Red Red Red Lentils

My sister shared this recipe with me a few weeks ago. It was quick and easy and very visually pleasing. I made it with pork tenderloin and green beans. This recipe makes a lot but the leftovers heated up great!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked red lentils

1/2 medium sized yellow onion

1 green bell pepper

1 tbsp chopped garlic

4 cooked and peeled beets (I microwave them in about an inch of water, covered with wet paper towel for 15 minutes or until soft. You can also bake them.)

Salt and Pepper to taste

- Place onion, bell pepper, garlic, and beets in a food processor

- Process until smooth

- Fold beet mixture into cooked lentils

It's that easy, enjoy! This can be served warm or cold, I enjoyed it more warm. Let me know what you think!

Chicken n' Bean Balls

 

I got semi-creative last night and ended up with these very yummy, kinda different, very easy chicken meatballs of sorts. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 lb ground chicken

1 15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained

Salt, Pepper, Garlic (and any other seasoning to taste. I was thinking curry powder could be delicious.)

- Heat pan over medium heat

- Mash chicken, beans, and seasonings together in a bowl

- Coat bottom of pan with swig of olive oil, heat until it feels hot

- Shape chicken mixture into ball shapes and place in pan

- Cook for about 6 minutes on each side or until cooked thoroughly

We had these last night with sauteed brussel sprouts and onions. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Slow Cooker Southwestern Brisket

 

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef brisket

Salt and Pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

5 cloves crushed garlic

1 red onion, sliced thin

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14 1/2 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with juice

2 adobo chilis (from can)

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup apple sauce

- Salt and Pepper beef generously

- Heat heavy skillet to medium-high heat, add oil and heat just until beginning to smoke

- Add the meat to pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides. Should take about 10 minutes in all

- Put meat in slow cooker

- Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in skillet and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant

- Add vinegar and boil until it's almost gone (careful, you do not want to breathe in evaporating vinegar!) Make sure to scrape bottom of pan

- Stir in water and pour mixture over brisket

- Put the tomatoes, chipotles, bay leaves, and apple sauce in slow cooker

- Cook on low 8-10 hours, until tender enough to break apart with a fork

- Remove bay leaves and chipotle peppers. Use two forks to pull it apart and ENJOY!

Wonderful for taco night! We ate this last night with corn tortillas, fresh avocado and a cabbage slaw of sorts. If you don't have a slow cooker, don't worry, you can bake it in a dutch oven in the oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours.

Sugar plum fairies-Can You Avoid the Sugar?

Unless you are a ballerina, this post is likely for you.  The sugar plum fairy  is one of the most coveted roles in the Nutcracker, so I can see how a ballerina would die to be a sugarplum.  But for the rest of us, the sugar is just plain tempting.  This past week I asked people what they were most looking forward to this holiday, and 505 of people polled said holiday cookies.  No kidding.  The holidays are already stressful enough, but when you add a sugar overload to the mix, things can get out of control quick. To keep your sweet tooth at bay and yet still give yourself the chance to enjoy some treats, here's a few tips:

1) Understand that sugar is a drug.  In fact all food is a drug, but in the case of sugar, your body responds similarly to when it absorbs crack.  You get an enormous high and a huge let down.  And the darn stuff is addicting- that's why it is so hard to only have one!

2)  Speaking of only having one.  Take your time and choose the 1-2 treats you really want and savor them.  Put them on a special plate, sit down and pay attention to what you are eating.  Chew slowly and take a couple sips of water in between bites.

3) Have a back-up plan.  Bring your own munchies to snack on like gum or popcorn to make sure you have a little go-to distraction should you really be tempted.

4)  Enlist a buddy. At the start of the day, tell a friend your plan and make sure they have a "code word" to make sure you know they are on the lookout and trying to help you step away from the cookies.

5) Keep a picture of yourself in you mind of the strongest version of you.  The idea is to help embody the you you want to be rather than the temptation to eat something you ultimately don't want or need.

Seem too hard.  Well, I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to the holidays, a few extra workouts make up the difference for those extra cookies in the end.  However, when I go into the day with a game plan, I always eat less than I would without one.  Give it a try!

Pesto, Garbanzo, and Asparagus Pasta

 

Ingredients:

1 box Annie Chun's Maifun Brown Rice Noodles (You can find these in the organic aisle at King Soopers, love them!)

1 bunch asparagus

1 can garbanzo beans

3/4 cup store bought or homemade pesto sauce

- Cook pasta according to directions on box

- Roast asparagus in the oven for 10-15 mins at 425 degrees or until tender, drizzle with some olive olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

-Once pasta is cooked, mix in asparagus, garabanzo beans and pesto and stir until blended

Talk about easy! Perfect for a rushed dinner after a busy day. I usually serve this with a baked bone-in, skin-on chicken breast and make the pasta more of a delicious side dish. Hope you enjoy!

Pasta and Red Sauce

Ingredients:

1 package brown rice fettucini noodles

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 cup shredded carrots

1 lb ground beef

8 cups tomato sauce of your choice, I like Amy's Organic Family Marinera

- Boil water, cook pasta according to package instructions

- Heat olive oil in medium pan, add red pepper flakes

- Sautee garlic, onions, carrots, and mushrooms until soft

- Add beef to pan and brown

- Stir in red sauce and spinach until sauce is warmed and spinach is wilted

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- Serve over pasta

Another super yummy, super easy! Enjoy! These leftovers heat up great. You can aslo freeze the sauce!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 medium-sized banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (with the cream from a can)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (we like Sun Warrior Vegan Vanilla)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup crushed ice

This is a great alternative to eating pie this year.  You can get your yummy pie taste without all the added sugar!

Roasted Veggies

 

8 servings Ingredients:

1 Butternut squash, 1 inch cubes with skin on

1 Red onion, chopped roughly

1 Sweet onion, chopped roughly

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 tblsp olive oil

½ tsp curry powder

½ tsp sesame seeds

½ tsp poppy seeds½ tsp garlic

Salt and pepper - Preheat oven to 450 degrees - Mix olive oil, curry powder, sesame and poppy seeds, salt and pepper together - Coat veggies with flavored olive oil, I do this by mixing them all together in a bowl - Dump veggies in 2 aluminum foiled roasting pans - Roast in oven for 45 mins, stirring once halfway through

Panko Crusted Pork Cutlets

Ingredients:

4 1/2 inch thick pork cutlets (remove fat with paring knife, I also like to pound mine with a mallet to get equal thickness)

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 cup (gluten free) panko bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper

1 egg

2 swigs of olive oil (coat bottom of pan)

- Lightly beat egg in a shallow bowl

- Combine panko bread crumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, parsly, salt and pepper together in another shallow bowl (you can get creative with seasonings here)

- Dip pork cutlets in egg then coat with panko mixture, press down until fully covered

- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, until olive oil is shimmering

- Pan fry pork cutlets on each side about 5 minutres until golden brown and cooked through

Yet another, super easy, super yummy recipe! Hope you love these as much as my family does. We ate these with green beans and sweet potato last night. Enjoy!

My Mom's Lentils

This was one of my very favorite things my mom would make when I was growing up. Now, it's one of my favorite, easy go to recipes. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

3 leeks, chopped (just the white part)

2 cups diced button mushrooms

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 bag shredded carrots (you can chop, I'm just lazy)

1 28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

2 cups lentils (you can use yellow or red)

8 cups chicken stock or water

1 bag spinach

Salt, Pepper, Tabasco to taste

- Heat olive oil over medium heat  in large stock pot, add leeks, mushrooms, garlic, and carrots. Cook, stirring occassionally, until slightly softened, about 6 minutes

- Add fire roasted tomatoes, lentils, and chicken stock

- Turn up heat to medium high and stir thoroughly. Let simmer with lid tilted off. Cook until lentils are soft and liquid is almost all gone, about 30-45 minutes

- Add spinach, stir and cover with lid until wilted

- Salt, Pepper, and Tabasco to your taste preference

This recipe makes about 10 servings; it heats up wonderfully and can even be frozen.

Is snacking really that good for you?

I read an interesting post this week about a mom who has had it with constantly being asked to bring snacks for her kids' every event.  While it's true we typically advocate snacking, it made me wonder if it really is appropriate for everyone out there.  This lady writer had a point.  We never had the vending machines and food on every corner like we do today- and I distinctly remember my parents telling me not to eat too much in the afternoon or I would spoil my dinner. So I took a look into the research and found only 2 studied reasons that would have us closing our lips to those scrumptious snacks:

First, a recent study examined the impact of a snack consumed after a standard lunch but before the subjects became hungry. The researchers fed subjects a snack (400 kcal) at various times after a 1300-kcal lunch when they were not hungry. The snack neither reduced the amount of food consumed at the dinner meal nor increased the time before the subjects requested their dinner meal.  Therefore, snacking when you are aren't hungry may only add to your total caloric consumption without adequately changing our total daily input in the end.

Second, it would appear that we are less likely to need the smaller more frequent meals when we eat a lower glycemic loaded meal than a higher one.  A high glycemic meal would be anything that causes a sharp rise in insulin, so things like refined carbohydrates and sugar.  IN other words, when we make better choices with our meals by eating foods high in fiber, healthy fat, and protein, we automatically reduce our need for snacks because our body takes longer to digest these foods, and therefore doesn't need the frequent snacking to keep up it's metabolism.

That said, there are so many studies supporting the use of snacking for so many beneficial reasons, it seems ridiculous not to have a snack or 2 a day as long as you are aware of your total intake over the course of the day and adjust your portions accordingly.  Here's some of the many studied benefits to snacking a couple times a day:

• Weight maintenance: One study used NHANES data to determine associations between snacking frequency and overweight/abdominal obesity. The study found inverse relationships between snacking frequency and mean body weight, BMI, the percentile of BMI-for-age, and waist circumference among participating adolescents. In this same study, prevalence for over-weight/obesity and the occurrence of abdominal obesity decreased as snacking frequency and energy consumed from snacks increased.
• Weight Loss: Hunger is more intense before meals than before snacks. The satiety ratio was quantified and found to be higher for snacks than meals.
• Sustained energy: Eating a morning snack can help offset the effect of a small breakfast (although getting a big breakfast is preferred!)
• Improves diet quality: When we aren't starving we make better choices.
• Helps manage Diabetes
• Assists in raising healthy eaters
• Prevents pre-term deliveries in pregnancy

Overall the verdict is still out, but more often than not, eating small snacks is a good choice.  Especially when that choice includes veggies, fruits, and healthy fats.

Here's a list of 100 healthy snacks under 100 calories to get you packing those yummy snacks!

Quinoa Bison Chili

This is yet another fabulous recipe that I was lucky enough to have a friend share with me. Thanks Jared!  Sick of the regular chicken and beef? Switch it up with some yummy bison!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Quinoa 3 Cups organic Chicken Broth 1 Diced red onion 1 lb organic ground bison 2 diced green peppers 2 tablespoons minced garlic 15 ounces precooked kidney beans 1/2 cup corn 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons coriander

- Add quinoa and chicken broth to a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

- While quinoa is cooking, combine red onion and bison meat in a large skillet. Cook for ten minutes on medium heat, stirring often.

- Add peppers, garlic, kidney beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, and coriander. Cook on medium-low until the bison is heated through and the peppers are tender.

- Season chili to taste with salt and pepper, then mix with quinoa and serve.

Chili is chockfull of protein, fiber, and iron... delicious and healthy, our favorite! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Cakes

My next door neighbor (the one with the chickens that I've told a lot of you all about,) Sarah, came up with this wonderful recipe and was kind enough to share it with me. Thanks Sarah!!

Ingredients:

1 cup dried quinoa

2 cups Vegetable (beef, chicken, etc) broth

1 sweet potato grated

1 cup Italian flavor bread crumbs (gluten free if you’d like)

3 eggs

1 small onion diced fine

3 cloves garlic pressed

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste

Salt and black pepper to taste

- Combine dried quinoa and broth in microwave safe container and microwave for 3 minutes loosely covered.

- Stir and return to microwave for 3 additional minutes or until it starts "spiraling". Drain remaining liquid.

- Combine cooked quinoa with all other ingredients in large bowl.

- Heat skillet to medium high with enough olive oil to liberally coat pan.

- Using 1/2 cup measure scoop quinoa mixture into pan and use spatula to flatten into patties. Cook approximately 3 minutes on each side, longer for more crisp patty.

- Enjoy with Greek yogurt and a sprig of fresh sweet basil or with honey mustard to dip.

Chicken and Veggie Red Curry

Serves 4 (with leftovers)

Ingredients:

1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast sliced in strips

Red curry paste

Coconut oil

Chopped garlic (liberal amount)

1/2 tblsp fresh grated ginger or store bought ginger paste

1 small onion sliced thin

2 julienne sliced peppers (2 different colors)

1 yellow squash, cut into bite size pieces

1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cans coconut milk

1 can water chestnuts

1 can bamboo shoots

1 packet of Truvia or Stevia (sugar)

All natural chili garlic sauce or sirracha (optional for some spicy heat)

-Heat large skillet (w/ lid)

-Heat 1 - 2 tblsp coconut oil in the pan

-Brown chicken strips in skillet.

-While browning, add ½ tblsp red curry paste to chicken and stir

-Dump out cooked chicken into bowl

-Add another 1-2 Tbls. Coconut Oil

-Place onion with chopped garlic and ½ tblsp ginger paste to pan and stir up brown bits of chicken

-Add peppers, yellow squash and mushrooms. Cover w/lid and cook until tender

-When veggies are close to done add 1 can water chestnuts and 1 can

bamboo shoots. Cook until warm

-Dump veggies into bowl w/chicken

-Put 2 tblsp red curry paste in pan and mix 2 cans coconut milk (you can add more coconut milk or some chicken stock if you prefer more broth) and mix thoroughly with a whisk

-Add 1 pack of Truvia or other natural sweetener and ½ tblsp of chili garlic sauce and stir

-Put chicken and veggies back in skillet and mix with sauce

-Simmer and serve hot over rice or rice noodles.

Avocado, Orange, and Jicama Salad

Dana brought this to our client appreciation BBQ a few weeks back... and it was awesome! Everyone love it, I highly recommend trying out this recipe. Thanks Dana!

Makes approximately 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 naval oranges, peeled and cut into sections; reserve juice

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

pinch cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 small jicama (approx 1 lb), peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

2 Haas avacados, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Optional: 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese (or cheese of choice, Dana left this out)

- Squeeze lime juice and whisk into orange juice reserved from slicing oranges in a bowl

- Add vinegar, oil, cayenne, salt and pepper

-  Pour juice mixture over jicama and let stand 15 minutes

- Fold in orange sections, avocado, cilantro, and cheese if desired

-  Serve and enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

8-10 pieces of chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, whatever you like)

1 box of Tandoori spice mix - You can find this at any Indian market. I bought Shan brand from the Indian Bazaar off 28th and Arapahoe in Boulder.

1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt (goat or cow)

-  Remove skin from chicken and cut a few slits in each piece

- In a mixing bowl, add yogurt and contents of spice packet. For a less spicy flavor, use more yogurt

- Add chicken to bowl and mix thorougly, marinade in refrigerator for 24 hrs

- Cook on medium-high on oiled (Pam, etc) grill for about 10 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degress

I like to serve this with a curry quinoa salad and fried spinach. The quinoa recipe will be posted as next week's recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 cooked rotisserie chicken, shredded with knife and fork (or hands!)

2 tbsp of olive oil

5 carrots, sliced into rounds

6 celery stocks, sliced

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pinch of dried parsly

1 pinch of dried basil

1 pinch of thyme

2 bay leaves

9 cups of chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cups cooked wild rice

- In big stock pan, add olive oil, onions, carrots, celery, garlic; keep on low medium heat, stirring frequently until vegetables are soft

-Add parsley, basil,  and thyme to pot; stir until fragrant

-Pour chicken stock into pan, add bay leaves and chicken; bring to a simmer

-Salt and pepper to taste and stir in rice

-Remove bay leaves and serve

Such an easy delicious soup, enjoy!!!!

Picnic Perfect Quiche

Ingredients:

1 Gluten-free frozen pie crust (I love the Whole Foods brand, rice flour one, so good!)

8 beaten eggs

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp olive oil

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 head of broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces (you can use frozen)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

- Heat oven to 375 degrees

- Remove frozen pie crust from freezer and let begin to thaw

- Heat pan on stove to medium heat, add olive oil

- Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes

- Add broccoli and red pepper, cook until all vegetable are soft

- Add garlic powder and salt and pepper

- Combine beaten eggs, almond milk and salt and pepper

- Pour mix of veggies into pie crust and pour egg mixture on top

-Place in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until cooked through

Super easy and super yummy! If you prefer a crispier crust, you can pre bake the crust for 15 minutes empty before adding the filling.

Delicious Quinoa Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp rasins  (dark or golden)

2 Tbsp dried apricots thinly sliced

1 cup cooked red or white quinoa

1 large lemon, squeezed

Salt to taste

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 Tsp ground coriander

1/4 Tsp ground cumin

1/4 Tsp sweet paprika

2 medium ripe avocados, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp chopped almonds

Pepper to taste

- In a medium bowl, soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside

- Whisk juice from lemon in a small bowl with olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika

- In a large bowl toss the vinaigrette  with the quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste

This quinoa salad is delicious both warm and cold, enjoy! Thanks to Gloria for sharing this recipe with us.

Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice

Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil 1 lb chicken, cut into thin strips 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic 1/2 tbsp shredded ginger 1 zucchini, finely chopped 1 yellow squash, finely chopped 1 cup broccoli florets 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped 1/2 cup peas (I used frozen) 4 cups cooked brown rice 3 eggs, scrambled Bragg's liquid amino acids to taste, throughout whole process

-Heat oil in a large pan to medium-high heat, add onion, garlic and ginger. Sautee for 2 mins, stirring -Add chicken strips and cook until browned and cooked through. Flavor with liquid aminos. Remove from pan -Add zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, carrots and peas. Sauté and flavor with aminos until softened. Remove from pan -Add brown rice to pan and stir for 2 mins, again adding liquid aminos -Push rice aside in pan leaving an empty space. Pour eggs into this space and mix quickly until scrambled. They will cook quickly, make sure to scramble until small pieces. -Place chicken and veggies back into pan and mix thoroughly -Add more liquid aminos if desired