Grilled Pineapple BBQ Shrimp Kabobs

I'm just gonna say it, grilling season is officially here! Okay, maybe not to everyone. But when it's warm enough to stand outside long enough to grill and the sun is shining, to me, it's grilling season. 

I recently tried Rootz Sauce's amazing sauces, one of which is a pineapple BBQ sauce (yes, you read that right - YUM). I decided to go with this pineapple BBQ idea and make some kabobs, and what better ingredients than shrimp, fresh pineapple, and some yummy veggies.

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 lb uncooked, de-veined, unshelled shrimp
-1 small container of fresh pineapple cubes (or feel free to cut up your own pineapple)
-1 small container of baby Bella mushrooms
-1 small container of cherry tomatoes
-1 red onion, cut into about 1 in chunks
-1 bell pepper, cut into about 1 in chunks
-1/2 cup of Rootz Pineapple BBQ Sauce

(Serves 4-5 people)

Instructions:

1) Marinate the shrimp in the BBQ sauce for at least an hour.
2) Soak your skewers in water for about 30 minutes or more before assembling your kabobs.
3) Preheat your grill and begin to assemble your skewers. Add at least one of each ingredient to a skewer, and double up where desired. I had at least 2 shrimp on each kabob.
4) Toss the kabobs on the grill, cooking for about 3-5 minutes per side. You can slather any additional BBQ sauce (from marinating) right onto the shrimp on the grill.
5) Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!

Honesty, these are so simple. The hardest part is assembling the kabobs, and that's more time consuming than difficult. And trust me, it's worth it!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!
 

Gluten Free Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders with a Spicy Honey Mustard Sauce or Dressing

When I was a little kid my favorite food was chicken tenders and french fries. Great, I know (that was sarcasm). But that's literally the food I remember loving most for the majority of my childhood. To this day, I'm still a sucker for both, but I've found a way to health it up quite a bit without sacrificing the taste at all. I honestly think this tastes better than standard chicken tenders, and it won't leave your tummy hurting. Plus this spicy honey mustard dipping sauce is literally heaven in sauce form.

Here's What You'll Need:

-1 chicken breast, cut into strips about 1 cm wide
-1/2 cup almonds
-2 tbsp quinoa flour
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt
-1/4 tsp chili powder (you can skip it if you don't like spicy, but it really doesn't add a lot of heat)
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 egg
-1 egg white

For the Sauce:

-1 tbsp Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey
-1 tbsp German Mustard
-1/2 tsp Just Mayo

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2) Spray a baking sheet with coconut oil cooking spray.
3) Toss the almonds into a food processor and pulse until they're finely chopped. It took mine about a minute.
4) Toss the almonds with the quinoa flour in a bowl, and add in the salt, pepper, and chili powder.
5) Add in the olive oil to the mixture, mixing regularly as you do so. It will become a bit clumpy, but try to mix thoroughly.
6) Mix the egg and egg white together in a separate bowl. 
7) Dip each chicken strip into the egg mixture and then the almond mixture. Use your hands to spread the almond mixture over the strips, and add each to the baking sheet.
8) Toss the chicken into the oven and cook for about 12 minutes until the tenders are thoroughly cooked through. In the meantime, you can mix together the sauce ingredients.
9) Serve and enjoy with the spicy honey mustard dipping sauce.

It's SO GOOD, right?! It surpassed my childhood memories, so obviously I had to have it again. I decided to throw my second serving in a salad (spinach, arugula, heirloom cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion) and top it with a spicy honey mustard vinaigrette this time. Just switch out the 1/2 tsp of Just Mayo for 1 tsp of Bragg Live Foods' apple cider vinegar. You can thank me later. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sweet and Spicy Baked Tofu Collard Wrap

So I recently tried this Sweet and Spicy Table Sauce by Rootz Sauce, and it is absolutely divine. It's a delicious sweet sauce that packs a punch, hence the name. I was wondering what I wanted to put it on first, and tofu came to mind. Tofu essentially tastes like whatever you put on it, so this would really showcase the sauce. Toss it with some veggies, and we have ourselves a delicious, vegan meal.

Here's What You'll Need:

-One 14 oz package of firm tofu, pressed and chopped into cubes about 1 cm x 1 cm
-1/4 cup Rootz Sweet and Spicy Table Sauce
-1 tbsp arrowroot powder (optional)
-3 collard green leaves
-1 bell pepper, sliced
-1 cup alfalfa sprouts

Pre-instructions: If you don't know what it means to press the tofu, you want to remove most of the moisture from the block before chopping it. You can use a tofu press which I highly recommend investing in if you cook with tofu relatively regularly. You can also just place a heavy object, like a large can or a book on a cutting board on top of the tofu. You should press the tofu for about 15-20 minutes.

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2) Toss the tofu cubes in the arrowroot powder and then the Sweet and Spicy Table Sauce. You can skip the arrow root powder if you'd like or if you won't be serving immeditately. It just helps to crisp the tofu a bit.
3) Cook the tofu in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
4) Place 1/3 of the tofu in the center of each collard green.
5) Add 1/3 of the bell pepper and sprouts to each collard green.
6) Wrap the greens by folding in the bottom and top and rolling.
7) Cut each wrap in half, serve, and enjoy!

You can also add some additional sauce to the wrap or serve it on the side as a dipping sauce. I actually highly recommend it because that sauce is pretty darn good. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Avocado, Strawberry, and Arugula Waffles

Waffle Wednesday, we meet again, and I couldn't be happier. Seriously, this is like my favorite food day of the week. It makes me want to open a brunch place specializing in waffles. The waffle maker has officially become my favorite kitchen appliance to play around with. So what do we have this week? Gluten free avocado, strawberry, and arugula waffles, and you will not be disappointed.

The idea stemmed from a couple of places. I see all sorts of fun and creative things on Instagram, and recently I've been seeing a lot of avocado toast topped with strawberries. So that got me thinking. It's really not that weird when you think about it. A delicious summer salad could be topped with both of these. That's where the arugula came in. It's like a summer salad in waffle form. And who isn't wishing for summer in this unseasonable 40 degree April weather?

Don't have quinoa flour? No problem! Swap it out for the flour of your choosing. Whole wheat is a good option of you aren't gluten free, or really feel free to use whatever suits your fancy!

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour (or the flour of your choosing)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (you can use all almond milk or all water if you prefer)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-Pinch of sea salt (optional)
-1/4 cup baby arugula
-1/2 avocado
-4 strawberries, chopped

Instructions:

1) Heat up your waffle maker.
2) Mash the avocado half in a bowl using a fork.
3) Add in the flour, egg, baking powder, almond milk, water, salt, and coconut oil and thoroughly mix together.
4) Fold in the strawberry chunks and arugula.
5) Pour half of the mixture into your waffle maker and cook according to your makers' instructions.
6) Repeat with the second half of the mixture. 
7) Serve each waffle and top with desired toppings.

I topped mine with an additional strawberry and Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey, and I would HIGHLY recommend this. The honey is the perfect flavor addition to the avocado, strawberry, and arugula. Plus is has that nice little kick.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Apple and Blue Cheese Quinoa Flour Waffles

If you haven't already heard me say it, I love Waffle Wednesday! I love it even moreso now that I have a waffle maker. It's one of my favorite days to just play around and try to come up with something interesting and delicious. So if I'm being honest, a decent amount of my Tuesdays are spent brainstorming about what I want to put in my waffle the next day.

This week I was lunching on a cobb salad, and I thought what about blue cheese? It's a little out there, but pairing it with something sweet like apple really sounded perfect. Plus I had just tried Bushwick Kitchen's Trees Knees Cinnamon Maple syrup, and that seemed like the perfect flavor to pull it all together. 

I decided to keep it gluten free because I've been loving everything I've made with quinoa flour recently. And of course I love that it gives an option to anyone with Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance or allergy. Plus it adds in some extra protein from the quinoa.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (can use all 3/4 cup almond milk or all water if desired)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-1 small pink lady apple, chopped or spiralized
-3-4 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (depending on your affinity for blue cheese)
-1 tsp pure Maple syrup
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1) Mix together the flour, almond milk, water, egg, baking powder, salt, maple syrup, and coconut oil in a bowl.
2) Add in the apple pieces and mix.
3) Heat up your waffle maker, and pour 1/4 of the mix. Spread 1 tbsp of blue cheese over the mix, and finish the waffle off with another 1/4 of the mix.
4) Cook the waffle according to your waffle maker instructions.
5) Repeat for the second waffle.
6) Serve each waffle, and top with additional apple slices, blue cheese, and maple syrup as desired.
7) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of this sweet and savory combo in the comments below!