flight of fancy healthy living

I love steaks! My favorite protein. My favorite is barbecued skirt steak (Brazilian Churrasco). The steak I used in this recipe was a 1.5 pound Top Round steak. I didn’t use it all of course, as much as I was tempted to... #WillPower

I seasoned it the night before with garlic powder, onion powder, merlot, and salt to taste. 

How to cook the steak

You will need 2 Tbsp of butter. Place in a pan and let it melt on Medium low heat. Add steak and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. While cooking, pour some of the butter on top of the steak with a spoon. Then bring heat to high and cook for 30-45 (no more than a minute) on each side. Steak should be medium rare. Slice the steak into strips.

What you will need for the salad

Italian blend or you favorite salad blend

Bacon pieces

Feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles

Two eggs

Green Onions for garnish

What you will need for the dressing

1/4 Avocado

1 Tbsp of honey mustard

1 Tbsp Sriracha

1 Tbsp Heavy Cream or Almond Milk (Paleo)

Dressing

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor. Pour mixture in a small Zip Lock bag and seal tight. Snip one of the corners when you are ready to pour the dressing on top of the salad.

Salad

I always like to season my fish the night before. I season it with salt, lime, and garlic or garlic powder. 

For this dish you will need

1 Sweet Potato

Mojo (See Recipe Below)

2 TBSP of Olive Oil

Tilapia Filet 

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the sweet potato in cubes and boil until tender. Strain and Pour some of the mojo on top and mix it all.

Tilapia cooks very quickly. Warm the oil on Medium heat in a non stick pan and add the filets. Cook for about 1-2 minutes each side. If you like your tilapia with a little bit of color then bring the heat to high and cook for an additional 30 seconds on each side. 

A lot of my friends here in California think that Cubans eat spicy food. I keep telling them, no no no.. We eat hearty meals with a lot of flavor. It is rare to find a cuban dish that is spicy. Most are Spanish, French, and African inspired. 

One of the most common “add ons” is the Cuban “Mojo”. It is a garlic and onion marinade that you can put on top of anything really. If we didn't have either the money or the “connection” in Cuba to buy meat or beans or something to wet your rice with, we used mojo. It is also very common to have it on top of “Boiled Yuca”, pork, or as a side sauce to dip plantain chips.

What it is made of

Half a Medium Onion

5-7 Cloves of Garlic

1/3 Cup of Oil or Butter

1/3 Cup of Lime Juice

Salt

I personally love the contrast between the oil and the lime. It is also very common to use sour orange juice. All you have to do is sauté half an onion in the oil. Sauté in low heat until the onion is tender and juicy. Add the garlic and salt and mix well for about one minute. Then add the lime juice (BE CAREFUL, IT MAY SPLASH) and bring to a boil which should take 1 - 2 minutes then turn off the stove. 

This was my first time cooking asparagus. Before this, I had only tried asparagus about 2 times before and only one of those times I liked it. It all depends on how you cook it and I thought, if it has bacon, it MUST taste good. 

What you will need

Asparagus

Bacon

Salt

Garlic or garlic powder

Lime

I washed the asparagus and sprinkled some sea salt, garlic powder, squeezed half a lime, and let it sit for a couple of minutes. 

I cooked only 2 slices of bacon and once they were almost crispy I took them out and placed them on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the fat. I also removed half the fat off the pan.

On medium high I sautéed the Asparagus for about 4-5 minutes not too long, just until it was tender but crispy and added the bacon pieces. Sautéed everything for about 30 seconds longer and then placed on a plate. 

I seasoned it with Flavor God spicy and garlic seasonings and some red wine and left it in the fridge overnight. The next day, I drizzled some honey on top and put that bad boy in the oven at 425 degrees (preheated at 450 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes. Yes, it was delicious and it didn't last more than two days. ☺️😁

This one brought me back in time when we only had rice and eggs to eat back in Cuba. Easy to make and delicious. And the best part of it is, it calls for BACON. Enjoy!

Ingredients

- 4 slices of bacon (sliced)

- 1/2 A Medium Onion

- 3 Eggs

- 1/2 cup of egg whites

- Garlic Lovers Flavor God seasoning or organic garlic powder as an alternative

- Salt to taste

- Garnish with half a small avocado

This was my first attempt at making a pumpkin chili. I gotta say.. my improv skills are better than I give them credit for. Comment if you want the recipe ;) or wing it.. kinda like i did. Remember, think = “chili”.

I bought a whole chicken with the picture in my mind of baking it, ripping off, and munching on the crispy skin.. hmm! I have a big imagination. So vivid I can taste it! lol Too bad I didn’t end up baking the chicken.

I put it in the crockpot instead. Usually I put some Goya seasonings but this time I wanted something a little different. I drizzled some olive oil on top and rubbed it all over the chicken. I then drizzled some white vinegar (about 3 Tbsp). Then I sprinkled some dry rosemary leaves enough to cover most of the chicken and sliced one whole medium onion and sprinkled it on top.

I honestly had no idea how amazing this would turn out. The smell as it cooked was sweet and subtle. I cooked it on high for about 5 hours and a half and left it on warm for 2 hours. The chicken was fully cooked. I used a spoon to break out the leg to take a picture and the meat just came right off. AMAZING!! Rich in protein and good to pair with your favorite side.

Just another LÄRABAR copy cat

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Cashews

1 Cup of Figs

Half a fresh coconut

Coconut water (optional)

Yep, I bought a fresh coconut and drank its delicious coconut water all fancy like with a fancy straw and then scraped off the meat and used it on this amazing bars. It is CRAZY how much of a difference it makes to use natural ingredients. 

With that said. Dip the figs in hot water for about 15 minutes so they expand and soften up a little bit. In a food processor, chop the cashews and coconut. Add figs and mix.

Ingredients:

Fill 3/4 of a plate with veggies of your choice

Fill 1/4 of a plate with meat of your choice

I kinda did half and half; only for the picture though ;). And now.. for some more food porn. Enjoy!

I bought a LÄRABAR  for the first time two weeks ago. The one I tried was made out of cashews and dates. Just cashews and dates.

I wanted to try making that one but I am paranoid about consuming a lot of sugar so I used figs instead. This is a completely different recipe though. These are made of Almonds, walnuts, figs, and dark chocolate. Check out the ingredients next:

1 cup of almonds

1/4 cups of walnuts

2 cups of Figs

1/4 dark chocolate chips (sugar free)

Instructions

I love this dish. The picture does not do it justice. These are italian sausages sautéed with onions and garlic on medium heat for about 15 minutes. On a separate sauce pan i boiled 2 - 3 sweet potatoes (cut into cubes) until tender. I also got a little creative and added mushrooms. Mixed sausages and sweet potatoes on a serving bowl and they were ready to serve. 

You can add olive oil and some salt to taste. You can also add some italian spices like basil, to taste. 

You can serve as a main dish and you can also serve as a side dish. It's pretty amazing. If you're not doing paleo, replace sweet potatoes with white potatoes. 

I was fantasizing about this Gem for a week straight. Bragging to all my friends about what my next "creation" was going to look like. I was really hoping that what I was imagining would turn out ok and it turned out BETTER. 

Although dairy is not generally considered paleo, cheese would be the better choice to have if you choose any kind of dairy. Cheese is fermented full-fat dairy which is much better than consuming that overly processed junk like fat-free milk. I chose Mozzarella Cheese because it is very low in sodium and this IS an italian inspired meal after all.

What you'll need for the sauce

7-8 Roma Tomatoes  

1 Medium Red Bell Pepper

1 Medium Onion

4 Garlic Cloves (Smashed)

2 Tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Flavor God seasoning or your choice of complete seasoning.

2-3 Tbsp of Vodka

I chopped all the ingredients and sautéed them on medium heat. I let simmer on low for about 25 minutes, added 2 Tbsp of Vodka and then blended all the ingredients.

What you will need for the Lasagna

One large spaghetti Squash

Pasta Sauce

Ground Turkey 

Mozzarella Cheese

I added two layers of all the ingredients in the order they appear to an oven safe pan, covered it with aluminum foil, and cooked for about 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

A little spin on the Cuban Picadillo. I used sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and home made tomato sauce. 

You will need:

1LB ground turkey

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 Cup of raisins

1/2 Cup of olives of choice

One medium onion

1 cup of tomato sauce

2 Tbsp of coconut oil

Pinch of salt

Throwing it back to the days when mom made this meal every other day, alternating it between chicken and beef. She was never a fan of the kitchen, but she did better than anyone ever expected. I think I may have influenced her a little hahaha. 

A meal of french origin, like most Cuban meals. The technique consists of cooking any kind of meat with vegetables or root vegetables until you get a stew. The seasoned meat is cooked on low heat in a couple of tbsp of oil until juicy and tender. Toward the end you can add potatoes or veggies of your choice until they are tender. Let cool and serve. 

Like I told my sister when I sent her this picture: "I may have just created a masterpiece." Oh you know, I just sautéed some onions, garlic, and parsley in some olive oil and shrimp broth, the usual.

Oh and there's more, and you are more than welcome to ask if you want the full recipe but don't blame me when your wife wants to make never ending love or your boyfriend proposes, after you make this amazing snack.