Quinoa Vegetable Soup

My friend, Traci, brought me some veggie soup last week and I loved it!  I asked for the recipe and have already made it twice.  The first time I made this soup, I followed directions.  The second time was tweaked because I had homemade beef broth on hand.  I used two cups beef broth and two cups veggie broth.  Either way, it’s still good and would be easy to freeze if you want to double the recipe.  It’s so nice to have homemade meals in the freezer for those days life throws curve balls and you run out of time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 2 turnip bottoms, trimmed & cubed
• 1 box (32 ounces) vegetable broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (3/4 cup dry should yield 2 cups cooked)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

 

DIRECTIONS: 

Heat the coconut oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, and turnips and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and basil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the cooked quinoa and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve warm.

Note: To cook the quinoa, rinse ¾ cup quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa, 1.5 cups water, and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Noatmeal

One of the members from my old gym shared this with me while I was leading their healthy eating challenge.  She wrote “No Oatmeal” on her food log and I was curious what it consisted of.  This is a little time consuming to make so I would make on a weekend (or non working day) and re-heat during the week.  This ‘noatmeal’ is very filling!

Ingredients

• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup pecans
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Dash nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 1 banana, mashed
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 handful fresh berries (optional)

 Directions

Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse mixture to a course grain.  Be careful to not over grind in to a powder.  Set mixture aside.  Whisk eggs and almond milk until the consistency thickens and becomes a loose custard.  Thoroughly blend mashed banana and almond butter then add it to the custard mixture.  Stir in the course nut mixture.  In medium saucepan, warm the mixture on the stove until the ‘notmeal’ reaches the desired consistency; this should take about 5 to 10 minutes.  Stir frequently.  Serve with berries on top and additional almond milk if desired.

 

 

Moroccan Carrot and Beet Salad

I am trying to include more raw veggies in to my daily diet.  I will never become a vegetarian, but want to spend more time planning my meals around vegetables.  This Moroccan salad recipe that I found on Simply Recipes made me curious.  I have never tried raw beets before.  Shredding them in the food processor along with the different spices, made this recipe a pleasant surprise.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups grated carrots (peeled)
• 1 cup grated fresh beets (peeled)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used Hungarian)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Small pinch of salt
• Small pinch of cayenne
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 Tbsp sliced fresh mint leaves

DIRECTIONS

Place the grated carrots in a medium sized serving bowl. Place the grated beets into a sieve and briefly rinse with cold water and then dry with a paper towel. Add to the bowl with the carrots.  Add the raisins.  Stir to gently combine.  In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne. Add the lemon juice and honey and whisk until smooth.  Drizzle over the carrots and beets, then gently fold until the carrots and beets are lightly coated.  Let sit for an hour before serving, either chilled or at room temperature, for the dressing to seep into the carrots and beets.  Right before serving, stir in a couple tablespoons of sliced fresh mint leaves.

Golden Cauliflower Soup

My friend, Traci, found a website called Punch Fork .  It is an awesome site that allows you to sort by diet preference.  There is a Paleo, Gluten Free, Vegetarian and Vegan option on this site.  While playing around on it, I stumbled across this cauliflower soup on a blog called The Clothes Make the Girl.   This dish is perfect for the overcast weather we have had lately.  It’s easy to make and packed with veggies.  I give it two thumbs up and will definitely make again.

Ingredients:

• 1 large head cauliflower (about 3 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 large carrots, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

 

Directions:

Wash and core cauliflower, then coarsely chop. Set aside.  Heat a large, deep pot over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil. When the oil is melted, add onions, carrots, and garlic. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until they’re soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped cauliflower and cook until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the broth and water, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 45 minutes.  Working in batches, carefully transfer the cauliflower and some of the broth to a blender or food processor and purée the cauliflower until smooth, adding more broth if necessary.  Pour the purée back into the soup pot, then add the salt, pepper, and coconut milk. Stir to combine and cook over medium until heated through. Serve immediately with garnishes, or store covered in the refrigerator.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Here is another vegan dessert from Elana’s Pantry.  The only modification was to use Molasses instead of her yacon syrup.  If you choose to give this recipe a try, make sure to read the ingredient list of molasses.  You would be surprised what some brands add to that product.  The stuff in my pantry has one ingredient…molasses.

As always, eat in moderation!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ginger (not fresh, use the one from spice aisle)
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil
• ¼ cup molasses

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.  Combine wet ingredients in smaller bowl.  Mix wet into the dry ingredients and stir well.  Scoop one tablespoon at a time onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and gently press.  Bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes.  Cool and serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are gluten and dairy free.  They could be considered vegan if that is the type of diet you follow.  My family loved eating these and my four year old threw a fit this morning because he wanted them for breakfast.  Just like with all desserts, the cookies should be eaten in moderation.  I feel like they are a better option to what you would find in the stores, but still keep it to just one at a time.

The original recipe was found on Elana’s Pantry.  I love her site!!!  I only made one modification to the recipe by using honey (local and raw) instead of Agave.  I am not a fan of Agave.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup grapeseed oil
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup honey
• 1 cup chocolate chips (dark chocolate – at least 70%)

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix.  Combine all wet ingredients in smaller bowl and mix. Add wet ingredients to the dry and combine well.  Form +/- 1 inch balls and press onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 7 to 10 minutes.  Cool and serve.

Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

My Aunt Beth made this soup when we visited for Thanksgiving.  I thought is was really good and wanted to make as soon as we got back to GA.  I made this with the blender, but an immersion blender would have been much easier.

Ingredients:

•  2 medium size butternut squash
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used vegetable)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced (or any tart apple)
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

Directions:

Cut butternut squash in to quarters and dig out the seeds (do not peel them yet).  Place squash meat-side down in large pyrex dish with about 2 inches of water.  Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hr until squash is tender.  Scoop out squash from the peel and put in large soup pot.  Discard the peels.

Add broth, onion, apples and ginger root to the squash.  Let mixture come to a boil and then simmer until onion and apples are cooked (about 20 minutes).  Add additional broth if too thick.  Thoroughly blend soup until smooth with blender or immersion blender.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Soup should have a slightly thickened consistency.