Summertime represents so many things to me.  Even if my schedule is just as busy (or busier) during these HOT months, there comes a relaxed and playful spirit when the month of June makes it’s debut.  Maybe it’s the subconscious association of the mid-year with my carefree summer days as a kid, when studying was left swiftly behind and swimming pools greeted me headfirst.   Icy drinks and cool sandwiches made up my diet whether on the beach or in the backyard.  To this day, sandwiches and summer are the perfect combination to me.  Obviously, I’m no longer eating foot long subs, bologna, and PB & Js everyday, so I’ve decided to create grown-up, healthier versions of some of the classics.  This is my spin on the crispy B.L.T.  If you prefer to not eat grains, even gluten-free, you can make the lettuce your wrap instead.

Ingredients:
(makes 1 sandwich)

• 3-4 strips organic turkey bacon (trust me, it tastes like the real thing)
• 2 slices sesame Ezekiel bread, toasted 
• lettuce
• 1 small tomato, sliced
• 1/2 avocado
• 1 tsp vegenaise
• 1/2 tsp mustard (plain or Dijon)
• dash sea salt

1. Prepare the bacon until it reaches desired crunchiness.
2. While the bacon fries, make the avocado spread: Blend the last 4 ingredients in a food processor (or just mash together with a fork).
3. Add all ingredients to toasted bread & good luck keeping it from falling apart!

This is probably my favorite post yet.  I’ve been dreaming of making this for weeks and finally got around to it today.  It turned out perfectly the first time, so I’ll definitely be making it again.  I originally called this recipe Black Bean Nachos due to the thin crust with the chip-like crisp, but once I pulled it out of the oven and the bright green jalapenos looked just like little pepperonis, it was renamed.  The black bean mixture is an adaptation of Black Bean Burgers from Elana Amsterdam’s cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  {The book can be purchased through her website www.elanaspantry.com.  I highly recommend it.}  My husband and I have enjoyed her burgers on several occasions and they are delicious.  For the pizza, I’ve made minor changes to reach the right consistency.  Now, I like spice — hot spice — so this dish was HOT.  Not only was the pizza hot, but the salsa was hot.  I’ll tone it down for you here and let you turn the heat up at your own pace.  This simple crust preparation is the doorway to many variations for pizza.  As you explore other toppings, please share them with me!  For now, I hope you enjoy mine.

Ingredients:
(recipe makes 1 pizza)

• 1 sprouted grain tortilla (I use Ezekiel; they are found in the freezer section of any health food store or Publix)
• 1 can organic black beans, drained
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/4-1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• handful fresh cilantro, diced
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup almond flour or flour of your choice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
• raw organic shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
• 1 jalapeno for topping, sliced (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325*.
2. Begin bean mixture: Saute diced onion, garlic, & pepper on med-low until tender.
3. In a medium bowl add the beans, cilantro, egg, flour, salt, cumin & chili powder.  Do not mix yet.
4. Add the sauteed veggies to the bowl and gently stir all ingredients until blended together.
5. Place tortilla on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
6. Spread a small amount of coconut oil or grapeseed oil on tortilla & lightly sprinkle with sea salt.
7. Cook tortillas (without bean mixture) for 7-10 minutes or until almost crispy.
8. Remove from oven and top with a thin layer of cheese, then bean mixture, then sprinkle with cheese & top with jalapenos if you wish!
9. Place back in the oven for approximately 5 minutes.

Many of you often ask us if we ever eat meat.  While we don’t rely on meat as our primary source of protein, we do occasionally eat bison, beef, chicken, or fish.  One of the main reasons we don’t eat much meat is because we are extremely particular about the source from which it comes and the quality of the meat itself.  When we eat bison or beef, we prefer that it is grass-fed organic as opposed to grain or corn-fed.  If we eat chicken (or their eggs), it’s free-range, organic.  If fish is on the menu, we prefer wild not farm-raised.  We may go for weeks at a time with no meat whatsoever, then we’ll get into a routine of having it once a week.  Stuffed bell peppers is something that I cook when we’re on a meat kick.  It’s quick and easy to prepare and is even more delicious the next day if you’re lucky enough to have some left over.  That rarely happens in our house!

Ingredients:   

• 4-6 green bell peppers, stems and seeds removed (see photo below)
• 1 lb ground bison (beef or turkey)
• 1/2 cup black olives, finely diced
• 1/2 cup brown basmati rice (or quinoa)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 cup raw cheddar cheese, grated (plus more for topping)
• 2  15 oz cans/jars of tomato sauce (plus 2-3 cans of water)
• sea salt & pepper to taste
  *optional: a dash or two of Bragg’s liquid amino for added flavor

1. Prepare your peppers & arrange them in a pot large enough to make sure they will stand upright side by side while cooking.
2. Prepare your meat stuffing by combining the bison, olives, rice, garlic, cheese, & 1 can of tomato sauce.  You can use a spoon or masher to blend everything thoroughly, but I use my favorite tool: my hands.
3. Add the seasonings to taste.  If you’re unsure, remember you can always add more salt when they are finished.
4. Stuff the peppers and arrange them in the pot. 
5. Pour the other can of tomato sauce all over and around the peppers. 
6. Add 2-3 cans of water just until the peppers are 3/4 covered.
7. Place the pot on the stove, covered, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour until meat and rice are thoroughly cooked.
8. Serve with freshly grated cheese on top.

This recipe is a combination of a black bean burger recipe that we love and a spinach pie recipe I took from a magazine.  I came home ravenous today and quickly concocted this for lunch.  Another quick and easy answer to my stomach’s growls.  I may have mentioned before that I don’t typically like raw tomatoes, but I ended up using the spinach burgers as the buns and added sliced tomato to the middle as the “meat.”  The sweetness from the tomato was a delightful compliment to the savory and spicy patties.  It would be great with sliced avocado and lettuce, too! 

Ingredients:

3 cups (give or take) of fresh baby spinach
1 egg
1/8 cup green or red onion
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
3/4 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tspn sea salt
*1 dehydrated chipotle pepper/ground pepper (or 1/4 jalapeno)*optional for a great kick!*

* Another variation is Greek style.  Just add feta and add black olive instead of cilantro.Process all ingredients in a food processor.  Melt 1 Tbsp coconut oil on a skillet.  Make small patties on the pan with a spoon and cook over medium heat for approximately 3 minutes each side.  They should be slightly golden on both sides.  Makes 4 patties.

Salads can be so boring.  I’m the first to admit I don’t want to eat a plain salad everyday for lunch or dinner.  That’s when I have to get creative to keep things interesting.  The picture doesn’t do this salad justice, but this is perfect for a warm day with the cold veggies and the zesty lime juice.  It’s full of so many different flavors and textures — each bite is different.  You can add or take away any of the veggies.  These are just the ones that say “southwest” to me.  Tomatoes would be a nice addition (and add beautiful color), but I’m not a huge fan of raw tomatoes.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 1 red/yellow/green bell pepper
• 1/2 or 1 whole can of organic black beans, drained
• 1/4 of 1 red onion, diced
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1/4 jalapeno pepper, diced
• juice of 1 lime
• sea salt (or garlic salt) to taste

Mix all ingredients together, chill, and enjoy.

If anyone out there believes that cooking healthy, raw, delicious meals is too difficult or time-consuming, this recipe will certainly prove them wrong.  My husband actually timed me (unbeknownst to me) and it literally took me ten minutes — start to finish.  We are not raw foodists, but we are certainly enjoying raw foods more and more these days.  We can indulge in this “pasta” anytime we wish without afterwards experiencing the sugar coma that inevitably ensues when eating wheat pasta.  Zucchini pasta has become a regular dish in our household.  It looks and tastes just like (or better than) traditional spaghetti and can be combined with many different sauces to suit your fancy.  [I use a julienne slicer to easily prepare the pasta.  You can purchase this online or in any home/kitchen store.]  Earlier in the week I prepared a “pasta” dish with an alfredo sauce made from cashew nuts.  Another recipe for another time.  Tonight, I didn’t have as much prep time, so I tossed it with a meatless tomato sauce.  If you prefer meat, add your grass-fed beef, bison or turkey and follow the simple steps below.  Amazingly, even without cooking the zucchini, it is perfectly al dente.

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini (I prefer skin on)
• 2-4 cups fresh baby spinach
• tomato sauce, warmed on stove (I used Organicville brand from a jar; if you prefer homeade, refer to my tomato sauce from my veggie lasagna recipe or create your own)

1. Bring 6 cups water almost to a boil.
2. Using a julienne slicer or spiral vegetable slicer, slice all of the zucchini
3. Before the water boils, remove from heat.  Plunge the zucchini into the water, give it a quick stir, then drain water from zucchini (this just warms it and prevents the zucchini from cooking).
4. Add the raw spinach to the drained zucchini and toss together.  The spinach will wilt from the heat.
5. Add the tomato sauce and stir. 

If you’re anything like me, you like for your meal to be as attractive as it is delicious.  My dinner tonight was just that.  I used the most vibrant veggies I could find to emulate the Spring Fever that I have.  A friend inspired me to try this wrap and as I did a little research, I discovered a similar version in the book Thrive by Brendan Brazier.  This book is a fantastic resource and Brendan is the creator of the Vega products.  We carry this book in our office if you are interested in checking it out.  Brendan uses Kale, but I couldn’t find any organic, so I opted to try Red Chard.  That is what you see in the photo above.  This was my first experience with Chard and it was great, not to mention, a gorgeous leafy vegetable with bright red veins and stem.  I expected a bitter flavor, but it was more buttery tasting to me.  I was in a rush so I didn’t try the version I’ve been dreaming – yes, dreaming about.  That version is a southwest wrap with black beans and guacamole.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.  In the meantime, try this one.  It’s so fresh and crispy — and just screams springtime.  I felt that I needed a side dish with my wrap, so I added an Avocado Pineapple Salad and it was the perfect complement.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

•  1 or 2 long kale, collard, or chard leaves
• 1/2 or 1 whole avocado, sliced
• 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 cup purple cabbage
• a few slices red onion
• a few baby carrots, sliced
• 1/4 of a zucchini, sliced (I used my julienne slicer)
• organic Dijon mustard
• sea salt
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• drizzle olive oil

There is no right or wrong with this recipe.  Simply place your leafy green out like a sub-roll and add all the ingredients.  I smeared the mustard, nutritional yeast, and sea salt on first, then added the rest.  Then I topped it with the olive oil (& garlic salt) and carefully rolled it into a wrap.  It is messy, but so worth it!  Feel free to add any veggies you have on hand and you can’t go wrong!

There’s nothing like something simple and quick when it comes to meal prep — especially when you’re hungry!  This stir-fry is nothing revolutionary, but it’s a great alternative to plain steamed veggies and salads for lunch.  Quinoa is a gluten-free grain that is packed with essential amino acids and quality protein to keep your energy high throughout the day.  We enjoy this tasty meal for lunch.

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic quinoa
• 1 cup organic vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup shredded red/purple cabbage
• handful of baby carrots
• 1 cup sweet peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1-2 stems green onion
• 1 tsp Bragg’s liquid aminos
• sea salt to taste (I used organic garlic salt on mine)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Prepare the quinoa according to the package directions.  One cup of quinoa calls for 2 cups water, so I opted to use 1 cup vegetable broth and 1 cup water to add flavor.  While your quinoa is cooking, chop your veggies &  saute’ them in the coconut oil.  Combine all ingredients & enjoy!