Author: Kimberly Roberto

Wife, Mom, Daughter, Business Owner with a Passion for Cooking and Eating Healthy Food and Helping Others to do the Same!

Fire Roasted Salsa

In honor of cinco de mayo, I decided to make a salsa with fire roasted tomatoes.  The name sounds very exotic and authentic but it is very easy to do at home.  It gives a much richer taste than raw tomatoes. Adjust the spice by adding more or less serrano peppers.

6-8 small vine ripened organic tomatoes.
1 handful cilantro
1-2 serrano peppers (seeds removed)
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

To fire roast the tomatoes, put them in a cast iron or stainless steel skillet (do not use your thermalon/green pans for this – they will be scarred for life)  with no oil.  Turn the heat to medium high and let them blacken on the skins.  Turn periodically until the tomatoes are nicely charred.

Transfer tomatoes to a blender or food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend well.

This salsa is terrific served warm but can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

Serving suggestions:

As dressing over taco salad
Topping over eggs – any style
With guacamole and red pepper strips for scooping
As a condiment for steak or hamburgers
Topping for grilled salmon or fish tacoss dressing on a taco salad

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Spicy Tropical Dressing

Core Plan

This is a great warm weather salad dressing with a kick to it.  Feel free to use it as a sauce for chicken or fish as well.

1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup fresh pineapple
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 orange squeezed for juice
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp minced jalepeno pepper
2 sliver red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Process all ingredients in a blender until well combined and then drizzle in olive oil at a lower speed.

Serving suggestion:  Serve over fresh greens (spinach, spring mix), red onions, pineapple chunks, organic bell peppers and add grilled chicken or salmon if desired.

Adapted from  Cooking Light July 2010

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Boneless Buffalo Tenders (w/ Flourless Breading)

I love taking American favorites and upgrading them to a healthier version.  Typically these are fried in damaged oils (bad fats), loaded with refined flours, additives, and of course conventionally raised chicken.  This recipe actually has organic chicken, good fats, extra nutrients in the breading and nothing artificial!

2 packages organic chicken tenderloins
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup finely ground almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour
sea salt
pepper
granulated garlic
hot sauce (check ingredients- no MSG, no sugar, no additives)
coconut oil (about 1/2 jar)

sprinkle chicken tenderloins with salt and pepper.  Dip into egg and then almond / coconut flour mixture.  For best results, refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat coconut oil to medium/high heat in a non-teflon pan (stainless steel, cast iron or thermalon).  Gently place chicken tenders in the pan in batches, doing only 4-5 at a time.  Do not crowd the pan.  When brown around the edges, flip and brown the other side.  (Breading will be very fragile to be careful).  Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until no longer pink in the middle.

When done, they can be eaten plain or made into buffalo tenders.  Simply sprinkle with garlic powder and drizzle with hot sauce on both sides.

Here is the plain chicken finger version – great for kids or on a salad.

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Introducing Foods to Babies

I had a great question today that I thought I would share.  It is very important to start your children out off on the right foot nutritionally.  Here are my recommendations :

Here is the question:  “My almost 6 month old is nursing, do you have a recommendation as to what to wean him on to? I weaned my others to whole, organic milk around 14 months old. Some of the literature I have read lately seems to suggest that milk past infancy is not as necessary as pediatricians insist that it is. I’m not sure what to think…” 

Answer:  First, it is very important that we point out that breastfeeding is always best.  At a bare minimum, breastfeed for 12-18 months.  Once your baby gets teeth it is an indication that they are getting ready for food.  Conventional dairy is not desirable.  If you are going to introduce dairy, wait at least 12 months and introduce organic (preferably raw) cow’s milk or organic goats milk (goats milk is a lot easier to digest).

Great foods to start with are (always do one at a time and wait at least 4 days before introducing the next)  avocados, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans.  After that, you can introduce some fruits like apples, peaches, pears, plums, etc.  – always start with them slightly cooked and then move to raw. After 9 months old you can start adding more veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, etc.  If you are going to add grains (must the the whole, healthy grains) wait until 12 months then add brown rice, quinoa, millet, oatmeal.  Lastly, you could add meats, eggs, and nuts/seeds.  If you stop breastfeeding before 12 months (not recommended) you may want to add some of the organic, naturally raised meats a little earlier.

For prepping baby foods.  You can lightly steam the veggies/fruit and then process them in a food processor with a little filtered water.  You can then transfer the pureed food to ice cube trays (make sure they are non-toxic) to freeze.  Then pop them out you need them.  Making your own baby food is quick, easy, convenient, and much healthier than conventional baby foods.

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Grainless Pasta with Pesto

Most Americans love a big heaping plate of pasta.  When switching to the advanced plan, traditional pasta is out but this mock  veggie pasta is a great tasting alternative.  It even looks like pasta!

The trick is to use a spiral slicer like the one here.  It makes the zucchini come out looking just like spaghetti noodles.  If you don’t have a spiral slicer, you can just slice the zucchini very thin and cut into strips for more of a linguini look.

Serves 2

2 large organic zucchini (on the dirty dozen & GMO list)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pesto sauce (check ingredients)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 chopped tomato
1 clove garlic, mashed

Spiral slice the zucchini and set aside.  Heat olive oil to medium heat (never high heat) and add the rest of the ingredients.  When warm, add the zucchini and heat through (do not overcook or the zucchini will break down.)

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Shepard’s Pie

ADVANCED PLAN OR CORE PLAN

Serves 4

This version of shepard’s pie is made without the traditional starchy potatoes and uses mashed cauliflower instead.  It also contains grass fed beef, making it an ultra-healthy alternative to traditional shepard’s pie.  It tastes very close to the original.  It also makes for a great presentation.

1  head cauliflower
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp organic butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 organic egg yolk

Steam cauliflower until soft then transer to a food processor or blender, puree the cauliflower with the garlic, butter, salt, pepper, and egg yolk.

1tbsp coconut oil or grapeseed oil
2 pounds grass fed ground beef
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp organic butter
1 tsp xanthan gum (thickener)
1 cup organic vegetable broth
1 tsp wheat free Tamari (soy sauce)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)

While the cauliflower is steaming, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to pan with beef.  Season meat with salt and pepper. and brown with carrot and onion until the meat is no longer pink.  In a separate saucepan cook butter and xanthan gum together combining well. Whisk in broth and tamari.  Thicken gravy about 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. and stir in the peas.

NOTE:  For Advanced Plan, leave out carrots and peas

Preheat broiler to high. Put meat mixture into a rectangular or round baking dish and spread cauliflower over the meat as evenly as possible being careful not to let meat show through.   Broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned.

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