Struggling with Breakfast? Check out these recipes!

I'm sure you've heard it before, but breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. We say that for a reason- it gives your body energy/fuel/gasoline to start the day. Think - what if you started your day with just a 40% charged phone? It would die earlier in the day compared to getting 100% charged, like you do with getting a breakfast. Not only does it help with energy through out the day, but jump starts your metabolism and helps with focus and prevents sugar crashes at 10 am where you want something sugary or another coffee because you are actually tired from not giving your body the fuel it needs.

There are a couple main things I look for with a breakfast - protein and fat. Your goal is 30 grams of protein as well as a good amount of healthy fats (like avocados and coconut oil). The fats and proteins are crucial for balancing blood sugar levels and marinating energy. They don’t give you a quick hit of energy like sugar but instead sustained energy throughout the morning.

PS- If you are a breakfast bar person look at the ingredients. 9 times out of 10 they are full of sugars, have very little protein and full of processed junk. Try some of the ideas below! Remember you need protein and a good healthy fat.

Ideas
Eggs, omelets, etc. Load them up with veggies! Do a side of bacon or sausage- turkey is good too! (Look in ingredients and watch out for preservatives like nitrates, -ites that they sneak in there.)

Plantain pancakes with side of protein like bacon/sausage. You can make big batch and store the extras in the freezer and quickly heat up on days you don’t want to make. Plus they are kid approved!  Top with almond/nut butter when they are warm so it melts. Delicious!!

For foods that have very little protein add in Vital Proteins Collagen (2 scoops for 20 grams). It is tasteless (not kidding) and you won’t even know you added it in

Bowl of quinoa or oatmeal topped with walnuts, pecans, almond butter, etc. Sweeten with a little honey or real maple syrup. Stir in collagen for protein.

Quinoa tip- make a large batch and store in the fridge. Then when you want to eat it quickly you can warm up on skillet or eat cold with some almond milk. This saves you A LOT of time by not having to wait 30 minutes to make it.

Plain Greek Yogurt with berries, walnuts/pecans, honey/maple syrup, etc. Add in collagen for even more protein. Get the plain and sweeten yourself- the flavored ones have SO SO SO much sugar.

Smoothies- MAKE SURE they have protein in them and aren’t just full of fruit and milk

• Add a green in like spinach or kale
• Add almond butter, nut butters for protein or collagen- blends very easily and tasteless
• Keep banana limited to ½ because it is very sugary- it is great for hiding flavors
• Add avocado to make it more creamy! It is an amazing fat plus it is virtually tasteless
• Add a TBS of coconut oil! It’s a great way to get coconut oil in!

We have great protein powders at the office that taste great and are not full of junk. You can easily hit your 30 grams of protein with any of them. Please look at your ingredients closely when purchasing any protein powders… they can be full of junk!

Almond Flour Bread

• Top with an egg, turkey for more protein
• Warm up bread and top with coconut oil so it will melt. So delicious!

Breakfast hash with eggs scrambled with quinoa
Muffins
There are great paleo recipes online as well as ‘egg’ muffins that are super simple to make!

Sausage and Gravy Recipe- super simple! (And the gravy is only 2 ingredients and 1 of them is water!)

Even chocolate pudding is a good idea! I would add some collagen too or have a side of eggs or other meat to give you more protein.

AND somedays… Breakfast just doesn’t have to look like breakfast!!!

Sometimes I will eat 1/2 pound of deli turkey (again watch for preservatives) on my drive to work and lately been throwing frozen stir fry veggies on the skillet first thing in the morning with coconut oil and eating that. Remember breakfast doesn’t always have to look like it!

I am sure there are a million other ideas but here is just a place to start. If you do have other ideas or tips comment below and let us know what you are doing!

Cocoa Chili

Whoa, what a whirlwind the past week has been!  Here's a quick and easy chili to make for dinner this week, for those days that you really don't feel like cooking! You may even have all these ingredients at home already!  This cocoa chili is great for anyone on Candida Clear, or eating paleo or Whole30!  The cocoa gives it a nice little twist and rich flavor. Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like chocolate!

Ingredients
1 medium onion chopped
Garlic- 2 cloves minced
3 TBS cocoa powder (unsweetened)
3 TBS chili powder
1 lb ground beef
3 TBS tomato paste
3 cans diced tomatoes

Directions
Sautée garlic and onions in coconut oil for 3 to 5 minutes.
Add in tomato paste, cocoa powder and chili powder.  Stir for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add in ground beef and cook for 5 minutes.  (Not all of the beef will cook and that's okay. The rest will be cooked when you bring the soup to a boil.)
Add in diced tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Then simmer for 15 minutes.

You can either enjoy right away after it cools down or put in a crockpot on low after it has boiled. I think the longer it cooks the better tasting it is!  

Guilt Free Hot Cocoa

It seems like fall weather is here to stay, so it's time for some warm, cozy drinks!  One of my personal favorites and one of the classics is hot chocolate!  Hot chocolate carries so many fond memories for most people, I think.  The only thing - it's not that healthy for us.  Have no fear though!  A healthy version is easy to make and you can get rid of that instant hot chocolate powder that is made up of all sorts of crazy unnatural, processed junk.  Get ready to get cozy with this simple, healthy hot chocolate!

Ingredients
3 Cups unsweetened Almond Milk
My personal favorite is Whole Foods organic unsweetened almond milk. It seems much creamier and richer than all the other brands I have tried. They are usually available in 2 packs which saves a little money. 

2 TBS Cocoa or Cacao powder
The difference between the 2 is that cacao powder is considered raw - meaning it is subjected to low amounts of heat which does not ‘cook’ any of the antioxidants away aka cold pressed.  Cocoa on the other hand has been processed in heat.  Cacao is very high in antioxidants and is considered a super food for this reason.  Cocoa does not have as many antioxidants due to the heating process.  With this being said, you are heating up your hot chocolate so the cacao does not remain in its raw state.  So there really is no benefit to using the cacao over the cocoa in this recipe.  If you were making a cold drink or not heating or cooking with it, cacao would be a much better option.

2 TBS Honey, Xylitol, or Pure 100% Maple Syrup (Aunt Jemima doesn't count!!)
For anyone using xylitol (people on Candida Clear) it may need a little bit more.  Just do a little taste test to try it out first.
1/4 TBS of Cinnamon

Over medium heat mix the almond milk and cocoa/cacao powder. Let it heat up, but not boil. I probably kept mine on the stove for 10 min total and stirred occasional. After it's nice and warm take it off the burner and let it sit. Add in your cinnamon and sweetener (xylitol, honey, or maple syrup) at this time and stir. The clumps of cocoa will continue to dissolve the longer it warms up. 

Let it sit for a couple minutes and stir occasionally. Enjoy!!
 

Soy Sauce Replacement

A lot of us integrate soy in our diets with soy milk, soy sauce, tofu, etc.  Did you know that soy isn't great for you?  It is something I have most people avoid.  

Soy is a phytoestrogen meaning it mimics the estrogen in our bodies.  Since there are SO many phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens (these mimic estrogen too- things like pesticides, plastics, etc.) out there that our bodies are constantly getting bombarded by, it is best to be aware and limit your exposure.  There are some great alternatives to your favorite products that contain soy.  If you are drinking soy milk please ditch it and try something like almond milk or coconut milk.  Also, never give any infants formula with soy or soy milk!

For soy sauce there is this great thing called coconut aminos!  We love it at my house.  It's a great soy sauce alternative and, honestly, I think it tastes better.

You can get this at Whole Foods, possibly Kroger, your local health food store and online stores like Thrive. It really tastes great on anything!

Try it on our Quinoa Fried Rice or Easy Asian Stir Fry recipes!

Super Easy Breakfast Cupcake

If we're all being honest, most of us probably skip the most important meal of the day.  This breakfast ‘cupcake’ is incredibly easy to make and takes just a couple minutes to make. Plus, if you make 12 of them you should be set for almost a week! These are perfect for anyone, especially those on Candida Clear!

Ingredients
12 Eggs
12 Pieces of Bacon or Turkey Bacon (avoid brands that use preservatives... aka nitrates, nitrites, sulfates, sulfites in the ingredient list)
Optional: Garlic or your choice of spices, mushrooms, green onions, etc.

Grease cupcake tin (best to use coconut oil).  Wrap each piece of bacon around each of the cupcake holes - 1 piece of bacon per 1 cupcake hole.  

Then crack and put one egg in each cupcake hole.  You could also add different spices or garlic to them to make them more flavorful!

Bake for 20 minutes on 350 degrees or until the eggs are solid.

Let them cool and then spoon out and enjoy!  Store them in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week for an easy breakfast on the go!

Quinoa Oatmeal

Oatmeal is something that can give people a carbohydrate rush (that 30 minutes to an hour energy rush) and then a crash and burn in energy 1 hour later. One of my biggest suggestions for oatmeal lovers is try to make it gluten free.  Then, make sure to add a protein. I love to add in a couple scoops of almond butter or huge handful of nuts. An even better addition is something called collagen!

Vital Proteins collagen is tasteless and has 20 grams of protein in it. It dissolves quickly and you can mix it in to whatever you are eating! This will give you enough protein to prevent the blood sugar crash in 1 hour and help sustain your energy. Plus, collagen helps joint aches/pain.  We have had amazing success stories with people adding this to their daily routine! Collagen is also anti-aging.  It helps restore the collagen in your skin, which over time starts to break down and cause wrinkles. Joint support, sustained energy and anti-aging? Sign me up!

Another option for oatmeal is to make it with quinoa. It has more protein than oatmeal which means it helps sustain your energy longer after eating it, plus you feel fuller quicker. What I do is make a large batch of quinoa and keep it in the fridge to heat up when I need it. It's so much easier to substitute oats with quinoa when it's already pre-made and waiting for you!  So make a big batch and keep in the fridge for quinoa ‘oatmeal’ or add to dinner dishes.

For the quinoa oatmeal- warm it up with some almond milk in a pan on the stove. Add in your favorite toppings like cinnamon, walnuts, honey, PURE maple syrup, almond butter, etc. Add the collagen to make it even more protein packed!

Paleo Tomato Soup

There are so many tomato soup recipes out there, so I figured I would try my hand at one of them.  It was super easy to make, very tasty and completely dairy free!

Ingredients
1 Onion, chopped
1 TBS Coconut Oil
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 cup fresh Basil
1-2 tsp Sea Salt and Pepper
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
3 cups of Chicken Stock
5 Tomatoes- Vine (I used 4 large tomatoes)
6 oz Tomato Paste

Instructions
Cut tomatoes into quarter slices and toss with olive oil (I did melted coconut oil), sea salt and pepper.
Roast tomatoes on a baking sheet for 30 minutes on 350 degrees
With about 5 minutes to go on the tomatoes melt 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat in a large soup pan
Saute onion and garlic (until onion is translucent)
Add in your roasted tomatoes and saute for 1 more minute
Add in 3 cups of chicken stock, the basil (I ripped mine into smaller pieces first), and the tomato paste. 
Stir until tomato paste is dissolved into the broth
Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low and cover pot
Let covered pot simmer for about 30 minutes
Pour soup into a food processor or blender and mix up until nice and smooth

Last but not least... Enjoy! (And even top with your fresh basil... so tasty!)

Recipe from Primal Palate.

No Bake Coconut Crispy Treats

This is the perfect, healthy alternative to a Rice Krispy Treat.  These take no time to make and are a great dessert for all ages! Plus, they are void of all junk sweeteners and filler ingredients in processed desserts and treats. So, make a big pan of them and feel good about having a healthy treat for your family!

Ingredients:
4 Cups Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup or Honey
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions:
Toast coconut in a skillet over low heat.  Once toasted, put in a bowl and mix in maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Lastly, add in melted coconut oil and stir all together.

Pour coconut crispy treats into a 8×8 pan.

Cover the pan with wax paper or parchment paper and press the coconut mix down evenly over the whole pan.

Refrigerate coconut crispy treats for 1 to 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.  Once set, they are ready to cut up and enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

Optional - drizzle with healthy dark chocolate (3 ingredient homemade recipe here) or add crushed almonds with sea salt on top too!

Recipe adapted from: The Coconut Mama

Quinoa Fried Rice

We all crave the comfort of high sodium, bad for you foods, but most of these are packed with preservatives!  Here is a simple and delicious quinoa fried recipe!  The perfect, healthy alternative to take out.

When I first discovered this I made it for 4 days in a row because it tasted so good!  I haven't had Chinese food in years and was so happy to discover this alternative. It’s perfect for anyone, especially those on Candida Clear where you can have quinoa in place of rice!

All you need is quinoa, frozen veggies, a couple eggs and coconut oil! 

Cook your quinoa.  I sometimes will make a large batch and keep it in the fridge until I am ready to warm it up. Then, when I want to make something, I just quickly heat it up in the skillet with coconut oil.

Make your frozen veggies.  I get mine at Costco- great price for how much you get.  They are organic too!

Now put it all together.  In a large skillet (on low/medium heat) put 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, quinoa, mixed veggies and 1 to 2 eggs.  In a smaller skillet you can use 1 egg and larger skillet 2 eggs.  Once the eggs start to slightly cook mix them around with the quinoa and veggies.  Keep slowly mixing everything until the eggs are pretty well done.  Add in a little bit of sea salt and pepper for a little more flavor. There you have it!  Dinner is ready!

Another option would be to throw in some chicken, shrimp, or steak!

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Almond Flour Bread

This gluten free bread has been a game changer at our house!  Regular bread (even wheat) spikes your blood sugar, contains minimal nutrients and usually contains gluten. Gluten creates inflammation in the body especially to the digestive system and really stresses the thyroid out.

If you are wanting to loose weight, have digestive or suspected or known thyroid issues, drop the store bought bread and pasta (sprouted bread is okay but I believe this recipe is even better). This is a perfect alternative that won’t spike up your blood sugar and contains protein and healthy fats that will leave you more full after eating it versus craving more bread.

Ingredients
2 cups almond flour (Or put almonds in food processor/ninja and blend into flour)
2 TBS coconut flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed (Or put flaxseed into food processor/ninja and pulse till it is ground- doesn’t take much)
½ tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1 ½ TBS honey
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 325. Grease up loaf pan with a lot of coconut oil. Make sure it is completely covered because this bread can stick to the pan pretty easily after its cooked.

First add in all the dry ingredients (almond flour, ground flax, coconut flour, baking soda) and pulse in food processor. Then add in the wet ingredients and pulse to blend into batter.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

Bake for 20 minutes. THEN take a piece of foil and place on top of the loaf pan and bake for 10 more minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (it took my oven about 15 to 20 minutes).

Cool your bread for 20 minutes and enjoy!  Keep leftovers in the fridge to make it last longer.

Top with homemade jam or your favorite nut butter! This even makes for great sandwich bread.

Healthy Cool Whip

This cool whip is delicious and is only 2 ingredients!  It takes 1 minute to make and taste amazing! All you need is a can of coconut milk (not what you find in the refrigerated aisle).  It can be found at Kroger in the health food section or in the international aisle.  Put a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight (or at least 8 hours).  This will allow the water and cream to separate which leaves a whipped cream consistency on top and a watery part on the bottom of the can. 

Once refrigerated take the top section out of the can.  You can throw away the bottom watery section.  Next add your sweetener.  I added 1 Tablespoon of honey, but maple syrup or xylitol are other options. You could even add a teaspoon of vanilla to give it a little more flavor too! Mix up and that is it! 

Enjoy! Try dipping your strawberries in it or add it to plantain pancakes! 

Easy, 3 Ingredient Pesto

I made this pesto on a whim because I didn't have pine nuts or olive oil.  I also wanted to stay away from the typical parmesan cheese, so I had to get creative and it worked!

This pesto recipe requires only 3 ingredients: Walnuts, Coconut Oil (Melted), and Basil!

In a food processor, throw in around 4 tbs of melted coconut oil, a large handful of walnuts and a large handful of basil and blend.  That's it!  It's the perfect addition to any meal.

Enjoy!

Oven Baked Carrot Fries

Have your fries and eat them too!  This is guilt free, simple recipe and a great alternative to fries. It's the perfect side for any dinner and a great way to help kids eat their veggies!

Ingredients
Carrots
Coconut Oil
Seasoning of choice (I like to use Borsari)

Peel your carrots and cut into 3 inch pieces.  Then cut in 1/2 lengthwise then in 1/2 lengthwise again to get the width of fries.  Lightly rub coconut oil on the carrot sticks and grease a baking pan with it.  Season the carrots with sea salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes on 400 degrees.

That's it!  They are very tasty and have a hint of sweetness to them.  Enjoy!