Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

A sweet, salty and acidic appetizer or snack delight that features figs stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios, wrapped with prosciutto, and air fried or baked to tender goodness.

Confession time: I don’t like figs, there I said it! Dried figs, sure. Fig newtons as a kid when that was the only snack you could find in the pantry, you bet. But fresh - you can forget it! 

So when my personal training client handed me a bag of freshly picked figs, I had no idea what to do. But she entrusted me to create a recipe using them and I didn’t want to let her down! So not only does this recipe goes out to my client … you know who you are ;) This fig recipe also goes out to my newfound fresh fig taste buds! 

The secret to enjoying fresh figs is wrapping them in prosciutto and roasting or air frying them. Having the addition of goat cheese and pistachio for added creaminess and texture doesn’t hurt either. And to take it to an even magical level, enhance the complexity in sweet, salty, and acid flavors with a drizzle of honey. 

It quite literally cannot get any better than this! 

So if you are looking for a summer appetizer, macro balanced snack, or trying to figure out ways to use figs, then this is your recipe ladies and gentleman! 

And feel free to switch out ingredients: figs for dates, goat cheese for blue cheese, pistachio for almonds, honey for balsamic glaze, prosciutto for bacon, air frying for baking…you get my drift ;) 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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A sweet, salty and acidic appetizer or snack delight that features figs stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios, wrapped with prosciutto, and air fried or baked to tender goodness.

Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 4 min | Cook 5 min

Ingredients

• 8 figs

• ⅓ cup goat or blue cheese, softened

• 8 prosciutto slices

• 2 Tbsp raw pistachios, chopped

Garnish

Local honey and chopped pistachios

Directions 

1. Cut the figs in half and set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, mix softened goat cheese and chopped pistachios until well combined.  Dollop a small amount on one fig half and place the other fig half on top like a sandwich. Repeat with the remainder of figs where you should have 8 fig sandwiches. 

3. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig sandwich. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap. Place a wet toothpick through prosciutto wrapped fig so that it doesn’t fall apart. 

4. If using an air fryer: preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 5-7 minutes flipping halfway until prosciutto is crispy. 

5. If using the oven: preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place in the oven on the top rack and roast for 8-10 minutes. 

6. Garnish with honey drizzle and leftover chopped pistachios and enjoy! 

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Chai Spiced Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chai spiced sweet potato chocolate chip muffins - Nutrient-packed sweet potato muffins that are super moist and addictingly delicious! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally low in sugar.

Growing up as a kid, we didn’t eat sweet potatoes often. The few times we did, it was usually in the form of  sweet potato casseroles or sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving. Now that I’m older, I can’t get enough of them.

That’s why, regardless of the weather, I wanted to create a super cozy and comforting sweet potato muffin made with chocolate chips (because why not!?) and chai spice!

If you can’t tell from my Instagram, I use this chai spice seasoning on almost everything. Before diving into this muffin recipe, you should totally whip up this amazing chai spice seasoning if you haven’t done so already, then we can get to cooking!

Of course, if you don’t have the time to make a homemade seasoning blend, you can always use a regular chai spice blend found at a grocery store, use pumpkin spice seasoning, or simply cinnamon!

At first glance, it might seem like you need a lot of ingredients for these muffins, but if you look closer, you will see that you might have many of these ingredients already in your pantry! If you don’t have gluten-free fine oat flour then you definitely need to stock up!

If you are worried about buying an entire bag of oat flour just for a muffin recipe, then don’t fret because you can also use this oat flour for many other recipes such as my fluffy, gluten-free pancakes or raspberry almond thumbprint cookies.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Chai spiced sweet potato chocolate chip muffins - Nutrient-packed sweet potato muffins that are super moist and addictingly delicious! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally low in sugar.

Ingredients

Dry

• 2 cups gluten-free oat flour

• 1 cup superfine blanched almond flour

• ½ cup chocolate chips + plus more for topping

• 1 Tbsp chai spice seasoning

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ¾ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

Wet

• 1 cup sweet potato puree (from 1 sweet potato)

• ½ cup plant-based, unsweetened milk

• ¼ cup coconut oil

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. To cook the sweet potato, peel the sweet potato and cut into small chunks. To a medium pot, add sweet potato chunks to water and boil potatoes until soft. Drain potatoes and blend in a processor, blender, or using a masher until sweet potatoes are pureed. Set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners and spray the inside of them with nonstick cooking spray.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together except the chocolate chips.

4. In a separate large bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until well combined, smooth and creamy. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Gently fold in ½ cup chocolate chips.

5. Divide batter evenly into muffin liners (about ¾ full), and top each with a few chocolate chips. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes and then remove and transfer muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

• Remember - if you want this to be a true dairy-free version, use dark chocolate chips that have no milk.

• If you would like to make this recipe lower in oil, you can use 2 tablespoons of oil. It will just not be as moist - more on the crumbly side but still delicious!

• If you need help finding the best ingredient brands, these are what I use! Gluten-free whole grain oat flour, superfine almond flour, dairy free chocolate chips, vanilla extract

• If you  have leftover sweet potato puree, you can make this pumpkin pie protein smoothie - just replace pumpkin with sweet potato!

Baked Hot Chicken

A healthier twist on the classic Nashville hot chicken. Baked, gluten-free, dairy-free, and full of spicy flavors!

Living so close to Nashville, it’s imperative that you get Nashville hot chicken; it’s a cardinal sin if you don’t! As I’m getting older, my body takes a little longer to recover from all the grease and gluten. I mean, YOLO when you can but sometimes it takes a toll on your body!

What’s my solution? I created a healthier twist on the beloved hot chicken. I use coconut oil to decrease the amount of grease. I also chose to bake the chicken. That way, I’m only dying to get seconds and thirds instead of just dying from the grease! So, let’s talk about this chicken!

The trick to getting chicken moist and flavorful is all in the marinade. Typically, buttermilk is used in creating a moist chicken (sorry for using moist three times!). However, I used almond milk to keep this recipe dairy-free. The trick here is to add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the plant-based milk of your choice. The acidity helps to thicken and basically curdle the almond milk. You won’t even notice a lack of buttermilk, and when you add it all with pickle juice and lots of seasonings, you get an awesome Nashville hot chicken!

The breading is simple using a gluten-free baking flour. Lightly coat/spray the chicken with coconut or avocado oil to crisp the outer coat. Chicken thighs are best with this recipe as the skin releases mouthwatering juices into the meat underneath as it cooks. The skin also protects the meat from direct heat, which helps the thighs to cook gently and to retain its moisture.

A complexity of sweet and spicy flavors are incorporated into the hot chicken. What really takes the chicken over the top is using honey infused with chili peppers. I love using this brand as you can find it in most grocery stores!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken thighs

• 3 Tbsp pickle juice

• 1 cup GF baking flour

• Hot sauce (optional)

• Coconut oil or avocado oil

Buttermilk mixture

• 1 cup unsweetened plant based milk (almond)

• 1 Tbsp ACV or fresh lemon

Seasonings

• 1 Tbsp cayenne

• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp creole seasoning

• 1 tsp sugar

• ½ tsp black pepper

• Dashes of red pepper flakes

Directions

1. To make the “buttermilk”, add vinegar to the milk and sit for 10 minutes or until milk mixture is curdled/activated.

2. Whisk all seasonings together in a small bowl. Remove ¾ of seasoning mixture and coat the chicken thighs inside a Ziploc bag. Add the “buttermilk” mixture along with pickle juice and a couple dashes of hot sauce (optional). Toss to coat and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to overnight.

3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 degrees.

4. Prepare the flour mixture by whisking ¼ of seasoning mixture to 1 cup GF baking flour.

5. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge chicken into flour mixture both sides and place chicken on a baking rack. Repeat until all chicken is coated.

6. Spray or brush tops of chicken with melted coconut oil or avocado oil.

7. Bake chicken for 20-25 minutes. Take chicken out and coat tops with hot sauce (optional). Flip the chicken and spray or brush bottom of chicken with oil until coated.

8. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until chicken reaches and internal temperature of 165 degrees.

9. Let chicken cool for 5 minutes and then drizzle honey with infused chili peppers (optional but so worth it!)

Turkey Meatballs

Healthy baked turkey meatballs that will just melt in your mouth! 

Turkey meatballs are one of the easiest recipes ever! I usually end up making these when I meal prep at least a few times a month… This recipe will make about a dozen meatballs, but I usually double the recipe if I decide to meal prep. I’ll make one big ol’ batch of meatballs and I am set!

You’ll see that I often choose to use ground turkey instead of beef. I prefer using ground turkey because it’s inexpensive, lean, and can be easily influenced flavor-wise based on the number of spices and herbs you put into it.

Since ground turkey is naturally mild in flavor, spices and herbs are key to making a juicy and tender meatball. For this recipe, everyday spices and herbs like parsley, coriander, and ground mustard are incorporated to create a classic meatball that can be used in all kinds of recipes, whether it’s for your basic spaghetti and meatballs, or as an appetizer for a large party. I choose to bake the meatballs rather than pan fry to make them a healthier option. I also find that baking them saves me time because I don’t have to keep a close watch, endlessly worrying if I’m burning them!

If you are wanting to make these turkey meatballs for your meal prep, consider adding them to 100% whole wheat pasta, bean-based pasta, or zoodles! Simply spiralize zucchini to create noodles, add your meatballs, and top it all off with some organic no-sugar-added pasta sauce and cooked mushrooms. Before I seal my meal prep containers, I like to sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top to provide a cheesy flavor component!

Tips for making your meatballs super moist:

• Make sure each meatball are equal in size to ensure they cook evenly.

• Fresh herbs are best! Using dry parsley will not provide the same amount of flavor compared to fresh parsley; trust me, it’s a game changer!

• Don’t overmix! Since ground turkey is a leaner meat, overmixing your ingredients can make the meatballs tough. I prefer using my hands to mix the ingredients.

Want to make these turkey meatballs ahead of time for an event? Freeze them! To freeze the turkey meatballs, follow the recipe as normal and then let them cool. Once cooled, add meatballs to a freezer Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer for up to one month. You can thaw them by moving them to the refrigerator. You could reheat the meatballs by microwave, but I prefer using the oven by setting it to 375 degrees and baking the meatballs for about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo with #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Healthy baked turkey meatballs that will just melt in your mouth! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (I use the Schar brand)

• Small handful fresh curly leaf parsley (finely chopped)

• Half small red onion

• Squeeze ½ lemon

• 4 cloves garlic (finely minced)

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground pepper

• 1 tsp coriander

• 1 tsp ground mustard

• 1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Place coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook garlic and onions until aromatic and the onions are translucent.

3. Place all the ingredients into a large bowl along with the cooked onions and garlic.

4. Using your hands, mix ingredients until fully incorporated but remember to not overmix.

5. Form meatball mixture into golf-sized balls. You can use a cookie scooper to help you measure out the mixture.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place meatballs on top.

7. Bake for 25-30 minutes and then flip them for an additional 10 minutes or until fully cooked, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

NOTES

1. This recipe makes about 12-16 meatballs. Consider doubling the recipe if you are meal prepping!

2. Spiralizer

3. Glass containers for meal prep