Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:

1. 1-2 yams or sweet potatoes
2. Olive oil
3. Salt & Pepper
4. Italian seasonings
5. Garlic powder
6. Paprika
7. Cheyenne pepper (if you want them spicy) or cinnamon (if you want them sweet)

Directions:

•  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut sweet potato or yam into julienne pieces.
• Coat with olive oil and spices.
• Bake for 25 minutes, turn at least once half way through.
• Once the fries are crispy remove from the oven.

~Makes a great snack~

Chicken Parmesan with Penne Pasta

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1. 1 organic chicken breast
2. 2 pieces Ezekiel bread
3. 1 tsp Italian seasonings
4. Salt & Pepper
5. 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
6. 3 Tbs whole wheat flour
7. 1 organic egg
8. Penne pasta
9. Spaghetti sauce
10. Parmesan cheese
11. Basil
12. Green beans
13. Cooking spray

Directions:

• Gently toast the Ezekiel bread until it is dry and slightly brown.  
• Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees.
• In a food processor or blender add Ezekiel bread, salt & pepper, Italian seasonings, and red pepper flakes. Blend until you have fine bread crumbs.
• You will need three shallow bowls, one for the flour, one for the bread crumbs and one for the egg.  You will also need a wire rack for baking and a baking sheet covered with foil.
• Add a little bit of Parmesan cheese to the bowl with the bread crumbs and mix in.
• Pound down the chicken until 1/2 inch thick.  Season with salt & pepper and roll in the flour dish.
• After the flour, dunk the chicken in the beaten egg.
• Cover with bread crumb/cheese mixture and set onto a wire rank.  Spray the wire rack with cooking spray before you place the chicken on the rack.  Spay the chicken with cooking spray and place into the oven.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• While the chicken is baking, cook the penne pasta al dente about 10 minutes.  Cooking pasta al dente is not only the proper way to cook pasta, but it also lowers its Glycemic Index number, which means it is slower to digest and easier on your blood sugar.
• Steam the green beans in a steamer basket for about 4-7 minutes, or until bright green and slightly crunchy.
• Heat the spaghetti sauce in a sauce pan while everything else cooks.
• Plate  your meal.

~Benissimo~

Carrot Muffins with Cashew Lemon Frosting

 

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

1.  2 cups whole wheat flour
2. 1/2 cup almond meal (if you don't have almond meal, just increase the flour by 1/2 cup)
3. 2 tsp baking soda
4. 1/2 tsp sea salt
5. 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
6. 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
7. 1 Tbs Saigon cinnamon or traditional cinnamon
8. 2 cups grated carrot
9. 1/3 cup canola oil
10. 1 tsp vanilla
11. 1/2 cup agave syrup
12. 2 eggs (use 2 Tbs of ground flax seeds and 7 Tbs of water to make vegan)
13. 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
14. 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut (check out the bulk section of the health food store)
15. 1/2 cup organic raisins
16. 1/2 cup crushed pecans

Frosting:
(recipe adapted from Ani's Raw Food Desserts (Kream Cheeze Frosting) by Any Phyo)

1. 1 1/2 cup raw cashews
2. 3 Tbs lemon juice
3. 3 Tbs agave
4. 1/4-1/2 cup water

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl add dry ingredient:  whole wheat flour, almond meal, baking soda and sea salt.  Grate in nutmeg, ginger and add cinnamon. I suggest using Saigon Cinnamon, which has a sweet red hot flavor.  You can buy a giant bottle from Costco for under $4.00.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, grate two cups of carrots using your food processor or cheese grater.  Add oil, vanilla, agave, eggs and applesauce.  Mix together and fold in coconut, raisins and pecans.
• Incorporate the wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
• Spoon muffin mix into a greased muffin pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• While the muffins are baking, prepare the cashew frosting.  Using a blender or food processor add all frosting ingredients and blend until smooth.
• After muffins have cooled, transfer the frosting into a plastic freezer bag.  Cut one of the corners of the bag and squeeze frosting in a circular motion onto the muffins.

~Gotta love a recipe that can be breakfast or dessert~