Lemon Blueberry Bread (Paleo & SCD)

If you've been following me on Instagram lately, you've seen that Nick and I have been doing the SCD (specific carbohydrate diet). SCD is a diet that eliminates complex carbohydrates from the diet as they are very difficult to digest, hence, SCD is wonderful for helping to treat digestive disorders. While I don't necessarily suffer from this, Nick does, so I hopped on the bandwagon to help him and also to cut sugar and white carbs out of my own diet. We already eat a diet high in protein and veggies, but eliminating carbs, grains, sugar, legumes, etc. hasn't been a walk in the park, that's for sure.

As a result, I'm always on the hunt for any type of "bread" recipes, since there is absolutely nothing you can buy in the store while on this diet. All store bought breads have some type of rice flour, gum, potato starch, arrowroot starch, etc. So, I stumbled across this lemon blueberry bread while googling SCD compliant recipes, and immediately decided to try it. It has very few ingredients and is super simple to throw together.

It's almost sugar free (we do add some raw, organic honey since that is allowed in moderation), full of dietary fiber, and loaded with protein as well. I used blueberries because they are my favorite, but you could sub raspberries or pretty much any kind of berry you want in this. I think doing both blueberries and raspberries would be a fun twist! I made this for a second time last night, so I just had to post the recipe on the blog since we love it so much. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups blanched almond flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 large organic/pastured eggs
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan or sea salt
• 1/4 cup (or less) organic raw honey
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond, cashew or coconut milk
• Juice from 1 full lemon
• 1-2 tsp lemon zest (estimated, this doesn't need to be exact)
• 1-2 cups blueberries (also an estimate - however many you prefer)

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan with some type of oil or butter. I used ghee to grease our pan.
3. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously. Add milk, honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest to eggs and continue to whisk.
5. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Fold in the blueberries very gently - they squish easily!
7. Scoop the mixture into the prepared loaf pan, and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
8. Cool for about 5-10 minutes before removing from pan and enjoying!

Avocado Egg Salad

I first discovered avocado egg salad in the Hamptons of all places. Sounds goofy right? Well it was a combo I never had thought of before I popped into a little local juice bar in Amagansett to grab a juice and a snack, and picked up a container of their avo-egg salad to try. Well, let me tell you, I INHALED that entire container on the train ride back to NYC, it was that good! Makes sense I would like it though... It's a combination of my favorite foods: eggs and avocado. I actually can't believe I never thought of this on my own.

Luckily, the little container had all the ingredients listed (as it was homemade) so it was quite easy to recreate on my own, which I did - immediately of course. Now it's a staple in my kitchen, as it's the perfect snack full of healthy fats and protein that you can grab and go anytime. As most of my recipes are, this is only a few ingredients, most of which a lot of you will have in your kitchen already, except maybe for the paleo mayo. Read on for this delicious recipe - and be sure to let me know how yours turns out!

So unfortunately, this recipe is a guesstimate, because as usual, I threw things into a bowl and added or adjusted until it tasted just right. I need to stop doing that for the blog's sake, so I can actually give you guys exact recipes to try! Below should be pretty darn close though.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 eggs, hard boiled
• 1 full avocado, ripe/decently soft and pit removed
• 1 bunch/2 handfuls of spinach, chopped
• 2 tbsp paleo mayonnaise (you could use regular, but I highly recommend going paleo for this option - much healthier for you)
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• Drizzle of olive oil (as needed)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. As mentioned above, make sure you hard boil the eggs prior to making this recipe of course. In a mixing bowl, chop or mash the eggs (with a potato masher), until the pieces are very small. 
2. In a separate bowl, mash up the avocado and add the dijon mustard, lemon juice, and mayo olive oil, and mix well. 
3. Add the chopped eggs and spinach to the avocado mixture and mix. Season with salt to taste.
4. Spread on bread, use as a side dish, or just eat it alone like I do!

A Summer Weekend in the Catskills

This post is long overdue, as we went to the Catskills for our 2 year anniversary, but I wanted to give you guys a quick look into our trip, as well as a guide to visit the area if you have any interest in doing so (trust me, it's worth the trip). Nick and I are big into vacations that take place in remote places, such as the mountains or a quiet beach. Anything where we can get away from the noise of the city and get into nature a bit, and the Catskills are the perfect trip to do so, especially being only about 3 hours away from NYC.

Nick found the most incredible little lodge, Scribner's Catskill Lodge, and booked us two nights in the cutest room, which was incredibly comfy and roomy with the bedroom on the second floor loft, and seating area, fire and bathroom on the first floor. They have a common area with books, fire pit, and pool, where you can go and hang, and make s'mores in the evening. The hotel is, of course, dog friendly, which we made sure of before we booked it because we always love to bring Luna along for the trip, 

Hiking is the first thing we look to do, activity-wise, especially when we have Luna in tow. There are endless options for hikes in the Catskills, so we googled a few and landed on one of the only options with a waterfall included. Now I of course cannot remember the name of the specific hike we did, but it was down a very rocky/overgrown road that you cannot drive most cars on. Here are some other great options for waterfall hikes in the Catskills though, including Kaaterskill falls, which is one of the most famous and definitely worth the visit.

We tried something new this visit, and decided on mountain top yoga at Windham Mountain. Let's just say, this wasn't the most, er, rigorous yoga class I've ever taken, but the view at the top was worth it.

So Scribner's has the best little restaurant, where you can order organic, local food and drink for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We did dinner here one night, as well as breakfast, which was simple and so delicious. Only thing I wish that they offered was juices, which I think is wishful thinking.

Our view from breakfast, Luna included. Their poached eggs, green tea, and bacon hit the spot. You can see straight to Hunter mountain while sitting at Prospect, so it's the perfect pre-ski breakfast spot if you're planning a winter ski trip there. It's also the perfect way to start your day no matter what season you're visiting in.

For our second night, we did dinner at Deer Mountain Inn, which no joke, was the best dinner I've had in a VERY long time. Their food was impeccable, and the atmosphere itself was just beautiful. I mean, look at this view! I would definitely consider staying here during our next trip.

There are so many more things we would have liked to shove into the weekend, but the whole point of the trip was to relax, enjoy ourselves, and celebrate our anniversary! Some of the activities not pictured included breakfast at Catskill Mountain Country Inn (DELISH!), making s'mores at Scribner's after hours, happy hour drinks ad Prospect, wandering around Tannersville, and spending Sunday in Woodstock, NY (another favorite of mine). Woodstock is definitely worth the day trip, especially if you like people watching. So many great little restaurants and cafes, and everything is dog friendly of course!