Sweet Potato, Power Greens, and Quinoa Burgers

I love everything about these burgers...I'll be eating them this week on whole wheat pita.



Ingredients :

• 3 Medium Sweet Potatoes
• 1 c. Power Greens (blend of baby spinach, baby kale, and chard)
• 1/4 c. Quinoa (uncooked, rinsed)
• 1/4 c. Almond Meal
• 1 tbsp. Coconut Oil
• 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 2 tsp. Hot Sauce
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400. 
• Peel, slice, and boil sweet potatoes until soft.  Drain and let cool
• Put quinoa and 1/2 c. water in a small pot.  Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer 15 minutes until all water is absorbed
• In a large bowl, mash the sweet potatoes and blend with chopped greens, quinoa, almond meal, hot sauce, and spices
• Pour the coconut oil and maple syrup over the mixture and stir until combined
• Form into 4-5 patties (depending on size) and place on lightly greased cookie sheet
• Bake 40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes

Dark Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I love chocolate.  I reallllly love chocolate.  I seek out ways to consume it without going crazy with calories and sugar, and this recipe definitely hits the mark.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. Almond Milk (unsweetened)
• 2 tbsp. Chia Seeds
• 2 tsp. Stevia in the Raw
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Dark Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey Special Dark, unsweetened)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Instructions:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl
• Refrigerate 2-3 hours until the Chia Seeds have expanded and the mixture thickens

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

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.

Vegan Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

I find myself wanting to bake at the randomest times.  Take for example, this evening...I had an insanely long day at work, but still felt like baking when I got home.  I hadn't made a bread in awhile, so I decided to throw some stuff together, and it came out pretty delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 c. Quinoa (ground into a flour)
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon
• 0.25 tsp. Nutmeg
• 0.25 tsp. Allspice
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1.25 c. Stevia in the Raw
• 0.75 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1.5 c. Pumpkin Puree
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 medium Zucchinis (shredded)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt

In a large bowl, mix Stevia, applesauce, and pumpkin puree

Add the vanilla

Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined

Cut the tops off of 2 medium zucchinis

Coarsely grate the zucchini into the bowl

Fold in

Spray 2, 9"x5" loaf pans with cooking spray, and divide the batter evenly

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, and slice

Granola Bars 2.0

Another granola bar recipe :)

Ingredients:

• 4 c. Old Fashioned Oats
• 4 tsp. Flaxseeds
• 1 small bag of Craisins Cranberry and Chocolate Trail Mix
• 17 raw almonds (equivalent to 100 calories)
• 1 c. Agave Nectar
• 2/3 c. Natural Peanut Butter (unsweetened)
• 2 scoops MRM All Natural Rich Vanilla Whey Protein (or other type of protein powder you prefer)
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees
• Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper
• In a food processor, combine flaxseeds, almonds and Craisins mixture and pulse until chopped
• In a large bowl, mix oats and Craisins mixture
• In a smaller bowl, mix agave, peanut butter, cinnamon and protein powder
• Pour over the oat mixture and blend until coated
• Spread out thinly on cookie sheet
• Bake for 20 minutes
• Allow to cool and then cut.