Perfectly Nourished Recipes

I'm in the process of giving my website a "face lift", and one of those changes was to get rid of the existing recipe page that I found to be clunky and difficult to navigate.  Going forward any new recipes will have their own individual post with instruction on how to prepare.  That said, many of my previous recipes are now homeless!

Rather than deleting forever, I decided to create this post to be a comprehensive repository for those recipes.  Keep scrolling to find the recipe you linked on over to review!

Banana Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Grain-free, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup organic maple syrup (can replace with honey, but will not have golden brown color)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao content)
• 1-2 bananas (depending on how thick you'd like the mixture)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (may need two).
• In a large bowl combine the almond flour and baking soda. Mix well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Coarsely chop the chocolate until it is in bite-sized chunks. Measure one cup. Slowly fold in the chocolate chunks to the batter. Chop your banana into small pieces. Fold carefully into the mixture. Drop the batter on to the prepared cookie sheet(s), careful to leave enough room in between.
• Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Make sure to not over-bake. Let cool for at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

Cinnamon-Apple Grain Free Muffins

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free Fall Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup raw, local honey or maple syrup
• 1 large egg (pastured)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 organic apples peeled, cored, and diced.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare muffin tin with 8 muffin liners.
• In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Keep diced apples separate. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture and make sure everything is thoroughly combined. Fold in the apples. Spoon the mixture into the muffin liners.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Be mindful of your oven, however. Almond flour has a tendency to cook quickly so you may need to slightly adjust the cooking time. Toothpick should come out clean. Let muffins cool, then serve!
• ** Note - when measuring your coconut oil, make sure it is in its liquid state and not solid. Measuring in the solid state will not yield the proper amount of oil.

Vegan Cinnamon Oat Muffins

Vegan Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic (non-sweetened) apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1/3 cup raw cacao powder (unsweetened cocoa powder will do in a pinch)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup organic dark chocolate chips (or bar chopped into chunks

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with paper muffin cups. Combine applesauce, coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl thoroughly combine the oat flour, raw cacao powder, baking powder and baking soda. Add oat mixture to applesauce mixture. Mix until blended. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 20-22 minutes rotating the pan 1/2 turn after 10 minutes (to ensure even cooking). Muffins are done when tops are firm to the touch.

Banana Blueberry Grain-Free Muffins

Paleo Muffins

Ingredients

• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 large eggs (pastured)
• 4-5 mashed ripe bananas
• 1-2 cups organic blueberries (adjust to your liking, I like a lot of blueberries)

Instructions

• preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 (8) muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl combine almond flour and baking soda. In a medium bowl whisk together the coconut oil and the eggs. Stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined.
• Stir the mashed bananas into the batter, then fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
• optional: for more of a dessert, add a 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (70% cacao mass) to the recipe.

Avocado-Style Deviled Eggs

Avocado Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 3 Organic Free Range Eggs
• 1 Ripe Avocado
• 2 scallions (or 1/8th white onion)
• 1 tsp ground mustard powder (or 1/2 tsp dijon mustard - add more to taste)
• Sea Salt to taste
• Paprika

Instructions

• Boil the eggs for approximately 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cool in ice water bath. After sufficiently cooled, remove shells. Slice eggs lengthwise (horizontally). Remove yolk and place in separate bowl. (I recommend utilizing 2 of the yolks and not using the third. Full of fat-soluble vitamins and good cholesterol, you can save it later for a snack!)
• With fork, mash yolks. Slice the avocado and scoop the meat into the bowl. Mix together with yolks. Add in the scallions (or white onion) and the ground mustard powder. Once the consistency is creamy, add sea salt to taste. Scoop the mixture into the egg whites. Place on serving dish and sprinkle with paprika.

Enjoy!!!!  I hope you like the new website.

Be well,

Janelle

Decadent Chocolate Recipe

Home made Raw Chocolate

It is  no surprise that I love chocolate.  This is for sure my food weakness.  With Valentine's Day that just passed, chocolate was in an endless supply.  That said, chocolate itself is NOT the enemy, it is all of the processed sugars, oils, artificial colors and flavorings, and soy lechiten (used as an emulsifier and is a dangerous endocrine disruptor) that is. Once I discovered this, my relationship with chocolate took on a whole new level.  It went from unhealthy to healthy in just a matter of a few ingredients!

I've modified this recipe from one of my favorite raw food chefs, Ani Phyo.  Ani uses cacao butter as the base for her chocolate with raw cacao powder as the additive, however I find that using coconut oil works just as well (and is a more readily available ingredient in most grocery stores).  Raw cacao is a superfood, as described in detail in a previous post. Coconut oil, although a saturated fat, contains essential lauric acid which has been proven to speed up weight loss, reduces the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, and stimulates thyroid function.  If you'd like to learn more about the benefit of coconut oil, here is a link to a fantastic article that speaks more to this perfect food.

Raw Chocolate made with Coconut Oil

Easy Raw Chocolate Recipe:

1. Melt 1 cup unrefined coconut oil over low heat
2. Mix in 1/2 cup of cacao powder
3. Add in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
4. Whisk and remove from heat

That's it!!

There are so many options you can do with this raw, superfood chocolate.  You can spread it in a pan and make raw chocolate bark with raisins and nuts.  You can put it in little molds and make solid raw chocolates. Add a little coconut cream in the middle and you have a delicious coconut truffle!  Or you can dip with fruit and make chocolate covered strawberries, bananas, and the like. Whatever you decide, make sure you place your delicious chocolate concoction in the refrigerator to set, for at least one hour.

Voila - a delicious treat that not only avoids all of the chemicals, sugars, and preservatives, but is actually nourishing for your body.  The best part?  I can honestly say that after months of eating good quality chocolate, the cheap and processed stuff doesn't taste appealing any longer.  Win win!!

Raw Chocolate Bark

How do you think you will use this recipe?

Be well,

Janelle

Interested in learning more?  Please visit my website.

Soul Food

Let yourself be silently drawn by the silent pull of what you really love.
- Rumi


Soul Food

Think for a moment of a food from your past, of one that makes you feel great when you eat it for no specific reason. Maybe it is macaroni and cheese, slow-simmered tomato sauce, ice cream cones, or pancakes. For me it is my Mom's Parisien-stuffing served at Thanksgiving (read: not healthy!).  Eating comfort foods (every now and then) can be incredibly healing, even though your rational brain may not find it highly nutritious.   

Food has the power to impact us on a level deeper than just our physical well-being. What we eat can re-connect us to precious memories, like childhood play times, first dates, holidays, our grandmother's cooking, or of our country of ancestry. Our bodies remember food from the past on an emotional and cellular level. Eating this food connects us to our roots and has youth-ening and nurturing effects that go far beyond the food's biochemical make-up.

Acknowledging what different foods mean to us is an important part of cultivating a good relationship with food. This month, when we celebrate loves and relationships, it's important to notice that we each have a relationship with food - and that this relationship is often far from loving. Many of us restrict food attempting to control our weight. We treat food as the enemy. We often abuse food, substituting it for emotional well-being. Others ignore food, swallowing it whole before even tasting it. 

What would your life be like if you treated food and your body as you would treat your beloved - with gentleness, playfulness, communication, honesty, respect, and love? The next time you eat your soul food, do so with awareness and without guilt. Enjoy all the healing and nourishment it brings you.​

Food Focus: Beans

Beans

Beans, or legumes, including peas and lentils, are an excellent source of plant-based protein. Beans are found in most traditional cultures as a staple food, offering grounding and strengthening properties that promote endurance. They offer a highly usable, highly absorbable, source of calcium for the body. A very inexpensive source of high nutrition, beans can be rich, delicious, and satisfying.

Lack of sexual energy is often due to overtaxed adrenal glands and kidneys. Beans are known for strengthening these organs (ever notice the shape of a bean?) and can help restore vital energy as well as sexual energy.

Beans have a reputation for causing digestive distress, but that is typically because they have been undercooked or not properly prepared. To help reduce gas-causing properties, soak beans overnight prior to cooking, increase cooking time, add spices like bay leaf, oregano or cumin, or add kombu (a sea vegetable) when cooking.   

Recipe of the Month: Easy Beans and Greens

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 - 3 servings

Ingredients:
1 can black beans (or pinto, red kidney - your choice)
1 bunch collard greens (or kale, spinach - your choice)
Your favorite toppings such as salsa, avocado, or guacamole and sour cream

 Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat drained beans.
2. Fill a separate medium saucepan with with 1-2 inches of water and bring to a boil.
3. Wash and chop greens (you can use the stem too) and add to boiling water.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes until greens are bright green and tender. Drain water.
5. On a plate, arrange a portion of the greens, top with a portion of the beans and finish with a portion of the toppings of your choice.

​

What is your Soul Food???

Be well,

Janelle

Interested in learning more?  Please visit my website.