Turkish Inspired Chicken Wraps

O.K be ready to have your mind, blown!!! I originally wanted to call these chicken shawarma but after doing some research I realized that the word shawarma in Arabic literally means “turning” in reference to the rotisserie cooked nature of the meat, so with that said I didn’t feel comfortable calling it a chicken shawarma because we will not be cooking this rotisserie style. I found a short cut and it’s a super simple way of getting that tender, juicy meat without having to cook it for hours and have a rotisserie on hand.

Yield- 6-8 wraps

Ingredients
550 grams or 6 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin 
2 teaspoons coconut sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Toppings and things
Creamy dill and cashew spread
Bubbies dill pickles
Chopped raw onion
Hot sauce
Fresh mint leaves
Chopped tomato
Chopped cucumber
Cassava tortillas (recipe here)

Method
Add all of the marinade ingredients into an 8x8 inch pyrex dish and toss the chicken in the marinade, cover and marinate for 4 hrs or overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit, take out the marinated chicken from the refrigerator, remove the lid and place a piece of foil over the dish. Bake the thighs in the marinade for 40-45 minutes.

Once the thighs are tender, at this point you can cool them down and keep them for the next day if you want to prepare ahead. If you are serving them the same day, after they have cooked in the oven, you will want to grill them to give them a nice crust to finish them off. Once they have been grilled, chop up the chicken and begin to build the most delicious wraps you will ever have. Start with the cashew spread and be one with your wrap my friends.

Grain Free Banana Bread

I grew up with banana bread that contained between one to two cups of refined sugar, it was delicious BUT not nutritious. This baby has NO refined sugar, is grain free, gluten free, dairy free. It’s moist, light and I think every child and adult will LOVE it.

Ingredients

3 eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups banana (ripe and mashed)
2 tablespoons raw honey (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup coconut flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional, for the top)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium sized bowl
Mash the bananas in a medium size bowl, add the eggs, vanilla extract, olive oil and honey, whisk together. Combine the dry with the wet ingredients and fold together. Line a loaf pan or (8.5” x 4.5“) with parchment paper and add the batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and sliced bananas if you would like. Bake for 45-50 minutes

*Note- Cooking time will vary on your oven and the type of loaf pan you use. Glass loaf pans cook faster than a traditional alloy loaf pan.

Cassava Tortillas

Who misses soft and chewy tortillas when you went gluten free? ME me me!!! I can’t believe how easy these are to make and how delicious they are. They store quite well in a glass storage container and when you are ready to reheat them just pop them in the oven wrapped in parchment and foil for a couple of minutes.

Yield 6 wraps or 12 taco size tortillas
Gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo

Ingredients
¾ cup cassava flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1 tablespoon brown flax meal
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method
Combine all of your dry ingredients into a medium size bowl and stir together.
Add the olive oil to the warm water and mix it into the dry ingredients. You can stir with a spoon or use your hands. The mixture will seem wet at first but it will suck up all of the moisture quickly.

Form a cylinder and cut into either 6 or 12 pieces depending on what size you would like. Roll each piece into a ball (this does not have to be perfect) and place a dry dish towel over the dough. Meanwhile, warm up a cast iron pan on low/med heat. You don’t want your pan smoking, it will burn the tortillas. You may have to play with the heat depending on your stove top.

Line your tortilla press with either 2 pieces of parchment paper or a zip lock bag that you have cut in half. Place a ball in between the pieces of parchment paper or the zip lock bag. This is so you can peel off the tortillas easily and won’t stick. Press down with your tortilla press, rotate the paper or bag 180 degrees and press again to ensure you are getting a nice thin round tortilla.

Place the pressed tortilla and paper onto the palm of your hand, remove the top side of the parchment and flip the tortilla onto your other palm and peel off the bottom piece of parchment, place it into the hot cast iron pan by gently flipping it onto its back side so you don’t have to peel it off of your hand. 

Cook on each side for about 30 seconds to one minute. Press another tortilla while one is cooking. You don’t want them to be crispy. Once the tortilla is ready, place it onto a clean and dry dish towel and cover it until the next one is done. I like to place pieces of parchment paper  in between each tortilla within the dish towel so they don’t stick. By separating them individually and  covering them with a dish towel will help keep them soft and moist. Serve and love me long time.

Sausage and Cabbage Soup

Oh this one is a keeper. It’s rich tasting, nutrient dense and really, can be a whole meal in one bowl. I love how easy it is to make in an instapot but if you don’t have one, no worries, just cook it for longer on the stove top until everything is tender.

900 grams Italian pork sausages (remove the casing)
1 cup onion (diced small)
1 ¼  cup fresh fennel bulb (diced small)
7-8 cups cabbage (roughly chopped)
⅔ cup carrot (diced)
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups beef bone broth
1 cup plain tomato sauce
2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dry basil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 ½ teaspoons fennel seed
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 tablespoons fresh dill (Add once cooking is complete)

Method

Turn the instapot on sauté, add the olive oil, remove the casing from the sausage and cook the sausage by breaking it up with a spoon. Once the sausage is almost cooked, you can remove most of the fat if you want. Then add the spices, onions, garlic, fennel bulb and carrots.

Sauté for a couple of minutes and then add in the rest of the ingredients except for the fresh dill. Turn off sauté mode, replace the lid and set on pressure cook for 8 minutes. 

Once the soup is done, turn the pot off and release the steam. Open the lid (only once all steam has been released), add the fresh dill and season with salt and pepper.

If you do not have an instapot, follow the same instructions but just simmer the soup on the stove top for about 20-25 minutes with the lid on or until everything is tender.