Homemade Almond Milk

Wishing I had a pretty milk jug to display the final product!

Happy Labor Day! The summer is coming to an end and I'm getting so excited for the fall weather. I can practically smell the falling leaves, campfires, and crisp air that is one of my all time favorite smells. I'm on Day 5 of my Whole30 and going strong. There were a few touch and go moments but stocking my fridge and having compliant foods made it easy to stay on track. Think fried eggs, sausage, over salad with hot sauce slathered on top as my late night dinner.

I promised myself this time around I would be a little more adventurous in making homemade ingredients. Today I tackled almond milk. You would think extracting the milk from those little nuts would be a laborious process. In all honesty it was quite easy. The only down side was the amount of dishes that are still sitting in my sink waiting for me to clean up. Overall, I'm so happy I decided to give this a try. The results were fantastic. This isn't the most cost efficient way to enjoy almond milk. It is however the healthiest. With only three ingredients it's almost too good to be true. Almost. You do need some special tools in order to pull this off. First off, either a high powered blender or food processor and a nut milk bag (I ordered mine off Amazon for about $8). Remember that you will need to store the milk as well, so a sealed container is key.

Homemade Almond Milk
Filtered Water
2 cups organic raw almonds
4 cups Filtered Water
Pinch of Sea Salt

Soak almonds overnight (8-12 hours) in filtered water. I put mine in a big bowl with just enough water to cover the almonds. Cover bowl with wrap and let sit. In the morning, drain the almonds and rinse with a bit more filtered water. I made my milk in two batches. In food processor, place 1 cup of almonds and 2 cups of water. Process for 1-2 minutes. The mixture all be milky with some foam on top. Place nut milk bag in large deep bowl, then pour milk mixture into bag. Repeat process with remaining almonds and water. Tie off the bag, then squeeze all excess milk out of the bag, adding a pinch of salt to the finished product. You will be left with a lot of almond pulp in the bag, set aside for use later. Pour the strained milk into a sealable container and refrigerate!

This is the perfect addition to my morning coffee. Since Whole30 has seriously reduced my food waste, I'm going to put the leftover almond pulp to good use. There is no use wasting perfectly good pulp and throwing away money. I found a recipe to make an almond pulp hummus style dip. I'll give it a go and see if it's worth the share. Here is to another 25 days of whole, natural, and delicious food. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, username Goldsmre, for more recipes and daily musings!

Whole30 Round Two

It was time for a kick in the butt. I had been struggling with my eating for the last few months. I lost all my self-control and once that snowball started rolling it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. I went back and read a few things that I had written at the end of my first Whole30 challenge in February. It held such positivity. How I felt, the things I was doing, and all of the positive effects Whole30 had on all aspects of my life. It was time to give it a second go. Why didn't it stick the first time? I don't have any excuses, it was my choice to stray and my decision to put bad things into my body. The one thing I do have to say is that going through surgery, no matter how minor, takes a lot out of a person. 

I was determined to sail into my 30th birthday in a more positive light. I didn't want the darkness from those bad decisions to overshadow my upcoming celebration. Because I truly do have a lot to celebrate. I wanted to get back to those feelings of accomplishment, lightness, happiness, and back to the better relationship with food I achieved. 

This second go around is starting off so smoothly. I think a part of me realizes that if I've done it once I know I can do it again. But I'm not naive. I know this is going to be equally challenging and a second time around will present different obstacles. I'm going through this solo. Last time, I had three friends equally committed to the challenge. I don't have that safety net this time. I have to rely on myself and that in itself is exciting. I purchased the Whole30 cookbook/guide and it has been my savior. It literally makes it so easy to be compliant. With tons of easy recipes at my fingertips meal planning a breeze. 

The best way to be successful is to prep. So Sunday meal prep started my week off right. Even though my Whole30 didn't officially start until Tuesday, I took the time to meal prep so there would be no surprises. My struggle is always mid-week when I'm exhausted and don't feel like coming up with something to cook. If I already have it planned out and the ingredients are in the fridge, I don't have an excuse. Meal prep included making homemade mayo, homemade raspberry walnut dressing, an NYC Frittata, cutting up watermelon, and cleaning out the fridge. This last one might just be the most important. I left no temptations behind. Literally cleared out all of the junk. Then meal planning was next. 

Here is what my first few days look like:

Tuesday

Scrambled Eggs with tomatoes, green beans, dill, scallions and Watermelon

Grilled Chicken over Mixed Greens with apples, cucumber, raisins and a Raspberry Walnut Dressing 

Coconut Beef with cauliflower rice and green beans

Wednesday 

NYC Frittata with Watermelon

Coconut Beef with cauliflower rice and green beans

Buffalo Chicken Burger with Sweet Potato Fritters and homemade Ranch 

Thursday 

NYC Frittata, banana with almond butter

Buffalo Chicken Burger with Sweet Potato Fritters

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Chicken Sausage and Tomato Sauce

Friday 

2 Fried Eggs over Mixed Greens and Monkey Salad (banana, shredded coconut, almond butter) 

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Chicken Sausage and Tomato Sauce

Buffalo Chicken Burger with Sweet Potato Fritters

Emergency Snacks: raw almonds, fruit, brazil nuts, raisins, applesauce 

I like variety so I try to get three meals out of each recipe. This helps me switch things up and not get bored. I love my food so the more variety the less likely I am to crave something other than what I cook. Because the NYC Frittata came out so good, I'm going to share the recipe. I came up with this after a trip the the bagel store when I was home on Long Island. I was thinking of your typical NY bagel with lox and cream cheese. Now how could I make it Whole30? A frittata, obviously. And here this emerged! 

NYC Frittata (makes about 3 servings) 

6 eggs

1/3 cup water

4 oz. smoked salmon (check the labels, NO added sugar)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

4 thin slices of a big tomato 

1 Tbsp. capers drained

2 Tbsp. dill, minced 

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Using a deep dish pie plate layer the smoked salmon. In a medium bowl, crack eggs, add water and whisk. Add dill, capers, and red onion to eggs. Pour mixture over smoked salmon. Top with slices of tomato, sprinkle a few capers over top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is set and the edges are golden brown. 

Serve with a side of your favorite fruit! Be on the lookout for more recipes, Instagram posts, and more of my Whole30 journey. Need support or have questions on how to get started? Check out the website here, or message me! 

Asian Shrimp with Zoodles

Recently, I road tripped with a car full of friends to Long Island. On the way back, we decided to delve into a few podcasts. My friend Steve suggested two podcasts that were focused around race and education. My friend Kristen suggested a podcast on the psychology of 30 not being the new 20. All three were excellent podcasts that sparked intellectual conversations on what we took from the podcast. It made me excited to get out of my own little world and expand my view.

I've never been what one would call an academic or intellectual. I basically floated my way through high school and college. Don't get me wrong, I put in some long hours of studying and had a very real interest in what I was learning. I just never had the patience to pull an all-nighter. I always figured if it hasn't stuck by now it's not going to matter if I cram a few more hours in. Needless to say, I never made the Dean's List. That might be one of the regrets in life that I carry, not putting in the effort for all of those classes. Oops.... but to get back on track, the podcasts sparked my interest in learning. If you ask any of my friends or co-workers what I do in my free time 9 out of 10 will respond, binge watching Netflix or any season of her favorite television shows. So putting together my love for watching TV, and my new found interest in learning, I dived into a series of TED Talks. The talks were called Chew on This, and featured on Netflix. They revolved around food, food production, and agribusiness. I highly recommend you watch a few, most are only 20 minutes in length, and I promise you will learn at least one new thing from each!

Watching these talks only reiterated my intent to repeat the Whole30 challenge, see older posts for more on that. In my preparations for a September eating only whole and natural foods, I slowly have been cutting out the bad stuff. At least one meal a day is dedicated to Whole30. Tonight, it's dinner. My Whole30 cookbook and zoodler arrived in the mail via amazon.com on Monday, so I was eager to break in at least one! I decided to go with the zoodler first. The cookbook was a little intimidating!

Asian Shrimp with Zoodles
2 medium zucchini, peeled and spiralized (a julienne peeler also works well) --> zoodles :)
1 lb. wild caught shrimp
1 Tbsp. ghee
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 Tbsp.)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste if you like it spicier)
1 Tbsp. Coconut aminos (check your labels)
3 scallions, sliced for garnish
Zest of 1 lime for garnish

Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a medium saucepan. While the water is boiling, heat ghee in large sauté pan adding the onion, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook until onion in slightly translucent. Add shrimp and continue to cook for 2-4 minutes or until shrimp is opaque. Turn the heat off. Add the coconut aminos, salt and pepper to taste. Once the water comes to a boil, add the zoodles and cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender, then drain. Serve shrimp hot over the zoodles, garnish with scallions and lime zest!

The lime zest was a last minute addition and boy did it add a nice little fresh zip at the end. The red pepper flakes and ginger add some heat. The zoodles were tender and great! Love this new style of veggie eating. Overall, a great summer evening meal that came together so quick!

Warm Eggplant and Tomato Salad

This summer is absolutely flying by! I mean I have been so busy, I feel as if I blinked, and boom here August is over half way through. What?! I can't even. From spending a lazy week at home on Long Island, to a weekend trip up to Rochester, to a weekend in NYC, to two weekends in Dewey, and finally back to LI this weekend I am one happy traveler. The beach has been my friend this summer and my tan is not complaining. But with all the beach bumming about, I have neglected my cooking and with that my blogging. This weekend was a lazy weekend staying in town that included just a bit of cooking. A girl does have to eat at some point.

As I am preparing for my second go around at Whole 30 in September, I'm trying to clean up my eating a bit so it isn't such a shock to the system. Therefore, I went with a gluten free, dairy free dinner using the freshest ingredients possible. My good friends the Crandall's gifted me with a gorgeous heirloom tomato when I stopped by there house the other evening. With an eggplant in the other hand, I immediately craved eggplant parmesan. But alas, that would not be clean eating. I had a day dream of a deconstructed eggplant parm I made a few years back and through that thought process came to this salad. I used almond meal and coconut flour to coat the eggplant to make a crisp outside. I kept the tomatoes au natural and sliced thick with a touch of salt and pepper. I left off the cheese, made a homemade balsamic to dress the greens, added a few cubes of leftover sautéed eggplant and chopped tomatoes and that was all she wrote. Paired it all with a dreamy fruit forward chardonnay from Mattebella Vineyards (which I so luckily brought back with me from home, aka The North Fork of Long Island, aka the new hot spot where everyone and their hipster best friend are vacationing).

Winery Visit!

My mom and I visited Mattebella in July and I chose their white flight. This chardonnay stood out to me with its crisp clean taste and floral nose. It is the perfect summer wine to enjoy on a hot evening. If you are one of those crazy hipsters visiting the end of the island, I highly recommend a tasting at Mattebella. The atmosphere is beautiful, the staff knowledgeable, and the wine is on point (no they did not pay me to say that, actually no one has ever paid me to review and I do so often hmmm maybe there's something there, ha).

Warm Eggplant and Tomato Salad
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2 in thick rounds
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 egg, beaten and whisked with 1 tbsp. of water
1 cup almond meal
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. parsley, dried
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. dill, dried
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil for frying
1 heirloom tomato, sliced thick
Salad greens
Balsamic Dressing (olive oil, balsamic, honey, dijon mustard, S&P)

Place the coconut flour in a shallow dish or plate, the egg in a shallow bowl, and the almond meal mixed with spices (garlic, parsley, oregano, dill, and S&P) on a separate plate. Heat olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. . Working in batches, place one slice of eggplant in coconut flour, being sure to coat completely, then dip in egg wash, then coat with almond meal mixture. Then fry eggplant for about 4 minutes each side. While you continue to cook the eggplant in batches, place cooked eggplants on a cookie sheet and place in 300 degree oven. This will help keep them warm, crispy, and continue to cook the insides. Be careful not to burn the outsides when frying. If they are golden crisp on the outside, the oven will help the middle cook through.
Place salad greens in a large bowl. Lightly dress with balsamic and toss with some cubed eggplant (sautéed with olive oil) and cubed tomatoes. Then stack the warm eggplant and sliced heirloom tomatos and drizzle with more dressing. Add glass of wine and serve!!!!

Post your favorite fall foods that you would like to see blogged! Don't forget to hashtag #OneRecipeAtATime if you try any of my recipes! I would love to see your creations! Much love :)

Trail Mix Rice Krispies Treats

Today's recipe is definitely one my dad would greatly appreciate and enjoy! I'll have to make it for him when I visit in July. I'm just sorry that I didn't box a few up and send them his way. Growing up, my dad always enjoyed a sweet treat with his morning coffee. He would literally wait to drink his coffee until he could scrounge up something tasty to go along with it. My mom would stock the pantry with the little 99 cent wafer cookies or the ones that were fudge drizzled with the hole on the center that perfectly fit on my tiny fingers. So I just know, that this treat would go nicely with his morning up of joe. 

If you hadn't guessed, I inherited my love for all things sweet from him. My appreciation for pies, cakes, cookies, and most of all donuts can be attributed to the vast array of treats my father introduced me to. But to be honest he totally deserved every single one. My dad is literally the most hardworking man that you will ever know. He gives a 110% every single day. He gets up before the sun, comes home late and never complains. He was always active in his job as an arborist, climbing trees, mowing lawns, and planting trees. He inspired me to be in a job that kept me active and healthy. I'll admit, partly to support my sugar habit. And this recipe will satisfy any sweet tooth. It is super versatile, using whatever you have in your pantry. Simply take the traditional rice krispies recipe and scale down the amount of cereal and then up the add ins. 

Trail Mix Rice Krispie Treats

5 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1- 10.5 oz bag of mini marshmallows

3 Tbsp. butter

1 cup pretzel sticks, broken in half

1/3 cup Peanut Butter M&M's (or your favorite!) 

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine marshmallows and butter. Microwave for 1 minute, stir then microwave an additional 30 seconds-1 minute or until butter is completely melted and combined with marshmallows (use a silicon spatula so the marshmallow doesn't stick!). Once melted, add cereal, pretzels, and M&M's stirring until combined. Press mixture into a 9x13 pan (I use wax paper to press evenly down). Freeze for 15 minutes. Place chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for additional 30 seconds. Once the treats are ready, cut into squares. Then dip the top of the squares into the melted chocolate. Keep refrigerated for best results! 

I only put chocolate on half of the treats and left the other half "plain". They were equally delicious! I packed them up for a quick hike around my favorite trail to enjoy with friends. You could use any candy in place of the M&M's (chopped Snickers, Kit Kat, or Reese's would work). I like the added pretzels because it gives the treat a sweet & salty taste. These were addicting and didn't last long. I had to bring them into work or else I would have been guilty of eating the entire pan. 

Currently, I am meal prepping for the week and there is a blackberry pie that I'm dying to share with you! First, I must have a slice to taste test. I wouldn't dare share a recipe that wasn't first verified with a taste. Be on the look out! 

I hope you all are enjoying your Father's Day and celebrating those you love most today. Dad, if you read this have a very Happy Day! I miss you and love you to pieces! 

Blueberry Whisk

The sun is shining and there is a gentle flutter of shadows cast over my floor as the wind blows through the trees outside my window. The weather is finally cooperating, and I am in the most peaceful trance as I type these words. I'm excited to share something a little different with you all today. Sorry no food today, but I think something even better.

Since summer is almost here, what better way is there to celebrate than with a cocktail?! I whipped up this recipe post recovery. On a side note, surgery went great and I can actually breathe again. Thanks for all of the kind texts, cards, flowers, and balloons! They brightened my week! OK, back at it. All of the ingredients were in the house already and I decided to put a little of this and a little of that in a shaker and see what resulted. The best cocktails to me are fresh, a little sassy, and packs a punch. This recipe has it all!

Blueberry Whisk
1 part whiskey (I used Gentlemen Jack)
2 parts light lemonade (I used all natural Trader Joe's Brand)
5-6 blueberries
2-3 mint leaves, torn (more for garnish, if desired)
1 tsp. turbino sugar
Lots of Ice

In a shaker, place blueberries, sugar, and mint. Using a muddler, blend ingredients into a pulp. Add ice, whiskey, and lemonade. Give the shaker a few good shakes! To serve, remove shaker top and pour in tumbler glass. Add straw, garnish, and enjoy!

This would be a great cocktail to add to your summer BBQ menu. It's so refreshing and has the perfect amount of kick from the whiskey. If you're not a whiskey fan, remove the sugar and try vodka! I will definitely be making these for friends and serving alongside some yummy snacks. I can't wait to muddle away again!

Friends, I need your help! I'm getting in the habit of posting more often and with that I would like to expand my social media reach of One Recipe at a Time. Will you help me? If you try a recipe from One Recipe at a Time will you throw me a hashtag bone? Tag me on Instagram @goldsmre #OneRecipeAtATime Or share my blog on Facebook! Anything would be great and I'd be happy to support you back.

Love to you all! Let me know what you'd like to see next in the comments below!

Meals on a Budget

Cheers to extra time to enjoy this view! 

It's Wednesday evening and I'm able to enjoy a relaxing evening here at my desk indulging in my favorite hobby, bloggin. Why am I not exhausted and tired? Why am I not stuck in the kitchen doing dishes until all of hours of the night? Well people, it just happens to be a little thing I call meal planning. Two posts back I gave you a peak at what a typical weekly menu looks like for me. Well this past weekend I did a little budget work to go along with that planning. Next week, I'm having a non-invasive outpatient surgery and I needed to ensure my funds could cover the pre-op testing and out of pocket costs that come with any medical treatment. And looking at my measly budget I realized something had to give. Unfortunately, that was my grocery allowance. I looked at my typical spending on food in a month and I nearly passed out at the astronomical numbers. I mean no one said eating healthy was cheap or easy!!

So I pushed up my sleeves crunched some numbers and decided I could only spend $37 on groceries this week :/ AHHHH... Now, I have literally never walked out of a grocery store spending less than $60-75 on my weekly rations. I know I'm only one person, but I workout for a living and need to replenish the calories I burn throughout the day. This girl needs some mental fuel! I had no clue how I was going to pull this off. Luckily, I had some chicken in the freezer and a flank steak that was yet to be cooked so my protein was pretty much covered for the week. Protein being the most costly items on my grocery list, I thought I would be set. But that still left all my vegetables, eggs, coffee, and staples. Hmmm...this was a problem I was sure I couldn't overcome.

If this were TV I would now tell you that not only did I stay within budget, I happened to be two dollars under!! HA! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I didn't quite make it. I stuck to my grocery list, used by savings card, bought items on sale and still was over budget by $20. Ughhh real life... That being said the total rang up to about $57. This did include olive oil which cost about $8 that I was not planning to get. So, without the olive oil my total would have been $49. Not too shabby! I could eat for the entire week and not go hungry. That is a victory in my book. I'm going to continue my master budgeting and weekly meal planning and hope that at some point it doesn't seem so daunting. Lucky for me, Mom is coming down next week to take care of me post-op. And when she's in town you know I will be eating well. Wish me luck on the surgery! Sending you all lots of love!

This week's meal prep included: Garlic Cauliflower Rice, Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Hash, Chicken Panang, Hard Boiled Eggs, Brownie Roll Out Cookie Dough (courtesy of the Smitten Kitchen cookbook), Steak with Asparagus and Potatoes