Creamy Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Yesterdays cold and rainy weather called for a nice hot bowl of soup. I had tons of veggies I've been needing to use up before they went bad and of course my house always has sweet potatoes laying around so I decided to make sweet potato and carrot soup. This recipe turned out so dang good. Not to mention that between the potatoes, carrots, and other veggies with no added sugar or dairy products this soup is super clean eating and really nutritious!! I hope you give it a try because it is delicious and crazy easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion
1 cup celery
2 cups of baby carrots
3 sweet potatoes
3 cups organic chicken broth (or substitute of water)
3 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons organic Agave Nectar (or sub pure maple syrup)
salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Add olive oil to large Dutch oven pot set to medium heat. Chop onions, celery, and sweet potatoes (I leave skin on sweet potatoes for added nutritional value). Add onions and celery to pot and sauté for 5 minutes. Last minute add in nutmeg and cinnamon. Then add baby carrots and sweet potatoes with 3 cups of broth.

Bring broth to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Once your veggies and potatoes are soft you can then use your hand stick blender to begin blending the soup to a nice creamy texture. If you don't have a hand stick blender you can transfer your soup out of your pot and into your normal blender to blend the soup. Last, add in your Agave nectar and salt and pepper to taste and give it one last blend.

 

 

 

That's it! Super easy and creamy sweet potato and carrot soup. I garnished my soup with toasted almonds, but you could also garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley. I love the nutty and sweet flavor of this soup. It is a must try!!

 

 

 

 

-Rach

Paleo Caveman Bars

Paleo Caveman Bars

My friends Josh and Janae introduced me to these bars and I just love them!  I added a little twist to the recipe by adding Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips and adding Coconut Butter. Mainly because I love those two things so why not?  These bars are super easy to make and are great to keep in the freezer when you need a little yummy snack!  

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup almond butter...

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut butter (if you don't have just use coconut oil 1/2 cup in all)

1/2 cup almond meal/flour

2 tbs vanilla extract

2 tbs organic, natural honey

1/4 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

 

Spread the nuts on a foil lined baking sheet and toast until brown. Making sure you don't burn them. 

Microwave coconut butter and coconut oil until warm and you can stir together then add in the almond butter. Stir together.  Add vanilla and honey to mixture. 

When nuts are done, blend until coarsely chopped in blender or food processor.  Set aside to cool. 

Add the coarse ground nuts to the almond butter mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add almond meal/flour and shredded coconut to mixture and then fold in the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. 

Using a freezer safe container, spread the mixture evenly into the pan with a spatula. 

Freeze for 25 min. Pull out and cut into squares. 

Make sure bars remain frozen until you eat them.

Enjoy!

-Jessica 

Honey Apple Balsamic Dressing

I eat salads often (daily) so sometime I have to change it up to keep my taste buds happy! Today I made a delish salad with heirloom tomatoes, apple, goat cheese, pistachios, slivered almonds, onions, and BBQ chicken! I spiced it up with a dressing you must try!

Honey Apple Balsamic Dressing:

Serves 2 

2 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl balsamic vinegar 

2 Tbl apple cider vineger 

2 Tbl honey 

Salt and pepper 

Them mix well and drizzle over your salad! See how easy and fast it is to make a healthy dressing!!!

Enjoy- Rachel 

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

Another easy recipe that will make the whole family happy! My boys and husband loved these tender and savory ribs. So much so that they barely left many any to eat after coming home from my workout last night. Those stinkers!  I savors every bite! Here is what you need to do.  I made my favorite gluten free barbecue sauce but you could use any of  your favorite barbecues sauces. Just make sure you have plenty of it because these ribs are going to be dredged in it. 

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1/2 cup gluten free ketchup
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or (brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup gluten-free Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika  

Ribs:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Prepare ribs. Place ribs on tinfoil on baking sheet. Make sure there is enough tinfoil so that you can cover and seal the ribs. You can either pit on your favorite dry run or you can just salt and pepper. 

Then slather on your barbecue sauce on both sides of the ribs.  Make sure you are generous with the sauce! You want these ribs to be moist and tender. 

Then seal the tinfoil at the top. 

For better ribs you can let these marinate in the fridge for a few hours. Then place the baking sheet with the foiled ribs in the oven for two hours. Open the tinfoil for the last 10 minutes of bake time! Then serve with your favorite side!! Easy and delicious!! 

Enjoy- Rachel