All posts by Lauren Bolanos

Salads

BLT Salad with Avocado

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BLT Salad with Avocado - Healing and Eating

This BLT salad with avocado will make your taste buds very happy. I definitely didn’t miss the bread. The key to making this salad awesome is the bacon. I made my own bacon bits (or bacon lardons if you want to be fancy!) Plus, I used a mixed variety of cherry tomatoes for different colors and flavor. I also made a lemon dijon dressing with some fresh lemon juice, which is crazy important to cut through the fat from the bacon and avocado. Seriously, I could drink this dressing it’s so good. It’s actually my favorite dressing to use if there is bacon involved. When you’re eating fatty foods like bacon and avocado, you need some acidity to balance it out and make the dish taste light and fresh. I loooove my paleo fats! And, this dish has them in abundance – bacon fat, avocado, and olive oil. Sounds good right?

BLT Salad with Avocado
 
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Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 3 romaine hearts, chopped
  • ½ cup of mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 avocado
  • 12 oz package of bacon (or 2 tbsp of bacon bits per salad)
  • ½ cup of fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
  • 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • (optional) fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Chop bacon up into small pieces and saute in batches until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
  2. Chop lettuce, halve cherry tomatoes, and slice avocados.
  3. Combine ingredients on a large plate and then sprinkle 2 tbsp of crispy bacon bits over top.
  4. For the dressing, in a container mix lemon juice, sea salt, olive oil, dijon mustard, and honey. Drizzle over salad.
  5. (optional) add some fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Dinner

Shrimp and Zoodles with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

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Shrimp and Zoodles with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes - Healing and Eating

Shrimp and zoodles with roasted cherry tomatoes is a light Italian dish that is perfect for summer. I went a bit overboard buying cherry tomatoes, but they are crazy delicious since they are in season, plus they were on sale. So, this likely won’t be the last recipe with them this summer. I also roasted some red onions with balsamic vinegar and sauteed the shrimp in some olive oil with garlic, and mixed it up with everything in the end. I’m really happy with result, and hope you guys like this recipe as much as I do.

Shrimp and Zoodles with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
 
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Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
  • 4 zucchini
  • 3 small cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 cups of cherry tomatoes
  • ½ lb of peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 large leafs of basil (chiffonade basil)
  • 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
  • some fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Half and quarter cherry tomatoes, roast in a baking dish with 1 tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp sea salt at 350 degrees for half hour or until soft.
  2. Julienne zucchini and set aside.
  3. Cover a baking sheet in foil and grease with olive oil.
  4. Slice red onion so you get medallions or rings. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar until both sides are coated and roast at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until onions start to soften and brown.
  5. Then add a tbsp of olive to a dutch oven and add minced garlic.
  6. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp are pink and cooked. Set shrimp aside then add roasted cherry tomatoes, and zoodles. Saute zoodles until soft about 3-4 minutes.
  7. Then stir in roasted red onions, fresh basil, half the shrimp, and ½ tsp sea salt
  8. Plate dishes, and add leftover shrimp on top.
  9. Then add some fresh ground black pepper and serve.

Dinner

Grilled Flank Steak with Zoodles and Chimichurri

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Grilled Flank Steak with Zoodles and Chimichurri - Healing and Eating

This was my first attempt at grilled flank steak. We live in an apartment so I used a nonstick grill pan (instead of an actual grill) from Costco, which I’m kind of loving. I also made some homemade chimichurri to go with the steak and zoodles. The chimichurri drips down through the pieces of steak and get all over the noodles, and makes them taste so good. Seriously, I could drink chimichurri. Plus, the extra will make great salad dressing for the week. If you don’t have a julienne vegetable peeler for zoodles I highly recommend the Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler. 

Grilled Flank Steak with Zoodles and Chimichurri - Healing and Eating

Grilled Flank Steak with Zoodles and Chimichurri
 
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Serves: 3
Ingredients
  • 1 lb flank steak
  • 3 zucchini
  • 1 cup flat leaf parsley
  • ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp of raw and fermented red wine vinegar (by Eden Foods)
  • 3 cloves of pressed garlic
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ground fresh black pepper
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
  1. With a vegetable julienne peeler, make zucchini noodles ahead of time. Use a fork to hold zucchini down instead of your hands to prevent injury.
  2. Add parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, pressed garlic, sea salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to food processor to get chimichurri sauce.
  3. Grill flank steak on a grill pan for 5 minutes on eat side or until internal temperature reaches 130 - 135 degrees for medium rare. Then let steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.
  4. Saute zoodles in a little bit of olive oil for 4 minutes to soften them up before plating your dish. Add slices of flank steak on top, then drizzle or spoon chimichurri over steak. Enjoy!

 

Salads

Bacon and Broccoli Slaw

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Bacon and Broccoli Slaw - Healing and Eating

This bacon and broccoli slaw is perfect for a summer picnic. It’s made with a homemade dijon lemon mayo, that uses coconut oil and olive oil. I love the pre-shredded broccoli stems from Trader Joes. It makes this dish really easy to pull together. You could even make it ahead of time. The mayo will keep for about a week in an airtight container. This is one of those dishes where the flavors meld together in the fridge and get better with time.

Bacon and Broccoli Slaw
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 8 oz uncured bacon (pork shoulder)
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 egg yolks
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 package of organic broccoli slaw from Trader Joes (contains 12oz shredded broccoli stems and shredded carrots)
Instructions
  1. Chop bacon into cubes and saute until fat is rendered and they start to brown. Remove them from pan onto a dish with paper towels to drain excess fat.
  2. Then to make mayo, separate the egg yolks and add them to a food processor. Then add sea salt, dijon mustard, and juice of 1 lemon. Then pulse a few times.
  3. Then melt coconut oil until it is in liquid form and slowly pour in coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil until it emulsifies.
  4. Then in a large bowl combine shredded broccoli slaw (or broccoli stems) with mayo and bacon. Mix throughly and enjoy.

Desserts

Avocado Honey Ice Cream

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Avocado Honey Ice Cream - Healing and Eating

I know avocado honey ice might seem like a crazy flavor, but it was actually really delicious. The avocado taste is very mild and healthy fat gives this ice cream a nice rich texture. Make sure you use a high quality honey, since the flavor of the honey really shines through in this recipe. I’m obsessed with Honey Pacifica Creamy Wildflower Raw Honey. It’s local sourced and raw, plus the wildflower gives it a nice floral sweetness.

To preserve the lovely green color from the avocados, I made sure this ice cream is never exposed to air unnecessarily. I couldn’t help it when it was being churned in the ice cream maker (only for 18 minutes!), but when it comes to chilling the ingredients and then storing the ice cream in a freezer, use some saran wrap and push down into the mixture so there are no pockets of air. I use the same technique for storing guacamole. No air equals no browning.

Overall, I’m really happy with the way this recipe turned out and I would definitely make it again. I’m also really satisfied with my ice cream maker. It’s a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, and I’ve been really happy with the way my recipes have been turning out and how easy it is to make ice cream. There is just one on and off button for churning ice cream, and as long as you have the right volume of ingredients and enough fat in your recipe, the results are awesome! You need the right volume, because the churning causes the ice cream to expand and if you overfill your ice cream maker things will get messy. Without enough fat, your ice cream will have the texture of sorbet, which I don’t enjoy as much. Especially, when my goal is to make a smooth and creamy ice cram.

Avocado Honey Ice Cream
 
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Serves: 1 quart
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups of full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup of mashed avocado (about 4 small avocados)
  • ½ cup of honey (Honey Pacifica Creamy Wildflower Honey)
Instructions
  1. In a blender combine all ingredients, until smooth and silky.
  2. Then cover mixture with saran wrap, pressing into the mixture, to eliminate any pockets of air.
  3. Chill for one hour, then remove saran wrap and add mixture to ice cream maker.
  4. Follow directions on ice cream maker. Normally I have to churn the ice cream for 20 minutes, but this mixture finished sooner at about 18 minutes. The saturated fat caused it to solidify quickly.
  5. Then store in a freezer container, and again cover with saran wrap, eliminating any air pockets.
  6. Freeze overnight. When ready to serve, defrost tub for half an hour.
Notes
Use chopped raw pecans for a healthy topping.

Salads

Antipasto Salad

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Antipasto Salad - Healing and Eating

This antipasto salad is really easy to make and will definitely impress your guests. I used my Mom’s Dressing to marinate the veggies, which includes green and black olives, artichoke hearts, peppadews, and roasted red peppers. I also chopped in a few cucumbers … I couldn’t resist a little crunch, and put everything over some wild arugula.  I have some slices of genoa salami and rolled proscuitto on the side, but of course you could use whatever Italian cured meat you prefer. I skipped the cheese, because I’m intolerant, but if you can handle it, go for it.

Antipasto Salad - Healing and Eating

You can easily make most of this ahead of time, and assemble everything when you are read to serve. Or have guests assemble it themselves so they can add what they like.

Antipasto Salad
 
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Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 container of wild arugula
  • 1 cup of pitted mixed green and black olives
  • ½ cup of chopped artichoke hearts
  • ½ cup of chopped roasted red peppers
  • ½ cup of chopped peppadews
  • ¼ lb of salami
  • 3 oz prosciutto
  • 1 chopped cucumber
  • ¾ cup of Mom's Dressing(or Italian Dressing)
Instructions
  1. Chop artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and peppadews. Combine with olives and add ¼ cup of salad dressing. Marinate for a couple hours, two at least.
  2. Then when ready to serve, arrange salami and prosciutto slices. Add some wild arugula to the side and add marinated vegetables and chopped cucumbers over greens.
  3. Then drizzle some more salad dressing over salad and serve.