Lunch - Creamy Potato Leek Soup

Serve with a side salad for a veggie packed lunch!

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

adapted from Cook With Amber by Amber Kelley

4 servings

¼ coconut oil

2 leeks, sliced thinly and cleaned thoroughly

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 cups vegetable broth

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced (abt 4 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the leeks in oil with salt and pepper, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the starch into 1 cup of the vegetable broth until it has dissolved, making sure there are no lumps. Pour the starch mixture and remaining stock into the pot.

Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-render.

Working in batches, place about ⅓ of the soup in a blender. Put the lid on but remove the bap, and cover the hole with a kitchen towel. Blend until creamy and smooth. Repeat with rest of the soup.

Add more salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Lunch - Naked Nachos

I had this for lunch today and know right away that this recipe is a keeper! I left out the black beans to meet the Food Combining requirements, as well as the cilantro because I'm allergic to it! If you wanted to tone down the onion, you could soak it in water before chopping for this recipe. Enjoy!

Naked Nachos from Food Matters

Sweet Potato Chips

2 medium sweet potatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

Pinch of unrefined sea salt

Simple Guacamole

1 avocado

½ lime, juiced

Pinch of unrefined sea salt

Chunky Salsa

1 tomato, diced

¼ red onion, diced

½ lime, juiced

Pinch of unrefined sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Peel and slice the sweet potato into thin discs, about half a centimeter thick, and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of paprika and sea salt. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then arrange the sweet potato slices on it. Put in the oven to roast for 20 - 25 minutes.

While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, prepare the guacamole and salsa.

Plate the nachos, top with salsa, and the guacamole.

Versatile - Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

Here's a great versatile vegan tomato soup to combine with a protein for dinner or a carb/starch for lunch. The coconut milk gives this an amazing depth of flavor.  And I always think the vegetable broth does that as well. Give it a try. The original recipe called for 4 tablespoons of cashew butter. I opted to swap in the coconut milk per the authors own suggestion. I have some almond butter in the fridge but not cashew, and I know specialty nut butters can be expensive. So I tried the suggestion to sub the coconut milk, and I won't try it with the cashew butter! I like the way it turned out with the substitution! Plus I also substituted honey for the maple syrup. The original recipe calls for using an immersion blender, but since my soup was too thick and the blender wouldn't work I put mine in the blender to pulverize and changed the directions accordingly. 

Creamy Vegan Tomato Soup

from highcarbhannah.co

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup vegetable broth

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk 

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tsp ground cayenne (optional)

2 carrots, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

Fresh basil for topping

Place a saucepan over medium heat and add a few tablespoons of water or coconut oil to the pan. Add in your minced garlic and onions and saute for 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of your ingredients (except the coconut milk) and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

When the soup is done, add in your coconut milk and pulverize in a blender. 

Lunch - Mushroom Stroganoff

 Some minor adaptations to this recipe from evergreen kitchen.ca make this recipe a good gluten-free lunch option. I used both brown rice flour and brown rice noodles in place of their recommendations. It's delicious and creamy! If I hadn't made it myself I would have guessed someone used a can of Cream of Mushroom soup here!

MUSHROOM STROGANOFF

Adapted from evergreenkitchen.ca

4 servings

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided

1 large yellow onion

1 lb cremini or button mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, picked

3 tablespoons brown rice flour

3 1/2 cups vegetable stock

7 oz dry brown rice tagliatelle egg noodles

1/2 cup plain almond milk

Salt and pepper

Heat a 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet (or pot) over medium-high heat. While the pot heats, dice onion. Cook onion for 6 minutes, or until it’s translucent and slightly golden brown on edges. Meanwhile, cut the ends off the mushrooms and slice. Add mushrooms to the pot and cook for 8 minutes, or until mushrooms have released all their liquids and are golden brown.

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, minced garlic and freshly picked thyme leaves to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and mix well until vegetables are coated evenly. Then add vegetable stock. Scrape any brown bits off the pan and stir well. Bring liquid back to a boil.

Once boiling, add noodles and non-dairy milk. Use spoon to distribute the noodles so they’re fully covered with liquid. Stir every couple minutes to ensure even cooking. Cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes or until the noodles are el dente. Keep an eye on your mixture: if noodles need more liquid, add extra stock in very small increments. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and garnish with chopped parsley and cheese of your choice.

Lunch - Veggie Fajita Burritos

I went looking for recipes for some favorite Mexican recipes that I haven't been making because they aren't Food Combining compliant.  Here's one that I found and adapted to fit my needs. It's good and pretty spicy too!

Veggie Fajita Burritos

from twopeasandtheirpod.com

3-4 Servings

Fajita Seasoning:

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

For The Fajita FIlling:

2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 medium red onion, sliced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

For Serving:

Tortillas, corn or flour

Guacamole

Vegan shredded cheese

Rice

In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onion, and mushrooms and stir until the veggies are coated in the oil. Add the fajita seasoning and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and lime juice and cook for 2 minutes. The vegetables should be tender but still slightly crisp. I like to serve these in the jumbo tortillas and wrap em' up like a burrito so it's not so messy.

Can serve with a little bit of rice to help cut the heat of the spices!

Dinner - Salmon Patties

I went looking for a recipe that would remind me of my mom's old salmon loaf recipe, but one that was food combining compliant. With some modifications I put this salmon patties recipe together!

Salmon Patties

lowcarbyum.com

Prep time 5 minutes, Cook time 10 minutes

14 ounces canned salmon
2 large eggs
1 large zucchini, spiralized
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast or 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil

INSTRUCTIONS

In medium bowl, mix together salmon, eggs, zucchini, nutritional yeast (or parmesan cheese), parsley, garlic powder, oregano, and salt.

Form salmon mixture into 6 patties.

Heat oil in non-stick pan. Fry each patty in the oil until browned on both sides.

SAUCE

Mix together sour creamer mayo with some brown mustard

Versatile - Turmeric, Carrot & Ginger Soup

I needed just a couple of adaptations for this recipe. I used vegetable broth in place of the bone broth they called for. And I left out the pound of shrimp. This makes a great lunch with GF bread or GF crackers. Or put the shrimp back in for a great dinner!

Turmeric Carrot & Ginger Soup

Adapted from Atkins Eat Right, Not Less

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 carrots, thinly sliced

2 cups cauliflower florets

4 garlic cloves, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon peeled, grated ginger

1 quart vegetable broth

Warm the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, cauliflower, garlic, salt and pepper; cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables start to brown. Add the turmeric and ginger and cook 1 minute more to blend the flavors.

Add the broth and cover, increasing the heat to medium high. As soon as the soup comes to a boil, reduce to low and cook 7 to 8 additional minutes, until tender. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.