Month: February 2016

Zucchini Fritters {Gluten-free, Low-Carb}

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with different veggies in clean, light dishes. I feel as though simple weekday meals have been my theme because I know we are all so busy, whether it is working, being a mom, etc. etc.  From my perspective, I think it’s those times when we are short on time, that we break away from eating healthy and grab the nearest, fastest thing, often straying away from our goals.

This week I made a few batches of these zucchini fritters. I posted these on my Instagram a while back, but have made a few tweaks since – making the recipe even better, in my opinion ;). Often when I am out and see “fritters” on the menu, I stay away as they are heavy and deep fried. That being said, they always look delicious and have inspired me to clean them up.  The recipe below creates light, delicious fritters that are unbelievably easy to make and on top of that are low-calorie and low-carb. They are the perfect way to add in veggies to meals without even knowing. They can also be served with lunch, dinner, an appetizer… or if you are like my husband, maybe even along with breakfast! 🙂

zucchini fritters

Zucchini Fritters
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Tbs plus 2 tsp olive oil
  2. 1/4 C chopped yellow onion
  3. 2 C (packed) grated zucchini
  4. 2 Tbs parmesan cheese (optional)
  5. 3 Tbs almond flour
  6. 1 egg
Instructions
  1. Take 2 Tbs olive and the chopped onion and place in skillet over medium heat and cook till translucent, set aside. In a bowl wisk the egg and almond flour together, add the parmesan cheese, onion and zucchini and continue to mix well. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil on a skillet at medium heat and place large spoonfuls of the mixture, as in the picture. Spread and flatten-out with spoon to resemble a small pancake. Cook for approx 5 minutes, try flipping one over to make sure not too dark. When they dont fall apart and are lightly browned, flip all and continue cooking till lightly browned on both sides. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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zucchini fritters

 zucchini fritters

zucchini fritters

Low-Carb, Gluten-free Sesame Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Hi everyone!!  Hope you are having an amazing week so far! The week has been flying by as I have had a ton of deadlines and projects but I wanted to share an awesome Sesame Chicken recipe I made for T and I this week.  It was low-carb, gluten-free but was one of those dinners I would consider “special”!  I am sorry to offend anyone who loves Chinese food, but that bowl full of veggies, meat and sauce is usually not a healthy one. Chinese restaurants are notorious for having items that are battered, deep-fried and for sauces loaded with salt and sugar!  The options are also rarely gluten-free unless noted.  After not having Chinese food in years, I was set on making my own low-carb, gluten-free chicken dish, so here it is!

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Dinner time is typically when I want the best meal of my day.  On an average day, I am so busy at work I am basically eating –  not for enjoyment but more for nourishment.  Being the foodie that I am and actually loving food and eating.. ;), I look forward to a flavorful meal to relax and enjoy at the end of a long day.  I made this and was in love!

For my bridal shower last May, I received a rockin’ food processor. I had originally put it on my registry not knowing exactly what I would do with it but I figured I would definitely use it with all the cooking I do.  Cauliflower rice was where it all began for me and this food processor.  It is awesome!!  I’m sharing my cauliflower rice recipe in a separate recipe box below.  You really can make it anytime and add it to any dish in place of rice.  It is low carb, gluten-free, low calorie and diabetic friendly :)- I think I’ve mentioned this before but I often try to keep my dinner’s lower in carbs than my other meals. 
 
Secondly, the Seseme Chicken recipe is up on here too! This recipe really satisfies the cravings for Chinese food without all of the calories along with it!  Hope you give it a try! 🙂

 

Cauliflower Rice
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Ingredients
  1. 1 head cauliflower
  2. 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
  3. 1 Tbs olive oil
  4. 1 garlic clove, crushed
  5. Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Take the head of cauliflower, cut off long stems and separate it. Wash it well and dry it.
  2. Put it into a food processor and use the grate blade. Grate the entire head. You will see it looks just like rice!
  3. Use a measuring cup and measure out 3 packed cups, the extra can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for another time.
  4. Heat pan and add the olive oil and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and the cauliflower rice and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes.
Notes
  1. If you freeze, take out of freezer and thaw / dry thoroughly with paper towels to eliminate moisture. Use a whisk to 'fluff' the rice up once it is in the pan. I actually make two heads at a time and put in 3 cup portions in ziplock bags in my freezer for easy use. If you don't have a food processor with a grater blade, you can grate with a hand-held grater. Also, Trader Joe's now sells this rice in the frozen vegetable section. It is a very popular item these days, so it sells out very very fast...I have yet to personally see it!
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Sesame Chicken
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 head broccoli, wash and cut-off stems and cut into bite size pieces
  2. 2 scallions (cut green end for garnish)
  3. 1 lb chicken breasts - wash chicken, cut off any excess fat and cut into 1 " cubes
  4. 1 egg
  5. 1 Tbs Arrowroot Starch/ Flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)
  6. 1 Tbs sesame oil
  7. Salt and pepper
Sauce
  1. 1 Tbs sesame oil
  2. 2 Tbs Organic Tamari Sauce (gluten free soy)
  3. 1 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
  4. 1 Tbs plus 1 tsp Truvia Brown Sugar Blend
  5. 2 Tbs sesame seeds
  6. 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum (Bob's Red Mill makes a great product)
  7. 1 glove garlic, crushed
  8. 1 tsp ginger, minced
Instructions
  1. Take all the sauce ingredients and whisk together in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Take a large bowl and whisk the egg, add the arrowroot flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and make sure each piece is covered.
  3. Heat up a large skillet and add the sesame oil to coat the pan completely. Add the chicken, making sure they do not stick together.
  4. Cook approx 6 minutes and turn each one over with spatula separately and finish cooking, another 5 minutes, until gold and crispy but do not let it get too brown.
  5. Gently add the sauce on top of the chicken and add the broccoli. Cook for approximately 4-5 minutes.
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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Valentine’s Day! + Paleo, Gluten-free Chocolate Cake

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!! I hope you all have something fun planned! T and I went to our favorite, favoriteeeeee restaurant, La Lanterna, for our dinner date. Due to the way Valentine’s Day falls this year and our work schedules, we decided to go out last night.  I love Valentine’s Day because it is the perfect reason for us to go out early and make a night of it. Along with that, I will make any excuse I can get to bake something delicious ;).

So, since it’s Valentine’s Day I will give a shout out to my husband, T!! Thank you for being the best husband and always supporting me! Almost 6 months of marriage to the day and each day I feel more blessed to have you ?. Love you!!! I hope you read this! 🙂 Sometimes I will have him read posts before I post them but then when I don’t, he often will text me, commenting on the post and I’m like, that’s so cool he’s reading! lol

Anyway! So we enjoyed our dinner, then came back to our house and had this amazing cake I am sharing today!  Unless I am having a decadent gluten-free dessert at a restaurant, I typically won’t order dessert because a lot of times the gluten-free options are just not worth it to me. In this case, we sipped on cappuccinos then came back to have this cake and enjoy each other’s company! 🙂

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appetizerIMG_0150Burrata!

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Seriously the best dish!!^.. scallops over risotto!

Something about Valentine’s Day makes me think of chocolate, so I wanted to make something super chocolatey but also keeping health concerns in mind. About the cake, it is a paleo gluten-free chocolate cake – super rich – more on the dense side – almost like a brownie.    I hope you enjoy!! 🙂

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Paleo, Gluten-free Chocolate Cake
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Ingredients
  1. 3/4 cup almond flour
  2. 1 cup coconut flour
  3. 1 stick grass-fed butter
  4. 2 tbsp. coconut oil
  5. 1/2 cup honey
  6. 1 tsp baking soda
  7. 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
  8. 4 eggs
  9. 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (you will need a 10 oz. bag if you are making the icing too)
Instructions
  1. Grease 9" spring-form pan and set aside.
  2. In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Mix and make sure there are no clumps.
  3. In separate bowl, add honey, butter (melted) and coconut oil (melted). Whisk ingredients.
  4. Add the small bowl of liquid ingredients in to large bowl and stir.
  5. Add eggs and stir until completely mixed.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips. Once mixed throughout, spoon batter in to spring-form pan.
  7. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. It really depends on the oven - check with toothpick.
Notes
  1. Chocolate Frosting - take the remaining chocolate chunks from bag, 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp grass-fed butter. Start melting chocolate chunks using the double boiled method. As you stir the chocolate begins to melt, add in the honey and butter. Once the chocolate becomes a thin consistency, remove from stove and drizzle over cake.
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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Paleo Banana Nut Bread – Gluten-free, Grain-free

 

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Good morning! Hope you are having an amazing Saturday so far! I’m beyond pumped it’s the weekend where I am able to take a step back and relax a little. I posted a picture of my banana bread earlier this week on my Instagram and I’ve been perfecting the recipe over the past few days.  It is seriously… awesome. Since I can’t eat gluten, I’ve totally strayed away from breads which is still somewhat crazy to me because at one point of my life, I literally lived on bread!… and didn’t know it was the reason I was so sick. Even gluten-free breads are a rarity as I don’t buy them very often unless I am buying it for a specific recipe or purpose. Anyway, I was thinking about changing things up a bit and putting some creativity into our menu this week and had an idea to make a Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free banana bread.  Banana bread brings me right back to my childhood as it is an awesome classic, comfort food that has an aroma that warms the home!  Having this was such a treat!

After sharing it with a few others, I can definitely say it is fluffy, moist and has a delicious sweet banana flavor without any added sugar, besides a little honey. This is awesome for people with gluten-intolerance or also if you follow the Paleo lifestyle. Keep in mind, eating it in moderation is key! A slice of this in lieu of any boxed processed mix is definitely a better option.

For me, I had a slice along with my Greek yogurt after my workouts this week. I was totally satisfied and didn’t even give the sweet treats in my office kitchen a glance ;).

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Paleo Banana Nut Bread - Gluten-Free, Grain-Free
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Ingredients
  1. 3 large ripe bananas
  2. 4 eggs
  3. ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  4. ½ cup coconut flour
  5. ½ up almond flour
  6. ¾ tsp cinnamon
  7. ¾ tsp baking soda
  8. ¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
  9. 5 tbsp. grass-fed butter (pictured below)
  10. ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  11. ¼ cup organic honey
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350.
  2. Grease loaf pan with grass-fed butter or coconut oil. Cut a piece of parchment paper and place it on bottom of loaf pan, then set aside.
  3. You will need two bowls for this recipe. With one medium bowl, add all dry ingredients. Mix well.
  4. In another bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, trying to get rid of any large clumps. Combine butter (melted), eggs, vanilla and honey to mashed bananas and whisk till fully mixed.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and whisk again till completely mixed.
  6. Fill loaf pan, smoothing on top.
  7. Place in oven for approx. 50 minutes. It really depends on your oven. Check with toothpick. Let cool.
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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Game Day Wings – Classic & Tandoori!

 

The Superbowl is always an awesome time for some delicious football food.  While T is usually more into the game, I am typically like, “So, what are we eating?!?”.

Chicken wings are a staple to any game day party.   They are almost always fried and contain a ton of fat and calories.  This year, I am sharing two awesome wing recipes that are on the lighter side…if that’s possible ;).  The first recipe I am sharing is your classic, spicy, addictively good buffalo wings.  The second recipe is crispy, baked wings, Tandoori style that are delicious and definitely bring in new flavors to your traditional game day menu.

Instead of ordering takeout before the game, try preparing one of these.  You will not be disappointed! 🙂

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Classic Chicken Wings
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Ingredients
  1. •2 packages of organic chicken wingettes (approximately 24 wings)
  2. •1 1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
  3. •2 tsp olive oil
  4. •1 tsp garlic powder
  5. •olive oil to grease tray
Instructions
  1. Thoroughly wash chicken, pat to dry and place in large bowl. Trim off as much fat as you can without cutting off chicken meat. In separate bowl, mix 1 cup of hot sauce and other ingredients together, excluding the olive oil you are using to grease the tray. Dip each wingette into sauce and place back in bowl. Pour remaining sauce on top. Place into refrigerator to marinate for 1-4 hours. Take out half hour prior to cooking so that wings can get to room temperature. Preheat oven to 400. Grease large tray and place wings skin down, close but not overlapping. Bake for 25 minutes. Halfway through, turn each wing over and spoon remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce over wings. After 25 minutes has passed, heat broiler and broil to your liking (approx. 8 inches from top of oven). I did mine for 8 minutes but oven temperatures vary. Watch carefully.
  2. I served mine with a homemade blue cheese dip but you can use any blue cheese dip you prefer!
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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Tandoori Chicken Wings
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Ingredients
  1. •2 packages of organic chicken wingettes (approximately 24 wings)
  2. •1 -6 oz can of tomato paste
  3. •1 tbsp. and 1 tsp garam masala*
  4. •1 tsp garlic powder
  5. •1 tsp cayenne pepper
  6. •1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  7. •2 tsp ground turmeric
  8. •1 tbsp peeled, graded fresh ginger (about a 2 inch piece)
  9. •1 tbsp olive oil
  10. •1 tsp course salt
  11. •1 tbsp lime juice
  12. •2 cups greek yogurt (low or full fat)
  13. •1 cup mango chutney*
Instructions
  1. Wash chicken thoroughly, pat dry and set aside. Trim off as much fat as you can without cutting off chicken meat. In a large bowl, combine tomato paste, garam masala, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, olive oil, salt, lime juice and Greek yogurt. Add wings to the mixture and marinate for approximately 1 hour, covered, in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400. About 30 minutes before cooking, bring chicken to room temperature. Bake for 30 minutes. After 25 minutes has passed, heat broiler and broil to your liking (approx. 8 inches from top of oven). I did mine for 6 minutes but oven temperatures vary. Watch carefully so they do not burn!
Notes
  1. *I found these ingredients at Whole Foods 🙂
Alyssa Grieco http://alyssagrieco.com/
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