FettuZINI Non-Fredo! GF, Vegan, SCD & Paleo!

Pssst......

Ok guys. I have a serious secret to share with you....I mean, serious.

That is the extraordinary awesomeness that is SOAKED CASHEWS.

OK, pause. Before you scratch your head in confusion, let me explain.

I love cashews. I really do. But I always just buy them raw, grind them up in my food processor and fuggeduhboutit. I mean, I had always seen the recipes that call for "soaked cashews," but I never had the time or patience to plan ahead, and figured...how much of a difference could it really make? I mean, come on?

The answer? A LOT.

Yesterday, I knew I was going to have some time on my hands today. I have a shoot on Friday and am going to Sundance this weekend, so I knew I was going to create a little somethin'somethin' for my fave Happy Tummies today. :) So I thought, lemme just give it a try.

You. Guys. What happened to these raw cashews was nothing short of amazing. I took a picture to show you.

I soaked them in water for 24 hours. The right cashew is what they started out as. And here they are on the left, TRIPLED IN SIZE!

I couldn't believe it. They absorbed the water and became creamy and soft - seriously like the consistency of cream cheese or butter.

I've seen the light. I'm converted. :P

Anywho, given this revelation of the soaked cashew glory, I decided that it was time to tackle one of my former all-time favorite foods: Fettuccine Alfredo. Only this version would be SCD Friendly and VEGAN.

To all you who are shakin your head, or "SMH" as the youths today so eloquently put it, just hear me out. This dish was incredible.

You saw in my last post the power of Cauliflower in its ability to become irresistible sandwich bread. Well, friends, cauliflower is at it again! This time, it's transforming into a creamy and rich ALFREDO SAUCE!!

Yep! This alfredo sauce is Gluten and Grain Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet friendly, Body Ecology Diet friendly, and Paleo!

So then...it must taste like sawdust or cardboard, right?! ----- WRONG!!! It was superb!!!

Don't believe me? -- I dare you to give it a try :D

Here's what you need: (Serves 2)

1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight or for 24 hours
1 cup cauliflower roasted
1 cup cauliflower steamed
1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
salt and pepper

optional:unsweetened regular almond milk - room temperature
optional: 1 grate/pinch of fresh nutmeg

1 zucchini, made into noodles
basil, chopped -garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a tin foil-lined, olive oil-sprayed baking sheet, bake half (1 cup) of your cauliflower florets for 25 minutes, stirring once half-way through.

Meanwhile, steam the other cup of the cauliflower in a steamer basket, or in the microwave until very tender.

Also, saute your onions and garlic in 1-2 Tbsp EVOO, salt and pepper over medium heat until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize. This will take about 8-10 minutes.

Put your soaked and drained cashews in the food processor and process them until they form a smooth paste. Add your roasted and steamed cauliflower, onions and garlic to the food processor, and process until smooth. It will be thick and creamy. You may need to scrape the sides. I find it best to do this when it is still hot, as the steam helps the sauce "come together." You may add 1-3 Tbsp almond milk if it is too thick. I did not. You may also add a grate of fresh nutmeg if desired.

Finally, with either a spiralizer, mandolin, or sharp knife, make your zucchini into noodles. You may also use any noodle of choice.

To plate, either top your noodles with the sauce and garnish with chopped fresh basil, or toss your noodles with the sauce, and plate.

My goodness, you guys. What a TREAT! Back in my gluten-consuming days, Fettuccine Alfredo was my favorite "special occasion" dinner. And this brought me right back to that "happy place!"

The sauce was so creamy and rich from the cashews. And the combination of the nuttiness from the roasted cauliflower with the onions and garlic made for just a remarkable flavor.

It's hard to believe that this dish is healthy because it tasted so darn decadent!

So, it may not be the belle of the ball as far as appearances go, but what it lacks in color, it definitely makes up for in flavor.

I will DEFINITELY be making this again!

What's your "happy place" food?

Grain Free Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Sandwich! GF & SCD Friendly!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2015! It's going to be a terrific year. I can just feel it :)

So I'm sitting in my apartment, back in New York. The snow is really coming down outside, and I am cozy and warm, snuggled under a blanket with the candles on, and a mug of tea in my hands. Life. Is. Good.

This time of year, resolutions are in full swing. People trying to eat healthier, exercise more, keep their personal space more organized, etc.

Well, I am all for that. But sometimes, on a day like today, when it's blustery outside, all you want is comfort food. SOOO, I've decided to update a classic and make it healthier, so we can stick to our resolutions!!

And what did I reinvent?

Introducing my Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

Wait wait wait...just how is this "resolution friendly?" -- Welllll -- the bread is actually made out of CAULIFLOWER!!

Yep, you read that correctly! The bread is grain free, and made from cauliflower and almonds!

It's Gluten Free, Grain Free, and Specific Carb Diet friendly!

Here's what you need: (Serves 1)

For the Bread:
1 cup cauliflower
1/3 cup almond flour
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
1/8 tsp salt

1/3 vidalia onion, sliced
1/4 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

The first step is to get your onions caramelizing. In a non-stick skillet, sauté your onions in 1-2 Tbsp EVOO for about 15 minutes over medium-low heat with a little salt and pepper. Stir them occasionally, letting them become a golden brown color.

While your onions are cooking, place your cauliflower in the food processor. Pulse until it resembles rice. Then, place your riced cauliflower in a clean kitchen towel, paper towels, or a cheese cloth and wring out as much water as you can. **This step is really important!!**

Then, mix your egg, cauliflower, almond flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.

Spray a large, non-stick frying pan with olive oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Divide the batter in two, and create two "skillet cakes." Let them cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown on the edges, and fragrant (they'll smell like roasting almonds). Then, carefully flip with a spatula.

After your flip the bread, evenly place the shredded cheese on each slice of the bread. Cover the skillet with the lid for about a minute to help melt the cheese.

Once the other side is finished cooking, sandwich the caramelized onions between the bread.
You will want to serve and eat immediately.

OK guys. I have to be real with you all. This. Was. AMAZING! It's hard to believe how cauliflower can be transformed into such a decadent gourmet treat! You seriously can't taste the cauliflower. The bread just tastes nutty and delicious.

It has a wonderful texture: it's bread and chewy. The golden brown edges are a little crispy, and SO GOOD! You can actually pick it up and eat it like a sandwich!

And the caramelized onions are out of this world. If you've never had them, consider this your personal invitation. They can seem a little intimidating, but they're actually really simple -- they just take some good sweet time:)

They become almost sweet, because the sugars in the vidalia onion are released and caramelize. They become soft and chewy and they pair perfectly with the buttery gruyere cheese.

I almost forgot! The gruyere cheese!! Melty, buttery, rich and fully SCD friendly, this grilled cheese sandwich is a far cry from a greasy spoon.

In fact, with my "happy tummy" makeover...it can be considered a healthy treat! This sandwich comes in at just under 500 calories, so "splurge" away!

Alright. First week of 2015 coming up. Let's make it a phenomenal one!

Jewel Stuffed Acorn Squash! GF, V, SCD & Paleo!

Hello Happy Tummies!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

Me and my beautiful mama :)

We're on the countdown to 2015!

At this time of year, I always find myself reflecting on the past 12 months, and thinking about all the blessings in my life. It's so easy to take things for granted, and I always try to remind myself just how much I have to be grateful for.

I have a loving family, wonderful friends, a strong faith in God, my health, a roof over my head, food in my belly, a job that is both challenging and fulfilling, and people who care about and love me.

But enough "sappy stuff." :) Time for some "good eats!"

I wanted to share with you my Christmas dinner meal. It's a show stopper, folks...so hold onto your hats:) 

My Jewel Stuffed Acorn Squash!

A tender and sweet acorn squash stuffed with earthy sweet, jewel-toned roasted veggies!

And it's Gluten and Grain Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet Friendly, and Paleo!

Here's what you need: (serves 2)

1 acorn squash, halved, seeds scooped

1/3-1/2 head of cauliflower, broken into small florets1 large beet, sliced into 1/4 inch disks2 carrots, diced small1/2 bunch of kale (about 3 large leaves), stems removed, choppedHandful of pistachiosHandful of dried cranberries


Preheat oven to 375. Spritz the skin and cut-side of the acorn squash with olive oil or coconut oil. On a tin foil lined olive oil sprayed baking sheet, place your squash cut-side down and bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the flesh is tender.

On a separate tin foil lined, olive oil sprayed baking sheet, place your beet rounds, carrots, and cauliflower florets. Spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and tarragon. 

Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring/flipping once halfway through. --be sure to watch the carrots so they don't burn!


Meanwhile, sauté your kale in a frying pan in 1 Tbsp EVOO, salt, pepper and tarragon.





When your beet rounds come out of the oven, cut them into matchsticks.

Combine all your veggies with your cranberries and pistachios.


To assemble, fill each squash cavity with a generous scoop of the veggie mixture. Garnish with more cranberries/pistachios if desired.

Wow what a delicious meal this was! It was truly a feast for both the eyes and palate!

The acorn squash is a rather sweet vegetable. It is the perfect canvas for the earthy sweet beets and carrots, and the nutty, golden cauliflower. The cranberries provide this punch of tart sweetness, while the pistachios provide an amazing salty crunch.

And it's so beautiful too. Jewel toned veggies overflowing from a golden chariot of acorn squash yumminess! (Haha sorry--I just saw "Into the Woods" so I've got Cinderella on the brain LOL)

Try this delicious and healthy treat. You will love not only how it tastes, but also how "happy" it makes your tummy feel!

Until Next Time!

Cozy Golden Cauliflower with Red Sauce! GF, Vegan, SCD & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

How is everyone's week going?

Good news...tomorrow's FRIDAY!!! :D

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Well today it rained. All. Day. And there's no better remedy for a rainy day then a lovely home cooked meal -- preferably involving the oven and roasted veggies:) haha

Enter: today's recipe: Cozy Caramelized Cauliflower with Red Sauce!

Half a head of cauliflower roasted to golden brown perfection, topped with a beautiful tomato sauce and fresh basil. Y-U-M.

And it's Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet Friendly, and Paleo!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)

1/2 head of cauliflower

handful of baby spinach
3 button mushrooms, sliced
fresh basil, chopped (garnish)

Sauce:
1 tomato, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp herbs de provence
1/4 tsp salt
several "cracks" of black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your halved cauliflower, cut-side-down on a tin foil-lined, olive-oil sprayed baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil, and bake for about 45 minutes, until its golden brown and delicious, otherwise known as GBD :)

In the meantime, make your sauce. In a skillet, sauté your onions and peppers in 1 Tbsp olive, salt, pepper, and herbs de provence. Let those soften for about 5 minutes. Add your garlic and let it cook for another 3 minutes. Finally, add your tomato and let it cook for about 4 minutes. Carefully transfer to your food processor, and process until smooth.

Finally, brown your mushrooms in the skillet - about 3 minutes per side.

At this point, you should have about 10 minutes left on your cauliflower -- which is the perfect amount of time to clean the food processor, set the table, and pour a glass of wine :)

To assemble, place your cauliflower on a bed of spinach. Top with the tomato sauce, mushrooms, and garnish with fresh basil. Serve warm.

My goodness, what a delightful dinner! The perfect ending to a rainy and rather gloomy day.

It was such a stunning dish - with the golden brown outlines of the cauliflower, and the bright red tomato sauce. It was so beautiful against the bright green from the spinach and basil.

But more than that, it was DELICIOUS. If you've never had roasted cauliflower before, consider this your personal invitation. It is seriously amazing. I'm not kidding -- magic takes place in the oven, my friends, magic! It becomes caramelized and has a nutty flavor! For a girl that can't eat bread, it almost tasted like bread! hah ok, well...how about...reminiscent of bread. :)

And the sauce was wonnnnderful. The herbs de provence gave it a warm and cozy flavor that had a delicate sweetness to it. And the basil gave it a nice *pop* of freshness.

So. Good. This is my next dinner party meal for sure:)

Finally, I was watching Gilmore Girls, and to my delight, check the sign on the door of the town grocery store...you may know my love for all things winter squash, so the screen grab was particularly humorous. Check back on Monday for a special butternut squash recipe:)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Roasted Beet & Fennel Pesto Pizza! GF, SCD, BED & Paleo w/ Vegan opt'n!

What up Happy Tummiesss?!!

How was everyone's weekend? Did you watch the World Cup finals? I watched it with my friends in Harlem. What a fun day.

A double rainbow on the way to the airport in Wisconsin.

So yep, I'm back from Wisconsin, and boy do I miss my fam. It was so great to be with them, especially my little niece, Baby A. She turns one on Thursday. Such. A. Cutie. :D My mom loves being a gma:)

It is definitely a different kind of summer here in NYC. It is seriously muggy and humid here on the East Coast, but that was NOT the case in Wisconsin! It was so cold in the Northwoods that on a couple days, that I had to wear a ski suit when we went boating!! And at the lake home, we have all our old clothes up there -- as the "cottage wardrobe." So let's just say I looked pretty sweet in my mom's 80's ski outfit! haha

Yep, it was a high of 63 degrees some days, so lets just say it was f-f-f-freezing on the water! Quite the change from NYC :D

One night in Wisconsin, I decided to make one of my favorite meals: a Cauliflower Flatbread Pizza!

Flatbreads are a standby for me. They're so delicious, filling, easy to make, and seriously good eats!

And you did read that right: it's made out of Cauliflower! Cauliflower and almond flour to be exact:D

This particular flatbread was a Roasted Beet and Fennel Pesto Flatbread! And it's Gluten and Grain Free, Specific Carb Diet and Body Ecology Diet Friendly, Paleo, and has a Vegan option!

Here's what you need: (Serves one)

1/3 cup almond flour
2 egg whites (Vegan option: 1 flax/chia egg)
1 cup cauliflower florets (riced in a food processor)
3 pinches salt

1 beet, cut into 1/4 inch rounds (BED sub red pepper)
1 bulb of fennel, half cut into wedges, and half shaved on the mandolin

Pesto Sauce:
1 cup, packed fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
juice 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
3/4 cup green peas, microwaved for 2 minutes
1-2 Tbsp EVOO

Garnish:
fresh basil, chopped
sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Rice your cauliflower in the food processor. Then, place your riced cauliflower in either paper towels, cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen towel, and wring out all the excess liquid. (This is a really important step!)

Combine the riced cauliflower with the egg, almond flour and salt in a medium sized bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (NOT wax paper!) Place your "dough" in the center of the parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top, and "smoosh" out the dough to about an 8 inch circle. Leave the top paper on, and bake as a "parchment sandwich" for about 30-35 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.

Next, scrub and dry your beet, and slice it into 1/4 inch rounds. Place them in a single layer on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet. Spritz with olive oil. Set aside.

Take your fennel bulb and remove the two outer layers. With half, cut into wedges, keeping the button intact, so the wedges stay together. Place these wedges in a single layer on the baking sheet with the beets. Spritz with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, take the fennel off the baking sheet and set aside. Flip the beets, and return the baking sheet to the oven for another 10 minutes.

With the remaining 1/2 fennel bulb, carefully shave it on the mandolin into paper-thin slices. These will be scattered raw on the pizza.

Meanwhile, make your pesto by combining all the pesto ingredients in the food processor and blitz until smooth. You'll need to scrape the sides several times.

To assemble, place a thin layer of the pesto sauce on the crust. Top with slices of the beets, the roasted fennel, and raw fennel, and garnish with basil and sunflower seeds.

Oh my goodness this pizza was SO GOOD! Holy cow, what a treat. For those of you who are skeptical of a crust made out of cauliflower, I assure you, you do NOT taste the cauliflower at all. No kidding. I passed it around the table for my family to try, and they all couldn't believe that there was cauliflower in it. Even my dad --- and that's saying something!

The textures were so great. The crust was chewy and bready, and a little crispy/crunchy on the edges. The creamy pesto, chewy beets and roasted fennel went perfectly with the crunchy sunflower seeds and raw fennel.

And the flavors were fabulous! The pesto was so bright and fresh, and the beets had a wonderful earthy sweetness to them that paired perfectly with the sweet and licorice-y fennel. There's something magical about fennel when you roast it in the oven -- its inherent sweetness comes out and caramelizes. SO good! And the sunflower seeds gave a nice nutty and salty *pop* to it.

Finally, it was a stunning dish with the bright green and deep purple. Just beautiful.

Alright, I'm off to watch the Bachelorette! More great recipes coming later this week! Be sure to check back!