Category Archives: In The Kitchen

Healthy from scratch recipes and other kitchen tips!

Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce!

| 2 Comments | Beatty Protocols, Meals, Recipes

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce - Amanda NaturallyAhhh spaghetti. The epitome of comfort food. Slurping up those noodles, dripping in tomato sauce and covered in parm! Actually as a kid I was slurping up noodles covered in Becel margarine covered in parm…and I wonder why my belly was always sore! However, once I made it over to the spaghetti and meat sauce team, I was hooked. Making my own spaghetti sauce was one of the first things I learned how to make. In university I would make a huge bowl of pasta (whole wheat, cause you know, “healthy”) and simmer onions, garlic and fresh tomatoes on the stovetop with basil, oregano and maybe a splash of red wine if there was some leftover from the night before. Not too shabby for a 20 year old biosci student who was stressed beyond belief! 

 

This recipe, is a variation on the one my mom has Mom's Spaghetti Sauce - Amanda Naturallymade for my entire life, so I call it Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce! I believe the original recipe was in Chatelaine. It is, in my humble opinion, a perfect tomato sauce. And when you mix it with grass-fed ground beef? A bolognese that will make any Italian grandmother cry tears of joy. Okay so maybe I’m being a little melodramatic, but that’s only because homemade tomato sauce is AMAZING. Even using (organic) canned tomatoes! Trust me. It’ll change your life!

 

IMPORTANT: If you are going to put the time in to make your own spaghetti sauce (which is absolutely worth it, I promise!) be smart about it! Make as much as you can and freeze it in portions for a later date! The best thing is being able to pull homemade spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and dump it into sautéed ground beef. Toss that over noodles of your choice (I personally love zoodles or sweet potato noodles, but anything will do!) and you have a fabulous, home-cooked meal in less than 10 minutes. 

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce - Amanda Naturally

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce
Serves 12
Traditional spaghetti sauce, that is easily turned into a bolognese! Paleo, vegan, kid-friendly and delicious.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
45 min
Tomato Sauce Ingredients
  1. 2 tbsp fat (olive oil, tallow, lard)
  2. 2 onions, diced
  3. 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
  4. 2 cans organic tomatoes (I used Kirkland brand from Costco)
  5. 2 cans organic tomato paste (Kirkland)
  6. 1 tbsp oregano
  7. 1 tbsp basil
  8. 1 tbsp chili flakes (optional)
  9. 1 tsp sea salt
  10. 2 bay leaves
Bolognese
  1. 1 lb grass fed ground beef
Tomato Sauce Directions
  1. In a deep pot, heat 2 tbsp fat over medium heat.
  2. Add diced onions and sautee until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Add in canned tomatoes, tomato paste and all spices.
  5. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
  6. Serve over your choice of noodles or turn into bolognese (see below).
Bolognese
  1. Sautee grass-fed ground beef, seasoned liberally with sea salt, until cooked through. About 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add ⅓ of the tomato sauce, about 3 cups, to the cooked beef. Cook for a few minutes.
  3. Serve over your favourite type of noodle!
Notes
  1. This tomato sauce recipes makes enough for 3 meals for 4 people, so 12 servings. I typically use ⅓ of the tomato sauce and mix it with ground beef for 2 dinners and 2 leftover lunches. Divide the remaining sauce into 2 containers and freeze for a later date!
Adapted from Chatelaine
Adapted from Chatelaine
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/

 

 What recipe did you always eat growing up that you can’t get enough of? Share in the comments below!

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

| 2 Comments | AIP, Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Recipes

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts & Carrots - Amanda NaturallyBrussels Sprouts. The poor vegetable that has been demonized by our society! I hadn’t even tried Brussels sprouts, but I knew I didn’t like them because….wait, I didn’t actually know why.

So when a few years ago I received them in my vegetable CSA I was actually pretty stoked to give them a try. There were so many foods that I either used to not like, or had simply pre-judged, that I now love, that I was pretty sure I was in for a treat.

And boy was I right! 

Roasted brussels sprouts are so delicious! They caramelize against the pan, which leads to an incredible smokey flavour, with a hint of sweetness. In this recipe, I’ve taken both of those flavours up a notch. I used maple syrup and roasted carrots to compliment the sweet side, and smokey bacon as a delicious contrast!

Bonus: Brussels sprouts are part of the brassica family. These vegetables – which include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collards, cabbage, arugula, mustard greens and bok choy – are anti-carcinogenic by way of a powerful little molecule known as indole-3-carbinol  (I3C). I3C modulates estrogen uptake by cancerous cells that rely on estrogen for growth and proliferation – namely breast, endometrial and cervical cancers.  They also contain very high levels of sulfur (which is why if you overcook them, they get stinky!) which is a crucial building block of glutathione – one of our critical detoxification molecules. 

Note on Brassica Veggies & the Thyroid

Many people with low thyroid function, hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis have been warned against eating brassica vegetables. While it is important to remember that I’m not a doctor, it is equally as important to understand that the research simply isn’t there to support this. Moderate consumption of brassica veggies, even with subpar thyroid function, especially if they have been cooked, are not only safe, but may be beneficial to thyroid health. Now, if you’re downing a green juice made of raw kale, on a daily basis, you could potentially get yourself into trouble – especially if you have a selenium deficiency. As with any and all foods, overdoing it on one, will inevitably cause problems. Everything in moderation my friends!

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts & Carrots - Amanda Naturally

Enough science, back to the yummy stuff. Today’s recipe, which is perfect for a regular fall/winter dinner, and is especially timely for our neighbours to the south since Thanksgiving is next week, is Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts and Carrots. First time cooking brussels sprouts? Rest assured this is easy! Simply combine all ingredients together in a roasting pan, on a cookie sheet or even in a cake pan and bake until crispy. Drizzle the maple syrup for the final 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts & Carrots - Amanda Naturally

 

Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts & Carrots
A delicious side dish for a fall meal, including Thanksgiving! Gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo. Full of flavour!
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
55 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
45 min
Total Time
55 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 cups Brussels sprouts (whole)
  2. 4 cups carrots
  3. 2 tbsp cooking fat (lard, tallow, butter, olive oil)
  4. 4 pieces of bacon
  5. sea salt
  6. black pepper
  7. 2 tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Prepare Brussels sprouts by slicing ¼ inch off the bottom and peeling off the outer few layers. The leaves should be bright green and tightly packed. Slice in half from top to bottom. Place in pan.
  3. Wash carrots and chop into pieces about the size of the brussels sprouts. Add to pan.
  4. Drizzle with 2 tbsp cooking fat and season liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
  5. Chop bacon into small pieces and spread on top of the brussels sprouts and carrots.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes. Stirring 2 or 3 times.
  7. Drizzle with maple syrup and bake for 10 more minutes.
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/

Banana Muffins

| 6 Comments | Apps, Snacks & Sides, Beatty Protocols, Breakfasts, Recipes, Treats

Banana muffins are my favourite. When I was little I used to always ask my mom to make “na-na muff-uffs”, which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) means that’s still what we call banana muffins in my parents house! They may or may not have a home movie of 2.5 year old me baking “na-na muff-uffs” at my fisher price kitchen one Christmas morning…

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Typical nutriton educators call muffins “cupcakes without the icing”, which is mostly true. Take a carrot muffin for example. Many people choose carrot muffins over chocolate chip, because they’re healthier! Would you choose carrot cake over chocolate cake for health reasons? No! Because you know it’s still cake! What ingredients are typically found in a cake? White flour, white sugar, eggs, butter and baking soda. And a muffin? Flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking soda, oil… Same recipe, slightly different ratios.

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

There are a lot of “healthy” muffin recipes out there, but usually the focus is all about reducing the fat and cholesterol by eliminating the eggs and any oil that may be involved. Since we know that eggs have been wrongly demonized and that fat is crucial for health, suddenly those “healthy muffin” recipes are even worse than the original! White flour + white sugar + no nutrients. Well that screams diabetes in the making. Yowza!

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Even I cannot deny how convenient muffins are. They are easy to grab for a quick pick-me-up, or a breakfast if you don’t have time to make a real one, or to throw in your kids lunch bags. So instead of saying all muffins are off limits, why not change the ingredients to make them work for you, instead of against? I was on the hunt for a recipe that did just this and was thrilled when I stumbled across this one over at The Spunky Coconut. Real, nutrient-dense ingredients that are full of health-promoting vitamins, minerals, fat and protein. This was a muffin I could get behind. 

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Of course I had to tweak it a bit – since that’s what I do! I didn’t have applesauce, so I subbed an extra egg and it worked great. I also started adding lemon juice and zest, because lemon blueberry is an awesome flavour combo. Then recently, I had a client request a banana muffin for her kids. Most grain-free, dairy-free banana muffins rely heavily on almond flour and/or nut-butter. Since all schools are nut-free in Ontario, that wasn’t going to work. So I used the shredded coconut/egg base from the blueberry muffin recipe as my inspiration. I hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I do!

UPDATE (July 2016): I now throw all of the wet ingredients into my blender instead of mashing by hand. It eliminates the need for super ripe bananas (which are great, but I don’t always have them on hand, so yellow banana work too now) and your eggs don’t have to be room temperature either.

UPDATE: (May 2017): I no longer add maple syrup! I forgot to add it a few times and didn’t even notice the difference. This makes me especially happy because my 9 month old loves these muffins now and I feel great about giving her these!

Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

 

Banana Muffins (grain free, dairy free)
Serves 12
An old-fashioned banana muffin made without gluten, grains, dairy or sugar! Paleo and vegetarian!
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Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 6 eggs, brought to room temperature
  2. ½ cup coconut oil, melted
  3. ¼ cup honey or maple syrup (optional, I don't add it anymore)
  4. ½ tsp vanilla extract
  5. 2 cups mashed bananas
  6. 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
  7. ½ cup coconut flour, sifted
  8. ½ tsp sea salt
  9. ½ tsp baking soda
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with silicon liners.
  2. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl. (or add to a large blender, this eliminates the need for super ripe bananas or room temp eggs)
  3. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix really well. It will thicken up after a few minutes.
  5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop a generous serving into each muffin liner. They don't rise a lot, so fill them up to the top!
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until set and slightly golden.
  7. Let cool and enjoy!
Notes
  1. It is important to have the eggs at room temperature so they don't cause the coconut oil to solidify. If you don't have time to leave them out, simply place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water for about 10 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  2. These muffins freeze really well so I always make a double batch and freeze half.
  3. You could totally turn these into cupcakes by adding dairy-free chocolate chips and icing!
Amanda Naturally http://www.amandanaturally.com/
Banana Muffins - Grain Free Dairy Free - Amanda Naturally

Do you have a favourite snack from your childhood that you’ve ‘healthified’? Share in the comments below!

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