Clean eating – Raising Jordans

Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup

January 29, 2016

Our friend Aaron arrives tonight to visit us for the weekend. Before trekking out Boston to pursue his dreams, all the boys use to spend nearly every evening in our apartment. They always made sure to come just before dinner. So I had to make sure I scrounged up a good, home cooked meal for his arrival. I opted for a healthy, hearty Chiptole Chicken and Rice soup that is an excellent way to use up leftover chicken in your fridge. This dish is flavorful and rich; it’s perfect for a chilly January evening. Continue reading “Chipotle Chicken and Rice Soup”

Quick, Vegan, Gluten-Free Vanilla Zoats

January 19, 2016

Jameson just started a new job with Johnson and Johnson (yay! go Jay!) and is back in full swing of constant travel. On the nights he is out of town I take the opportunity to experiment with new vegan recipes. Over the passing months I had been seeing a plethora of instagram posts of “Zoats” pop up in my feed and got curious. Now I must confess I don’t actually like oatmeal. What I do know it is an excellent source of fiber and trace minerals that aren’t commonly found in most foods but the struggle is real for me to eat it in any form but cookie form. So I figured I should step out of my comfort zone to try out Zoats (Zucchini+oatmeal) and see if I could wrap my palate around porridge. Turns out it isn’t terrible, was really quick to whip up, and kept me full. Best of all this vegan, gluten-free dish packs in a solid serving of veggies. Give it a whirl and see what you think! Continue reading “Quick, Vegan, Gluten-Free Vanilla Zoats”

Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

December 21, 2015

Another gem from our girls brunch! These aren’t cake-y like traditional, bakery bought muffins but they pack some serious flavor. Gluten-free baking can be tricky, but these protein packed muffins were a snap to whip up. You can also stir in some fresh raspberries or chocolate chips if you want to punch them up a little! They also freeze well, so they are great for making big batches to have on hand when visitors drop by at the last minute. Happy baking! Continue reading “Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Muffins”

A Whole 30 Friendly, Paleo Vegetable Frittata

December 9, 2015

Here is another gem from our Christmas Brunch. In January some of you may be doing the Whole 30 challenge. I know a lot of us at Crossfit NYC will be. To learn more about the Whole 30 challenge head over the CF NYC website where they break it all down for you. It is worth exploring. If you decide to jump on board, we have a a few Whole 30 approved recipes to help you with your clean eating mission. This savory frittata is yet another fast, easy meal that is also whole 30 friendly. It doesn’t look like much but it requires minimal hands-on prep time. It has a pretty easy clean up making it is perfect for busy New Yorkers. Enjoy and good luck to all the Whole 30ers out there 🙂 Continue reading “A Whole 30 Friendly, Paleo Vegetable Frittata”

Girls Brunch: Homemade Vegan, Gluten Free Almond Granola

December 5, 2015

Moving to New York is one of the most exciting, compelling adventures I have taken in my short life. God has opened doors so big that I couldn’t have even dreamed them on my own. However, as much as I now love the city’s buzz, soaring sky scrapers and contagious energy, it took me some time to get use to. You may remember in my first moments as a New Yorker I penned a candid reflection of my homesickness and elation at our new normal. At the time the main void in our NYC life was the lack of deep, meaningful, soul filling friends. In the last few years that cavity has been filled to over flowing.

Today I was able to fill our Brooklyn apartment with thirteen women who enrich my life in so many ways. My core groups of ladies hail from either church or Crossfit. Although we all share one common interest, we are still so diverse. We work in different industries from tech to publishing to higher ed to art, and have grown up in different corners of North America or abroad. We are in different places of life. Some of us are newly married (Go M!), other are old marrieds, while most of us are single. Very few of us studied the same majors in college. We speak a handful of different languages among us, and stem from different cultural backgrounds. However, it is this dissimilarity, this uniqueness, that keeps our conversations fascinating, and our time spent together up lifting. I am so thankful for the strong, brilliant, bad ass, New York women I get to do my every day life with here. I am in awe of every single one of them, and the dreams they are chasing. So it was such a joy to collide my two groups, and share a morning full of great eats with them.

You will find the entire brunch menu below. Many of the dishes are paleo, vegan or gluten-free, with a few very needed exceptions. To start you off you will see the recipe for the (very easy, very fast) delicious homemade granola we had. Over the next few weeks I will share recipes more from this meal. Merry Christmas. I hope your holidays are filled with as much love and friendship as mine have been already.

Continue reading “Girls Brunch: Homemade Vegan, Gluten Free Almond Granola”

Black Rice Burrito Skillet

November 25, 2015

Black rice is the thing right now. Everyone seems to be talking about it in one form or another. Just check out this NPR article by biologist Jeremy Cherfas titled How ‘Forbidden’ Black Rice Flourished For Millennia. The anthocyanins or pigments that colors (and dyes your wooden spoons purple) black rice has been touted to have anti-inflammatory benefits, and be great for heart health. Black rice also contains amino acids like Tryptophan, the one that puts you into your Thanksgiving turkey coma. As well as vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and folic acid. But beyond its abundance of health merits it also tastes great. So enjoy that fast, flavorful, nutrient packed meal that is flexible enough for both vegans and carnivores. Continue reading “Black Rice Burrito Skillet”

Creamless Cream of Vegetable Soup

November 13, 2015

We have been busy travelling, renovating, working and scheming. New York City is always a rush, but it feels as if life whizzing by with even greater fervor in the last few months. However, it is been all been the best kinds of busy. Our days have been brimming with birthday celebrations, weekend escapes, social events, holidays and long adventures. Tomorrow we set off with a few of our nearest and dearest for nine days in Costa Rica. We are living life and living it to the full. In the face of all the crazy, we are fulfilled and we are happy. That being said we have been mindful to take few moments to slow down and home cook some good, hearty fall meals. Which brings me to today’s newest recipe for a creamless creamed soup. It is fast and it is tasty. Enjoy, and happy fall all! Continue reading “Creamless Cream of Vegetable Soup”

Vegan Red Lentil Peanut Stew

November 8, 2015

Jameson hasn’t stopped talking about this dish. The recipe yielded us leftovers for day, and each afternoon I have recieved a text proclaiming its awesomeness beyond compare. It may be because lentils are a rad super food. They’re low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. But high in protein (18 grams per cup of cooked lentil) and Iron. Lentils are also an excellent source of fiber, folate, phosphorus, copper and manganese. But all that nutritional goodness aside, this stew is bar none. It is warm, rich and hearty making it the perfect autumn meal on a cold blustery day. Enjoy! Continue reading “Vegan Red Lentil Peanut Stew”

Paleo Pumpkin Chili

October 28, 2015

I may have never had a pumpkin spice latte (I know, the travesty!) but I have been all about the pumpkin this fall. For Canadian Thanksgiving I whipped up some Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles and some Paleo Pumpkin Balls. I am keeping the trend going with this rich and cozy fall chili.

Jameson and I spend our saturday mornings wandering the Fort Greene greenmarket in our neighbourhood, where we ogle (and consume) fresh scones, local cheeses and sugar coated apple cider doughnuts. This past weekend I constructed this in season chili recipe as I walked the lanes of the farmers market, picking out each veg. Although this chili checks all the boxes with gluten-free, paleo and vegan options, we elected to accompany it with a loaf of brick oven sourdough from She Wolf Bakery. Happy Harvest all! Continue reading “Paleo Pumpkin Chili”

Paleo Coconut Macaroons

April 15, 2015

I have mentioned again and again that life has been active for us these past number of weeks, resulting in an upswing of baking and cooking to calm my buzzing mind. Work has been especially busy in the most wonderfully, engaging, dynamic way. However, one of my amazing, spectacular colleagues is not only in the midst of our normal 9-5 routine but happened to also be smack in middle of hell week (the week preceding a show opening) for a musical she is producing. There isn’t much I can do to share her load. However, the one thing I know how to do well is prepare food, and I have learned from experience that cookies quell a whole myriad of woes. So with her in mind I began to adapt the traditional coconut macaroons to concoct this truly paleo, gluten-free version. Now for the most part my food is not the least bit Pinterest worthy. I focus more on the use of simple, whole foods rather than my photog and photoshop skills. So needless to say I was a touch excited when these gems turned out to be perfectly pretty little domes. These treats not only taste good but they look great too. Culinary win! Continue reading “Paleo Coconut Macaroons”