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Melissa-profile This is more than just a recipe blog. I am not a chef. I am a mom of four children, one of whom has an autoimmune disease, wife of a Crossfit junkie, and healthy food lover. I love learning about and cooking new, healthy and delicious food. This is simply me sharing the ways I take care of my family by being aware and mindful of the food I feed them and as a result making lots of Gluten Free & Paleo Recipes by Melissa.

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Spinach & Artichoke Mac

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I love spinach and artichoke dip and was in the mood for some the other night.  I really do try to not indulge in dairy much (cow’s milk, cheese, etc).  You’ll understand why if you read The China Study.  I’m a nerd, I know. But, when I get a hanker’n for cheese this is a good choice. So, I decided to combine the goodness of my favorite chip dip with mac and cheese for a simple dinner or side to some grilled meat.

1 box (13-14 oz.) gluten free rotini pasta
2 tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. gluten free corn starch
2 cups organic milk
salt and pepper
2 sprigs parsley. chopped
5 basil leafs, chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided
1 large tomato, diced
    or 1 pint cherry, pear, or grape tomatoes
3 cups fresh spinach leafs
1 – 6.5 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, chopped (Delallo brand is gluten free)

Cook rotini according to package directions in salted water.  In medium saucepan melt butter and add minced garlic bring to a nice sizzle.  Add flour and whisk together until it makes a thick paste.  Pour in milk, salt, pepper and herbs.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened (about 5 minutes).  Remove from heat and add Parmesan and 1/2 mozzarella until melted and incorporated.

Drain pasta and combine with cheese.  Add in tomatoes, spinach and artichoke hearts.  Put in baking dish, top with remaining cheese and cover with tin foil.  Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil and return to oven for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.

* Raw, tomatoes are high in vitamin C while cooked much of the vitamin C is lost.  However, cooking tomatoes increases lycopene.  “Lycopene is the most-efficient single oxygen quencher, and devours more than 10 times more oxygenated free radicals than vitamin E.”
antioxidant power can be boosted even more through the simple act of cooking the tomatoes.  Researchers from Cornell University in the US said that cooking the tomatoes increase the level of phytochemicals they contain, although it also reduces the amount of vitamin C found in the vegetable.”
So the moral of the story is…eat tomatoes!  Cooked, raw, whatever.
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Cooking-tomatoes-boosts-health-benefits

Hobo Dinner

Hobo Dinner

My mom made “hobo dinner” regularly when I was growing up.  I think it’s called that because you usually make it when you haven’t had time to get to the store and you just have a bunch of odd veggies laying around that need to be eaten.  I remember my mom putting the hamburger patties, potatoes, carrots and whatever frozen vegetables she could find into a casserole dish, topping it off with cream-of-“something” and putting it in the oven for an hour and a half or so.  Here’s my recreation of her classic meat and potatoes meal.

6-8 big red potatoes (about one per person), sliced
2 carrots, chopped
Boil potatoes and carrots in salted water until just tender. While that’s cooking start thawing whatever frozen veggies you got taking up space in your freezer (i.e. corn, green beans, peas)

2 lbs. hamburger or turkey burger
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 parsley sprig, chopped
2-3 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix seasonings and Worcestershire sauce into hamburger or turkey burger.  Form into patties and cook in large skillet until browned and cooked through.  Remove and set aside. Into the same skillet you just cooked the meat in add:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
6-8 mushrooms, sliced

Cook onion first for a couple minutes before adding your mushrooms.  Let sizzle away for a few minutes.  While that’s busy whisk together:

1 can beef broth (or chicken broth if using turkey burger)
1 tbsp cornstarch

5 basil leafs, chopped
1 sprig parsley, chopped

Pour broth mixture into skillet with onions and mushrooms.  Bring to boil and stir until thickened.  Add drained potatoes and carrots plus your thawed veggies and a generous sprinkling of garlic salt and pepper. return meat to skillet as well and allow everything to marinate together while you set the table.  Then…eat!

* When it comes to choosing frozen or canned fruits and vegetables the healthiest answer is…it depends. For the majority of fruits and vegetable, fresh or frozen is much better since a lot of nutrients can be lost in the canning processing (high heat).  But for some things, like tomatoes, the canned is good because the heat actually activates the nutrients and makes it easier for your body to absorb it.  Overall my best advice is to buy fresh or frozen, but if you insist on the canned stuff, make sure it doesn’t have obscene amounts of sodium, sugar or MSG added.  

Poached Eggs on Toast

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It may sound like nothing, but this sandwich is a great low calorie breakfast, lunch, light dinner or whatever.  The secret ingredient is this delicious little bottle of spices called “Spike”.  You can find it at most health food stores, in the healthy section of some grocery stores, or shop for it online (follow the link). That seasoning makes this sandwich so good!

Here’s what you need: 
2 eggs
2 slices gluten free bread
2 slices of tomato
a small handful of fresh spinach
extra virgin olive oil
spike seasoning

Here’s what you do:
In a small, shallow frying pan fill with water (only about two inches deep).  Bring water to a low boil.  This is important because when you put your eggs in you don’t want them floating apart before they can cook.  Once the water is steadily bubbling, crack one egg into pan letting it slowly into the water.  It should start to cook instantly.  Cook for as long as you like, until the yolk is as runny or hard as you want, then remove with slotted spoon. Pat dry with paper towel.  Repeat for second egg.

Toast bread slices then drizzle some olive oil over both pieces, followed by a sprinkling of Spike.  Place washed and patted dry spinach on one slice followed by the two slices of tomato. Finally place your poached eggs on top and drizzle a little more oil and sprinkle a little more Spike. Top it with the other slice of toast and enjoy!

*  You could probably guess that an egg boiled in water as apposed to fried would be healthier for obvious reasons, but here’s a few other reasons why to eat an egg or two (and not just as part of the cookie you just made).
Eggs are a good source of low-cost high-quality protein, providing 5.5 grams of protein (11.1% of the daily value for protein) in one egg for a caloric cost of only 68 calories. The structure of humans and animals is built on protein. We rely on animal and vegetable protein for our supply of amino acids, and then our bodies rearrange the nitrogen to create the pattern of amino acids we require.”


Eggs have choline, which is an essential nutrient that benefits memory and muscle control.  I also learned that choline from eggs can reduce inflammation which is a very good thing because…..
  
“Each of these markers of chronic inflammation has been linked to a wide range of conditions including heart disease, osteoporosis, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, and type-2 diabetes.”


Combine that with the spinach which is full of metabolite betaine it creates a potent defense against the number one killer of Americans – heart disease. 

Summer Sausage Jambalaya

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I had some left over beef summer sausage from a recent camping trip. I know! You’re right! Highly processed, salty, nitrate filled sausage isn’t something that’s good for anybody, but give me a break, we were camping! Plus I found out that Hickory Farm’s beef summer sausage (although not void of nitrates) is gluten free. Sweet! So I turned it into a simple jambalaya.  I used quinoa -my favorite food to cook with because of it’s short cooking time (12 minutes), but you can use brown rice instead.  Just up the cooking time an additional 30 minutes.

1 can gluten free chicken broth (2 cups)
1 cup quinoa (if using brown rice up the liquid to 2 1/2 cups)
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb. red, green and yellow bell peppers, diced
1 celery rib
1 Hickory Farms beef summer sausage, sliced

Mix all the spices and garlic with chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add quinoa (or rice) and half of sausage.  Simmer until liquid has been mostly absorbed.  While grain is cooking, in separate pan simmer vegetable, tomatoes and remaining sausage (you may need to add some more chicken broth) Mix quinoa/rice with veggies and serve.  Serves 4 

* If you haven’t tried quinoa (Keen-wa) yet, you must!  It is so simple to make and super healthy for you.  Go learn more on my *Melissa Facts* at the bottom of Moroccan Inspired Salmon with Quinoa   

* You don’t usually think of sausage as being healthy, but it can be if you are aware of what you’re purchasing.  Here’s a few things I learned about the potentially confusing term, “organic”.   “The term “organic” refers to foods grown and processed without chemical toxins, artificial ingredients, chemical preservatives or ionizing radiation. ” Check out the guidelines for organic foods 
 
• 100 percent Organic — All ingredients are organic.
• Organic — 95 percent or more of the total ingredients are organic.
• Made with Organic Ingredients — At least 70 percent of the ingredients are organic.

“Animals fed an organic diet were slimmer (yes, skinnier!) than their un-organic fed counterparts because fat cells appear to trap and store the heavy pesticide residues found in un-organic produce

• Organics appear to promote weight loss by reducing your exposure to chemical pesticides which bind to fat and once absorbed may stay in the body for a lifetime (over 350 chemicals can accumulate in our body fat!).”
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robyn-o/organic-food-what-does-or_b_538535.html

Berry Balsamic Spinach & Arugula Salad

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My hubby and I stayed at the Platinum Hotel in Las Vegas once and while dining at the restaurant there I had the most amazing salad!  I’m sure our waiter was giving me strange looks, but I wouldn’t have known since my face was buried in my plate and the only time I came up for air was to tell him that I had fallen in love with my lunch.  I actually don’t remember much of what else was in the salad except that it had this incredible smoked salmon in it and was drizzled with a sweet and tangy balsamic vinaigrette.  I still crave it to this day.

Thus was born this amazing salad which you could easily top with smoked salmon to turn into a light dinner or go without and have as a a side.

1 – 5 oz. carton baby spinach & arugula mix
1 package smoked salmon, sliced (opt.)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup, about 4 sliced, fresh strawberries
1 pear, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 a red onion, sliced
Feta cheese, crumbled over top

Toss everything together and top with:

Balsamic Reduction Vinaigrette 
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp agave nectar or honey
1 tbsp olive oil

Whisk vinegar and agave or honey together in a small sauce pan and bring to a bubble on medium low heat.  Let boil for 5-7 minutes or until its reduced down to a syrup.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for a minute before whisking in olive oil and drizzling over salad. It was so yummy I nearly ate the entire salad myself!

* Balsamic vinegar can provide great health benefits. Such as
Balsamic vinegar contains polyphenols, antioxidants that can protect the body from heart disease and cancer. The grapes that are used to make balsamic vinegar also contain antioxidants that fight against cell damage, improve the body’s immune system and make blood platelets more flexible, thus preventing heart or circulation problems.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/87969-balsamic-vinegar-health-benefits/#ixzz1OMy5t5Qc

Just be sure to read the ingredients to be sure your getting pure balsamic vinegar. Some brands add corn syrups and sugars.

* So apparently back in ancient Rome they really liked arugula because it was a natural aphrodisiac.  Good to know.  Along with that it is a super food, which basically are foods that are high in powerful nutrients.

Arugula is a very effective stimulant, it gives power and energy, and can stop cough. Vitamins P and K in this plant are reported to have positive effects on liver function. 
http://guide2herbalremedies.com/health-benefits-of-arugula/