Beet and Kale Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The super-nutrients found in kale include glucosinolates, which help to activate detoxifying enzymes in the liver that neutralize carcinogenic substances. It is an excellent source of vitamin K – a key nutrient for regulating the body’s inflammatory process. Since we are incorporating raw foods daily, for our latest dairy free pizza recipe, we baked a cauliflower crust topped with raw kale and red onions that were oven dehydrated (at 130°) for 30 minutes. Oven dehydrating at a low temperature of 130° removes the water content, but keeps the enzymes, vitamins and minerals in place. The pizza crust and other ingredients were baked at a regular temperature (of 325°F) for about 15 minutes in total. We also had a side of raw avocado soup. See pizza recipe below. Enjoy!

Beet and Kale Cauliflower Crust Pizza Recipe 

Serves 2-4

Makes 1 pizza

Ingredients for crust: 

∙ 1/2 organic cauliflower
∙ 1 cup of natural shredded coconut (optional – you can substitute with 3/4 cup coconut flour)
∙ 4 tbsp of organic coconut flour
∙ 2 tbsp of organic black chia seed powder
∙ sea salt for flavor
∙ 2 large happy free range chicken eggs
∙ 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted)

Toppings:
∙ organic kale
∙ organic red onion
∙ organic spices (salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper mix)
∙ organic leeks
∙ organic garlic
∙ organic red beets
∙ 1 happy free range chicken egg 
∙ organic sun dried tomatoes 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 130°F.
2. Chop red onion (your choice of portion). Set aside.
3. Place kale on parchment paper over top of a cookie sheet. Add spices and red onions over top.
4. Place in oven and dehydrate for about 20-30 minutes while you prepare other ingredients. (Make sure to leave your oven door open for air circulation.)
5. Using a grater (or you can use a food processor to shred), grate 2 cups worth of shredded cauliflower.
6. In a large bowl, mix shredded cauliflower, shredded coconut, coconut flour, chia seed powder and salt. Mix really well. Set aside.
7. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the coconut oil.
8. Add wet ingredients to large mixing bowl, mix well.
9. With your hands, begin to mold the mix into a dough. Set aside.
10. Put some parchment paper on a flat round pizza pan and place dough on top.
11. Using your hands, press dough down to cover pizza pan evenly and with a flat surface. Set aside.
12. Chop leeks, garlic and red beets. Set aside.
13. Remove kale from oven and raise oven temperature to 325°F.
14. Place pizza dough in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
15. Once dough is ready, remove from oven and place leeks, garlic and beets over top.
16. Beat an egg and pour over top of pizza ingredients, covering entire surface and place in oven to bake for another 5-10 minutes.
17. Once pizza is ready, remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes.
18. Add kale and sun dried tomatoes over top of pizza and cut into slices using a pizza cutter.
19. Serve and enjoy!

Check it out on lePetitchef.

Mung Bean And Kelp Soup – Raw

Mung beans have a rich source of nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, manganese, vitamin C and thiamine. B vitamin, thiamine, is needed to ensure that the nervous system functions properly. Mung beans are easy to digest, and absorb toxic residue on the sides of the intestinal walls.

Seaweeds contains a high amount of iodine, which is an essential trace mineral needed in the functioning of the thyroid gland. We also need a sufficient amount of iodine so that it doesn’t take on the radioactive iodine that is present in the environment and can cause toxicities in the body. Since we are incorporating more raw foods, we decided to make a raw version of Mung Bean and Kelp Soup. (see recipe below) The soup remained at 100° temperature so no enzymes were  killed. Enjoy!

Mung Bean and Kelp Soup Recipe -raw

Serves 2-4 

Ingredients: 

∙ 4 cups of spring water

∙ 2 tbsp of organic extra virgin olive oil

∙ 1 organic leek leaf

∙ 1 organic carrot

∙ 1 organic celery stalk

∙ 1 organic thyme

∙ 2 pieces of organic kelp  

∙ 1 organic red onion

∙ 2 organic garlic cloves

∙ handful of organic Italian parsley

∙ 3/4 cup of organic mung beans (soaked for 48 hours)

∙ 2 tbsp of organic hemp seeds

∙ sea salt

∙ organic black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and then add oil and thyme.

2. Chop leek, carrot and celery. Then add to water and simmer for about 20 minutes (this will be your broth).

3. Place kelp in some water to soak. Set aside.

4. Chop red onion and garlic. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

5. Chop parsley. Set aside.

6. Drain soaked mung beans and kelp and add to a blender.

7. Add parsley, garlic and red onion to blender and blend all ingredients.

8. Once broth is made, turn off heat and let sit until liquid reaches 100°temperature (we use a frothing thermometer).

9. Once broth has cooled, drain and discard of vegetables. 

10. Pour broth and blended ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

11. Add spices and hemp seeds and stir for about 2 minutes.

12. Serve and enjoy! 

Double Dose Of Oats

In earlier posts we mentioned the importance of pre-soaking grains, seeds, nuts and even flour! When you pre-soak grains, nuts and seeds, you are releasing nutrients and enzymes that allow you to digest food more easily. We pre-soaked some oats for 24 hours and created a new recipe for muffins, using coconut flour. Unlike other flours, coconut flour does not need to be soaked because it is neither a grain or nut. We were inspired by BakerStreet to create ‘Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins’. We don’t use most of the ingredients the recipe called for so we had to do our own rendition with coconut flour (see recipe below). We also baked a new version of our Oats and Shredded Coconut Cookies made with pre-soaked brown rice flour (recipe coming soon). Enjoy!

Below: NEW Oats and Shredded Coconut Cookies and Apple Cinnamon Oats Muffins’.

Apple Cinnamon Oats Muffin Recipe 

Makes 8 mini muffins

Ingredients: 

Topping: 

∙ 1/4 cup of organic rolled oats (pre-soaked for at least 8 hours)

∙ 1 tbsp of coconut palm powder/sugar 

∙ 1/2 tbsp organic cinnamon 

∙ 1/4 cup of shredded coconut

∙ 1/4 organic granny smith apple (you’ll need 1 apple for the entire recipe)

Muffins:

1/2 cup of organic coconut flour 

1/2 tsp of organic baking soda 

1 1/2 tbsp of organic cinnamon

1/2 cup of organic shredded coconut 

2 tbsp of organic flax seed meal

pinch of sea salt 

3 tbsp of coconut palm powder/sugar

1/4 cup of organic coconut oil (melted) 

3 happy free range chicken eggs

3/4 organic granny smith apple

Directions: (Start with muffin ingredients)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Mix dry ingredients first. (Mix well) Set aside. 

3. Mix coconut oil, and eggs in a small mixing bowl. Then add to dry ingredients. 

4. Mix all ingredients well until crumbly.

5. Peel the apple skins and remove core. Toss the core and eat the apple skins. (There is lots of nutrition on the apple skins and it will provide you with some enzymes you need to digest this treat.)

6. Dice apple and place 3/4 worth of chunks into the large mixing bowl.

7. Mix crumbly dough with the apples.

8. In a small mixing bowl, add the soaked oats, shredded coconut, sugar, cinnamon and remaining apple chunks. Mix well. The moisture from the soaked oats should somewhat bind the ingredients together. Set aside.

9. Separate dough into 8 parts. Using a spoon, scoop out each part and place in muffin tray.

10. Top off each muffin with the crumbly oats mixture, evenly.

11. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top and edges are brown.

12. Remove from oven and let cool.

13. Serve and enjoy!

Optional: Add some pre-soaked chopped nuts on top, once baked, for additional health benefits and enzymes!

Dairy Free Mushroom and Beets Pizza

We enjoy making our own tomato sauce from scratch – our main ingredients are tomatoes and carrots. We find that the sweetness of the carrots give the acidity of the tomatoes a good balance in flavor. For Friday’s dinner, we wanted to make another thin crust pizza but didn’t have any carrots for the tomato sauce. We used red beets instead of carrots and also added some hot peppers for spice. The results were amazing! Very tasty! Red beets are healthy – they provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support.

Below: Gluten free thin crust pizza made with brown rice and green pea flour! Our toppings were spicy homemade tomato sauce, leeks, garlic, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, sliced red beets and 2 happy chicken eggs! (click here for pizza crust recipe).

Butternut Squash Cookies

Butternut squash provides about one-third of the Daily Value of vitamin C in every cup and contains vitamins are B1, B3, B6, pantothenic acid, and folate. The sweetness of butternut squash makes it an excellent ingredient for cookies! Check out our recipe below for some yummy butternut squash cookies made with a mix of gluten free flours, shredded coconut and pre-soaked cashews. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Cookie Recipe 

Makes 16 small cookies 

Ingredients: 

∙ 3/4 cup of organic gluten free brown rice flour 

∙ 1/4 cup of organic coconut flour

∙ 1/2 cup of organic shredded coconut 

∙ 2 tbsp of organic flax seed meal

∙ 1 tbsp of organic black chia seed powder 

∙ 3 tbsp of organic coconut palm powder/nectar

∙ 1/4 tbsp of organic vanilla bean powder

∙ 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon 

∙ pinch of sea salt 

∙ 1/4 cup of organic pre-soaked cashews (chopped)

∙ 3 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted) 

∙ 1 cup of organic purred butternut squash (bake in oven and puree prior to baking)

∙ 1 happy free range chicken egg yolk

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Mix dry ingredients first. (Mix well) Set aside. 

3. Mix coconut oil, squash and egg yolk in a small mixing bowl. Then add to dry ingredients. 

4. Mix all ingredients well until crumbly. 

5. Using your hands, knead the dough inside the bowl and create 16 small balls. 

6. Place each ball down on parchment paper and press down to form cookies. Add some cinnamon on top of each cookie (optional).

7. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and bake in oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned. 

8. Remove from oven and let cool. 

9. Serve and enjoy!

Dairy-Free Zucchini and Yam Thin Crust Pizza

We love pizza! But it’s hard to make when you are on a dairy-free diet. It’s not the same without the cheese, specially because the toppings don’t stay on! Today we created a delicious thin crust pizza recipe with an excellent substitute for cheese. Since we love the sweetness of yams, we made a zucchini and yam pizza with a healthy gluten free crust, homemade tomato sauce, spinach, leeks, garlic and the main ingredient to bring it all together – happy free range chicken eggs! If you are on a dairy free diet you should give this recipe a try. The egg acts as a binding agent (like cheese) and adds more flavor to your pizza. (see recipe below)

Zucchini and Yam Thin Crust Pizza Recipe 

Serves 2

Makes 2 – 8″x 6″ crusts

Ingredients for crust: 
1/2 cup of organic brown rice flour
1/4 cup of organic green pea flour (you can substitute with rice flour)
1/2 cup of organic natural shredded coconut
2 tbsp of organic flax seed meal
2 tbsp of organic hemp seeds
2 tbsp of organic quick oats
sea salt for flavor
1 large happy free range chicken egg
2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted)
2 tbsp of water (fluoride free)

Toppings:
homemade tomato sauce
organic leeks (chopped)
organic garlic (chopped)
organic yams (sliced thinly)
organic spinach (shredded)
organic hot peppers
organic zucchini (sliced)
2 happy free range chicken eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix brown rice flour, green pea flour, shredded coconut, flax seed meal, hemp seeds, quick oats and sea salt. Mix really well. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg, water and the coconut oil.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well.
5. With your hands, begin to mould the mix into a dough and split apart into 2 pieces.
6. Place some rice flour on a flat surface and begin to roll out dough, flipping the pressed dough back and forth until it’s flat enough.
7. Cut the edges of the dough to create a rectangle shape.
8. Place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Repeat process on the second piece of dough.
9. Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes and then remove from oven.
10. With an egg brush, brush some coconut oil on top of the bread.
11. Add homemade tomato sauce.
12. Top pizza with ingredients.
13. In a small bowl, crack 2 eggs and beat.
14. Pour egg mixture evenly over top of each pizza.
15. Place in oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
16. Serve and enjoy!

‘Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain’

Today was a chilly day lashed by rain and strong winds, here in Toronto. We started our night off with a warm cup of ‘cliff hanger’ americano. Once we got the cappuccino machine fired up, we decided to incorporate the green pea flour and bake Mocha and Peanut Butter Zucchini Brownies. This is our latest gluten free dessert recipe with a rich texture and an abundance of flavor! (see recipe below) Enjoy!

Mocha and Peanut Butter Zucchini Brownies Recipe

Makes 8 pieces

Ingredients:

∙ 1/2 cup of organic rice flour

∙ 3 tbsp of organic almond flour
∙ 3 tbsp of organic green pea flour

∙ 1 1/2 tbsp organic black chia seed powder 

∙ 1/4 cup of organic raw cacao powder

∙ 1/4 cup of organic shredded coconut

∙ 1/2 tbsp of organic vanilla bean powder (fresh vanilla beans are best)

∙ 1/2 tsp of baking soda (non GMO)

∙ 3 tbsp of organic coconut palm powder/sugar

∙ pinch of Himalayan salt

∙ 1/4 cup of organic shredded zucchini

∙ 2 tbsp of organic peanut butter

∙ 1 happy chicken egg (free run)

∙ 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted)

∙ 1/4 cup of organic fair trade espresso

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix rice flour, almond flour, green pea flour, baking powder, black chia seed powder, pinch of sea salt, raw cacao powder, shredded coconut, vanilla powder, baking soda, coconut palm powder and salt. Mix ingredients well.

3. Add zucchini to dry ingredients and mix well.

4. Add peanut butter to ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

5. In a separate bowl, mix egg, melted coconut oil and espresso. 

6. Add to dry mix. Mix well, will be slightly sticky.

7. Scoop out and place in a round flat 9″ glass oven dish. 

8. Place in oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until edges are browned.

9. Remove from oven and let cool.

10. Once cooled, drizzle fresh honey for added sweetness (otherwise you may find the cocoa powder too strong in flavor).

11. Serve and enjoy! 

Grilled Green Pea Egg Sandwich

Green pea flour is a high protein flour that is gluten free. We recently purchased this flour and tried it out for the first time to make bread. There were many ingredients added to our recipe because we were unsure of how it would taste. Our organic green pea bread recipe included organic rice flour, organic walnuts (pre-soaked), organic shredded coconut, organic coconut flour, organic black chia seed powder, organic hemp seeds, organic quick oats, water and happy chicken eggs. The results were tasty! Next time we will try a dessert recipe with the flour. (see bread recipe below)

Green Pea Flat Bread Recipe

Makes 1 flat bread

Ingredients: 

∙ 1/2 cup of organic gluten free white rice flour
∙ 1/2 cup of organic gluten free green pea flour
∙ 2 tbsp of organic coconut flour
∙ 2 tbsp of organic black chia seed powder
∙ 3 tbsp of organic hemp seeds
∙ 3 tbsp of organic quick oats
∙ 3 tbsp of organic shredded coconut
∙ 3 tbsp of organic walnuts or any other nut (pre-soaked overnight)
∙ 1 tsp baking powder
∙ a pinch of sea salt
∙ 1/4 cup of water
∙ 1 large happy free range chicken egg
∙ 2 tbsp of organic coconut oil (melted)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven at 325 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix white rice flour, green pea flour, coconut flour, black chia seed powder, hemp seeds, walnuts, shredded coconut, quick oats, baking powder and sea salt. Mix really well. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg and then add the water and coconut oil and continue beating.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix them together. The texture will be like dough but may be slightly sticky. If not, you may need to add a little water.
5. On a table, lay out some parchment paper and sprinkle some flour.
6. Scoop out dough and place on top of the parchment paper.
7. Dust it with flour enough so that you can pick it up and handle it. This will help you to control it when you flatten it out on the loaf pan.
8. Place dough in a medium loaf pan (8-1/2-Inch by 4-1/2-Inch by 2-1/2-Inch).
9. Press down to cover the pan completely with the dough. You can use a spatula or some kind of flat utensil to press down and make the bread dough/loaf a flat even surface. (see image above)
10. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes! The bread will not rise much much, if at all, but the texture will be rich.
11. Remove from oven, let cool and enjoy!

Note: If you are going to make the egg sandwich, cut loaf into squares and then slice in half to create a top and bottom part. (see image above) Then cook the egg, (poached or over easy) and place the egg in between the two slices (like you would a grilled cheese sandwich). Finally, grill on both sides using coconut oil. Enjoy!

‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’

Quote by: Leonardo da Vinci

The elements abundant in seaweeds include iodine, magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, zinc, copper, chloride, sulfur, phosphorous, vanadium, cobalt, manganese, selenium, bromine, arsenic, iron, and fluorine. Alaria seaweed contains 770% iodine in a 1/3 cup serving. When our bodies have a sufficient amount of iodine, it doesn’t take on the radioactive iodine that is present in the environment. It is only when our bodies lack iodine that it takes in radioactive iodine and causes a deficiency or toxicity in our bodies (disease). Most places around the world, including here in Ontario, have nuclear powers stations. It was important for us to consider more seaweeds in our diet, so we made our own soup recipe incorporating some alaria seaweed.
Below: Simple to make organic Alaria seaweed and leek soup with hemp seeds. This was one of the tastiest soups we ever made and simple to cook in just 10 minutes!
Ingredients: Homemade chicken broth* (you can use vegetable broth), organic leeks, organic garlic, organic red onion, organic Alaria and organic hemp seeds. Add salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy!

* We use homemade chicken broth made from happy drug free chicken carcass with organic leeks, organic onion, organic garlic, organic thyme, sea salt and organic pepper.

Happy Eggs On A Cabbage Casserole

Eggs go great at any time of the day. We had a shredded cabbage casserole for dinner and we topped it off with some happy eggs. The results were yummy! Cabbage has an excellent source of vitamin C and is high in antioxidants! See post below to learn about happy eggs.