Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. This is an incredibly easy, grain-free dessert that’s perfect for a fall date night treat. You won’t need to turn on your oven, or your stove and it only needs one bowl. I recommend refrigerating it for an hour or two before serving it because it needs some time to set and it tastes a lot better cold.

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I layered the pumpkin mousse with pumpkin flavored Within/Without granola which made this taste like creamy pumpkin pie. I absolutely love their granola, it’s grain-free and has a unique chewy texture. The seasonal pumpkin flavor is amazing and I’ve been sprinkling it on everything I can lately. If you want to give it a try, out you can order it online here!

Dessert 1

Ingredients (Prep Time: 10 min. Total Time: 60 min. Serves: 2):

  • 1 cup Within/Without Granola
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
  1. Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
  2. Mix in cream cheese until well incorporated but mixture is still fluffy.
  3. Mix in pumpkin pureé, powdered sugar, vanilla and pumpkin spice.
  4. Layer 2 tbsp. granola followed by 1/4 cup mousse in small cups. Refrigerate until mixture has set and chilled, about 1 hour. Enjoy!

 

Chēbē Feta, Olive & Rosemary Focaccia

Several years ago, I tried Chēbē’s products at an expo and fell in love. The mix itself is free from pretty much every allergen, is vegan, and tastes wonderful. It is incredibly versatile and can be used in both sweet and savory recipes. I have recently partnered up with Chēbē and will be developing a few recipes with their products over the next couple of months.

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The first recipe I came up with is this Feta, Olive and Rosemary Focaccia. Since the dough is made with tapioca and there is cheese added to it, the bread is perfectly crispy on the outside while keeping a chewy texture inside.

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If you wanted to use this for sandwiches, I could see it being delicious with Italian meats, vinegar and spices. That being said, it’s packed with flavor on its own and I enjoyed it dipped in a bit of olive oil with a glass of red wine. I will warn you, it is incredibly addictive and it didn’t last 24 hours in our apartment before we finished the whole loaf (there are only 2 of us).

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If you are interested in trying out this recipe, I have seen Chēbē products in Whole Food’s or you can order boxes through their website.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Ingredients (Prep Time: 15 min. Total Time: 60 min. Serves: 8):

  • 1 package Chēbē Focaccia Bread mix
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, diced
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
  • 4 Tbsp. milk

Optional Garnishes:

  • Thinly sliced lemon rounds
  • A few extra olives
  • Rosemary
  • A sprinkle of flaky sea salt and black pepper
  • Olive oil
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with 1 tsp. of olive oil.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl combine Chebe Focaccia bread mix, mozzarella, feta, eggs, olive oil, kalamata olives, rosemary and milk.
  3. Knead with your hands until everything is well incorporated and the mix is smooth, springy and dough like.
  4. Place dough on baking tray and press out into an oval shape, about 10 inches across at its widest point.
  5. Using your finger or the back of a spoon, poke 10 or 15 dents in the top of the dough.
  6. Brush the top of the focaccia with a bit of olive oil and top with lemon rounds, olives, feta, rosemary, salt and pepper.
  7. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, let cool slightly and enjoy!

Whole 30 Compliant Curry Chicken Salad

I am currently about 1/3 of the way through my first Whole 30. At the end of the month, I am going to post a bunch of tips as well as more about my experience with the challenge. For now, I have a recipe that I came up with last week for a curry chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

I made a big batch of it last Sunday and had it multiple times during the week. It was a nice break from some of the more plain meals I have been making and was very flavorful and filling.

This recipe makes about 8 hearty servings and is completely compliant. Just make sure you check the labels on all of your ingredients. If you prefer, you can easily swap the almonds for cashews or pecans. This would also be delicious with fresh grapes instead of raisins I just didn’t have the patience to cut a bunch of grapes in half.

If you’re not doing Whole 30 this is still a great dinner idea, you just don’t need to be as worried with the mayo that you use.

Ingredients (Serves: 8):

  • 2.5 lbs chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 ½ cup compliant mayo (either primal kitchen or homemade)
  • 3 Tbsp. mild curry powder
  • ¾ cup raisins
  • 2/3 cup diced celery
  • 2/3 cup diced carrots
  • 2/3 cup diced red onion
  • 1 ½ medium apples chopped (I used gala)
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • Salt to taste
  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Toss chicken breasts with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake, depending on thickness, for 12 – 15 minutes until cooked through. Set aside and allow to cool off.
  2. In a large mixing bowl combine mayo and curry powder. Add in raisins, celery, carrots, red onion, apples, and almonds.
  3. Once chicken has cooled off, either shred or cut into small cubes. Mix in with vegetables and mayo until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Refrigerate at least 3 – 4 hours or overnight before serving.
  5. Serve with lettuce cups of either romaine or butter lettuce to make wraps.

Sweet Potato Crust Veggie Quiche 

Sweet Potato Crust Veggie Quiche 
There is nothing quite like a piece of buttery, delicious quiche. However, it’s generally a more heavy dish and I’ve found making a gluten-free pie crust to be fairly difficult. I fixed that by making a naturally gluten-free crust made of sweet potatoes.
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It turned out wonderfully and the sweet potatoes were a great substitute for a regular pie-crust. I am sure that you could experiment with this and try using potatoes as a crust instead of sweet potatoes. You can also be flexible as far as what you want to add to the egg mixture. Just try to keep the veggie ratios somewhat similar. I hope you like this recipe as much as I did!

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Ingredients: (Prep Time: 30 min. Total time: 90 Min. Serves: 8):

  • 1.5 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 tbsp. olive oi
  • 1/3 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves diced garlic
  • ½ cup chopped red pepper
  • 1/3 cup chopped zucchini
  • ½ cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cups chopped kale (remove stems)
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar (I used reduced fat)
  • 3 tbsp skim milk
  • ¼ tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a pie dish with ½ tbsp olive oil.

2. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Then cut them into very thin slices, around 1/8 in. thick and layer them in the pie dish so that the bottom and the sides are covered. Place in the oven for 15 min until the sweet potatoes have softened slightly.

3. While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper until slightly softened (about 3 minutes).

4. Then add the kale, mushrooms and zucchini to the pan. Sauté them very briefly (about 1 min), remove the pan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool to about room temperature.

5. Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

6. Add cooled vegetables to the egg mixture and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the pie dish with sweet potatoes.

7. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake the quiche for 45 minutes or until the middle of the quiche does not jiggle.

8. Remove from oven, allow it to cool slightly before serving (about 15 min). Enjoy!