Cooking
Zoodles and Roasted Veggies
I have such a wonderful support system for healthy eating and you will be learning all about some fun ways to find creative and healthy meals to try in the next few weeks. I love staying in touch with friends who like to cook and are willing to try creative vegetarian meals. Suzanne is one of those girls that is always looking for new ways to creative delicious and nutritious meals. She is on our team for the Summer Sizzle 60 day challenge and she shared this recipe with me. I am adding my own flair and a few more vegetables but the basic recipe was shared with me by Suzanne.
Ingredients
5 Roma tomatoes
1 large head cauliflower
1 bunch zucchini
2-3 cloves garlic smashed
3-4 large zucchini
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons liquid aminos (about 8-10 sprays)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1-2 teaspoon thyme
1-2 teaspoon rosemary
1-2 teaspoon basil
1-2 cups cooked quinoa
Preheat oven to 400. Slice tomatoes ¼ inch thick and spread slices on a large baking sheet covered with foil. season with salt, pepper, thyme, basil and rosemary. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, wash and spread in a single layer on a separate cookie sheet covered with foil. Spray with liquid amines and season with garlic salt, seasoned pepper and some thyme, basil and rosemary. Roast the tomatoes for 25 minutes until starting to look dry. Roast the cauliflower for 30 minutes until a bit brown and fork tender. 
Wash and cut asparagus into bite sized pieces and set aside. Spiralize the zucchini into noodles using a special peeler or spiralizer. Heat olive oil in a pan and add garlic. Add asparagus and sauté until just barely tender. Remove from pan and …
Getting our Kitchen Ready for the Summer Sizzle-Creative Casserole Idea
Our Summer Sizzle 60 day challenge begins today. I decided to get my kitchen ready to support our family goals and the first step was to take inventory of what I have in my refrigerator…
1) Toss out all expired sauces, dressings, condiments, yogurts etc.
2) Give away or put into the freezer any foods that do not support your fitness and health goals.
3) Make a list of all the foods you need/want in your refrigerator and pantry and head out to your favorite store (Trader Joe’s for me) to stock your shelves.
4) Wash and cut up vegetables for quick snacks.
5) Wash, cut up and roast any vegetables you will be using in recipes for the week-so much easier to do ahead of time for quicker meal prep in the evenings.
6) Wash and dry all greens and store in an airtight container for easy add-ins for shakes or for salads.
7) You can also make Green Cubes if you have trouble keeping your greens from wilting and spoiling.
Stock up on frozen fruits and fresh fruits for snacks and smoothies.
8) Plan some healthy main dishes that can be made ahead in case you have a busy day full of summer fun.
9) The last thing I did was try to make sure I was not wasting any of the left-overs I had from the weekend so I got creative and put together a healthy Mexican casserole that can feed us for a few meals this week.
Here is what I had on hand that need to be used up: LOTS of homemade salsa, BBQ corn, browned and seasoned ground turkey, shredded chicken, fajita vegetables, tortillas and grated cheese. So instead of serving up a make your own burrito bar as I had done 2 nights …
Read MoreCowboy Caviar with a Twist
Memorial Day BBQ’s are the BEST when everyone brings one of their favorite dishes to share. Yesterday my mom brought some Cowboy Caviar and it was SCRUMPTIOUS. She added a special ingredient that made it better than ever! Set a bowl of this fun appetizer out and it will be gobbled up.
Ingredients
2 tomatoes seeded and chopped
1 small bunch of green onions chopped
⅔ cups cilantro chopped
1 can corn drained and rinsed (2-3 ears of bbq corn cut off cob)
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed (most recipes call for pinto beans but we like the garbanzo beans for a new twist)
2 avocados chopped
Dressing
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon pepper
⅛ teaspoon sugar
Mix all dressing ingredients and let dressing sit until all vegetables and beans are chopped and mixed together. Toss dressing over bowl of vegetables and salad. Place in a serving dish and serve with tortilla chips. This can also be a wonderful side dish for a mexican dinner-enchilladas, burritos, fajitas. You can use leftovers the next day rolled in a tortilla that has been warmed with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
- 2 tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 small bunch of green onions chopped
- ⅔ cups cilantro chopped
- 1 can corn drained and rinsed (2-3 ears of bbq corn cut
Salsa a Family Favorite for Memorial Day BBQ
Memorial Day is this coming weekend and I know that many people are already planning their Memorial Day BBQs. We have 2 BBQs coming up this weekend and I am definitely going to whip up a batch of this fantastic salsa. Whether you are having Mexican food, BBQ chicken, ribs or burgers, this salsa is delicious as a side appetizer or condiment for whatever you are grilling.
Salsa Recipe
1-28 oz can Hunt’s tomato sauce
1-3 oz can El Pato tomatillo sauce
4-5 large tomatoes chopped
1-2 large red onions chopped
2 cups chopped cilantro
Depending on how chunky you want your salsa will determine whether you want to chop the vegetables by hand or chop them in the cuisinart. If you want a moderately chunky style salsa, chop the tomatoes and onions and cilantro by hand and stir together with the tomato sauce and tomatillo sauce. Let sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator and serve with tortilla chips, or cut up vegetables.
This recipe was shared with me years ago when I took my youngest daughter on an overnight camping field trip to the 49er’s Gold Country with her 4th grade class. The young adults that ran the 49er’s campground did all the cooking on outdoor grills and they served this fantastic salsa at breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were willing to share their basic recipe and through the years our family has made this recipe (with a variety of modifications) for all sorts of family events. It has become an all time favorite!
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Stuffed Peppers-Garden Healthy Variety
I have always wanted to find a good stuffed peppers recipe! And, I think I finally did! I took the Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers from “The Recipe Critic” and made a few swaps and changes and created a healthy, tasty meal! Full of protein, very colorful, yummy spices, and a new product from Grain & Simple that can be found at Costco! “2 Minute Grains” is full of red spring wheat berries, quinoa, farrow and barley with tomato, onions, and peppers- It is a perfect side for a night of BBQ turkey burgers or, as I discovered with this recipe, the perfect add-in for stuffed peppers! You will love this recipe! We first published this post about 1 ½ years ago and it was one of our most popular recipes, so we decided to repost. With gardens beginning to produce home grown peppers and tomatoes, this is a fabulous springtime recipe.
INGREDIENTS
6 large bell peppers
Ground Turkey, 1 pound
1 medium onion
2-4 garlic cloves
2 TBS tomato paste
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes diced
2 packs of Grain & Simple 2 Minute Grains (from Costco) or 3 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Colby Jack cheese, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Add olive oil to pan. Saute the onion and garlic. Set aside.
2. In a large pan, coat with olive oil and cook the ground turkey. Add the onion and garlic once browned. Remove from heat.
3. Add the tomato paste, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and lemon juice. Heat the 2 Minute Grains as directed on package (or cook your quinoa or brown rice according to …
Read MoreThe Benefits of Juicing-Healthy living from Faithfulness to Kindness
As we transition from our month of faithfulness including our “Clean Eating” challenge to a month of celebrating KINDNESS….I want to reassure you all that there is a very clear correlation for me between treating my body with kindness and treating others with kindness. The better I feel inside physically, emotionally and spiritually the more energy I have to show lovingkindness to others. When I am faithful to healthy living I can be more consistent and committed to kindness towards others. One of my newest passions in my quest of healthy living is juicing. I am very new to juicing. What I am sharing with you is information that I am starting to collect as I research the health benefits of juicing. What I know is that there is a “pressed fresh juice” craze moving through our communities with places to buy fresh pressed juice opening up all around. I for one LOVE the fresh flavors of fresh pressed juice but the cost is prohibitive for me to enjoy this treat every day. So I decided to try my hand at Juicing with my new Breville juicing machine (thanks to a VERY sweet friend). The results for me have been extraordinary.
Here are some of the interesting facts I have found on the benefits of juicing……”phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered are changing the way we think about food, especially fruits and vegetables. for example, broccoli contains a substance that may prevent – even cure – breast cancer. Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens, thus decreasing the chance of contracting cancer. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells’ DNA from damage. Similarly, a number of green vegetables contain phytochemicals that appear to offer protection against cancer-causing substances. The list goes …
Read MoreGluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
For some of our friends and loved ones, the days of delicious chocolate chip cookies like grandma used to make seem to be a long ago luxury, never to be enjoyed again. During this “Clean Eating” month I have been searching for an option for those who need to be gluten free for whatever reason when it comes to their clean eating desserts. I started by researching recipes for homemade gluten free flours and found two that sounded quite reasonable. I will share both of them with you and the sites where I found them so you can do your own evaluation. In the end I happened to have one bag of “Bob’s Red Mill” Gluten Free All Purpose Flour on hand so I used it today in my recipe for the sake of time and convenience.
I adapted a recipe I found online from Michelle@MyGluten-freekitchen.com
Ingredients
2 ¼ cups gluten free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if Gluten Free flour blend you are using already has xanthan in the recipe)
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter melted
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperate
1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt. In your mixer bowl, put cream cheese and melted butter and begin to mix. Add brown and white sugar and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture and blend on low until just mixed. Add the chocolate chips and mix in by hand. Cover the cookie dough with saran wrap and …
Read MoreChinese Chicken Salad a Faithful Clean Eating Friend
The beautiful evenings in spring invite a desire for lighter dinner options. This hearty dinner salad gives you a delicious option for those warmers nights as spring turns into summer. And with many folks wanting to get into better shape before the beach weather is here….this salad is worth adding to your repitoire of light and healthy clean eating dinner options.
Chinese Chicken Salad
2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded or cubed
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 head napa cabbage
2-3 cups chopped kale or spinach
3 stalks celery sliced thin
2 carrots peeled and sliced thin (you can spiral slice them with a messermeister peeler or a Paderno spiral slicer-see below)
1 zucchini sliced thin
3 green onions sliced
1 can water chesnuts sliced
1 cup toasted almonds or cashews chopped
1 jicama peeled and cut into small cubes
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 cucumber peeled and sliced (no need to peel if using english cucumber)
1 yellow or orange bell pepper cut into small chunks
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon honey
Cook chicken.
Shred or cut into cubes and mix with hoisin sauce.
Mix shredded napa cabbage, chopped kale or spinach, celery, carrots, green onions, water chestnuts, jicama, cilantro, cucumber and peppers in a large bowl.
Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.
Add chicken and toasted almonds (or cashews) and sesame seeds to greens.
Toss dressing into salad and mix thoroughly. chill and serve.
Serves 8-10
Banana Peanut Butter Cookies
Red Lentil Stew
Lentils are legumes, seeds of a plant whose botanical name is Lens ensculenta. They grow in pods that contain either one or two lentil seeds. Lentils are classified according to whether they are large or small in size with dozens of varieties of each being cultivated. While the most common types in the United States are either green or brown, lentils are also available in black, yellow, red and orange colors. Lentils are low in calories and high in nutrition, lentils are the perfect legume to eat in the summer in salads, spreads and are a perfect protein on a vegetarian dinner plate. Lentils are a hassle-free compliment to any meal. Nutty and earthy in flavor, lentils have a high nutritional value.
Their health benefits include:
1. Lowering Cholesterol – Lentils can help to reduce blood cholesterol because of their high levels of soluble fiber.
2. Heart Health – Several studies have shown that eating high fiber foods like lentils reduces your risk of heart disease. Lentils are also a great source of folate and magnesium, which are big contributors to heart health. Folate lowers your homocysteine levels, a serious risk factor for heart disease. Magnesium improves blood flow, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.
3. Digestive Health – Insoluble dietary fiber found in lentils helps prevent constipation and other digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis.
4. Stabilizing Blood Sugar –The soluble fiber in lentils traps carbohydrates, slowing down digestion and stabilizing blood sugar levels. This can be especially helpful for those with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.
5. Good Protein – Of all legumes and nuts, lentils contain the third-highest levels of protein. 26 percent of lentil’s calories are attributed to protein, which makes them a wonderful source of protein for vegetarians and vegans.
6. Increase …
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