Chicken with Balsamic and Mushroom Sauce

A very delicious meal for the palette! 

The spinach picked up the hearty flavor that my 2 year old even enjoyed! 

1 1/2 lb. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/2 of Large Onion - Thinly sliced

1 package of Whole Mushrooms - Halved

1/2 cup of Chicken Broth

1 cup Heavy Cream

2.5 tbsp Clarified Butter - Divided (or 2 tbsp Coconut Oil)

1tbsp of Parmesan Cheese or Tapioca (thickening agent)

2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1 - 2 cups Spinach

Sea Salt and Pepper

Saute onions over medium heat in 1 tbsp. of butter until they are nice and caramelized - About 15 Minutes.  When they are a nice golden brown, remove from the heat and set aside *(If using coconut oil, use med/low heat as it has a lower burning point)

In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. of butter over medium-high heat.  Place the chicken breasts in the pan.  Brown on both sides, remove from the pan and set aside (Note - they will not be all the way cooked at this stage)

De-glaze the pan with the chicken stock.  Use a rubber spatula to make sure you get all the chicken bits and butter off the pan. This helps to flavor your sauce

Add the heavy cream and the balsamic vinegar and stir

Add mushrooms and a dash of sea salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes

Add the chicken back to the pan, turn heat back up to medium and saute until the chicken is cooked all the way through.  About 10-15 minutes

Remove chicken breasts from the pan and plate.  Add the Parmesan (or tapioca), spinach and caramelized onions to the sauce and keep stirring until the spinach is cooked and the cheese is completely melted in.

Served with mashed cauliflower. 

ENJOY!

As thinking of alternatives to this dish, a curry idea is under way for tomorrow night's dinner. Stay tuned! 

Scrambled eggs with a super nutritious kick!

• 3 eggs
• milk
• 1/4 cup chopped spinach
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp wheat germ

Whisk ingredients together, scramble, and enjoy!

*If you've never had wheat germ, you really can't even taste it. It just adds a nutritious boost to an already nutritious meal!

 From follower: M.P. 

Food Pyramids

When trying to balance lifestyle and eating to live, food pyramids have been suggestive to the management of food consumption. Society implicates one system, focusing on grains, which is showing to not necessarily work with the number of gastrointestinal issues and auto-immune issues children and adults are experiencing. At the beginning of human civilization, agriculture and domesticated animals did not exist, our bodies are more programed to eat raw, whole foods, not some processed stuff made in a factory that is told to be good for you but rather is manipulated and filtrated with chemicals and alterations.

 ^ The pyramid that is standard to common society, for those that even pay attention to how they eat, following society's lead. Filing up with enriched foods, genetically altered foods, and grains.

^ The ancestral food pyramid. This is how our bodies are designed to eat. Grass fed, lean meats, raw, and whole! It is healthy, saturated fats that are filling! It is not an easy switch for many after many years of eating like the first pyramid. But, after switching a month ago, to no gluten and grains, my body has thanked me for it - and I didn't even know it didn't like what I was eating, in regards to not feeling ill and with low energy!! Besides needing to lose pounds, I thought I was feeling quite alright, not so much. 
Now some follow this a bit less strict, consuming some dairy products, preferably raw and/or grass fed.

Now if you are not living like a caveman, this might be overwhelming, I'm still learning. There is always a beginning place and things you are willing to change. Once you change some things, you might even realize you want to change more because you feel so great! As you become more conscious of what you eat, you don't want to eat as much because your meals are filling and satisfying.

There are many great resources available to learn! I started with The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf

What kind of pyramid do you follow?

Tropical Dream Ice Cream

I used to never enjoy coconut, well, my taste buds have changed and I am in love. Even Little A, 2 years old and Baby R, 7 months, approved and licked their bowls clean!

1 pineapple, chinked and cored

1 can coconut milk

1 handful shredded coconut

In food processor, process pineapple then add coconut until well mixed. 

Once processed, add shredded coconut for a few pulses. 

Place in freezer until solid.

ENJOY!

Sausage and Egg Bake

4 Eggs

1/2 lb Breakfast sausage

1 Medium Potato 

Heat oven 400 degrees
Preheat cast iron skillet on stove top

Put crumbled breakfast sausage and potato into heated skillet
Put into oven about 15 minutes until sausage is browned

Add eggs and return to oven about 10 minutes until eggs are set

ENJOY!

Breakfast Egg Muffin

A la carte breakfast muffin to fit all those taste bud desires!

5 eggs (1 egg per muffin cup)

Breakfast meat (we used bacon - 1/2 strip per muffin)

Pepper, Mushroom, other topping vegetable

Coat muffin tin with bacon grease - or use silicon baking cups

Dice breakfast meat and cook. 

Break 1 egg per muffin cup

Topped with approx. 1 tbsp of bacon (or other breakfast meat) and veggies of choice

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until eggs are set. 

ENJOY!

Dairy Free Coconut "Ice Cream"

So I love frozen treats and with inspiration, created a delicious treat. 

2 frozen bananas
1 cup coconut milk
tsp vanilla extract
Shredded coconut (optional)

In a food processor, blend the ingredients to a smooth consistency.

ENJOY!

As a note - peel the banana before putting in the freezer, not so easy to peel once frozen. Opps guess I got a little excited to try it. 

This recipe would be flexible to try various tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango. 

And, for the adults, a dash of Rum.

Creamy Tuscan Soup

I have never been one to enjoy spicy food, even black pepper some times was too much for me! What made me think this recipe would be good to try, I have no idea, but it is delicious - I just have to wipe the sweat from my brow as I eat.
This recipe has a bit of a higher fat content than an average meal, but when adjusting the meal through the rest of the day, and even more so., eliminating grain, it has a bit of a balance.

4-5 servings

Ingredients 
1/2 chopped onion
tbsp bacon drippings (or EVOO)
3 cloves minced garlic
6 links sweet Italian sausage
4 medium potatoes sliced
1 container low sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped leafy greens (kale, spinach, Swiss chard)
pinch Cayenne pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper - to taste

In medium sauce pan add bacon drippings (or EVOO), saute onion and garlic for two minutes. Add sliced sausage - cook until meat is no longer pink (do not brown)
Add Cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Add potatoes and broth. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
Add kale and turmeric, cook until tender (apx. 5 minutes).
Add cream and cook until warm.
Season with salt and pepper.

This is a very filling soup, and oh so delicious!

ENJOY!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

2 servings 


In the salad
1 grilled chicken breast
2 cups romaine lettuce
1 tomato
1 oz almonds
handful dried cranberries

Dressing
2 tbsp raspberries (fresh or frozen)
tbsp of rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt
taste of raw honey

ENJOY!

Roasted Green beans with Spaghetti-Sauced Meat

3 lbs grass fed ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken

1/2 cup chopped onions

2-3 cloves minced garlic

28 oz can crushed tomato   (for thicker use 20 oz can with 1x 6oz can tomato paste)

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp basil 

1/2 green pepper

2+ lbs green beans

olive oil

Brown ground meat in skillet over medium heat with onions. Once browned add garlic. Add tomato sauce, oregano, basic. Cover with lid for 20 minutes. 

While the  meat is cooking, put green beans into a casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Plate green beans; top with meat sauce. 

Delicious

ENJOY

Open Faced Omelet

Makes 3 servings

6 eggs

1 avocado

1 tomato

Juice of 1 lime

1 oz cheddar 

1/2 butter (grass fed, no-hormone or antibiotics)

Place butter in cast iron pan over medium heat.

Pour in scrambled eggs, cook for 1 minute

Sprinkle cheddar 

Place in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5-6 minutes (or until set)

Mix diced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), avocado, and juice of lime in bowl.

Once eggs are done - top with tomato and avocado mix and serve. 

ENJOY

WELCOME!

You are what you eat and eating from the land is the best place to start.  

In our busy lives and living on a budget, it can feel overwhelming to find creative, healthy alternatives versus succumbing to society's current norm of processed and fast foods, aka unhealthy.
The purpose of creating this is to share delicious and creative recipes that I have learned along the way of healthy living with a diet focusing primarily on raw foods.
This is also a place for sharing recipes from others to create a diverse atmosphere as a resource to cooking in the kitchen, a nutritious meal for yourself or your family.
This blog encourages eating whole and raw foods, though not exclusive. We want what is best for our bodies, nutrition is key.

Along with recipes, there will be guest posts and other information about healthy eating and living. 

Image source

How it works

• Browse the blog for recipe ideas. Try them out. Comment how you liked it, what you did to tweak it, etc!
• Join the facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sharing-the-Kitchen/234009663366393 - and share your recipes and photos
• Enjoy!