Family Dinner Favorite: Delicious Keto / Paleo Cauliflower Noodle Lasagna Recipe

Oh YUM cauliflower, you transform into absolute low-carb deliciousness.   I tell you - I whipped out a pan of this lasagna and my clan (which only consisted of four on this particular night) cleaned the entire dish. They had NO IDEA what the noodles were made of. They could tell they were different - but they really liked it. 

If you are making up your own sauce - start that first so it can be simmering to perfection while the noodles are being created. If you are looking for a yummy Paleo Tomato Sauce  Rao's is an excellent option.

SAUCE: 

• Rao's Tomato sauce  15oz jar
• 1 lb ground Italian Sausage
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt/pepper to taste

I  browned Italian sausage, then added sauteed onion, green bell pepper until soft, added some minced garlic, oregano, salt & pepper, then add sauce. 

Next you will want to make the cauliflower lasagna noodles. These are so simple and yummy. I found this TERRIFIC recipe on The Iron You Blog. He has an entire recipe consisting of a delicious bolognese and bechamel sauce. This time around I just stuck with his noodle recipe. YUM! Trust me, I will be returning to try the other options. 

NOODLES:

• TheIronYou Cauliflower Lasagna Noodles Recipe 

{Just requires cauliflower, eggs, salt & pepper - Parchment Paper} click link above for the recipe and directions.

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

• 1 C. Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 C. Shredded Mozzarella
• 1-2 Cups Baby Spinach

I layered a cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan, then added a layer of noodles, topped with more sauce, some spinach, sprinkled Parmesan cheese...repeat noodles, sauce, spinach, parm and final layer was noodles, sauce, parmesan and mozza sprinkled over top. 

Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

-Simply Sublime

DIY Essential Oil Recipe for the Garden - Natural Bug Repellent Spray

This essential oils spray works so effectively you won't see any little creepers crawling. It is so simple to make, simple to spray, but does a COMPLEX job. Just spray a fine mist on the plants in your garden to help protect them from predators and promote strong, healthy plant growth. 

It can be used on indoor house plants as well. 

Arise & Shine Freezer Meal: Paleo - Gluten Free Bacon Egg Cups

If you are one to browse through pinterest, you may have seen some of these egg cup recipes already. Since our family has been whipping up quite a few quick grabbing, easy gobbling on the run, recipes I thought I would try coming up with my own version.

I sprayed my muffin trays with olive oil, wrapped the perimeter of each cup with bacon strips, trimmed to fit around without overlapping. Then in a large mixing bowl I added the eggs {about one per egg cup}, green onion, spinach, browned ground sausage {yes, more meat because my Man is a MEAT-EATER} chopped red bell pepper, and I tossed in some grated parmesan (for paleo omit the cheese). Seasoned with Himalayan Pink Salt, because I love the color and pepper. 

This was so simple - I filled the cups 2/3 of the way. Baked at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes I think. Just enough for them to not jiggle. Then I simply bagged them up into freezer bags. My hubby and kiddos grab them and toss them in the micro (yeah, we still use it sparingly) for a little over a minute and voila.... breakfast is served. 

These are SO YUMMY!

-Simply Sublime

Paleo-ish Gluten Free Outdoor Firepit Snacks: S'mores Healthy Style

There is nothing that says summer as much as a good ole' campfire. Our family LOVES sitting down and chatting round the snapping, crackling fire with the warm glow lighting up our faces. There is something primitively rugged and romantic about it at the same time.

The family favorite of this time together for our kiddos is probably the roasting of marshmallows and the gobbling of the s'mores. In the last couple years with our family trying to eat a more healthy, paleo, gluten free diet I decided to try to make up some healthier fire roasting & gobbling ingredients. 

After some searching on the web-o-sphere, I found the two following recipes. I tried 'em out and they were delish. My kiddos didn't even question them. 

Paleo Graham Crackers

{Source: Thepaleomom.com}

Paleo Homemade Marshmallow Recipe: GAPS, GF

{Source: UrbanPoser via Mommypotomus}

With this recipe the marshmallows are very moist. I would suggest letting them dry out for a couple days prior to roasting. They got a little drippy on our sticks - but they were DELICIOUS!!!

Totally worth trying. As for the chocolate - we just went with good old Hershey's. So, no we weren't completely paleo - but I think the options were WAY better. Somethings just aren't worth changing...and some are. Let me know if you have a great chocolate alternative.

-Simply Sublime

Marinated Grilled Greek Chicken Skewers: Delicious Healthy & Flavorful Recipes for the Barbecue

Marinated & Grilled Greek Chicken Skewers

w/ Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Roll-ups

Ingredients:

• Wooden bamboo skewers - or metal
• 12-16 chicken tenders or 4 breasts cut into strips
• 1 Cup plain greek yogurt - or plain yogurt
• 1/2 Cup crumbled feta cheese
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• thyme sprigs
• pinch of salt

1. Mix up all of the ingredients from the yogurt through the salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Place chicken strips in a ziploc bag or a shallow dish and cover with the marinade mixture. Then seal bag or cover dish with clear saran wrap to remove all air, keeping chicken covered in marinade. Place in fridge to marinate for 3 hours. 
2. 
   This is a good time to start soaking your wooden skewers in water to avoid them catching on fire when it is time to grill. (If making the Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Roll-ups - now would be a great time to get started on them)
3. Once the marination period is completed it is time to skewer the chicken and fire up the grill. Weave the chicken lengthwise on the skewer like a ribbon. Make sure to oil the grill as the chicken will stick if the grates aren't seasoned. The chicken only takes about 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot your grill is. I would suggest trying to cook these at a very low temperature to avoid them drying out. 
4. Once they are all cooked up they need to be served immediately as they will cool rather quickly. These don't need any added sauces as they are full to the brim with flavor. 

These are also great left over to go with a nice salad for lunch the next day! DELISH!!!

-Simply Sublime

Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Roll Up Recipe: Gluten Free Barbecue Side Dish Idea

Our family LOVES a good meal off the "Q" - that's what I call anything barbecued {grilled or smoked}. My family thinks I am off my rocker every time I say "Q", which somehow drives me to say it like a broken record.  "Love me some Q",  "Hurry up and heat up the Q".

We love to Q SO Much that you might even find us standing outside by the grill with crisp white snowflakes falling. Yep, Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer we will still be cooking it up on the Q. {You are beginning to see why my family goes bonkos over my Q'isms aren't cha?}

It's easy to find recipes for barbecued main dishes - but I have been on the hunt to widen my recipe box of Q'd healthy side dishes. So, here is the latest concoction: Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Roll-ups.

Grilled Eggplant & Quinoa Roll-ups

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Eggplants
• 6 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 pinch of salt

Quinoa and Feta Filling

• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 dash of vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic - chopped or pressed
• 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta

Cold Raw Crispy add-ins

• 1 red beetroot, coarsely grated
• 2 carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 red pepper, cut small
• 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1)Prepare Quinoa and Feta Filling by cooking 1 cup of quinoa as per package directions. While quinoa is simmering begin sauteing the chopped onion in the dash of oil. After onions are sweetly fragrant and soft add garlic, salt, turnmeric, chili powder and garam masala and cook another 2 minutes while stirring. Add salt to taste.  Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

2)Wash and prepare the Cold Raw Crispies - rinse and chop cilantro. Grate carrots and beet. Rinse and dice red bell pepper. Set aside.

   

3)Combine olive oil, ground cumin and salt in a small bowl. Trim stems from eggplants and slice into 1/4" slices lengthwise. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil combination and grill on barbecue for a couple minutes on both side until it begins to soften but prior to getting crisp.

4)Assembly time - one by one take a slice of grilled eggplant and sprinkle with feta, fill with a layer of quinoa mixture and sprinkle the cold crispies on top...then roll up. YUM!!!

Serve immediately.

 Goes great with my Greek Grilled Chicken Skewers. 

-Simply Sublime

Free GF (Gluten Free) Cookbook. CHECK.IT.OUT!

Check out this free Coconut Flour cookbook on Amazon. Here!



Not sure how long it will last - so head on over and grab it while you can!

DIY Kids Project: Sweet N' Sour Candy Tart Valentine Pixie Stick Treat

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I thought I would post a quick idea for a fun Valentines Treat. Last year we made homemade Pixie Sweet N' Sour Sticks with natural fruit. This was so much fun for the kiddos. It was a pretty healthy treat compared to alot of the valentines recipes out there too. Dried fruit from Trader Joe's add some sugar if you like and some citric acid and VOILA! Fun, easy and super tasty! Enjoy!

Ingredients for the yumminess:
1 C Sugar
1 t. citric acid (I used more as we liked our zippy - so taste test with the kids - this is a super fun photo op for funny face photos)
1/2 C. freeze-dried fruits of your choice (we used a mix of raspberry, strawberry and blueberry)

Tools you may want on hand:

• spice grinder, coffee grinder or small food processor
• straws
• sheet of paper
• needle nose pliers
• fun cut out printed paper designs, one per straw or have you kiddos design their own creations by hand ( I designed mine but purchased the digital owl on etsy - used a scallop paper punch to get the nifty shape) 
• hot glue gun

This was such an easy-peasy treat. Once we had everything all printed up and cut out it was time to make our sweet tart recipe. We ground the dried fruit in our burr coffee grinder. After all what does a little caffeine hurt, with all this sugar right? 

Then you simply mix up the sugar, citric acid and ground fruit in a bowl. We used a clean, blank sheet of paper to make homemade funnels. Then you simply double fold (two folds) tightly one end of your paper straws  - add a tiny dot of hot glue if you would like to hold it in place. Place funnel in end of straw (over bowl in case of spillage) and kiddos begin pouring. You may want to use a 1/4 Cup measuring cup as a vessel to transport from bowl to funnel for the wee little kiddos attempting this. Fill straw with about a 1" - 1.5" space left at top of straw. Fold top of straw 2 times. We pinched the ends of our straws with a flat needle nose pliers to make sure they were tight folds. 

Once you have all of your straws filled and folded it is time to hot glue on the Paper Decor you created. You can tie on ribbons, add glitter, rhinestones, raffia. The options are endless. Just let the kids have fun with this one. 

Hope you enjoy!

-Simply Sublime

Pre-Thanksgiving Feast...Paleo-tastic!

So excited for our pre-thanksgiving dinner celebration tonight. My dear Hubby has had the turkey brining overnight and has the perfect aromatic fruit smolder surrounding it in our smoker right now. Every so often I get a whiff of the scrumptious bird as it is cooking to perfection out on our deck. It is only for fear the neighbors will see me that I haven't stuffed my head into the smoker to breathe it in. Mmmmm. Is it blatantly obvious I have a LOVE relationship with food?

In my quest to have a SIMPLY SUBLIME life I have realized I need to bring my love for food into a balance that will also let me have respect for my body. It is getting harder for me to look into the mirror without seeing myself. (Some of you out there who struggle with your weight will totally get what I am saying.)  So PALEO it is. 

Below I have listed some of the yummy recipes we are going to try out for our pre-Thanksgiving Grub. 

Alton Brown's Honey-Brined Smoked Turkey

Isn't she a BEAUTY??? YUMM-O!

Smoked to perfection.

Now for the extra fixin's:

Whole 9 Cranberry Sauce

Our family has tried Paleo on and off for a couple years but the family food traditions of the holidays always end up derailing us on our journey to health. I decided this year we could try a different route all together... we could take the right turn down PALEO Parkway. I think having an early turkey dinner this Sunday will also help us from over-stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving. We won't be CRAVING the yummy goodness for days ahead... we will be nibbling on healthy paleo comfort foods into and through the season. 



Smashed Cauliflower
by Undressed Skeleton


The most important thing for me to remember is the self control of the short term leads to the LONG TERM GOAL:
Optimum HEALTH & ENERGY


Paleo Gravy..NOM NOM
by NOM NOM Paleo.com

Green Beans w/ Lemon

 from Mom Advice.com

Thanksgiving Stuffing | PaleOMG - Paleo Recipe

Baked Pear w/ Lavender from All Recipes

Emeril's Brussel Sprout's ... BAM

Food Network

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

the Paleo Mom .com

The turkey finished earlier then expected on the smoker - so I didn't have time to whip up the Pumpkin Pie or the Pears. Although - all of the rest was DELISIO!!! There was not a single minute I missed having our traditional sides with a TURKEY on our table.