(upbeat music)
- Hey, Munchies welcome to the channel
if you're new or if you're not, I'm Alyssia
and I am so happy you're here either way.
On weeknights I know a lot of you don't have much time
and even if you do have the time,
you may just not wanna spend it cooking,
nothing wrong with that.
So today I am sharing these easy meals
each of which contain only five main ingredients
not including pantry, seasonings and cooking fats.
All of these meals will feature Epic products.
Thank you so much to Epic Provisions
for sponsoring this video.
Epic products are so versatile that today I wanted to show
you how to uniquely use them in recipes,
but of course nothing beats the convenience
of being able to take them on the go.
Whether it's a snack for summer, post workout fuel,
or that emergency handbag snack.
Epic bars and strips are easy to pack and take with you
and there are so many flavors to choose from.
I love the Bison Bacon Cranberry bar
with its perfect balance of sweet and savory.
The new Beef Sea Salt and Pepper and Beef Jalapeño bars
have a delicious salty bite and the Jalapeño flavor
has all of the freshness without too much of the spice
and of course the Chicken Sriracha bar has that
delicious Sriracha sweet pepper flavor with a kick.
you can eat Epic products however you'd like
but today I am getting extra creative
and using them in recipes.
We are starting with Air Fried Chicken Tenders.
First we need to make the coating that will give us
that crispy crunch that makes fried chicken so good.
To get creative, I am using Epic provisions
Pink Himalayan and sea salt pork rinds.
I start by spreading them onto a baking sheet
and baking them for about 10 minutes.
This helps to remove any moisture so that
they can really reach ultimate crispness
as a breading substitute.
I do not recommend skipping this step for optical crispiness
then we can post them up in the food processor
with just a bit of paprika, garlic powder or any spices
that you prefer and grind into a powder.
That goes into one shallow dish and another
I beat a couple of eggs and in a final dish
I mix coconut flour, Salt and pepper.
We need all three of these for our coating.
The process is easy and pretty fun actually.
Simply take your chicken tenders and dredge them
through the coconut flour mixture then into the eggs
shaking off any excess and then finally
into the pork rinds coating.
I get all of the chicken tenders coated
and then they're ready for the air fryer.
I preheat the fryer for about five minutes
and then those tenders are ready to go in.
The great thing about the air fryer is you don't need oil
all you need is air.
Still I think it is a fine idea to add
just a little bit of cooking spray for crunch.
Those get flipped halfway through
and in less than 20 minutes,
you have got a dinner ready to go.
Serve them with your favorite roasted veggies
or mashed potatoes
and of course dips for me tenders need honey mustard.
Wow, I swear if I didn't know I would think these are fried
and I would never know that they're gluten free
and made with pork rinds.
The crispness is legit, it's delicious and savory
but the air fryer keeps the chicken moist and tender.
You can cook them in the oven too but I find that
the air fryer keeps them from drying out.
Of course these pork rinds are delicious on their own too
or with a dip.
There's zero grams of total carbs
and they're available both baked and fried,
a great crunchy snack and they've got sea salt and pepper
and chili lime flavor too.
I also love the added spices that I put
in the breading mixture here but if you use
the chili line pork rinds that would make
a super flavorful coating as well.
Who wants a screenshot of a Recipe card A?
Okay, for our next easy dinner
we're going with spicy barbecue sliders.
For the patties I finally chopped up one
Chicken Sriracha flavored Epic bar
and one of the new Jalapeño Beef Epic bars
and combine that with some ground beef.
Because the bars are seasoned
I did not add any additional salt and they were perfect.
Get it mixed up but don't overdo it
and aim for small patties since these are sliders
but I guess if you want a larger burger go for it.
I heat my skillet and then these go on
for just two to three minutes on each side.
If you want cheese, and trust me you do,
add that right when you flip the burgers.
Since these are so small they cook quickly
especially if you want them to be cooked medium
or medium rare and that is it.
I add a bit of barbecue sauce to the slider buns
along with the patty itself
and whatever toppings your heart desires.
I have got to say I love the new Jalapeño Beef flavored bar
it is not too spicy.
It has a great chewiness and moist texture
and it almost tastes fresh from the Jalapeño.
I know it's in a package so that was unexpected and welcome.
The Chicken Sriracha has a kick to it but the moist chicken
is delicious and added together with the beef patty
the spice flavor comes through.
They're not overly spicy at all though it's more zesty
and smoky and flavor
and it pairs perfectly with the barbecue sauce.
The texture of the bars is almost like some bacon
added into the burger.
It is such a delicious and fun use of these bars.
If you don't like spice at all,
you could use one of Epic's other bar flavors
there are so many to choose from.
They're all savory protein bars made of meat and spices
for flavor, but not always spicy.
Each of these has two total grams of carbs
and 10 to 15 grams of protein depending on the flavor.
What I love most about Epic provisions bars though
and all of their products really are the ingredients list.
They are short clear and I know exactly what I'm consuming.
Okay, last but not least, we are getting a little bit crazy.
Can you handle crazy?
A Cauliflower Gnocchi with a savory tomato sauce,
let's get that sauce going first
because typically the longer the sauce cooks,
the more flavor it is going to have.
First I get my Epic Wagyu beef steak strips.
These are so good, Oh my gosh,
they're so tender and flavorful
they might be my current favorite Epic product.
They have such a rich smoky and savory flavor,
a perfect chewy texture it reminds me of a campfire.
Anyway it is going to add so much depth to our sauce
Believe it or not.
I am starting by softening that strip which I've cut up
finely with some boiling water.
Separately I've got some cooking fat I used ghee, but oil
or whatever you prefer is fine with onion,
bell pepper, and a bit of salt.
Let that get tender for a few minutes and then optionally
add a bit of garlic for another minute or two.
Then you can add in that softened jerky with the water
along with a can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes ,
some dried parsley and milk or cream non dairy is also fine.
This can be ready in 10 to 20 minutes
depending on how long you soak your Epic strips,
but I prefer to let it go for 45 minutes to an hour
or longer if you can, until the sauce thickens
it really integrates and becomes so much more flavorful.
In the meantime I get the cauliflower and Gnocchi cooked.
I love this stuff, but I didn't the first time I tried it
because I followed the package directions
which in my opinion are wrong.
Here's how I do it to make it taste great.
First thaw it a little bit if you came beforehand
I actually put the bag in the fridge for a few hours
and then I add a small bit of water to the Gnocchi
and steam it in the microwave for just one to two minutes.
You can skip this step but I think it helps
then get your pan really hot and the Gnocchi can go into it
with ghee or cooking fat of choice and cook over medium
to medium high heat for seven to 10 minutes
turning once they start to brown.
The browning is key for flavor and texture.
Do not add water as the package says that is what makes it
in my opinion too watery and gummy and sticky.
Instead just use the heat and the cooking fat
to brown up the Gnocchi and then when it's browning
and starting to stick, you can add your sauce
which will immediately help it all come together
and it's ready to go.
I just Garnish with some Parmesan and fresh Basil yum.
There is so much flavor in this it's smoky
and almost savory as if there were sausage in it.
The sweet and tangy tomatoes are tempered by the cream
and the white Beef strips
add seasoning tenderness and protein.
The strips also absorb the sauce and become plump and tender
and it's a really fun way to use these strips.
Epic also has other strip flavors,
the salmon ones are my favorite snack.
I would not recommend those for this sauce
because I am not sure the flavor it would pair as well
but you could try these Venison strips if you prefer.
They're great to keep on hand for when you're on the go
and all of these are also certified gluten free.
And those are some easy healthy dinners for the week
all using a minimal ingredients and time.
I hope that you found them helpful.
Let me know which you would wanna try
and how you could make them your own.
All of my recipes are always versatile.
You never need to follow them exactly to succeed
so you can add what you like take out what you don't
this is not baking you'll be fine.
All Epic products are available for easy ordering on Amazon
I have linked their page in my description box below.
I really do love the company and what they're trying to do
by offering healthy and nutritious products
with quality ingredients,
I highly recommend checking them out.
Thank you so much for being here.
I will see you next week with a brand new episode.
And remember it's all a matter of Mind Over Munch.