Mango Quinoa Salad

I came across this recipe some time ago on Our Best Bites. My mom has made it a few times, but I have been reluctant because Wes is not a fan of Quinoa. He does, however, LOVE mangos. So, I finally made it today. And it is GOOD...and, I'm thinking it will be even better tomorrow when it has sat a bit longer. And, just for the record, Wes said it was good!

I've REALLY been off track healthy-eating wise, but lately feeling really motivated to get back on track: back to real, whole foods. 

I was just talking to Stephanie the other day about how this blog as sort of died. IS THERE STILL AN INTEREST?? 

Anyway, give the recipe a try! It's great!

Mango Quinoa Salad

Recipe adapted from Ali Vincent

2 cups cooked quinoa* at room temperature, or chilled

1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium mango, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

*Quinoa can be cooked in water or broth.  I suggest using vegetable or chicken broth for enhanced flavor, but plain water works great too.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad.  Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Strawberry Slush

I got this from my momma!

I cup strawberries
1 cup water
1 cup ice
1 pack crystal light

Blend in blender.

What a treat! :)

Raw Pie

Crust

1 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts (I've used cashews.
3/4 cup dates
1 tbsp of honey or agave
pinch of salt

Put in food processor until all ground up and fine. Put in pie pan, press it all down with hands, put in freezer until next step.

Filling-

4 mango's
2/3 cup coconut oil (melted)

Put in blender until creamy. Pour filling over crust. Stick in freezer until firm. Then eat!

I've also made this using banana. You can use whatever fruit you want. 

You could also just make the filling, put it in your freezer and eat as an ice cream or put in your fridge and eat as pudding. There is so much you can do with this simple recipe:)

Spaghetti Squash with Simple Tomato Sauce

This is DANG GOOD!!!!! Found in Today's Parent

2 large spaghetti squash
2 tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 can plum tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut squash in half lengthwise. scoop out the seeds and discard. Rub squash all over with olive oil. Place cut-side down on baking sheet. Bake until fully cooked and flesh pulls away from skin - about 45 min. Using a fork, pull strands of the squash out of the shell and into a bowl, add a generous amount of salt and pepper. Discard shell.

Prepare sauce while your squash is baking.  Heat oil on pan, add garlic and pepper flakes, and cook for 2 min. Add tomatoes (leaving them whole until later will reduce bitterness from seeds), oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 min (stirring often). Break up tomatoes with potato masher and continue to simmer for 10 min or until slightly thickened. Add balsamic vinegar, continue to cook 2-3 min.

Place squash in large serving bowl and ladle sauce overtop. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

6 Can Soup

A great recipe when you don't know what to make! Pretty sure these items can be found in most pantries!

2 Can chicken broth

1 can chicken breast 

1 can corn

1 can kidney beans

1 lg. can diced tomato's 

Throw it all in a pot on the stove or a crock pot early in the day. The only can you need to drain is the bean one. Put the juice from all other cans in. Can serve with whole wheat tortilla chips for dipping.

Also, really easy to mix it up and substitute veggie broth or more beans instead of chicken.

Hurry-up Burritos

I got this recipe from my mom. And, I used to make it quite often when I was first married and didn't like cooking! This is a great go-to meal. We haven't had it in a long time so I'm going to make it again this week. It's good!

1 Cup cooked rice
1 Can Kidney bans
1 can kernel corn
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheese
10 warm tortillas

Heat together the first 4 ingredients. Spread evenly on tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy!

Chocolate Balls

1 1/2 cups Almonds
1/2 cup Pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup Walnuts
20 pitted dates
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
4 heaping Tbsp cocoa

First Blend up the nuts and dates in a food processor. If you're using a blender I would half the recipe and it will blend better. Pulse until every thing is ground up fine. Add vanilla and honey. Mix some more and then press into balls. Simple. You can play around and use any nuts you want, more or less cocoa(mine are pretty chocolaty), honey, dates, add raisins, cranberries, coconut, you get the drift. Yummy. Hope you try them and see how blissfully delicious they can be.

Samosas

2 onions, minced
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
one potato, one sweet potato, diced
approx. 10 ounces peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used the gel)
dash salt and pepper to taste
phyllo pastry, thawed
olive oil

Cook onions in evoo until soft, add in the spices and cook for 1 minute. remove from heat.
I also cooked the potatos for a few minutes though the recipe said you didn't have to...
Mix in the potatos, peas, cilantro, mix well, add salt and pepper if desired.

Stack phyllo 3 or 4 sheets high, in squares (size of your choice, I did approx. 4x4 inches).
Spoon mixture onto phyllo and wrap (I folded all the corners into each other and used a little water on my finger to keep it closed).

Brush with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until light brown at 400 degrees.

Snobby Joes

This is what I'm making for dinner tonight:



This recipe is from Post Punk Kitchen.

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
or one can of beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard (wet mustard)

4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns or any type of bread

Directions
Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can't wait. I like to serve these open faced, with a scoop of snobby joe on each slice of the bun.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I cant believe I have not put this recipe on here yet. This is one of our FAVES!! I make it every Sunday for breakfast and my girls LOVE them, my husband LOVES them and I swear they are better then regular pancakes. I double the recipe for my family.

Ingredients
Dry
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder
2TBSP maple sugar flakes ( I couldn't find flakes, I use maple sugar)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt

Wet
8 egg whites
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
Cooking spray

Prep
1. Combine first five ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center

2. Combine eggs, cottage cheese and yogurt in small bowl. Pour into well. Stir until just moistened.

3. Heat a non stick pan and spay with cooking spray. Heat should be medium high. Use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until lightly browned on both sides, keep warm in oven until all the batter has been used.

4. Serve with fruit. I put frozen blueberries and strawberries and put them in a sauce pan heat and mash and a tiny bit of water. You will get a nice thick fruit sauce!

Nutritional Info
Calories 81
Calories from fat 2
Protein 7g
Carbs 12g
Dietary fiber 1g
Fat 0.3
Sodium: 112mg

Cream of Cauliflower

I found this recipe on: Pick N Knit

I made it yesterday. For some reason my food processor wouldn't work, so I didn't puree it. It was delish!  All 3 of us loved it!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook 5 minutes more. Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cauliflower, cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor, or in the pot using an immersion blender. Return to low heat and stir in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry. Heat through. Serve garnished with parsley.

Fat Free Granola

This recipe is from my Grandma Smith (my mom's mom). It is full of nutrients and really tasty!

8 C rolled oats

1 C unsweetened coconut

1 C Sunflower seeds

1 C coarsely chopped nuts

Whiz in blender:

2 very ripe bananas

1/2 tsp salt

1 tb vanilla

1 1/4 C pitted dates

1/2 C hot water

1 C raisins *

Blend both mixtures together. Spread evenly on 2 cookies sheets, bake 250 for 30 min, stir, bake another 30 min or until lightly brown. You can also cook all night at 150 degrees without stirring.

*add raisins after cooking

Eatmore Bars

This is from my grandma Smith.

I C honey (can also use Agave)
2 C choc chips
1/2 C peanut butter (I used almond butter)

Melt honey and chips, add PB. Remove from heat

Add:
1 C Wheat germ
1/2 C walnuts (raw)
1 1/2 C chopped peanuts (raw)

Add mixtures together. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Refrigerate 1 hour.

This is really good! And fairly healthy (minus the choc chips, but I guess it you added dark it would be even healthier!). I cut this up, wrapped in wax paper, put in zip-lock bag in the freezer that way they stay fresh longer and just pull them out when you want to eat one. They will be a little too soft if they are kept at room temp.

Enjoy!

PS: this is also very sweet, so I'm thinking that one could easily substitute cocoa powder for choc. chips (just not sure how much). That would be healthier than choc. chips and probably taste just as great! If anyone tries it, let me know! :)

Amanda's Yummy Smoothy

I have this most days for breakfast and I LOVE it!!!!

Add everything to a blender and mix:
water
banana
blueberries (any berries)
flaxseed (ground)
spinach (cannot even taste it)....you can really use most any greens....broccoli, lettuce, kale, etc.
vanilla whey protein

Add it together and it it rip! It is seriously good! I never get sick of it.

Blueberry Oat Muffins - Vegan or Not

Made these this morning and they were a hit! All the dayhome kids loved them...even the picky ones :)

Found on What Would Kathy Eat?

These were inspired by the oatmeal muffin recipe on the cool vegan blog It Ain’t Meat, Babe. I added the blueberries, used whole wheat pastry flour instead of white, and a little less oil. I didn’t have any ground flax meal on hand today, so I used an egg. But the vegan version is great, too (I’ve provided that option in the recipe).

Muffins are one place where I think whole wheat pastry flour produces a much more satisfying result. Now when I taste muffins made with white flour, they just taste bland to me. At first glance, people assume these are bran muffins because of their deep color. But the texture is much lighter and moister than bran muffins, with a pronounced oatiness. And I love that they aren’t overly sweet – muffins needn’t always taste like dessert!

Blueberry-Oat Muffins  (with vegan option)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup soy or almond milk mixed with 1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/3 cup organic canola oil
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 egg, or 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds whisked vigorously with 3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (note: use only 1 1/8 cups if using flax instead of egg)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a muffin pan with organic canola spray (Spectrum now makes a nice baking spray with flour), or use paper liners.

Combine oats and soy milk and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, canola, maple syrup, egg/flax and vanilla.  In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then stir into the wet. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups about ¾ full and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.

Appleitsa

I made this last week and it was really good! I used the pizza dough they linked to and thought it tasted good, but it was too thick. Next time I make this I will cut it in half, or just make two pizzas. The sauce will also work really well with a pita , tortilla, or just a dip for the apples. 

Enjoy!


Recipe found on Super Healthy Kids

____________________________________

APPLEITSA RECIPE

• Prepare your favorite pizza crust recipe (mine’s uploaded on Kitchen Monki)
• 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1 TBL Agave nectar (or honey)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Sliced apples

Prepare pizza crust, bake, then cool. 

Mix together cream cheese, sweetener, and spices.  Spread on cooled pizza crust. 

Slice apples, and arrange on pizza.

MMMM!! So delicious! 

ALPHABET RESOURCES:  We were sent a fun resource for the kids a few days ago. My Foodie ABC is a book and placemat activity book.  The companies literature says:

My Foodie ABC is a delightful tool that stresses the importance of having a healthy relationship with food while teaching the letters of the alphabet to tots and other gastronomes in training

Perfect for our new series!  We received the accompanying tear out pages that can also be used, and Erica loves it! She invited her cousin over yesterday to color the pages.

Head over to the round up page if you have any apple ideas you would like to share.  There is a Mr. Linky over there to link up.

Roasted Squash

Danea has been sick and not eating very much of anything lately. I made this squash today for lunch in hopes that she would get something healthy in her and it worked!! Maria loved it so much she was telling Zoe about it and asked me to make it again!!

1 Large butternut Squash (about 3Ibs)
2TBSP of agave nectar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Eat clean cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 f
Line baking sheet with parchment paper
Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy insides
Coat squash with light spritz of cooking spray
Place the halves of the squash cut side down and bake for 40 mins. Test for doneness by piercing the flesh with a fork. The flesh should be soft
Remove from oven
Meanwhile mix agave nectar and spices in bowl. Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl and mash well with a potato masher

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are not perfectly clean but if your going to make chocolate chip cookies at least these are made with Quinoa Flour and my family devoured them

2 1/4 cup Quinoa Flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 cup butter
3/4 cup cane sugar (I used white sugar)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 f
Mix flour and baking soda in bowl and set aside
In a large bowl blend butter and sugars until smooth and fluffy
Add salt ,vanilla and eggs, blend well. Stir in the flour mix and blend add choc chips
Roll the dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet
Bake for 8-10 mins
The cookies will be puffy and soft when you remove them from the oven but will flatten as they cool
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month (not a chance they would last that long in my house!!)

Mexican Pita

I ate the most Delicious dinner last night and I made it again tonight and the best part its sooo easy it takes only a few mins

1 toasted whole wheat pita (I didn't toast mine)
3/4 cup of cooked black beans
1/4 cup sliced sauteed mushrooms
2 tbsp of salsa
2 tbsp of chopped red onion (I didnt have onion)
1/2 avocado cubed
Mix it all together stick it in your pita and enjoy!

Zucchini & Potato Bake

Wes bought me a Vegetarian Cookbook for Christmas (Vegetarian Cooking by Emma Summer ) and at that moment I realized just how much he actually LOVES ME! haha! Wes prefers meat with every meal. FYI: I do not claim to be vegetarian, I just don't eat meat all the time. Anyway, I love this dish!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb zucchini
1 1lb potato, pealed and cut into chunks
1 onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red (bell) pepper, seeded and cubed
14 oz can chopped tomaotes
2/3 C EVOO
2/3 C hot water
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
salt and ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Scrape Zucchini lightly under running water to dislodge any grit and slice them into thin rounds. Put them in a large baking dish and add the potatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper and tomatoes. Mix well, then stir in the oil, hot water and oregano.
2. Spread the mixture evenly, then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 min, then stir in the parsley and a little more water.
3. Return the bake to the oven and cook for 1 hour more, increasing the oven to 400 F for the final 10-15 min, so that the potatoes brown.

Personal note: I found that 2/3 C EVOO was WAY too much. Next time I'll only add 1/3.

I THOUGHT IT WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND I WILL MAKE IT AGAIN!