grain free Archives - Page 14 of 16

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

July 28, 2014 By Becky 39 Comments

This paleo cilantro lime chicken is easy to make and great right off the grill, on top of salads, or alongside roasted vegetables.

Do you like cilantro? It’s my favorite herb by far, and I love it because it’s capable of totally perking up almost any food, both in flavor and appearance. If you’re a cilantro hater, though, you’re definitely not alone. According to The New York Times, many people’s aversion to cilantro may be due to the fragrance of certain substances in the herb that are also found in soap and bugs. (Make sure to read through until the end of the article, when the author describes how he converted himself into a cilantro lover. Here’s one hint: this recipe of mine might be a good place to start.)

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned the blog Angels Homestead. It’s written by April, a mom, homesteader, and frugal cooking expert who was the owner of the SRC for several years. April recently began cooking without grains for health reasons, and you can read a bit about her story here. Everything I make is grain free, so I was excited to find many recipes on April’s site that fit my dietary requirements. I was also excited to find several recipes featuring cilantro, my go-to herb. I can only assume that April must be a fellow cilantro fan!

Squash Noodles with Everything Pesto (and an egg on top)

July 23, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

It has been a very long time since I’ve posted a recipe, and I’m hoping these squash noodles with everything pesto and a fried egg on top will at least partly make up for it. Things have been busy at school, and it’s getting harder and harder to blog often and stay on top of my readings and projects. However, I am sure you do not want to hear about that. I bet you’d rather hear about this brunch (dinner? lunch? midnight snack?) recipe that’s paleo, grain-free, vegetarian, and ridiculously delicious.

I have to admit that I was unsatisfied with zoodles (zucchini + noodles = zoodles) for a long time, due mostly to unrealistic expectations. Anyone who tells you that zoodles taste just like regular pasta is either totally lying or has a vastly different palate from mine. You can’t expect these to taste like linguine.

Mocha Pistachio Ice Cream (Dairy Free, Coconut Free)

July 9, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

Sadly, it turns out that I’m allergic to coconut.

This is especially devastating because coconut is the miracle food source of the paleo world. Coconut milk, sugar, flour, oil, and butter are all delicious, and do an impressive job of standing in for their non-paleo counterparts.

I can’t help but wonder if my sudden increase in coconut intake during my January Whole30 was what caused my allergy to surface. But, no matter the cause, I won’t be partaking in any coconut anytime soon. Eating raw coconut makes me feel awful, and my doctor told me not to eat cooked coconut either unless I first sit through a challenge test in his office. The test would consist of me bringing in some food with cooked coconut in it, eating it one bite at a time, and seeing if I go into anaphylactic shock or anything. I told him no thanks for now.

10 Paleo Recipes for Summertime Celebrations

July 2, 2014 By Becky 2 Comments

Summer has finally (and suddenly) arrived in Boston, so it’s probably time to have a party. Here are ten paleo recipes I recommend for meeting all manner of summer celebration needs, from “What can I do with all these flag toothpicks from my mother?” to “How can I sneak coffee and/or balsamic vinegar into recipes that don’t normally call for them?”

Those are the kinds of dilemmas you’re grappling with, right?

I am always on the lookout for more ideas, and hearing from you makes my day. Share what you’re planning to make (or just eat) in the comments, or let me know what kinds of recipes you’d like to see on A Calculated Whisk in July and August!

If you’re looking a show-stopping drink that’s delicious with or without alcohol, you will love the Blackberry Smash.
Read More…

Choco-Ginger Truffles

June 27, 2014 By Becky 10 Comments

The chocolates pictured here are survivors of a kitchen disaster.

Truffles are easy and fun to make, and I find the process comforting. To make these ones, I peeled a chunk of ginger with a spoon (like this), grated it with a microplane, and dropped it into a saucepan with almond milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Once the mixture had come to a robust simmer, I poured it over a bowl of chocolate chips. I whisked the mixture into shiny perfection: truffle batter.

So far, so good. I let the batter chill in the freezer, compartment of choice for impatient truffle-makers. When it was firm, I formed the truffles with a melon baller, a method I learned from watching Ina Garten. If you don’t have a melon baller, you can approximate one with a teaspoon measure; just make sure you dip the utensil in hot water in between truffles, and don’t be afraid to scoop forcefully.

After a quick roll in some cocoa powder, the truffles were almost ready. I ate one, consumed the equivalent of another by scraping the bowl with a spoon so that no gingery chocolate would go to waste, and stashed the tray with the twenty remaining truffles in the fridge to chill.

Monkfish with Lemongrass-Scallion Sauce

June 17, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

Disclosure: I received this product as part of an advertorial.

Have you ever tried monkfish? It’s also known as “poor man’s lobster”, and it’s a mild, firm, white fish that won’t fall apart when you cook it. I am calling it “starving grad student lobster”, and it’s my new favorite fish. Inspired by the color of my new Ozeri Green Earth pan, I smashed lemongrass, scallions, olive oil, and pepper into a paste for the sauce. This stuff will make you pucker your lips after the first bite and want to lick your bowl after the last.

In addition to being a wonderful, mood-lifting shade of chartreuse, the Green Earth pan is special because of its health- and eco-friendly design. The nonstick ceramic coating is free of PTFE and PFOA, so it won’t release harmful chemicals. The bottom of the pan has a raised honeycomb pattern that enables you to cook with very little oil and makes sure that nothing sticks to the pan. You can find out more about Ozeri’s products on their site.

Why Avocado Belongs in Your Smoothies

June 14, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

photos via Instagram

I have a new morning routine. It begins at 5:30, and goes like this. First, I stumble to the sink, get a glass of water, and drink it on the couch, usually while staring blankly at my Instagram feed. After a minute, I’ve built up the energy necessary to take steps to obtain coffee, which then fuels the rest of my activities. If there is coffee in the machine from the day before, I drop in three ice cubes and congratulate myself on making iced coffee. If the machine is empty, I grumble a lot, make a new pot, and settle for hot coffee.

When the coffee hits, it’s time to make a smoothie. The smoothie is the highlight of my morning, and it’s all because of the humble avocado.

A friend gave me an incredulous look recently when I mentioned putting avocado in my smoothies. I only started adding them in April, but they’ve already become such a smoothie essential for me that I was totally flabbergasted by her response. I am writing this blog post on the off chance that you, like my friend, have not tried putting avocado in your smoothies yet.

Here are five quick reasons you should do it:

Fried Banana Brownie Cake with Honey Whipped Cream

May 26, 2014 By Becky 50 Comments

It was my birthday on Saturday, and I had an amazing day. I started the morning by opening the present Ben got for me, which was a Kitchen Aid stand mixer! I’ve wanted one for years, and finally feel like I count as a real food blogger now that I own one. I haven’t used it yet because I have need to clear a special spot for it in the kitchen, but I’ve been peering into the box every few hours and just kind of smiling at it. After opening my mixer, I met up with a friend to go for a run, and then went home and moved a bunch of furniture and hung pictures with Ben. (Our landlords have been renovating our apartment, so we have a lot of rearranging to do. One secret about me is that I love organizing things around the house, even though I put it off like crazy and almost never do it. I am not at all sure why I dread it so much, because once I get started I really enjoy it. So, oddly enough, moving furniture and hanging pictures was one of my favorite parts of the day.)

My mom, Ben, and I went to dbar for dinner, which is within walking distance of our apartment and is one of my favorite restaurants ever. Pro tip: it starts gradually turning into a nightclub around 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. I’ve never been able to convince anyone to stay with me for that phase, but we got to witness the beginning of the transformation last night: one of the waiters walked by, casually pushed a button on his bracelet, and made a screen drop from the ceiling. No big deal.

Bacon, Arugula, and Avocado Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

May 22, 2014 By Becky 2 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This quick and easy bacon, arugula, and avocado salad is packed with flavor and tossed with a sherry vinaigrette that’s amazing on almost anything.

My last post was about inspiration, and this one is about exhaustion. Not the discouraging kind of exhaustion that makes you feel like there’s no end in sight, but the kind of exhaustion that leaves you cheerfully spent at the end of the day–content, but without much left to offer.

I started my first external placement for graduate school last week, and I’m in schools working with kids and teachers four days a week for ten hours a day. (In case you haven’t heard me mention it, I’m working on a master’s in speech and language pathology with dual certification as a reading specialist). I am learning and doing so much that I do not know where to put all my thoughts and ideas. I have plenty of notebooks and folders, but there’s not enough space and time to capture everything I want to hold onto. Do you ever feel that way? Please tell me about your own exhaustion in the comments so I can feel a little less alone!

Braised Chicken with Leeks & Scallions

May 8, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

Coq au vin is one of my favorite classic French dishes. Chicken braised slowly in wine of any kind is almost guaranteed to be delicious, and I’ve made this coq au riesling recipe several times over the past year. It’s become my go-to dish for whenever company is coming. However, wine is not truly part of a paleo diet, and many people try to avoid all alcohol, even in cooked dishes. The question on my mind was this: can you make coq au vin without the vin? Without any wine, is braised chicken still something exceptional?

You may have guessed that my answer is a resounding yes. This recipe is proof: wine is not necessary for making delicious braised chicken. In fact, I liked this dish even more than the coq au riesling I’ve been making, and to me, the chicken and sauce still had all the flavor benefits of dishes made with copious amounts of wine. I’m eager to see if you agree, so if you try this recipe, please let me know what you think!

Want to know why this recipe is so good, even though there’s no wine in it? My theory is that it’s because of the following three reasons. First, this recipe uses Pure Indian Foods’ organic, grassfed ghee. Ghee is by far my favorite cooking fat, because it has all the delicious flavor of butter paired with the higher smoke point of oil. In fact, I think ghee tastes even better than butter, and it’s also a much healthier choice than canola or vegetable oil. If you haven’t heard me talk about the wonders of ghee, you can read more about what it is and how it’s made here.

Pico de gallo de frutas

May 2, 2014 By Becky 4 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This pico de gallo de frutas is a spicy take on fruit salad that is paleo, gluten free, and vegan. It’s perfect for Cinco de mayo or anytime!

After I graduated from college, I moved to Houston and became a bilingual teacher. I had the most amazing group of students, and was lucky enough to be their teacher for three years in a row: kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. We spoke Spanish almost all day, except for an hour or so of ESL. Their kindergarten year was my first year of teaching, as well as my first year living far away from home. While those things made it a difficult year for me, my kids and their families were absolutely fabulous. A lot of people may say this, but I truly think I could not have asked for a better group of students. They worked as a team almost from the beginning–embracing me, each other, and all the new students that trickled in (and sometimes out, and sometimes back again) over the course of our three years together. They were unbelievably kind, patient, tolerant, bright, and hilarious.

At the end of three years, I had learned a huge amount of Spanish (I had thought I was fluent before taking the job, but the Spanish spoken in Texas is so different from what I’d practiced while studying abroad in Argentina that I had to learn new words for much of what I wanted to say). Most of them had learned a huge amount of English, and had learned to read in both languages. I had also learned so much about teaching, about children and families, and about life. I know that sounds very expansive, but it was a foundational experience for me, and I think of those kids and their families almost everyday. Shockingly (to me, because it makes me feel so old), they’re in middle school now, and I’m happy to still be in touch with several of them.

Roasted Beet & Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

April 28, 2014 By Becky 32 Comments

What’s your favorite color? Mine is pink (shocking, right?).

When I was scrolling through the recipes on K & K Test Kitchen to choose something to make for this month’s Secret Recipe Club, the gorgeous hue of this healthy salad caught my eye. By the time I read the words “goat cheese” near the end of the post title, I was totally sold. When I see a food that’s naturally bright pink and has my favorite kind of cheese in it, I sign myself right up.