Black Bean Soup

I confess I happened into this simple recipe by trial and it was not an error! Great strategy for leftover meat. Patients ask me for fast, healthy, cheap, simple meals and this lands it on all counts! These beans are available on Amazon, or on santafebean.com or in HEB stores in Texas on the canned bean aisle.
-Nancy Mehlert, MS.

Serves 4

1 bag fat-free Black Beans by Santa Fe (Ingredients: Black Beans, Salt)
1 cup of fresh or jarred chunky salsa, desired heat
1 cup of cooked beef, pork, ham, sausage, chicken, diced, ground or shredded
Desired toppings: chopped onion, avocado, cilantro and/or cheese*.

1. Prepare Black Beans as instructed on package – this involves adding boiling water and simmering for a few minutes on the stove top.
2. Add salsa and if desired, meat, and simmer until heated through. Thin with chicken, beef or vegetable broth if needed/desired.
3. Serve into bowls and top with desired ingredients. (*we aren’t advocates of dairy in general)

By Mila McManus MD|2015-12-28T13:23:56-06:00December 28th, 2015|General, Recipes|

No-Bake Mini Pumpkin Bites (grain and dairy free)

Author: Katja from Savory Lotus

Serves: 24 mini cups

Ingredients

FOR CRUST:
1 cup hazelnuts (preferably soaked and dehydrated for better digestion)
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (preferably soaked and dehydrated for better digestion)
8 dates, pitted
1 TBS coconut oil
1 TBS REAL maple syrup or raw honey
2 pinches of celtic sea salt
FOR FILLING:
1 cup cooked pumpkin puree
½ cup coconut butter
2 TBS coconut oil
3 TBS REAL maple syrup or raw honey
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ tsp ginger powder
⅛ tsp allspice
⅛ tsp clove powder
FOR CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE:
2 TBS coconut butter
2 TBS coconut oil
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa OR raw cacao
3 TBS REAL maple syrup or raw honey
a pinch or 2 of salt

Directions:

1. To Make the crust: Line mini muffin tins with unbleached mini paper liners. Process all crust ingredients in a food processor until well combined and resembles coarse flour. Spoon 1 and ½ tsp of mixture into each of the 24 mini cups. Use your thumb to press down mixture firmly to create a solid bottom layer for these cute little yummies. Place in freezer to harden.

2. To make filling: Melt coconut butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the rest of filling ingredients. Mix it up really well until creamy smooth. Remove crusts from freezer and spoon about ¾ TBS of filling over your prepared crusts. Return to the freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

3. To make chocolate drizzle: Once mini bites have hardened, gently melt coconut butter and coconut oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the rest of the drizzle ingredients. Allow to cool slightly to thicken. Pour into small plastic bag, cut a TINY hole in the corner, and drizzle over treats in any fashion that you want.

4. Now it’s time to enjoy these amazing delights. Store leftovers in freezer as they are best cold.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-11-30T16:11:00-06:00November 30th, 2015|Articles, General, Recipes|

Baked Acorn Squash with Apples

Serves 4

2 Medium to small Acorn Squash, halved with seeds & strings removed
2 Medium to Large baking apples, cored and diced
2 Tablespoons Coconut Palm Sugar or maple syrup
2 Tablespoons of Butter, melted
½-1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice)
Juice of ½ small lemon
1 Tablespoon bourbon or dark rum if desired

1) Preheat oven to 350°.

2) Use a baking dish large enough for the 4 halves, and place ¼ cup of water in the bottom of it. Place the acorn squash halves face down in the water and bake for ½ hour.

3) While baking, gently toss together in a bowl, diced apples with coconut palm sugar, melted butter, pumpkin pie spice, lemon juice and bourbon/dark rum, if desired.

4) Remove squash from the oven, drain any remaining water from the pan, and turn over the squash to bowl side up. Fill center with apple mixture.

5) Bake for an additional 30 minutes until apples are soft and browning.

Notes: Completed squash will hold heat for 15 minutes countertop so it can hold well while the remainder of dish is prepared and served. Can also be prepared through step 4 and refrigerated one day ahead before finishing. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before final baking step. Use a baking apple (Honeycrisp works well) and dice into small pieces to speed cooking time. Consider other stuffing combinations for acorn squash such as cooked pork sausage or bacon, pears, raisins, cranberries or currents, nuts and seeds. Excellent pairing for pork roast or turkey dinner. Also a great dessert option.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-10-26T16:56:46-06:00October 21st, 2015|Articles, General, Recipes|

Mediterranean Lamb Roast

From Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, BS, NC

Serves 6-8

Slow – Cooker Recipe

4 lbs lamb roast (beef or pork works too!)
2 onions, cut into quarters
4 large carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces
6-8 cloves of garlic, smashed
¼ cup Kalamata olives
¼ cup brine/liquid from olives
32-ounce can of whole peeled plum tomatoes or roasted tomatoes

Place all ingredients in a slow-cooker and cook on low for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

Serve alone or over cauliflower mashed potatoes.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-10-05T06:36:55-06:00October 3rd, 2015|Recipes|

Basic Biscuits

From Wheat Belly Cookbook by William Davis MD

1 cup almond, pecan or hazelnut meal/flour
1 cup ground golden flaxseeds
4 tsp baking powder
4 T cold butter, cut into cubes
4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the nut flour/meal, ground flaxseed and baking powder. Cut in the butter until combined.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites on high until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the flour ingredients until well blended.

Spoon the dough into 8 rounds on the baking sheet. Flatten to approximately ¾” thickness. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Easy variations include adding ¼ cup of grated cheese, Italian seasonings, or cinnamon with stevia or xylitol, ¼ cup of dried cranberries or raisons.

Per 1 biscuit serving (without variations): 209 caloires, 8 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 18 g fat.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-08-24T16:28:31-06:00August 24th, 2015|General, Recipes|

Curried Shrimp Salad

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2-4

1 lb cooked wild shrimp, tails removed
½ cup frozen green peas, defrosted
¼ cup chopped green onion and/or celery
½ cup expeller pressed mayonnaise
Juice of one lemon
1 to 3 tsp Curry Powder to taste
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Avocado
1 Bag prewashed Organic Greens (Arugula, Field Greens)

1. Place shrimp in a colander and rinse in cold water. Squeeze juice from half of the lemon onto the shrimp. Dice if desired.

2. In a bowl, combine shrimp, green peas, green onion, celery, mayonnaise, curry powder, sea salt and pepper.

3. On two or four plates, divide the greens evenly.

4. Spoon out shrimp salad onto the bed of greens, dividing evenly among the plates.

5. Peel and dice the avocado, and garnish each plate with it. If desired, drizzle cold pressed olive oil on the greens.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-08-05T06:31:20-06:00July 28th, 2015|Articles, Recipes|

Almond Joy Pancakes (Gluten Free)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Makes 12 , 4 inch diameter pancakes

Ingredients

½ cup coconut flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup sweetener of choice (I use Stevita Stevia/Erythritol Blend)
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
6 large eggs
¼ cup organic, expeller pressed coconut oil, melted
½ to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp almond extract
¼ cup toasted, slivered almonds
2 ounces 63-80% cacao chocolate, finely chopped, or morsels
Additional coconut oil for the pan

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, shredded coconut, sweetener, baking powder and salt.
Stir in eggs, coconut oil, ½ cup of the almond milk, and the almond extract. Add additional almond milk as needed. Your batter should be thicker than traditional pancake batter, but not so thick that you can’t pour it and spread it around the pan. Coconut flour batters also tend to thicken up as they sit so you can add additional milk partway through.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brush with additional coconut oil. Scoop about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter onto skillet and spread into a 4 inch circle. Repeat until you can’t fit any more pancakes into skillet .
Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is set around the edges. You will see little bubbles start to come up in the center of the pancake, a good sign that it’s cooked enough to flip.
Flip and continue cooking until second side is golden brown. Remove from pan and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.
Top with toasted almonds and chopped chocolate.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 pancakes Calories: 266, Fat: 17 g ,Carbohydrates: 17 g, Fiber: 9 g, Protein: 11 g

Idea – Leave out chocolate, and simply top with butter, chopped fruit in season such as berries or peaches or spread with a nut butter. Another topping option is to put frozen, unsweetened berries in a pan, and cook until syrupy, adding Stevia, Xylitol or Erythritol to sweeten to taste.

Author: Liz DellaCroce | The Lemon Bowl

By Mila McManus MD|2015-06-22T16:33:25-06:00June 22nd, 2015|Recipes|

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Serves 4

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup fresh or frozen onions, sliced
• 1 cup fresh celery, sliced
• 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil

1. Rinse and remove the green leaves and stems from the cauliflower.
2. Cut the cauliflower into pieces and use a food processor to shred to rice consistency. This can be used with the blade by pulsing to desired texture. Or if you have a shredding blade, this too will work well.
3. Slice the mushrooms, dice the celery and onion and set aside.
4. Melt the butter or coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Add all of the ingredients and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Serve.

Be creative and add veggies you like such as peas, zucchini, bell pepper, carrot, scallions, green beans, sugar snap peas. The versions are limitless. Chop in leftover chicken, shrimp, pork, veal, lamb or beef. Spice it up with curry or fresh cilantro.

From Paleo Slow Cooking by Chrissy Gower, Victory Belt Publishing, Las Vegas, 2012

By Mila McManus MD|2015-05-19T11:49:39-06:00May 19th, 2015|Articles, General, Recipes|

Grain Free Banana Bread

bread

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 tbsp coconut palm sugar
• ¼ cup Thai Kitchen Organic Full Fat Coconut Milk (canned)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 ¼ cups almond flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using a large bowl and a small side bowl, separate egg yolks into the large bowl from egg whites into the smaller side bowl.

3. Add to the egg yolks, banana, coconut palm sugar, coconut milk and vanilla. Combine together.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, almond flour, sea salt and cinnamon, tossing together using a fork.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with moist ingredients and stir until well incorporated.

6. Using a wire whisk, beat the egg whites until foaming, then fold into the batter until fairly well combined.

7. Butter a loaf pan and pour in the batter. Bake for 35-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Recommend a 1.25-1.5 qt loaf pan for a high loaf. Larger loaf pans will yield a flatter loaf.

By Mila McManus MD|2015-04-24T10:45:10-06:00April 24th, 2015|Articles, Recipes|

Sautéed Spinach with White Beans and Pine Nuts

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 T grass fed butter

1 T cold pressed olive oil; extra for garnish

2 T pine nuts

1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced

One 15.5 ounce can, small white kidney or cannellini beans

1 lb fresh spinach, trimmed and washed

Sea Salt

½ cup lightly packed fresh basil (about 15 leaves), thinly sliced

1 T finely grated lemon zest

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add grass fed butter, pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring often until the pine nuts are golden and the garlic is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Add the spinach and ¼ tsp salt and cook, turning with tongs until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the basil, lemon zest and pepper to taste. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Nutrition Facts, 1 serving: Calories 180; Fat 10g; Protein 9g; Carbohydrates 21g; Fiber 8 g; Magnesium 242g

Adapted from recipe at www.finecooking.com, Issue 104

By Mila McManus MD|2015-03-22T23:30:10-06:00March 22nd, 2015|Articles, General, Recipes|