Herbed turkey & chicken meatloaf with gravy (gluten free, nightshade free)

Wow. I wish I had the wherewithal to have taken a better picture before we packed up the leftovers, but here she is, in all her glory:

Parents- she even contains hidden veggies!!

 Herbed turkey & chicken meatloaf with gravy (gluten and nightshade free)

Ingredients for the meatloaf:

•  1 onion, diced

•  1 zucchini, diced

•  1 tsp tarragon

•  1 tsp rosemary

•  1 TB grapeseed (or other) oil

•  1 TB gluten free soy sauce

•  1/2 tsp garlic powder

•  1 egg

•  3 stalks celery, chopped

•  2 lbs ground turkey or chicken*

•  1 TB grainy mustard

*I used 1 lb of each (Note: use organic meat where possible, or at least hormone and antibiotic free)

Directions:

1.  Combine the onion, zucchini, tarragon, rosemary and oil in a frying pan and sauté on medium/low until onion is clear.
2. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Add all ingredients to a bread pan lined with parchment paper (easy cleanup!).
5. Bake at 375 for approximately 1 to 1 1/4 hours until internal temperature reads 160 Fahrenheit.
6.  Lift the loaf out of the pan (it should be pretty full of drippings- quite watery even) and place it on a baking sheet (again on parchment for easy clean up) and return the loaf to the oven until the temp reads 165-170 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the gravy...

At this point, you can pour the drippings from your loaf pan into a small pot on the stove, and add:

•  1 cup worth of organic chicken bouillon (mine is 1/2 cube)

•  a slurry of 3/4 cup water and 2 TB brown rice flour

Bring to a boil, whisking constantly until it thickens.

Serves: 6 hungry people, or 8 people with lots of side dishes

Now serve, to a chorus of "oohs", "aahs" and even a high five or two. You are a culinary superstar.  

Herbed turkey & chicken meatloaf with gravy (gluten free, nightshade free)

Tangy lentil soup (easily vegan, gluten free)

I recently spent a week with my sister and acted as chef while she tended to her new baby. With an inherited ability (our mom's) to produce meals out of scraps, and inspired by Red Lentil Soup by "Dance while you cook", I came up with my own version.

Tangy lentil soup (easily vegan, gluten free)

 Ingredients
1 1/3 cup red lentils - soaked for at least 1/2 hour, then drained
1 onion
3 stalks celery
1/2 large sweet potato, grated
1 box low sodium organic chicken broth (sub veggie for a vegan option)
1 cup orange juice
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp rosemary
Splash grapeseed oil (or other)
Pepper to taste 

 Directions
1- sauté chopped onions and celery in oil on med/low until translucent (approximately 5 mins)
2- add pepper, tarragon and rosemary to the pot and sauté one additional minute- mix well 
3- add lentils and sweet potato, mix well and stir for one additional minute. 
4- add 3/4 of the broth (approx 3 cups) and orange juice
5- bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover and simmer on low for approx 40 minutes. 
6- blend using an immersion blender or by pouring into your regular blender. 
7- return to pot, add in last cup of broth and stir. 


 So simple. So ridiculously creamy and good.

Tangy lentil soup (easily vegan, gluten free)

Kale chips (vegan)

Sorry it's been a while. I have been cooking up a storm and have a few items up my sleeve to tell you about over the next week or two. Today, I'd like to share my triumph with making Kale chips.

First of all, please don't assume that just because you don't know what kale is, or because you don't like "green stuff" that you won't like this. Au contraire my friend.

All about kale

Kale is a gorgeous leafy green veggie that is packed with tons of goodness. You can chop it and eat it raw in something like cole slaw (it's chewy, and rigid rather than soft and floppy like boston lettuce for instance) steam it, or add it to a stir fry or soup right at the last minute. The longer you cook something, the more you reduce its nutritional value. That's one of the reasons why either eating it raw, or cooking it very quickly, or at very low temperatures is ideal (really, that's the ideal way to eat any produce). This recipe calls for a temperature of 200 degrees. If you want to maintain a "raw"state you should keep to less than 180 degrees so that it "dehydrates" more than "cooks" but at 200 degrees you're still doing okay. See how low your oven will go...

Kale is an anti-oxidant powerhouse, strongly anti-inflammatory (illness equals inflammation, so anything anti-inflammatory that you can add into your diet will help combat illness) and is very high in vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.

So, on to the recipe.

Cheezy kale chips

Ingredients:
1 bunch of organic* kale
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 large garlic clove or two small
2 TB nutritional yeast
1/2 red bell pepper
1 TB maple syrup
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper (I did about 3 cranks on mine)
*Greens are one of the fruits and veggies that become most contaminated by pesticides (i.e. you cannot wash it off). Go organic with greens if you can.


Directions

1. Soak the cashews in warm water and set aside while you work on everything else. If you can soak in advance, this recipe will be easier to make (2 hours is probably ideal). 
2. Wash the kale carefully as it can trap dirt in its many folds. Remove the tough spines and tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. 
3. Spin in a salad spinner to really dry the leaves then dump them into a big wide bowl.
4. In your blender- combine cashews (drained), nutritional yeast, garlic, red pepper, paprika, salt, pepper, maple syrup and cider vinegar.
5. You will have to blend then scrape down the sides a bazillion times before this blended properly. The longer you soaked the cashews, the less scrape downs you'll need. But trust me- eventually, the mixture will combine and look like really chunky peanut butter.
6. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees (or less if desired).
7. Pour the mixture, a third at a time, on the kale and use your hands to coat all the leaves.
8. Prepare two or three sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Separate the prepared kale onto each pan trying not to bunch it up. If it is all separated, it will dry quicker than if left in piles. 
9. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then flip all the leaves. Repeat this process until they are dried out. It took me three times (roughly an hour) to get them all dry and crispy. They will get to the point where they are very fragile and can be crushed to flakes. That's when they are EXQUISITE. :)

Enjoy!!!!

Kale chips (vegan)

Why I run

As a relatively new runner, I can say with absolute certainty that up until recently, I had no clue what the granola munchers saw in running. I will admit to uttering a few curse words on a cold bleak morning when icicles were forming on my eyelashes and I would see the odd one run by. And I really did think those "running people" were odd.

I get it now.

I have had a few moments in my life where I've been incredibly proud of myself. In terms of physical challenges, I'd say my number one moment was the birth of my daughter at home. However, I must say, that moment aside, I have never been prouder of myself than the first time I crossed the finish line at my first 5k race this summer. I've heard it said by a runner that she wasn't the winner, but she crossed the same line that the winner crossed. I couldn't agree more.  I am now upping the ante and have signed up for a 10k this fall. I'm renewing my relationship with my sneakers, and getting slowly back into my rhythm.

For anyone who has ever run, there is a progression every time you start to think about going out, then as you pass through your kilometres (or miles, for my US friends), then as you round the bend on your last stretch home. Here's what mine looks like:

Before the run: "I really should go. I know I'll feel better once I've gone. But child #1 or child #2 needs something/dinner isn't made yet/I don't think I've had enough water today/ hubby isn't home yet/I just ran two days ago, didn't I?/etc./ ad nauseum.

Once I've decided to go: "Okay. I'm super pumped. I'm going to KILL this run. Kids are set, hubby is organized, duties set aside, time to go. But wait- where are my pants/ socks/sports bra/shuffle/etc.?"

The first km: "Omg. Maybe I could just turn back. No one would know."

The second km: "Why did I think this was a good idea? When will I stop feeling every single ache and pain, and when will my legs start working again? I need more grease than the Tin Man."

The third km: "I could just take the short cut. If I cut through there, I'll be back home in ten minutes. Why is this taking so long?"

The fourth km: "Anytime now. I know it's coming. Just ease into it...man I love this..."

If you're a runner, you know what I'm talking about. It - that elusive moment you wait for each time you run. It's the moment that sometimes just doesn't come- like a sneeze that never materialized and left you unsatisfied. But most of the time, it does come and transports you away from your body. You stop feeling every hurt, every step, hearing your breath, complaining, mentally punching the person who convinced you to go...

...and you're there.

It is that point, where it's just me, my music and the road, that keeps me coming back for more. That surreal place where no one wants anything from me, and it's just me, competing against myself.

Those times when I hear that voice, before it comes, I crank my music and skip to a song with a bigger, faster beat. Each time the voice gets louder, I make the music louder. It's the voice of defeat and I don't want to listen to it, so I drown it out and tell it to Eat. My. Dust.

Why I run