Warm Arugula Salad

Ok, so here is the last of our little taste testing, we rounded our lunch out with this Warm Arugula Salad. It was so tasty and super easy. What I loved, was the difference a warm vinaigrette makes, it wilts the greens and makes this one a real crowd pleaser. A great alternative for anyone who wants a change from their same old salad.

Ingredients:
7oz          Arugula (or mixed greens)
6             strips bacon, diced
2             shallots, minced
1/4 cup   extra virgin olive oil
1 TBLs   balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup   walnuts (or pecans) rough chopped
ground pepper to taste

1.Wash lettuce and set in a bowl aside.
2.In a skillet brown bacon.
3.Add shallots and saute until brown. Add oil to heat through.
4.Splash lettuce with balsamic. Add bacon mixture and toss. The heat of the oil will wilt the lettuce a bit. Garnish with nuts.

Even my picky hubby liked this one, add some grilled chicken and you have a great meal.

Red Pepper Pesto Dip

This was another one from Everyday Paleo, we tried it our with yummy raw veggies, it was delicious.

Ingredients:
2 cups       Raw Walnuts
1 tsp         Cumin
1/2 tsp      Salt
1 (12oz)   jar Roasted Red Bell Peppers - drained
2 cloves   Garlic
4 TBLs    Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 TBLs    Fresh Parsley
2 tsp        Lemon Juice

Toss in a food processor, and puree until the consistency of hummus.

I love my Everyday Paleo recipe book, I highly recommend it...I think you'll find several great recipes your family will love.

Raw Fudge....

We recently had another food tasting at my house and tried out some great new recipes...looking forward to sharing them with you, but first lets give you the feedback on the paleo icecream we made.

My first thought, is that the flavor was good, but mild. Next go around I will toss some fresh fruit in there. I also used a carton Coconut Milk (the So Delicious brand) instead of canned. It was much thinner and gave it a more ice-mik texture than ice-cream. I think the canned stuff would give you a richer consistency. But all in all we liked the end product, all the ladies there finished their samples (always a good sign), but noone asked for seconds.. So a great base, just needs a little tweaking

I stole this pic online - it was gone too fast to take pictures...but this is what it looks like.

While we're talking treats...let's jump right into the fudge we made together. This recipe came from the cutest makeup blog Natures Knockout, it's simple, raw and was huge hit... it was gone that day :)

Ingredients:
1 cup     Organic Coconut Oil
3/4 cup  Raw Honey
1 cup     Unsweetened Coconut
-take a 1/2 cup and fill 3/4 of the way with Carob Powder
                              fill last 1/4 with Raw Cacao Powder

Whip all ingredients in the food processor until smooth.

1 cup     Almonds

Add Almonds and pulse until almonds are diced small, and incorporated. - Refrigerate and enjoy. I've got the video below, seriously this one is so easy and tasty, you've got to try it!

She is super cute, and giggles through the whole thing, but you'll get the idea.

My Gym Is Different

Just a shout out to Crossfit New England...they have exactly the atmosphere we are trying to have in our group...take a look