Curried Cashew Chicken Salad

There is a restaurant here that has the best chicken salad I've ever had....no, p.c locals, I don't mean Cahall's, although it's yummy too.  Somethin's Cookin has a curried chicken salad that is by far my favorite thing on their menu:) Of course, I have tried my best to recreate it at home. And today I came pretty darn close:) I'm pretty sure their recipe contains mayo, as all chicken salad does, but mine actually has no mayo whatsoever. I made a homemade dressing that was even better to me than I could have hoped. If you're not fond of curry you could definitely leave it out, but personally, I love curry so it was happiness all around! Even my dad who is not a huge curry fan loved it! So that's sayin' somethin':)
1 lb. chicken breasts cut into chunks and cooked any way you like.(Ours was grilled the night before)
1 tbls. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2c. sherry wine ( I simmered it on the stove for about 5 minutes to evaporate the alchohol)
1-3 tsp. curry powder(start with one, then add more to your liking. some curries are stronger than others)
1/4c. olive oil
3 tbls. raw cashews
Combine all ingredients, except chicken and cashews, in food processor(if you don't food process it, the olive oil will not emulsify) then add in cooked chicken. process until desired consistency. If you like your chicken salad chunky, just pulse a couple times. Add in cashews last so they just get a quick rough chop. We like ours spread on some socca bread:)But it's also fabulous on a balsamic salad as well:)

My New Found Friend: Socca Bread

Today I was on one of my favorite websites pure2raw....and I had seen their recipe for socca, and was intrigued. Apparently socca is a flatbread made with beans...such as garbanzo flour, mung bean, even lentils. I didn't have any garbanzo or mung bean flour, but I did have half a package of lentils. So I gave it a shot......and oh my goodness, I was beyond wowed at this bread. Now grant it, if your expecting white and fluffy, you won't get it, but this has a nice grainy, crispy texture, that I enjoyed with some olive oil on top, then I tried honey, and of course that was amazing too. Give this a try, it's soooo easy and delicious, and fiber full!

1c. lentils

1/4c. water

1 tsp. sea salt

You can add any flavor here you like....I added some dried oregano and black pepper, next time I'll reduce the salt by half and add some cinnamon:)

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor

Heat 2 tbls. olive or coconut oil in a skillet in medium high heat. Pour mixture into skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side til golden brown and crispy:) mmmmm mmmmmm. This was a great afternoon snack for us!

Homemade My Thai Pad Woon Sen

Me and my clan love us some thai food!And here in panama city, we are fortunate enough to have a veeeeeeery good thai restaurant.We usually get our my thai fix once a week on friday nights:) Ah happiness! But of course it's ALWAYS more cost efficient to make your own. So I figured I'd give it a try. We pretty much have all stuck to one dish, that being the pad woon sen. Traditional pad woon sen's are made with mung bean noodles(clear noodles) which you can find at any asian market or sometimes world market carries them. Now mung bean noodles are a little finicky. They do not like a lot of liquid, it tends to make them sticky, so it's very important to season each layer of this dish rather than drown it all in sauce at the end. My last attempt at these was an extreme success with the fam. They all claimed it was just like my thai, so give it a try and feel free to experiment:) I did chicken last time, but I've also done shrimp, and tofu, and they were both great!

Spinach Pesto

One day while making pizza, I realized I was out of all my herbs....I tend to kill fresh herbs before they get big, and I simply didn't have anything resembling an italian herb in my cabinet:/ Sooooo what could I use for a pesto....hmmmmm...spinach? It sounded a little odd, but worth a shot. The result was waaaaaay better than I expected, and has now become a quick and easy solution for if and when I find myself herbless:)This pesto is so yummy, I would spread it on almost anything!I've used it on pizza, as a salad dressing, and even on eggs too!:) And it's spinach! Yum!
2 handfuls fresh spinach
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
olive oil
combine top 4 ingredients in food processor, then slowly stream in the olive oil until desired consistency.
When I DO have dried rosemary or oregano on hand I've added about 1 tsp.and they make it even better:)

Date Sweetened Fudge Bites

I have been trying for a while now to make "the perfect brownie"....and I feel that I'm close! I have made them with black beans, garbanzo beans, almond meal, and they have all been very yummy. But none of them have had that true "brownie" quality. It's hard to copycat some things without adding enormous amounts of butter and sugar, which I really am not gonna do. The butter doesn't bother me, but I'd rather not use 2 whole sticks in an 8x8 pan:/ So the other day I was experimenting, again, and stumbled upon these yummy creations. They have a brownie flavor, but more of a rich fudge texture....quite delicious! I'm still working on making them more brownie like,for my hubby's sake, because a good brownie can't be beaten in his book:), and then I'll have a great fugde, AND brownie recipe:) Enjoy!

2c. pitted dates (medjool is my fave!)
11/2c. hot water
1 tbls. vanilla
1c. almond meal/flour (note: making these with another flour will yield different results, I'm sure they'd still be good, but I can't vouch for a different flour yet:)
4 packs stevia( if you don't have/orlike stevia, I have used blackstrap molasses as well and it's great. 4 tbls.)
1-11/2c. cocoa powder(we like ours very chocolatey so I use the latter amount)
4tbls. coconut oil, or melted butter. I used coconut this time
1 tsp. baking powder

Put dates and hot water in food processor let sit for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients and blend til smooth. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, pour in batter. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes. It's done when knife comes out clean. Refrigerate or freeze until completely cold. *Do not and cut them when they are warm, they will not hold up:)

Paleorrrrrrific Pancakes!!!

My son looooves pancakes:) In the last year or so I have been trying to create the perfect gluten free pancake....it hasn't been easy, since a lot of flours have risky flavors, but I finally found a winning combination that is not just for the health nut, but for all pancake lovers out there! So here they are! Enjoy:)
serves 4
1c. almond flour ( you can grind your own in a vitamix or use honeyville farms blanched almond flour)
1/2c. tapioca flour
1/2c. millet flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2tsp. sea salt
2 eggs
1/3c. full fat coconut milk+2tbls. lemon juice( this is optional, but i sincerely recommend it for a more REAL pancake flavor:)
water (start with 1/2c. add more if needed)
mix the eggs and the coconut milk+lemon juice together, add in dry ingredients, then the water:) Stir until smooth. Drop batter onto a medium-high heat skillet. Cook for1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown:) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

The Health Nut Balsamic Spinach Salad

This is another one of my favorite salads. It's slightly sweet and tangy, and filled with all sorts of yummies!
serves1
For the salad
2 handfuls spinach
1 tsp. of each- raw cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds,
1 small carrot chopped
1/4 small tomato chopped
1/4 apple chopped
1/2 avacado cut into chunks
for the dressing
2 tbls. balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbls. honey(depends on how sweet you like it:)
4 tbls. olive oil
whisk together dressing until it thickens a bit, then taste....if it's too tangy add more oil, if it's too oily add more vinegar....I usually don't measure this part that's why it's not perfected:) for added protein you could top this with some turkey or chicken if you have any on hand:)

The Boy's Favorite Peanut Butter Smoothie

I enjoy smoothies a whole lot! I recently purchased a vitamix, and love it! So smoothie making has become even more easy and fun. "The boys" in our clan...(My hubby, my brother, my son, and might as well be our brother"E") really enjoy this smoothie. It seems to hit the spot in place of a cookie or chocolate....Don't get me wrong, cookies and chocolate have their place, but this smoothie is a fun alternative to a hefty dessert!
serves1
1c. unsweetened almond milk( or you could use rice or coconut milk too)
1 tbls. peanut butter...(I use smuckers natural because it contains no hydrogenated oils or sugars)
1 packet of stevia, or a tbls. honey
1 scoop of protein powder( we like healthy'n'fit egg white protein, strawberry flavor)
1/2 banana
1 tsp. cacao nibs or chocolate or carob chips
1/2-1c ice
blend everything until smooth....sometimes you may need to add more ice or a little more milk to reach desired consistency:) yummy!

The Egg Sandwich

My family L.O.V.E.S eggs! Any meal that involves eggs is a happy one! My bunch mainly enjoys them for dinner. You just can't beat it....scrambled eggs, omelets, fritattas, the good ole egg sandwich, any way you look at it, it's delicious.....and EASY! Sunday and Wednesday nights are the blessed egg nights, so here is one of the favorites from the thompson's egg night!
serves 4
8 local free range eggs( I get mine from tanyas garden...there2$ a dozen;)
salt and pepper to taste
8 pieces of ezekiel bread or homemade gluten free bread(recipe coming soon:)
veganaisse for after they're done( this is eggless mayo made with grapeseed oil...it's at publix in the produce section)
sometimes I'll add some cheddar almond cheese too, but it's still very yummy without it.
Drop 1tbls. unsalted butter in a pan on medium high heat....add in eggs. cook until desired consistency. place the eggs on the bread and add 1 more tbls. butter to the pan. Brown bread on each side for about a minute. When done, spread the veganaisse on the inside of one piece of bread and enjoy....then you'll be sad cuz it's gone way too fast:( serve these with some turkey bacon (applegate farms found @publix) and you got a winner!

Lemon Babies(technically a homemade larabar)

I use LOTS of almonds....LOTS! haha...and I'm constantly trying to come up with new ways to use them. So of course, recreating a Larabar is on the list. Larabars are delicious and raw, but quite expensive, so one day a few years ago, I was admiring the ingredients, and thought, "I could totally make this at home!" So I did....and they were everything I hoped they'd be. You really cannot go wrong with any flavor....I have not tried to make my favorite, cherry pie, yet, but it's on my list. This flavor is one of my favorites so far:)
1c. almonds
1/2c. dates(medjool is preferred although you have to pit them. But it's so easy to do so)
1tbls. vanilla
1tbls. fresh lemon juice
1tsp. lemon zest
Blend all ingredients in food processor until it starts to come together
Form into small discs.....and devour! I have also rolled these in some unsweetened shredded coconut....and they were awesomely delicious too!