Recipe: Shrimp, Zoodles and Green Goddess "Pesto" (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

So you noticed that "Pesto" is in quotes, right?  There's no cheese in this one. (I know, a lot of you are saying "Booooo!"  But my Dairy Free friends are saying, "Yahooooo!")  Also, not sure if it is because I used a Magic Bullet, rather than a Food Processor (I'm not a cook remember?), but my "Pesto" came out delightfully creamy rather than "Pesto-y".  

Regardless, it was delicious--and totally healthy.  Lots of good veggies and herbs, healthy fats, and even some protein.  If you're not a shrimp eater, feel free to sub out with chicken, beef, beans, or whatever strikes your fancy.  It's all good!  Enjoy!

BIG GADGETS NEEDED:

• Spiralizer
• Food Processor (or Magic Bullet!)

INGREDIENTS:

   FOR THE ZOODLES

• 2-3 Zucchini, washed, ends trimmed and zucchini cut in half
• Coconut oil/Avocado Oil (if heating your zoodles) 

   FOR THE "PESTO"

• 1/2 cup basil leaves packed
• 1/2 cup baby arugula packed
• 1/3 cup hemp hearts
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped chives or green onion tops (NOT the white part)
• 3 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon jarred capers, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon of the caper brine (i.e., liquid from jarred capers)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

   FOR THE SHRIMP

• Shrimp
• Coconut oil
• Garlic Powder
• Lemon
• Salt
• Pepper

   OPTIONAL

• Chopped cherry tomatoes
• Fresh Basil

HOW TO:

   ZOODLES

• Wash and dry your zucchini.  Trim the ends.  Cut in half.  Prep a plate with a paper towel to catch your freshly spiralized zoodles.
• Use the "spaghetti" blade and make your zoodles.
• Pat zoodles dry with paper towels
• Now let the zoodles sit and go make your pesto

   PESTO

• Take all pesto ingredients and add them to your food processor.  Blend.  Yup.  It's that easy.

   SHRIMP

• Heat up your fry pan.  Add the oil.  Add the shrimp.
• Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Cook until just firm.
• Squeeze a little lemon on top.  Remove pan from heat.  Take shrimp out of the pan, put them on a plate.  

   HEATING ZOODLES (Optional)

• Choice is yours.  If you're a David Wolfe follower, maybe you like your zoodles crunchy and raw.  Me?  I like them just warm with a slight snap.
• So...if you're like me, take your shrimp pan and wipe it out carefully with a paper towel. Please do not burn yourself.  That would not be cool (literally).  
• Throw a little coconut or avocado oil into the pan and heat to medium high.  Once the pan is hot, toss in your zoodles and stir them around for 2 mins.  (They will still be a little crunchy.)
• Do not overcook or you'll have a mushy mess.  Nobody wants that.

   COMBINE

• Put a little pesto over the top of your zoodles (if the pesto isn't runny enough, you can always add a little warm water to thin it out--there's totally enough flavor in there to do this) and mix it in.  
• Shrimp goes on top.  

Done.  

Maybe add some chopped cherry tomatoes on top and if you want to look extra fancy add a little sprig of basil.  Enjoy!  

Let me know how it goes or if you add your own little flair to the recipe!  

Recipe: Cherry Banana N-ice Cream (Dairy free, Vegan, Paleo)

So I was super sad when I was told that I was allergic to dairy.  Like, suuuuuper sad.  

No butter, cheese, yogurt, milk, chocolate, cream, sour cream, creamy dressings, cream sauces, chowder, bisque, pizza, mac n cheese....and worst of all...no ice cream!  Whaaaa???  How would I ever survive?  Especially during the summer!

Well, where there's a will, there's a way!  And here's the way!  I started making my own...sans milk/cream of course.  And it's easy breezy.

I even have a favorite flavor already.  It's cherry banana.  So here's my recipe for 
Cherry Banana N-Ice Cream.  (If you're wondering, the "N" stands for "Not". You can say it out loud like, "Nnnnice Cream".  Isn't that fun to say?)

PLANNING AHEAD:  

• Making this N-ice Cream requires frozen bananas. SOOOOO....When you buy bananas and they get to that stage where they're starting to get little brown spots on their gorgeous yellow peels, don't grumble and toss them out in a couple days.  Instead, peel them, cut them into bite-sized chunks and freeze them.  

EQUIPMENT:

• I use a Magic Bullet (with only a slight struggle...it's just on the edge of being not powerful enough!), but I'll bet you could use anything whirly--blender, food processor, Nutribullet, Vitamix, Ninja, etc.  
• BTW, you may be wondering, if my Magic Bullet isn't quite powerful enough then why do I use it?  Well, it's sooo darn easy to clean...and I'm super lazy about washing dishes...true story.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2  frozen banana (sliced)--you can guesstimate here as to how many slices make up 1/2 a banana
• Frozen cherries (no sugar added, organic--after all, cherries are on the EWG's 2018 Dirty Dozen list)
• Splash of liquid--water, almond milk, coconut milk, coconut cream, etc. (I use canned coconut cream from Trader Joe's.  Why?  Cuz it's organic and there are no weird ingredients like carageenan, guar gum, soy lecithin, or xanthan gum.)

DIRECTIONS:

• Stick all the ingredients into your whirly thing and blend until it's the consistency you like (ie. Liquid-y like a shake or creamy like soft serve).  
• Eat slowly!  Avoid brain freeze at all costs!

See?  Easy breezy!  Now, the fun part!  You can add stuff or take stuff out.  Like what, you ask?

• To your Cherry N-ice Cream (AFTER blending) you can stir in cacao nibs, tiny chunks of Montezuma's Absolute Black 100% Cocoa (you can get it at Trader Joe's at the moment), and/or roasted salted pecans.
• Swap out cherries for blueberries, strawberries, mangoes, power berry mix or whatever you like!  Just make sure there isn't any added sugar or other crap...cuz who needs that?
• Add in other fun things like cocoa powder, PB,  cinnamon, or vanilla BEFORE blending.... or stir in nuts, toasted coconut, or similar fun stuff AFTER blending.
• Maybe go totally crazy and add in mint leaves and chocolate chips, or pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice if you wanna go all Fall-like. (Please note...chocolate chips are most often not vegan or paleo if you're sticking to one of those ways of eating.)
• Really, the possibilities are endless!  Have fun with it!

HUGS!

Dorothy