Recipe: Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Spread/Dip

Wow - two months off and then two blog posts in one day?!?! Who am I?

Well, this recipe has been on my mind since my lovely friend Tracy made it and brought it to share one day at the pool club.  It is so yum. Then yesterday she dropped off a lovely eggplant for me and some red ripe tomatoes from her family's garden and I knew I needed to make this dip.

And, you already know I love eggplant so this was a no-brainier for me to make.

I found this recipe from Ina Gartner and I omitted the tomato paste.  However, next time I'd probably add it as it would give a little more substance to the dip itself.

A food blogger I am NOT but here are some pics regardless. Humor me  :)

All chopped and ready for olive oil, salt and pepper

My mom bought me these awesome grinders from Traders Joes

Ready to roast

Amazing how much it shrinks when it cooks

Into the food processor

All blended

Taste testing with a Wasa for all my fellow THM-ers!

I'd say this recipe is a win. I plan to make it quite a bit.  This is also THM friendly - I'd say it may even be used in an S or E setting depending on how much olive oil you use and how many servings you eat.  I bet it would be heavenly with Lavash Crackers or even as a spread on some of Gwen's Bread.

Oh boy...now I need to whip up some of that this weekend.  Happy Friday!

~Carly

Recipe: Veggie Bean-Quinoa Soup - THM E

Good morning!  After yet another snow day yesterday during this colder-than-normal winter here in Connecticut, I can help but continue to crave warm, hearty soups.

I didn't see this recipe made anywhere and I kind of just made it up on my own. It's definitely not genius or anything. 

But it is so good.  

There's nothing fancy in it and you can really add anything you have in the pantry or fridge that needs to be used up. Substitute or leave out ingredients based on your dietary needs or tastes.  For THM-ers this soup would be an E.

I call it Veggie Bean Quinoa Soup.  This recipe makes about 2-3 quarts of soup.

Ingredients:
1 Cup of purified water
1-2 box containers of veggie stock 

1 box Pomi diced tomatoes 

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of white beans (Canellini are my favorite but use whatever)

2-3 stalks celery chopped (I include the greens in the inside of the celery for more flavor)

1 carrot chopped 

1/2 of an onion chopped

1-2 green zucchini chopped

1-2 yellow squash chopped 

1/2 cup quinoa (cooked separately and add at end of soup cooking) 

Directions:
1. Rinse and chop all veggies.
2. Rinse and drain beans.
3. Pour cup of water, veggie stock, tomatoes and add all chopped ingredients and beans into a big stock pot.
4. In a separate smaller saucepan, cook quinoa according to the directions on your package. I use water to cook my quinoa but feel free to use any broth of flavoring you like.
5. Cook soup on medium-high heat until you achieve a rolling boil.  Turn down to low and simmer until veggies are tender - approximately 25-30 minutes.
6. Add cooked quinoa to rest of the soup.  Stir, add extra spices to taste and serve.

Veggie Bean Quinoa Soup.  Deelish.

This soup could not be easier.  Again, it makes quite a bit of soup so feel free to share with family, friends, neighbors or co-workers!  I gave a quart of soup to my neighbor the other day when her kids weren't feeling well and she raved about it.  

Let me know you like it if you try it and any variations you did!

~Carly

A Recipe of Lies

I can hardly believe it's almost the end of 2012.  With a new year comes a sense of starting fresh and renewal.  I don't know about you, but I personally have started to get away from the whole "resolutions" since they are usually over-zealous, over the top at times and tend to be hard to maintain - or at least the ones I've tried to keep up in the past.

My goal for most of last year and will be into 2013 is to be healthier.   As I mentioned, I'm a diet whore junkie and I've recently been following the Eat To Live plan by Dr. Fuhrman.  It's been going really, really great.  Aside from currently having a cold, I feel really good.  The weight is still not coming off as I'd hoped but I haven't weighed in again hoping for a bigger loss (fingers crossed!).  I'm also currently reading his books Super Immunity and Disease-Proof Your Child.  They're quite eye opening and informative.

Ok, back to the post and my recipe of lies.

So, for 2013 my goal is be healthier.  Not skinnier or fitter or anything like that.  I'm just striving for health.  Just this past weekend I actually got my husband on board with the whole cutting out processed foods and eating healthier idea also which is awe.some.  I've been on Pinterest for quite some time and I've come across some awesome blogs and resources for recipe, inspiration and so much more.  So as 2012 went on, I had already incorporated green smoothies and had been eating a more vegetarian diet.  Now, I'm almost borderline vegan (but not exactly) due to the Eat To Live plan.  And now with the hubby aboard the healthy train we should be in even better shape to achieve health in 2013.

Me eating healthier. Check.  Husband on board and agreeing to eat healthier, unprocessed foods.  Check.

Kiddos - Yeah.  Not quite a check there yet.

It's just going to be tricking the kiddos to eating healthier that I have to work on.  I started that plan today by making Zucchini Banana Muffins (recipe found on Pinterest on this blog) which I made without the glaze.  No offense, but the "glaze" in the pictures looks like ketchup and is so unappealing - but I altered the recipe a bit to make it a little more palatable for our taste.  So I turned the Zucchini Banana muffins into Zucchini Banana Applesauce muffins and they are yummy!  (Note:  I think they are but I can't taste anything really due to this darn cold!)

Without further adieu, I present the recipe of lies!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1  teaspoon cinnamon(I added more since I like cinnamon!)

1 egg

2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce (the original recipe called for butter but I didn't use any)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4  cup of white sugar

1/3 cup milk – plus another splash as the mix was a little too dry after mixing

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups freshly grated zucchini

1/3 cup mashed banana (about 1 small banana)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and then get the muffin pan ready with either liners or non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, salt,and cinnamon.  Mix well.

In a larger separate bowl, whisk the egg and brown sugar until smooth and until there are no lumps. Add in white sugar and continue to mix.  Add vanilla extract, applesauce and 1/3 cup milk. Add more later if you find the mix is too dry.  Whisk again until smooth and stir in the previously grated zucchini and mashed banana. Once combined, slowly add the dry ingredients a little at a time, folding the batter until just combined.  Divide batter into muffin cups.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 

The finished muffin

Oh whoops, I forgot to put in the key ingredient.

THE LIE!

So, in the whole tricking the kiddos theme, my 4 year old daughter helped me bake these muffins.  I should note that she is a fairly picky eater and does not really enjoy trying new things. Or eating vegetables.  Or trying new foods.  Or - well, you get the idea. My 3 year old son is a bit more adventurous with trying foods and his overall taste for diverse foods.  So, when my daughter saw the green zucchini, she asked me what it was.

So, I sort of lied and called it a green banana.

Well, she totally bought it!  I was shocked.  This coming from a child who would shy away from parsley and green flecks in anything that was on her plate.

Then once the muffins were baked and cooled, she proceeded to eat it - green bits and flecks of zucchini and all.  (See image)

Am I proud that I lied?  No.  I mean, she saw with her own eyes that it was green - a color of food she normally is repulsed by.  Maybe because I quickly called it a green banana, it made it okay by her standards?  But for the sake of her long-term health and getting her to eat more green vegetables I guess I'd have to say it is a lie I'd tell over and over again.

And I just may.

While I consider myself an honest person, I'm kind of a huge fan of trying to sneak more veggies into foods that kids prefer to eat - such as chicken nuggets, cookies, muffins, chili's  soups and stews.  I really love Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook which I need to go back through and try more of the recipes again now that my kids are older.

Now tell me, do you struggle with the same "picky-ness" with your kids?  How do you or did you overcome it.  Did you ever tell lies to get your kids to eat new things?  I'd love to hear it?
~Carly

Super Food Recipe

Good morning!

As you know, I'm a big fan of Pinterest and I found this delicious recipe that Real Simple pinned.

Source: Real Simple

Mmmmm! I cannot wait to make for dinner one night soon - possibly tonight!

It's loaded with some of my favorite foods right now - especially since I'm eating a Vegetarian style now in conjunction with my Cinch plan. (I'm sipping a Cinch Vanilla shake mix with bananas, peaches, strawberries, a splash of orange juice and ice and it's deeeee-lish!)

Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes and Kale are some serious power houses in the "super foods" categories.

Kale is packed with nutrition - possibly more so than meat - including iron, calcium, fiber and more.

Sweet Potatoes are rich in anti-oxidants and nutrients and are a fantastic "slow-burning" carb.

Quinoa is also chock full of nutrients, protein, vitamins and minerals.  The garlic is delicious and has fantastic health benefits, olive oil is a wonderful fat and - yes - even the wine give this meal is beneficial.

All these together are amazing foods individually, but even better when combined.  I also love Parmesan cheese.  (Now I'm super hungry)

The end result is a flavorful, healthy meal that is just around 360 calories - less if you use extra virgin olive oil instead of the regular as listed below.

Quinoa With Mushrooms, Kale, and Sweet Potatoes 


Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 10 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• 
  
• Directions
• 1.  Place the quinoa and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• 3.Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and beginning to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
• 4.Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• 5. Add the kale, wine, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing often, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
• 6. Serve the vegetables over the quinoa and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
• 
  
• Nutritional Information
• Per Serving (remember it serves 4!)
• Calories 361
• Fat  12g
• Sat Fat  2g
• Cholesterol  5mg
• Sodium  560mg
• Protein  13g
• Carbohydrate  51g
• Fiber  6g