttermilk Biscuits

A while back I shared how I make my own GF DF Bisquick.  It is so easy and handy to have around!

One of my favorite things to make with these?... Biscuits! Duh!

Easy Gluten & Dairy Free Buttermilk Biscuits

2 C GF DF Bisquick
2 t baking powder
1 t sea salt
1 stick of butter- cold (I use Earth Balance sticks to keep it dairy free)
2 eggs- beaten
2/3 C buttermilk- about 1/2 T lemon juice with enough coconut milk to make it 2/3C


Mix the lemon and coconut milk and let it sit while you prepare the rest.  Preheat your oven to 400.  Mix the bisquick, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter and mix it well with a pastry blender (or if you're super classy like me just use a fork).  Do this until your mixture is crumbly.  Add the beaten eggs and stir a bit.  Slowly pour in the buttermilk while stirring.  Your dough will be fluffyish.  It's also pretty sticky so it doesn't work so well to roll out and cut out into biscuit shapes.  Instead I just put scoops of dough into a greased cast iron skillet, keep them nice and close together.  Bake for about 15 minutes until the tops are a bit golden.




The dough from my first attempt.. 

I made half the recipe to make sure they turned out...
Bad idea, because they turned out perfectly, and it left me with only four!



 

 

These are a bit sweet (in an almost Hawaiian Sweet Roll kinda way) with using the coconut milk to make the buttermilk. They are soft and fluffy with a great buttery flavor. Take my advice and don't make half a batch, unless of course you are maybe going on a beach vacay in the near future! ;)

More Gluten Free Love From Punta Cana!

A celiac friend of mine got the chance to fall in love with Punta Cana!

She had told me she was a bit anxious about going there.... I quickly reassured her that there was no need for that!  She speaks Spanish, and when I say speak I mean that she is fluent in Spanish (not like my sad attempt at speaking it).  So I told her just to relax and enjoy it and she would be fine, well much better than just fine!

The first morning she was there she sent me this...

I love seeing those SIN GLUTEN signs!

So it's safe to say her resort loves Celiacs as much as mine did!

It's also safe to say she had an amazing time without worries!

She was at the Majestic Elegance in case you were curious.

s'mores brownies (Gluten Free & Dairy Free)

This are so handy for smore making!
Not quite a graham cracker, but close enough for me!
 

It is so beautiful out today, which means....It's almost time for bonfires, which means..... it's almost time for burnt mallows! Don't judge me for loving my mallows burnt!

 

 

Until those bonfires...this recipe will have to cut it.

 

 

How yumnmy does this look!?!?



S'Mores Brownies

 

One batch of your fave brownie mix- I'll share my recipe soon

Whatever else you need to make said brownie mix happen

A box of Grammy Crisps- some for snacking, some for the brownies :)

Marshmallows- make sure they are GF!

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

1 T Coconut oil

 

Crush up some of your Grammy Crisps.  Mix up the brownie mix and stir in about a 1/2 C grammy crumbs.  Bake them as directed.  Cut your marshmallows in half and cover your whole pan.  Pop the pan back in the oven and put it on broil until your mallows are nice and toasty. Once they are toasty enough for you let them cool.  Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil and drizzle it over top.  Sprinkle with some more Grammy crumbs.

 

 

See, nice and toasty burnt! :)

One Pot Chili Mac...Gluten Free & Dairy Free!

 I love that this recipe is quick, easy, not a big mess, but also not full of a bunch of fake junk.  My original inspiration came from a bunch of my normal eating friends pinning this recipe like crazy.  I was all like... I want that!  Of course I have to change it up to make it suitable for my bitch of a digestive system!  :)


One Pot Chili Mac

1 onion- diced
4 garlic cloves- minced
1/2 lb ground beef/turkey
4 C vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes- with juice
1 can red beans- drain & rinse
1 can black beans- drain & rinse
2 T chili seasoning
10 oz pasta- I use Ancient Harvest Quinoa noodles
1 green pepper- diced
1/4 C nutritional yeast

I garnished with cilantro because
 I had some to use up... YUM!!

Heat about a tablespoon of EVOO in a large soup pot.  Add garlic, onion, pepper, and meat.  Cook until brown.  Drain fat.  Stir in broth, tomatoes, beans & seasoning.  Bring to a simmer.  Stir in pasta.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the pasta is cooked.  Stir in nutritional yeast.

The love the quinoa noodles in this recipe because they tend to shed a lot of gunk as they cook which thickens the broth up a lot.  Throw in the nutritional yeast's "cheesy" flavor and you will never miss the real cheese!

Gluten Free At Wrigley Field!

As you know the Chicago Bears are my guys!  So I suppose by default I love all Chicago teams... although I don't really enjoy watching any other sports.

And definitely not baseball... sorry, but it bores me.  That's just me..

My mama wanted to spend their 30th anniversary at Wrigley field for some odd reason... and she wanted to spend it with not only Papa, but Mr. Kat and I too.  So off to Chicago we went for the weekend!  I was excited... there is so much more for a Celiac to enjoy in the city!  I could cheer for the cubs for that! :)

Having said that I don't like baseball... there was something really cool about the historical aspect of Wrigley, especially considering they were celebrating their anniversary while we were there!

And they are so happy to love Celiacs!


Hot dog with a GF DF bun, chips, and hard cider!  Delicious!

 

And to top it all off the Cubs won! Go Cubs Go!!  I would for sure go back!