Here is a Caesar Salad Dressing worth making at home. It is so good that it will make store bought salad dressings look like cheap imitations . I hope that you will try this and let me know what you think.

Sweet Almond Oil is what I use in this dressing and my mayonnaise. I purchase sweet almond oil at my local health food store. It is very light and tastes delicious. To me it is a good replacement for Canola oil. Nearly all canola is GMO except for organic! You want to avoid Canola oil as it is highly processed Omega 6 oil.

Wikipedia states that Almond Oil is stable and that…

” In Ayurveda, an ancient system of health care that is native to the Indian subcontinent, almond is considered a nutritive for brain and nervous system. It is said to induce high intellectual level and longevity. Almond oil is called Roghan Badam in both Ayurveda and Tibb Yunani (the Greco-Persian System of Medicine). It is extracted by cold process and is considered a nutritive aphrodisiac both for massage and internal consumption. Recent studies have shown that the constituents of almond have anti-inflammatory, immunity boosting, and anti-hepatotoxicity effects.[22]”  (Source: Wikipedia)

If you buy almond oil make sure that it is Sweet Almond Oil and food grade.

Cost warning: It is expensive! 750ml costs about $14-15 Canadian dollars.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a good choice if you have a good oil that does not have a strong taste.

Caesar Salad Dressing

2 pasture raised organic egg yolks

2 cloves of garlic

½ cup of Real Parmesan Cheese

1 can of Anchovies (50g)

½ tsp of ground mustard

1 cup of Sweet Almond Oil

2-3 tblsp Of whey (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Put in a jar and store in the fridge. If you added whey, put your dressing in a jar and let sit overnight to allow it to ferment.

Is this recipe worth a five star recipe rating?

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop

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I made a super yummy *grain free* french toast using Eggplant!

I used a large eggplant. Parts of this eggplant contained seeds and some parts were seedless. The seedless turned out much better and had a more “french toast” texture. The “toast pieces” with seeds had more of an eggplant mushy texture.

If I remember correctly small Italian eggplants have less seeds and therefore would be suited better for this recipe.

Grain Free Eggplant French Toast Recipe

1 eggplant (or 3-4 small italian eggplant)
salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
stevia to taste
butter

Peel eggplant and cut into slices. Sprinkle a small amount of salt on the eggplant. Turn eggplant pieces over and sprinkle a small amount on the other side. Let eggplant rest for two minutes. Mix eggs, vanilla and stevia in a bowl. Melt butter in frying pan on med. heat.

Put your eggplant in egg mixture and poke holes into it with a knife or fork. This allows the mixture to permeate the eggplant. Cook “french toast” until golden brown. Then flip and do the same on the other side. Top your french toast with cinnamon, nutmeg, cream cheese, cocoa, nut butter or low sugar fruit.

This recipe is inspired and modified from Whole Approach message boards.

Enjoy!

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays hosted by Food Renegade.

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I created a low carb grain free bread recipe that my kids and I enjoy. The bread toasts really nicely and has a very light texture. Kind of a blend between bread and cake.

Coconut Bread Recipe

1 cup of ground dessicated coconut
1/4 ground golden flax meal
5 pastured organic eggs
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 drops of NOW non bitter stevia

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together coconut, flax, salt and baking soda. Mix well enough so most of the lumps are gone. Add wet ingredients (eggs, stevia, coconut oil). Mix well again. Place batter in a buttered pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until knife comes out clean.

Note: From what I have read the essential oils in the flax seed do not get destroyed.

This bread is really good. It has a very mild coconut flavour but in a not offensive kind of way. Nut butters go very well with this bread.

My lunch consisted of a cheese sandwich with fresh dill and tomato. You hardly notice the coconutty taste.

Enjoy!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave.

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In an attempt to get my children to eat (and like) liver I have been experimenting different ways to make it. I think I have come close. Although this recipe was not a hit with the kids at dinner time last night, it has great potential. I enjoyed and loved it very much and would not mind eating liver like this weekly. My children do not enjoy the texture of fried onions so I gave it to them without them.The onions contribute a lot of  the flavour. Next time I will add the fried onions into the food processor while making the liver mix.

I tried to make liver meatballs but had to much liquid and they went flat, turning into patties. This is a Low Carb Recipe using almonds instead of white flour or bread crumbs.

Yummy Liver Patties

1 lb of organic liver (I used pork)

1 organic pastured egg

1 cup of almonds (preferably soaked overnight and oven dried)

1/2 cup of milk

2 cloves of garlic

3/4 tsp cumin

1 large onion

Salt and Pepper to taste

Butter for frying

Chop onion and fry in butter until golden brown. Place liver, egg, almonds, milk, garlic, cumin in a food processor and blend mixture until smooth. Spoon out liver mixture into the frying pan and cook for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip the patties and cook for a few minutes. Top the patties with onions, salt and pepper.

My question to you:

What else could you add to make these kid friendly? I was also thinking about adding a can of tomato paste.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop.

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Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on the bottled salad dressings and dips? All I can say is Yuck!

Here is a versatile dip that can be used for veggies and meat. A tablespoon of olive oil will also convert it into a salad dressing. It is great with celery, and I eat it on my hamburgers instead of using high sugar ketchup. This dip can be whipped up in two minutes and is a healthy alternative to the regular salad dressings that have icky gross chemical ingredients.

Garlicky Dill Veggie Dip

Fantastic Garlicky Dill Veggie Dip Recipe

1 cup Yogurt
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
0.5 teaspoon dill
0.25 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and let sit in the fridge for about an hour till all flavors are blended.

Enjoy!

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Celery root can make a delicious low carb French Fry. It can also be used as a substitute for scalloped potatoes and potato latkes. It is one of the ugliest veggies that can be often ignored in the grocery store.
Celery root is a veggie high in potassium and one cup will give you 480mg. It has a mild celery flavour that is quite tasty.

Celery Root French Fries

1 celery root
4 tblsp olive oil, butter or bacon drippings
1 tsp of garlic powder
a pinch or 2 of cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

yields 4 servings

Calories 194, Total Fat 14.4g, Protein 2.5g, Total Carbohydrate 14.9g, Dietary Fiber 2.9g

To your health and wellness,

Catherine Osthaus

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This recipe is awesome. My kids gobbled it up and begged for more. This is very unusual because they are very finicky meat eaters. This meal vanished so quickly I did not even get a chance a picture!

Oriental Lemon Pork Butt Chops

makes 4 servings

4 pork butt chops
¼ cup Naturally Fermented Soy Sauce
Juice of half a lemon
¼ teaspoon Stevia Sugar
2 tablespoons oil (can be sesame, coconut or butter)
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of grated ginger
1 tablespoon of parmesan or asiago cheese

Cooking Instructions:
Mix soy sauce, lemon juice, stevia sugar, oil, garlic, ginger in a bowl.  Pour over chops and marinade for 4-8hours. Place on grill for 15 min turning the chops over once.  Sprinkle parmesan or asiago cheese over them when they are done.

Amount Per Serving: Calories 509.6, Total Fat 39.7 g, Cholesterol 127.9 mg, Sodium 1,019.9 mg, Total Carbohydrate 3.2 g, Dietary Fiber 0.3 g, Sugars 0.3 g, Protein 33.4 g

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This recipe tastes so sweet and yummy. To me it tastes like chocolate pudding but my husband does not agree. So I will call it a chocolate yogurt instead of pudding. I have found a really good stevia. It is called Stevia Sugar by New Roots. I was able to get it at my local health food store. It contains FOS which is used in Probiotic vitamins to grow and feed the beneficial bacteria. This Stevia Sugar can be used for baking and I have been experimenting with it with good results.

So here is a simple quick recipe to curb a chocolate craving:

Low Carb Chocolate Yogurt

1 tbsp    Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened,
1 cup     Yogurt, plain, whole milk,
1.5 tsp   Vanilla Extract
1 tsp     Stevia Sugar

Mix Stevia Sugar, Cocoa powder in a bowl. Add vanilla and a small spoonful of yogurt. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. When all the ingredients are mixed and blended mix the rest of the yogurt into the bowl. Garnish with some mint.

Calories 180.0, Total Fat 8.7 g, Cholesterol 31.9 mg, Total Carbohydrate 15.1 g, Dietary Fiber 1.8 g, Sugars 12.3 g, Protein 9.6 g

Enjoy!

Catherine Osthaus

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These almond pancakes are a must try. The almonds have a mild sweetness to them and are delicious.

I make my own almond meal and this takes a little prep work. I first soak the almonds in water and a pinch of salt over night. In the morning the skins are really loose on them and are easy to peel off. Peeling the skins does not take a long time to do and the kids love helping! I then take my skinless wet almonds and stick them in the back of the fridge with no lid. My husband says our fridge has an evaporator in it – so in a day or two my almonds are dry. Other ways of drying out the soaked almonds is by putting them in a dehydrator, toaster oven, or regular oven. Once my almonds are dry and I am ready to use them, I just put them in a coffee grinder and buzz away – and my almond meal is ready.

The other alternative is to just buy almond flour at your local health food store or health food section in the grocery stores.

Pancakes

¾ cup almond meal
2 teaspoon arrowroot flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup full fat milk
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of butter

Mix the dry ingredients into a medium size bowl – almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Next add the eggs, vanilla, milk into the bowl. Mix well. Heat up a frying pan, add butter and spoon out the batter onto the hot pan. Flip the pancake when the edges look cooked and golden.

Makes 6 pancakes

Nutritional Information per Serving

Calories 140.8, Total Fat 11.1 g, Sodium 187.8 mg, Total Carbohydrate 4.7 g, Sugars 1.7 g, Protein 6.3 g

Low carb sugar free toppings that I use:
- Butter with cashew butter (a very creamy and sweet nut butter)
- Butter and sprinkle cinnamon
- Pancake spread made out of 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 4 tablespoons yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 drops of stevia extract.

Regular Toppings for my kids:
- Butter, honey, yogurt and berries

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The zucchini’s in my garden are growing like crazy. We ended up planting more than what we normally eat. So now I am trying to use them and eat them up before they grow to be dinosaur size. This morning breakfast was …

Quick Zucchini Fry

1 Zucchini
1 Tomato
2 tblsp butter
1 tblsp onion dehydrated flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 cup shredded mozzarela cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in frying pan. Slice up zucchini and tomato and add to frying pan. Add onion flakes, garlic, paprika, chili powder. Cook until zucchini is soft. About 5-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a plate and top with cheese.
612 Calories, 43grams Fat, 24 grams Carb, 36 gram Protein

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