Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins are currently my breakfast obsession. I make a batch every other Sunday, freeze half (they freeze and reheat great!), and then keep the other half in the fridge to eat all week. I usually do blueberries, but sometimes I use cherries or peaches instead. I bet it would be great with pecans too! Not only are these muffins delicious, but they keep you full all the way until lunchtime despite only being 229 calories a serving. I love that it only takes 30 seconds to warm them up in the microwave in the morning, and then they are ready to eat. My mornings are so chaotic now that I'm a mom of two kids. One day I'll have the chance to actually sit and eat breakfast again, but until then, I'm glad I have these oatmeal cups!
Today is the official last day of summer. Most people are excited about the start of fall, but I have to admit, I'm more of a summer gal. I love swimming, and the long summer days, and the fresh meals you can make with all the wonderful summer produce. Summer food pretty much trumps fall food in every way...except breakfast. As soon as I start waking up to the chill in the morning air, I know it's time to start making my favorite weekday breakfast: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.
My little hometown has been hit by unseasonably cold and rainy weather lately. On one particular dreary day, my family was feeling especially bogged down with cabin fever. To remedy the situation, I suggested a day full of movies, a roaring fire, popcorn, and hot chocolate. Needless to say, my 3 year old was especially on board with the idea of hot chocolate. One problem? I had ran out of hot chocolate instant packets, and I had no motivation to brave the rain for a grocery run. So I decided to make some hot cocoa from scratch. Most recipes call for cow's milk, but I'm currently breastfeeding a baby who may have a dairy sensitivity. Therefore, I decided to use a carton of unsweetened coconut milk and keep the recipe vegan. I was so surprised by how easy - and how incredibly rich and delicious - homemade hot cocoa was! It was so simple and so tasty that I don't think I'll ever use the packets again. One batch make about 4 to 6 servings, and if you don't drink it all, it keeps quite well in fridge and is easily reheated.
The first time I ever had tofu, I was not a huge fan. Then one day, at our local vegetarian restaurant The Grit, I ordered something called "The Golden Bowl" and was stunned to realize that the delicious morsels I was inhaling, was in fact, tofu. I realized then that tofu can be amazing when prepared and cooked correctly...and kind of gross when it isn't. If you are new to tofu, make sure to reference my earlier post on how to correctly prepare tofu before you try out this recipe (Tofu for Dummies). This recipe is a great new-to-tofu recipe; easy to make and only takes about ten minutes to cook. Make sure not to skip the nutritional yeast; it's the best part! You can find it in the bulk section of your local Earth Fare grocery store. It's a great thing to have on hand to add a cheesy flavor to dishes while upping its nutritional profile.
My almost-3 year old daughter reached a new milestone this month: she started preschool! She is a highly social person who is eager to learn, so of course she adores it. As for me, I adore having three mornings a week free to clean, write up blog entries, or just simply zone out in front of the computer for a few hours. What I don't adore? Trying to get both of us ready in the morning. With me being 8 months pregnant, and my daughter being in the "I-wanna-do-everything-myself" phase, we are always in a rush to get to school on time. Fortunately, I found the perfect breakfast for those hurried mornings: Baked Oatmeal Cups. It's a breakfast that can be made ahead of time, and is great to eat on-the-go (like in the car on the way to to school). It's filled with all sorts of nutritional goodness, like rolled oats and flaxseed, but tastes enough like dessert so your kid will scarf it down.
As followers of my blog know, I love desserts. I simply cannot have dinner without dessert; it would be like going to bed without a pillow, or taking a bath without bubbles. You could do it, but why would you ever want to? My need for dessert is a tricky one, because I also strive to eat as healthy as possible. Desserts are generally not known for being the most nutritious of meals (and sorry, fruit just doesn't cut it as dessert for me). So I'm always on the lookout for healthier versions of traditional desserts. The health food scene has been abuzz lately with talk about Black Bean Brownies, but some of the feedback on them hasn't been great, so I had put off making them. After all, I don't want my desserts to actually taste healthy. However, after going five months with an aversion to chocolate (thanks, pregnancy!), I decided to celebrate my return to the wonderful world of chocolate by trying my hand at making a "doesn't-taste-healthy-black-bean-brownie".
If you don't love, and I mean love garlic, go ahead and ignore this recipe. This recipe is for my fellow garlic lovers. I stumbled upon this recipe in 2009, in the May issue of Real Simple magazine. It embodied what I loved most about Real Simple recipes: the recipe was, well, real simple! Garlicky Pinto Beans became my go-to side when I needed to whip up something quick and easy. I almost always have all the ingredients in my pantry, so no running to the grocery store. Coming up with a fast side dish is one of the hardest parts for me on my healthy eating journey, so I'm always happy to have recipes like Garlicky Pinto Beans in my arsenal. Without dishes like this, I would resort to eating double the appropriate portion size of my entree (i.e. two burritos instead of one). What is your go-to healthy and simple side dish? If you have a good one, I'd love for you to share in the comments!
So today I have some news to share. You may have noticed that my blog entries have decreased a bit since January. The reason? Well, I've been exhausted and sick. Just the thought of most food makes my stomach uneasy. Yup, that's right: I'm pregnant! Baby #2 is expected in early October. I had a very tough first trimester, but now that I'm finally in the second trimester, I can start to feel my appetite and motivation trickle back. Woo!
Kale continues to be the superstar of the health food world, and I'm continuing to try to find ways to make this vegetable more lovable. To be frank, I often find kale to be bitter in taste and unpleasant in texture. After numerous kale encounters, I've learned that it is absolutely vital to get as fresh as kale as possible. Skip the already prepared kale bags sold in your grocery store, and grab the large unwashed and uncut bunches instead. The older kale gets, the more bitter it grows. So stick with fresh! Sure, it takes a bit longer to prepare, but it is certainly worth it. This recipe below is simple and savory, and when used with fresh kale, creates an actually tasty kale side dish. I actually went back for seconds, which is almost unheard for me when it comes to greens!
I admit it. I have a chocolate addiction. I crave chocolate in the evening as much as I crave coffee in the morning. Thankfully chocolate, in moderation, is not necessarily bad for you. What is bad for you is the heavily processed chocolate that makes up most of the chocolate sold in the United States. Chocolate syrup, in particular, is often filled with ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and and scary ingredients. So imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a Homemade Chocolate Syrup recipe by Kitchen Treaty that proved to be a breeze to make....and was a million times better than the commercially-made kind. In addition to it being a "cleaner" version, it also has substantially less sugar than the store bought kind. I altered the original recipe by reducing the sugar even further, and upped the salt a little. The result? Seriously the best chocolate syrup I have ever had.
A few days ago, I found myself staring at some incredibly overripe bananas, debating on whether to throw them out or try to make banana bread with them. I knew our family wouldn't be able to eat a whole loaf of banana bread before it went stale, so I came up with the idea to make Banana Bread Muffins and freeze them instead. I looked at several Banana Bread recipes to get an idea of what sort of ingredients are used, and then using that as a guideline, created my own recipe, using as many healthy alternatives as I thought I could get away with, without sacrificing the flavor. Since I don't eat bananas, I had to rely on my husband and toddler to critique the outcome. My toddler, who might be the pickiest eater ever, gobbled them down in under two minutes. My husband pronounced it "delicious!" and was shocked when I told him they were healthy. Success! I froze the remaining muffins, so now I have an easy breakfast for them. I just pop one out of the freezer, microwave, and voila, a relatively healthy breakfast in under 30 seconds.
I recently stumbled upon a recipe for All Natural Apple and Almond Butter Fudge on a blog called Inspired Edibles. I loved that the recipe was completely made up of healthy and unprocessed ingredients. It was a breeze to make, and every single person I've served it to has loved it: including my VERY picky toddler who pretty much hates everything. I had originally thought it would make a good dessert, but after trying it, I feel like it makes an even better snack. It's filled with protein and healthy fats, so it keeps you nice and full during those long stretches between meals.
While I am no longer dieting, I am still focused on eating healthy food. However, I no longer define healthy food is as strictly low calorie and/or fat. Instead, "healthy" food means that it is made with real, unprocessed ingredients that pack nutritional value. Amazingly enough, I have somehow managed to continue to lose inches on my non-diet, which includes eating Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge nearly every night. That's right, I found HEALTHY fudge! And it is decadent. It is made with only 5 ingredients; with no egg, butter, or refined sugar. It is full of healthy fat, which is great for your metabolism, heart, and even hair. This fudge is also incredibly easy to make, and has gotten rave reviews from everyone I've served it to.
Last week I decided to try to come up with my own Skinny Brownie recipe. I had several failed attempts (which I mercilessly pawned off on several friends, sorry guys!), but eventually I came up with a winner. Not only are these brownies nice and moist, they have the added benefit of being vegan and low sugar. They also don't take very much time or effort to make, which I always appreciate. I topped my brownies with a generous sprinkle of sea salt, which I felt like added a fun dimension to the brownies. However, if you are unsure about the (amazing) salty and sweet combination, feel free to leave that part out.
For my birthday this year, my sister-in-law made an amazing Pasta Alla Norma, which translates to pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant. I always have bad luck when I try to cook with eggplant (it's totally my cooking nemesis), but the pasta was so good, I was desperate to try to replicate it. The problem is, like most great cooks, my sister-in-law doesn't follow a recipe, she just wings it. So I pestered her for hours for every tip and ingredient involved, and then armed with her advice, I gave it my all. I think it turned out pretty great (though not sure if it was quite as good as my sister-in-law's). It's a little higher in carbs than I usually have for dinner, but a hearty bowl is under 400 calories, which makes it diet-friendly.
Oh man, these Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are goooooooooood. It took everything I had not to eat the entire 16 bars in one sitting. Even the batter is amazing. Since it's vegan, it's perfectly safe to eat in dough-form. My toddler thought she won the lottery when I handed her the cookie dough covered spatula.
Like almost everything I put on my blog, these cookie bars are deceptively healthy. They contain no eggs, oils (except to grease the pan), or even flour. In fact, the bulk of these cookies are...chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). You'd never know it just by taste though. I urge you to give it a try!
I love Thai food, particularly curry. It's just so flavorful and hearty, yet at the same time, somehow still light and healthy. I always feel pretty great after eating a big bowl of curry, instead of feeling groggy and heavy like I do after most hearty meals. What I love most about curry is that it is so flexible. You can play around with the spices, use whatever vegetables are in season, and add in whatever protein you have on hand. Furthermore, you can dress it up with garnishes if you are feeling fancy, or keep it simple if your are feeling lazy. I do recommend you have Sriracha Sauce nearby if you like your curry to have an extra kick.
In an effort to decrease my meat intake, I have been eating a lot of tofu lately. Tofu can be a tricky food to love, especially if not prepared properly. While I'm still learning the best ways to cook and serve tofu, I think I have the actual preparation of tofu down pat now. After speaking with some of my friends, I realized that a lot of people have no idea where to even begin with tofu. So I have decided to devote a blog entry to all things tofu; aka: Tofu for Dummies.
I have been seeing recipes for Two Ingredient Cookies all over the blogosphere lately. Due to their inclusion of bananas (my most despised food), I have tried my best to ignore them, but eventually my curiosity got the better of me. Well, my curiosity and my desire to find recipes that are healthy and tasty snacks for my husband and toddler. It took barely any time to whip these cookies up, something as a time-pressed mom, I'm always grateful for.
Although the cookies only call for two ingredients, there is room for add-ins, especially if you want a more flavorful cookie. I decided to throw in a handful of mini chocolate chips and raisins, and tossed in a 1/4 cup of flaxseed to make it even healthier. While I obviously didn't care for them (bananas, blech!), my husband thought they were pretty great for a healthy, quick cookie recipe. My picky toddler apparently isn't ready for these cookies yet (she's very funny about textures), but I imagine she'll enjoy these a lot when she's a bit older. It was soft enough, though, for my toddler with only 8 teeth to chew and swallow without concern. So my verdict? It's a great snack for both toddlers and health-conscious adults.
I've been wanting to try the ubiquitous Green Monster smoothie for some time now. Not only are they suppose to be delicious, they are packed with vitamins and minerals, and reportedly give you a great boost of energy. However, two hurdles had prevented me from trying the Green Monster: one, they are always made with bananas (which I despise), and two, they are usually a little high in calories for just a snack. I was once again motivated by my non-vegetable eating toddler to try my hand at a hidden vegetable recipe. I threw together some fruit and spinach I had sitting around, blended it up, and was shocked at how good it was. The best part? Me, my husband, and my toddler were all fighting over who got to drink it all. I never thought I'd see the day where my 16 month old would snatch a drink made with spinach out of my hand.
