Blood Orange and Dark Chocolate Chip Muffins

Blood oranges are my current obsession.  My wonderful husband picked some up for me the other day, and I immediately decided I wanted to bake something starring them. The following recipe was adapted from Mountain Mama Cooks.  I changed a few ingredients to increase the nutritional stats and decrease the unhealthy fats.  They came out soft and fluffy, and just the perfect amount of sweet.

Ingredients (makes 12 standard sized muffins):

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/4 c. Egg Substitute (I use Better n' Eggs)
• 1/2 c. Coconut Oil, melted (cold-pressed, extra virgin!)
• Zest of 2 blood oranges, separated
• 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Blood Orange Juice
• 1/4 cup Skim Milk (I used Lactaid this time, but I usually use So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk)
• 1 tbsp. Nonfat, Plain Greek Yogurt
• 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chips)
• 1 Tbsp Coarse Sugar

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt
• In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, egg substitute, coconut oil, zest from one orange, orange juice, milk, greek yogurt, and vanilla until well combined
• Add flour mixture to egg/sugar mixture and stir until just combined
• Fold in chocolate chips
• Evenly divide the batter in the 12 muffin cups
• In a small dish, combine the coarse sugar with the zest from the other orange, and rub the zest and sugar together in your ingers to release the oils in the zest and mix into the sugar
• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the zest/sugar mixture
• Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Clean, Paleo, Gluten-Free Thai Chicken Salad

I am eternally on a quest for clean, non-boring lunches.  I stumbled upon this recipe from the Food Network and changed it up a bit to suit my needs (and the ingredients I already had).  I can definitely see myself eating this all week long...either as a sandwich on some Ezekial Bread, or on top of a bed of spinach. 

I have recently discovered that I enjoy canned chicken breast...it's kind of like eating tuna, but higher in protein, lower in sodium, and definitely lacking mercury.  I made the dressing for this recipe and blended it with the veggies.  When I pack my lunches every night, I will use 1 can of chicken and stir in a serving of the dressing so that it's fresh every day!  The dressing makes 5 servings, so it's perfect for the week.

Dressing/Veggie Mixture Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. Asparagus, ends removed, and cut into chunks
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1/4 c. Coconut Oil (cold-pressed, extra virgin!)
• 1/8 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1.5 tbsp. Low Sodium Tamari Sauce (you can use soy sauce if you don't care about the gluten)
• 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 1/4 tbsp. Honey
• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/2 tsp. peeled, grated, Fresh Ginger
• 1/2 tbsp. Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 c. Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper

Instructions:

• Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
• Dice the peppers
• Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing
• Add the asparagus and peppers
• Portion out the dressing daily with your canned chicken and serve chilled

Vegan, Paleo, Butternut Squash and Kale Soup with Sprouted Tri-Color Lentils

I've mentioned before how much I LOVE butternut squash.  You'll also notice the presence of Kale in many of my recipes.  The nutrition and health benefits of kale are well known, and as much as I enjoy it in smoothies, I've found that the texture of eating the whole leaves doesn't really appeal to me.  I still want to include it in my diet, so I decided that in this soup, I would use my immersion blender to puree the kale with the butternut squash, thus avoiding my texture issues with this leafy green friend.

This recipe incorporated some Middle Eastern flair because I cooked the sprouted lentils in water seasoned with cumin and cinnamon.  This soup was crazy high in protein and super filling and perfect for the 20 degree weather we've been experiencing lately.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Butternut Squash (I was pressed for time, so I bought the pre-cut version at the store)
• 1/2 lb. Kale, shredded (remove the stems as they taste very bitter!)
• 1/2 c. Onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. Celery, chopped
• 1/2 c. Carrots, chopped
• 1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 c. Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
• 1 c. Dried, Sprouted, Tri-Color Lentils
• Garlic Powder, Cumin, Cinnamon, Salt, Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• In a small pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil, seasoned with cumin and cinnamon.  Add the lentils, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Drain and set aside
• In a large pot, saute the onion, celery, and carrots in olive oil until fragrant
• Add squash, kale, and broth, seasonings to taste and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer until squash and kale are soft
• Using an immersion blender (or transferring small amounts to a food processor) puree the vegetable mixture until smooth
• Add the lentils and stir until smooth

Cleaned Up Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

My husband LOVE creamy soups.  He is also lactose intolerant...go figure.  Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup is hands down his favorite, so I decided to make a cleaned up version with Lactaid milk so he doesn't have to pop pills before he eats it (awesome wife status, here) ;)

This came out really delicious and he brought it for lunch all last week.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. Onion, diced
• 1/2 c. Celery, chopped
• 1/2 c. Carrot, chopped
• 4 c. Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 c. Water
• 3 Chicken Breasts, poached (I poach the chicken beforehand, let it cool and then shred it before adding it to the soup)
• 1 box Nature's Way Long Grain and Wild Rice with seasoning packet
• 1/2 c. Brown Rice
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 1/2 c. Flour
• 4 tbsp. Butter
• 2 c. Lactaid Milk (1%)

Directions:

• In a large pot, saute garlic, onion, celery, and carrot in 1 tbsp. butter until fragrant
• Add broth, water, chicken, rice mix w/ seasoning packet, and brown rice
• Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes until rice is tender
• In a small pot, make a roux by melting the butter and then slowly stirring in the flour.  Once incorporated, stir until gently boiling, but be careful not to burn!!  If you see small black dots appear, that means it's burnt
• Stir in the milk, and continue to simmer for 3-5 minutes
• Add the roux to the soup pot and stir until combined

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Vegan Banana Bread...my first attempt at using Coconut Flour

A few of my friends have gone Paleo recently.  This means that their diets are grain-free and dairy-free and consist mostly of lean meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and nuts/seeds.  I think the concept of Paleo is really interesting, but I personally could not give up dairy, so I'll stick with clean eating ;).

However, as you all know, I enjoy a kitchen challenge, so I've been trying out some Paleo-friendly recipes (which are incidentally all gluten-free for the many people in my life who are oh-so-affectionately glu-tarded).

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to make, and making it Paleo wasn't entirely difficult, but it did require some research.  I decided to use Coconut Flour, which I've learned can't just be substituted for regular flour as it absorbs a ton more moisture. 

This bread came out decent, but there's room for improvement.  I can get past the slightly weird texture, but I can't help but notice that the coconut flour (or some sort of weird reaction between the ingredients) made this taste sort of salty...

Ingredients:

• 3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
• 1/3 c. Coconut Oil (cold pressed, extra virgin!)
• 6 Eggs (I never never never cook with whole eggs, but I'm embracing the Paleo here...)
• 2 tbsp. Honey
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 c. Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 tbsp. Cinnamon

Instructions:

 

• Combine bananas and melted coconut oil and mix well
• Add eggs, honey, and vanilla and whisk until combined
• In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients
• Add to wet ingredients
• Transfer to a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

 

Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Granola Bars...what could be better?

I've been really into making granola bars lately, and there's pretty much no flavor combo I prefer more than pumpkin and dark chocolate.  I always make sure to stock up on cans of pumpkin puree during off-times of year, as the news seems to always proclaim a potential pumpkin shortage sometime in the future. 

I came across this recipe on Clean Eating Online, and decided to amp up the protein a bit, and decrease the sugar content, and the result was awesome.  I should point out the Tosca Reno is sort of the "mother" of clean eating, and her cookbooks and website are excellent resources to those who are interested in learning more about what clean eating is all about.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 c. Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 c. Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/3 c. Agave Nectar
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 c. 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate, chopped
• 1/3 c. Sliced Almonds
• 1/3 c. Raw Pumpkin Seeds
• 3 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein (use a low-sugar variety!  I use MRM)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside
• Chop the chocolate into small pieces
• In a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt together and set aside
• In a medium bowl, whisk pumpkin, applesauce, honey, protein, and vanilla extract until smooth
• Pour over oats and stir until all the oats are coated
• Stir in the dark chocolate, almonds, and pumpkin seeds
• Evenly press into prepared pan
• Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown
• Let cool for 5 minutes and then use a sharp knife to cut into bars
• Let cool completely

I store mine in the fridge because I like the way they taste chilled.

Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna is pretty much the definition of comfort food.  Usually comfort food comes with a connotation of being bad for you.  However, sometimes it's possible to make a comfort food that's actually not all that bad for you.

I will preface this post by stating that I normally do not even look at recipes by Rachael Ray because, frankly, I can't stand the woman.  Her personality irritates me and I've heard on several occasions from friends and strangers, that she is just not nice in person.

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest, and it happened to be one of hers, so I put down the hater-ade, adapted it a little, and made it, and it really was one of the most delicious creations I've ever cooked.  I ate it for lunch and dinner for an entire week.

Ingredients:

• 2 Medium Eggplants
• 2 Medium Zucchini
• 4 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1 c. Ricotta Cheese
• 1 c. Reduced Fat Ricotta Cheese
• 2 c. Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (leftover from my risotto!)
• 1 lb. Fresh Mozzarella, roughly shredded (I used a low-sodium version)
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Mint, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. Fresh Thyme, finely chopped
• 2 Egg Whites, beated
• 1, 28oz. can San Marzano Tomatoes
• a few Basil Leaves
• 3 tbsp. Red Onion, grated
• 4 small Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced 1/2" thick
• 1/2 tsp. Stevia in the Raw
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Peel the eggplants, leaving some skin on (so they look striped) and slide crosswise 1/4" thick
• Slice the zucchini 1/4" thick on an angle
• Pat the eggplant and zucchini dry and divide between 2 baken sheets.  Brush with olive oil and roast until slightly golden, 10-15 minutes
• Combine the ricotta with 1 c. each of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Mozzarella, the mint, parsley, and egg; season with salt and pepper
• In another bowl, combine the rest of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and Mozzarella
• Place the tomatoes and their juices in a food processor (I used my Magic Bullet) and puree with the minced garlic, the basil leaves, onion, and Stevia; season with salt and pepper
• Reduce the oven temp to 400 degrees
• Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I used a disposable foil pan because cleaning up after lasagna can be a pain)
• Layer in half of the eggplant and zucchini, then dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top
• Next, shingle half of the potatoes on top and season with salt and pepper and sprinkling of the rosemary and thyme
• Top with another third of the ricotta mixture
• Layer with th eremaining eggplant, zucchini, ricotta mixture and potatoes; season with the remaining rosemary and thyme
• Top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano mixture
• Cover the lasagna with greased parchment and wrap with foil; bake on a baking sheet for 40 minutes
• Uncover and bake until deeply golden, 30-40 minutes
• Let stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing

I forgot to take a photo after I cut it, but here's what it looked like fresh out of the oven!

Butternut Squash Risotto...truly something to be thankful for

Well, here's another throwback recipe from this past Thanksgiving.  I adapted this recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto from something I saw on Skinnytaste, and I can't even believe how delicious it was.  I love all things butternut squash related, but my husband normally won't touch it, and he gave this the seal of approval!

As is, this recipe will make 4 servings...I had to triple it to feed my Thanksgiving crowd, but as long as you use a big enough pot, it will turn out perfectly!

Ingredients:

• 3 c.  Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
• 1 c. Butternut Squash Puree (I boiled about 1/2 lb. squash in 1 c. of broth and then pureed and re-measured a cup.  You can also use a pre-made butternut squash soup if you want to skip this step)
• 1 tsp. Coconut Oil (Cold-pressed, extra-virgin!)
• 3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 1/4 c. Shallots, chopped
• 1 c. Arborio Rice
• 2 oz. Dry White Wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Sage, minced
• 1/4. c Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• In a pot, mix vegetable broth with pureed squash and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and maintain over low heat
• In a large, heavy saucepan, heat coconut oil until melted.  Add shallots, garlic, and rice and saute until the rice is well coated (~3 minutes).  Add wine and sage and stir until absorbed
• Add a ladle of the simmer stock and stir continuously until it is absorbed.  Continue to add stock by the ladleful and stir until absorbed
• Continue until the rice is creamy and al dente and all the stock is used (should take around a half hour).  Add the grated cheese, stir and remove from heat
• Serve immediately