Alkaline Valentine's Day Family Meals

Here’s to a home filled with love and alkaline goodness! This Valentine’s Day, serve your family meals that are red, white, pink, mouthwatering, and alkaline! 

Breakfast

Start your family’s day the nostalgic way—soothing the soul pancakes with a delectable rhubarb compote drizzled all over!

Your shopping list: (serves 2-4)

• 3 bananas
• 2 large pasture-raised, grass-fed eggs
• 1⁄2 cup almond butter
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 rhubarb stalks, chopped
• 1-pint strawberries, hulled and chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Pinch of sea salt

Pancake directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a blender, and blend until smooth.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. 
3. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the skillet and cook over medium heat until golden brown, about 1 minute, flip over, and cook until the other side is golden brown. 
4. Repeat until all the batter is cooked.

Rhubarb compote directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. Cook over medium-low heat until fruit is soft and jamlike, about 15 minutes.
3. Add a little water, if necessary.
4. Top the pancakes with the compote and watch big smiles appear on your family’s faces!

Don’t forget to add some love to your coffee! By that, I mean my brain-boosting, vitamin-packed, fat-burning, acid-neutralizing: Acid-Kicking Coffee Alkalizer! Still debating—would Salted Caramel or Vanilla flavors taste better with these heavenly pancakes?!

Dinner

First Course: Start off your family dinner with a red and white winter salad that is full of protein and healthy fats: Pomegranate and white bean salad with tarragon dressing. 

Your shopping list: (Serves 2)

The Salad

• 4 cups baby spinach
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 1⁄3 cup seeds
• 2 baby leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1⁄2 cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed 
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced raw almonds

The Dressing

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

All you need to do: Mix all the salad ingredients in a big bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together and toss in! 

Second Course: 

Keep the red-and-white theme going with cauliflower rice-stuffed peppers! I would double up this recipe to keep the love and already-made lunches going!

Your shopping list: (Serves 4) 

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 4 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded 
• Sea salt (Celtic Grey, Himalayan pink, or Redmond Real Salt)
• 1 head cauliflower, riced or finely chopped, or 1 (12-ounce) package frozen cauliflower rice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2∕3 cup of healthy salsa 
• 1 (15-ounce) can of adzuki beans, drained and rinsed (Eden Organics is a great option)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Optional toppings

• Chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Haas avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced 
• Freshly squeezed lime juice
• Jalapeño peppers Salsa

And here’s what you need to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush a large baking dish (glass works well) with a little coconut oil.
2. Then, place the bell peppers, cut side up, in the dish and coat the outsides and insides with the coconut oil.
3. Sprinkle sea salt on top.
4. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and add the rest of the coconut oil.
5. Add the cauliflower rice, garlic, red onion, spices, lime juice, and salsa.
6. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes as you incorporate the ingredients.
7. Add the adzuki beans and remove them from the heat.
8. Stuff the pepper halves with the mixture, taste, and add salt, pepper, and lime to taste.
9. Place the pepper halves, stuffing side up, in a lidded cast-iron pot and bake for 40 minutes. If you don’t have a cast-iron pot, you can use a Dutch oven, or you can use a glass baking dish that you cover loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
10. Top with your choice of cilantro, avocado, lime juice, or jalapeños, and serve with salsa.

Dessert

An easy but delightful dessert to top off this homemade meal of love and health: chopped berries with mint and coconut butter! We are keeping the red and white theme going with red raspberries and strawberries and white coconut butter—mix together for pink perfection!

Your shopping list: (serves 2)

• 2 cups of mixed red berries
• 4 tablespoons of coconut butter, soft or melted
• 2 tablespoons of chopped mint

All you need to do: Drizzle the coconut butter on the berries and sprinkle with mint.

P.S. Don’t forget to drink your Acid-Kicking Minerals after dinner to enjoy a night of deep sleep—the greatest gift of love to yourself!