Healthy Sheperd’s Pie

This recipe is a new, healthy version of the old comfort food, shepherd’s pie. It doesn’t need to be St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy this healthier version of the traditional shepherd’s pie. This version has riced cauliflower mashed right along with the potatoes and turnips mixed in with the turkey and veggies. Both cauliflower and turnips are cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables play an important role in glutathione production and body detoxification. Adding cauliflower to the potatoes also cuts down on the carbohydrate content without sacrificing flavor.

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Probiotic Foods: An Important Key to Good Health

fermented food

For centuries, in every culture, people from around the world have included some sort of fermented food, teaming with probiotics, into their diets on a regular basis. As it turns out, there is a great reason for this ancient, universal dietary practice. Fermented foods are one of the best ways to get a healthy dose of probiotics. One serving of sauerkraut can have as many probiotic bacteria as an entire bottle of probiotic supplements!

I eat probiotic foods every  day. Here is a list of my favorite probiotic foods:

  • Sauerkraut
  • Kimchi
  • Kombucha Tea
  • Kiefer
  • Yogurt

All of these fermented foods are easy to make at home. Check out the recipe tab for my favorite fun and delicious fermented food recipes.

Classic Picadillo

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My youngest son, AJ, was lucky enough to go to Cuba this past month.   Cuba is one of those intriguing and mysterious places that I’ve always wanted to visit. As soon as he got home I was hounding him for pictures and all the details about his experience. He is a man of few words, and didn’t find mom cool enough to relay any great stories to. The day after he returned home, the ban to Cuba was reinstated. It’s safe to say that I’m bursting with envy (and maybe a tiny bit of jealousy) that he was able to visit and I can’t!

If I can’t see the culture and experience a new place, then I want to eat the food! Picadillo is what I started craving. We have an old family friend from Cuba so I put in a call to he and his wife to get an authentic Cuban picadillo recipe. They delivered a recipe, let me tell you; it’s impeccable AND simple! Win win.

Cuban Style Picadillo

Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • Dash hot sauce
  • 1/4 cup sherry cooking wine
  • 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 3-4 handfuls green Manzanilla olives,  drained & diced
  • 5 handfuls raisins
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Step one – dice onion and garlic. Sauté about five minutes, until translucent. Add ground beef and brown.

Step two – add Worcestershire and hot sauce. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve over rice or along side fried yuca.

Crockpot Coconut Lime Chicken

crockpot chicken

This recipe is a family favorite. It’s perfect for a busy day when you need a nutritious and delicious meal ready and waiting for you when you get home. The bok choy, carrots and peppers add antioxidants and fiber. Click on the Amazon affiliate links below to get the same ingredients that I use for the perfect recipe!

Crockpot Coconut Lime Chicken

By Karen Kramser, MS, RDN, LDN
Know How 2 Nourish
  • One package of boneless chicken breast, approximately 1.25 pounds
  • 2 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste – I use Thai Kitchen red curry paste
  • Juice from 2 limes
  • One can of full fat coconut milk is my favorite. It is free of guar gum
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 2 carrots chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 3 Cups of bok choy, chopped
  • Assorted mushrooms
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
  • Extra lime juice and fish sauce for serving
  • Serve over cooked quinoa or rice
There’s no need to defrost the chicken before preparing this recipe. Place chicken in the crockpot and top with coconut milk and chicken broth. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the peppers, mushrooms and bok choy. Cook on the high setting. After 4 to 8 hours shred the chicken and add the remaining vegetables. Cover and cook another 1 to 2 hours. Feel free to substitute any of your favorite vegetables. If you like your food spicy add a few dried chili peppers. Enjoy!

Green Apple & Kale Smoothie

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Green smoothies are a staple of my diet. Everyone in my family starts off their day with a green drink of some  sort as part of the healthiest breakfast possible. Green drinks are a super easy way to get more green veggies into your body along  with adding a healthy dose of fiber and antioxidant vitamins. Use organic ingredients whenever possible to avoid pesticide residue and get the most nutrient dense produce possible.

For the best taste and textured green drink, use a high speed blender. I use the Blendtec blender. It’s a 3 horse power blender and makes the BEST vegetable smoothies ever.

 

Ingredients

  1. 1 1/2 Cups baby kale
  2. 1 Cup coconut water
  3. Juice from 1/2 of a lemon plus some of the lemon peel (if organic)
  4. 1 Green apple, cored
  5. 1 piece of ginger
  6. 1 carrot,  peeled
  7. 1 stalk celery
  8. 4 Ice cubes

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in your blender, process on whole juice setting and enjoy!

*If you purchases a product through any of these links to Amazon, Know How 2 Nourish will automatically receive a small referral fee.