Recipes

Guest Recipe: Quinoa, Garbanzo and Spinach Salad

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While I prep for the arrival of our baby I have invited Mellissa from A Fit and Spicy Life to share one of her recipes.

Quinoa, Garbanzo and Spinach Salad
with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

Ingredients (Serves 8-10)

  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves
  • 2 15- to 16-ounce cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, cut into small pieces
  • 1-pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

Place quinoa in large saucepan; add enough salted water to cover quinoa by 1 inch. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Drain. Chill until cool.

Combine spinach leaves, garbanzos, cubed cucumber, halved tomatoes and mint leaves in extra-large bowl.

Add cooled quinoa and toss gently to blend.

Whisk vinegar and smoked paprika in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat.

Season generously with salt and pepper.

Mellissa is a 30 something girl living in Minneapolis who lives fitness, food, travel and wine. She creates healthy recipes and tries to share her love of food with friends and family

Guest Recipe: Choco-Cherry-Chia Smoothie

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Choco-Cherry-Chia Smoothie

Hi, everyone! My name is Cassie and I’m a recipe developer, beer lover, sports fanatic, culinary arts student, puppy mom, and lover of glitter nail polish. I also happen to blog about clean eating, realistic fitness and my everyday adventures (and misadventures) over at Back to Her Roots.

I was really honored when the amazing Lindsay asked me to pop in and share a little bit of something with you guys while she is on baby duty. I’m a big fan of all things RWT and am really honored to be here.  First off: congratulations to Lindsay and Neil on their new little perfect family! Secondly: let’s talk cherries.

Smooth segue, eh?

I’ve been completely obsessed with cherries lately. They are sweet, tart and packed full of powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins (which help give cherries their deep red skin). These antioxidants have been shown to act as anti-inflammatories and help slow down aging. Basically, cherries are where it’s at.

Of course, often we find the cherry flavor in not-so-healthy foods. Cherry pie. Cherry danishes. Cherry Jolly Ranchers. But it is possible to nosh on cherries without stuffing yourself silly with added sugars and preservatives. Today, I’ve brought you a smoothie that gives you not only the benefits of cherry-dom, but also the yummy taste. Oh, did I mention it’s also chocolatey? And has chia seeds, which is the highest known plant source of Omega-3 fatty acids? Oh, and it’s fun to say? Choco-Cherry-Chia. Try it!

Choco-Cherry-Chia Smoothie
Serves 2

1 cup unsweetened vanilla nut or soy milk
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 cups pitted, halved cherries
1 medium ripe banana
4-5 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in the order listed in the carafe of a blender. Blend on high speed until everything is smooth. Pour into two glasses (or one big glass!) and serve.

Recipe: Agave-Lime Tempeh

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Agave-Lime Tempeh
with Peppers, Onion and Potatoes

This dish at first glance looks like it might be on the heavier side but as soon as you taste it the sweet citrus flavors with a hint of chili spice really lightens the dish up.  This is a perfect dish for any time of the year.

Serves 4-6
Sauce:
1/4 cup agave (or honey)
1/4 cup lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t cumin
2 t chili powder (chipotle if possible)
2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t sea salt

3 T water
8 oz tempeh, diced
1 bell peppers, diced
1 medium onion, diced
6 fingerling or small new potatoes, large dice

 

Directions:

  • Heat the water in a saute pan over medium. Add the potato and top with tempeh, bell pepper and onion. Evenly pour over the sauce.
  • Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally until the potatoes and veggies are tender
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve over quinoa or rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley leaves.

Recipe: Hoisin Vegetables and Tempeh

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Hoisin Vegetables and Tempeh


This recipe is quick and easy for those days when you “just don’t have time” to cook.  In a matter of about 15-20 minutes with prep time you can have a healthy and nutritious dinner on the table that the whole family will enjoy. If you enjoy a little heat add the chilies or chili flakes. This dish is great as leftovers and works really well in a wrap for lunches.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups shredded purple or green cabbage
  • 2-3 Thai chilies or 1/4-2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 oz tempeh, diced
  • 3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • 1.5 T hoisin sauce (found in the International foods section of most grocery stores)
  • 1/2 t black pepper

Directions:
Heat the oil in wok over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, cabbage and bell pepper and immediately toss with the oil to coat.  Cook for 5 minutes then stir in the chilies, garlic and tempeh.
Add  the soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin and black pepper.  Toss to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.
Serve with quinoa, rice or noodles.

CSA Week 2

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This week our CSA was a little less greens heavy and a little more veggie heavy which I am happy about.  I love my greens but due to the heat last week they didn’t last very long which meant rather than getting cooked up or put in a salad they were juiced.

This weeks share:

Red Bibb Lettuce

Dino Kale

Spinach

Kohlrabi

I haven’t experimented with kohlrabi that much but in the past we have had it raw in salads, cooked up in stir fries and in this root vegetable curry dish.

Snap Peas

Garlic Scapes

I love to make pesto with garlic scapes and I plan on making a nice big batch tomorrow.

Recipes: Zucchini Pesto Quinoa Pie | Baked Green Tomatoes with Cashew-Pea Pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta with Zucchini

Summer Squash

I am a huge fan of summer squash.  I like to keep it simple and just saute or roast with a little olive oil, salt and pepper but sometimes I like to get a little more creative and make dishes like my recipe for my Italian Almond Tart

Cucumber

Recipe: Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Balsamic Shallot Reduction

Green Garlic

Check out our goodies from previous weeks: Week 1

If you haven’t stop over to our family blog, Naturally Family, then head over now and Meet The Family.  This week we have been discussing my pregnancy ups and downs, pregnancy eats, buying for baby on a budget, attachment parenting and a so much more. Also don’t forget to enter the baby pool– will BabyRWT be a boy or a girl?

You can also check us out on  Facebook and Twitter.

 

Green Juicing

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Morning green juices have become a regular thing around our house for the past few weeks, we have one about 4-5 mornings out of the week. We finally have lots of local greens and our CSA to fuel our green juice habit. My favorite green juice this week was filled with collards, carrots, cucumber, lemon and apple.

What is your favorite green juice combo?

If you haven’t stop over to our family blog, Naturally Family, then head over now and Meet The Family.  This week we have been discussing my pregnancy ups and downs, pregnancy eats, buying for baby on a budget, attachment parenting and a so much more. Also don’t forget to enter the baby pool– will BabyRWT be a boy or a girl?

You can also check us out on  Facebook and Twitter.

Towering Tempeh Club

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As I was saying in my Garden Cocktail post yesterday Neil and I decided to recreate our amazing dinner from Friday night. The best part of our meal was the Vegan Club Burger towering with tempeh, tomato, avocado, sprouts, aioli and pistou. My version is a little different than Kismet’s but it was just as good…might I even say better?

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 8oz marinated tempeh, sliced into for squares (marinate below)
  • Tomato, thinly sliced
  • Red Onion, thinly sliced
  • Lettuce, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 Avocado, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 Burger buns (enough for 3 layers), lightly toasted
  • Parsley Mayo (recipe below)

Tempeh Marinate:

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

Whisk together and toss with the tempeh. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes to over night.

Parsley Mayo:

  • 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon garlic olive oil (or regular)
  • 1/2 tablespoon jalapeno, minced
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of vegenaise

Use a mortar and pestle to combine the parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. Add the olive oil and work together to combine. Mix in the vegenaise. Note: if you do not have a mortar and pestle use a mini food processor.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Place tempeh on a parchment lined baking and drizzle any extra marinate over the tempeh. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes.

Spread a dollop of mayo on the bottom bun top with lettuce, tomato, tempeh, another layer of bun, spread with a dollop of mayo, lettuce, onion, tomato, tempeh, avocado and top with the bun cover that has been spread with a dollop of mayo.