Chicken Cutlets with Sweet Pea Puree & Garlicky Oven-Roasted Potatoes

When Ivy Larson, co-author of the Whole Foods Diet Cookbook: 200 Recipes For Optimal Health, was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 22, she'd never even heard of "whole foods". After exploring options, and at the suggestion of her neurologist, she and husband, Andrew Larson, M.D., discovered a natural approach to improve her health through lifestyle modification and nutritional therapy.

After adopting their new diet together, both Andrew and Ivy saw a quick and dramatic improvement in their body fat percentages, blood pressure and energy levels. The couple has shared their healthy living program through their previous books, workshops and "Lifestyle Makeover Programs" to help improve the lives of tens of thousands of people across the country.

The cookbook offers a lifelong, nutritionally sound strategy and sustainable way of eating that is entirely compatible with busy modern lifestyles, yet still address the dual need to be nourished and to enjoy delicious foods. It provides medically sound and up-to-date dietary advice with a collection of healthy, tasty and easy to prepare all-natural "whole foods" recipes.

Enjoy these recipes from Ivy and Andrew's new book.

Chicken Cutlets with Sweet Pea Puree & Garlicky Oven-Roasted Potatoes


Chicken Cutlets with Sweet Pea Puree
1 (9 oz) package frozen petite peas
1/4 cup whipped organic cream cheese
2 tablespoons raw honey
Juice from 1/2 lemon
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons Chardonnay
Unrefined sea salt, to taste
1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced, boneless, skinless, free-range chicken breasts (also called cutlets)
White pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Place the frozen peas in a microwave-safe dish and heat for three minutes, or until thawed and barely warm. (or use your preferred method to thaw and warm)

In a food processor or blender, add the peas, cream cheese, honey, lemon juice, garlic, mint, Chardonnay, and salt. Process until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set puree aside.

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Hear 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high hear until hot but not smoking. Saute the chicken in 2 or 3 batches, turning once until golden and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Add remaining oil when necessary to keep chicken grom sticking or burning.

Transfer chicken to serving plates and drizzle with Sweet Pea Puree. Serve puree on the side in a gravy boat.

Garlicky Oven-Roasted Vegetables and Potatoes
6 medium red-skinned potatoes, quartered
Unrefined sea salt, to taste
Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 red bell peppers, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks
1 red onion, cut into bite-size pieces
1 head of garlic, each clove peeled and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes on a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and paprika, and toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil. Toast the potatoes for 20 minutes, tossing once.

Place the bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, and garlic on a second roasting pan lined with aluminum foil. Toss the vegetables with the remaining 2 or 3 tablespoons oil and season with salt. Place the vegetables in the oven next to the pan with the potatoes, and roast the vegetables and the potatoes for 40 minutes.

Remove the potatoes and vegetables from the oven and allow to cool several minutes. Toss the potatoes and vegetables together lightly, season with a bit more salt and serve at once.

For more information on Ivy and Andrew Larson, check out their website. Their book is available for pre-order now, reserve your copy today!

FIRE UP THE GRILL!

We have the perfect new addition to our products...charcoal. And not just any charcoal, Kiawe Ono Charcoal!

The perfect pairing: BEEF + ONO CHARCOAL = PERFECTION ON THE GRILL



A Quick History of Charcoal
Kiawe Charcoal is the original charcoal dating way back before the days of the BBQ, before there were any manufacturing plants or additives to make products for us. It was as natural as it gets. Taking wood, usually limbs, branches, etc. and heating this wood in a closed area in the absence of oxygen is how you make lump charcoal. Specifically what is produced is carbonized wood … Lump Charcoal! And then came along big business and a chance to mass-produce a product for “us”.

As early as 1912, Henry Ford was coveting timber reserves in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for automobile manufacturing. Ford’s sawmill was used to build wooden auto parts.

In 1924, a chemical plant was built to convert the tons of waste wood generated by the Ford sawmill into charcoal briquettes. For many years, Ford Charcoal Briquettes could be purchased only at Ford automobile showrooms around the country.

And of course, briquettes are still made today using wood char (heat source), mineral char (heat source), mineral carbon (heat source), limestone (uniform visual ashing), starch (binder), borax (press release), sodium nitrate (ignition aid) and sawdust (ignition aid).

You probably know what Borax is but what is mineral char? Well it’s a soft, brownish-black coal also called brown coal. This produces that empyreumatic smell. What is an empyreumatic smell? It’s the peculiar smell and taste arising from products of decomposition of animal or vegetable substances.

Kiawe (Pronounced: KEE-AY-VAY) … the Ono (Good) stuff.
Kiawe is actually a transplant, it arose from a seed brought from the king's garden in Paris (where it also happened to be a transplant from the Sonora Desert) and planted at a church in Honolulu in 1828. It became a great tree shading Our Lady of Peace Cathedral between Bishop Street and what is now Fort Street Mall.

Father Alexis Bachelot, first Catholic missionary to Hawaii, brought the seed from the king’s garden in Paris. The entire plain of Honolulu, once bare, became covered with Kiawe trees. Tree cover resulted as the hardy Sonora Desert species spread.

The Hawaiian people quickly realized that Kiawe was also the source the greatest cooking fuel ever, Kiawe Charcoal. Today, Kiawe and Ono Charcoal are the traditional Hawaiian Luau charcoal used at backyard BBQ’s as well as by gourmet chefs around the world.

The Green Advantage
• ALL NATURAL, 100 % hardwood charcoal with no chemical additives
• EASIER TO LIGHT THAN BRIQUETTES
• LIGHT WITH OR WITHOUT lighter fluid
• BURNS HOTTER than briquettes. 1 lb. of Ono Charcoal produces the equivalent heat of 2 lbs. of briquettes
• LOW ASH increases food quality and reduces environmental pollution

We are currently the only online location to buy Kiawe Ono Charcoal. Try some today with a great grass fed steak or free range chicken! Enhance your grilling experience with a 15 lb bag or a 20 lb bag. You're sure to love the results!

Tenderloin Steaks with Blue Cheese Sauce

May is National Beef Month! Let's celebrate with a great beef recipe!

Blue Cheese Sauce
2 Tbs. cream cheese
4 tsp. crumbled blue cheese
4 tsp. plain yogurt
2 tsp. minced onion
Dash ground white pepper

4 beef tenderloin steaks (6 oz each)
1 clove garlic, halved
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chopped chopped fresh parsley

Combine Blue Cheese Sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Rub steaks with garlic. Season steaks with salt and grill to desired doneness. Let steaks rest. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

So easy and so delicious!

-Adapted from The Healthy Beef Cookbook

Garden Ready

Spring is my favorite time of year. I'm ready to get out of the house, the lawn is desperate for attention and the garden is calling my name. Here, in the Midwest, it's been a wet spring so far and few people have their gardens in. I'm one of the many that's been waiting for the sun to shine to get to work. I was excited to start my heirloom tomato seeds indoors a few months ago, however, my excitement was halted by the sight of my puny, spindly plants. I sadly accepted that I was destined to grow the "improved" gmo versions instead. But no! I got a call on Saturday from McKenzie (who used to work here) and she had found a greenhouse with heirloom tomato plants. My garden growing season just got a little brighter. To appreciate my excitement you have to realize where we are. Our office is in a town of 126 people...needless to say, we're in a very rural area and it can be difficult to find "specialty" items. So I made the hour-long drive to a Mennonite greenhouse called Hillcrest Farms and couldn't be any happier with my purchase. I spoke to the owner, Robert, for a while about their heirloom plants. I was actually shocked at what he had to say. They have a difficult time selling heirloom plants, he said that people just don't want them. They had oak leaf lettuce for sale which is an heirloom plant from the 1800's and produces ALL summer, even through the heat. He displayed it with the other lettuce varieties and ended up giving it away for free because nobody would buy it. Heirloom plants are not hybrids, they are the same plants that our ancestors grew. When you consume produce from heirloom plants, you're essentially eating a slice of history. So, when you head to the nursery or greenhouse to buy your plants just remember: heirloom = awesome! If you have a green thumb there are several online stores that sell heirloom seeds. Since my green thumb has apparently wilted, I'll stick with the plants that are ready to be put into the ground. Here's to wishing all the gardeners an abundant year! Good luck and good health!