Thanksgiving Sides with a Twist

Posted on November 17, 2012 by thelifeoflulubelle

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I haven’t figured out what I will be making. I also figured I should probably do a Thanksgiving post before I continue on about Christmas (which I am very excited about). Here are some recipes I found online that put a little bit of a twist on the classics.
Sweet Potatoes/yams:

Cranberry Sauce:

Vegetable Side Dishes (with seasonal produce)

What are you making?

12 Days Until Christmas: Grain-free Appetizers

Posted on December 13, 2011 by thelifeoflulubelle

I have two holiday celebrations before Christmas and everyone is to bring an appetizer. Since I am sure there will be plenty of indulgences, I am dedicated to bringing something healthy that is grain-free and sugar-free.

Here are a few finger foods/appetizers that I have either made with success, or I plan to give a try:

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Spaghetti Sauce vs Tomato and Beef Soup

Posted on September 11, 2011 by thelifeoflulubelle

I’m a picky red-sauce eater. Most restaurant sauces make me gag; they are too sweet and I don’t care for the green pepper taste that many of them seem to have. I prefer to make my own sauce at home. Spaghetti was one of the first things I learned to cook – my dad taught me, so I have fond memories with it as well.

This week I was craving spaghetti sauce but since we aren’t eating pasta, I could only eat the sauce. Then I got to thinking, meat sauce is just like tomato soup with ground beef (close enough, right?). So I kept telling myself that it was perfectly okay to eat the sauce sans noodles. And I still enjoyed it. I could try it over zucchini strips (aka zucchini pasta) or any other vegetable. You can also dip celery or vegetables into it, or just eat it with a salad.

It’s still warm and sunny here, but this would be a nice winter meal, too.

Serve meat sauce/tomato beef soup/spaghetti sauce in a mug or a bowl

Lulu’s Favorite Garlic Meat Sauce

Makes approx. 4 servings (more if using pasta and not heavily sauced)

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Summer Berry Goodness Part 3 – My Favorite Muffins

Posted on June 23, 2011 by thelifeoflulubelle

Muffins: a very-much-loved breakfast food for kids and adults alike. Unfortunately they don’t give much love to your waistline (or maybe they give too much love). Store bought muffins or prepackaged mixes are filled with sugar and preservatives and other chemicals; even if some of them do taste pretty tasty.

I like to eat grain-free or only sprouted grains and I love almond and coconut flours (as you can see from the past). I have some friends who are on the Paleo diet and don’t eat wheat flour either. One of them posted a link to Banana Nut Muffin Loaf and I knew I had to try it.

I made a few changes and the results were stellar. These muffins do not taste like any diet or health variety. They are moist, sweet, and hard to resist. Even my brother absolutely loves them and he likes to commit himself to junk-food-only meals.

Banana Nut Blueberry Muffins

Soooo tasty!

Makes 12 muffins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Grease muffin tin with coconut oil or use muffin papers

Ingredients:
3/4 C Almond Meal
1/4 Cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 super ripe, large bananas – mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey (optional – really doesn’t need it)
3/4 cup walnut halves – then put in food processor or chop finely
1 cup blueberries

In one bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine all wet ingredients and mix with hand mixer until well blended. Add blueberries and walnuts and mix again. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until combined.