Thai Peanut Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Such a good meal! And not too time consuming. I baked the sweet potato this morning in the toaster oven and then just had to make the sauce and steam the broccoli (in the microwave) to finish it off this evening. The sauce was super tasty with peanut butter, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar and lime juice. Plus some green onion and chopped cashews on top! A delicious and filling meal.


http://sharedappetite.com/recipes/thai-peanut-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/

Healthy Eating Requires Grocery Shopping!

We have all been so busy with finals that we hadn't gone grocery shopping in a long time! I was out of fresh produce for days! But we finally went to the market and I made the best salad for lunch. I grilled up some asparagus and made a bomb meal:

Spinach, kale, asparagus, tomato, bell pepper, green onion, kidney beans, sunflower seeds and a bit of shredded cheese. Delish! 

I am so happy to have a fridge stocked with veggies!

Tex mex Spaghetti Squash Magical Boats

 Now lemme tell you...it is not every day that you create something as magical and genius as this. This is, honestly, one of the most delicious, filling, nutritious and complete vegetarian dinners I have found. Seriously. If a vegetarian is coming over for dinner, this is what you should make. It's got it all. Beans and cheese for protein, a heaping serving of veggies, and a whole lotta great flavor. Here is the recipe and boy do they have some great photos as well.

http://ifoodreal.com/tex-mex-spaghetti-squash-boats-recipe/

• spaghetti squash
• onion
• garlic cloves
•  bell pepper
• red kidney beans
• chili powder
•  canned mild green chilis 
•  tomato sauce
• cilantro (I was missing this, oops)
• Tex Mex shredded cheese

It's that simple! Seriously, you just pop in the squash and while it is cooking you saute up your bell pepper, onion and garlic. Then you mix that with your beans, chilies,  tomato sauce and cilantro. Then just fill up the boats, top with cheese and stick them back in for a few minutes.


Aww yeah that's a nice view. Seriously, I can't even describe how good these are. You feel so full but you know you have put some serious nutrition into your body. 100% recomendable! Plus they will feed you for multiple meals! Bonus!

Update: I made this again on 2/19/16 and a suggestion:
I really love lots of sauce with spaghetti squash; it really transforms it. So for me, this didn't have enough sauce. So I dumped a bunch of salsa on top (like really a lot), and that really elevated this to a new level. Next time I think I will put a layer of tomato sauce (and more green chilis) on top of the bean mixture before putting on the cheese. I just love saucy spaghetti squash!

Quinoa Salad

Yum! It has been a long time since I made quinoa! This dish was a bit experimental because I cooked the quinoa in vegetable broth and also put zucchini in to cook with the quinoa. It worked perfectly! Although quinoa absorbs whatever flavor so the broth flavor was strong. But I added seasonings and it tasted great! 

I added: lemon juice, lemon zest, tomato, parsley, pinenuts, and curry powder. 

Great on a salad! 

Passover

Matzah brei!! (did I spell that right?) Woohoo! Just like my dad taught me. Except I added mushrooms too!

Ive been eating a lot of matzah this week. My housemates really enjoyed the matzah ball soup I made. I filled it with lots of carrot and celery for veggies. They also loved the macaroons! 

For the seder I made these yummy roasted carrots, served cold with cumin, lemon juice, parsley and cayene. 

Yay Passover! 

This week in food

This week was both good and bad for food. Basically I ate healthy stuff during the day but then ate too much junk at night. 

But let's focus on the positive!

Here is a lovely and nutritious breakfast of strawberries, yogurt, chia seed and go lean crunch.

Savory oatmeal! Green onion and cheddar cheese mixed in with a soft egg on top. 

Simple salad of black beans, corn, cilantro, shredded kale, cucumber, olive oil and lime juice. My housemate suggested adding cold quinoa for a quinoa salad.

Kale mini frittatas with goat cheese on top. Must have overcooked them cause they had a spongy texture but still good taste. 

Strawberry, yogurt and chia smoothie with a splash of almond milk and a squeeze of orange. 

Pasta dinner with kale and yellow squash. Mixed in some sunflower seeds and goat cheese as well! Creamy! 

Whoo quite a week! So yes I am getting healthy food. I just need to stop with the night time snacking. Have faith!

Spring time Kale Salad- Delish!

Oh boy did I hit the jackpot with this recipe.

Barely off the plane and back at school and I'm already feeling the spring time fever!

Honestly the pictures on the recipe site do this salad better justice than my own. Wow. So many fresh ingredients and such a flavorful but simple dressing! Love, love, love this salad.

Kale
Peapods
Carrot (I never thought of using a vegetable peeler to cut it!)
Edamame
Avocado
Shallot
Thai Basil (oh my gosh this absolutely made the salad! Almost died just smelling it)
Cilantro
(and I forgot to buy the bell pepper)

And the dressing is so flavorful!!!!

olive oil, rice vinegar, grated ginger, soy sauce, lime juice and minced garlic

http://cookieandkate.com/2013/chopped-kale-salad-with-edamame-carrot-and-avocado/

I made the salad last night and shared it with my housemate and then had it for lunch again today. And now it is gone! That is the only sad part.
I will admit that this salad requires quite a bit of prep work, and some of the ingredients (herbs especially) are a bit pricier than your average salad ingredients.

But so worth it! I am definitely gonna try out some other salads this lovely spring season.

And here is my own pic, just because. But seriously, her pictures on the website truly show the awe inspiring beauty of this salad.

One tip I recommend. I let the salad sit in the dressing for about 20 minutes. I think this helps soften the kale. Also, always remember that ingredients can be prepped ahead of time! 

Cauliflower crust pizza!!

If you're looking for more evidence that cauliflower is pure magic, look no further than the cauliflower crust pizza. I originally wrote this post in 2014 but I felt I didn't do it justice, so decided it was time for an update.

I originally used this recipe, which is absolutely delicious (see the mouthwatering photo below), and mainly just cauliflower and mozzarella cheese (doesn't get much better).

More recently I tried this recipe, which happens to be dairy free! Instead of a cup of mozzarella, it uses a bit of nutritional yeast, almond flour, and olive oil to hold it together! We even topped this one with vegan cheese, and it was delicious! A flavorful sauce and lots of veggies does wonders.

But you really can't go wrong with either recipe. The main trick is to make sure you have a large clean dish cloth so you can squeeze out as much water as possible. 

Also, whenever I've made this pizza, it's always been a knife and fork affair. Part of this may be due to how much water was squeezed out. But I think it also has to do with how much you prebake the crust before adding the toppings. Don't be afraid to let the edges get a bit toasty. It will be delicious either way, but it might be worth it to sacrifice a bit of crust so that the rest of the pizza gets firmer, and you may even be able to pick it up! 

In summary, if you make any recipe on my blog, please let it be this pizza. 

Quinoa Veggie Mini Frittatas

Yum! Realized I hadn't used quinoa in awhile so made some protein packed mini frittatas!

Filled with broccoli plus some peas, onion, spinach and tomato! Then quinoa and sharp cheddar cheese. Lastly some egg to hold it all together.

The quinoa blended in really nicely and they were delicious! I would have preferred a ton more cheese, but at only 100 calories each they were quite remarkable. And perfect for muffin tins. 

Perfect for a quick dinner or on the go breakfast!

Slow cooker Sweet Potato, Carrot and Lentil Soup

So yesterday I saw my housemates slow cooker sitting on the counter and inspiration struck. I googled a few different recipes and ended up winging it and throwing a bunch of stuff in a pot. Specifically, a sweet potato, some carrots, red lentils and onion. Plus some curry powder and a dash of cumin and cinnamon. And vegetable broth! Then I put it on low and let it sit all day.

And tada! A hearty and healthy and delicious and flavorful thick warm winter soup! 

Notes to self: presoak the lentils! For some reason, even after hours and hours, they were still crunchy...mysterious

Tortilla de guisantes!

Am I back in Spain? Made myself some delicious tortilla! Just eggs, peas and a tiny bit of parmesan. Yum yum!

Introducing...brussel sprouts!!!

Yesterday involved a bit too much snacking, so today, to make up for it, I made myself a veggie filled dinner! 

My avocado was finally ripe, so I first made a salad with avocado, cucumber and tomato and squeezed lemon juice with balsamic vinegar on top as a dressing. Then I took my brussels sprouts (YAY) and roasted them in the oven at 400 degrees. I had read online that you can char the outer leaves that you peel off in a pan on the stove. They weren't amazing, but they were ok. But the brussels were super yummy! I added a bit of a no-salt seasoning I had just gotten, which must have some lemon in it or something, and they were delicious. Jyoti tried one for the first time and loved them! Definitely going to make them a staple in our house. I know my mom and dad aren't big fans, but seriously, this veggie is awesomeeee! 

Anyways, these veggies sure filled me up. And after I digested, I went to the gym and ran on the elliptical for half an hour. Feeling good! 

Chili Chili Chili!

Wowwee! I have made more chili than I know what to do with! 

I made it last night and I found the recipe in a Vegetarian cook book that my housemate has! It is full full full of veggies!

We've got eggplant, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, kidney and black beans for protein, corn and tomatoes of course. Plus chili powder, cumin and oregano for seasoning. It took awhile to prep all the veggies but it was well worth it! I made enough to last me the rest of the winter.

Huge pot and it smells great! Put one big container in the fridge and one in the freezer!

Vegan Quinoa Lentil Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

Wow was yesterday an ambitious cooking day! I made veggie burgers...from scratch!
AND they were vegan...and they were delicious!

I highly recommend this recipe. It is amazing to stick on top of a salad with a little sweet chili sauce. It packs so much flavor and adds some great protein and healthy carbs to a meal.

http://86lemons.com/vegan-sweet-potato-quinoa-burger/

Here is the ingredient list:

cooked brown lentils, cooked quinoa, sweet potato

sauteed onion and garlic, carrot, kale, oats, ground cumin, ground coriander, curry powder, ketchup, chili sauce (Sriracha), fresh cilantro

Amazing! All the ingredients are so healthy and fresh. Filled with protein and veggies. One of my big pet peeves with restaurant veggie burgers is they often have hardly any veggies!

I will say that it is time consuming to chop up everything, but I made the lentils and quinoa the day before, so at least that was out of the way. I used a white sweet potato even though they recommended orange, but it worked perfectly! In fact, my housemates and I thought they ended up tasting like samosas (due to the potato and curry powder).




After mixing all the ingredients





They did not hold together perfectly, but they were delicioius!


As you can see in the picture, they did not hold together as burgers completely well, but I honestly don't think I would want them on a bun. It was delicious by itself, with some sweet chili sauce and a side salad. A perfect meal. And now I have seven more in the freezer to whip out for a quick and easy meal (I froze them after cooking so they would be ready to just microwave and eat).

I can't stress enough how delicious these are!

Successful cooking!