My husband and I recently entered a chili contest at work. I came across the following chili recipe online when trying to find a chili recipe without beans. Enjoy, it's delicious! (the above picture and below instructions are copied from their website)
Spicy Chili Bowl
Serves 4

  Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced bell peppers
• 1/2 cup diced jalapenos
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 8 oz. beef broth
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• Grated cheese, minced red onion, and cilantro (for toppings)

Directions

1. In a skillet, cook the ground beef and drain the fat. Set aside.
2. In a pot, combine onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, celery, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper to the pot.
4. Add cooked ground beef and mix well.
5. Add tomato sauce, beef broth, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasonings.
6. To serve, sprinkle grated cheese, minced red onion and cilantro.

http://thefoodaddicts.com/spicy-chili-bowl/

You know those dishes that your friends or mom's or even you are famous for? You know, the ones that everyone wishes you would make when you come to a potluck? Well my broccoli salad happens to be one of those for me. Even people who can HAVE sugar, like it...now that is how I know I have succeeded ;) FYI, this is like a potluck type size :)

Ingredients
½ bag of broccoli from Costco
1 pound cooked bacon
½ cup raisins
2 cups roasted and salted almonds (I get from Costco, purple lid)
Cheese
1 chopped apple  

Dressing:  

1 cup mayo
2-3 Tbsp Vinegar
3-6 Tbsp Xylitol (powdered)
Salt and Pepper to taste  

For the dressing, everything is based on preference. Serve with dressing cold. I waited until we were at the party location to put the dressing on because the longer it sits, usually the more liquidy it can become.   If you want the dressing more runny, add more vinegar. What I do is mix the powdered Xylitol with the Vinegar so that it won’t be too crunchy.

So I have been CRAVING some chocolate. Granted, this is the season of parties and junk food....it's been SOOOO hard to say no to it all. So here is a dairy, sugar, gluten, grain free fudge recipe. ENJOY!

Ingredients

1 c peanut butter
1 1/4 c shredded, unsweetened coconut
2 1/4 c pecans, chopped
2 unsweetened baking chocolate squares
1/4 c dairy free butter (I use Earth Balance)
1/4 xylitol

1. Put peanut butter, coconut and chopped pecans in a bowl and mix.
2. Over medium heat, melt chocolate, dairy free butter and xylitol together. Stir constantly until fully melted and then mix immediately with mixture in bowl.
3. Grease an 8x8 with Earth Balance and pour mixture in pan.
4. Let sit 3-4 hours in the fridge to harden.

I am not a huge potato salad fan. However, years ago my mom made this twice baked potato salad and I LOVED it. I pretty much only eat this type of potato salad even today. I have split up this post to include the dairy free version, and the kind with cheese since my family asks for me to make this at family gatherings :)

Twice Baked Potato Salad

Ingredients

2 heads of cauliflower
1 c sour cream
1 c mayonnaise
2 lbs bacon
2 c cheese
1/4 c minced onion
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop bacon and fry in pan. Drain when crispy.
2. Chop up the cauliflower to mimic rice. (If you have a food chopper, now is the time to use it)
3. Put cauliflower in a in a pot with a little water and steam for about 15 minutes (You are looking for the color to change to a more yellowish color and a softer consistency). Drain cauliflower if necessary, of excess water.
4. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. If too dry, add more sour cream and mayo until desired wetness.

Optional: My family LOVES cheese. We have found it is especially yummy to put the salad on a baking sheet and top with cheese. Then bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the cheese is crispy and bubbly.

DAIRY FREE: To make this dairy free, just exclude the sour cream and cheese...and don't bake. Or if you want to add Daiya cheese, you could try that. (i still haven't tried that yet)

I made mini, chocolate coconut flour cupcakes, for a baby shower a couple of weeks ago. And of course going to a shower means it pretty much has to be amazing so that everyone will like it; even those who don't eat as restrictively as I do. So I scoured the internet and tried to find a cashew butter frosting I could have. One thing disappointing about a lot of dessert paleo recipes is how high they are in carbs; using pure maple syrup which is not cool for my body. So here is the recipe I made up after reading many, many recipes.

Cashew Butter Frosting

Ingredients
1 11.5 oz unsalted cashew butter
1/4 c xylitol (ground after measured)
1/4 c coconut milk
3 Tbsp vanilla
2 Tbsp coconut oil

Mix the ground xylitol with the vanilla and coconut milk, slightly melting so the xylitol is not crunchy. Add the coconut oil until well blended. Then add the cashew butter. Add coconut milk to desired consistency.

AND, in case you were wondering, everyone thought they were amazing ;)

There is no excuse for not having made this already, (other than impatience) but I am sure it will be AMAZING. Sarah over at Health Faith Love made this yummy looking chocolate mousse, but it takes a little bit to chill, thus the impatience on my part. Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.healthfaithlove.com/3/post/2011/10/decadent-chocolate-mousse-glutengrainsugardairy-free.html and for convenience, I have copied the recipe below. Enjoy!

Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

1/4 Cup Organic Hot Decaf Coffee
1/4 cup coconut milk
3 1/2 squares bakers chocolate (unsweetened)
3 T erythritol Or Just like sugar (natural sweetener(s))
1/8 tsp pure stevia extract
2 pastured eggs-room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 T coconut milk + 2 T coconut oil

Chop chocolate very finely
Heat coffee and 1/4 cup coconut milk in a small pan until bubbly
add heated coffee mixture, sweeteners, chocolate and vanilla to a hight speed blender and blend until chocolate is melted.

add eggs, coconut oil/ coconut milk and blend for 1 min

pour into small serving dishes or one larger dish and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours. The mousse with get very thick after its chilled!
Serve with whipped coconut milk or cream and nuts or use as a fresh or dried fruit dip! 

Bread, oh sweet bread, is something I never thought I could have on a grain free diet. But, other people just amaze me with the things they create! Lauren at healthyindulgences.net has TONS of low carb recipes. Back in the beginning of my journey to better health, she helped me see that I could eat the right foods for my body and still feel a little "normal". I have copied her recipe below for these AMAZING nutty rolls and here is the link: http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2011/07/bread-made-healthy-tasty-grain-free-and.html#more

Without further ado, create and enjoy! (FYI, I have flattened the bread like I did in the pizza crust and used it for stuffing, pizza crust, and for flat bread sandwiches...it is just THAT good!!!)

Healthy Bread Rolls (Gluten- and Grain-Free)Makes 6 rollsIngredients:
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground sunflower seeds1/4 cup golden flax seed meal1/8 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt*
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum1/16 teaspoon pure stevia powder
1 1/8 teaspoon Active Dry yeast (half of a packet)
4 large eggs, room temperature (no cold eggs!)
5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter OR 5 Tablespoons - 1 teaspoon of oil (I use half EVOO, half EVCO)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey (the sugar will be eaten by the yeast)1/2 cup warm water**

*Add 1/8 teaspoon more salt for more of a biscuit flavor**Add 1 teaspoon extra water if you are using oil instead of butter 

Preparation:Grind sunflower seeds and whole flax seeds (if you did not buy flaxseed meal) into a fine meal with a coffee grinder, Magic Bullet blender, or food processor. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Alternatively, grease the 6 wells of a muffin top pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift coconut flour into a bowl, gently spoon it into your measuring cups, and level with a knife. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sunflower seed meal, flaxseed meal, sea salt, xanthan gum, stevia, and baking powder.
Warm 1/2 cup warm water in the microwave for 8-10 seconds to heat it. Drop yeast into it. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter or oil, and honey. Whisk yeast water into egg mixture. Use hand mixer to beat the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.  Continue to beat the batter for one minute to smooth out lumps and give the dough a light and airy quality.
Spoon out the sticky dough onto the cookie sheet in 6 dollops. Shape the dough into rounds and smooth the tops with wet fingertips. Don't press the dough flat - just round out the tops to give the rolls a more pleasing appearance. Dip your fingers into water as necessary before smoothing the tops of each roll. Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove rolls from the oven, and wait a minute or two before gently prying them out of the pan and setting them on a cooling rack lined with a paper towel. Let rolls cool for a half hour or so (I know, I know, it's tough!). Slice one in half. Add a healthy dollop of butter, or leave it plain. Eat.
Store rolls in plasticware containers lined with paper towels. Refrigerate after 24 hours. Reheat in the microwave for a few seconds, or toast, for the best taste and texture.

-5.2 grams net carbohydrates per roll (not counting 1 teaspoon of the honey, since the yeast consumes most or all of the sugar**)

Tip #1 - I don't use the honey, I use xylitol and it works just as well. (I followed the directions to a "T" the first time and found there wasn't a different not using the honey)

Let's face it, birthdays, parties, and holidays are all times where food is in abundance and we don't want to miss out on having a treat just because we have a more restricted diet...nor should you have to! Elana has one of the best recipes I have made so far for chocolate cupcakes. I have typed up my modified version below and pasted her directions here, but here is the link to her website:http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-cupcakes/. FYI, she does some AMAZING stuff with blanched almond flour and coconut flour. You can also easily substitute all of her recipes that call for agave nectar with Xylitol and Stevia.

Ingredients

1/4 c coconut flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 c oil
1/2 c xylitol

1. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, cacao powder, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, blend together eggs, oil and agave
3. Blend dry ingredients into wet thoroughly
4. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and scoop a scant ¼ cup into each
5. Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes
6. Cool and cover with vegan "buttercream" chocolate frosting
7. Serve

Makes 10 cupcakes

Tip #1: I would highly recommend if you make the "buttercream" frosting or any other frosting for that matter with xylitol, that you powder it in a bullet. Otherwise you will have some very crunchy frosting.
Tip #2: You could try (though I haven't done this yet) melting the xylitol on the stove and then mixing it into the frosting mixture to eliminate crunchiness. If you try this before I do, let me know! :)

_If I had to pick my top 3 foods in the US, pizza might very well be my number #1 favorite. Going gluten free and now primarily grain free, in addition to not having dairy definitely poses a few interesting twists for my pizza nights...but if I can learn to adapt, so can you.

Now the difficult part of this, is I just kinda throw things together and make it work, lol. But I did find a recipe, http://elliotthealthcare.com/low_carb_gluten_free_pizza_crust.htm that is pretty similar to what I do. So from memory, I give you my modified pizza crust recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c blanched almond flour
1/2 c flax meal
2-3 Tbsp garlic powder
2-3 Tbsp italian herbs
4-6 Tbsp minced onion
2-3 Tbsp no salt seasoning (from Costco, but can omit)
3 eggs
1 T olive oil
½ tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum (helpful but not required)

Mix everything together. Next we want to get it flat. You can either roll it between two greased pieces of parchment paper, or place dough on greased cookie sheet and flatten with hands or rolling pin after having put some cling wrap on top of dough. It is VERY sticky. Whether using the cling wrap or the parchment paper, remove from top of dough and place in oven at 350. Bake about 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

To make this the best pizza EVER, I recommend the following:

Sauce: Pesto - homemade is best but you can go to the store (warning, most have dairy :(
Toppings: Chopped chicken, bacon (duh!), and artichokes (you can buy whole or minced artichokes at Trader Joes...YUM!)

I then broil for a few minutes, just to let it all simmer together and create that tantalizing aroma we all love so much! Then, devour :)

As I am sure you are becoming increasingly aware of, I try to not cook with grains. The below brownie recipe, which is my modified version, I got from my doctor's website:elliotthealthcare.com/. She has a lot of great recipes and some articles on how to improve your health.

And now, for the best grain free, dairy free, sugar free and most importantly, sugar free, brownies you MUST indulge in :)

Ingredients

1 c dairy free butter (I use Earth Balance)
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c Xylitol
1/2 tsp Stevia (I used powdered)
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c blanched almond flour
1 tsp. salt
2 c chopped pecans

Directions

Put eggs in warm water (if eggs are too cold they will separate the chocolate). Melt butter, chocolate, xylitol, stevia, vanilla and salt in pan; stirring constantly so as not to burn the chocolate. In bowl, mix blanched almond flour with chopped pecans and eggs. Add chocolate mixture and blend well. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 square pan. Bake at 325 for 25-40 minutes depending on your oven.