Margaritas

I am not a fan of mixed drinks. Too much sugar. Too many ingredients I can't pronounce (not that that really means anything, as I have a hard time with pronunciations in general).  Usually, I'd take a glass of organic chardonnay any day. But, I do love an occasional margarita! I've been working on a refined-sugar-free/only-real-ingredients margarita for awhile. With my precious new daughter, Maryann, coming to our home for dinner, I wanted to find a recipe that she would like. Well, I think she liked this one!

What you need:

 One part fresh squeezed organic lime (or lemon)

 One part fresh squeezed organic orange

 Two parts tequila

 Raw, untreated honey, to taste

 Four parts plain Kombucha

What you do:

 Combine lime juice, orange juice, tequila and honey in a Mason jar

 Shake until honey is dissolved

 Salt rims of glasses (if desired)

 Pour equal amounts mixture and Kombucha over ice

 Enjoy!

Sangria!

We've had a hard time finding really good organic wines. TJs sells a few very reasonably priced wines made with organic grapes that, though not too good alone, are great to use in Sangria!

What you need:
 1 bottle organic red or white wine
 1/2 cup organic vodka
 1 orange
 2 lemons
 2 limes
 A handful of organic frozen fruit, such as raspberries, cherries, strawberries
 1 apple peeled and cut into chunks
 Organic pomegranate or tart cherry juice
 Simple syrup (made by shaking raw, untreated honey and filtered water in a jar)
 Sparkling water

What you do:
 Pour wine and vodka into large pitcher
 Juice orange, one lemon and one lime and add to pitcher
 Thinly slice one lemon and one lime and add to pitcher
 Add frozen fruit, chunks of apple, pomegranate or cherry juice
 Add simple honey syrup to taste
 Let sit in refrigerator overnight or several hours
 Serve over ice with sparkling water
 Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Root Veggie Mash

One thing I like about cooking, versus baking, it that measurements are more suggestions than something to be followed to the t. With this recipe, I didn't measure anything. :-)


What you need:

For the shrimp:
 1 pound Wild Red Argentinian Shrimp (from TJs)
 Lots of butter
 4-8 cloves finely chopped garlic
 Zest of one lemon
 Juice of two lemons
 Several thin slices of lemon
 Salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes to taste

For the veggie mash:
 A variety of root vegetables
 4-8 cloves garlic
 1/2 cup bone broth
 Lots of butter
 Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
 Use carrot peeler to peel root vegetables, then cut into large chunks
 Place in pan with whole garlic and broth
 Heat on medium until veggies are tender when pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes)
 Add LOTS of butter, salt and pepper
 Blend in Vita-Mix until smooth

 In shallow pan, melt LOTS of butter
 Add thawed shrimp
 After several minutes, turn shrimp and add garlic, salt, pepper and basil
 Right before shrimp is finished cooking (and it cooks quickly...don't overcook) add red pepper flakes, lemon juice, zest and slices

 In shallow individual dishes, scoop a mound of veggie mash and shrimp with the juices. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

What's for dinner?

Our dinners on the Autoimmune Protocol:

Sauteed scallops 

Sauteed zucchini noodles

Steamed broccoli and carrots

Roasted chicken

Cauliflower mash

Sauteed Brussels sprouts with bacon

100% grass fed, organic hamburger patties on a bed of mixed greens and arugula

Toppings: Guacamole, bacon and sauteed mushrooms

Salad (mixed greens, arugula, Romaine lettuce, chopped carrots, diced cucumbers)

Avocado chunks

Olives

A bit of sauerkraut

Extra virgin olive oil and vinegar (or sauerkraut juice or lemon juice)

Seared Ahi tuna steaks
Roasted acorn squash
Chopped salad (Romaine, arugula, spring mix, radishes, cucumber, carrots, topped with avocado slices and olives, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar)

Healthy Eating in 2015

As the number of people affected by autoimmunity rises, Greg and I have been looking into nutritional protocols that have had positive impacts on people struggling with these diseases. And, when my husband recommends a nutritional protocol for his patients, he likes us to have tried it first! Yay! We enlisted the support of some of our friends and families and encouraged them to follow the Whole30 guidelines while we follow the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP).

Whole30: Info, shopping guide, recipes

Autoimmune Protocol: Info, shopping guide

Thank you, dear friends and family, for taking this journey with us! And, here's to a health and healing in 2015!

Organic Vanilla

We use vanilla in several of our recipes. Real, organic, nothing-added vanilla is pricey. I started making my own! Gave it as Christmas gifts to our kids! (Gregory and Maria...forgot to ship yours to you, so it is being used here.)

What you need:
 1 large bottle of organic vodka (Found mine at BevMo)
 12 organic vanilla beans (Ordered from iHerb)

What you do:
 Slice vanilla beans length-wise and open
 Pour a bit of vodka from bottle and add the 12 vanilla beans
 Place in pantry for one month, gently shaking bottle every now and then
 Enjoy in all recipes that call for vanilla!

Matcha Latcha

Ali and David live above this great little place in downtown Santa Barbara, Boochies. They make a great spiced Matcha tea latte there! We came up with our own matcha tea latte, and Ali and David call it Matcha Latcha. We have been drinking Matcha Latchas for our breakfast. The healthy fats are very satisfying and keep us going until lunch (or that's our story and we're sticking to it)!

What you need:
 1 Tbs. butter (hopefully cultured, from grass fed cows)
 2-3 Tbs. good quality coconut oil
 Splash of organic vanilla
 Sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
 Pinch of sea salt
 1 large pitted date
 1 tsp. organic Matcha tea

What you do:
 Combine all ingredients in large mug
 Add boiling water to almost top of mug
 Place in Vita-Mix and blend on high for about 20 seconds
 Pour back into mug
 Enjoy!