Fish "Tacos"

My husband and I have been on the South Beach diet for about 2 weeks now. The first 2 weeks eliminates all grains and fruit, needless to says it's been hard. Also the food has become rather monotonous. Most dinner's consist of a protein and a mound of veggies. Not that it's tasted bad but it's BORING. Which is where these fabulous fish "tacos" come into to play. I certainly can't have tortillas (corn or flour) so I substituted the tortilla with lettuce. I wasn't too optimistic about this but I couldn't stand one more night of grilled fish and a mound of green beans. To my surprise they turned out amazing! I would eat these even if I could eat carbs. SO GOOD! Give these messy (you'll need a few napkins) "tacos" a chance. You'll be a believer.

Fish "Tacos"

Ingredients:
5-8 Fillets white flaky fish (I used Dover)
Cilantro- 1/2 a bunch roughly chopped
Garlic- 2 Tbsp
Onion Powder- enough to season each fillet
Seasoned Salt- To taste
Tequila- 4 Tbsp
Lime juice (2-3 small limes)
Sugar 1 tsp or substitute (I used 1 pkg Truvia)
Olive Oil- Start with a 1/4 cup + more for fish
Diced Tomatoes- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained
Black Beans- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained

Directions:
Season each fillet with Olive oil, Onion powder, Seasoned salt, and lime juice. Grill or pan sear each fillet. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the juice of two limes, tequila, garlic, 1/2 of chopped cilantro, olive oil and sugar (add more oil and sugar to taste). Set aside. Add 1/4 cup of the vinegarette to a pan over medium heat. Once heated through add rinsed tomatoes and black beans. Once cooked through add another 1/4 cup of vinegarette and flake the fish into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Spoon the mixture into rinsed romaine leaves and top with reserved cilantro. Enjoy!

Healthy Birthday Cake

I made this Castle Cake for a birthday party this past weekend. It was a very special cake. For one, it was for my niece, and two it was made of black beans!! I'll admit when I first heard black bean chocolate cake, I was nervous. My sister has an allergy to gluten and dairy. And also a sugar intolerance. It's hard living with food allergies and also makes it very hard to find any sweets worth having. With some research she found a fabulous gluten free, dairy free, very low sugar black bean chocolate cake recipe. We made a test cake and could not believe how good it tasted! You certainly couldn't tell it was made of beans! It was a completely healthy cake, and no one had to feel guilty eating it. Don't be afraid of the name or have an nervousness about this cake, it's so GOOD!


Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Coconut oil
3/4 cup Erythritol or (1/3 cup Honey + 1 tsp Stevia)
1/2 tsp Stevia (if using erythritol)
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tbsp water (omit if using honey)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease your cake pan with cooking spray or shortening. Since this is a no flour cake dust cocoa all over the cake, make sure to get it one the sides as well. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.

Drain the beans and rinse the beans, you don't want any bean juice. Shake off excess water. Put beans, 3 of the eggs, vanilla, stevia, and salt in a food processor or blender. Blend until everything is liquefied. Make sure to get all the lumps out. Mix cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl beat coconut oil and erythritol or honey (I used honey) until fluffy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each one. Combine bean and egg mixture. Mix in cocoa powder and beat the batter on high until smooth. Put the batter in a pan and tap the pan on the counter to pop air bubbles.

Bake for 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Or until the cake is firm. If the cake is over baked it will be really crumbly and not as moist. Let the cake cool and turn out and set on a cooling rack until room temperature. The cake can be wrapped and refrigerated for a few days. Ice with your frosting of choice and ENJOY! It's really good with cream cheese or chocolate frosting. I made a tofutti cream cheese frosting, it was delicious. I'll post the recipe later on.