Wellness Wednesday: Crockpot Balsamic Chicken

If you've been following Life, KV Style for a while, this recipe may look familiar to you. And that's because it's a faster, easier version of one of my favorite recipes that I shared several months ago. And I'm all about easy + healthy meals! Crockpots are definitely my friend. :)

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken

You'll need: 

6-8 chicken breasts or 10-12 tenders

1/2-3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 tsp. garlic powder
a few pinches of salt (I use pink himalayan salt)

a few pinches of pepper

just enough water to cover the bottom of the crockpot

1) Place all the ingredients in the crockpot on high for 6 hours. (Don't forget to use a crockpot liner if you use those--much recommend.)

You know that's about it, right? ;)

For the optional sauce:

You'll need:
3 Tbsp. olive oil

4-5 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4-1/3 cup honey
a couple pinches of salt and pepper

1) Heat the oil in a skillet on medium/medium high and add the balsamic vinegar. Stir it around.

2) Once it's warmed (about 30 seconds), add the honey. Stir it around.

3) Once the mixture starts bubbling (takes a minute or two) add the salt and pepper and stir again. Remove from heat or it will burn.

You can either place the finished chicken in the sauce and stir the pieces around to coat them, or use the sauce as a dip or dressing. I like to use it as a dip but in this instance just drizzled it on the chicken and rice. As with most things, it's great served with rice and Easy Fried Broccoli.

Soo easy. And I'll probably be eating a lot of this over Christmas. :)

P.S. Linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday.

Wellness Wednesday: Cinnamon Cookies + Ice Cream Crumble

You may have gathered that I've been on a Chocolate Chip Cookie kick for a while now. I'm by no means tired of them (is that even possible?), but I recently decided I needed to make cinnamon cookies. Cinnamon tastes awesome and is awesome for you, so why not make some cookies with it? However, Pinterest failed me when I went looking for recipes; I did try one but it wasn't awesome. So I decided to just modify the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Of course! If it ain't broke...

As with the Chocolate Chip Cookies, the original recipe is from the Bloomfield Farms Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix box, of course with changes to make it much more allergen-friendly and healthy.

You'll need:
1 1/4 cup flour (I use 1 cup of King Arthur Gluten Free Flour and 1/4 cup Bloomfield Farms Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix as I've found that results in a better texture--not too thick and not too runny.)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 heaping tsp cinnamon (feel free to use less or more based on preference--I recommend this for cookies, less for ice cream topping [see below])
3/4 cup coconut sugar (I use this or this)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup coconut milk (the cold kind in a carton--I use this)

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
3) In another bowl, mix together the coconut sugar, egg, vanilla, and milk.
4) Combine the ingredients from the two bowls and mix. It is crazy how different this dough looks from the chocolate chip cookie dough, with the only difference being the addition of cinnamon. It's almost grainy--but not in a bad way.
5) Lightly grease a baking sheet (I use olive oil spray). Scoop out the dough with two spoons--one to scoop and one to rake the dough onto the sheet.
6) Bake for 10 minutes. One batch gets me around 12 cookies. (So I like to double it. ;)

These cookies come out with a delightful texture--bordering on crumbly without actually falling apart. And the cinnamon is present but not at all too strong.

I highly recommend microwaving them when they're not fresh anymore.... :D

But this recipe has an extra perk to it. It's just as worthy for the purpose of making an ice cream topping as it is for cookies!

And it belongs in a bowl of this chocolate ice cream and this vanilla ice cream by So Delicious. Aka Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl. ;)

Looks kinda like sawdust, tastes amazing--way too good to be gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and sugar-free. ;)

And now, unlike last year where my dessert was mostly this awesome chocolate, maybe I can show up to Thanksgiving and Christmas armed with not one, not two, but now three kinds of cookies?? :D

I have all kinds of healthy + yummy recipes on

my newly picture-filled recipe page!

Check it out! :)

Wellness Wednesday: Coconut Sauce Chicken Alfredo

When I shared this Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken recipe a few weeks ago, I said that there were so many different ways to use it: You can use it in place of the turkey in this Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry, you can use it in Lettuce Wraps like this, and you can even use the chicken in place of pepperoni in this pizza recipe. I've also already shared my Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad with Coconut Mayo, one of my favorite meals lately, and now I'm back with one last use for this awesome chicken (though the possibilities are endless, of course).

Now, this obviously isn't Chicken Alfredo, but that was the inspiration, and I do think it tastes rather like it. Plus, if you already have the chicken made ahead of time (like I like to do), this meal is super easy to make.

You'll need:
Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken, made with the addition of basil
Rice (I use this)
Olive oil
Basil
Garlic powder
Sea Salt
Pepper
This coconut "mayo" sauce

1) Cook the rice according to the directions, then drizzle olive oil in a pan and briefly fry the rice in it, along with a few generous sprinkles of salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder.
2) Place the rice in a dish, top with the chicken (warmed if you didn't just make it) and coconut sauce, and stir together.

All done!

Easy enough? I like to serve it with this broccoli or salad. And once again, the secret to this meal is the ever-versatile coconut sauce that I just keep using! It's great as a dressing, a pizza sauce, and now an "alfredo" sauce too.

Enjoy! If you like this, be sure to check out the rest of my healthy, yummy recipes!

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Pizza Time!

Some of you may remember the pizza I shared last Wednesday in my post on all the new foods I've gotten to try again lately. Now I'm excited to share the recipe with you! At long last, here we are: gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, corn-free, soy-free, sugar-free, nightshade-free pizza! :D

And I do have to throw in there: one more reason I don't really care for fall? It's dark by the time I make dinner. That = not great pictures. But thanks to my screwed up sleep, I don't really have a choice of when to take pictures. So my apologies...

As with a lot of my recipes, I've taken an already existing recipe and altered it to my needs. In this case, the crust was this recipe for Paleo Focaccia. So huge thanks to them!! You can also easily half this recipe; this version I'm sharing is double the original. You can also double this version... Which I've never done...

You'll need:
For the crust:
1 cup Bloomfield Farms flour (they really should be paying me for how much I mention them...) (any flour would likely work)
4 eggs
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil (I use this)
2 tsp baking powder
A couple dashes of salt
Several generous sprinkles of garlic and basil (I'm sorry, I never measure things like that... Feel free to add in oregano and parsley too.)
A splash of coconut milk (I use this) {later edit: I've found that using more milk, about 1/4 cup, makes the dough runnier and therefore flatter and more pizza-like as opposed to biscuit-like. So I highly recommend adding a bit more if you find the crust too thick--I've come to prefer it so.}

For the sauce:
This easy, homemade coconut sauce (ohhh yeah, I showed you, tomatoes!)

For the toppings:
Pepperoni
Chopped onion
Chopped broccoli

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl.
3) Add the eggs, coconut oil, and milk, and mix together.
4) Pour and spread the dough (which will be very thick) onto a baking dish lined with olive-oil-doused parchment paper. (Got that?) If the parchment paper won't stay put while you're trying to spread the dough, you can use chip bag clips to hold it down. You're welcome. :) And you can also dip the spoon or spatula you're using to spread the dough in olive oil or water to help the process.

 

5) Bake for 20 minutes, then remove and top with your ingredients of choice before baking for 10-15 more minutes as desired. As you can see, I cover it in my coconut sauce (very generously), then add pepperoni, onion, and broccoli. It doesn't really need the broccoli, but it makes me feel better about just having meat and onion on bread. ;)

 

And it is freaking. amazing. The sauce doesn't make the crust all soggy and gross when it soaks into it but just makes it better. And if you can have nightshades, I'm sure mushrooms and/or some green pepper would really do it.

So now I've shared chocolate chip cookies, ice cream that is out of this world, McGriddles, and now PIZZA. I rest my case. Healthy does not have to = deprived. :)

 Okay, last call! Today's the last day to enter my biggest giveaway ever. 

And also the last day to fill out my survey and get a $5 coupon to Katya Valera for doing so!

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad with Coconut Mayo

When I shared this chicken recipe a couple of weeks ago, I said I'd be back with more recipes to use the chicken in. And here's the first! It's simple and yummy (I think restaurant-worthy, but what do I know), and crave-at-night worthy too. Many nights after Daniel goes to bed have involved whipping up this salad and eating it while watching whatever free Youtube movie struck my fancy. ;)

I also have to briefly explain why I call this coconut "mayo." I've mentioned Brittany Angell on here before and all of her amazing recipes, and one time I saw her mention on Instagram that she just combines coconut milk and olive oil for mayonnaise. I don't know if she adds more to those, or how much of each, but I decided to just put them together and add some salt and came out with this concoction that I find pretty stinkin' handy. One warning: it really does not taste very good on its own. It just complements this salad so well once it's mixed in with the other ingredients. So if you dip your finger in it and think gross! do still give it a try.

You'll need:
1/2-3/4 cup of this chicken
Lettuce
15-20 grapes
optional: 2 slices of turkey lunchmeat (I use this)
optional: Some chopped onion

For the dressing:
1 can of coconut milk (like this)
Olive oil
Himalayan salt or sea salt

1) Place the can of coconut milk in the freezer.
2) Tear up the two pieces of lunchmeat and lay them on a paper-towel covered plated. Lay another paper towel on top and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until it's crispy. (Like I made it for this recipe.) Once it's cooled enough to not burn yourself, of course, crumble the meat into bits.
3) Prepare the lettuce as you normally would and top it with the chicken (I like to microwave it if I didn't just make it), chopped onion, grapes, and "bacon" bits.
4) Once the coconut milk has been in the freezer for about 10 minutes, the top half probably won't be hardened, but it should be mostly separated from the lower, clear half. So just pour the upper, creamier half into a container, then add the oil and salt to your liking, and stir. I do about 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil and probably 1/2 tsp. of salt, but the amounts are up to you. Just remember my warning about it not tasting very good by itself--it will taste like coconut milk, oil, and salt, it's just a matter of what combo you prefer. ;) Then drizzle as much as you like on the salad. This amount of dressing will last for several meals.

All done! Of course, you could just have this without any dressing, but I think it really adds to it.

Oh, and did you know salad always tastes better served on a plate instead of in a bowl? I think it probably has something to do with restaurants serving it that way, but I still think it's true. ;)

The beauty of the Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken is that you can make a whole bunch at once and then have it to use in things like this salad for days. (Thanks, Mommy! :) Yep, I'll be sharing another simple but very tasty way to use it on another Wellness Wednesday!

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken

For this Wellness Wednesday, it's time for another GF, DF, SF, SF, NF, NSF,  everything-free recipe! You ought to know by now that this is how things go around here. ;)

I have to tell you guys, this recipe is all my Mom's! She started seeing my doctor for her own health problems a few months ago and has had much more dramatic results than I did. And of course, her time on the Repairvite Diet led her to come up with all kinds of her own recipes like I did, and this is one of them.

She made a whole bunch right before we moved, and I happily lived on it for several days when our kitchen wasn't exactly settled in and cookable yet. Now I've learned how to make it myself and do so every. single. week. O_O I go in phases with my food. For a few months, I was addicted to these wraps, then for a few more months it was this veggie fry, and now it's this chicken, in various forms. What will be next?

This recipe is so easy. I can't call it fast, but the boiling can be done ahead of time, and the steps are so simple!

Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken

You'll need:
6-8 frozen chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
juice of 1-1 1/2 lemons
olive oil
salt (I use pink himalayan)
pepper
garlic powder

1. Boil the chicken for an hour.

2. Once the chicken is done, saute the onion in olive oil. While waiting on the onion, tear or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

3. Once the onion is done, add the chicken, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. (I'm quite generous with mine.)

4. Reduce the heat to medium and let the chicken begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice and stir to coat all the chicken, then let it continue to brown to your liking.

This chicken can be used in all kinds of dishes: serve it with rice and my Easy Fried Broccoli, use it in place of the turkey in my Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry, or use it in these Chicken and Grape Lettuce Wraps. And lots of other things, like this salad--and more--all coming to the blog later! (Do you think I like chicken?)

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Bacon & Egg McGriddle

Guys, I'm so excited about this recipe. If you can even call it that. I know I shared a Gluten-free Waffle McGriddle many moons ago, but that is now a thing of the past for me and this version is even better for you than that...

I realized that I've been terming all my recipes anymore gluten-free and dairy-free, but there's so much more they're free of. Think this covers it?

Close enough--I ran out of room.... ;)

This little treat uses my Breadless French Toast Sticks that I shared a while back. Every time I come up with a new recipe, I wonder how I didn't think of it sooner, and this is no exception. The french toast comes out flat and thick like bread, so why not use it like it?? So now I do. Alll the time.

You'll need:
For the "bread":
Two squares of "French Toast Bread"
Maple syrup

For the eggs:
2 eggs (or as many as you want)
salt (I use himalayan)
pepper
some chopped onion
olive oil

For the bacon:
3 or 4 slices of turkey lunchmeat (I use this)

1~ If you don't have the French Toast already made, do that first. It takes a bit. ;)

2~ You can make the eggs however your heart desires. But here's what I like to do: Crack 2 eggs into a bowl and whisk them with salt and pepper to taste, sautee the onions in a pan with olive oil, heat a drizzle of oil in a pan (used in place of butter), pour the eggs into the pan, sprinkle the onions on top, and then fry on either side. The onions are optional, as is sauteeing them first, but I've found that way is the best.

3~ While the eggs are frying, tear or cut the lunchmeat into strips, lay them out on a paper towel-covered plate, cover with a paper towel, and microwave for about 3 minutes. {Credit to Daniel for dreaming this up. Priceless.}

4~ Cut off two squares of the French Toast bread (microwave them if they're not fresh), and drizzle maple syrup on each slice. {Tip: drizzle the syrup on them sooner, before cooking the eggs and such, so the "bread" absorbs the syrup and becomes more McGriddl-y.} Stack the eggs (which you can see I fold over) and the bacon as you wish, and top with the second slice of "bread." Feel free to dip it in more syrup too. ;)

So simple! And so not bad for you like the "real thing" that I love, love, loved way back when, with a Dr. Pepper. I was so healthy. Why am I surprised my body is so sick?

This is great for a special meal! Or every freaking breakfast for a week. You won't see me judging...

Like this? You might like these allergen-free recipes too!

Coconut Banana "Oatmeal"

Strawberry Smoothie

Easy Turkey & Veggie Fry

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}