Quinoa Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a tasty traditional Levantine Arab salad made out of fresh veggies like cucumber & tomato and mostly comprised of bulgur.  Bulgur is a quick cooking form of wheat.  This is a slightly different version of the traditional Tabbouleh, replacing the bulgur with some protein loaded quinoa and adding some other fresh flavors.

I make this in bulk at the beginning of the week by making an entire package of quinoa (usually about 3 cups). So, I just double this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of quinoa (& 3 cups water for preparing)

3/4 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon sea salt

juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup fresh mint

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 1/2 T dried parsley (or a few stalks of fresh)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

3 Tablespoons - 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (use what tastes right to you without going overboard)

1/2 red onion, diced (or regular onion)

2 carrots, grated

Fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/4 tsp or less of paprika (this is just for a teeny bit of flavor, don't go overboard)

Directions:

1. Prepare the quinoa according to box directions.

2. While cooking, combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

How beautiful are all these colors?!

3. When quinoa is done cooking, allow to cool in refrigerator or freezer. Just don't forget about it. Also, add your bowl of mixed veggies to the fridge.

Quinoa, after it's done cooking.

4. When all is cooled, mix quinoa with all other ingredients. Eat chilled. 

My massive bowl of Quinoa Tabbouleh to last me the week!

Quinoa Tabbouleh is a perfect side, add to a wrap, eat as your lunch, or to bring as your dish for any party. Enjoy!

-Lacey

Dinner on a Dash

After getting home from a doctor's appointment tonight, I really had no desire to cook an all-out meal. Plus, Mike hadn't eaten his lunch that he packed so he had that leftover to eat for dinner which meant I was on my own. PLUS, we're in desperate need to go grocery shopping and so we only have a little bit of each veggie left. Here's what I made in under 8 minutes (and yes, it includes DESSERT!)

First:
Took a boxed Trader Joe's all natural Black Bean Soup and dumped it in a bowl, added real black beans, put in microwave for 2 minutes.  The key to this meal is always having all natural, organic soups on hand in your cabinet. Of course, fresh is best, but when you're on a time crunch (or lazy kick like me), it's best to be prepared so you don't go calling that pizza shop down the road.

While That's Cooking (this is the key part...multitasking!):
Grab a hand-thrown whole wheat wrap, spread on some homemade Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (I always make a batch of this at the beginning of the week for moments like this). Add broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach, pumpkin seeds, and drizzle with a teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette. (should take you 3 minutes to do if you have everything in your fridge at hand)  Or, add your own toppings. Whatever's around is what works best. Add onion, bell pepper, radish, kale, carrot, tomato, etc.

Check On Your Soup:
It probably needs about another 2-3 minutes in the microwave.  I try not to over-heat as to not loose nutrients. Slightly warm is good enough for me.

While that's finishing:
In your blender, throw in 5 strawberries, some crushed ice, a splash of soy milk, and a teaspoon of Stevia.  Blend for 30 seconds.

Throw everything together on a plate, add two slices of dried pineapple rings (or any other dried fruit you have) and you're all done. Depending on how "prepped" you have your fridge (veggies pre-chopped, lettuce pre-washed, chopped, and in bin, a soup on hand for emergency dinners....etc) this shouldn't take you more than 7-10 minutes. I've gotten this down to an art so that I can have a quick but healthy and nutrient-dense meal. Plus, I even give myself a dessert, which I really don't do but once a week.

All in under 8 minutes!

So, the key tips:

1. Make hummus at the beginning of every week. You can use it for so many things.

2. Always have a handful of soups in your cabinet.

3. Healthy whole wheat wraps are great to have on hand. While they're not something you should be eating everyday, they last longer than bread (good for storing) and really spice up those days when you're sick of salad but still need to get those greens in. Plus, they make dinner look schmancy fancy.

4. Preparation is key: the only way to be able to put all this together in a short amount of time is to make sure your essential veggies are washed and ready RIGHT AFTER YOU GO SHOPPING. It saves you on prep time, which is often the biggest time killer in making nutrient-dense meals.  It's a rule in my book...grocery shopping goes hand-in-hand with prepping my veggies. As soon as the food is put away, hubs and I usually spend another 45 minutes cleaning & cutting fruit & vegetables so we're not regretting it later in the week.

To quick meals and a happy body,

Lacey

Guacamole with a Twist

I'm not just saying this because I made it, but I've never, ever, ever liked guacamole. Always tasted bland to me. I made this on a whim tonight with some leftover avocado from sushi from dinner the other night and I LOVE this. Love love love love.

Ingredients:
1/2 jalapeño pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or lime juice if you like. I'm not a fan)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of sea salt
Itty bit of orange zest
1 avocado
1 small tomato (or 1/2 medium tomato) roughly cut up into 4 or 5 pieces.


Directions:
1. In a food processor, add jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, onion, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, and sea salt. Pulse until all ingredients are chopped in small pieces.
2. Add avocado and orange zest and blend until mostly smooth (leaving little chunks is great!)
3. Add tomato pieces and pulse until chunks of tomato are left in the guacamole.
4. Enjoy on your salad, in your wraps, or as a yummy veggie dip.


***If you don't have a food processor, just finely chop all ingredients except avocado & tomato and mix together. Blend avocado in with fork and mix until mostly smooth. Add in bits of tomato at the very end for a chunky guacamole.***

Grocery Trip

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One of the most helpful things for me when I first started nutrient-dense eating was seeing other people's grocery list.  It gave me ideas for meals and new ways to prepare the list. The way I prepare my list is like this: I plan all of my meals for the week and look at each recipe. I run down the recipe to see what items I already have and what I need to buy. I only buy exactly what I need. So, if one recipe calls for a green bell pepper and I also know I'll need one for my salads this week, I will only buy two peppers. This way, I'm bringing home exactly what I need and it prevents me from eating too much each day (mid-day snacks) because I know if I do, I won't have enough ingredients for my dinner recipes.

Also, we always buy the same amount of lettuce for the two of us each week: 2 large heads of green leaf lettuce (it's the one with the curly ends), 1 large bag of baby spinach, and 1 head of iceberg. Sometime we finish that a day or 2 before our next trip and if that's the case, I'll make a quick run to the store and grab 1 head of green leaf to get us through the next 2 days.

Look at all of that color!! Now, there are multiples of some items not shown.
Such as, I bought an entire bag of potatoes but could only fit 3 on my island.
Also, a couple things are hidden (like the iceberg, the grapes, etc), but I promise it's all there!
If it's on the list, it's on the island!

THE LIST

Produce Aisle:

2 heads green leaf

1 bag spinach

1 head iceberg

Grapes

1 box Strawberries

Semi-green Bananas

3 apples

2 pears

1 yellow squash

2 green zucchinis

Batch of fresh parsley

1 medium eggplant

1 avocado

2 cucumbers

5 small tomatoes

Bag of russet potatoes

1 pound string beans

Medium bag of carrots

3 onions

3 green bell peppers

1 yellow "

1 red "

Shitake mushrooms

1 bag sun-dried tomatoes

Other Aisles:

Thyme leaves

2 cans kidney beans

1 can black beans

2 cans corn

1 jar of natural tomato sauce (for chili)

1 box natural vegetable broth

Nayonaise (soy based & vegan Mayo used as a base for some of my salad dressings)

1 cup walnuts

1 box Quinoa
Dozen brown eggs (for mike)

(Notice, I only go to three other aisles other than the produce aisle.)

Our meals for this week:

Breakfast: Lacey- oatmeal & piece of fruit and fruit smoothie, Mike- eggs

Lunch: Salad, Soup, Quinoa Tabbouleh, or String Bean & Squash Medley

Dinners: Veggie Pot Pie

            Veggie Chili

            Sushi

            Eggplant Ravioli with Zucchini 'pasta'

            Macadamia nut & Sun-dried Tomato Pesto on Spinach Wrap & veggies

            Leftovers

Happy healthy shopping!

-Lacey

Vegetable Stir Fry

This is something I just tried the other night. With loads of veggies in the refrigerator, this is a great way to get tons of veggies in one sitting. While I'm not a fan of asparagus, this is how I sneak it into a meal. Be careful not to overcook your veggies. Get them hot, but stop cooking while they're still crunchy to keep most of the nutrients.  Feel free to add veggies for variety!


Ingredients:
Stir Fry:
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
2 cups Sugar Snap Peas
1 cup Broccoli
1/3 cup Crushes cashews
2 chopped carrots
1 tablespoon shredded ginger/ground ginger
2 handfuls green beans
5 stalks asparagus, chopped into 1 inch sections
2 shallots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
Sauce:
1 cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Organic 100% whole grain flour*

(Prepare long grain brown rice, however much needed, to serve stir fry on top)

Keep stirring!

Sunfood raw cashews!

Directions
1.  Put olive oil into a wok. Turn stove to high.
2. Put all stir fry ingredients (excluding sauce) into wok. Cook for 5 minutes on high, constantly stirring (hence stir fry).
3. In a separate bowl, mix together vegetable broth, soy sauce, and flour*. Pour in wok.
4. Continue cooking until vegetables are hot, but crunchy, and sauce covers everything.
5. Serve on top of cooked long grain brown rice. Top with soy sauce to taste.

*If you're being very particular about flour, you can exclude this, but just know the sauce will not be as thick.  I would also use 1/2 cup of vegetable broth instead.  We almost NEVER use flour (we don't even keep bread in our house), so this is a rarity, which is why I didn't mind using it for this recipe since it's such a small amount.  We also used some tofu in this recipe because we had it left in the refrigerator.

The finished product!

Macadamia Nut Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

I also use this pesto on top of my salads or on wraps. So many possibilities! Enjoy the fresh, summery taste of tomatoes and basil.

Here's my favorite pesto to make:

Ingredients:
1   3oz bag of sun dried tomatoes
1   2 . 25 oz bag of macadamia nuts (*Buy Diamond, it's in the baking aisle. So much cheaper!!!*)
1   teaspoon of lemon juice
1   garlic clove
Handful of fresh basil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sea salt and a twist of fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Place all ingredients in food processor & process for about 30 seconds or under everything is evenly chopped.

The great thing about this recipe is you can exchange out the macadamias for walnuts, or any other hearty nut of your choice. If you want the pesto more liquidy, add more Exta Virgin Olive Oil. This pesto is so packed with flavor, you really don't need to pile it on like a tomato sauce.  Just top a plate of pasta with about 3 tablespoons of the pesto and you'll have more than enough!

Quinoa Stuffed Green Peppers

This recipe is very similar to the Quinoa Stuffed Pattypan but I did changed up some of the ingredients & flavors.  The concept is the same.

Ingredients:
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 cup Red Inca Quinoa or regular white Quinoa
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 diced onion
Cilantro
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 tbsp Earth Balance butter
chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, cayenne red pepper, all to taste
2 green bell peppers

Directions:
1. Put quinoa and veggie broth in pot & bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, add lid and turn on low. Cook for 15 minutes.
2. While quinoa is cooking, cut the tops of the bell peppers and hollow out.
3.  Add diced garlic, onion, and cilantro to quinoa.
4. Add tomato sauce, Earth Balance butter, and all seasonings to quinoa. Cook on simmer for another 5 minutes, stir occasionally.
5. Place cooked quinoa in hollowed out peppers. (Extra quinoa that cannot fit in peppers can be placed directly on pan...just be sure to stir it every 5 minutes in oven to keep it from burning.) Place on baking sheet in 375 oven for 18-23 minutes.
6. ENJOY!

Quinoa Stuffed Pattypan

This is a fabulous summer recipe I adapted from the Oh She Glows blog.  The light cucumber taste with the grainy quinoa makes for a filling but light tasting dinner. Have with a side of red wine and good company.

Ingredients:
2 pattypan
1 cup uncooked quinoa/2 cup vegetable broth
1 clove diced garlic
1 onion
1 carrot
1/2 cucumber
1/4 cup tomato sauce
3 tbsp Earth Balance "butter"
Fresh parsley
Fresh ground pepper
parmesan "cheese"
lemon pepper, italian seasonings....all to taste

Directions:
1. Put quinoa & veggie broth in saucepan and bring to boil.  Once boiling, add lid and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Add garlic & stir.
2. While quinoa is cooking fill a pot of water & bring to boil.  Put in pattypan and cook for 6-7 minutes.

This, my friends, is pattypan.

3.  While pattypan is also cooking, preparing stuffing.  In food processor add onion, carrot, 1/2 peeled cucumber & process until mixed/chopped together. (Leave in food processor)

Onion, carrot, and cucumber.

4. In a small bowl, mix softened Earth Balance & tomato sauce together.  Add to quinoa when finished cooking.

5. After pattypan is finished and mostly cooled, cut the tops off and scoop out the inside.  Take what you scooped out and add to the food processor with onion, carrot, and cucumber & process together.
6. Take this vegetable mixture and add to quinoa in pan. Stir. Add in seasonings (lemon pepper, etc).
7. Stuff pattypan with vegetable/quinoa mixture. Bake in 375 oven for 25 minutes.

Whatever extra quinoa mixture you have, just place directly on the pan.

8. Top with parsley and parmesan "cheese" and add to oven for 2 more minutes to melt "cheese".

Had to adapt and use cheddar "cheese" instead.  Still good but definitely not AS good as the parmesan.

ENJOY!!

How to Eat Well at 4th of July Picnics

The most difficult times to consciously eat well is 1) when traveling and 2) when going to holiday picnics or parties.  Chips, hot dogs, & mayonnaise-filled potato salads make it hard to choose wisely.  Now, for those of us who get physically ill from eating unhealthy, cheating isn't too much of an option or you'll be paying for it for the rest of the week.  For those of you who don't mind cheating every few months I say, be careful & don't overdo it.  Since you eat well a majority of the time, your body isn't used to digesting some of the harsh foods.  Cheat, but in moderation.  While you may not have medical issues to worry about, your body still isn't used to the toxic nature of some of these foods. Be kind and don't gorge yourself.  As momof3 says: ~Savor the run cheat.~

Photo source: Lookiloos

Here are some foods to look out for or minor modifications you can make.  It's hard to be perfect at events like this, but knowing what you can do before you go can minimize the possible damage:

1. Fruit salad. Most parties include that big bowl of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, & bananas.  Load up!

Lacey's Daily Eating Habits

With the wealth of information being thrown at you about what is healthy and not healthy to eat, it is quite difficult to put it all into practice.  The moment I tell someone that I mostly eat fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, beans & the occasional grain I get a look of confusion with the normal response..."So, what exactly do you eat then?".  Then, with a smile on my face, I respond with the same things, "I eat fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds, some grains, and beans." And they still manage to respond, yet again, with a "Yeah, but what do you eat?" as if these categories of food aren't actually food at all.

So, here's what most days look like for me.  I'll give you a few example meals under each category.  Obviously, it can always vary.  We're finding new recipes & trying new meals out constantly.

Breakfast: Between 6 & 7 am
1. 1/2 cup plain oatmeal with some type of fruit jam (mixed in for flavor) & tea. This is what I have most days.
2. Fruit salad & 1 piece of whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter
3. Salad. Yes, you read that right.  If I'm going on a big morning run I need something that is going to be light in my stomach, but that will also help me get the energy I need.  I'll usually top this salad with some protein, like quinoa or nuts.  Oatmeal is way too heavy for me before a run.