Baked Smoothie

I recently followed an interesting online conversation regarding the tagging of recipes as Whole30. In many cases, recipes that contain non-compliant ingredients were incorrectly tagged as Whole30. Duh... they shouldn't be. However, the more controversial recipes were those than contained all compliant ingredients but did not necessarily meet the intent of the Whole30 program.

This is where my interest in the conversation suddenly increased.

When my daughters and I complete a Whole30, our intent is to spend 30 days ridding our bodies of toxins and eating the best we can by eliminating all the "illegal" foods prohibited during this program. My kids are 9 and 10. The promise of better health is not quite good enough motivation for them to want to eat this way. So my challenge, as mom and head chef of our household, is to entice them so that they want to adhere. Show them that I can take some of their old favorite dishes and turn them into Whole30 compliant dishes and usually, make them taste even better than before. I'm not talking paleo-ized mac-n-cheese and fried chicken. But do I look at recipes I've been making for years and seriously consider how I can improve them in a way that makes them healthy to eat? Heck yeah! And I don't feel I'm straying from the spirit of Whole30 by doing so.

So I apologize if I'm one of "them"... one of the people who has been tagging recipes as Whole30 that don't meet the intent of the program. I thought I've always made good judgement of what is or isn't. But maybe my perception of the program differs from what it is meant to be. I'm sorry and I will try to be more conservative in the future.

Like now... (tempted as I am, I will forego the Whole30 tag)

My daughter came home from school one day last week and proudly relayed to me how she turned down cupcakes being passed out for a friend's birthday. This is my sweet-tooth kid and I know the willpower it took for her to say no. A LOT. And so when she ended that story by asking if we could make a treat over the weekend, I gladly agreed.

I've seen many "cake in a cup" recipes and at some point realized they look suspiciously similar to our favorite PB Cup Smoothie. So here's my take on it... They're delicious and contain only Whole30 compliant ingredients.

Makes 9 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond butter
• 2-3 T 100% pure cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add all ingredients to a blender and mix until smooth.
3. Grease cupcake pan or fill with liners.
4. Divide batter evenly to make 9 cupcakes. Tins should be about 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin-Berry Muffins

Sunshine was up early this morning playfully "complaining" that she had a sweet tooth. Since she has taken such an interest in cooking lately (and because I was attempting to complete a work project on the computer), I told her she should make muffins. Her instructions were to get all the ingredients out that she wanted for the muffins then to come get me for help putting it all together. Not five minutes later, I was called into the kitchen and met with a grinning nine-year old pointing to a countertop with pumpkin, blueberries, walnuts, and a chocolate bar.

These monstrously delicious muffins are the result!

Yield: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 cup hazelnut meal (or almond meal/flour)
• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 T flax meal
• 1 T flax seeds
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave or honey (optional)
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/3 dark chocolate bar (I prefer Green & Black's 85%), chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease or line muffin trays.
3. In a large bowl, mix the meals/flours, flax seeds, baking soda, spices, and salt.
4. In a second bowl, mix the eggs, oil, and sweetner, if using.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is moistened. The mixture will be thick and a bit crumbly.
6. Add the nuts, berries, and chocolate, if using. Stir gently until the extras are mixed in but being careful not to smash the blueberries.
7. Fill muffin cups with batter (all the way as this mixture doesn't rise much).
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Note: I think you could easily turn these into cookies by shaping dough into small balls or discs and placing on cookie sheet.

Tangy Mango Chutney

In my opinion, no Indian meal is complete without chutney. Thank goodness chutney is not always the uber sugary type presumably made popular by Major Grey in the 19th century. Chutney is similar to "curry" in that it's a generic word used in South Asian cuisine. Chutney is simply a condiment, usually classified as either sweet or hot (and often both) that contains any combination of fruit, vegetable, and spice.

Two of my favorite chutneys are savory and spicy and super simple to make. Hari Chutney is made primarily with cilantro, mint, and hot chilies. It is fiery hot and tastes divine over any kind of tandoori meat. Coconut Chutney is served with breakfast in South India and is made primarily with coconut, tamarind, and chilies.

Saying that, I do love a tangy and slightly sweet chutney as well. My favorite "sweet" chutneys are Tomato Chutney and the ever popular Mango Chutney. Usually made with vinegar and loads of sugar (or HFCS in store bought varieties), I've always sweetened my homemade chutneys with dates instead. Guess I was working on this paleo lifestyle long before I even knew what it was!

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dates, pitted and finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups rice vinegar, unsweetened
• 2 pounds fresh mango, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup currants or raisins, unsweetened (I prefer currants)
• 2-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced or grated
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 T mustard seeds

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a sauce pan and mix well.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir ocassionally.
4. Serve warm.

Note: I believe chutneys are supposed to last several months if stored in an air-tight jar and refrigerated. I have to say mine never last longer than a day or two...

Crunchy Radish Salad

This salad is so stinking easy and delicious, I can hardly believe it. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this delicious creation as my nine-year old was in charge of salad the night this hit landed on our plates. We had just received some uber-fresh Alaskan radishes in our CSA produce box and both my girls were crinkling their noses up when I said the "R" word. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of radishes either. The normally no-so-fresh ones available at our grocery store tend to be dry and bitter and not something I buy without a specific purpose. So when I opened up the box and saw a bunch of them staring up at me, I figured I better use them right away or they'd get pushed to the back of the fridge only to be discovered in a few weeks, when I could gladly call them bad and have an excuse to toss them. I washed them and tasted one... and had to call each member of my family into the kitchen and make them taste how good these were! Delicious!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch radishes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 granny smith apple, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 T olive oil
• 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 T spicy coarse mustard (we used Tabasco brand)

Directions:

1. Mix olive oil, vinegar, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust, if necessary.
2. Add radishes and apple to salad bowl. Pour dressing over top and mix well.

Tip: You probably won't need all the dressing.