I find myself making crepes all the time.  They are so easy to make gluten free and depending on the thickness of the batter you can even make them into a pancake.  Personally I like them when they are super thin and a bit crispy on the outside.  They are great both sweet and savory and are the perfect thing to serve for a fancy brunch.  I filled these crepes with simple lemon curd and topped with strawberries.

2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped
¼ cup coconut flour
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 tsp arrow root flour
1½ cup almond milk (for thinner mixture, 1 cup for thicker mixture)
¼ tsp sea salt
For sweet crepes add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp sweetener of choice (either maple syrup or honey or 4 dips of liquid stevia).
For savory add ½ tsp garlic and onion powder or other herbs of choice.

In a large bowl add eggs, egg whites, coconut flour, arrow root flour, almond milk and sea salt. Whisk until full mixed. Melt butter and add to mixture. Whisk again until fully mixed.

In either an iron skillet on non stick green pan add a small amount of coconut oil or butter.

Once melted spoon or pour mixture and cook on medium high until you see bubbles coming to the surface.
Flip and cook until both sides are browned.

Lemon Curd:

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and eggs.

Add the butter and cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a whisk, until the first bubble appears on the surface of the mixture and the curd is thick enough to hold marks of the whisk, about 6-8 minutes.

Strain the lemon curd through a fine-mesh strainer if you don't want the lemon zest in the curd. Transfer the hot lemon curd to a bowl or jar and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, then take off the plastic wrap and replace with a lid.

The curd keeps fresh in the refrigerator for about 1 week.
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I enjoy quinoa, so I created this pear breakfast bake for our Sunday brunch. The quinoa is a nice change of pace from oatmeal. You are going to be amazingly surprised at this one.  Try red quinoa for a delightful crunch.

1 cup water
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup mashed peeled ripe pear
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash ground ginger
Dash ground nutmeg

TOPPING:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Plain Greek yogurt, optional


Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients; transfer to a greased 3-cup baking dish. Cover and bake for 50 minutes. In another small bowl, combine almonds, brown sugar and butter; sprinkle over quinoa mixture.

Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with yogurt.

After coming off a 15 hour IF fast, this is delicious with some Kerrygold grass feed butter toasted.  

2 cups almond flour
2 tab. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tab. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup dates
2 medium bananas peeled
3 large eggs
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. coconut oil
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup honey

In a large bowl combine first five ingredients.  Stir with a fork.

In a food processor place the next six ingredients.  Whirl until smooth.  Mix well with dry ingredients.

Stir in remaining ingredients.  Grease loaf pan with one teaspoon of coconut oil.

​Bake 325 or one hour.  

I can't eat dairy or gluten, but these gluten-free brownie bars are a satisfying substitute. The brownies will still seem soft when you pull them from the oven. They are done when the edges look very lightly browned.

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 package (10 ounces) dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 325°. Line an 8-in. square baking pan with parchment, letting ends extend up sides; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Spread into prepared pan.
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Bake until edges begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake), 30-35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, at least 2 hours. Lifting with parchment, remove brownies from pan. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

​Hummus is my go-to appetizer when I need something quick, easy and impressive. Over the years I've picked up a number of tricks that make this the best hummus recipe you'll ever have.


1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup tahini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cold water
Optional: Olive oil, roasted garbanzo beans, toasted sesame seeds, ground sumac

Place garbanzo beans in a large saucepan; add water to cover by 1 in. Gently rub beans together to loosen outer skin. Pour off water and any skins that are floating. Repeat 2-3 times until no skins float to the surface; drain. Return to saucepan; add baking soda and enough water to cover by 1 in. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, until beans are very tender and just starting to fall apart, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a blender, process lemon juice, garlic and salt until almost a paste. Let stand 10 minutes; strain, discarding solids. Stir in cumin. In a small bowl, stir together tahini and olive oil.
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Add beans to blender; add cold water. Loosely cover and process until completely smooth. Add lemon mixture and process. With blender running, slowly add tahini mixture, scraping sides as needed. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and cumin if desired.
Transfer mixture to a serving bowl; cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. If desired, top with additional olive oil and assorted toppings.

It has been an excruciating busy month, but I haven't forgotten the health benefits of ancient foods.  This has been my quest since December, just before the new year started, when I noticed my gut becoming bloated on store probiotics.  It just didn't feel as it was working right.

You know I'm a firm believer in listening to your body's signals.  When something is gently nagging at  you, its time for a change.  I realized there are so many recipes on fermented foods out there that I needed to do some digging.

One adventure that popped up was years ago when I used to make my own sauerkraut.  I used large "sun tea jars" when they were in.  I scoured my garage and laundry room looking for these see through beauties from yesteryear.  But none was to be had!  So I let it go and began searching the internet where I found Mary's Nest.  Here she made sauerkraut in glass canning jars.  I began thinking, "I have several glass jars lying around always to store food in."  In fact, I have some lovely pasta sauce jars right on my counter cleaned.  One thing that resonated was when Mary said, "If you are using regular jars just remember to burb them." I can do this!

It took me 10 minutes with a food processor to make two jars of sauerkraut.  I've been hooked for months. It is important to eat this every day if you are going to give up your synthetic probiotics.   And guess what?  No more bloat.  I am including Mary's video below. 

Raw, fermented foods packed with health-promoting probiotics and have been staples of the human diet for centuries. Sauerkraut is the probiotic king. It is is the superior source of LIVE probiotics and enzymes, and due to its pre-digested state brought on by the fermentation process, these nutrients are highly bioavailable to the body.

Dr. Joseph Mercola sent a sample of his homemade sauerkraut off to a lab and reported the findings of probiotics saying, “We had it analyzed. We found in a 4-6 ounce serving of the fermented vegetables there were literally ten trillion bacteria.”

This incredible discovery means that just 2 ounces of homemade sauerkraut has more probiotics than a whole bottle of 100 count probiotic capsules. One 16 oz. jar of sauerkraut is equivalent to about 8 bottles probiotics!
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The numerous benefits of fermented foods are undeniable. They’ve been a staple of the human diet for centuries. Many people know sauerkraut as a traditional topping for a hot dog. But it is so much more than that. Did you know that in the 18th century, sailors ate sauerkraut on long voyages to prevent scurvy, a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency? Also, Chinese laborers building the Great Wall of China (more than 2000 years ago) ate shredded cabbage fermented in rice wine.

We start many stir-fry meals with this chicken bamboo shoot soup, which cooks in just a few minutes. There are many recipe variations, but we like the addition of cornstarch to thicken the soup and give it a rich, golden color. I got the recipe from Grandma’s old cookbook.

3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can bamboo shoots
6 oz. chicken breast
1 tab. soy a sauce
1 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tab. cornstarch
2 tab. water
Cilantro


In a large saucepan, bring broth, soy a sauce, and chicken to a boil over medium heat. Let cook for 20 minutes. Shred chicken. 

Add ginger, bamboo shoots, and pepper.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Serve immediately. Top with cilantro if desired

We start many stir-fry meals with this easy egg drop soup, which cooks in just a few minutes. There are many recipe variations, but we like the addition of cornstarch to thicken the soup and give it a rich, golden color. I got the recipe from Grandma’s old cookbook.

6 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
6 cups chicken broth
4 oz. chicken breast
1 tsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 green onion, sliced


In a large saucepan, bring broth, mushrooms, and chicken to a boil over medium heat. Let cook for 20 minutes. Shred chicken. 

Add ginger, wine, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat. Drizzle beaten egg into hot broth, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in onion.

Although most of my diet is 80% paleo, I still crave a bit more sustenance from time to time. I have been making this bread for two years now.  When I do, I cut thin slices and place them in the freezer for easy retrieval.

This bread is dynamic and will tantalize your taste buds.  It is unlike traditional bread that is light and fluffy.  This sucker will taste like a bowl of oatmeal.  Yum!


3 medium ripe bananas, plus more for garnish
2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 large eggs
1/2 c. pure maple syrup or honey
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp.  salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, toasted
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Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 8"-x-5” pan. 

Combine bananas, oats, eggs, maple syrup, baking soda, vanilla, and salt in a blender. Blend until you have a smooth batter, about 1 minute. Fold walnuts into the mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and arrange banana slices on top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

A healthy version of chicken strips that are baked instead of fried, and coated in ground almonds in place of breadcrumbs. This almond crusted chicken came out fantastic – crunchy on the outside, moist inside and full of flavor. Not to mention that each piece is more filling than traditional version thanks to healthy fats in almonds. If you want leftovers, double the recipe. One batch served 4 people and a few pieces were left.


2 lb. chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
1 cup almonds, ground (almond meal works too)
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard



Place almonds in food processor and final chop.  
 
Completely slice chicken breasts in half and again lengthwise. 

In one small bowl, mix mustard and mayo.  Completely coat chicken. 

Lay each strip in almonds and completely coat.

Set Air Fryer to 350 degrees. Cook for 25 minutes and flip half way through.