Beet Mash is the perfect side to your next meal! It’s high in fibre, low in carbs and bursting rich and creamy flavours. This mash recipe is great if you’re following an AIP, low-carb, plant-based or paleo diet.
DID YOU KNOW? Beets are an excellent source of disease-fighting phytonutrients called betalains which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Betalains are also responsible for providing beets with their vibrant color. Studies show that these potent pigments may help protect against the development of certain types of cancer and disease.
Try my Beet Mash recipe below. It’s versatile and can be enjoyed warm or cold …
Use as a side to your meat or fish dishes.
Enjoy topped with fried eggs.
Use as a dip or spread for crackers, sliced veggies or wraps.
Mix with canned wild fish for a quick and healthy meal.
Beet Mash is the perfect side to your next meal! It's high in fibre, low in carbs and bursting rich and creamy flavours. This mash recipe is great if you're following an AIP, low-carb, plant-based or paleo diet.
2cupspeeled & sliced red beets, or 10 oz bag frozen beets
1headcauliflower, chopped
2clovesgarlic, skin on
1/2cupfull fat coconut milk, more if needed
1tspdried rosemary
2tbspavocado oil
Sea salt to taste
Instructions
Coat vegetables and skin-on garlic in oil, rosemary and salt. Place on a pan and bake at 350F for 40 minutes.
Remove skin from garlic and put in a food processor or blender along with cooked veggies and coconut milk. Process/blend until a smooth mash is formed. Add more coconut milk if needed.
Use right away or store in fridge for use during the week.
Keyword beets, cauliflower, coconut milk, mash, side dish, vegetables
Roasted Brussels Sprouts are the perfect side to your next meal! They’re easy to make, delicious and super healthy. This recipe is keto, paleo, plant-based & AIP friendly!
DID YOU KNOW? In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Brussels sprouts are used to improve digestive health.
Just one cup of cooked Brussels sprouts provides four grams of fiber, which numerous studies show is important for digestive function.
Fiber helps to support digestive health by encouraging regular bowel movements, preventing constipation or diarrhea, and detoxifying the body by pulling toxins and waste out of the gut.
In addition, Brussels sprouts contain glucosinolates and sulforaphane. Glucosinolates can help protect the lining of the digestive tract and stomach therefore reducing the chances of developing leaky gut or other digestive disorders. Sulforaphane facilitates in the body’s detoxification process and can help prevent bacterial overgrowth from occurring in the gut.
According to TCM, it’s recommended that cruciferous veggies (like Brussels sprouts) be cooked to enhance digestion and to nourish the spleen, which can become taxed if bombarded with too many raw or cooling foods.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts are the perfect side to your next meal! They're easy to make, delicious and super healthy. This recipe is keto, paleo, plant-based & AIP friendly!
This Chicken Soup recipe is soul warming and a great natural remedy during cold and flu season. It’s easy to make with simple and wholesome ingredients like chicken & vegetables. The perfect AIP, paleo & keto chicken soup recipe!
It’s time that I share my family’s chicken soup recipe, which I learned from my mom (aka. Mama J) – and she learned from my Nonna (a.k.a. Ma).
Back in my Little Jen days, Mama J would whip up a batch of her magic soup when I had Little Jen sniffles. She took good care of me – and still does even though I’m all grown up.
AND now Big Jen makes this magic soup for Mama J when she’s not feeling well. Ahhhhh, the circle of life.
So, if you’re craving a warm bowl of chicken soup or you’re looking for a great natural remedy during cold and flu season, I definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. It’s gluten, grain and dairy free.
P.S. I made a couple of modifications to the original recipe, which brings out extra flavour in the soup. Technically, you don’t have to sear the chicken and slightly cook the veggies before adding water, but the extra steps are well worth it 😉
This Chicken Soup recipe is soul warming and a great natural remedy during cold and flu season. It's easy to make with simple ingredients like chicken & vegetables. The perfect AIP, paleo & keto chicken soup recipe!
Heat oil in a large pot and sear chicken breasts, 2-minutes per side. Set breasts aside.
Add onions and garlic into pot, stir and sauté until fragrant.
Add carrots and celery and mix together with onions.
Add chicken breasts back into pot and fill pot with ~4L of filtered water.
Add salt and bring to a boil. Let boil for a couple of minutes then reduce to a simmer and cover.
Let cook for at least 1-hour. The longer you cook the more flavour you'll get.
Remove chicken from pot, place on a plate and shred.
If you want pureed chicken soup, add soup (minus the chicken) to a blender and blend until smooth. Add shredded chicken in after blending.
If you want a chunky chicken soup, leave as is and just add shredded chicken to the soup.
Notes
Feel free to skip the steps where you sear the chicken and slightly cook vegetables. These steps do help to create a more flavourful soup, but are not necessary.
“Spaghetti” with Ricotta & Cherry Tomatoes is fresh and flavourful! This simple whole food dish is easy to prepare and only requires 6 simple ingredients. It’s the perfect dish during the summer months when fresh basil and cherry tomatoes are abundant. Gluten & grain free + low-carb.
After my recent trip to Italy, I’ve been feeling even more inspired to create healthier gluten free versions of some great Italian spaghetti dishes. This time around, I decided to experiment with one of my favourite cheeses growing up, ricotta!
I don’t consume dairy on a regular basis, but when I come across fresh, high-quality cheeses (like the ricotta cheese from Quality Cheese in Woodbridge) it’s an absolute MUST have!
There are a few ricotta inspired recipes I’ve been itching to try, but I wanted to start with this one since you can still find fresh tomatoes and basil in stores.
So, if your body can digest dairy well and you’re looking for a flavourful whole food “spaghetti” dish to try, I definitely recommend this one. It’s low carb, gluten & grain free!
What you need for “Spaghetti” with Ricotta & Cherry Tomatoes:
"Spaghetti" with Ricotta & Cherry Tomatoes is fresh and flavourful! This simple whole food dish is easy to prepare and only requires 6 simple ingredients. It's the perfect dish during the summer months when fresh basil and cherry tomatoes are abundant.
Cut spaghetti squash lengthwise and remove seeds with spoon. Bake at 400F for 30-40 min (first 10 min bake with flesh down, then turn so skin is down for remaining time). Fork should pierce skin easily when squash is cooked. Use a fork to scrape out the strands of squash when done.
When spaghetti squash is almost done, heat olive oil in saucepan (medium heat) and add garlic, tomatoes and salt.
Cook for a few minutes until tomatoes soften and garlic begins to brown and then remove garlic cloves.
Add ricotta cheese and 1 cup of hot water to tomato sauce and stir. Let reduce for a few minutes.
Add spaghetti squash to saucepan. Toss and cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove from heat, toss in basil and serve.
Notes
Note on spaghetti squash: Cooking time varies depending on the size of the squash. Check regularly to avoid overcooking the squash. You want the noodles to be ‘al dente’.
Vegetable “rice” is a great low-carb, gut friendly and nutrient-dense substitute for grains like rice, quinoa and couscous. It’s extremely versatile and can be used as a base or side for so many dishes. AIP, keto, paleo & plant-based
Here are a few great ways to add vegetable “rice” to your menu …
1. Use it as a side to salmon, steak, chicken or another protein source.
4. Add “rice” and a can of wild salmon, sardines or tuna to a container, and take it with you to work for a healthy lunch.
5. Eat it on its own as a mid-day snack — vegetable “rice” tastes great cold too, so just grab the leftovers from the fridge and enjoy!
I like to make a batch of this “rice” ahead of time and add it to different meals throughout my week. It makes meal prep super easy – and adds tons of flavour and nutrients to my meals!
Vegetable "rice" is a great low-carb, gut friendly and nutrient-dense substitute for grains like rice, quinoa and couscous. It’s extremely versatile and can be used as a base or side for so many dishes. AIP, keto, paleo & plant-based
Chop vegetables into large chunks, place on baking sheet and coat with oil and salt.
Bake for 45-minutes.
Put cooked vegetables and vinegar/lemon juice in a food processor and process into a rice-like consistency. I recommend using the pulse function so you don't over-process. You may need to do this step in two batches.
Ciabotta (also known as ciambotta or giambotta) is an Italian vegetable stew that is a common summer dish throughout southern Italy.
Similar to the French ratatouille, this vegetable stew is made up of seasonal Mediterranean vegetables slowly cooked down with tomatoes and finished with fresh basil.
My Nonna (a.k.a. Ma) made this dish every Summer for as long as I can remember. Although she called it peperonata (which is predominately peppers and onions), she prepared it more like ciabotta with the addition of other vegetables like eggplant and zucchini.
BUT, we won’t tell Ma that I changed the name of her famous Summer dish.
My family could always rely on Ma for containers filled with this vegetable stew, especially when the garden was overflowing with zucchini and eggplant.
She’d send my Nonno out to the garden to pick all the good stuff, while she spent hours in the kitchen (a place she truly loved to be) preparing this dish and many more. Basically, my Nonno was the gardener and Ma was the chef (and not a day passed where Ma didn’t yell at Nonno for bugging her while she was trying to cook).
This dish is dedicated to my Ma... Thank you for passing on your love of cooking to me and inspiring me to create traditional Italian dishes that bring back fun family memories.
Now give this simple and delicious ciabotta a try. It’s the perfect summer time dish and works well with meat or fish.
Here’s what you need for Ciabotta (Italian vegetable stew):
Ciabotta (also known as ciambotta or giambotta) is an Italian vegetable stew that is a common summer dish in Abruzzo, as well as all throughout southern Italy. Similar to the French ratatouille, this vegetable stew is made up of seasonal Mediterranean vegetables slowly cooked down with tomatoes and finished with fresh basil.Give this simple and delicious ciabotta a try. It's a wonderful side to meat or fish.
796mlcan fire roasted tomatoes, or other canned tomatoes
3tbspolive oil
1tspsea salt, add more if desired
Black pepper, to taste
Handful of fresh basil
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion and garlic. Cook at medium heat until the onions are translucent. Keep stirring to prevent the garlic from burning.
Add in chopped vegetables along with the canned tomatoes and salt. Simmer on low for 1 hour. If the liquid reduces too much, add a little water.
Taste and season with more salt if needed and black pepper.
Add a handful of torn basil, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, mix and serve.
My mission is to help women heal their gut, lose weight and feel great through simple and delicious smoothies, whole food nutrition & healthy lifestyle habits.
