Spinach Smoothie

I have been having too much fun lately playing with the 'norms' of food. Spinach in a smoothie, sounds kinda questionable to me.  Mom always used to make carrot and spinach juice concoctions and they never looked very good...sorry mom.  I do not recall ever tasting them because what young gal would want to DRINK SPINACH for breakfast? 

I have recently been trying to include a copious amount of fiber in my diet and have seen a few friends making spinach smoothies with berries and different fruits.  I figured maybe mixed with all sorts of tasty fruits the color and taste of the spinach could be disguised.  Well thanks to my new obsession, Pinterest, I found a recipe.  It looked simple and promised that it tasted great. 

It was simple to make, a bright and vibrant colour, and a consistency that matched my usual morning smoothies.  This last point is particularly important for me, I do not like runny smoothies, or ones so thick you have to eat with a spoon, this one here was perfect!

My Spinach Smoothie Recipe
1 banana
1/2 cup of vanilla soy yogurt
1 cup of fat free soy milk
1 tbs homemade almond butter
1 tbs wheat bran
4 cups of spinach

Add everything except the spinach to your food processor or blender and chop well.  I only have a small food processor so I added my spinach one cup at a time and chopped in between, if you have a larger machine you could do it all in one shot.  Once you have all the ingredients mixed together puree the mix until it is nice and smooth. 

 I left my smoothie the gorgeous vibrant green and topped with a few raspberries, you can experiment with adding different fruits (or veggies) to your smoothie but I thought this one was amazing just the way it was :)

I had some of my smoothie left over (there was too much to fit in my glass) so I poured it into a ramekin dish and threw it in the freezer to be a tasty post yoga snack!

Go Green and Enjoy!

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Mom sent me a box of quinoa at Christmas, a 'subtle' hint saying try this try this.  The last few years I have been hearing more and more about quinoa,  it is very healthy, high in protein and a healthy alternative to carbs such as rice.  I have never really found a recipe that caught my eye enough to try until I stumbled upon this one and knew right away this was the one I had been waiting for.

I already had all the ingredients on hand so I got to work. 

2 cups cooked quinoa
3 large eggs
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
3/4 cup chopped pepperoni slices (~1/2 of a 7 oz bag)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried crushed oregano
pizza sauce for dipping

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together all ingredients, except pizza sauce, pepperoni, tomatoes and spinach in a medium mixing bowl.  Split mixture into two bowls, add the pepperoni to one bowl and the tomatoes and spinach to the other.  Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each), and press down gently to compact.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

 

I was not too sure how B would feel about the texture of the quinoa but he said they were great!  They are loaded with flavour and are a much healthier option to cure that pizza craving.  I like mine heated up with some pizza sauce for dipping, B likes his right out of the fridge! 

Enjoy :)

Black Bean Brownies

A few weeks ago Fergie shared a recipe with me for black bean brownies, she even suggested we make them for our next woodsy adventure.  Intrigued, I started looking at different recipes online and reading all the rave reviews for the bean filled brownies.  Apparently they are the best thing since sliced bread.  I figured they would taste good but didnt really think a brownie made from beans could really be THAT good.  I was wrong, these brownies were AMAZING!!!

As a true test of these brownies I gave B one, he tried it and said 'these are the best brownies I have ever had!' his exact words...they really are THAT good!


Here is how you can have your very own:

1 1/2 cups black beans (make sure to rinse thoroughly)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp sugar (or omit and increase honey to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a good food processor, and blend until completely smooth. Really blend well. (A blender can work if you absolutely must, but the texture—and even the taste—will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chips, then pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips and walnuts over the top. Cook 20 minutes, then let cool at least 20 minutes before trying to cut. Makes 9-12 brownies.

The final recipe I decided on and followed can be found here

We packed these up and piled three of us in the rig along with the four fur babies, a whole lot of winter warmies and some veggie dogs and set out for an afternoon adventure.  Everyone agreed, poochies included, that these brownies were fantastic!

Enjoy!

Oven Stew

We have been going non stop the last few days.  Between Brian digging everyone out of the blizzard with his snow plow and me traveling back and forth to work on the terrible roads we have been grasping at every opportunity to grab a bite to eat and a nap.  I was lucky enough to be home today, having a morning doctor appointment meant I was not available to take a shift at work.  I wanted to cook a nice warm, hearty meal but was really too exhausted to put in all the effort of preparing said meal.  I had stew on the mind, so I grabbed my recipe books and low and behold I find an easy oven stew recipe!  All the hearty deliciousness of comfort food with out all the energy to prepare.  The recipe was for beef stew, which is exactly what I made for B, I made a few adjustments (mainly swapping the beef for chickpeas)  and also created a tasty vegetarian stew for myself.

Beefy Style
1 lb stew beef
3 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large potatoes, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoe sauce
1/2 cup prepared beef broth
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper







Combine all ingredients in an ungreased 3 liter casserole, or small roasting pan.  Bake, covered, at 300F for 3.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Serves 4. 

Vegetarian Style
2 cups chickpeas
2 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 small potatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoe sauce
1/2 cup prepared vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper





I prepared my veggie version after I had put the beefy one in the oven, assuming chickpeas did not really need as long as meat to cook.  I was right! about 2.5 hours for the vegetarian version was perfect.

I do not know what my favorite part of this meal was...maybe the ridiculously easy prep work, the way the house smelled absolutely amazing while they were cooking or how delicious everything tasted!

On a chilly rainy night this was just what the doctor ordered.  A warm, hearty meal with loads of flavor and leftovers :)

Enjoy

Almond Butter

When mom was out to visit this summer she got me into almond butter.  I love it on crackers, toast, in my smoothies and right off the spoon!  The only problem with loving almond butter that much is the cost of it in stores.  I remeber mom always making peanut butter when we were kids.  She just through them in the food processor until they were smooth and creamy.  I figured I could try the same method with almonds.

So I made my own almond butter!


I would suggest using a heavy duty food processor for this, I have a little kitchen aid one, it is great for chopping veggies and making smoothies but by the end of the process I was worried my little one was going to burn out.  I had to puree in short intervals to avoid getting my machine too hot,  a heavy duty mixer would handle this job much better.

Preheat your oven to 350F.  Spread your almonds on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.  I left mine in a bit longer to really bring out the nutty flavour, be careful not to burn them though!  

Let them cool a bit, they blend better when they are still warm.  Put them in your mixer and mix.  And keep mixing....and mix some more.  They need a good 10-15 mins to really get the smooth creamy consistency.  Dont forget to scrape the sides down!

Once the almond butter has reached a consistency you are satisfied with (lots of taste testing required) which just happens to be my favorite part :)  Pour into a container or a mason jar and voila, your own homemade almond butter for a fraction of the cost of store bought stuff. 

Enjoy!