Tori

Happy Wednesday!!!

For any new visitors to Healthy Plate Happy Family, this is the one day during the week where I show you a picture of everything that I ate during the day in hopes of showing you how to put “healthy eating” all together.

I have procrastinated putting this post together because of my colossal dinner FAIL.  But I guess you will see that I am living real-life here, with chaos and changes in plans and crabby little ones, and sometimes you just have to roll with it!

First up, for breakfast, I took advantage of a nearly empty Almond Butter jar and made a pumpkin version of Overnight Oats in a Jar.  Now, Overnight Oats can be made in any container you’d like. I just happen to like taking advantage of the little bit of almond butter that is left to blend in with the other ingredients.

Overnight Oats are a super convenient grab-and-go breakfast.  The night before, you simply blend up 1 part oats to 2 parts liquid (usually milk or water) and leave them to combine and thicken up overnight.  The flavor combinations and toppings are endless here!

pumpkin overnight oats

Today, I went with pumpkin because I had a can of it open.  Into the jar (last night) I mixed together:

  • 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup water ( because we were out of almond milk which is what I would normally use)
  • 1 T chia seeds (ground flax seed would work too)
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 T. maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (just cinnamon would be fine too)

Store this in the refrigerator overnight.  This morning, I topped it with some raisins and chopped pecans.  YUM!

 

I had a snack mid-morning of carrots, gluten-free rice crackers, and this Avocado and White Bean Dip.  It is really tasty – like a combination of hummus and guacamole.  And it is usually a little more green, but I made this a couple of days ago.  Perhaps the blinding brightness of the carrots will make up for it!

crackers and avo bean dip

 

After a marathon grocery shopping trip, I came home and made lunch.  Today it was a massaged kale salad, one of my favorite salads.  This salad took me some time to warm up to.  In the beginning, I would make a smaller portion and could eat it as long as it was paired up with a sandwich or soup.  Now, I’ve grown to really like it and it can be my whole lunch.  I love this because of the powerhouse of nutrition – Vitamins A, K, C, calcium, fiber and loads of antioxidants in the kale, plus a little healthy fats from the avocado and olive oil to help absorb the nutrients.  And I haven’t even gotten to the add-ins!

Start with a huge bowl of washed kale (stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces).

big bowl of kale

Make the dressing with a small wedge of avocado (a little less than 1/4 of an avocado), juice from a wedge of lime, 1 tsp. olive oil, a pinch of kosher salt, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.  Did you get all of those precise measurements?!?!?!?

avo and lime

Mash them up until it sort of looks like guacamole.

avocado dressing

Dump the avocado mixture into the bowl of kale, and with CLEAN hands, massage the dressing right into the kale leaves.  This will tenderize the leaves making them much easier to eat and more palatable.

salad with dressing

Then your huge bowl of kale will be reduced to a more reasonable looking portion like this.

massaged kale

Taste and adjust seasonings.  I usually like to add an extra squeeze of lime to give it more of a tangy flavor.  At this point, you can cover the salad and let it sit for a little while.  But I don’t recommend refrigerating it for a long period of time, or it will get pretty soggy, at least for my tastes.

Top with lightly toasted nuts (today was almonds), carrots, and cucumbers.  A lot of times, I’ll add diced apples or dried cranberries in as well for a little sweet contrast.

massaged kale salad

 

So I realized this afternoon that Darren and Hailey were going to be gone for the rescheduled Daddy Daughter Dance, so I would be having a little dinner date at home with Jake.  But then he wasn’t feeling well and just wanted to play Monopoly and snuggle on the couch.  Next thing I know, he was hungry for food RIGHT NOW, and I was scrambling to pull some dinner together.  I could tell he wasn’t feeling well because he didn’t really want any of his usual favorites.  He wanted grapefruit, then a homemade popsicle (pureed watermelon and strawberry), and then asked for a treat or a smoothie.  At this point, I was starving too and I also felt like Jake needed a little more substance.  So I decided to scrap my plans for a Greek salad and falafel, and make the treat/smoothie/dinner all into one dish!!!

Behold, the Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie!

chocolate covered cherry smoothie

Believe it or not, this thing was so filling that it turned out to be my dinner!  Maybe dinner wasn’t a fail afterall?????

Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie

  • a little less than half of an avocado (1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado would work)
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 T raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder would work)
  • 1 huge handful of spinach
  • 1 whole banana, frozen in chunks
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen sweet cherries (this is also awesome with strawberries!!)

Mix all ingredients in a blender until super smooth and creamy.  Add more almond milk to thin or ice cubes to thicken, as necessary.  This made 2 decent size portions.  You could scale back to 1 cup of cherries/strawberries, 1 T. cacoa, and 1 cup of almond milk for an individual portion.

So there you have it for this Wednesday!

 

 

 

I am not going to lie….our Meatless Monday dinner was AWESOME tonight!  I love when healthy meals turn out really, really GOOD!  It is a Southwestern (and vegetarian) spin on classic stuffed peppers.

Some food for thought – bell peppers are the #3 most pesticide contaminated produce on the Environmental Working Group’s Shopping Guide to Pesticides in Produce, with up to 15 different pesticides found on a single pepper.   If you are looking to reduce your exposure to the toxins in pesticides, you can refer to the list of the “Dirty Dozen” fruits and vegetables, and try to buy these fruits and vegetables organically grown, if possible.

Start with some bell peppers (we prefer the red, yellow, or orange for this dish).  Cut the stem out of the center and remove  the seeds and membranes inside.

red pepper

I prefer to serve pepper halves so I sliced each pepper in half from the top down.

pepper halves

In a large stock pot, boil the peppers for 5 minutes.  This will ensure that they are perfectly done, and not “crunchy” after baking.  When peppers are done, remove from water with tongs and place into 9 X 12 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

pepper halves in pan

Chop 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and a jalapeno.

chopped ingredients

In a large skillet, saute onion, garlic, and jalapeno in 2 tsp. of olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, until veggies are softened.

sauteed onions

 

Add in 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, 2 cups cooked rice, 1 cup of frozen corn, 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1/8 tsp. of ground chipotle pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Mix well and let simmer for 5 minutes.

rice mixture

 

Scoop rice mixture into peppers.  This amount of rice would fit nicely into 4 whole peppers (8 halves) but I knew 3 peppers would be plenty for us.  Any leftover rice can be baked separately in a small dish.

Top each stuffed pepper with a couple of tablespoons of shredded jalapeno pepperjack cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

stuffed peppers with cheese

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.  Serve with guacamole and extra chips on the side.

southwestern stuffed peppers

 

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

3-4 bell peppers (we prefer red, yellow, or orange)

1 cup rice (cooked according to directions on package, yielding appx. 2 cups)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced (or substitute mild green chilies)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup frozen corn

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils (I buy them pre-cooked at Trader Joes.  I believe you can also buy them canned similar to beans)

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp chipotle chili powder

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

crushed tortilla chips

“quick guacamole” (1 mashed avocado with a squeeze of lime and pinch of salt)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook rice and lentils as necessary.

Bring large stockpot full of water to boil.

Remove stems, seeds, and membranes from peppers.  Slice in half vertically if desired.

Boil peppers for 5 minutes.  Remove with tongs and place into a 9 X 12 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Heat 2 tsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat (being careful not to let it smoke).  Saute chopped onion, jalapeno (or green chilies), and garlic for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add into skillet 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, 2 cups cooked rice, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils, 1 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, and 1/8 tsp. chipotle chili powder.  Mix well and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Stuff pepper halves with rice mixture.  Top with 2 T. shredded pepperjack cheese and some crushed tortilla chips.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.

Serve with simple guacamole and additional chips, if desired.

 

 

 

 

 

Some people are all about the awesome deals at outlet stores.  Some are really into picking up a treasure at a thrift store or garage sale.  But me?  I love scoring a deal at the grocery store!

I especially love the clearance produce section!  Its a great place to pick up perfectly good produce for a fraction of the price (since you rarely see coupons for healthy whole foods or fresh fruits and vegetables).  Some of the staples I can usually find at our store are onions, citrus fruits, and mini peppers.  We have potatoes and apples a lot as well, but I prefer to buy organic versions of those.

One of my favorite things to find???  Bananas!!!!   These are one of the few fruits that I am perfectly OK with eating non-organic since you don’t eat the outer part of the fruit.  And even if they’re a little past their prime, they are perfect for cooking or slicing and freezing for smoothies and other frozen treats.

So this week when I found bags of clearance bananas, I cleared the shelves and brought home 7 pounds of bananas for a little over $2.00!

reduced bananas

And I knew exactly what I was going to do with these guys!!  I’ve been eyeing the Bananas Foster Baked Oatmeal at Oh She Glows.   My kids love oatmeal and I thought this would be a little bit more special than their typical weekday morning oatmeal topped with raisins or thawed frozen fruit.

baked bananas foster oatmeal

This was SO good – like a perfectly warm and cozy treat, very filling and not overly sweet.  I love all of the healthy swaps from traditional bananas foster including coconut oil for butter and a maple syrup for the brown sugar.   This will definitely be something that I make often!

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!!!

 

Bananas Foster Baked Oatmeal

Adapted from Oh She Glows

 

Oatmeal Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup oat flour (finely ground oats, I’ve started grinding mine in a coffee grinder instead of the blender)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

2 1/2 cups unsweetened, plain almond milk

 

Bananas Foster Ingredients

4 bananas, sliced (or chopped into small pieces if you prefer)

1 T. coconut oil

2 T. real Maple syrup

3 T. rum

Sprinkle of cinnamon

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

 

Topping

1 banana, thinly sliced

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish (I used coconut oil).

Combine all oatmeal ingredients in a large bowl and set aside while you prepare the bananas foster.

Add coconut oil, maple syrup, and rum to a cold skillet and heat over medium low heat.  As the coconut oil begins to melt, whisk to combine ingredients.  When mixture is bubbling, add in bananas and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Saute for about 5 minutes, reducing heat if necessary.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Stir bananas foster mixture into oatmeal and pour into casserole dish.  Place sliced bananas on top and bake for 40-45 minutes.

 

Every Thursday night for the last 5 or 6 years, we have made homemade pizza for dinner.  I’m not really sure where this little ritual came from, but it definitely makes my menu planning for the week a little bit easier!

Since this Thursday was Valentine’s Day, we had some fun with it and made….

heart shaped pizzas

It’s a lot of fun because we can each personalize our pizzas with our own toppings.  Hailey’s standard is garlic butter (no red sauce!), cheese, and veggies.  Jake is a pepperoni guy.  Darren and I mix it up.

large heart pizza

 

I almost always make mine on an Ezekiel 4:9 pocket bread (pita) and usually top it with mostly veggies and just a sprinkle of cheese.

toris pizza

This one was Mediterranean Pizza with red sauce, lots of spinach, chopped red onion, kalamata olives, sundried tomatoes, and a little bit of crumbled feta cheese.

 

 

Ezekiel Pita Pockets - I LOVE these things!!!

Ezekiel Pita Pockets – I LOVE these things!!!

I buy these at our local health food store where they are kept in the freezer.  They are only $1.99 for 6 of them and make the best pizza crusts!  They are made of all organic ingredients including whole wheat flour, carrots, barley flour, millet flour, lentil flour, spelt flour, soy flour, fresh yeast, and sea salt.  They have 100 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 21 carbs, 4 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein.

I just take one out of the freezer and top it and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes or so, depending on the toppings.

Either way that we make them, pizza night is always a favorite around here, especially when you get to eat a whole heart-shaped pizza!

jakes pizza

 

Homemade Pizza Crust

1 1/2 cups water (heated to 110-115 degrees or a little over a minute in the microwave)

1 tsp honey

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

3 1/2 cups flour, plus additional as needed  (see note below)

Heat water to 110-115 degrees (important to be warm enough to activate the yeast but not too hot to kill it) and put into a large bowl.  Stir in honey.  Sprinkle yeast over top of the water and let stand for approximately 10 minutes until it is foamy on top (this is “proofing” the yeast and lets you know that its active)  Add in salt, olive oil, and 3 cups of flour.  Once everything is incorporated, turn out onto a floured mat.  Knead dough and add more flour until the dough is slightly sticky but not tacky.  Knead for about 5 minutes and then place into a well-oiled bowl.  Cover with a clean dish towel and place in a warm dry area to rise (I set it in a corner of the counter near the oven).  Dough can be ready in as little as 1 hour but I prefer to let the dough rise for closer to 2 hours or more.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (we have found through trial and error that 400 degrees on convection is the perfect temp for us).  Turn dough out onto the floured mat again and separate into 2 large crusts or 4 small crusts (great for individual pizzas) and roll out with a flour-dusted rolling pin.  Place on an oiled pan and pre-bake for 7-8 minutes.  Add desired toppings and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes until pizza is done to your liking.  During the final baking stage, we prefer to cook the pizzas directly on the rack.

A note on flours – we originally started making these with all whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour) as I wanted a 100% whole grain, healthy pizza crust.  This is not going to give you the traditional pizza crust flavor that most people are expecting.  You can try half whole wheat flour and half white flour to start.  For us, I now like to use 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, and 1 cup of whole grain spelt flour (a grain similar to wheat).  It may take some experimentation to see what you like.

 

 

 

Glad to have you back for another What I Ate Wednesday!

Yesterday’s post felt so BLAH to me!!!!  I think its a lot easier for me when I write during the day but usually its just so hard to find that time!

Speaking of time…..I just somehow did not seem to have enough of it today!!  And I can tell I must be settling into this blogging thing because I really and truly did not plan out a single thing that I was going to eat today.  The only thought that goes into my WIAW’s are to try to mix it up to show you different things (when in reality I am a total creature of habit!!) and also to make sure to snap a picture.

So the theme of today’s eats – on the fly!

Breakfast was totally on the fly.  I had a million things I had to get done in the three hours Jake was at school.  I am not usually very hungry early in the morning so I basically just made something super quick so that I wouldn’t get hungry while running errands.

This is a banana with raw almond butter (from my imported Trader Joe’s stash), unsweetened coconut flakes, and chia seeds.  This breakfast apologizes for not being very photogenic.  But I know I must be onto something when both of my kids had this as an afternoon snack today!

AB banana with chia

Lunch was a bit of a scramble to pull something together.  I started with some of the Butternut Squash Apple Curry soup from Monday.  I paired it up with a repeat from last week – the chickpea “mock tuna” salad on Ezekiel bread.  This is exactly why I take the time to make up things like this ahead of time (soup, chickpea salad, oatmeal bars, etc).  Lunch was thrown together in less than 10 minutes, including making Jake’s lunch!

soup and sandwich

For my afternoon snack, since I didn’t have anything planned out of course, I kind of went over what I’d eaten today to see what I felt like I was missing.  Decided on some more fruits and veggies, specifically GREENS!  So I threw together one of my green juice/smoothie concoctions.  This one had a handful of kale, handful of romaine, celery, 1/3 cucumber, an apple, 1/2 banana, and a handful of frozen grapes.  I was surprised at how much the grapes mixed up the usual flavor.  I know this picture doesn’t appeal to many, but its just how I roll!  I swear by juice and smoothies like this for awesome energy every day!!!  To me, they are a total pick me up!!

green juice love

 

Good thing I was re-fueled because my afternoon included a whole lot of this………..

valentines_opt

 

Dinner, again, was completely on the fly.  We had planned to make jumbalaya but then I realized someone had used the leftover andouille sausage from the gumbo on Superbowl (I’ll give him some credit for using it very creatively on a pizza ;)).  So I did a quick pantry/fridge check and came up with a mexican-inspired soup, similar to a tortilla soup.  This was made completely with what I had on hand and I did not follow a recipe.  I have to say it turned out pretty good.  I realized that this is something that I could keep the ingredients on hand at all times to easily add this to my rotation of “throw together” dinners.

mexican soup_opt

Mexican Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped (could be chopped and frozen)

1 red pepper, chopped (could be chopped and frozen)

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups vegetable stock (chicken stock would work too)

1 can fire roasted crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen are organic AND bpa-free!)

shredded chicken (we had about 1 1/2 pieces of leftover grilled chicken)

1 can black beans (pinto beans would work too)

1 cup frozen corn (canned would work too)

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

Toppings:  shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, cilantro – whatever you have!

Directions

In a large stock pot, saute the onion, pepper, jalapeno, and garlic in some olive oil over medium heat until softened.  Add in crushed tomatoes, broth, shredded chicken, beans, corn, and seasonings and simmer for 20 minutes.  Garnish with crushed chips (if you have leftover crumbs you can store them in the freezer for this purpose!), cheese, avocado, and/or cilantro.

Another option that I may try out would be to omit the chicken and use two different types of beans and a grain like rice or quinoa.

Well, that wraps it up.  Happy Valentine’s day tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

I had every intention of actually getting this post up on Monday, the one day during the week that I commit to making a vegetarian dinner for our family. But an interesting opportunity came up that changed up my plans at the last minute. I found out that a local chiropractor was showing the documentary “Doctored” so of course I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to socialize with some of my fellow health nuts!!

doctored

Overall, I liked the movie and found some of the facts presented to be very eye-opening. For example, did you know that “although the U.S. makes up only 5% of the world’s population, we consume over 50% of all the world’s pharmaceutical drugs?” I think that is shocking!

The movie is centered on the chiropractic profession and their struggle against “big business” and the American Medical Association. Although I felt like the movie lost focus near the end, they still managed to make the point that there are very effective alternative treatments available for many of the pains and illnesses that plague us. Whether your medications and current approach aren’t working, or you would like to explore an alternative to prescription drugs and surgery, it is important to educate yourself of other options besides our traditional Western medicine. Our family, personally, has had amazing success with chiropractic care. I won’t go into too much detail here, but years ago, we successfully treated our daughter’s asthma diagnosis through chiropractic adjustments. I am a firm believer in the healing energy within our own bodies.

It was incredible to see the examples of cases they presented where debilitating chronic pain was resolved through something as simple as chiropractic adjustments as well as proper diet and nutrition.

Proper nutrition….my favorite subject.

So lets get going with this healthy vegetarian-friendly soup! Its Butternut Squash Apple Curry soup based off of this recipe from one of my favorite classical chefs, Ina Garten, better known as the Barefoot Contessa.

I first made this recipe because I wanted to experiment with curry powder in a recipe after learning some of its health benefits. Curry powder is a mixture of spices including turmeric and curcumin. Turmeric has been found to reduce inflammation of the joints. Some studies suggest that turmeric may also help protect us against cancer, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease. Studies done at one of the world’s most renowned cancer centers, MD Anderson Center in Texas, have shown that curcumin seems to turn off genes that can trigger the onset and spread of breast cancer. It also shows some promise, in a handful of patients, in stabilizing pancreatic cancer. Who knew all of that power was there in a little spoonful of spices???

curry powder_opt

I like to start this recipe ahead of time by roasting a butternut squash the night before I plan to make the soup (usually while our dinner is cooking or afterwards, while the oven is still hot). Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds. Brush a little olive oil on the cut surfaces and place it cut-side down on a baking sheet. Roast at 350 degrees for an hour (up to an hour and a half depending on size), until the squash is golden and soft. Once it has cooled, scoop the flesh of the squash from the skin and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to proceed with the soup. The soup comes together quickly after the squash has been roasted!

Next, saute a chopped onion and 2 tsp. of curry powder in olive oil, grass-fed butter, or ghee. If it starts to dry out, add a little bit of vegetable stock – this is a great way to cut back on the amount of butter and oil used.

curry onions

After about 10 minutes, add in 2-3 peeled, cored, and chopped apples and 2 cups of vegetable stock. Let this simmer for about 8 minutes until the apples are soft.

apples

Add in the roasted and peeled butternut squash, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 2 cups apple cider. To get the right taste, be sure to use cider and not apple juice.

roated squash and apple cider

Mix to incorporate everything and let this cook for a few minutes until the squash is heated.

squash soup

Puree with an immersion blender and adjust seasonings to taste.

immersion blender

If you want it spicier, add more curry. If it doesn’t taste sweet enough to you, add a bit more apple cider. The flavor of the soup can vary quite a bit based on the size and flavor of the apples and squash. Also, you can adjust the thickness of the soup to your liking by adding more broth, cider, or even water. When I reheat this soup for lunch later in the week, I always need to thin it out more with about half a cup of liquid.

 

 

Paired with some good bread and a salad of mixed greens, pears or apples, red onion and toasted nuts, it makes a great vegetarian lunch or dinner and is a great use of seasonal produce.

 

Butternut Squash Curry Soup

Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (roasted ahead of time, cut-side down on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about an hour)

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 tsp. olive oil, butter, or ghee

2 tsp. – 1 T. of curry powder, depending on how spicy you want it

2-3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2 cups vegetable stock (optional, can just use water)

1/2 tsp. sea salt or to taste (adjust as necessary)

fresh ground black pepper

2 cups good quality apple cider

Directions

Roast butternut squash ahead of time. Cool and scrape squash from peel.  This can be done 1-2 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

Heat a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and/or butter to pan. Saute chopped onion and curry powder for about 10 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. If onions begin to stick, add a splash of vegetable stock or water to the pan.

After 10 minutes, add peeled, chopped apples, cooked butternut squash and 2 cups of water or vegetable stock and simmer covered over low heat for another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of apple cider, 1/2 tsp. salt and some fresh ground pepper and puree with an immersion blender. Alternatively, you can puree the soup in a blender in batches. Add up to an additional cup of apple cider. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. This soup tastes better after it sits and flavors have developed.

 

Bodhi

We woke up to lots of new snow and a snow day for the kids this morning.  Luckily, the sun was shining and it was such a great day to be outside playing.

Jake Snowball

Waist deep in snow!!

We have a pretty big hill in our front yard, which is great for sledding.

sledding

After many trips down the hill, a snowball fight with friends, and some snow angels, it was time to come inside for hot cocoa.

Hailey Sledding

How do you make your hot cocoa??  Are you more of an instant packet type or do you make it from scratch?  Do you jazz it up with little marshmallows or a candy cane stirrer???

For the past couple of years, I have been making hot cocoa for the kids by slightly modifying the recipe on the side of the Hershey’s cocoa powder container.  There are a few simple upgrades that you can make to the recipe to make it a little healthier.

Start with some milk (your preference, we use non-dairy almond milk), either traditional cocoa powder or raw cacao powder, maple syrup or Stevia, and pure vanilla extract.

cocoa ingredients

Cacao is the original source of chocolate and cocoa. It is processed very carefully at low temperatures so that it retains the vitamins and minerals and contains more antioxidant flavonoids than red wine, green tea and blueberries

In a small pan, mix 4 tsp. cocoa powder, 3T. maple syrup, and 1 T. water.  Whisk over medium heat until it is bubbling, being careful not to scorch it.

If want an all natural zero-calorie sweetener, you can swap out the maple syrup for Stevia, which comes from a plant native to South America.  It does have a unique taste but I don’t mind it in small doses. (swap out the maple syrup and water for 2 packets of Stevia and 2 T. of water).

When I am making hot cocoa for other kids though, I use the maple syrup for a sweet taste that they are more familiar with.

whisk

Add in 2 cups of milk and stir to combine.  Gently heat milk to desired temperature but do not boil.  Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

healthy cocoa

Enjoy all of the beautiful snow this weekend!  Stay warm and stay safe!

Happy Wednesday!  This is the one day during the week where I post pictures and details of everything I ate for the day in hopes of inspiring you to try something new :)

I have been a bit stressed lately over some big changes coming up around here, so I wasn’t really all that hungry this morning.  I waited until mid-morning and then decided to make one of my favorite comfort meal breakfasts.  This is a slice of toasted Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread, topped with smashed avocado, slices of red onion, tomatoes, and an egg (over-medium in olive oil).  I had half of a grapefruit on the side.  I love it when comfort food can be nourishing and healthy too!!

egg and avocado toast     grapefruit

 

After breakfast and before picking Jake up from school, I managed to squeeze in 3 segments (30 minutes) of this dvd – it is one of my absolute favorites!!  It’s easy to follow and a little challenging with some high intensity plyometric bursts.  It is structured in 10 minute increments so I can mix them up or just do as many as I have time for.  I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of it!!!!

favorite interval workout dvd

I am trying to mix it up a bit on What-I-Ate-Wednesdays but I can guarantee you’ll see this meal again.  I am obsessed with this chickpea (“mock tuna”) salad and make it at least every other week.

chickpea mock tuna salad

Chickpea “Mock Tuna” Salad
(note: this salad is based on the flavors of traditional tuna salad but doesn’t actually taste like tuna fish)
1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry
2 T. mayonnaise (I prefer the clean ingredients in soy-free Vegenaise, found at the health food store)
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 rib celery, chopped
2 T. red onion, chopped
Rinse and drain canned chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel.  Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade.  Pulse a few times.  Add in lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, dill, celery and red onion.  Pulse a few more times to mix.  Don’t over process the mix or you will just end up with mush.  Hand mix with a spoon if necessary.  Adjust seasonings to taste.
Sometimes I have it on toasted Ezekiel bread, but since I had that for breakfast, I wrapped it up in red leaf lettuce wraps and had it with some kiwi and grapes.  Served this way, with fruit, it’s a staple lunch for me in the summer time.

 

I played Uno with Jake most of the afternoon until he requested a snack of leftover “chocolate pudding” – if you follow me on Instagram, you know that this chocolate avocado “pudding” was a huge hit with the kids last night!!!  I was happy to oblige :)

Later in the afternoon, I knew I had a long math homework date with Hailey and wanted to bake up a little treat for her to have as a special after school snack (that isn’t encouraging emotional eating, is it???  at least it was packed with healthy fats, fiber and antioxidants!!!)  These are the Almond Joy Bars from Peas and Thank You (minus the artificial flavor extracts and I subbed in organic coconut sugar which I’m able to get at our Meijer).  Needless to say, the temptation was just too much and I ended up having one too.  Straight out of the oven, warm and gooey – they were dreamy!!!!  And I can only imagine how awesome they would be topped with some vanilla (coconut milk) ice cream!!!

Almond Joy Bars

Dinner was one of Jake’s favorites – spaghetti and meatballs.  I don’t care for the overly full feeling I get from having pasta for dinner so the if I have the time, I bake a spaghetti squash for me instead of the regular noodles.  I was a little disappointed the first time that I had spaghetti squash because I actually expected it to taste like pasta – HA!  It definitely doesn’t but it has grown on me…..a little…..this was topped with sauteed mushrooms and a couple of the meatballs.  We had a simple green salad on the side with one of my favorite homemade vinaigrette dressings (recipe to come!)

spaghetti squash and meatballs

I have lots of recipes coming at you soon – two healthy snack “dips”, my go-to salad dressing, butternut squash apple & curry soup, and overnight crockpot steel cut oats just to name a few.  Since I can count on my fingers how many of you are reading this little blog, please feel free to leave comments on my posts!!!!  I’d love to hear from you – what recipes you’ve tried, if it turned out good/bad, any questions about foods or ingredients I’m using, or perhaps what you’d like to see on here.  And thanks for reading :)

That wraps it up for this Wednesday!

 

 

 

Did anyone else have lots of yummy party food for the Superbowl yesterday???

This football-obsessed household loves having an excuse to make some of our favorite tailgating recipes and party appetizers!  In honor of the game being held in New Orleans, of course we had to make Gumbo (using organic chicken andouille sausage and amped up with lots of spicy creole seasoning), along with Caesar salad (dressing made with Vegenaise soy-free mayo and minus the anchovy paste), and soft pretzel bites with beer cheese dip (made with a local IPA and ground horseradish instead of jalapenos).  Darren also made some buffalo wings for himself with a homemade spicy garlic wing sauce (hmmm….maybe after reading my post about the sketchy ingredients in wing sauce???)

Anyway, it was a fun and relaxing family day around here filled with lots of yummy food.  I am such a sucker for salty snacks and good appetizers so I think the pretzel bites did me in!

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As much fun as it is to indulge in a special meal every once in awhile, I know that I need to get back on track right away with a day of clean eating afterwards.

Today will be filled with lots of green juice for breakfast (this one has kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, an apple, a baby clementine, a squeeze of lemon and a teaspoon of spirulina)

green juice with spirulina

A huge salad for lunch (romaine with lots of veggies and tahini/lemon/cayenne dressing just like this one)

romaine with tahini dressing

Fruits and Veggies for snacks

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Add in a good workout, loads of water, and a Meatless Monday dinner and I will be right back on track.  This recipe comes from Peas and Thank You, one of my favorite sources for kid-friendly vegan and vegetarian recipes.

Starting line-up of antioxidant, protein, and fiber packed ingredients including veggies, beans, and tempeh.  If you are not familiar with tempeh, it is a fermented soy product native to Indonesia.  It has a nutty flavor and is versatile for vegetarian cooking.  It is generally found in the refrigerated section of the produce department near the sprouts and tofu.  This is a great recipe to try it out since it is crumbled up into the chili mixture.

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Chop pepper, onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

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Meanwhile, grate tempeh with a cheese grater into uniformly-size crumbly pieces.

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Add tempeh and 3 tablespoons of water and cook tempeh for another 5 minutes.

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Add spices, tomato sauce and beans let this simmer for about 5 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix liquid ingredients together in a glass measuring cup and add to dry.  Stir until just combined and add in corn.  Forget to take pictures……

Spray a 2-quart baking dish with olive oil and add veggie/bean/tempeh mixture.  Top with cornbread mixture and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Tempeh Tamale Pie

 

Top individual servings with sour cream, guacamole, and/or chopped cilantro.

 

Tempeh Tamale Pie

Adapted from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients for the filling:

1 medium onion or 1/2 of a large onion, chopped

1 cup red or green pepper (or combination of both), chopped

1 8 oz. package tempeh, crumbled

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt (I used a little more since my tomato sauce had No Salt Added)

1 tsp maple syrup

1 14 oz. can tomato sauce (organic and BPA-free if possible!)

1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

 

Ingredients for the crust:

2/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup flour (regular, whole wheat pastry, or gluten-free alternative)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup non-dairy or organic milk

2 T. unsweetened applesauce (or substitute melted coconut oil, grassfed butter, or olive oil)

1 T. maple syrup

1 cup frozen corn (I prefer organic, non-GMO corn)

 

Optional Toppings:

1/2 cup grated cheese to add to top of cornbread before baking, sour cream, chopped cilantro, guacamole, olives, etc.

 

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Place a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with olive oil or non-stick spray. Add onion, peppers, and garlic and sauté until softened, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Grate or crumble tempeh and add to the pan with the sautéed vegetables.  Add 3 T. water to help steam tempeh.  Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.
  • To the pan, add chili powder, ground cumin, salt,  maple syrup, tomato sauce and beans.
  • Allow bean mixture to simmer for a few minutes to combine flavors. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lightly coated with oil and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In a glass measuring cup, combine milk, maple syrup and applesauce.
  • Add wet ingredients to the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined.
  • Gently fold in the defrosted corn.
  • Spread corn mixture carefully and evenly over the top of the casserole dish.
  • If using, top the casserole with shredded cheese.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is set and starting to brown.
  • Serve with desired toppings.

This was the third time I’ve made this casserole and overall it was pretty good.  The filling was tasty but could potentially have a little more flavor with the addition of some fire roasted tomatoes.  I am definitely going to experiment with a variation on the cornbread topping next time to get more of a traditional cornbread top – this was just a bit flat and grainy for my tastes.  I’m thinking of switching to unbleached all purpose flour and coconut oil or grassfed butter instead of the applesauce.  But this was good for a cleaned up and dairy-free/meatless version of the classic tamale pie to end my day of back-on-track clean eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am quite obsessed with kale.  When I combine my finance background with my love for nutrition, the reasoning goes something like this – you simply cannot get more nutritional bang for your buck when it comes to kale!!!!   For a mere $1.49, I can get a bunch of kale so big that I have to wrestle it into the bag.  I must look like I’m losing the battle sometimes because I have had people in the grocery store ask me what it is that I am buying!

kale

There are a lot of reasons why kale is considered one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet.

The Nutritional Details:   One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.   (SOURCE)

What does all of that mean???

  • Kale is a rich source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K, fiber and carotenoids.     Research has shown that kale contains 45 different flavonoids with a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
  • It is a very potent source of vitamin K, which can reduce the overall risk of developing cancer, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
  • Kale is one of the best sources of beta-carotene, one of the antioxidants believed by many nutrition experts to be a major player in the battle against cancer, heart disease, and certain age-related chronic diseases.
  • Kale possesses other important carotenoids: lutein and zeaxathin. These help keep UV rays from damaging the eyes and causing cataracts.
  • According to recent research results, kale is an incredible source of well-absorbed calcium, which is one of the many factors that may help prevent osteoporosis.
  • The manganese in kale helps your body’s own antioxidant defense system, protecting you from damaging free radicals.
  • Its folate and B6 team up to keep homocysteine levels down, which may help prevent heart disease, dementia, and osteoporosis bone fractures.
  • Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

Something else I found particularly interesting is that kale contains indole-3- carbinol, a nutrient that seems to play a role in how estrogen is metabolized in the body and may play a protective role against breast cancer.  According to the naturopathic physician quoted in this article, “We sometimes use it as a supplement in patients with breast cancer, anyone who has a reason to be concerned about developing breast cancer and for those with estrogen-dominant illnesses like fibroids, fibrocystic breast disease or endometriosis, to try to help modulate negative estrogenic effects in the body.  Eating kale is a natural way to do that.”

With all that being said, I learned a couple of years ago when my mom was experiencing some heart problems that the high amount of vitamin K can cause problems for some people.  Anyone taking anticoagulants (blood thinners, such as Warfarin, Coumadin, etc) or other medications should avoid kale because the high level of vitamin K may interfere with the drugs.  Please consult your doctor before adding or increasing the amount of kale and other greens to your diet.

But for those who are looking to add more of this SUPERFOOD to their diet, I highly suggest starting with kale chips!!!

Start by removing the tough stem from the center of each stalk.  This part can taste bitter.  Tear the remaining leaves into bite-sized pieces.

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Wash and dry kale (I use a salad spinner)

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With clean hands, massage kale leaves with extra virgin olive oil to get them completely coated.  For reference, I used about 2 teaspoons of oil for a whole head of kale.

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Spread on a SINGLE layer on a baking sheet (or two sheets if necessary).  Sprinkle with coarse ground kosher salt.  For this batch, I used about 1/2 teaspoon.

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Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.  Start checking the kale chips around 12 minutes as you will want them to be super crispy, but not burnt.  Mine are usually perfect around 14 minutes.  I just taste as I go, which depletes about half the pan!

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With the kids helping me, we can usually eat an entire batch in one sitting.  And by sitting, I mean standing over the pan shoving them in our mouths!!!

Look Mom---no hands!!!

Look Mom—no hands!!!

 

There are a TON of variations all over the internet.  But this classic version is quick, easy, and SO good!  I hope you’ll give them a try!

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