The ideal soup. In the words of my father, probably my biggest food critic besides myself. The man that thinks everything I make needs more gluten. The guy that when I try to get him on board with our sugar cleanse, goes out and buys a box of halloween candy and claims he thought sugar cleanse meant MORE sugar.
If he loved this soup, i’m pretty sure everyone will. Best part, it uses a whole chicken which in my opinions is the easiest most economical way to eat chicken. A whole free range chicken feeds a crowd and you get the bones to make stock later. By far the easiest way to cook a whole chicken is to make a big soup.
There’s no risk of it not being cooked or worse, being dry and overcooked. The only downside is you don’t get that crispy skin, but I personally looooove the fat that the skin imparts in the soup. It’s so rich, and although the coconut milk isn’t a traditional addition, it adds a creamy comfort to my version of sopa de pollo like none other.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
We’ve pretty much made lettuce wraps the go-to lunch on the whole30. They’re just so easy, versatile and always hit the spot. Who needs tacos and burritos when you’ve got lettuce wraps. I love these pulled pork lettuce wraps so much, but the prep is a lot more involved. With these chipotle elk lettuce wraps you can literally whip them up in under 20 minutes. If you don’t have access to elk you can most definitely just use ground beef. Lucky me, a friend of a friend is a hunter and scored an elk not too long ago. As i’m making this beautifully fresh elk, my man starts you tubing elks in heat. What an appetizing sound it is, check that shit out AFTER you eat these.
Elk is such an amazingly rich meat. Wild meat is something else, when its hunted properly it doesn’t get those fear hormones that make meat taste off. Not to mention the amazing nutrition from an animal that spent its life grazing wild forests. Have you ever thought about how most of our meat is female? It’s a little out of balance if you ask me. I mean, we don’t eat the roosters, or the bulls, or the boars. Not for any good reason either. These guys just require different cooking styles, but they’re delicious none the less. I like to have some yin and yang balance in my meat eating, which is why wild is where it’s at.
It’s day 8 of the whole30 and I just posted a new meal plan for week 2. I don’t always follow my own meal plans, but they are inspiring and I think they paint a picture that the whole30 isn’t this wretched deprivation experiment. My major vice is cheese, mostly because of the way it melds flavours together. It’s like a fatty little vehicle that ensures a deep feeling of satisfaction. So I’m thankful for cashews, as they turn into this magical, creamy, cheese like substance with just a few pulses of the blender. You can keep the cashew queso liquid enough so that it can be used as a salad dressing. I like to make extra as a dip for raw veggies and last nights indulgence, tostones, aka fried plantains, aka basically fries from McDonald’s that are totally good for you.
1 C cashews (soaked for at least 20 minutes and drained)
3/4 C fresh water
juice of 1/2 lime
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
For the Chipotle Elk
Melt oil in a large skillet, add onions and cook until golden.
Add elk and seasonings, cook on med-high until nicely browned. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice.
Separate lettuce leaves and assemble on a plate, put a neat little pile of grated carrots, followed by a small scoop of the chipotle elk and some lime wedges.
For the Cashew Queso
In a blender or food processor, combine cashews, water, lime, garlic, nutritional yeast, cilantro and seasonings and pulse until super smooth and creamy. You can add more water to achieve your desire thickness.
Holy case of the Mondays today. On top of the ‘kill all things’ stage of the whole 30, my little teething monster has been draining 60 calories of comfort a minute from me. I don’t understand how women with children under 3 get absolutely anything done. Murphy’s law is in full swing because as soon as I wrote that he is off on his own smashing remote controls. Do I care? Nope.
How do you cope with ineffective days? I feel like our society superimposes really high standards of productivity. But some days it feels pretty difficult to cross anything off the to-do list. I have to gently remind myself that raising a child is always on the top of that list, and that I must always work on that first.
About this salad, it’s beyond refreshing and packed with craving busting minerals. Often we get those mad cravings for sweets and quick fix foods because of mineral deficiencies. But you know what sucks? Boring salads. Boring vegetables. They give vegetables a bad rep. It’s my mission to never ever make a boring salad. Cruciferous vegetables are particularly detoxifying because they’re so high in I3C or indole-3-carbinols, which help to break down bad estrogen in the body and regulate hormones. Aside from that the fiber and vitamin C in this salad are cleansing and help me feel more vibrant and just plain happy during the first few days of the whole 30. I find that I always have a craving for crunchy foods and this Fennel Grapefruit Detox Salad more than satisfies. Save some of the fronds for garnish or adding to soups and what not, they really impart that lovely anise flavour.
I meant to post this BEFORE I started the sugar detox from hell. I’m a fiend you guys. Even if it’s raw pies and honey I’m still jonesing for a fix. So I’ll live vicariously through you. This decadent cake is fully awesome. It’s loaded with all the best things- honey, vanilla bean, cacao, nuts, hemp seeds, young coconut meat, berries and of course, ba-nay-nays. Let me know the dirty details of each delightful bite if you make it. I’ll just be over here eating a carrot stick…
But in all seriousness, it feels good to make the conscious decision to get rid of some of the more junky aspects of my diet. All summer was just one big smorgasbord of enjoyment with family and friends. I’m grateful, truly, but that over indulgence catches up. So with a final slice of cake, I bid adieu for one month.
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed (save the pod for other uses)
1/2 C cocoa butter, melted over double boiler
1/4 C coconut oil, melted over double boiler
1/2 C raw honey
pinch sea salt
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 C cacao nibs
Berry layer
1 C mixed frozen berries
Chocolate layer
2 Tbs raw cacao powder
Instructions
In a high powered blender or food processor, add date paste, walnuts, hemp seeds, coconut oil and a pinch of salt. Pulse until evenly combined.
Press crust into a 10 inch springform pan (or smaller for a taller cake) and pop it in the fridge or freezer while you make the filling.
For the filling. Add coconut meat, soaked cashews, vanilla bean seeds, cocoa butter, coconut oil, honey and sea salt. Blend until super smooth and pour 1/3 of filling on top of the crust. Top with a few banana slices and a sprinkle of cacao nibs.
Pop the cake back in the fridge or freezer for the first layer to set slightly.
Pour 1/2 the remaining filling into a bowl and set aside.
For the berry layer add 1 C frozen berries of your choosing to the filling and blend until smooth. Pour over top of the vanilla layer and top with more sliced bananas and cacao nibs.
Pop it back in the fridge or freezer to set slightly.
For the chocolate layer, add the remaining filling back into the blender with 2 Tbs cacao powder and blend until fully incorporated. Pour over the berry layer and top with the remaining sliced bananas and cacao nibs.
Vanilla beans are a magical magical thing. They blow my mind. Every little seed bursting with the most common yet rare and precious flavour in existence. Vanilla is an ethereal looking orchid, truly stunning. It adds something so special to anything it touches and brings out the hidden characteristics in the foods it mingles with.
If you can’t tell, I’m pretty fucking gung ho about vanilla.
I just got back from my brothers wedding where I had the pleasure of making THE cake. What foods represent the true characteristics of star crossed lovers and real deal twin flames?
Chocolat et vanille of course.
Cacao and vanilla grow in the same jungles, one is masculine, rooted, robust, dark, hard shelled yet amazingly soft inside. While the other is light, ephemeral, delicate and grows upward towards the heavens. The two were ordained the perfect match long before modern society had any idea of their existence. It only made sense to encapsulate their majesty into their luxurious wedding cake. I’ll post the recipe on the blog soon of the cake which was a double fudge chocolate quinoa cake with vanilla bean, rose and honey cashew cream icing.
For now, I’ll ramble on a little more about vanilla…
And macadamia nuts because mmmmmmmm…
Whenever I go on vacation I crave fudge. Which likely stems from childhood trips to Banff where we would always visit the fudge factory and stock up for our trip back home. And if you know me at all, you know that when a craving lurks, it cannot simply be ignored. But most fudge is way too sweet so of course the simple solution is to make it yourself.
Vanilla Bean Macadamia Nut Fudge is my new obsession, and you only need a tiny bit to satisfy even the maddest sweet tooth. It’s loaded with healthy fat from coconut and adorned with another tropical favourite, macadamia nuts.
I’ll tell you a secret. The other night I watched game of thrones for hours and ate nearly two cups of mac nuts. Talk about a binge. I can’t even have them around or I just go mental and day dream about Jon Snow while noshing my life away. So, if you got em, use em!
Yesterday I went to the farmers market and the poutine truck was there. They have some pretty impressive renditions on the classic poutine, including donair poutine and buffalo blue cheese poutine, tempting to say the least. But instead we got some gorgeous fresh northern pike and breaded it with shredded coconut, yum. But the craving for poutine, once you have it, doesn’t just go away. So today I whipped up a worthy equivalent, minus the gravy, and oh my did it hit the spot. In case you were wondering, loaded implies a bunch of spicy beef cooked with onions and garlic, goat feta and aged raw cheddar cheese,fresh tomatoes, peppers and a big ole pile a guacamole in the middle. These loaded tex mex sweet potato fries are healthy yet satisfying enough to meet any comfort food criteria.
This is a filling meal for two, or a nice snack or starter for four. Once you start, its hard to stop, and you are pretty much guaranteed to lick the plate clean.
In a large bowl, add oil and sweet potato, toss until evenly coated.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread an even lay of sweet potato fries, bake for 25 minutes.
Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and add onion and garlic until slightly golden. Add the Worcestershire and beef and cook on medium high heat until the juices start to release and the meat starts to brown. Turn down the heat until thoroughly cooked.
For the guacamole, mash together the avocado, garlic, lime, sea salt, tomato and cilantro
When the fries are done, top with cheese, beef, tomatoes, peppers and serve alongside fresh guacamole.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
