Portabella Mushroom and Sweet Potato Tacos

"Veggie tacos, anyone?!"

So here's a recipe you MUST try on your next Taco Tuesday (aka tomorrow)! I came up with this recipe myself and I've combined the "steak of vegetables"-- portabella mushrooms-- with the colorful crowd favorite-- sweet potatoes. You can use soft or hard taco shells with this recipe, and I totally recommend making your own guacamole, too (avocados + fresh lime juice + diced tomato + cilantro + salt/pepper). If you're feeling really ambitious-- making your own salsa isn't too tricky, either. I can post my personal recipe in a few days. Even though the steps I've listed for the recipe seem extensive, they're really not. Anyone can make this in under an hour. One more thing--I love my portabella mushrooms grilled but you can also saute them if you'd like (see instructions below).

Portabella Mushroom and Sweet Potato Tacos

-soft or hard taco shells

-one green pepper, sliced into thin, 1-2 in. pieces

-one red pepper, sliced into thin, 1-2 in. pieces

-one yellow onion, sliced into thin, 1-2 in. pieces

-2 large portabella mushrooms (use 3-4 if they are small)

-1 large sweet potato (use 2 if they are small)

-shredded lettuce

-one packet of taco seasoning 

-your favorite hot sauce

-juice of one lime

-toppings of your choice: guacamole, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheddar, etc.

1. Slice the peppers and onions and put them in a pan with some olive oil and a nice sprinkling of taco seasoning (approx 3 tbsp). **You can saute the mushrooms with the peppers and onions in this step if you do not plan on grilling them**. Saute for about 20 minutes--on medium heat in the beginning, and medium-high at the end to blacken a few pieces. Set aside when finished.

2. Marinate the portabella mushrooms with a nice sprinkling of taco seasoning on both sides (approx 2-3 tbsp), fresh lime juice, and your favorite hot sauce (use more if you like spiciness, and less if you do not). Grill the mushroom on high heat for about 5-8 minutes on each side or until they shrink considerably (apply some more hot sauce and lime juice while grilling). Slice into 1-2 in. pieces when finished.

3. Scrub the sweet potato with a sponge, rinse, and poke holes in it with a fork. Wrap it in a paper towel and cook it in the microwave for 5 minutes (this reduces baking time). Place the sweet potato in foil and cook it on the grill or in the oven at 375F for 20 minutes or until soft. Let cool and slice into cubes--leaving or removing the skin! Your choice. (Handle carefully or they will become mashed sweet potatoes).

4. THE BEST PART: make your taco! Pile the mushrooms, sweet potato, peppers, onions, lettuce, guacamole, salsa, and whatever else you'd like to add, and dig in!

This recipe serves 3-4 people! Try it and let me know what you think! Happy eating :)

Easy Almond Flour Pancakes

"A gluten free; guilt free short stack"

I haven't posted in forever! I was away on vacation for half of August, and as soon as I returned I started a new job. Feels good to be back at it. A few weeks ago I went to one of my favorite health food stores, Nature's Pantry, in Fishkill. Some items I love to buy there are activated charcoal soap (it makes cool black bubbles and works wonders on your pores!), tea tree oil & ginger toothpaste, vegetarian sausage, flavored peanut butter (S'mores!), and Immune Defense vitamins for when I'm feeling sick! This time I decided to buy almonds to make my own almond flour for the first time. This was my Grandma's suggestion because almond flour (which is simply ground up almonds) is usually $14 for a 16 oz. bag, and a pound of whole almonds is $8 or $9. I crushed the almonds with my Bullet, but you can also use a food processor.

Almond Flour Pancakes

-1 cup almond flour (ground up almonds)

-2 eggs

-1/3 cup almond milk

-1 tbsp. honey or agave (optional)
-cinnamon

1.  Convert the almonds to almond flour using a food processor or the like.
2. Whisk all ingredients together and add more milk if the mixture seems to thick, or more flour if the mixture seems too runny.
3. Grease a frying pan with coconut oil on medium heat and drop 4-inch round (or any size) pancakes in the pan.
4. Carefully flip when the pancake begins to bubble (you may find that these are harder to flip than normal pancakes).
5. Remove from heat after the second side has finished cooking and serve hot with agave and fresh fruit!

Happy, healthy breakfast eating :)