[ Thai Green Curry ]

Ingredients 2tablespoons olive oil 1pound chicken breasts or thighssliced into 1/4” slices then 2” pieces 1/2 large yellow onionchopped 2cups ½-inch cubed peeled sweet potatoes 1 red bell pepperchopped into 1” pieces 6tablespoons green curry paste(1 4 oz. jar) 2cups cauliflower florets 2teaspoons freshly grated ginger 4 clovesgarlicminced 2 13.5 cans quality coconut milkI like Chaokoh*** (yes, two cans) 1tablespoon cornstarch 2tablespoons less sodium soy sauce 2tablespoon fish sauce 2tablespoons lime juice 1tablespoon brown sugar 1 bay leaf 1/4cup Thai basil, choppedmay sub Italian basil Add later: 1cup frozen petite peasthawed Garnish lime juice fresh basil fresh cilantro Instructions Heat oil over medium high heat in large skillet with sides. Add chicken, onions, potatoes, and curry paste and cook just until chicken is no longer pink. Add cauliflower, red bell peppers, ginger and garlic and sauté 1 minute. Whisk some of the coconut milk (about 1 cup) with cornstarch and add to skillet. Add remaining coconut milk along with all remaining ingredients up to peas (don’t add peas). If you are using Thai basil, add at this time, if you are using Italian basil hold and add with the peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 12-15 minutes, uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas (and Italian basil if using) and cook just until peas are heated through, about one minute. If you would like a thinner sauce, thin with water/chicken broth. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with optional lime juice (love), fresh basil, cilantro and chili sauce to taste. Serve with rice, zoodles, etc.

Recipe Notes

Recipe Variations

• You can customize the Green Curry by swapping the vegetables for your favorites or what you have on hand.
• You can also make Green Curry with shrimp, pork or tofu instead of chicken. Just make sure you add the shrimp the last 3-5 minutes of simmering. 

• You can customize the flavor of this Thai Green Curry recipe to make it YOUR favorite curry.  It can be made spicy, not spicy, sweeter, savorier, more or less tangy, etc.  Here’s how:

• For sweeter curry: Add more brown sugar
• For saltier curry?  Add more fish sauce or soy sauce
• For tangier curry?  Add more lime juice
• For spicier curry?  Add chili sauce
• For thinner curry?  Add chicken broth
• For thicker curry?  Add a cornstarch slurry
• For more crunch?  Add cashews, peanuts or chickpeas

[ Tawn's Whole 30 Thai Red Curry Cauliflower Soup ]

Well.  This trial-run turned out to be HEAVEN in a pot.  It's a merger of a few Whole 30 ideas ... and I'm pretty darn proud of it.  YUM.

Tawn's Whole 30 Thai Red Curry Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

2 med heads of cauliflower

1tbsp ghee
½ cup chopped onion
2 slices pancetta
1 cooked yam, no skin

⅔ can coconut cream ( next time, I'll try 1 can of coconut milk)

¼ tsp Thai Red Curry paste

Directions:

1. wash, chopp and steam cauliflower
2. saute onions in ghee; add finely cut pancetta.
3. add cooked yam to onions and pancetta.
4. pour coconut cream (milk) into blender.
5. add onion, pancetta and yam mixture.
6.  add cauliflower.
7.  puree.
8.  pour into soup pot.
9.  heat up; stir in Thai Red Curry paste.

*  I added strips of rotisserie chicken to the bowl.

[ Strawberry Coconut Honey Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chunks ]

Coconut-cream ice cream has been my favourite thing, until I got sick of the taste of coconut ice-cream LOL.  Tonight I tried my hand at berry flavoured ice cream, with some chocolate ... it sure didn't last long.

My new favourite.  By FAR.

*nom nom nom*

Strawberry Coconut Honey Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Chunks

1/2 cup fresh strawberries

3/4 cup frozen mixed berries (it's what I had in the house.  I added this because I didn't have enough fresh berries)

1 tin coconut cream

1 tin coconut milk (light)

1/4 cup honey

1/8 cup Trader Joes dark chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the blender EXCEPT chocolate chunks, unless you puree them well.  The chunks can clog the ice cream maker ... 

2.  Pour into prepared ice cream maker.  Turn ON *smile*.

3.  WAIT.

4.  Add chocolate chunks, near end.

5.  DEVOUR.   And then try and put any leftovers into an air-tight container to finish in the morning for breakfast.  

[ Clean Eating Cocoa Applesauce Mini Muffins with Carrot Puree ]

I bought a 5-pound bag of organic carrots and was running out of things to do with them.  Then I thought, "LUNCHES".  I try and have a few things stacked in the freezer for easy-peasy-kid-lunch-making on busy mornings.  

I googled "carrots applesauce cocoa muffins" (the cocoa because I have to hide any strands of orange for fear the kids may toss them *boo*) and found a recipe at The Live-In Kitchen (here).  But.  It had brown sugar.  And way too much white flour.  So - I did some substitution homework (here and here) and came up with this:  a clean, no-white-sugar and no-white-flour recipe.

They are light and not terribly sweet, very different from the chocolately-dense Quinoa muffins.  They are both SUPER good - and these ones have little bits of almond from the almond meal.  This recipe is DEFINITELY a keeper, though it is a little time consuming with the puree.

Now - their recipe also suggests sweet potato instead of carrot for the puree - just a note there.  And since I don't have a food processor, I had to improvise.  Here's what I did ::

Clean Eating Cocoa Applesauce Mini Muffins with Carrot Puree

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup carrot or sweet potato puree
1/3 cup maple syrup
5 + 1/2 tbsp honey
1 + 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
2 tbsp coconut milk
2/3 cup almond meal (Trader Joes)
1 cup gluten-free flour mix (or whole wheat / spelt / other flour **)
1/4 cup Trader Joes chocolate chunks

Directions:

1.  Steam/cook/prepare carrots or sweet potatoes.
2.  Mix butter, applesauce, maple syrup and honey.
3.  (As I don't have a food processor) Place cooked carrots in VitaMix and add eggs.  Blend until pureed.
4. Add carrot/sweet potato mixture to butter mixture.  Mix.
5.  Add baking soda and coconut milk.  Mix lightly.
6.  Stir in almond meal and gluten-free flour mix with a wooden spoon.
7.  spray mini muffin tin with coconut oil spray (Trader Joes), or prepare as you wish.
7.  Bake at 375F for 15minutes, or until done.

yields :: approx 30 mini muffins

** I wanted to try and use coconut flour - but I didn't have enough eggs to substitute. 

[ Clean Broccoli Soup with Kick ]

I had no idea what to name this.  It's adapted from a recipe that I got off of Pinterest.  But honestly?  It was BLAND.  And yucky.  SO I added some stuff ... let it simmer.  And I've had it for the last two meals.  Mmmmm.  Pureed yumminess.

Clean Broccoli Soup with Kick

4 cups chopped broccoli
4 cups chopped cauliflower
½ onion, diced
1 tbsp coconut oil
½ small tin of organic tomato paste
Chicken stock
1 tin of coconut milk
3 tsp chipotle chilli powder
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1. sautee onions in coconut oil until clear.
2. add broccoli and cauliflower.
3. pour enough chicken stock to almost cover the veggies.
4. simmer until soft.
5. blend until smooth.
6.  add tomato paste and coconut milk.
7.  add chipotle powder, salt and pepper.
8.  simmer.