It is nearly impossible to find almond milk at a grocery or health food store without added chemicals and unwanted ingredients.  Making your own is so simple and takes very little time.  Here are the steps:

1. Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in 2 cups of filtered water at room temperature for 12-24 hours

2. Rinse Almonds after soaking

3. Add almonds and  3 cups of filtered or spring water to a good blender and blend away.  This is also the time you would want to add any additional flavoring (vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, etc.  See below for more details)

4. After blending, you want to strain the almond milk using a nut bag such as this. Be sure to take your time and get out as much milk as you can.  The leftover almond meal can be saved for other recipes

4. Add finished almond milk to a storage container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days

**You can leave the milk plain or you can add in various flavoring options during the blending in step 3.  A few ideas include

• 1 tsp high quality vanilla extract (not whole 30 compliant)
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced and inside scraped into milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 dates
• 1-2 tsp honey (not whole 30 compliant)
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla  extract, 1T raw cacao powder, 2 dates
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 dates, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries
• 1-2 T of raw cocoa powder, 1 T maple syrup, dash of cinnamon (not whole 30 compliant)
• also can use coconut water in place of filtered water in step 3 for coconut almond milk (can also add in 1/2 tsp of cinnamon)

Pan Seared Mahi with Strawberry Lime Salsa

1 cup strawberries, diced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced

1 T red onion, diced

1 T cilantro, chopped

1 Lime, zest and  juice of

2-4 Mahi fillets

1 T coconut oil

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1.Mix together strawberries through lime juice in a bowl and set aside

2. Pat dry mahi fillets and season with salt

3. Heat coconut oil in skillet over medium -high heat

4. Once skillet is hot, add fish and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until done

5. Remove cooked fish from skillet and top with salsa

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

1 head of cauliflower

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime, zest and juice of

1T coconut oil

1. Use food processor or grater to chop  cauliflower to desired “rice” texture

2. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat  and cook onions 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in garlic and cook another minute

3. Add cauliflower rice and cook approximately 7-8 minutes over medium low heat.

4. Remove from heat and add in lime zest, lime juice and cilantro

5. You can also add in salt and pepper to taste if desired.

I saw this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago and thought it looked very good. I decided to modify it a bit and roast the brussel sprouts instead of using raw shaved sprouts.  I also did not add as much oil to the dressing since there was oil on the roasted brussel sprouts.  This was a very good side dish! I served it with grilled chicken and a baked sweet potato topped with cinnamon.

Leftovers of this side are also very good cold.  The next night I used the leftovers and added them to a bed of baby kale along with grilled chicken and more of the lemon terragon dressing. (I thinly sliced the Brussel sprouts before adding them to the salad)

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I saw this recipe for a salad dressing made with raw cashews and coconut water posted last week on  Amy and Brain’s Coconut Water Instagram page. I immediately began thinking of recipes to try.   I thought of this broccoli slaw recipe with pineapple and mango.  I used the pre-made organic slaw from Trader Joe’s and shredded in a little red cabbage.  Most grocery stores sell a pre-made broccoli slaw or you can just make your own by cutting up broccoli stalks, carrots and red cabbage.  Tonight I paired it with grilled chicken and grilled veggies but it would also be an excellent side to any summer BBQ. I also grilled extra chicken so that I would have it for lunches for the next few days.

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This is probably my  favorite fish dish of all time.  I went to Hawaii on my honeymoon 11 years ago and everything there seemed  to be  coated in macadamia nuts! I’m exaggerating, but there were a ton a macadamia nut dishes I had while we were there.   I tried to recreate a local dish for dinner tonight.  I should have taken more pictures while I was prepping.  Sorry. This meal looks fancy and is definitely a company worthy dish but it’s very simple to make.  I served the fish with a mixed green salad and cilantro lime cauliflower rice.  I have  “riced” cauliflower in the food processor and using a big grater.  I think the grater is easier and faster.  I have to chop up the clauiflower and put it into my food processor in multiple matches.  When I use my grater I cut off the leaves and just grate the whole head of cauliflower, starting on one side down to the stem/core and then flipping it over and doing the same on the opposite side. The recipe below is for 2 people.I usually double it to feed me, my husband and our kids.  I hope you enjoy this Hawaiian inspired meal as much as I do! Continue reading →

I went to Whole Foods yesterday and stocked up some items that made this meal prep very easy and quick. I really like the organic frozen vegetables they sell.  It is a great way to save some money as they are relativel  cheap.  I like to use them in eggs for breakfast or different types of stir fry.   Tonight I used 1/2 of package of the organic 3 pepper blend.  I added the veggies, still frozen, to a skillet along with grass fed beef and 1/2 a chopped onion and cooked them all together. This adds great flavor to the beef.

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My husband was not home for dinner tonight so I made my kids homemade chicken tenders coated with almond flour and unsweetened coconut flakes.  Click here for the recipe.

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I love grilling fresh fruit during the summer.  The heat from the grill brings out the natural sugars in the fruit and caramelizes them. Pineapple and peaches are my personal favorite grilled fruits but watermelon, apricots, apples, figs, bananas and plantains are also good. For tonight’s dinner, I added chicken, red peppers, onions and peaches to my kabobs. This recipe would also work well with beef or pork. Continue reading →

My husband’s birthday was this week and he requested steaks for dinner.  Since I was going to be using our grill for the steaks, I decided to try this recipe for grilled vegetables I found on foodnetwork.com.  The veggies turned out great! I grilled zuchinni, yellow squash, red pepper and eggplant.  The oil and balsamic dressing gave them a lot of flavor and putting them directly on the grill resulted in a really pretty presentation. Continue reading →