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Healthier Alternatives to Store Bought Spice Blends

April 17, 2017

When you cook as much as we do you’re always looking to try new things, whether it’s seasonings, marinades, or methods. You are always looking for ways to take a tried and true recipe and change it up a bit so things don’t get boring. I know we get in ruts sometimes and when this happens one of the first things we look at is the seasonings we are using. 

Infinity Jars

Of course, you can just go to the store and grab a bottle of some massed produced seasoning, but then you are are at the mercy of that manufacturer when it comes to ingredients and quality. It could have MSG and who knows what else in there. 

What we like to do is make our own spice blends using the best quality ingredients we can find and store them to use for the next few months. 

Spicy SPG (Salt – Pepper – Garlic)

SPG is a fairly common seasoning mix. It forms the basis for a lot of the house spice or house seasonings out there. Our take is a little different because it’s quite spicy. It’s got the black pepper bite you usually see with SPG with a pronounced fiery hit from the toasted chilis. 

Spicy SPG

Spicy SPG
2017-03-21 23:14:23
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Prep Time
5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 TBSP Himalayan Salt
  2. 2 TBSP Dried Cayenne or Red Chilis
  3. 1.5 TBSP Cracked Black Pepper
  4. 1 TBSP Granulated Garlic
  5. 1 TBSP Coriander Seeds
Instructions
  1. Toast the coriander seeds and the chilis over medium heat for about 2 minutes.
  2. Combine the toasted chilies and coriander in a mortar and pestle with the remaining ingredients. Grind until fine and uniform in appearance. A spice grinder works fine as well.
  3. Transfer to a spice container for storage.
By Saved by the Kale
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/
Spicy SPG is great on anything that needs a little extra zip. Works great on grilled meats, veggies, and especially french fries. 

2 Other Superstar Seasonings

One of our all-time favorite spice blends is Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasnoning. It’s the Cajun seasoning by which all others are judged. We use it on sautĂ©ed chicken and fish multiple times a week. 

This is one that we’ve mentioned a few times before, but the Hot and Numbing Wing Spice from Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats is amazing. It’s the perfect wing spice. Put this on crispy wings and I can’t get enough. 

Storage

Infinity Jars

If you are going to take the time and effort to make your own homemade spices then you are going to want to make sure they stay fresh as long as possible.

That is why we use these glass jars from Infinity Jars for proper storage. They are air proof, light proof, and will keep your spices fresh for many months.

Just look at this example they have on their website.

2 Month Chive Test

This is a lab test comparing effectiveness at storing chives in (from L to R) the Infinity Jar ultraviolet screwtop jar, an amber screwtop jar, and a clear glass jar. Infinity Jar clearly out-performed the other jars by keeping the chives green and fresh. Chives are among the most fragile and easily perishable herbs you can find at a grocery store. Much like your lotions, essential oils and other products, improper protection against visible light, as seen in the amber and clear glass, will lead to a fast decomposition and degradation.

chivetest

What initially drew my attention to these screw top jars was the beautiful, dark violet glass and the sleek design. The deep violet color looks great and is the secret to the their impressive preservation capability. It blocks out harmful light rays that degrade organic matter, while allowing two beneficial light rays that are laboratory proven to preserve and extend shelf life for up to 2 years! You won’t find that at your grocery store!

What are your favorite spice blends and how do you like to store them?

 

Filed Under: Featured, Seasonings Tagged With: homemade spice blends, infinity jars, spice storage

Coffee Without All The Junk

January 25, 2017

healthy cold brew coffee

My coffee has evolved over the years. I use to brew my coffee, sweeten it with sugar or sometimes artificial sweeteners (I know, yikes!) then add french vanilla creamer to it.

Then I couple of years ago I decided to try a different route. I started making my own cold brew. I would blend that with a couple of dates, a tbsp of coconut oil, and coconut milk. This was high maintenance as it required a blender. I also wasn’t happy with consuming all the sugars from the dates so early in the morning.

So for the last year I have been drinking my coffee like this: my cold brew, coconut water (I like to use a high quality one like Harmless Harvest), and my homemade coconut milk. I never measure it out. I just pour some coconut water in, then coconut milk and then fill up the rest of my glass with cold brew. It’s completely customizable and delicious. The coconut water adds sweetness, the milk makes it creamy and the cold brew is smooth and strong. It’s dairy free, gluten free, soy free and sugar free. It’s how I start every day!

Cheers!

Filed Under: Drinks, Gluten Free Tagged With: coffee, cold brew, cold brew coffee, dairy free, gluten free, healthy coffee, low acid coffee, minimalist coffee, soy free, sugar free

Panang Chicken Curry

January 11, 2017

panang chicken curry

I love Thai food, it’s full of flavor and never boring. I’ve never had a Thai dish that I didn’t like. Over the last couple of years I have realized the importance of knowing the ingredients that goes into my food.

When it comes to sauces and oils at restaurants it can be a crapshoot. It is amazing where they can slip in soy, gluten, dairy, and sugar in places you wouldn’t even think to look. Because of this we cook the majority of our food at home. This year we decided we wanted to learn to make curry. We did some research and decided to purchase this curry paste (affiliate link). I carefully checked the ingredients and knew what they all were. It didn’t have any of the things that I try to stay away from. We purchased it and a few days later we were on our way to having delicious Panang Curry.

We chose to make it with chicken but you could use any kind of protein you like. Beef, Shrimp, or even just vegetables would be great! This is completely customizable you could add any vegetables you like. We chose to use onions, snow peas, carrots, squash, and broccoli. 

Panang Chicken Curry
2017-01-10 21:37:07
A sweet and spicy dish that is gluten free, soy free and dairy free.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 TBSP Panang Curry Paste (We use Mae Ploy Thai Panang Curry Paste - 14 oz jar)
  2. 2 1/2 C Coconut Milk
  3. 1/3 C Water
  4. 1 C Onion (sliced)
  5. 1 C Broccoli
  6. 1/2 C Snow Peas
  7. 1 Yellow Squash (sliced in chunks)
  8. 1 TBSP Coconut Sugar
  9. 2 TSP Salt
  10. 2 TBSP Coconut Oil
  11. 1 LB Chicken Breast (cut into chunks)
Instructions
  1. Using coconut oil as needed, work in batches to stir-fry the chicken and vegetables in a wok. Remove from wok when finished.
  2. Use 1 tsp of coconut oil to stir-fry the curry paste.
  3. Then add coconut milk and water to the paste and bring to a boil while stirring to incorporate the paste.
  4. Add the chicken and vegetables back to the wok.
  5. Stir together well and let it cook together for 2 minutes and then you are done!
  6. Serve over rice.
Notes
  1. This can get pretty spicy, so feel free to add extra coconut milk or water to tone down the heat a bit. Conversely, add a little more curry paste if you want more heat.
By Jen @ SavedbytheKale
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/

Filed Under: Entrees, Gluten Free Tagged With: curry, dairy free, gluten free, panang chicken curry, soy free, thai food

Hot Molasses Milk spiked with Cold Brew Coffee

October 10, 2016

molasses milk

Something that has been hard for me since I started being more mindful of my food sensitivities is not being able to pop into coffee shops and get a mocha, or a caramel macchiato, or a fun seasonal drink that sounds delicious. The reason I try to stay away from those is because beforehand I look at the nutritional value, and it’s absolutely appalling what they put in them. Just take a look at the sugar, it is insane. Many coffee drinks have more sugar than you should have in an entire day. Then, if you keep looking at the ingredients, you will almost always find soy. Soy is a trigger for me and should really be avoided by most people. Carrageenan, corn dextrin, and vitamin A Palmitate is often in the ingredient list. Anyway, once I look at all this the it kind of frustrates me because I do not want to put that kind of crap in my body, and definitely not on a regular basis. So, basically, I rarely buy coffee drinks out anymore. I love making my own cold brew and I love knowing exactly what I am putting into my body.

This brings me to Molasses Milk! I stumbled upon it a good while back. At first I would make it cold and I loved it. It was so rich and coffee like, without any coffee. Now with cooler weather coming I knew I wanted an option for something warm to drink so I decided to try making it hot and add a splash of my cold brew to it. I was blown away guys! It really elevates it to the next level. I knew right then that this would be my happy drink all Fall and Winter! I get a little excited just thinking of cozying up with a cup! 

Note: This drink is dairy, gluten, and soy free. It also contains no refined sugar.

Molasses Milk with Cold Brew
2016-10-04 11:31:52
Serves 1
A healthy delicious alternative to sugar filled expresso drinks. Rich, robust flavor with ingredients you can feel good about putting in your body! Dairy free, Soy free, Gluten free, and Refined Sugar Free.
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Prep Time
1 min
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
2 min
Prep Time
1 min
Cook Time
1 min
Total Time
2 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup of coconut milk (or milk of choice)
  2. 1/4 cup of cold brew coffee
  3. 1 tbsp molasses
  4. 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  5. pinch of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a small pot and heat on the stove over low heat until it is heated through. Slowly stir for about 1 minute. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!
By Jen @ SavedbytheKale
Adapted from godairyfree.org
Adapted from godairyfree.org
Saved by the Kale https://savedbythekale.com/

Filed Under: Drinks, Elimination Diet, Recipes Tagged With: cold brew, cold brew coffee, dairy free, gluten free, molasses milk, refined sugar free, soy free

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