KETO SAFFRON CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

So being Persian I grew up having some amazing home cooked middle eastern meals. I would have to fight my brother and sister over the tahdig (the toasted crunchy bites at the bottom of the rice that would be caramelized together by the butter and saffron) because in our household it was a prize possession. Anything with saffron usually gets my seal of approval, which is why the other day when it was -15 in Toronto and I was craving soup I decided to make a KETO friendly chicken veg soup recipe with a Persian twist. The results - heavenly! This soup is so jammed packed with flavor and immune boosting nutrients you feel like you're getting a hug from the inside out. ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup of Salted Butter
A Pinch of Saffron (ground)
2 S/M Sweet Onions (chopped finely)
5 Carrots (peeled and chopped)
3 Celery Stocks (chopped)
2L of Chicken Stock
1 Rotisserie Chicken (remove skin and shred chicken meat)
2-3 Cups of Fresh Spinach
Fresh Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add in the freshly ground saffron and l let it turn the butter a golden color.

When the butter is hot, throw in your finely chopped onion and coat that in the saffron and butter. Let this cook down until the onions become translucent and soft - about 5 minutes.

When ready add in your chopped carrots and celery, tossing everything so it is all coated in saffron butter. Cover and let the excess water escape from the celery and carrots. Stir every 3-4 minutes so nothing burns and the butter is well distributed among all the vegetables.

Once  the vegetables have soften you can add in you chicken stock, stir and let come to a low simmer.

Next add in your shredded chicken and fresh spinach. Make sure to stir and submerge the spinach into the soup. Cover and let the soup continue to simmer on low heat for about 3-4 minutes to get that spinach soft and then keep stiring until it is submerged into the soup completely.

Add pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt but if you want more you can add it now).

That's it! Enjoy!

If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!

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SWEET HONEY SOY SHRIMP MARINADE - GLUTEN FREE OPTION!

This recipe is so easy! I paired this dish with some Japanese sticky rice but you can use any starchy base you like. I would also recommend pairing this with Asian noodles, quinoa if you want to be a little bit healthier or even just on its own if you are trying to optimize your protein intake. This recipe is perfect if you are looking for something to prepare for dinner that is super quick or if you invited someone over last minute. I always keep some frozen shrimp in my freezer so that on the occasion I need to whip up something I have this awesome recipe to fall back on! ENJOY

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup of soya sauce (you can substitute for a gluten free soya sauce if you want)
2-3 crushed garlic cloves (or minced)
1 tbsp of grated fresh ginger
1 lbs of uncooked, cleaned shrimp
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix the honey, soya sauce, garlic and ginger in a large flat bowl. Add in your shrimp and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes

*If you are cooking a starchy base I would start cooking/prepping it now while the shrimp marinade

Heat up a pan on medium heat and add in your olive oil. When the olive oil is warm add in your shrimp including marinade and allow to cook until bright pink! Apx 4-6 minutes.

Remove from heat and add onto your rice (or whatever starch you choose). Garnish with some chopped green onions and enjoy!
 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

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'CHICKEN' NUGGETS - VEGETARIAN

As a kid I loved chicken nuggets!!! They were legit my favorite meal as a child. I recently have been trying to eat healthier, but still have cravings for my beloved chicken nuggets. So when I came across this recipe I thought it was a happy compromise. If you are looking into becoming vegetarian or vegan and want to transition yourself into the lifestyle this is a good recipe for you. It is also pretty easy to make gluten-free as you only have to change the panko bread crumbs to a gluten free option like rice or corn crumbs. Either way I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

VIDEO POSTED BELOW

INGREDIENT:

1 (15oz) Can of Chickpeas (Drained and Washed)
2 Eggs (or Vegan Egg Substitute) - One will be used for the breading
1 Cup of Chickpea Flour - 1/2 Cup will be used for the breading
1 TSP of Salt
1/2 TSP Onion Powder
1/2 TSP Garlic Powder
1 TBSP of Poultry Seasoning
1 Cup of Bread Crumbs or Rice/Corn Crumbs for GF option

DIRECTIONS:

Place chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until no large chunks remain. Once finished place chickpeas in a bowl and add one egg and mix together.

Add 1/2 Cup of chickpea flour to bowl along with salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix until fully incorporated.*

Form nuggets and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.

Once finished place baking tray in the fridge for 20 minutes to that the nuggets maintain form.

When ready remove nuggets from fridge and preheat over to 375 degrees.

Beat your last egg (this is your egg wash). Mix your poultry seasoning with the remaining flour in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs (or gluten free option) to another bowl. Dip each nugget into the flour, followed by the egg wash and lastly the bread crumbs and place back on the parchment paper.

Once oven is ready place baking tray with nuggets in the oven to cook for 20 minutes flipping the nuggets over half way through.

ENJOY!!!

*If you find that the nuggets are really wet and hard to form you can add an extra TBSP of chickpea flour.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

PESTO SHRIMP WITH GLUTEN FREE PASTA

I love me some pasta and this is one of my easiest recipes. If you are hungry or dealing with some 'hangry' company/kids this is the fastest and easiest meal to get on the table. The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the water to boil, after that it's done in 10 minutes. I'm not celiac but I like using gluten free pasta whenever I can. In this case I used qunioa pasta (my fav gluten free kind of noodle) because it is easier to digest plus its a complex carb (1 part protein to 2 part carbs) making your noodles that much healthier for you. I also find that taste and texture wise it's the closest to regular aldente wheat pasta from a box. Enjoy! 

Serves 2 Adults

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 TBSP of Olive Oil
2 TBSP of Butter
1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
1 Shallot (Finely chopped)
15-20 Shrimp (de-vained and shell removed)
Pre-made Pesto*
Quinoa Pasta
Salt to taste
Parmesan Cheese (garnish)

*make sure it's gluten free

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a pot of water to a boil add 1-2 TSP of salt and your quinoa pasta. You have to stir quinoa pasta for the first two minutes so that it doesn't stick together. Continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes for aldente.

Add olive oil and butter to a skillet and allow to heat up on medium heat before adding in your garlic and shallots.

Once shallots become transparent add in your shrimp and pesto. Mix and allow the shrimp to cook until pink.

Once pasta is aldente remove 3-4 TBSP of water from the pot and set aside. Drain the remaining pasta water and add the pasta into the skillet with the shrimp and pesto. Mix well so that the pasta is well coated.

If you need a little more liquid to cook the pasta a little more add in the pasta water you set aside now. This will also help remove anything stuck to the bottom of the skillet.

Twirl pasta and plate. Add shrimps from the skillet and garnish is pesto sauce and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!

VEGAN AND WHEAT FREE CARROT CAKE

So to start I must admit I am not vegan nor have a gluten free diet but this past weekend I was browsing my bookshelf and remembered this vegan cook book I have and decided to pull it out (for anyone who is interested in knowing more about the cookbook I will post a link below). As I perused the pages I came across this carrot cake recipe I 'dog eared' (weird expression I know) and decided to try it out. The results were a very nice and moist cake that I am sure will make any vegan person jump for joy.

INGREDIENTS:

Can of vegan, oil based non stick cooking spray
3/4 Cup Garbanzo Bean Flour
1 1/4 Cup Rice Flour
2 TSP Xanthan Gum
2 TSP Baking Soda
1/4 TSP Salt
2 TSP Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
1 Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Water
1 1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Grated Carrots

Frosting - choose whichever flavor you like (mine was cream cheese) pre-made or I can list ingredients below.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
8 OZ firm Silken Tofu
12 OZ Soy cream cheese
1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 TSP of coconut extract
1/2 Cup of Unsweetened Coconut
2 TSP of Xanthem Gum (for thickening)

DIRECTIONS: - SHORT VIDEO BELOW

*Like with most cakes you start by mixing all the dry ingredients together in one bow.. mixing all the wet ingredients in another bowl and then combining them together...vegan baking is the same

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Grab a 9 inch bread baking pan and coat it in non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix your garbanzo bean flour, rice flour, xantham gum, baking soda, sat and cinnamon together.

In a separate medium bowl mix your applesauce, canola oil, water, vanilla extract and maple syrup.

Next mix your wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until it is well incorporated. Then add in your grated carrots and mix well.

Pour cake mix into the coated baking pan and bake in the over for 75-80 minutes

Once finished remove from the oven and allow to cool before adding icing on top.

To make the frosting simply place all ingredients except the unsweetened coconut in a food processor and blend until smooth. Stir in the coconut after by hand. If possible you can make this the night before and refrigerate so it has more time to set and thicken.

 

 

For those who are interested in the cookbook I got this recipe from 'Sinfully Vegan' by Lois Dieterly.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Bon Appetite!!!