Baked No Gluten Chicken Tenders

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

Chicken tenders, chicken strips, chicken nuggets - call them what you would like, but when we think of them, we typically think of fast food, frozen food or mechanically separated food.  Heavily breaded with ingredients that can cause intestinal distress and deep fried in industrial seed oils that leave you feeling bloated and/or gut-heavy.

You have another choice and this choice is really quite simple and surprisingly quick.

Yes, you could use the traditional - albeit boring - standby: breadcrumbs.  But we want flavor and pizazz in our chicken tenders (right?).

Enter the pork rinds.

I've used pork rinds in place of breadcrumbs in several recipes and the results have been fantastic!

Simply grind them up in your food processor and you have quick, easy and tasty "breadcrumbs".

Try it!

Ingredients (not many!)
serves 8

4 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 bag pork rinds (spicy works also!), processed in food blender
2 eggs, whisked

Preheat oven to 375
Dip each chicken tender into egg and cover with pork rinds.
Place on foiled lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake another 10 minutes.
Eat!

Sweet Potato & Apple Soup

Cold, rainy days bringing your spirits down?

Even though I'm still not ready to let go of the lazy days of summer, I am ready for the lazy, slow-cooked soup days!

Nothing soothes the soul quite like a bowl of hearty, warm soup.  Don't you think?

The ingredients are perfectly paired and their flavors are incredibly complimentary - the sweetness of sweet potatoes, with the tartness of apples and the smokiness of paprika.

Ingredients
serves 8

1/2 large onion, but into chunks
1 lb white sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces (no need to peel, as long as you wash first
1.5 lbs orange sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces (no need to peel, wash first)
2 apples, cut into chunks (no need to peel - wash first) (any variety works)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaping tblsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 c homemade broth (organic, low sodium works)
4 tblsp ghee

In a slow cooker, dump onion, potatoes, apples, garlic, paprika and sea salt.
Pour broth over the top.
Cook on high for 5 hours.
In batches, pour soup through a blender or - my favorite method - use an immersion blender and blend right in your slow cooker.
Stir in ghee.
Serve and freeze any leftovers in individual sized portions for easy meals.

*I like to stir in a teaspoon of any kind of pesto into each individual bowl before serving.

2 Ingredient Cinnamon Applesauce

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

The cold weather signifies a change in cooking and baking in this household.

The crockpot becomes my most used appliance in the kitchen when temperatures drop.

I tend to cook more comfort foods that bring warmth to the core.

If you have kiddos, apples are a common fruit in the home and applesauce is usually found in the pantry.  The bad part about apples and kids, however, is that if there's a bruise, a soft spot or even a mere brown spot anywhere on that apple, they tend to avoid them.

This recipe is a perfect solution for those apples - bruised and spotted apples are welcomed!

If you're not a fan of chunky applesauce, you can simply dump the cooked concoction into a food processor and blend to your liking.

This makes a great side dish to any meal or as a stand-alone dessert, and an incredible post-workout recovery when added to some mashed sweet potato.

Any variety of apples will do.  Most kiddos like the sweeter variety like Honeycrisp, Fuji or Macintosh.  You can even have different varieties for each batch!

It's easy enough to have your little ones help!

Ingredients

Apples
Cinnamon

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Peel apples and slice into wedges (an apple slicer or even a peeler-corer-slicer works great!).
Place apples on a rimmed baking sheet.
If you want a really moist applesauce, cover with foil.
Bake for 1 hour.
At this point, you can either puree to desired texture in a food processor, or use a potato masher and mash up into thick chunks.

*You can make this in your crockpot if you want a no-fuss method, but the roasted method yields a better, more robust flavor!
*Try using other fruit like pears also!

All Disease Begins in the Gut ~ Hippocrates

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

Digestive health is a topic that seems to be popping up more frequently in the health & nutrition communities - finally!

Truth is, our digestive health is significant to our hormonal health, which is crucial to our immune health, which ties into our mental health......are you catching on to the interplay?

Let's look at some interesting facts that you may or may not know about:

• 90% of cells are gut bacteria and flora.
• 70% of your immune system lies in your gut.
• Your gut is referred to your "second brain" - controlling the complex task of digestion without the aide of the cranial brain.
• There are 100 trillion bacteria - about 3 pounds worth - lining the intestinal tract and their main function is to aggressively fight off outside intruders.

Are you starting to see how compelling it is to make gut health your priority?

The research over the past two decades, has shown that there is a link between an unhealthy gut and diseases like obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, depression, autism spectrum disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome.

The most obvious thing to do, would be to avoid things that destroy the good bacteria (gut flora) and damage the intestinal barrier in the gut.

Why?

#1

• Gut flora promotes healthy GI function
• Gut flora provides incredible protection fro infection
• Gut flora balances our metabolism
• Gut flora encompasses 75% of our immune system

If our gut flora is compromised, you can see how it can have detrimental effects on our health.


#2

When the intestinal barrier is compromised:

• Intestinal lining becomes more porous
• Allows undigested food proteins into the bloodstream
• Defense mechanism no longer functions efficiently
• Absorption of nutrients is severely compromised (i.e., nutrients you think you are eating are not being absorbed)

Some of the biggest contributors to unhealthy gut flora and compromised intestinal barrier?

• Diet high in refined carbohydrates, sugars and processed foods
• Chronic stress
• Frequent exposure to dietary toxins like wheat and industrial seed oils (corn, canola, cottonseed, safflower, soybean...)
• Antibiotics, NSAIDs

So what can we do to make certain our guts remain healthy or, if our gut health is already compromised, how to restore gut health?

As much as possible, avoid:

• Cereal grains (most especially refined flours) - damage gut lining, binds essential nutrients, making them unavailable to the body.
• Industrial seed oils - pro-inflammatory, increases omega-6 which is associated with an increase in inflammatory diseases.
• Sugar (most especially high fructose corn syrup) - causes GI dysfunction, can interfere with protein absorption.
• Processed soy (soy milk, soy flour, soy protein) - reduces absorption of nutrients in the body, disrupts endocrine function, can cause thyroid problems in women.

As much as possible, include:

• Lots of fermentable fibers (starches like sweet potato, yam, yucca...)
• Fermented foods (kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut...)
• High quality, multi-species probiotic
• Stress management mechanisms

Carrot Cake Muffins - Gluten-Free!

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

The cold weather signals the beginning of fall, which means a different style of cooking and the beginning of more baking!

Baking treats from time to time doesn't have to mean you load up on the sugars and refined flours and throw your healthy eating habits out the window.

Baking, for me, means still using quality ingredients that will promote good health while still tasting delicious - yes, it's possible!

I like this recipe because it can be part of a quick breakfast on the go, or a smart snack at the office while avoiding the all-too-common doughnuts and sugar-treats that are brought in.

The coconut flavor and sweetness are very subtle and builds upon the other flavors quite nicely.

If you do not like walnuts, you could substitute with any other nut or even omit the nuts entirely, but I think they added a great texture to the muffin.

Ingredients
makes 6 muffins

2 c blanched almond flour
1/2 c unsweetened & finely shredded coconut
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c raw, unfiltered honey (or pure maple syrup)
1/4 c olive oil
2 large pastured eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c shredded carrot
1/4 c walnuts, roughly chopped (optional, but recommended)
1/4 c golden raisins (optional, but recommended)



Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add in the shredded coconut, stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup (or honey), vanilla, oil and eggs and whisk until well combined.

Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until combined. Carefully fold in the carrots, walnuts and raisins.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup to the top if you want a nice muffin dome. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them longer than 5 minutes in the hot pan they’ll definitely get soggy).

You can store these muffins, covered tightly in the fridge. 

I like to triple this recipe and freeze a bunch to have on hand - just defrost and reheat in microwave for a warm and satisfying snack.

Key Lime Smoothie

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert


There are times, especially after a grueling workout, when a meal is too much and real food just isn't appealing.

Your body craves something, however, and it deserves - needs - some nourishment.

That's when a nutrient rich smoothie can do the trick.

This one is simple, yet so delicious, one might even feel guilty!

But don't....the smoothie is gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free.

Ingredients
serves 2

1 c coconut milk
1 c ice
1/2 avocado
1 kiwi
zest and juice of 2 limes
handful of baby spinach (totally optional, but why not?)
raw honey to taste

In a food processor, blender or vitamix, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Drink.

Smile.

Salmon & Shrimp

By Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert

I have a confession to make - I've never watched the Food Network.  Everyone that has watched the show, describes it as food porn.  And they are all  shocked when they hear that I have never seen one single episode.
By the look on their faces, I'm sure they are thinking something along the line - what is wrong with you?!  Aren't you into food?!

So.....I decided to see what the fuss was all about.  No, I didn't watch a show, but I did take a peek at their website and perused their articles and recipes - lots of good stuff! 

This recipe is an adaptation of another recipe I came across on their website. 

With a few little tweaks, this meal came out so tasty, even my picky eater said it was good - whoa!

Ingredients
serves 2

8oz. salmon fillets
1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled & butterflied
3 tblsp kerrygold butter, softened
1/4 c + 3 tblsp EVOO
2 tblsp fresh parsley
1/4 c sun dried tomato halves
1 tblsp dried oregano
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F
Season salmon and shrimp with 3 tblsp EVOO, salt, pepper and dried oregano
Arrange on shallow pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes (the shrimp will cook faster - check them after 10 minutes)

Make sun dried tomato butter:
Combine butter, 1/4 c EVOO, sun dried tomatoes and parsley in food processor and pulse until everything is incorporated
Season with salt and pepper if desired
Once salmon and shrimp are done, top with sun dried tomato butter

This meal goes well with a small side salad!