Lemon Garlic Quinoa

 

 

 

Well this whole food week has gone pretty good. I have really tried to put a lot of thought into my meals. I usually start the day with  a shake, then I have a lunch with a lot of fruits and veggies and maybe like a string cheese or something.

 

I ended up making some awesome steamed asparagus and baked chicken with a lemon, garlic quinoa!  I just kind of played around with some ingredients a I had so we didn't just have plain quinoa, it turned out really great! Super easy and an awesome healthy side for an awesome dinner.

 

Whole food living can be difficult, especially when you work or are chasing kiddos everywhere. I'm a big fan of pre planning and even pre- packaging your lunches...it's easy and all ready for you. The number one tip to remember is to stay as close to nature as possible and you'll be golden!

Lemon Garlic Quinoa

 

1 cup uncooked quinoa

 

1/2 lemon

 

1 garlic clove, minced

 

2 cups of water

 

Add quinoa and water to a medium sized sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 lemon and garlic clove. Reduce to a simmer for another 10-15 minutes until water is all absorbed. Serve warm~ Enjoy

 

 

 

 

 



Chicken Lentil Soup

Fall is here and soups comfort my soul! I had a friend who asked for a soup that used lentils. I love lentils, and I love lentil soup...some though find lentils an acquired taste. I admit if you don't season things good when using lentils they can be quite bland.

This soup is chuck full of stuff! It's hearty, healthy and perfect for a chilly day. I felt mine had a good flavor, a good consistency. However my basil kind of spilled into the soup so I had a little too much basil. I'll put the correct amount though- hopefully you don't have the same problem! Also, this soup is so easily turned vegan/vegetarian...just leave out the chicken. What other soups do you like? Do you prefer really hearty soups with lots of textures, or do you prefer a really smooth soup texture?

Chicken Lentil Soup

6 cups vegetable broth

4 small potatoes, cubed

1 1/4 C lentils

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 T basil

1 T garlic, minced

 salt and pepper to taste

dash of red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cup cubed cooked chicken

Add broth to a large pot. Add cubed potatoes with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes covered. Add lentils, quinoa, basil, and garlic. Simmer for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender. 

This is optional- I put half of the soup into the blender and blended it. Then poured it back into the pot. You don't have to do that if you don't like that consistency. 

Add cubed chicken and cover and simmer together for another 5 minutes!

Remove from heat and serve! Enjoy

Lite Ham and Cheese Skillet

Oh my today was comfort food day!!! I have a weakness and it's pasta! I try to avoid pasta as much as I can although it is my achilles heel, I have a difficult time losing weight when I eat too many breads and pastas...like a lot of people. But tonight screamed comfort food! It's cold and wet and winter is creeping it's frosty head around the corner. 

I wanted to take an old recipe that I had that definetly added to the waist line and simply Lighten it up! Well I can honestly say I like...rephrase...LOVE the new version better than my heavy, fattening first version. 

I used almond milk with a can of evaporated milk in place of half a stick of butter and cow's milk. I have to say the almond milk gave it such a pleasent nutty flavor that even my picky husband was raving about it. He asked me three times tonight if he had thanked me for dinner...either he is losing his memory and I should worry....or he really liked it. 

You can make this vegetarian by leaving the ham cubes out, which also would lighten it up even more...I added them...and I liked it! The next best thing is this is soooo easy to make! It took me 25 minutes start to finish. And it can be a one dish dinner!

One of my littles has reversed her taste for broccoli...once she loved the stuff...now she turns up her nose when she smells it steaming. So what have I been serving lately...broccoli. If you have bought and read my ebook you know that I mention that kids sometimes take 20+ times to realize they like a healthy food- and even sometimes they may change their mind. The important thing is is that you keep trying, keep serving it and don't give up, so this is the reason I added broccoli, you could add any veggie you would like and I'm sure it would be delightful. I used 100% whole grain rotini. This is something you need to watch out for- make sure your pasta boxes say 100% whole grain...even though it says wheat pasta the majority of the time it will say 51% whole wheat or whole grain...tricky. 

If you are ready for comfort food, that I would consider not completely 100% healthy, but still a much lighter healthier version...then you are in for a treat with this recipe~

Lite Ham and Cheese Skillet

1 Box Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Rotini

1 c cubed ham

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 cup Almond milk

1 can evaporated milk

2 cups of chopped broccoli crowns

In large pot cook pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, in a medium sauce pot heat almond milk, evaporated milk, ham, and broccoli over med heat. Stir often to avoid burning the milk. When pasta is al dente drain and place into a skillet. Pour milk mixture over the pasta and continue to heat over med-low until sauce begins to thicken, add cheese and stir into pasta. Cook for another five minutes or until the sauce is very thick and creamy! Serve with a nice salad! Enjoy!

Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad

I am so addicted to Quinoa lately, it is so easy and so nutritious. I have gotten serious lately about my baby pounds shedding...my progress was a little slower than I had wanted, I probably wasn't eating as well as I should though. So this week I have really gotten it in gear and have really been feeling wonderful. It's amazing how much revolves around what we put into our bodies. I was having intense tension headaches, they have left already and it's only been two days. I feel that my mood is better, which my little people enjoy, bear mom is not appealing. I also feel I have more energy which is priceless for me right now with my sweet little guy graciously waking me up in the middle of the night...and trust me this kid likes to play at night...it takes a good hour to an hour and a half to get that pumpkin snoozing again. 

Anyways on to the food. I saw this recipe here and it sounded delightful to me. Well the finished product did not disappoint and do you know the coolest thing ever...my kids devoured it! Seriously I watched my two year old son for the first time ever just stuff a piece of zucchini in his mouth without even blinking...and it stayed in his mouth! No spitting it back out...the only problem with this is I didn't make enough! Seriously even my husband said "Go ahead and make this again it's really good"

I hate the texture of peppers but even I ate every bite including the peppers. This is full of delicious bright vegetables and full of flavor. I hope you whip this up as the meal or as the side. your family will love it!

Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad

1 cup Quinoa

1 zucchini

1/2 c shredded carrot (I used a full size carrot and grated it myself so it was very fine)

1 yellow pepper

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

dash of red pepper flakes

half a lime

Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water. Meanwhile heat oil in skillet, add peppers, onions, carrot, and garlic. Cook over med-low heat until tender, add zucchini, almonds and red pepper flakes. Continue to cook until zucchini is tender. When Quinoa is cooked add quinoa to skillet to combine flavors. Right before you serve it squeeze lime juice over the top to give the flavors some kick! Enjoy!

Ham Fried Quinoa

I don't know about all of you, but I am all about fast meals that area good for you. Since our little babe joined our family I'm finding less and less free time to really sit and prepare this wonderful masterpiece that includes all the food groups in perfect quantities and delicious flavors...that is not reality.

So quick weeknight meals that have a lot of nutrition are what I'm about at this point in my life. Maybe I'll be able to do that well thought out process again in a few years, but as of right now a full of energy four year old, a mischevious two year old, and a needy newborn claim my time and hands.

I saw a recipe for chicken fried quinoa here and I decided to make my own spin on things to fit my tastes and what my family likes.

I love broccoli. I usually like to use the peas also in asian style meals, however I made this for my mom also who is deathly allergic to peas... random I know...anyways I loved how the use of broccoli as the main veggie turned out. I also used the cubed ham for speed and ease at this point, you can use any meat really or go totally meatless it's really what you like. I am obsessed with quinoa and it's many uses and nutrition that it brings. I'd take this ham fried quinoa over ham fried rice any day!!! Enjoy

P.S. I fed the baby while the rest of the family ate this, it was totally gone before I could get a picture of the final result....what does that tell you :)

Ham Fried Quinoa

1 cup uncooked Quinoa

1 cup broccoli slaw

1 bunch chopped broccoli

1/2 bag cubed ham

3 T low sodium soy sauce- divided

1 cup water

Add quinoa to pot with two cups of water. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes until most liquid is gone and quinoa is tender. Meanwhile, add water, broccoli and broccoli slaw to large skillet. Cover and let simmer and steam over med-low heat for 5-7 minutes. Add cubed ham and 1 1/2 T soy sauce. Cover and continue to simmer and steam. When quinoa is done add quinoa to the skillet with remaining soy sauce. Uncover and heat together in the skillet for another 5 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed and vegetables are tender. Serve hot! Enjoy

Other add ins

an egg scrambled

chicken

peas

carrots

onion

green onion

peppers

Hearty Fall Crock Pot Vegetable Soup

Crisp fall air just screams for soup that warms your whole body. It is beautiful during this season, the leaves all up and down my street are so colorful...the only problem is...the bugs are trying to come inside for the winter! Seriously they are everywhere!

 

But one thing I look forward to is soup, soup and more soup...maybe a few bread bowls thrown in there. In the past most of my soups contained a lot of cream and cheese. If I'm going for creamy soup I try to stick to a cashew cream sauce base instead of cream cheese!

Soup is so diverse also since you can use almost anything you have on hand and usually turn up with a great tasting creation! That's what happened with this hearty vegetable soup. It was delicious and I used vegetables I just had in my fridge. It was so simple and may entire family devoured it. I made some homemade garlic biscuits to go with it and it was a very filling meal. I made this soup in the crock pot but you could easily do this on the stove top if you wanted to! Enjoy--this is sure to warm you up and make your stomach's very happy!

 

Fall Vegetable Soup

 

3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 large carrots chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 head cauliflower

1 c fresh or frozen peas

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

2 c vegetable or chicken broth (low sodium)

2 c water

1 T Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

 

Heat small amount of olive oil  to a skillet add chopped onion. Saute for about 7 minutes over med-high heat, add garlic. Saute together another 2 min. Reduce heat to medium and add all remaining vegetables. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until the potatoes begin to get somewhat soft and onions are translucent (this sauteing is what really pops the flavor). Meanwhile add tomatoes, broth and water to a crock pot. Add seasonings to skillet over the vegetables. Add vegetables to the crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours! You can mash the potatoes against the side of the crock pot once cooked to thicken it up! Enjoy

 

 

 

 

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Spaghetti Squash Vegan Alfredo

I've been thinking lately about how many people I've come in contact with that are choosing gluten free for health or because they have an allergy. My mom has Celiac disease so I'm very familiar with gluten free living, and now my sister has put my nephew on a gluten free diet. My cute little nephew is lactose intolerant as well and still having some tummy issues so the doctor suggested gluten free. 

Tonight's dinner was made with my cute nephew in mind. Dairy free and gluten free! I wasn't sure how my kids would like tonight's dinner...I kept waiting to see if they could tell that these noodles weren't quite the same. Well the end result....I think they could tell but that didn't stop them. To my surprise my son ate better than my daughter and the last few weeks it's been like pulling teeth to get him to actually eat what I put in front of him and not play with it!

This is a thick alfredo sauce...it isn't conventional alfredo sauce, but it still tasted rich and creamy even though it was vegan. I typically try and stick with a very natural whole food diet, but every once in awhile I'll add some of these mixes. We used Tofutti products, they are dairy free, but still processed so not so whole foods I'd say. But they have much less fat than regular cream cheese...pick your battles!

I want to include a step by step guide for preparing the "spaghetti" of the squash if you're unfamiliar with it...it is so simple!

1. Poke holes in the squash with large fork or knife

2. Bake in the oven for 1 hour at 375 degrees

3. Cut the squash in half lengthwise

4. take out seeds with a fork

5. With the fork shred the sides of the squash until all the noodley squash is out! 

And your done!

It is one of the easiest squash to cut and prepare in my opinion, it just takes some time to bake!

Well how about that sauce recipe then huh?

3-4 T vegan cream cheese

1-2 T vegan sour cream

1/2 c soy milk or dairy free milk

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

dash of red pepper flakes

pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium until everything has melted down. Stir over med-low for 5 minutes! Enjoy

Pretty easy right? Talk about a great way to get some veggies into your family all the while having an allergen free meal! It's a great day!

Deep Dish Vegetarian Pizza

My goodness today has been great! Unfortunately sometimes our Sundays are on the go and busy busy, whatever happened to the day of rest in this house I'll never know. Due to Derek's school schedule he often has to work Sunday nights so rarely gets to eat Sunday dinner with us, but today was a different schedule and we finally sat down to a delicious family dinner!

I had been wanting to make some homemade pizza for awhile now. I originally was intending to make this pizza vegan, but I caved guys, I did. I used a little bit of fresh mozzarella cheese...and it was tasty!

We added the Boca crumbles and it turned into almost a hamburger type pizza without the ground beef! If you don't believe me that this tasted like ground beef, I don't know what else I can say...I am amazed at how much the Boca crumbles resemble ground beef, in texture and taste...I don't know it's been a long time since I've had it, but these are great!

I wanted to add some greens to the pizza so I added a good helping of spinach and it was perfect! This pizza is now gone, yes my kids ate about three pieces and maybe Derek and I had a few more...don't judge!

My little boy is still being funny when he eats, the fork has become the greatest toy he has. He just sits there and stabs food and scoots it all over his plate...it's cute but getting really old. Sometimes I really start to worry about his calorie, fat and protein intake...but he still is my chunk so each day I'm going to just keep trying!

You will love this pizza, it doesn't have to be deep dish- I just felt like making it that way! Adding  a delicious green salad turns this into a rockin' Sunday dinner!

Deep Dish Vegetarian Pizza

Crust

1 3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/4 c wheat germ

1 packet instant yeast

1 tsp salt

1/2 T raw sugar

1 T honey

1 c warm water

Combine water, yeast and sugar to a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. Combine salt, wheat germ and flour to a large bowl and mix in yeast mixture. When it is wet add honey and mix it in well. Mold to form a sort of ball in the bowl. Cover and set it in a warm place for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Flatten dough into a greased deep baking dish and poke holes with a fork all over it. Pre bake for 10 minutes remove from oven. 

Toppings

1/2 bag Boca crumbles

5 chopped mushrooms

1 minced onion

1 T Italian seasoning

1/2 can tomato sauce

1 large handful of spinach

Mozzarella cheese as desired

 In a skilled add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add onion, mushrooms, and boca crumbles. Heat until crumbles are browned and onions are somewhat translucent.Pour tomato sauce over the pre-baked crust and add Italian seasonings, spread evenly over crust. Add mozzarella cheese, then Boca and vegetables. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until cheese has melted and crust is baked through. 

I forgot to grease my pan so ours turned into more of a pizza casserole since it kind of stuck, but it still tasted delicious.

Again this doesn't need to be a deep dish pizza, it's just what we were craving! 

Skinny Enchiladas- trial 2

These magnificent enchiladas were initially intended to be part of the crock pot challenge. Well it ended up very mushy and a weird texture....so I ended up just baking them.

These are full of nutrients...seriously guys so good! I loved every bite and even told my husband "These are perfect for neighbor food! You know after a baby comes or something I'm taking these!" Everyone loved them...well my son is still being funny with food...he threw a lot of it, but my three year old gobbled them up like she had never eaten before!

Derek suggested that I call them What?! No Meat Enchiladas...catchy but I don't know I just didn't. These are ideal for the fall season that will be here in no time, they were colorful and delicious and I will be making these again shortly I'm sure! You can have a gluten free option by just using corn tortillas.

I added maybe a half a tablespoon of shredded cheese, I don't know why- I just did. It added nothing to this dish I couldn't even taste it, so next time I'll leave the unnecessary saturated fat out! I also found this adorable little bag of butternut squash pre-cut into perfect little squares so I didn't have to cut and peel a squash. If you guys want a delicious healthy, fall  meal to impress your family's without adding to the hips...ladies am I right? Then these are for you!

Skinny Enchiladas

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans or chili beans

1 c cubed butternut squash

1 handful of spinach finely chopped

1 can green chili enchilada sauce

1 T nutritional yeast

1 c cooked brown rice

10 whole wheat tortillas (or corn)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and rinse beans. In a small bowl combine beans, squash, spinach, rice and a tablespoon of enchilada sauce. Coat well. In a baking dish fill tortillas with bean mixture and roll the tortillas over the mixture. 

top with remaining enchilada sauce, nutritional yeast and a small amount of cheese if you'd like. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve with salad and corn!!! You can thank me later!!!!

This is all that was left after we devoured them!

Crock Pot Light Alfredo Sauce

Why do you suppose that creamy, thick sauce smothering pasta is so comforting? If you are like me I adore pasta sauces - the creamier the better. Cream does not sit well with healthy diet. Dairy can be harmful to our bodies and cream is full of fat!

My previously favorite dish was Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo- a classic. My brother-in-law works at Olive Garden while he is going to school and he spilled the beans on how many calories this dish held! 1700 calories!!!!!! I always ate it all!!! I never ate it again even before I began eating better...that number was constantly flashing into my mind!

I really wanted to try and lighten up an Alfredo dish so we could eat it a little more carefree! Now there are a lot of ways to make cream sauces, most of the ways I've found still have a high fat content. If you use nuts obviously it will be better fats for you. This sauce is not made from nuts, I used Vegan Cream Cheese Alternative. It was lower in fats, about 9 grams a serving, than regular cream cheese, but still no where near fat free. So I only tried this dinner tonight since I'm trying to stick to my challenge this week! It was hard not to keep eating it. I used vegetables instead of pasta to give the kids a healthy helping of their greens.

To be honest this meal took some persuading to get them to try it. After the first bite though, there was no more persuading it sold itself! I loved the flavor, it will still be eaten sparingly in this house, but a much better option than traditional Alfredo Sauce.

Light Alfredo Sauce (vegan)

1 container of vegan cream cheese alternative, like tofutti

1 C soy milk

2 cloves garlic minced

1  T nutmeg

1 T paprika

1 1/2 T Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Pepper to taste

Add ingredients to the crock pot cook on low for 3 hours. Stirring occasionally to make sure flavors are blending! Serve over cooked zucchini noodles and mixed vegetables or  your favorite pasta!

* this tasted so great with the veggies I think this would make an excellent veggie dip or bread stick dip, what do you think?

Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili

Fall is in the air! I love chili during the cooler months- we especially love chili on Halloween with some cornbread to dip into it! There always seem to be parties and get together and chili is the eatable guest of honor! I love the spicy flavors all meshed into one awesome bite! That is why I love the crock pot for soups...it just seems to blend it so well together.

This vegetarian chili cannot be beat with how easy it is. Seriously this is a "drop" soup....all you do is drop everything into the crock pot and walk away! Easy Peasy!

My kids always devour this bad boy! It is filling and if your looking for a meat chili you can easily add ground turkey to this, but it is so satisfying even without meat! We love it! Chili and cornbread here we come! Welcome the Fall season and make this easy dinner tonight!

Vegetarian Chili

1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)

2 c vegetable stock

1 packet low sodium taco seasoning

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can pinto beans

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

1/2 onion, minced

1 T cumin

1/4 c nutritional yeast (optional)

Rinse all the beans together and drain liquid. Take 1/3 of the beans and mash them in a separate bowl. Add mashed beans and remaining ingredients to the crock pot. Do a quick stir to mix in the seasonings. Cook on high for 3-4 hours! Delicious, and easy! Enjoy 

Crock-Pot Vegetarian Lasagna

 Happy weekend to everyone! I've started adding a few new recipes to my crock-pot list like this fun little creation tonight! I know I called it lasagna, well that is because I had originally planned on using lasagna noodles. Unfortunately I was unable to find a whole grain or wheat lasagna noodle. It was all the enriched white pasta, so I opted for some whole grain penne.

Once again this is a very simple prep and comes out tasting great. I wanted to find a way to get the creamy cheesy feel back into a lasagna dish and I think this end result was really nice! There is plenty of wiggle room for this baby, add any vegetables you want and you will love it~

Vegetarian Lasagna

1 lb whole wheat pasta

1 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

2 T basil

1 T Italian seasoning

1 T parsley

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 c nutritional yeast

2 BIG handfuls of spinach

12 oz silken tofu

1/4 c almond milk

Combine tofu, milk, garlic, lemon juice yeast and 1 T of basil to a blender. Blend until well mixed, then add spinach. Pulse until there are only a few larger pieces of spinach left. Mix together tomato sauce and paste with bell pepper, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning and remaining basil in a medium bowl. Stir until pretty well combined, it's mostly just to blend the paste. Layer 1/3 of sauce on the bottom of crock pot add 1/3 of the uncooked pasta and 1/3 of blender mixture. Repeat layers until it is all used up. Cook on low for about 5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. You may need to stir it up sometimes to make sure the noodles are cooking evenly! Serve with salad! Yum!

* This is vegan, but if you'd like just vegetarian, add some Mozzarella  cheese on top and cook for 20-30 minutes!

Crock Pot Vegetarian Meatballs

This is an oxymoron if I ever heard! Vegetarian meatballs! Well I am here to say after experiencing this meal, no one can tell me that vegetarian/vegan meals are bland and boring! These were awesome! My little boy ate all of it! Seriously usually he never is full because he ends up throwing a lot of food on the ground, this one he actually was acting like he wanted to stop eating because he was FULL! These had excellent flavor and really were a great alternative to meatballs...obviously it didn't have a meaty taste, but texture wise they were almost twins!

These would be excellent with spaghetti or on subs! They do take some prep time outside of the crock- pot but they are still simple to make, it's just not quite like my crock pot mac and cheese where you just throw it all in! We had ours served over rice and it was fantastic! There is only one small ity, bity reason they aren't a completely vegan meal....I used onion soup mix for flavoring, and it has traces of milk so if you're looking for 100% vegan leave that mix out and season it with Mrs. Dash or other seasonings, me personally....I thought the onion soup mix made it fantastic! Meat lovers will love these too....if you're looking to add a few meatless meals in, you want to try this one.... you won't feel deprived I promise!

Crock Pot Vegetarian Meatballs

1 1/2 C lentils

2 c vegetable stock

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 packet of onion soup mix divided

1/2 onion

2 T ground flax seed

3 T cornstarch

1 can stewed or crushed tomatoes (28 oz)

1 can tomato paste

1 T Italian seasoning

1 T basil

In a sauce pan add lentils, vegetable stock, half onion soup mix and garlic and heat on med. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils have absorbed liquid. Meanwhile add tomatoes and tomato paste to the crock pot with Italian seasoning and basil. Begin to cook on high. Add chopped onion to a small skillet with small amount of olive oil and saute until cooked. Add onion, flax seed, cornstarch, remaining onion soup mix, and half of the lentil mixture to a food processor or blender. Blend until solid. Combine with remaining blender mixture and place in the fridge to cool for about an hour. Once it has cooled form into medium sized balls and place them in the crock pot. Cook for another 1 1/2 to two hours! Enjoy!

* you can also bake them if you want to for go the crock pot, just make the sauce in a skillet and bake the meatballs for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. I've never done it so I can't vouge for the end results! 

Crock Pot Peppermint Patty Brownies!

No dinner recipe to post this evening~ it's all sweet tooth tonight! These brownies have been made healthier, but still eat in moderation, the homemade sweetened condensed milk has some sugar in it! The good news....you can make these in a lot of different ways, I kept mine vegan, but you can use an egg, or real sweetened condensed milk, my version is just lighter in sugar than canned milk! It is much faster cook time in the oven for brownies, but you can't beat just throwing the ingredients in the crock pot and letting them cook themselves! And it was just kind of a fun shake up of things! These little babies are quite homely looking in my pictures, but they were so tasty, my kids wanted to eat all of them, I told them they had to save some for their dad who has been at school all day! I'd say these will be a nice treat for him to come home too!

The idea from crock pot brownies came from a blog I found on one of my many google searches for unique crock-pot meals! I obviously made some changes from the original to make it better for you, but I think they turned out as tasty as a brownie can be. 

Some ideas for revamping this recipe to make it your own, for your own tastes:

~ Blend 5 pitted dates with 1/2 C almond milk and throw that paste in for all sweeteners

~Use nuts instead of oats

~ add peppermint extract to the homemade sweetened condensed milk or brownie mix instead of using the candy peppermint patties

~ melt dark chocolate chips on top

~ Use a gluten free flour to make it gluten free

Wow, take your pick of how you make this, I'm sure it will still come out awesome!

Peppermint Patty Brownies

1 T vegan margarine

1 C water

1 chia -flax egg (1 T chia seed +1 T flax seed +3-4 T warm water)

1 1/2 C spelt flour (or any whole grain flour)

3/4 C cacao powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 C date paste (optional)

1/2 C oats

4-5 small peppermint patties

Homemade sweetened condensed milk

2 T vegan margarine

1/4 C raw turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw)

1 1/4 C vanilla soy milk

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional) 

Add 1 T margarine to crock-pot while on low. While it is melting begin making the sweetened condensed milk. In a small sauce pan add margarine and melt it, in another sauce pan add soy milk and bring to a low boil. Add sugar to melted margarine and stir constantly until it is a rolling boil. Combine with soy milk and heat until low boil. Stir in cinnamon.

After the margarine is melted in the crock pot add the chia -flax egg, water and brownie mix (make sure you mix the dry ingredients together first) Mix until the dry ingredients are wet,

 add sweetened condensed milk and top with oats.

 Cook on low for 2-3 hours. Check with a fork and see if it is done. Add patties to the top and cook another 30-45 minutes. Enjoy

* if you use a date paste add the paste before the brownie mix then mix it well and don't add sugar to the sweetened condensed milk!

We did enjoy dinner tonight, we didn't just eat brownies I promise. I wanted to show how I was able to utilize some great leftovers and make a tasty healthy dinner! I used the leftover sauce from the zucchini boats the other night and cooked up some wheat noodles. I mixed in the sauce so it was lightly coated and let the noodles cool slightly, then I mixed in some spinach and carrot chips and topped it will a small amount of balsamic, or you can use a little Italian dressing. The sauce from the noodles helps create a dressing! And there you go! A tasty quick meal full of healthy ingredients! Use those leftovers! Has anyone been able to create something deliciously healthy using leftovers?

Crock Pot for 2 weeks!

School is starting and schedules are getting jam packed! I am a crock pot fan, but I haven't used it much for meals apart from soup since we started eating plant food the majority of the time. I usually used it for a lot of meat dinners! SO! I've developed a new challenge for myself and for this blog to create some healthy crock-pot food for two weeks! I'm so excited, yes there are going to be a few soups, but that also is because the seasons are changing and I'm starting to rush fall into my house because I can't wait for the holidays!!!!

So I'm going to do a week at a time, since I do my grocery shopping by the week! It starts today, I'm just getting ready to go rev up the crock-pot now! This will be so fun, and such a relief to know that dinner will be on it's way to being done without any thinking from me during the busy transition with school starting for the hubs! Not every meal is a dinner since I utilize leftovers into my plan....no wasted food right! Everything is going to be vegetarian or vegan, I'm really excited for the meat balls. I've made a sweet n' sour pork meatball before that my husband adores and I'm anxious to see how these compare!

This Week's Menu

Crock-pot Vegan Mac and Cheeze

Vegetarian Chili

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Italian Style Potatoes

Peppermint Patty Mugs

Sweet n Sour Meatballs (vegan)

Crock-Pot Brownies

Join the challenge with me and let me know on my facebook page how it's going, or leave me a comment!!

Alphabet Day's End, Zucchini Boats

Well our beloved Alphabet days has come to an end, just in time for school to start. I don't have school aged children, but my hubs is getting ready to start another fun filled semester....hahaha....not so fun actually! I guess we could look at it as one step closer to graduation! Someday it will come!

A few weeks ago my good friend described a dinner she had made out of zucchini! It sounded delightful, she put meat in hers so I wanted to find a way to make ours meatless, but have great flavor! These zucchini boats were so easy and so delicious! I was so happy with the end result. I've felt we haven't been watching as closely what we've been giving our kids the last few days since we've had some busy family get togethers or we've been on the go! So I needed, yes needed for my own guilt to pack them with something nutritious tonight! They loved these little babies, which makes mom all the more happy! These ended up reminding me of a tasty Italian meal, without all the creamy pasta sauces or carbs! So yay for us! Enjoy these easy weekend or weeknight zucchini boats! They are great!

Zucchini Boats

3-4 zucchini squash, cut lengthwise in half

1 C of canned or frozen corn

1-2 C cooked quinoa or brown rice

1 C chopped carrots

1 C peas

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 C green beans

1 T Italian Seasoning 

2 T nutritional Yeast (optional)

1 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning, (optional)
1/4 C sunflower nuts, for some extra crunch

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (or 1 recipe of easy marinara sauce)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spoon out the inside of the zucchini squash so just the rind is left. Place the spooned squash in a large bowl. Add onion to skillet with a tsp of olive oil and saute, add garlic and finish cooking until garlic is fragrant. Add vegetables, nuts, rice or quinoa, sauce, and seasonings to bowl and stir well. Try and have the zucchini mashed up a bit so you don't have enormous chunks of it. Spoon mixture into the rind of the zucchini. Place on a large cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Serve with salad and garlic bread, yum!!!!

Healthy Waffle Trifle

Breakfast for dinner is a favorite meal from time to time! Why not shake up the dinner table with breakfast! This meal doesn't consist of sausage, hash browns, bacon or eggs! This is filling, fruity, sweet, gluten free, and full of fiber and protein! And you want to the know the absolute best part? Kids devour this! No problem. My kids couldn't get enough. Ever since I discovered the recipe for the whole grain blender waffles I've been wanting to try this, I found this remake of the waffles from wholefoodmommies, they never let me down! I was so pleased, I only made a few tweaks to the whipped topping.

I had originally planned to make waffle fruit pizzas, which I still plan to do, but unfortunately the first few waffles I ruined somehow. Really how is that possible it's not that hard to watch them on the waffle iron. Anyways, I ended up following the original trifle idea and it was wonderful. We are using these for "Y" day, yes I skipped "X" I mean really, that's a hard one. We're calling these "Yummy" Waffles! Okay, it works. I have a great "Z" meal planned....and yes it really does start with "Z"!

 I do think the pizzas would be fun though! After I put this together I thought "This is so pretty!" This is a perfect brunch or shower dish! No one even needs to know it's GOOD for them! Go ahead, be the talk of your next get together with this beauty!

Healthy Waffle Trifle

Waffles

 2 C water

1 T honey

1 C oats

1/4 C millet or corn meal

1/4 C ground flax seed

1/4 C raw almonds or cashews

1 T cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

 

Combine all ingredients to the blender and blend on high until it is well combined. Pour generous amount to waffle iron. The waffles should be a dark brown, then they are done. 

 

Whipped Topping

 12 oz silken tofu

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 C maple syrup

1/2 C non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla

 

Combine everything to the blender and blend until it is well mixed. 

 

Tear small pieces of waffle and spread onto the bottom of a trifle dish or bowl. Add desired fruit in a layer. I used mango, strawberries, and grapes. But any type of fruit would be awesome. Top fruit layer with whipped topping and repeat for two or three layers! Serve chilled. Enjoy

* If you'd like a vegan option take out the honey from the waffles and use 2-3 dates or agave