The "when I'm VERY hungry" Breakfast

Two very exciting things in TMW lifestyle for me... 

First- I am officially down 20 lbs. Before getting sick I was very depressed about my weight. No matter how much I worked out or how "healthy" I ate (healthy to me then meant lots of gluten, low calorie processed snacks, yogurt, granola, and a starving tummy) I kept gaining weight and feeling less energetic. I still have symptoms but hopefully one day I can say I feel as good as I look! 

Second- while we are on the topic of breakfast- I FINALLY found sugar free bacon at Whole Foods.  The brand Wellshire Farms makes a "Sugar Free Dry Rubbed" bacon that is so delicious; I don't understand why most other brands inject the bacon with a form of sugar! This is a high quality product that does not contain gluten preservatives, artificial ingredients, antibiotics, growth promoting hormones, nitrates or nitrites. View ingredients.

Now for the Main Course. This morning I woke up VERY hungry. Thanks to the heat, I haven't felt like cooking or eating lately SO I took full advantage of my hunger this morning, knowing that as the day warms up I won't be eating anything heavy. I use this as my go-to breakfast when I know I won't have time to eat a nice big lunch or if my lunch plan is a simple salad. Packed with protein, healthy carbs and fats, it makes me super full! 

I start by poking holes in my sweet potato so it can vent then microwaving it for 8 minutes. (We have a very old, low power microwave so it could be less time for you!) Cut it in half to use as a base. Next I cook up some ground turkey. I either season it one of two ways depending on my mood. I like it with rosemary and lemon or cumin and parsley. Either way I add s&p, garlic and onion powder. Add the meat to the sweet potato. Next I make Dr. Amy Myers Whipped Avocado Dressing, whipping together the avocado with lemon juice, sea salt, and olive oil, then add that to the top of the sweet potato/ meat. Finally, I add sautéed onions. Because I was VERY hungry the onions came out rushed today- less sautéed and more crispy (aka burnt). Don't you hate when that happens? 

Avocado Coconut Muffins

The struggle is so real to find breakfast-friendly foods when you're egg, dairy and grain free. I miss how easy it was to make a bowl of cereal or grab a granola bar. One reason why I love the coconut avocado muffin: once you make a batch its so easy to toast up in the morning.  Reason two: I can top it in coconut butter.

After picking up my first ever jar of coconut butter less than a week ago, I already finished it. Seriously- the stuff is amazing. With a similar texture to peanut butter and the perfect combination of sweet and creamy I find myself drifting to the counter and eating it by the spoonful.

This recipe is fairy easy and done in three parts. The arrowroot flour, melted coconut oil and water mixture is an egg replacer, so if you aren't egg free you can use an egg instead! They come out just sweet enough in my opinion.

Avocado Coconut Muffins 
(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, gluten and grain-free, paleo!)

1 avocado
3/4 cup coconut milk
Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp arrowroot flour
1 tbs coconut oil
1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted coconut butter
1tsp stevia (or more depending on your taste)
1 tbsp vaneilla

Pre-heat oven to 350

1. Start with combining the avocado, coconut milk and lemon juice in the blender until creamy.

2. Whisk the arrowroot flour, melted coconut oil and water together in a small bowl.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the small bowl mixture and blended mixture. The recipe should come out doughy but if it is too dry you can add more coconut milk.

4. Grease your cupcake tray with coconut oil (or use paper). Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until top browns.

Top with whipped coconut milk, cinnamon, or coconut butter! Toast or re-fry. Enjoy.

Lazy bagged cole-slaw (TMW + dairy-free)

I will admit, I had a tough night tonight. I went for a walk and could feel my body dragging worse than usual. When I got home, it was hard to lift my arms and legs. My mind went fuzzy and I could feel my body shutting down. Isn't autoimmunity so strange? Symptoms just come out of nowhere, unexpectedly. I hadn't had an attack like this in a while, but I have a few inklings as to why it happened. After a very heavy unexpected nap I felt better when I woke up, but not well enough to make a fancy meal!

Then I remembered, I did buy a pre-cut up bag of cole slaw. I remember being at the store thinking, "why haven't I thought of this earlier?!" The bag I bought contained broccoli, carrots and red & green cabbage (which I could have easily chopped up from fresh veggies but a lazy night called for lazy cooking). All I did was add some fresh diced onions to the mix and toss it in a sauce. 

For the sauce I used the watery part of a can of coconut milk. I used a mixer to add in some of the coconut cream to give it a little bit of thickness, but not too much. When I got the consistency just right I added onion powder, garlic, salt & pepper. Finally I squeezed in some lemon juice! It worked really well paired with a salmon I threw into a frying pan to cook and a ripe avocado. I have so much left over for the week, which is helpful on this diet. Any break from cooking, chopping, juicing, or blending is a beautiful thing!