Sausage & Rapini Pizza is so good and the perfect healthy recipe for your next pizza night! It’s gluten, grain & dairy free, making it IBS friendly and the ideal pizza for anyone following a paleo diet.
DID YOU KNOW? Cassava flour is a good choice for those with gluten intolerance symptoms and sensitive digestive systems or disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Cassava flour is derived from cassava root (also known as yuca or manioc), a starchy, high-carbohydrate tuber – similar to yam, taro, plantains and potato.
Starchy tubers tend to be safer for people with gut issues since they contain more soluble fiber and less insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can be soothing for the gut, whereas consuming large amounts of insoluble fiber when your gut is inflamed can aggravate IBS symptoms.
Once a month (OK fine, every two weeks) the BF and I experiment with different pizza toppings for this cassava flour pizza crust. You can find the original pizza crust recipe created by Otto’s Naturals, here.
We’ve nailed down another great recipe which was inspired by my little Jen days. I could always count on a sausage & rapini pizza from Caruso’s Pizza when I would visit my dad on the weekends. This pizza put all others to shame! Looking back, I’m truly grateful my dad was hopeless in the kitchen or else I wouldn’t have got my weekly dose of this pizza 🙂
So, if you’re looking for a gut friendly pizza with a whole lot of Italian love, this is the one for you!
Sausage & Rapini Pizza is so good and the perfect healthy recipe for your next pizza night! It’s gluten, grain & dairy free, making it IBS friendly and the ideal pizza for anyone following a paleo diet.
1cupcassava flour, I recommend Otto's cassava flour
1tbspcoconut flour
5tbsparrowroot flour
1tspsalt
1tspgarlic powder, optional
1egg
¼cupavocado oil
TOPPINGS
1/2cupplum tomatoes, drained and crushed
20wholemushrooms, sautéed
1bunchrapini, boiled & sautéed
1cured Italian sausage, sliced
Sea salt to taste, mix into tomatoes
Instructions
Prepare yeast mix: In a small bowl, add warm water and honey. Mix to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast in. Mix to dissolve. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to activate. It will get foamy on top.
Mix dry: Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl to combine.
Mix wet: Lightly whisk eggs and olive oil together in a small bowl.
Mix together and form a dough ball: Add egg mixture and activated yeast to the dry ingredients and form a dough ball. Transfer ball to an oiled bowl, cover with dish towel and set aside in a warm place (70-80 F is ideal) to rise for 1 hour. It will not double in size, but it will rise a little.
Prep toppings while dough rises: Remove stems from rapini, boil until tender and drain. Grab two stove-top pans and saute 1 sliced garlic clove in 2 tbsp avocado oil, in each pan. Add rapini to one pan and mushrooms to the other. Season each with sea salt and coat in oil and garlic. After a few minutes remove rapini and set aside. Add some red or white wine (other liquids work too) to the mushrooms and cover for a few minutes. Remove when liquid evaporates and mushrooms are cooked. Set aside.
Once dough has risen, preheat oven to 550 F. Preheat pizza stone, baking sheet or metal pan.
Roll and shape dough: Place the dough on parchment paper. Place a piece of parchment paper over the dough (if necessary) and shape dough with your hands by pushing down (on top of parchment, so it doesn't stick) and roll with rolling pin. Flatten your pizza about 1/8-1/4 inch thin. Roll the crust thick or thin (to your liking) by shaping with your fingers and rolling the edges. Use extra cassava flour if dough is sticking. NOTE: Split the dough in half before rolling it out to make two smaller pizzas.
Add toppings: Add tomatoes, rapini, mushrooms and sausage onto the dough. Lift the whole piece of parchment paper with pizza on top and transfer to the preheated baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until dough is firm and slightly golden, pulling out halfway and removing parchment paper. For a crispier golden crust, allow a few more minutes. Allow more time if cooking at lower temperature.
Chocolate Covered Almond Smoothie is rich & creamy–and bursting with rich chocolate and almond flavour! This smoothie is the perfect meal in a cup. It’ll leave you feeling energized, nourished and satisfied.
Do you want to create chocolate flavoured smoothies, like this one, but only have vanilla or unflavoured protein powder?
Here’s a quick tip to help you achieve a rich chocolate flavour from your smoothies when using a vanilla or unflavoured protein powder!
Just add 1-2 teaspoons of cacao powder into your blender along with the other smoothie ingredients. Blend & enjoy! That’s it!! Told ya it was a quick tip.
Cacao is the purest form of chocolate which is why I recommend it. It’s an easy find since most grocery stores carry it nowadays. You can also find cacao powder online.
Now, whether your protein powder is vanilla, chocolate or unflavoured, give this addicting smoothie creation a try. I promise, it’ll be love at first sip!
If you’re looking for more gut friendly smoothie recipes, get my FREE Quick-Start Guide To Smoothies or grab my smoothie e-book which has over 30 dessert-inspired smoothie recipes for IBS & weight loss!
What you need for Chocolate Covered Almond Smoothie:
Chocolate Covered Almond Smoothie is rich & creamy--and bursting with rich chocolate and almond flavour! This smoothie is the perfect meal in a cup. It'll leave you feeling energized, nourished and satisfied. Dairy Free & Paleo.
Halibut with Mango & Avocado Salsa is a fresh and delicious fish dish! Perfect for the warmer months when you’re craving something light and fresh on the palate. Feel free to use any fish (or chicken) with this flavourful mango & avocado salsa. AIP friendly, paleo & low-carb.
DID YOU KNOW? Avocados are rich in fiber — half an avocado (roughly 100g) packs 7 grams of fiber, which is 27% of the RDA. Fiber has been shown to have important benefits for weight loss, metabolic health and gut health.
Roughly 25% of the fiber in avocado is soluble, which is known for feeding the friendly gut bacteria in your intestine. The number and type of bacteria is very important for optimal gut health and overall health.
So, if you’re dealing with IBS or weight loss resistance, I recommend replacing grain-based foods with high-fiber whole foods like avocados, vegetables and other fruits.
Here are a few way to incorporate avocados in your diet:
Halibut with Mango & Avocado Salsa is a fresh and delicious fish dish! Perfect for the warmer months when you're craving something light and fresh on the palate. Feel free to use any fish with this flavourful mango & avocado salsa. AIP friendly, paleo & low-carb.
Sea salt & black pepper to taste, omit black pepper for AIP version
Avocado oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F and grease or line baking dish with parchment paper.
Coat halibut with avocado oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Place halibut in oven and cook for 10-15-minutes (more time may be needed for thicker pieces of fish). Halibut should be opaque and flake when cut with a fork.
While halibut is cooking, combine mango, avocado, red onion, fresh herbs, lime juice and seasoning in a bowl and mix until well combined.
When halibut is done, let rest for a few minutes then top with fresh mango & avocado salsa and serve.
Notes
If you can't find wild Pacific halibut or it's too expensive, try wild cod or another similar fish. If you're not a fan of fish, this salsa works great with chicken too!
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding is a delicious and easy snack or dessert recipe! Naturally sweetened with banana & bursting with rich chocolate flavour. Only 4 simple ingredients and 5-minutes needed to prepare this chia seed pudding recipe! Plant-based, low-carb, keto & paleo.
DID YOU KNOW? Chia seeds are a great plant-based food to help with weight loss.
Chia seeds rank high on the list of plant-based protein foods, making them great for putting on lean muscle, burning fat, and managing hunger and appetite.
Studies show that increasing your intake of protein can promote weight loss by curbing cravings and therefore reducing your caloric intake. Additionally, other research shows that following a high-protein diet rich in foods like chia seeds could reduce the hunger stimulating hormone, ghrelin.
So, if you’re looking for an easy and delicious way to add chia seeds into your diet, I highly recommend chia seed pudding. It makes for a great snack or dessert!
Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding is a delicious and easy snack or dessert recipe! Naturally sweetened with banana & bursting with rich chocolate flavour. Only 4 simple ingredients and 5-minutes needed to prepare this chia seed pudding recipe! Plant-based, low-carb, keto & paleo.
1.5cupsunsweetened almond or coconut milk, use canned full fat coconut milk for a more rich & creamy pudding
1largebanana, ripe
6tbspchia seeds
2tbspcacao powder
1tspmaple syrup, optional
TOPPINGS: (optional)
Cacao nibs
Sliced banana
Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Add milk, banana and cacao powder to blender and blend until smooth. Taste for sweetness, add maple syrup if desired and blend again to combine.
Pour into glass container, add chia seeds and whisk until well combined.
Let pudding thicken in fridge for a minimum of 1-hr before consuming. The longer you let the chia seeds soak the more thick and delicious the pudding becomes (I like to soak my chia seeds for at least 8 hours before enjoying).
Transfer to small serving bowl, add toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Use canned full fat coconut milk for a more rich & creamy pudding.
The longer you let the chia seeds soak the more thick and delicious the pudding becomes.
Turn this recipe into a satisfying breakfast by mixing in 1-2 scoops of Whole Body Collagen.
It’ll be love at first bite with this Tostone Taco Bites recipe! This dish is packed with all the good stuff including healthy fats from grass-fed beef and avocado, PLUS loads of fiber thanks to plantains and avocado, once again. So whether it’s Taco Tuesday or just a regular night, you’ve got to try this paleo & AIP friendly dish!
You know that feeling when you try a recipe for the very first time and after just one bite you can’t wait to make it again and again?!
Well, that’s the feeling you’ll get when you try this dish!
These bite-sized tostone tacos are to die for and super fun to eat. I replaced the traditional taco shell with tostones since they are grain free, gut friendly and so delicious!
Just in case you’re wondering what tostones are, they’re slices of unripe plantains that are fried, flattened, then fried again (in heat stable oil, of course!). Learn more about plantains and tostones here.
You can find plantains at most grocery stores. They look like big green bananas and tend to be located next to regular bananas. I’ve been able to find them at stores like Walmart, Fortinos & Longos.
How to assemble Tostone Taco Bites:
Spread guacamole on tostone.
Add beef on top of guacamole.
Grab with your fingers (or use a fork) and bite into your delicious creation!
This meal is packed with all the good stuff including healthy fats from grass-fed beef and avocado PLUS loads of fiber thanks to plantains and avocados, once again. I highly recommend adding this recipe to your list of “must try”, it’ll be love at first bite!
It'll be love at first bite with this Tostone Taco Bites recipe! This dish is packed with all the good stuff including healthy fats from grass-fed beef and avocado, PLUS loads of fiber thanks to plantains and avocado, once again. So whether it's Taco Tuesday or just a regular night, you've got to try this paleo & AIP friendly dish!
2largegreen plantains, peeled and cut into 1 inch slices
1-2avocados
½lime, juice only
Avocado oil
Sea salt & black pepper, to taste
TACO SEASONING:
2tspdried oregano
1tspgarlic powder
1tsponion powder
½tspground cinnamon
½tspsea salt
Instructions
Sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbsp avocado oil until fragrant, then add in zucchini and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add ground beef and taco seasoning. Break a part meat and cook until liquid evaporates and meat is browned.
While beef is cooking, use another large pan to cook the plantains. Cover bottom of pan in avocado oil, heat oil then add plantain slices and fry on both sides until golden (roughly 2-minutes per side). Season with salt.
Remove plantains from pan and gently smash until flattened (I smash my plantains between two pieces of parchment paper with a mug or can).
Add smashed plantains back to the pan and fry again on both sides until golden brown. Now you have tostones!
Mash avocado in a bowl, add lime juice, sea salt, black pepper and a pinch of garlic powder.
Place everything onto a dish, as shown in photo, and assemble your tostone tacos as you eat them!
Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars are rich & creamy with a hint of tartness and tiger nut crunch. The perfect cheesecake recipe if you’re following an AIP, plant-based, nut or dairy free diet.
DID YOU KNOW? Tiger nuts are recommended for healthy skin, weight management, and fertility—all because of vitamin E!
One serving of tiger nuts provides you with 278% of the daily recommended value–that’s 3mg of vitamin E!
Vitamin E is important to our health due to its powerful antioxidant properties that may help reduce free radical damage and slow the aging process of your cells.
Free radicals not only weaken and break down healthy cells, but these molecules may also contribute to heart disease and cancer.
It’s important to have a diet rich in antioxidants to protect yourself from oxidative damage over time, and tiger nuts are a great source of antioxidants.
If you’re looking for tasty ways to add more tiger nuts to your diet, check out some of my tiger nut recipes (including the yummy cheesecake below!).
What you need for Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars:
Tiger Nut Lemon Cheesecake Bars are rich & creamy with a hint of tartness and tiger nut crunch. The perfect cheesecake recipe if you're following an AIP, plant-based, nut or dairy free diet.
2tbspcrushed tiger nuts, use a food processor for this
Fresh berries, raspberries, strawberries or blackberries
Instructions
Put tiger nuts in a jar, fill with water and let soak in fridge for 12+ hours. Drain well.
Process all filling ingredients in a high-powered blender until completely smooth. Note: Tiger nuts are not easy to breakdown, so you may need to blend for a while, scraping the sides of the blender along the way.
Transfer cheesecake filling into small glass container (~5"x 5") lined with parchment paper and smooth out.
Freeze for at least 5 hours. Remove cheesecake from container and slice into bars. Thaw out briefly, decorate with toppings and serve. Keep remaining bars refrigerated for up to a week or in the freezer for longer.
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.