Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Scrambled Egg Salad

Today I got off work and was feeling pretty hungry, but it was only 3:00pm. I decided I would have a mini meal that would last me till dinner for sure! I concocted a wonderful blend of scrambled eggs, greens and a little cheese. It was delicious! I still have onion mouth from it...haha. Yesterday I looked up what spices are the best for our bodies and discovered that Turmeric was on the list! It added a really nice flavor to the eggs and made me feel good that I was consuming a spice that helps with inflammation.


-Ingredients-
-2 large eggs
-a pinch of Turmeric (Turmeric has anti inflammatory agents in it)
-a generous shake of garlic powder
-a splash of milk (or soy, almond, coconut...etc)
-a handful of mixed greens, I used spinach and kale
-diced red onion
-a quarter of an avocado
-a half of a slice of cheese
-Directions-
-heat up a skillet on the stove.
-crack the eggs into a small mixing bowl, discarding one of the yolks. 
-add the turmeric, garlic powder and milk to the egg mixture, then whisk until blended.
-scramble the eggs in the skillet.
-on a plate, throw together the diced red onion, chopped up avocado, broken apart cheese and rinsed greens mixture.
-add the scrambled eggs to the plate and there you go! A delicious blend of healthy :]

I also had a chocolate craving and decided to make my Tofu Mousse, man is it good. Hit the spot perfectly. 


Monday, November 18, 2013

Homemade Granola :D

Today has been one crazy productive day. On top of accomplishing a ton of things, I tried my very first recipe out of my new cookbook that I got from my grandma for my birthday :]



I then proceeded to label recipes I am stoked to make! ;]


Today I made my first recipe from this book! Granola. It is absolutely fantastic. I only altered the recipe slightly by using olive oil instead of vegetable oil. 


-Ingredients-
-2 cups of oats
-1 cup of nuts like almonds, walnuts or pecans chopped or slivered. (I omitted nuts in mine for the first try)
-1/2 cup flaked coconut (this adds an amazing flavor, I highly recommend it even if you aren't a big fan of coconut, I'm not)
-1/2 cup sunflower seeds (roasted or raw)
-1/4 cup toasted wheat germ (it is usually in the aisle with oatmeal)
-1/4 cup flaxseed meal
-1/2 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup. (I used honey)
-2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil. (I chose olive)
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1 cup dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, apricots, or blueberries. (I chose cranberry)

-Directions-
-Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a pan that has walls to it.
-In a large bowl combine oats, nuts, coconut, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and flaxseed meal. (Don't add cranberries until after baking).
-In a smaller bowl combine honey, cinnamon and oil until mixed well. 
-Fold the honey mixture into the oat mixture. 
-Spread the mixture evenly inside the greased pan. 
-Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. 
-Stir the granola after about 15 minutes of baking.
-Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruit. 
-Spread on a piece of foil to cool, or as I did, grab a cup and add soy milk to eat it like a mad woman ;]
-Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days, or freeze up to 2 months. 


I had to have seconds it was so good...






Friday, November 8, 2013

Jumbled Quinoa Salad

This tasty meal is a mix of all sorts of different ingredients. An Italian dressing is nicely accented with red onions, cheddar cheese and black olives. The quinoa sucks up the flavors for a strong experience :)


-Ingredients-
-2tbsp fat free Italian dressing
-1/3 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
-a large spoonful of:
  -black olives
  -cheddar cheese
  -chopped red onion
  -sliced water chestnuts
  -yellow corn
-2 pimento stuffed green olives sliced in half. (Adds a tangy flavor)
-1/4 of an avocado sliced

-Directions-
-throw everything together in a bowl and enjoy! 
If you leave it in the fridge for a little bit, the quinoa really absorbs the flavors. I make mine in the morning to bring to work for lunch. :)


Coffee Protein Drink

My sister just gave me a simple and outrageously delicious recipe for a coffee protein drink. I'm a barista and this, I would sell in my shop in a heart beat! :)


-Ingredients-


-1 cup drip coffee
-1 cup milk, I use soy, she uses almond
-1/2 banana
-1 scoop protein, I use strawberry, she uses vanilla
-ice before blend to make it like a frapp, ice after blend to make it a thick smoothie

So delicious and healthy :)

Thanks Kate! 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Zesty Quinoa Avocado Boats :]

These wonderful boats of joy feel so healthy and delicious going down! I will definitely be making many versions of them. It is so easy to substitute, add or remove any ingredient and it will always be delicious :D


-Ingredients-
-1/2 cup of cooked quinoa (cooled. I like to have a cup of cooked quinoa in the fridge most days)
-1/2 cup of corn (drained)
-1/2 can of black beans (rinsed)
-1/4 cup minced cilantro
-1/2 cup chopped red onion
-1/2 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
-1/2 cup cheese of your choice
-1.5 Tbsp taco seasoning 
-1 tsp garlic powder
-2 avocados

-Directions-
-To cook quinoa, for every cup of dry quinoa add two cups of water. Make sure you rinse quinoa in cold water before you cook it. Bring the quinoa and the water to a boil and then set to simmer for 15 minutes so it absorbs the water completely. For this recipe you'll want to stick it in the fridge until it cools down before mixing with the other ingredients. 
-Prep all vegetables and throw together into a bowl. Then add the cheese.
-Mix them with the taco seasoning and the garlic powder. 
-Add cooled quinoa to the mixture. (You may want to add more of the spices after)

-Cut avocados in half and hollow out a little bit to make room for the filling. Peel the skin off and then stuff overflowing with the quinoa mixture. 
-I like to serve the boats with salsa and lime chips :]

Sunday, October 20, 2013

New juice, and a helpful hint :]

We tried juicing cranberries today!! Mixed with apples, they are delicious :)


-Ingredients-
-3 medium apples
-an inch of lemon with rind
-a quarter sized piece of beat
-a small notch of ginger
-1 medium sized carrot
-1.5 cups of cranberries
(Optional: blend with banana)

Remember to thoroughly wash all fruits & veggies! :)

Helpful hint: use a melon baller to remove pits from apples! It's a great alternative to aan apple corer because you take away less of the the good parts of the apple :]



Monday, October 14, 2013

Homemade Caramel Sauce!

**Note: This recipe is far from healthy. It is crazy good, but definitely not meant to be an all the time thing.**

This is to die for. I make it specially for my coffee. I take it to work and turn it into an iced caramel Americano with soy for creamer. It makes coffee out of this world good. It also goes great as an ice cream topping, muffin and pie drizzle...and honestly just straight. :p






-Ingredients-

-1 cup of brown sugar, packed. I use light brown. 
-1/2 cup heavy cream. (Next, I am going to try hazelnut creamer and see what it is like)
-4 tbsp butter.
-pinch of salt. I like a generous pinch. 
-1 tbsp vanilla. (Yes, a full tablespoon!)

-Directions-
-In a medium saucepan on low-medium heat, add the butter, heavy cream, brown sugar and salt and let it cook about 5-7 minutes while stirring with a whisk. 



-Once it has thickened a bit, add the vanilla and cook another minute or so. 
-Turn off the stove and pour caramel sauce into a jar and place in the fridge to cool down. 
-Enjoy!


**Update! I tried using hazelnut creamer in addition to heavy cream. It is fantastic! Now I am going to try many variations to keep my caramel sauce ever-changing. I did 1 part hazelnut creamer to 2 parts heavy cream=1/2 cup total. 





Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Juicing!

I recently discovered juicing fruits and vegetables. At first I was very skeptical about throwing a cucumber into a juice with sweet apples and peaches, but soon after I tried my first green juice I realized that vegetables taste completely different in a juice than they do when eating whole! Often times when you make a juice with fruits and veggies, the vegetables are a background flavor with delicious fruit as the overwhelming taste. I love juices. They taste great and can be made in so many ways!



We use a Jack La Lanne Juicer, it's great!





I have many juicing recipes to share, but the most fun thing to do is make up your own!


This first one is the best to try before any other! It is called "Sherbert Lemonade" and is an amazing version of lemonade. It tastes a million times better than store bought lemonade. 
It is very simple: 2 green apples with an inch of lemon. 


lemon, apple, ginger and beet.


When juicing leafy greens, like the kale pictured, you want to pair it with a fruit that will help the juicer extract the liquid. If you don't put them together then the juicer will just shred most of the leaves without getting much out of it.





This is my favorite green juice: kale, broccoli stem, cucumber, zucchini, beet, ginger, apple, lemon, orange and carrot; then blended with banana.  


This is the lemon ginger zinger: carrots, apple, lemon, ginger.


These two pictures are the same juice, the first one shows it about to be blended with banana :]


Berry blast: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, zucchini, beet, ginger, lemon and apple.


Lemon, orange and apple; added chia seeds.


Mango, orange, apple, lemon.


Apple, strawberry and banana.

This is my favorite juicing recipe site:
Jason Vale is a great coach for juicing.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Reduced Fat Banana Choc Chip Muffins

These are dangerous. I can eat a whole batch in a day, which totally defeats the purpose haha.


-Ingredients-
-3 overly ripe bananas
-3/4 cup white sugar
-1 egg
-1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (instead of butter!)
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 cup flour
-Directions-
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Mash the bananas well in a large mixing bowl.
-add the sugar and egg while continuing to mix.
-add the applesauce and then slowly begin to add in the dry ingredients, letting the batter build up.
-mix in the chocolate chips! (best part)
-distribute into muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Whipped Pumpkin Dip

I love this thick and rich dip on cinnamon graham crackers. It is a great fall treat!


-Ingredients-
-1 (15oz) can libby's pumpkin pie
-1 (3.4oz) box of french vanilla instant pudding. The SF kind even tastes good in this.
-1 8oz tub of cool whip light or fat free
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-Directions-
-Mix everything but the cool whip and then fold the cool whip in. 

Easy and beyond delicious!

Simple Yet Wonderful Greek Pasta Salad Dressing

I am a pasta salad fiend. I have always wanted to make my own salad dressings and have finally found the first one I really love.




-Ingredients-



-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup red wine vinegar
-1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 1/2 tsp dried basil
-1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
-3/4 tsp black pepper
-3/4 tsp white sugar
-Directions-
-mix all ingredients in a bowl.



-I like to use elbow pasta, kalamata olives, feta cheese, green onions and salami in my Greek pasta salad. 

Allrecipes.com gave me the dressing recipe!
They have a video on making it! http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-pasta-salad-i/

Chocolate Mousse!

Do you like to be daring and adventurous with your food? This recipe asks people to step out of their comfort zone and happily surprises them with delicious creamy rich chocolate. Don't let a little tofu scare ya ;]
-Ingredients-
-12.3oz silken or firm tofu (Mori-Nu lite leaves no aftertaste!)
-1 tsp cocoa powder
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 tbsp milk of your choice
-1/8 tsp salt
-1 1/3 cup chocolate chips
-2-3 tbsp agave syrup
-crust is optional if you want it to be like a pie. I would try graham cracker :]
-Directions-
-melt chocolate in pan.
-throw everything into a blender until smooth.
-pour into a crust or dish! Yep, it's that easy!

Credit: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/09/06/the-ultimate-chocolate-fudge-pie/

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

These delicious patties of goodness are very filling and fun to make! When I dip them in marinara sauce and add chunks of creamy avocado it reminds me of eating...bread sticks actually. So for you gluten free rock stars out there missing the taste of yummy bread sticks, try this.


-Ingredients-
-2 cups of cooked quinoa
-2 large eggs
-1/2 cup chopped carrot
-1 cup sliced green onion
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 cup parmesan
-2 tbsp flour (or red mill GF flour)
-1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I like Lawry's)
-Directions-
-Cook quinoa in vegetable broth or low sodium chicken broth. (always rinse quinoa thoroughly before use)
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-mix together all ingredients except quinoa and stir until smooth.
-add cooked quinoa and mix until evenly distributed.
-in a mini muffin tin distribute batter so it fills each cup to the top.
-bake for 13-15 minutes.

Energy Balls!!

**Update: I am making these tomorrow morning and have been able to calculate the nutritional facts thanks to my SparkRecipe Calculator. I love that thing!**

If you love snack bars/energy bars or whatever you want to call them, then you will love this recipe. Everyone I have given a taste to has raved about how good they are. In fact...I'm eating one right now, haha!




-Ingredients-
-1 cup dry old fashion oatmeal
-1 cup dried cranberries
-1/2 cup ground flax seed
-1 scoop protein powder (mine has 25g protein per scoop and is chocolate flavored)
-1/3 cup honey
-1/2 cup peanut butter (heaping)

-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 cup soynuts
-1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
-You can change up the ingredients a lot! The nutrition facts will change, however. 

-Directions-
-Combine dry ingredients in a deep bowl.
-add peanut butter and mix well.

-add honey, mix.
-add vanilla, mix.
-roll into about 15 balls and place in Tupperware, then refrigerate.
-proceed to lick the honey/peanut butter mixture off your hands. 



Thank you Melissa Bender for this wonderful recipe! benderfitness.com