Coconut Chai Oatmeal with Pistachios

Happy Wednesday to you! I'm writing 30 minutes after eating this oatmeal recipe I'm about to share with you, so I'm pretty hyped about it. I'd love to blather on as I usually do, but I must return to productivity ASAP (the whole grad school thing requires a bit of productivity sometimes-lame! ;) ) so I'll make this short but sweet!

I saw a baklava oatmeal recipe on The Oatmeal Artist blog and thought the idea of pistachios+oatmeal was crazy brilliant. Many of the recipes on The Oatmeal Artist have some mashed banana in them to add a bit of sweetness, and I discovered it was perfect in this recipe as well (you don't taste the banana!); major props to her on all that oatmeal geniusness! I used this chai concentrate in the recipe, but if you're not feeling a whole batch, I would just stew one chai tea bag for 10 minutes to get it super strong and use that! Its all about alterations, right?

By the way, this is Rory's response to my attempted oatmeal photos near a window. Just slinking around my ankles meowing like a fool. What a weirdo.

Coconut Chai Oatmeal with Pistachios
serves 1

1/2 cup gluten free oats (I use Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup chai tea concentrate
1/4 cup coconut milk (I use Silk unsweetened)
1/2 cup water
1/3 of a banana, mashed up
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
10-15 pistachios, crushed up (or whole if you please!)
unsweetened shredded coconut for topping
more coconut milk for topping

Combine oats with the three liquids (chai, coconut milk and water) in a large bowl. Let sit for a few minutes so the oats soak up some of the liquid. Microwave for 2.5-3 minutes (depending on your microwave). Let sit 30 seconds, then take out and add the mashed banana, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix in well and microwave for 1 minute (or longer if you want them super thick). Let sit another minute. Pour into a smaller bowl (or eat out of the large one!) and add the pistachios and shredded coconut and stir. Add more coconut milk if you wish. Eat up!

This goes beautifully with a cup of coffee (but doesn't everything?), or you could stick with the chai theme and have a chai latte alongside. WHOA that would be awesome.

Any favorite oatmeal combinations you'd like to share? I'm always perusing for fun new ideas!

I'm outties; enjoy your day!

--KQ

Allergy-Free "PB&J" Sandwich

Hey there and Happy Thursday to you! I hope the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful like it is here, wherever you are! I've got exciting things to share (or so I claim every time, eh?). But first and most random of all, I got to pet a kitty shaved like a lion while I was in Colorado the other day (the picture is crappy, it was far too dark out!)! He was just as adorable as the pictures of lion-kitties I've seen.

Anyways! Since the end of spring semester, I've done more cooking and recipe-experimenting than I had in the last 4 months! Apparently learning curbs my creative cooking abilities, shoot the moon! My trials have been mostly successful, so I thought I should share the goodness with you. After some searching on plantain potential, I've tried three recipes with plantains as the main ingredient, and all have been awesome! They take the place of the batter in these pancakes, are combined with pumpkin for super deliciousness in these healthy pumpkin pie blondies and can also be used to make "bread"! Hello, versatility.

Based off the list of no-can-do foods, you'd think bread was not an option for me. You would be correct!! However, in my search for all things plantain, I came across this blog with girls who love plantains, and they had a recipe for plantain bread. If you can have eggs, it looks wonderful! I highly suggest making it. If you cannot have eggs or any other type of ingredient that makes any sort of bread, you can make what I did. Its not pretty (notice I put sunbutter on top of the bread before taking a picture) but it tastes good and works great for holding delicious things. On to the recipe! I've included the bread recipe as well as my newest sunflower butter creation, a cinnamon honey vanilla spinoff of "normal" sunflower butter (I was inspired by this recipe). If you can have nuts, I can imagine this recipe would be amazing with peanuts, almonds or cashews as well!

Egg-free Plantain Bread

Makes 4 large pieces

1 yellow plantain, sliced

2 Tbsp. chia seeds

1 Tbsp. applesauce (unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into food processor and process until the plantain is smoothed out without chunks. Spray a 1.5 quart dish (mine is an oval Corningware dish) lightly with olive oil and pour batter into dish. Spread evenly (the batter will be very thin, less than 1/2 inch thick). Bake ~25 mins, then broil for 2-3 mins to get the top crispy. Remove from oven, let cool then cut into 4 pieces and remove from pan. For an allergy-free PB&J, top with sunflower butter (see recipe below) and a jam or jelly (homemade is the best!).

Cinnamon Honey Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Makes 16 oz.

16 oz. roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds (cheap at Trader Joe's!), or any nut of your choice

1 Tbsp. honey

2.5 tsp pure vanilla extract

1.5 tsp cinnamon

Pour half of the sunflower seeds and vanilla into the food processor. Add half of the cinnamon. Turn onto the first level and blend 4-5 minutes, until the seeds have begun to turn into a doughy/buttery texture. As long as you didn't add too many seeds to the processor you shouldn't need to stop and scrape the sides. Add half the honey through the chute in the lid of your processor (if you don't have one, just stop the processor and add the honey) and process another minute. Turn the processor up to the fastest level for about 20 seconds, then turn off. Using a spatula, scrape the sunbutter into the container you're using (I prefer a mason jar!). Repeat the process with the second half of your ingredients. Refrigerate the sunbutter to keep it fresh; mine has lasted 2 weeks before its gone (teehee), and it may last longer.

So what do you think of cooking with plantains? The options become endless if you can eat eggs, but if eggs aren't an option you must be a creative cat when it comes to substitutions. Here are the plantain pancakes; the recipe for these pancakes is linked above. I simply switched out the gelatin for agar agar and cooked the pancakes for 6-7 minutes each side so they would be all the way cooked through! I plan to try out chia seeds rather than agar agar next time; stay tuned for results.

SO delicious!!

I hope you are as excited about this allergy-free PB&J as I was! Let's not kid ourselves, I totally crave them like any seven-year-old does. ;) Happy cooking&blending!

--KQ

Avocado, Kale & Newbie Runners

The happiest of Fridays to you!! I'm sitting outside, basking in the sunshine and the unreal feeling of being done with my first year of grad school! I hate to admit how often I find myself saying "time flies" and thinking back to days of childhood where I never understood adults who said that. Certainly I'm not a real adult, right? I do far too many handstands in unorthodox places and giggle at all the wrong moments to be considered a real adult, but I am catching the drift of the whole time flying idea.

In celebration of today's lack of commitments and to-do lists, a rare beauty, I'm finally catching up on blogging. I've been gone too long and have missed writing for the simple joy of it (rather than to prove my knowledge of a certain topic). Today I'm sharing a delicious new salad recipe unlike your go-to side salad along with some of my usual random chattering.

Let's start with that salad. I'm sure you've heard of massaging kale if you're going to eat it raw. If you haven't, look up any blog with a raw kale salad and you'll quickly catch on. The idea is to soften it up a bit since its quite hearty, especially compared to any greens you find in other salads. I found this recipe for raw kale avocado salad from one of my former teammates, and she suggested mashing up the avocado in your hands then mixing up the kale with it! It sounded so messy/fun/brilliant I had to try it. I've included a few pics of my own to convince you to try the avocado mess yourself. ;)  Check out her blog to get the recipe!



















In other news, I've recently re-discovered how awesome it is to celebrate new accomplishments and met goals of others. I originally thought I wanted to personal train for that very reason, to help motivate and cheer people on and to celebrate with them when they accomplished whatever they set out for. It wasn't quite as I expected and that's okay. But I've been cheering on some friends and family who are new to running and it is a lot like what I thought personal training would be! They tell me how their workouts are going, the love/hate aspects of running (we all have them), and then they share when they beat their former best race time! I even got to run a 5k with my dad recently, and it was wonderful to cross the finish line with him and celebrate his new record. Its joyous to share my love of running with others and to hear when they, though somewhat begrudgingly, start to realize they love it too. So this is a thank you to all those who allow me to share in your workout celebrations with you; for lack of a better exclamation, its the cat's meow! ;)

I'm off my soapbox now (hallelujah, right?); have an incredible weekend. XOXO.

--KQ

Stuffed Pepper Mania!

Happy Saturday! Its 84 degrees and sunny where I'm at. Translation? It feels like summer! I even got sunburned on my long run today (Sun: 1 Kelsey's paleness: 0); I need to up my sunscreen application! Yes I know, it will drop 40 degrees again and I'll need to force myself to really do something with my thesis before its actually summer, but let's forget about those things for 5 minutes, okay?

I have things to share! I'll make a list (since its way more fun that way):

FIRST. I made my first successful allergen-free pizza! It took some epic failing on the way to success, but I made it. I found a lovely crust recipe from another blog and freelanced my way through the toppings, but I'll give you the deets another day!

SECOND. I finally ordered a new food processor (why yes, I did substitute my Magic Bullet for 8 months, great question!) and realized, unsurprisingly, that I should've done it WAY sooner after breaking my other one! But that's not even the exciting part (thank goodness, right?)! Drumroll.... I MADE MY OWN SUNFLOWER BUTTER! I snatched up some sunflower kernels at the store for ~45% of the price I usually pay for sunflower butter, then poured them in and gave it a whirl! It worked ridiculously well and took way less time than I expected! The even MORE exciting part? --side bar, if you've never met me, you should know I tend to get 37x more excited about "normal" things than the usual crowd-- I added in cinnamon and cocoa for my own chocolate rendition! It tastes delicious and it is so exciting every time I take the mason jar out of the fridge and see it! So that really made my Wednesday.

THIRD. I have a recipe to share with you! I've been making these stuffed peppers for a while, but never posted them as I didn't think they were original and assumed everyone had been eating them weekly for months. But then we went to NYC and I made these when we stayed with Tehrene, and she didn't understand why I hadn't shared the recipe yet! Seeing as she is the master of all things writing+social medias, I knew I must do what she said. So here it is! This recipe is almost laughably versatile--I honestly put in a different combination of veggies every time I make it! Its all about whatever you have on hand AND whatever you like the best!

Of course I didn't have a picture of my peppers, but thankfully Tehrene was on top of it!

Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4

4 bell peppers (choose your color!), tops sliced off and white fleshy part cut out.
1 lb. lean ground chicken/italian sausage/beef (whatever you have! Omit and it is vegan), cooked into small pieces (think taco meat-sized)
1 zucchini, diced into small pieces
1/4 yellow onion, diced into small pieces
3 cloves garlic, diced into small pieces
~5 mushrooms, diced into small pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and diced into small pieces
1 celery stick, diced into small pieces
baby spinach or kale, ripped into pieces (as much as you want!)
1 cup cooked wild rice/brown rice/quinoa (or 1 large potato, chopped into pieces!)
pepper
paprika
extra virgin olive oil (I have mine in a spray pump, so it doesn't take much)
optional: 2 tomatoes, diced into medium-sized pieces; marinara sauce; cheese to sprinkle on top; crushed red pepper (for spiciness!)

• Ground your meat of choice in a medium-sized pan over medium heat on the stove until cooked through. Drain once thoroughly cooked. 
• While the meat is cooking, place your peppers, cut side down, in a baking dish with 1/4 inch of water and microwave for ~4 minutes, until they are soft when poked with a fork (but not mushy). Some microwaves have a "fresh vegetable" option so you don't even set the timer!** 
• Chop all your veggies up and place them in a large pan with olive oil over medium heat (if using potato, add in with veggies now).  Add pepper and paprika for taste. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until soft and fragrant. 
• Mix the cooked rice (or quinoa) in with the veggies and taste to determine if more seasoning is needed. 
• Add the ground meat to the veggie/rice combo and stir until combined. If you are a cheese person, stir some in now and add on top!
• Place the peppers on plates (unless unsteady, then a small bowl may work better) and spoon the filling into the pepper until it is full. Sprinkle cheese on top if you're all about that cheese. Serve hot!
• A little tip: if you don't mind the peppers not looking pretty, you can skip putting the filling inside and instead slice up your pepper and use it to scoop up the filling (its like pepper nachos, if you will!). Its a bit easier to eat because you don't need a knife! 

**oven option: If you aren't in a rush, place the peppers in the baking dish without the water and bake at 350F for around 15 minutes, until they are the same consistency as described above.

If you don't have some of the veggies listed, or prefer only a few, just add in more of the ones you love and nix the rest! I promise it won't mess up the recipe to change up the ingredients, I just shared my own favorites. :) Leftovers are the greatest and these heat up perfect the next day--score! Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Alrighty then, I'll leave you here. I'm off to finish my iced coffee and ponder my own dinner; cuidado!

--KQ

Granola!! (of the allergy-free sort)

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Fridays always deserve all caps...always. That goes into my list of random truths, along with others, such as:

-There is no such thing as laughing too much (despite what your 6th grade teacher claimed. She was wrong.)
-When you can't remember the last time you drank anything but coffee, you need to have a cup of water. Or seven.
-Pretending to forget to stretch after running doesn't make you more flexible; it makes you hobble like an old woman.
-The need to practice handstands everyday is completely rational.

...and so the list goes on, but I'll cut myself off at the handstands. ;) I hope your week was rad! If it wasn't, you've got the whole weekend to make up for it! If you've got a few hours on your hands and you want to feel super cool and budget-savvy, I suggest you make this granola. It makes a huge batch and the greatest part is its ridiculously adaptable! I can't have nuts, so I subbed in seeds, quinoa, etc. If you can have nuts, feel free to use whichever you please! Just keep the ratios the same and you're golden. The recipe I based this off of used coconut instead of the apple/raisin mix I used, which I imagine would be divinde. Use your imagination!! (By the way, I'm no food photographer. Its a crappy picture; you're just going to have to take my word for it that its good. ;) )

Oat-Free, Nut-Free Granola
Adapted from GI365

Makes 5 cups

Granola
1 cup pepitas (shell-less pumpkin seeds)
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dry roasted hemp seeds (you could use unroasted as well!)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground golden flaxseed
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 apple, chopped into raisin-sized pieces
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Date Paste
2 ripe bananas, chopped into slices
8 pitted dates, sliced into quarters
2 tsp. chai spices OR 2 Tbsp. liquid chai concentrate
1 Tbsp. water (omit if using liquid chai concentrate)
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Mix the granola ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. For the date paste, combine all ingredients into a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet) and blend until smooth (there will be slightly large pieces of date after its all blended). Add the date paste to the granola bowl and mix until the granola is evenly coated with the paste. Spread onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 1.5-2 hours on the shelf closest to the middle of the oven, turning the granola every 20 minutes so it cooks evenly. Once the granola is crunchy, turn off the oven and leave the granola in the oven until its all the way cooled. This is what gets it to the perfect crunchiness (I learned that from GI365!)! Store it in lidded containers or a sealed plastic baggy (you can also freeze it).

Yes, it looks like bird seed. Yes, its delicious as cereal. Any other questions?? :) I'm off to be social & see my husband; have a stellar weekend!!

--KQ

Quinoa Sweet Potato Pancakes with Caramelized Bananas

Happy hump day! I hope the first half of your week was smashing (I must be feeling British today)! I'm sitting in my living room decked out with rugs (finally) and the sun is shining-though with a few snowflakes mixed in with those rays-so I'm in a share-a-new-recipe kind of mood!

Like usual, hunger and a lack of preparing breakfast before I decided I was starving were the base of this new recipe. I perused Pinterest with a few key search words (quinoa, gluten free, etc.) and came up short so I was left to attempt creativity myself! The result: quinoa sweet potato pancakes! Now before you get super pumped up and picture yourself noshing on fluffy pancakes, scratch that thought all together. These pancakes are of a different variety, the ones with a crisp outside and a warm-banana-bread-texture inside and a not-quite-perfect rim. Have you had any of the sort? Those who dabble with cooking with non-gluten flours may know. If you've never tried, here's the perfect opportunity! The caramelized banana was last minute, but it completes the pancakes in a way that I can't picture having ate these without it (though they would be good solo, I'm just being dramatic).

Before you make this recipe, there are two pre-recipe tasks to do (don't worry, they are quick!):

ONE. Toast your quinoa. Measure out the 1/4 cup quinoa in a nonstick pan and cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the quinoa is golden brown and making cool popping noises. Then grind your quinoa in either a food processor or coffee grinder until its a fairly fine texture (just not too fine to the point of starting to look pre-quinoa butter!)

TWO. Cook your sweet potato. Let's not kid ourselves, sweet potatoes baked in the oven are the BEST, but I don't know many people who awake an hour before they planned to pop a sweet potato in the oven. Instead, cheat your way through by stabbing it with a knife a few times and popping it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. Voila.

Quinoa Sweet Potato Pancakes with Caramelized Bananas
makes 5-6 pancakes

1/4 cup quinoa, toasted and ground into flour
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 small sweet potato, cooked and skin removed
5/8 cup milk of choice
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup (you could sub honey if you'd like)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

Caramelized Banana
1 banana, cut in half then cut lengthwise down the middle

Directions: Pour yourself a cup of coffee to sip while cooking. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. In another small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Using a whisk or fork, mash the wet ingredients until the sweet potato is no longer chunky. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until combined.

Preheat the griddle to 350 degrees F. Pour the batter on thin and gently press with a spatula so the pancake is evenly thin. Cook ~4-5 minutes (you should be able to slide your spatula under), then flip and press down again, cooking for another 4-5 minutes. Once you've flipped the pancakes, place your banana pieces on the griddle as well. Cook 2-3 minutes until golden, then flip. Your pancakes should be crisp on the outside and still feel slightly soft when pressed in the middle (but not too soft, or they won't be cooked through yet). Serve bananas on top of pancakes. Drizzle with maple syrup or topping of your choice. Pour yourself another cup of coffee and pat yourself on the back.

That's all she wrote. Enjoy your day! And your pancakes. :)

--KQ

Healthified (and soy-free) Fried Rice!

Good morning! I'm coming at you from the tundra heart of Des Moines, drowned in layers of warm clothing and wool socks. What with that -40 degree wind chill, I suppose I should skip the GPS watch usage today and exercise inside, eh? ;) I hope this finds you warm, wherever you may be!

I'm excited to share a new recipe with you! Besides being a delicious, healthified, soy-free version of Chinese food,  its really easy to make, a surprising source of a bit of protein, and its a perfect side to orange chicken, sesame chicken, or this delicious sweet and sour chicken I made with it the other day! So many options, so little time. If you don't have wild rice on hand or you don't feel like cooking some up, feel free to use brown rice instead, or nix it all together and use double the quinoa! Shazam, its as easy as that!

Healthified Fried Rice
serves 2-3 (depending on your appetite!)

1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup cooked quinoa (make sure to only make 1/2 cup dry quinoa; the amount doubles when cooked)
1 large carrot, diced into small pieces
1 large or 2 small celery stalks, diced into small pieces
3-4 mushrooms, diced into small pieces (are you finding a pattern on the dicing?!)
1/4 of an onion, diced into small pieces
2 cloves of garlic, diced into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt; to taste if you want more
A few shakes of pepper

Directions: After chopping up your veggies, spray a bit of olive oil into a medium-sized pan and add the veggies, cooking over medium heat. When the veggies become soft and start to look golden in color (about 5 minutes), add the wild rice, quinoa and seasoned salt. Mix it all together and add the pepper. Cook for one more minute, until rice and quinoa are heated through. Serve with one of the above recipes and some steamed veggies!

Nutrition per serving (3 servings): 126 calories, 1.5 g fat, 2.7 g fiber, 380 mg sodium, 5 g protein

Pretty easy, right? Hooray for simplicity in cooking!

I'm off to yoga; a super heated room sounds SO lovely right about now! Hats off to downward dogs!

--KQ

Banana Quinoa Muffins!

Hello, my friends! Geez, how time flies. I sound old saying that, but it is true (and perhaps I am getting old...nah.)! One moment I'm impatiently waiting for Thanksgiving week, the next I'm fighting my way through what I've heard is called "dead" week (a term I've never understood or experienced). But forget the complaints of grad school (who wants to hear those anyway!?); this means its Christmas season! As in homemade hot cocoa (don't hate on my flaxmilk, dutch cocoa and agave remix), shoveling driveways (hello, homeownership) and putting off productivity by staring at the snow and daydreaming of watching Elf without trying to write proposals. Cheers to that, eh? :)

from http://www.quinoa.net/145/154.html

Though I'm sick of writing, I feel the opposite about blogging! I've been wanting to share this recipe with you since Saturday night when I tried it out, so it is finally happening. One of my lovely sister-in-laws gave me her box of quinoa flakes and I was thrilled!  I had held out on buying any because I was unaware of their difference from quinoa. Alas, I was missing out! Quinoa is steam-rolled into the flakes and as a result they cook much quicker than quinoa itself. They also come in super handy for gluten free baking. They sounded right up my alley-and they were! I saw this recipe on the box and made a few variations-surprising, right? ;) These were the first muffins I've made in awhile (clearly the everything-free diet dried up my baking for a bit there...) and I thought they were quite tasty! This is all that was left of my batch as of this morning; before I ate them, of course. :)

Banana Quinoa Muffins 
adapted from www.quinoa.net/1963.html (same as on the Ancient Quinoa Harvest Quinoa Flakes box)

Makes 10-11 muffins (awkward amount, right? I say double it!)

1/2 cup Quinoa Flour (make your own!)
1/2 cup Quinoa Flakes
2 Tbsp Honey (or agave nectar)
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Very Ripe Bananas
2 Eggs (I made 2 chia eggs with black chia seeds-you don't notice them in the muffins)
Optional: 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, walnuts if you're cool with them, pomegranate seeds, 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder + chocolate chips if you're all about the chocolate option; there are tons of options!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour and flakes with dry ingredients. In separate bowl mix together bananas, eggs and honey, add to dry ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake 18-22 minutes at 400 degrees. Note: fill muffin tins 1/2 full.

Eat for breakfast; morning snack; lunch; afternoon snack; evening snack...just eat them whenever it feels right, okay? ;)

My Wednesday is looking wonderful-my mom is coming for a visit!! :) I hope yours is splendid too!! Peace and peppermint hot cocoa.

--KQ

Every Party Needs a Dip

Heeelllloooo and good day to you! I'm ridiculously happy but probably won't apologize for my unnecessary exclamations throughout this post (or maybe I'll apologize just a little). ;) I ended up with the day off, and the weather is beautiful! Within seconds of starting my run this morning, I remembered (as I do every fall) one good thing that comes of summer ending; better running weather! Just two nights ago I ran at 8 pm and it was still 90 degrees outside, so 70 this morning felt glorious.

Another reason for my (debatable) overuse of happy adjectives? This.

Me. Iced coffee. And a box of California avocados and oranges, from my aunt's trees, shipped to our house! For real! When I first learned she had avocado trees I nearly drooled daydreaming of plucking avocados from my own backyard. When she told me she had too many to stay ahead of eating, I pleaded my case of helping her take care of that problem. Voila--avocados. Eek!!

Alright, enough about me already!! On my last post I promised a dip, and I have returned with the dip recipe in hand; gluten, dairy and egg free! It came out super delicious and I'm really pleased with it! Plus, there are tons of ways to vary it if you have your own favorite things or want to make it even more layers! Sweet potato in a dip might sound crazy to some, but if you've ever had these you know sweet potato is amazing in all types of dishes! P.S. I made a mini version for the pictures (and my lunch), so don't let that tiny ramekin confuse you!

Healthy Layer Dip 

Makes 1 9-inch pie pan; serves a crowd (it depends on how hard your guests snack...)

2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (a butternut squash will work too!)

cayenne pepper

paprika

red pepper flakes

1 ripe avocado

2-3 large tomatoes

salt

pepper

1 large bell pepper or 5-6 small sweet peppers*, chopped into small pieces

1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped into small pieces

salsa of your choosing (I like any from TJ)

*color of the pepper(s) doesn't matter; you can use your favorite or a variety to make the dip even prettier. That is, if you like pretty dips.

Optional add-ons (not all vegan): shredded chicken, beans, beef...the list goes on!

Directions:

A. In a small pan, saute the peppers and onion with a little olive oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, then set aside.

B.Mash your sweet potatoes into a thin (think 1/2 inch) layer on the bottom of your pan. Season with

cayenne pepper, paprika and red pepper flakes to your liking. The more seasoning you add, the spicier it will be!

C. Slice your avocado into very small chunks and spread on top of the sweet potato layer. Make this as thick as you want.

D. Dice your tomatoes into small chunks like you did with the avocado and add on top of the avocado. Season with a little salt and pepper.

F. Add another avocado layer if you find ways to add avocado to anything/everything, like I do.

G. Pour your favorite salsa on top, making it as thick as you like!

That's it! This dip doesn't take more than 15 minutes and it can be served with a variety of food; veggies, tortilla chips, pita chips or crostinis if your bod doesn't hate gluten, the list goes on!

Serving suggestion. ;)

Now you're ready for those parties and potlucks and tailgates (go Hawks!) that come along with fall, and I enjoyed a scrumptious lunch. Its a win-win!

I'll leave you at that, and I'm already dreaming up breakfast recipes with my wild rice (shout out to my hook-ups in waaay northern MN!); get excited!! Peace and love (and kittens).

--KQ

Happiness is Raspberries and...

Fridays. Coffee. Runs with friends; friends who end up as roomies. Even more happiness.

So sorry for the long break; I truly cannot believe its August 16th. Last I checked it was August 4th then things got real and BAM here I am with August halfway over! But wonderful things happened while I was away and I loved it. We visited my new baby niece Leila (YAY!!!), I threw a bridal luncheon (pictures to comeeee) and we helped celebrate my brother-in-law and NEW sister-in-law getting married!!! Seriously, it was an amazing four days. If new babies and new marriages are not the best things ever to celebrate, I don't know what are. So many blessings in such a short time!

Okay then, I'll stop ranting and raving about last weekend's loveliness and tell you about my new smoothie I'm really excited about!

First, though, I'll give a shout-out to Trader Joe's and Aldi, (did you know they are sister companies?) who both carry cheap frozen raspberries. I usually skip over the raspberries elsewhere because you get way less for way more and I'm sometimes (read: most of the time) a cheapy who doesn't drop the big bucks on them. But alas, I've found cheap ones! And with their deliciousness they bring extra fiber to the smoothie so what's not to love??

Raspberry Banana Smoothie
serves 1

1 (preferrably frozen) banana, broke into large chunks
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup orange juice (or to top of frozen fruit)
optional: 1/4 cup frozen mango or pineapple

Toss ingredients into Magic Bullet/Vitamix/whatever you've got and blend on high for 30 seconds. Voila! Top with granola or dried fruit or maybe even shredded raw coconut if you're a fan. Yumsville for breakfast, lunch, snack, all three....no judgment.

Nutrition: 178 calories, .5 g fat, 6.7 g fiber, 2.7 g protein and a bonus 20% of your potassium for the day!

I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather, you should do the same! Until next time. :)

--KQ

Zucchini Noodles With Broccoli Pesto

HAPPY FRIDAY!! I hope you're as pumped for this weekend as I am! My hubby and I are headed to Omaha for the Darius Rucker concert, yay! Do you have any big plans??

Exciting things; Riley and I are training for a duathlon at the end of September! Swimming is so hard and I would need far longer than seven weeks to prep for swimming 1/4 mile (which sounds so short but totally isn't) so I said sayonara to the swimming part and signed up for the running and biking. :)

Also-- I will have a new niece or nephew by the end of today! EEEEK! That definitely calls for celebrating.

So let's talk lunch. I've seen zucchini noodles before but hadn't tried them until today, and I wanted to try this sauce but had nothing to put it on! I've used corn pasta but I never was much of a pasta eater pre-Celiac/etc. so it isn't something I always have on hand. Zucchini, I had. :)

I've seen lots of ways to make zucchini noodles. Some cook the zucchini, others don't. Just type in zucchini noodles to allrecipes.com and you'll find an abundance of ways to make them! To make the noodles, I simply cut the ends of the zucchini and used my potato peeler to shave thin slices off the zucchini until I got to the core! Then I tossed them in the pan with a dash of olive oil for a few minutes and took them off the heat when they got soft and seemed to be noodle-textured. Sidebar: I used one zucchini because I wasn't sure how much it would make, but next time I'll use two! While those were sauteing, I grabbed my kale out of the fridge and discovered what I had left was too droopy to use raw. I sadly tossed it and forced my brain to think of alternative sauces I could make. Surprisingly, I came up with an idea, in part thanks to this recipe's  idea of using sunflower seeds (which tend to be used for those with nut allergies)!
Here it is. ;)



Broccoli Pesto Sauce
serves: 2

1/2 cup broccoli, steamed
1/4 cup water from steaming
1 tsp. EVOO
pinch of basil
pinch of thyme
pinch of savory
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

After steaming the broccoli, place in Magic Bullet cup (or food processor) and add the water, EVOO, seasonings and seeds. Blend until combined. You may need to add a little more water, depending on how thick you'd like the sauce.

I steamed a cup of broccoli so I could add half the florets to my noodles. Just an option! I also cut up half an avocado to toss on top. I imagine adding some avocado to this sauce would be wonderful; I shall let you know when I try it! :)

So that's the story of the first time I ever made an entirely single-colored meal without even meaning to. ;) It turned out scrumptious.

One last thing while we're talking sauces! I tried this alfredo sauce (which uses cauliflower) and it was AMAZING! Even Riley thought it was eerily similar to "real" alfredo sauce, just without the dairy! I used water rather than any of the milks and it still turned out yummy. Hooray for vegetables made into sauce! ;)

Enjoy your first weekend in August you crazy cats!

--KQ

Garlicky Kale Chips!

Hey! How was your (hopefully) long 4th of July weekend?! Mine was wonderful. Our house is looking more and more like a real home, and my garden has far fewer weeds than it did this time last week!! Thanks to my green-thumbed mom, of course. Plus, I now have veggies growing!! EEK! Stay tuned for recipes with those once they are ready for picking. :)

So, kale chips (these with a side of sweet potato fries).

Everybody's raving about them, right? Or if they aren't, perhaps they will be once they take a gander at making them. Its quite easy! I like mine garlicky, and if you can have Parmesan I totally suggest you sprinkle some on top to add to the deliciousness. I've never had them with Parmesan myself, but the pictures I saw looked super good with the addition of a bit of cheese! Anyways. These are crispy and tasty and easy to make and of course healthy. If you aren't a fan of veggies this might be your golden ticket to increasing your green intake! Without further ado.

Garlicky Kale Chips

wax paper
1 bunch of kale, smaller pieces of leaves pulled off the stems (you can make them however small or large you'd like!)
olive oil, in spray form (did I mention my awesome sprayer my mom got me!? So much better than buying the can version! This is a good example.)
garlic powder
onion powder
salt (coarse sea salt would work too)
Parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. After washing your kale, make sure you dry it off really well. Cut or tear the leaves off the stems, then cut/tear into smaller pieces. Spread wax paper over a cookie sheet, then spread kale leaves out across the entire thing. You can cover the whole sheet, just try not to layer the kale over each other or it won't cook to even crispiness on all of them. Spray lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with the garlic and onion powder (this is a bit of a guess, since measuring it out wouldn't work. You'd end up with a douse of garlic on a very small area of kale!) Sprinkle a small amount of salt over the entire sheet. Add your Parmesan if you're a dairy fan! Bake 15-20 minutes. Check them at 15 minutes, as some people like things not as crisp as others (I like mine close to burnt!). Remove from oven and let cool for a minute, then enjoy while still warm!

Other topping options:

Salt and vinegar.
Paprika and cayenne pepper (spicy!).
BBQ rub.
Dill weed and salt (dill pickle chips, anyone?).
Parsley and feta (whoa, that could be good).

The options are endless! Make it your own and pat yourself on the back for your creativity.

I'm headed back to my kitchen (that I own...eek!) for another cup of coffee. Surprise, surprise. ;) Until we meet again (soon)!!

--KQ

Healthy...Brownies?

Hello, hello and happy Thursday! I apologize for my longer-than-usual absence from blogging; things got a little crazy! How's your week been going?

So. I got tested for Celiac disease and found out I'm also very allergic to dairy, tree nuts, soy, legumes....the list goes on. Seriously. The good news is I don't go into anaphylactic shock or anything crazy, my immune system just responds making me feel super sick. The other good news is at least I know and can start avoiding those things! Which means I pretty much eat veggies, fruit, fish, meat and potatoes. For reals. But hey, whatever it takes. Plus, I wasn't allergic to coffee so all is not wrong with the world. ;) But regardless of this craziness, I'll still be posting "normal" healthified recipes! After all, my hubby can still eat all foods. He'll just get more for himself! Rest assured you'll be receiving healthy recipes, etc. as well as a few allergen-free (wish me luck creating those...) along with the norm. Enough about me!

Let's talk brownies. If you look at a box mix of brownies, the first ingredient is sugar. Surprising? Not at all. Justifiably "decent enough" to eat one daily? Still no. Unless...you find a re-creation of the original fudge brownie! Check. Chocolate Covered Katie has pulled through again with a black bean brownie recipe that tastes exactly like normal fudge brownies. I fooled all my usual test tasters, and they are sort of pros on trying to guess my healthifications. Just try them. Find the recipe here! All credits and glass raising to CCK for that one!!

Short and sweet today; I'll be back tomorrow with a workout for you! Au revoir!

--KQ

No-Bake Cereal Bars

Happy Wednesday! If you're week isn't going the best, I've got a few words to perk it up; three day weekend! :)

So I should mention something. I'm currently supposed to be avoiding all gluten and dairy products while I await test results for celiac disease/casein allergy. Obviously that knocks out a huge list of ingredients for cooking. However, my hubby still eats all the products I must avoid, so my cooking only kind of changed. I still make things with gluten and dairy, I just adjust my own! So, if you notice a recipe says gluten free, etc. don't think I jumped any "gluten is the source of all evil" bandwagons, because I totally didn't. I'd eat it if it didn't make me sick! :) So no judgment on gluten free oats, okay? ;) Enough about me!

I bought some cereal (no surprise there). Sadly, it was the first bad gluten free cereal I've tried. Adios to a good four dollars. Then I told myself, surely I can use this in another way! Intro: cereal bars.

We've all had rice krispie treats, right? This is in the same family, minus the marshmallows and plus some other stuff. ;) These are higher in fat because of all the different nuts in them- but don't forget, healthy fats are necessary, not the devil. You can customize these however you'd like, from different cereal to different nuts and extra add-ins! I feel they are breakfast worthy, as well as any-other-time worthy. I made this batch in a 9x5 pan for testing purposes, but if you'd like to use the more standard 8x8, take each ingredient x 1.5 and you're set! :)

No-Bake Cereal Bars
makes 6 in a 9x5 loaf pan

2 cups cereal of your choice (I used peanut butter puffs)
1 Tbsp. crushed pecans (or whatever type of nut you want to use)
1 Tbsp. roasted unsalted sunflower nuts (same as above)
2 1/2 Tbsp. natural creamy peanut butter, melted
1 Tbsp. honey (this would be vegan if you used agave instead)
optional: sprinkle of unsweetened coconut
optional: sprinkle of freeze-dried fruit (I used raspberries) or raisins
optional: chocolate chips (aren't they always an option?!)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, add cereal, pecans, sunflower nuts and any additional goodies. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt your peanut butter (I did 20 seconds on power level 6 in my microwave). Add the honey to the peanut butter, then pour into the large mixing bowl. Stir everything together until the peanut butter has coated everything somewhat evenly. Spray your pan and press the batter into the pan until it forms an even top. Cover and eat later or cut and eat now. :)

A little close-up so you can see the raspberries and such

Nutrition (without chocolate chips) of one bar: 114 calories, 8 grams fat, 1.6 grams fiber, 5.5 grams sugar, 3.8 grams protein

I'm thinking I could adapt this recipe into one with oats rather than cereal, too. Quaker chewy bar style, perhaps??

Have a wonderful, whimsical Wednesday (I kind of reached for that one, didn't I?)! To better alliterations. ;)

--KQ

Time to Grill!

Good morning! How was your weekend and your Monday?? Riley and I got creative (though I admit it was actually Riley's idea) and made an Idea Jar where we each put cool things to do and we draw one at random. The main rule is no backing out of the rule unless the situation doesn't permit it (so we don't have to go play basketball outside somewhere if its pouring). Yay for fun ideas!

It is SO nice to see the sun out after a long spurt of snow and rain and clouds! To celebrate the nice weather, I've got a recipe that allows you to get outside and grill! Enjoy the weather and the delicious food at the same time ;)

Grilled potatoes have always been a favorite side dish of mine. They are easy to make, delicious, and can be adapted depending on your preferences! Grilled sweet potatoes are also amazing. I would eat them for breakfast if it wouldn't be so weird to fire up the grill at 7 am. ;) Below is the recipe for either; depending on what you want! Cooking directions are the same for both types of potatoes.

Grilled Potatoes
makes 3-4 servings

tin foil (piece about 6 inches x 12 inches)
2 medium potatoes, sliced into small, thin pieces (Russet, red, whatever you prefer on type)
1 slice off an onion, chopped into small chunks
1/4 green/red/yellow/orange pepper* (whatever is in your fridge) chopped into small chunks
olive oil spray or butter/margarine
1/2 clove of garlic, chopped (or 1/2  tsp. garlic powder)
pepper
seasonings to taste

*can substitute 3-4 mushrooms for pepper, or use both!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes
makes 3-4 servings

tin foil (piece about 6 inches x 12 inches)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into small, thin pieces
olive oil spray
butter/margarine
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pepper

Directions:
Fire up the grill to high heat, then turn to medium after it warms up for a few minutes.
Tear off piece of tin foil and spray with olive oil (if you don't have this, you can use Pam).

 Chop the potatoes and veggies and lay in the middle of the tin foil, spread out so they aren't too stacked on each other (this will help them cook evenly).

*For sweet potatoes, place tiny pieces of butter/margarine every few inches on the top of the potatoes. This will make them crisp up on the outside, so skip this step if you prefer soft, non-crispy potatoes. For the russet/red potatoes, spray them with olive oil again for the crispiness factor. Sprinkle seasonings (I often use Mrs. Dash on them) on top of the potatoes evenly and add pepper to your liking.

Fold up the tin foil hot dog style (you all remember this from first grade, right?) and fold the edges together, rolling them up until they are close to the potatoes. Roll the sides in the same way.

Place on the grill and let cook for 10-12 minutes (10 if you want them soft and not crispy, 12 if you're going for crispiness), then flip and let cook another 10-12 minutes. Remove from the grill and open the packet to let some heat out. Serve them as a side to any grilled meal!

I totally forgot to get a picture of the finished product, oops! Next time I make them (which will probably be soon if this weather stays wonderful!) I'll snag a picture of the crispiness of it all! I prefer mine to be close to charred. :)

What's your favorite thing to grill? I seriously enjoy everything grilled; chicken, veggies, hamburgers, fish, peaches (yes, they're amazing grilled). You name it, I like it grilled! Cheers to nice weather and grilling potential. :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday; enjoy the sunshine (and don't forget half-price fraps at Starbucks)!!

--KQ