Paleo Pistachio Pesto Pasta

Now thats a mouthful! Paleo Pistachio Pesto Pasta. Try saying that 10 times real fast. It's hard, but I don't think you'll want to stop eating long enough to try, it's that good! On my quest to find healthy meals, I stumbled upon my new favorite website, paleOMG.com. She has so many great recipes on there. I have yet to find one that I don't like, or that doesn't turn out. Now I know what you're thinking, how is this healthy with how much fat and calories are in this? Well, its the healthy fat from the coconut oil and pistachios that makes this dish oh so paleo friendly! Give this a shot for your next homemade pesto, it wont disappoint! Friendly pointer...buy the pre-shelled pistachio. It will save you SOOO much time :) 

Paleo Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 10 minutes           COOK: 40 minutes            READY IN: 50 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 medium spaghetti squash, halved
• 4 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
• 1 cup pistachios, unshelled
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons garlic
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup coconut oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional toppings: red pepper flakes and chopped basil

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut spaghetti squash in half length wise. Scoop out seeds from squash. Place open side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until you can pierce it easily with a fork. 
2. While you're waiting for your squash, place your pistachios in a food processor and grind until finely chopped. 
3. Add garlic basil, lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper and grind until smooth. 
4. Slowly add your oil until you get your desired consistency. Place aside.
5. Salt and Pepper your chicken on both sides. Cook on a large skillet under medium heat until cooked through. 
6. Once squash is done cooking and has cooled, use a fork to shred it and place in a large serving bowl. 
7. Once all the squash is shredded, add your pesto and combine. You can also add your chicken and combine as well, or serve it on top. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 serving  655 calories 46g fat  16g carbs   42g protein   7g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from paleOMG.com

Gluten Free Almond Sugar Cookies

In my effort to cut down on processed sugar in our baking at home, it's a little hard to make the traditional sugar cookies that the kid's crave this time of year. I found this great alternative to sugar cookies on Detoxinista and modified it to use what I have in my pantry. The result was fabulous-- though I'm not sure my children were impressed by the lack of color in the frosting. We may have to work on that! The coconut flavor combined with the almonds is perfect. These almost reminded me of the Samoa Girl Scout cookies. Sounds strange, because there's no chocolate or caramel, but that's immediately what my mind went to when I first tried them. If you'd like, you can use raw honey instead... it would help the frosting "set up" a little more.

Gluten Free Almond Sugar Cookies
18 SERVINGS 
PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 8-10 minutes            READY IN: 30 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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FOR THE COOKIES:

• 2 cups almond meal (I used Trader Joe's)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened (or use butter instead, but the coconut gives these a wonderful flavor!)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
 

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of fine sea salt

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together cookie ingredients until well combined. 
3. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper and form cookie dough into 15 equal round balls. Place on the parchment paper and press down with your hand. 
4. Place in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. They will not look done, but they probably are. If you cook them for much longer, the bottoms will burn.
5. Let the cookies cool for 30 minutes.
6. While they're cooling, make the frosting. This doesn't seem like much frosting, but it's the perfect amount for these cookies. :)

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 serving    122 calories   9.8g fat   8.1g carbs    2.3g protein    6.2g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Detoxinista.

Chili Lime Pork Chops

I have a secret. I have an odd obsession with cookbooks. But only the ones that have pictures to go along with the recipe, and I mean every recipe. Those are the only cookbooks I seem to buy, and I know I can't be the only one. This recipe grabbed me as I was looking through my new Paleo cookbook. I'm trying to cook a variety of foods these days and this was a nice break from the usual chicken or fish recipes. It's healthy, quick to prepare, and can easily be a freezer meal (freeze the sauce separately and add to pork in the skillet the day you'd like to cook it).

Chili Lime Pork Chops
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 6 minutes            READY IN: 26 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 2-3 lbs pork tenderloin
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

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1. Cut pork tenderloin into thick cubes, about 3/4 inch thick.
2. To prepare the sauce, add all sauce ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. 
3. Heat skillet over medium heat with coconut oil. Sprinkle pork with sea salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until bottom starts to brown. Turn pork over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. 
4. Add sauce to skillet with pork and cook until pork is cooked through, about 4 minutes. 
5. Serve pork with sauce poured over it.

NUTRITION FACTS

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10 oz pork= 1 serving   460 calories  20.6g fat  6.5g carbs   59.6g protein   4.7g sugar   

Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Make Ahead Paleo by Tammy Credicott
Linking up here.

Indulgence Moment: Cake Mix Oreos

Oreos bring out my sweet tooth like no other food. I just can't stop. Especially when I dip it in peanut butter and soak it in milk, just how they do it on "The Parent Trap." Best idea ever. However, I feel like I'm piling up the calories just thinking about them, so I hardly let my sweet tooth get the best of me. I was really craving oreos one night but I didn't have the energy to go shopping, so I decided to whip some up in the kitchen. This recipe makes a nice crisp cookie and the filling is addicting! I ended up having to give some away so I wouldn't eat them all! These will be a hit at any party... or a Friday night home alone.

Cake Mix Oreos
Makes roughly 16 cookies 

PREP: 10 minutes           COOK: 8 minutes            READY IN: 18 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

COOKIE:

• 1 package devil's food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil

FILLING:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
2. Add oil and eggs to cake mix and mix together until well blended. It will be pretty thick, so I just used a wooden spoon.
3. Roll the batter into balls about the size of a quarter and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. 
4. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the cookie sheet until just warm. Carefully move cookies to a cooling rack.
5. Prepare vanilla filling by creaming butter and shortening together. Mix in vanilla. Add sugar slowly while mixing until you reach your desired consistency. 
6. Assemble cookies by placing about a tablespoon of filling in the center of a cookie (I used a ziplock bag with a small hole cut on the corner to pipe them onto the cookies) and top with another cookie of similar size. Press down slightly on the filling to make sure the cookie sets. 
7. Continue previous step until all cookies have been filled. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 cookie    312 calories   17.2g fat  38.8g carbs   1.9g protein   28g sugar   

Indulge and smile!
Recipe adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

Sweet Potato Chips

I have a weakness for fries and chips. Actually, anything with carbs. I always hear people cut out carbs to lose weight, which is true to a point. But it's good to know that there are good carbs and bad carbs. Luckily, these sweet potatoes are considered a good carb so you can eat them without feeling too guilty. Score!

Sweet Potato Chips
4 SERVINGS 
PREP: 5 minutes           COOK: 30-45 minutes            READY IN: 35-50 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 3 large sweet potatoes (or yams), peeled and sliced or chopped into cubes
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• sea salt
• Optional seasoning: paprika, onion salt and garlic salt.

DIRECTIONS

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1. Slice sweet potatoes (or yams) into thin slices, or cube into roughly 1/2 inch squares. 
2. Place 3 tablespoons coconut oil in a zip lock baggy. Add in sliced potatoes and toss until well coated. 
3. Place slices potatoes on a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with sea salt and any of the optional seasonings if you desire (I prefer just salt).
4. Bake at 400º for 30-45 minutes, depending on how thinly they are sliced. 
5. For extra crispy-ness, add cooked sweet potatoes to a fry pan with a little oil on medium-low heat and cook until extra crispy, making sure to flip occasionally. 

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 cup serving   160 calories  11g fat  16g carbs   1g protein   4g sugar   

Enjoy!
Linking up here.