I used to give my son fig bars as a treat when he was little and he loved them. I wanted to make my own as a quarantine project but only got around to them this month and HOLY MOLY they are fabulous.
They are gluten free but unfortunately not refined sugar free. I did not have anymore coconut sugar so I used organic granulated sugar. I will definitely try them out with coconut sugar though and give an update.
The bottom crust is ooey and the fig middle is gooey and then topped with a crisp crumble and I want these everyday with a cup of coffee.
You can EASILY fill the middle with a flavorite jam of yours or a date paste, up to you! But I would for sure give the figs a try!
A sweet luscious treat made with gooey figs topped with a sugary crisp.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Author Nikki
Equipment
Oven
Blender
Parchment Paper
Mixer
Square pan
Ingredients
1/2cupbutterroom temp, 1 stick
3/4cupsugar
1egg
1 1/4cupalmond flour
1/4cupcoconut flour
1/2tspsalt
1/2tbspalmond extractcan use vanilla instead
11ozdried figsstems cut off
Crumble Topping
3tbspcoconut oilmelted
1/4cupsugar
3/4cupalmond flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375
In a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Once mixed add egg and almond extract.
Add both flours and salt and mix into dough.
Line a square 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
Press dough into pan till all evened out. This is easiest with finger tips.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the top is just starting to get golden brown. Half way through, remove and use a spatula to deflate the dough if its risen.
While bottom crust cooks, boil figs. In small sauce pan, put 11 oz of figs in and fill with water till all figs are covered. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Blend figs and 1/2 cup of water from pan till smooth and paste like. Set aside to cool a little and make crumble.
Mix together coconut oil, sugar and almond flour to wet sand consistency.
Remove the crust when finished cooking and raise oven temperature to 425.
Cover crust evenly with fig paste and top with crumble.
Put back in oven for 10-15 minutes, or until crumble is golden brown.
Remove when done, let cool and cut into bars and enjoy!
Notes
Add some flare – you can drizzle with melted peanut butter for a “PB&J” bar or melt some chocolate and drizzle over top also!
If you’re looking to switch things up a bit, this is the meal for you!
At first glance, you might be thinking “caesar dressing covering my whole meal??” But trust me! This Caesar sauce is FIRE! As in, it’s bomb.com. Which clearly means, it’s DELICIOUS!
Now, if you’ve been here for a little while or know me at all, dipping sauce is one of my most flavorite food groups. Yes, it has its own food group! If I can dip food into something it already scores major points with me. So pair a dynamite sauce with an easy sheet pan meal and WOAH – perfect meal combo!
You can easily use any of your own favorite sauces you already have on hand (kids might prefer ketchup) or you can eat this meal without anything BUT I highly suggest trying out this Caesar Sauce. And yes, it’s just my homemade Caesar dressing thinned out a bit so I can call it a sauce. Don’t hate!
It’s April 2020 – the heart of the COVID-19 Pandemic! I need something to keep me occupied, busy and sane! Tackle scone making? Sounds like a plan!
I have been dreaming of making scones for YEARS but for some reason they seemed super intimidating. I feel like they are a true science and a lot of work and I really just couldn’t bear trying to make them and then having them suck. So I skipped making them for a really long time. Welp, now it was a pandemic and I had NOTHING BUT TIME so if they turned out terrible guess what?! I could try the next day and the next day and the next day … you get the picture. Luckily, it only took one very long day and tons of flavor attempts but I came out with a freaking pretty delicious base formula for any flavor scone!
The first flavor I tried was Strawberry Rice Krispie – requested by my husband. I accidentally forgot the baking powder so they didn’t rise at all. Whoops. This was a trial and error process though so it’s okay! My son requested Cinnamon Chocolate Chip – these were dynamite! And I wanted a Maple Cinnamon flavor – also fantastic. Following these flavors were Coffee Almond and BLUEBERRY LEMON.
All of the scones except for the Blueberry Lemon did have a true scone-like texture – kind of dry and biscuit like. But the flavors of the Blueberry Lemon were unbeatable. You could easily make them on the drier side by adding about 1/2 cup more flour but I happen to like them more moist. I also find that people who don’t love scones will say it’s because they are too dry, so these will make those haters very happy.
Because I made at least 100 scones on this one particular weekend, I bagged them up and delivered them to my family. Everyone unanimously said the Blueberry Lemons were the best. So right now those get to be the star and get their own post!
Okay, a few disclaimers about these scones.
1. My husband is allergic to gluten. So I have only attempted these scones with gluten free flour. However! It must be cup4cup brand of gluten free flour. I have tried other gluten free flours and they are not all made the same! I have yet to try with almond/coconut/oat flour but those will need xanthan gum added to them and I’ll probably need more pandemic isolation to experiment with that.
2. I did not want to use regular milk or cream in these so I opted for full fat canned coconut milk since I often use that in place of dairy milks. I have since made these scones with oat milk and it truly isn’t the same – or it’s in my head – but I’d just stick with the coconut cream.
3. Grating frozen butter into the mix is KEY! Freezing the butter allows for it to stay separated while grating it so it is evenly spread out in the dough. Grate it right into the bowl and stir every few grates. This is time consuming. This is tedious. This is EVERYTHING though. I tried grating the stick onto the cutting board for the comfort of my hand. Doesn’t work the same. Just grate a stick of frozen butter directly over the flour mixture into the bowl. Trust me!
4. Everyone’s oven is different. The first time I made these I had my old oven that did not work very well so I kept checking on them every 4 minutes for a total of 22 minutes. In my new oven, I still check on them often but it totals about 12-16 minutes! Just keep an eye on them!
I think that’s all the tips I have!
I recently chopped up some fresh basil and added it in the glaze and it was so good! You can also cook down some blueberries and add them instead of the lemon extract for more blueberry pop. Or skip the glaze altogether. Possibilities are endless!
A moist, buttery, tart, delicious scone perfect for anytime of the day!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Pastry
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 12 minutesminutes
Servings 16scones
Equipment
Kitchenaide Mixer
Ingredients
2cupsgluten free flourcup 4 cup brand
3/4cupwhite sugar
2 1/2tspbaking powder
1/2tspsalt
1/2cupbutter1 stick, frozen
1/2cupfull fat coconut milkcanned
1egg
2 1/2tsplemon extract
1/2tspvanilla extract
2 tsplemon zest
1/2 – 1cupblueberrieswashed and rinsed
1tbspalmond milk
white or clear sugar sprinkles
Glaze
1/2cuppowdered sugar
1tbspalmond milk
1tsplemon extract
Instructions
In your Kitchenaide, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Using a large grater, grate in frozen butter. This is the most tedious and time consuming part but worth it! After a few grates, stir butter into the flour to make pea size pieces of flour covered butter.
In a small bowl, whisk together the can of full fat coconut milk so the thick cream is mixed evenly with the watery part. Then measure out 1/2 cup and mix on low into the bowl. (save the remaining for more scones, smoothies or other recipes)
Add your egg, extracts, and lemon zest and mix on medium till well combined but don't over mix.
Mix in blueberries on low or by hand.
Divide the dough into 2 balls and refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On parchment paper dusted with flour, roll out one ball at a time to about 1/2 – 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 triangles and place each triangle on a cooking sheet.
With pastry brush, lightly brush on almond milk on top of each scone and sprinkle sugar on top.
Cook for about 12 minutes or until scones have fluffed up and start to turn brown on the edges.
While cooking, mix all ingredients for glaze together. You want this to be somewhat thick so add more powdered sugar/almond milk as needed.
Once scones have cooled, drizzle glaze on top and add more sugar sprinkles if desired.
Enjoy!
Notes
Enjoy with a morning cup of coffee or as a night time treat!Make for a party and trust me everyone will think you’re an amazing pastry chef!
So I had an extra jar of sun-dried tomatoes from when I made my Mediterranean Chicken and I have been trying to figure out what to do with them. This is the PERFECT dish!
The sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes mixed with the tartness of lemons added to chicken as your protein is the best combo! I was SHOCKED at how great this came out. I had this thought jotted down on my forever long list of food ideas and I put it together quickly because I was short on time. It was really so so simple but it came out so SO good!
I love me some chicken thighs. In fact, its a RARE occasion that I use breasts over thighs. They are just so much more tender and juicier. If you fear them because they are dark meat and more calories, DON’T! They are so good for you – a perfect protein and fat your body craves, promise! However, if you prefer breasts over thighs as far as taste goes, have at it!
This dish is really such a treat you won’t even realize it’s Keto, Whole30, Paleo, Clean, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free – all the good things. Add this to your weekly rotation, you wont regret it!
This Chicken dish is a life changing sweet and tangy masterpiece!
Course Main Course
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 3people
Equipment
Stove top
Ingredients
6chicken thighs
18.5ozjar of sundried tomatoes
2lemons1 for zest and juice, 1 for slices
1/2cupbrothchicken or beef
1 tbsp gheeor butter
2 tbspolive oil
salt
pepper
Instructions
Generously sprinkle both sides of chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
In large skillet, heat olive oil and brown both sides of chicken in about 2 batches not to over crowd the pan – about 4 minutes each side. Remove and side aside.
In same skillet, melt ghee scraping off any bits on the bottom of pan.
Add broth and bring to slight boil then simmer.
Zest one of the lemons and add zest and half the lemon juice to pan.
Drain sundried tomatoes and stir in.
Add sliced lemons and stir.
Add back the chicken and cook till lemons are tender.
I LOVE Salmon. I LOVE tacos. And what a perfect marriage they make.
I often just blacken my salmon quickly on the stove which takes about 15 minutes but I wanted to try to broil it for these to add a little char for the vibe I was going for. The broiler didn’t disappoint!
The simple spice mixture is all you need to give the salmon a pop of smokiness and flavor. Placed on my flavorite Siete Foods Totrtillas paired with my Avocado Citrus Salsa and this is the PERFECT light and fresh and quick and easy week night meal to add some variety to your Taco Tuesday!
A super fast dinner perfect for a weeknight that feels like a fancy delicious meal you work all day on!
Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Servings 3people
Equipment
Broiler
Ingredients
1lbSalmon
1tbsppaprika
1/2tbspchili powder
1/4tspsalt
sprinklepepper
4tbspavocado oil
6tortillas
Instructions
Set oven to broil – 550 degrees.
In pan, drizzle with 2 tbsp avocado oil.
Place salmon in the pan and drizzle the top with the rest of the avocado oil.
Mix together spices and massage into oiled side of salmon.
Put in oven and keep an eye on it! You don't want to over cook. Start with 5 minutes and gradually check it till cooked for 10 minutes.
Serve in large chunks on tortillas and top with avocado citrus salsa!
Notes
Salmon will continue to cook on the pan once removed from the oven so be sure not to over cook when broiling.If you have a gas stove, you can light it on low and put tortillas right over flame to char. This will happen fast so they only need about 60 seconds on each side!
Dalgona Coffee: a whipped coffee beverage where equal parts instant coffee, hot water and sugar are mixed together to create a foam.
This is all the craze right now and for good reason!
Dalgona Coffee is a strong creamy coffee blend that is almost as if espresso, cold brew and dessert came together and had a baby. It is a tasty, strong and fun blend that’ll have you accomplishing tons of goals but also enjoying your coffee time a lot more than usual.
I messed around with this and came up with the perfect simple mixture to create your foam. The rest of the details are up to you! Add almond extract to your milk for some flavor – a little Almond Mocha vibe. You can add peppermint to you milk for a Peppermint Mocha feel. Sprinkle the top with some cinnamon for some depth and drizzle with date syrup for added sweetness. Heck, coat your glass with chocolate like I did to make a good picture and give some flare to your favorite morning caffeine drink. The finishing touches are totally customizable and up to you! I cant wait to make these for everyone on my daughters birthday and feel like a total fancy barista!
When whipping the foam, keep your mixer on high! It will become thicker and foam like after about 2-3 minutes but continue for the additional minute or two for good measure. This will quickly go down so have your glass with milk ready to add the foam right away after being mixed. Snap your fancy Instagram worthy picture and mix the foam and milk together for your fancy caffeinated beverage.
As a kid, fish sticks were something we had occasionally and I LOVED them. They were small and thin and crunchy but not super fish filled. So I was basically just eating whatever fried breading was on the outside and while, it may have tasted good, it was probably terrible for me.
Last summer, my husband went fishing and came home with fresh fish to make. We decided to make Fish Sticks out of it! It was a good sturdy fish that would be able to handle being thinly sliced and fried without falling a part. They were SO GOOD!
Since then, we often love having fish sticks made with fresh halibut. This fish holds up well and is super tasty. They get crisp on the outside but are filled with great juicy fish on the inside. Paired with my homemade tarter sauce, this is a perfect comforting, yet healthy meal that the whole family enjoys!
The perfect Fish Stick the whole family will love! Make these with some french fries for an easy "Fish and Chips" dinner!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Author Nikki
Equipment
Stove top
Deep frying pan
Ingredients
2pounds halibutor preferred sturdy white fish
1 cupalmond flour
1/4cupcoconut flour
2tbsppaprika
1tbspdried parsley
2tsponion powder
1tspsalt
1/2tsppepper
2eggs
2tbspalmond milk
2-4tbspavocado oilor preferred frying oil
1lemon
Tarter Sauce
1/2 cupmayohomemade or store bought
3 pickle spearsfinely chopped
1 1/2tbsppickle juice
1tsp hot sauce
1/4 – 1/2tsp dilldepending on your dill preference
Instructions
In one wide bowl, mix together the eggs and milk.
In another wide bowl, mix together the flours and spices.
Cut halibut in strips. You can make these strips as thick or as thin as you want. I like them about 1 inch thick and 1-2 inches wide. Thickness varies each time I make them.
Squeeze half of the lemon juice on top of the fish and rub in. Reserve the other half for over top when all cooked.
Heat avocado oil in pan on the stove over medium-high heat. All stoves will vary. You don't want the oil and drippings to burn but you don't want the fish to sit in oil that isn't hot enough to crisp up – this will only make them soggy and oily.
Dredge the fish strips in the egg mixture and then in the flour mixture and set on a plate.
Then fry them in the pan. About 1-2 minutes each side depending on the thickness of your fish. Thicker pieces will be about 2-3 minutes.
Remove from pan once both sides have been cooked and place on a wire rack.
Squeeze lemon over top and serve with my homemade tarter sauce!
I have been making different variations of this pasta salad for about 10 years. There was never any rhyme or reason to the ingredients – a little of this, a little of that… taste and add more of whatever was needed. Now it has some structure and an AMAZING dressing.
Before I had my son Jordan (almost 9), I used to baby sit for this family, well many families but this pasta salad stems from one family in particular. One summer, I went with them to Fire Island to watch their kids and their friends kids. NINE CHILDREN… yikes. One of the women made this Greek pasta salad that I absolutely fell in love with. She made it 2 nights in a row and I tried to watch the second night to see what was in it. Orzo, tomato, olives, feta, spinach, red wine vinegar. That’s all I could remember.
When I got home – side note, I left early because the kids were giving me anxiety and I cried in the bathroom almost every hour – I tried to whip up the pasta salad adding what I thought it needed on top of the ingredients I could remember. It was so, so good! I used to make this for any family gathering because it made so much and everyone loved it. It was always a game though, adding the red wine vinegar because I had to be careful not to add too much and ruin it. Now, I made this wonderful Greek Dressing for it so there is no more guessing!
In the original recipe, I would use black olives, because that’s what the woman had used. However, I LOVE kalamata olives so I figured those would be fine and I was so right. You can use either or both!
I discovered a secret to wilting the spinach for this. If you put the spinach in a colander and drain the orzo over the spinach, the hot water wilts the spinach perfectly! And, you save having to use more dishes. Another trick would be to put the colander in a large bowl and then drain the orzo. Remove the colander with drained orzo in it and now the bowl is filled with the hot water. You can then add the spinach to the hot water to wilt. The reason we just let the spinach wilt is because… have you ever cooked spinach?! It disappears! You end up with far less than what you started with. Wilting it doesn’t fully make it all vanish and gives it a little bite still. You can absolutely used 1 cup of already cooked spinach, though.
Now let’s chat about the Orzo part of this dish. When experimenting with Banza “rice” I realized it was not very rice like. It tasted EXACTLY like orzo pasta. You can of course use regular orzo pasta but you might know my husband is gluten free so that’s not an option in this house. The Banza “rice” was perfect and in the recipe I’m just going to refer to it as orzo to make things easier!
This dish goes a long way! I used to make it with regular orzo and would use a full pound of pasta and had left overs for DAYS. The Banza bags are already 8 ounces so that makes things very easy and it still makes a ton!
Okay, so I’ve been a food blogger for about 2 minutes BUT I can already tell this post is necessary! A few people have reached out to me through Instagram replying to stories of me cooking saying “do you always have that on hand?” or “where do you get that flour?” or “what is that and why are you using it instead of blank?”.
SO I decided I would make a list of my Pantry and Fridge staples. Things that I always have on hand that are most frequently used in my recipes. Things that are my common go to substitutes for the regular ingredients you might be more familiar with using – grated cheese, sugar, white flour, etc. I feel like this list will grow massively as I start diving deep, but that’s okay!
My husband Kyle a.k.a. Babe (lol), has a gluten allergy, so almost everything I make is automatically gluten free. I have a sensitivity to dairy, so pretty much everything is also dairy free. And then I really try my best to make things refined sugar free. By NO means are we perfect and I’ve said it before – I love guilty indulgent moments. BUT on the regular I like to make meals as clean as possible and these are the things I use to help me along the way.
This list doesn’t mean you should go out and get everything all at once – unless you really want to. But slowly you will get one thing at a time and start to create a stock pile of cleaner ingredients and be able to substitute for things off the top of your head once you realize the flavor profiles. I promise, I’ll help you!
Olive oil: A very healthy oil and fat to use in cooking. Olive oil or EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) is something I use pretty much DAILY. It is my go to oil when sauteing, coating/tossing, or when making a dressing.
Avocado oil: Another healthy oil but with a higher smoke point. I will fry things in avocado oil rather than olive oil and use it when the oven is set over 400 degrees. I will also use avocado oil as the base to make aioli’s from scratch or in some dressings/dips/sauces when I want it to have a lighter flavor.
Coconut oil: I use coconut oil mostly for baking in place of butter when butter is needed. I will sometimes saute in it however, it does have a faint coconut taste so use a little bit.
Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter. It is made from cows milk but heated so the milk solids can be removed leaving it with less lactose than regular butter. You can easily make this. (I have yet to make it but I will one day and film a tutorial) Ghee can be used when cooking pretty much when ever butter is required.
Coconut Aminos: This is automatically a substitute for soy sauce. It is made from the sap of coconut palm making it sweet. It will commonly be used in a recipe to add sweetness and depth. Be careful when purchasing your coconut aminos -read your labels because some will have soybean oil in it like Braggs brand and thats not my favorite oil to have.
Date Syrup: If you have been here for a little while then you know I’m obsessed with dates! They are – number 1, delicious but number 2, perfect as a natural sweetener. While it does have more potassium than regular sugar and doesn’t disturb blood sugar balance as much, it is still a sweetener and should be used in moderation. A little goes a long way!
Balsamic Vinegar: I keep this on hand to use for dressings and for yet again, sweetness. While it does have a tang, it also can add some sweetness to a dish and I’ll often use it in conjunction with coconut aminos or date syrup.
Tomato Paste: Get. The. Squeeze. Tubes! Tomato Paste is necessary for so many things. I recommend getting the squeeze tubes rather than the little cans. I hate having the cans in the fridge and the tubes make it so much easier to measure whether you need a couple tablespoons or 1/2 a cup.
Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is grown on molasses and contains protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. When harvested, it is “deactivated” so it does not grow like baking yeast does and has no leavening abilities. It does though, have a cheesy taste. This is often used in a dish that would be creamy or cheesy. It can be a substitute for Parmesan cheese or added to a cream sauce. It has a strong taste as is so less is more here.
Almond Flour: Almond flour is one of the gluten free flours I always have on hand. It can be used in baking or as a breading in cooking. It is light and fluffy so if you are using it as a substitute for white flour, the ratio will not be 1:1. Most likely 1 part white flour will equal 1.5 parts almond flour.
Cassava Flour: I use this as a breading. It is closer to the consistency of white flour and ratios would be 1:1. Can easily substitute with coconut flour also.
Coconut Flour: Also denser and more like white flour. I will use this in baking, as a breading or in conjunction with almond flour. Not much is needed when it comes to coconut flour because it is so dense.
Tapioca Flour or Arrowroot Starch: Using a little bit of this mixed with water will help thicken any sauce or added to almond flour will make the perfect breading or mixture to meatballs. crab cakes, salmon burgers etc.
Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips: These are my flavorite chocolate chips to use in pancakes or baking. The ingredients are super clean and they have multiple size chips for whatever you need.
SO like I said above, this list could quickly double. Here are some more items I always like to have in my pantry/fridge.
Dijon Mustard
Clean ketchup – Tessemaes or Primal Kitchen
Avocado oil based mayo – Chosen Foods, Sir Kensingtons, Primal Kitchen
Clean dressings – Primal Kitchen, Tessemaes
Apple Cider Vinegar
Jarred items with no added sugar or wack oils – Artichokes, Kalamata Olives, Capers, Sundried Tomatoes
Almond Butter or other nut butters – see my hack on how to store
I’m sure I will constantly be adding to this list but this is a great start! I really try to always have 2 things on hand – 1 container/bag/jar that is being used and 1 sealed one of that same item on deck. If things are on sale at the store or if I am not sure whether I need something, I’ll just grab it when I’m there because ALL of these things I use ALL of the time and although they can hang out in the pantry for a little while, they really won’t sit too long there. It is so, so important to read your labels. You should really know exactly what is in the food you are putting in your body! I mean, doesn’t that just make so much sense?! You can easily refer to this list when making anything to substitute for less clean ingredients. Or, reach out to me whenever you may need and I’d be happy to help! Literally, taking something and cleaning it up brings me actual JOY!
This dip has been around for quite some time. It first made its appearance YEARS ago when my cousins girlfriend, at the time, made the original version. Aside from the corn, beans and feta, I don’t remember if there was anything else in it originally because it has since then been altered and slightly changed up depending on who is making it since it can be customized to your own flavor preferences. For example, my friend hates tomatoes, so she ditches those. Also, the original called for white sugar, which you can use, but I’ve cleaned it up a bit with coconut sugar and it’s just as delicious. The corn, beans and feta though, must remain the same.
This dip is sweet from the corn and sugar, salty from the feta, and acidic and tart from the apple cider vinegar. A perfect combination!
Since the feta in this is derived from sheeps milk, it doesn’t seem to bother me as far as migraines go. There isn’t a ton of it and it isn’t as processed as other cheeses so I usually do okay with it.
You can eat this with chips or a baguette. Or start with the chips and move on to the bread. Trust me, you’re going to want to soak up the juices at the end of this!
