I thought I would start off the week with a lesson on sprouting.

Sprouting is the process of changing a boring seed into a life-bearing plant!  When you sprout, you are unlocking all of the valuable nutrients that are inside of that seed.  Many of these nutrients are not absorbed into your body when they are cooked because of the heat that it takes to cook them.  The nutrients are lost before they can be consumed.

By sprouting, you are able to keep the valuable nutrients in tact and have a delicious grain, seed or bean to eat without any cooking!

Sprouting is great for many reasons, two of the biggest reasons being:

1. It neutralizes the acids making it easier for the nutrients to be absorbed.
2. It makes them easier to digest.

Another great thing?  Sprouting is so easy!

I decided to sprout 2 different grains to show you difference in timing – quinoa and wheatberries.

First, rinse the grains/seeds/beans very well.  Then, place them in a jar (I used mason jars) and cover with water and soak for 12 – 24 hours.

The quinoa soaked for 12 hours, the wheatberries soaked for 24 hours.

After the grains have soaked for their allotted time, dump them into a mesh strainer and rinse very well.

Then, return the grains to their jars and cover with cheesecloth.

You can see that the grains expanded to almost double the size after soaking them!

In order for the grains to sprout, they must be placed in a room temperature place.  Place them on their side and be sure to rinse a few times per day in order to keep the grains moist.  The moisture is what helps them to sprout.

Quinoa

Wheatberries

I like to rinse the grains by leaving the cheesecloth on.  Fill the container with water and invert the jar to drain!  Simple.

Continue to rinse and leave the grains on their sides until you see signs of sprouts!

The quinoa will sprout quickly, so keep an eye on it.  I stopped the sprouting after about 12 hours when it looked like the picture below.  The sprouts will be about the size of the grain you are sprouting.

The wheatberries will take longer.  I stopped the sprouting after about 26 hours.

Once the grains are done sprouting, rinse them one more time and then completely drain all water.  I left this draining for about 15 minutes to make sure all of the liquid was out.

In order to stop the sprouting process, place the jars into the fridge.  The cold temperatures will cause the sprouting to commence.  I store the grains in the same jars that I sprout them in, which is why I make sure to completely drain those jars.

At this point, your sprouted grains are ready to eat!

Sprouting may take a long time, but as you can see the process is quite simple.  Instead of taking 20-40 minutes to cook your quinoa and/or wheatberries for dinner, you can simply spend 1 minute taking your sprouted grains out of the fridge!

The taste of the grains is similar, but definitely a little different.  I like the taste, especially mixed in delicious salads, like this one.

Or simply places atop a salad, like this one.

Sprouting can be done with many different grains, seeds and beans.  My next adventure will be to sprout some chickpeas to make sprouted chickpea hummus.  Doesn’t that sound good?!

I woke up bright and early for some speedwork on the treadmill!  I ran 7 miles with 4 x 1600 at an 8:00 pace.  I finished in just over an hour and felt great!  But, was ready for breakfast.

I forgot to snap a photo, but breakfast was another Wheatberry bowl with dried fruit, caramelized pears, greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Same as yesterday, so I copied the photo!  Trust me, it looked the same.

Breakfast did not fill me up as much as it did yesterday, maybe because of my workout?  So, mid morning I snacked on a banana and chocolate almond butter from Futter’s Nut Butter.  I ordered some nut butters from Futters awhile ago and they sent me some samples along with my purchase.  This chocolate almond butter was one of them.

It was good, but not great.  A little too sweet for my liking.  I much prefer the Cinn-ful Pecan Butter that I bought from them!

When lunch rolled around, I was ready with my leftovers!

I started with the rice mixture from our Stuffed Acorn Squash.

We had a lot of the stuffing left over!

Then, I had the leftover Brussel Sprouts from last night.

It was a great lunch.

Then, I was craving salty chocolate.  Wired, I know, but sometimes you just need it!  So, I booked it to Trader Joe’s to get my favorite Chocolate Pretzel Slims.

I immediately tore open the bag and dug in!

Yum – perfect!

The ingredient list isn’t terrible either.

But, of course I was still hungry a few hours later since my treat was not very filling!  So, I tried the new Oikos Caramel Greek Yogurt.

Oh my gosh!  This is even better than the chocolate!  It has a subtle, creamy caramel taste.  It is not a super sweet caramel, like I thought it might be.  So good.

Brant and I both got home late tonight, so we just wanted something quick for dinner.  I decided to heat up a can of Amy’s Soup that I had been sent to review.

I tried the Chunky Tomato Bisque.

This soup was really good.  It was rich and creamy.  Normally, I am not a fan of canned soup due to the amount of sodium, but Amy’s is a good compromise for a quick lunch or dinner.  Their soups are all natural and organic.  It still contains a lot of salt (680mg per serving), but that is less than other soups out there.  Plus, Amy’s only uses whole ingredients.

INGREDIENTS : ORGANIC TOMATO PUREE, ORGANIC DICED TOMATOES, ORGANIC CREAM, ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, ORGANIC ONIONS, SEA SALT, SPICES.

I also made up some quesadillas on a pita pocket to serve along with the soup.

I sliced up some zucchini and cheddar cheese to put in my quesadilla, and grilled it on the panini press for a few minutes until hot and melty.

A perfect and sophisticated grilled cheese and soup!

Time to pay attention to the Olympics and finish my book!  See you all tomorrow.

But I got home, found an unmarked parking spot and was ready to make dinner.

I felt like some delicious green veggies tonight, so I roasted some asparagus and brussel sprouts, and cooked up some barley which I seasoned with lemon and herbs.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

• see recipe here!

I made roasted brussel sprouts in mustard sauce again, since they were such a big hit the first time around.

I cleaned up the brussel sprouts.

Then, mixed them with mustard, brown sugar, sesame oil, salt and pepper and spread them out on a cookie sheet to bake at 400°F for 25 minutes.

Yum!  They came out caramelized and crispy and even better than last time!

Roasted Asparagus

• 20 asparagus stalks
• drizzle of olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• handful of grated parmesean cheese

Lay out your asparagus on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on parm cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400°F for 10-12 minutes, or until roasted.  I already had my brussel sprouts baking, so I just popped this cookie sheet in when they had about 10 minutes to go.

This is such a quick and easy way to cook asparagus.  My husband and I love it!

Tomato & Barley Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked barley, cooked according to package instructions
• 2-2.5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dried thyme (use fresh if you have it!)

Directions:

• Boil 2 cups of vegetable stock.  Add barley, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.  I have found that the cooking times with barley really vary for some reason!  Check your barley every so often.  You may need to add more vegetable stock if the barley is not tender enough.  I cook long enough so that it is al dente.

• Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat.

• Add chopped garlic and onion.  Cook until onion is tender, about 5-8 minutes.

• Add grape tomatoes and cook until warmed through.

• Once barley is cooked, remove from heat and add to the onion/tomato mixture. Stir until combined.

• Add lemon juice and zest to the mix and stir to combine.  Then, add thyme and mix.

• Serve with roasted asparagus and brussel sprouts, or your veggie of choice!

This was a great dinner.  I adore vegetables and grains, so anytime I have a meal combining the 2 is phenomenal in my book.  I make sure that everything has a lot of good flavors, but that they don’t overpower each other.  The barley salad was very lemony, which worked well with the mustard brussel sprouts.  And, the asparagus was so simple, that it could be served with anything.  Loved this meal!

Wow!  An all around great day of eats.

While I was waiting for our acorn squash dinner to cook last night, I got a jump start on preparing meals for the week.  I usually try to prepare my lunches the night before to make my mornings less rushed.  I find that when I pack them in the morning, I am running around and therefore, don’t always pack the most nutritious lunch.  Usually, I am pressed for time, and just pull random items from the cabinet and fridge to bring with me.  These are also the days that I end up snacking all day long because my lunch is not filling enough!

This week, I planned out my lunches before we went grocery shopping.  I plan to eat leftovers of our dinners a few days.  I also wanted something a little different for breakfast this week!  I am growing tired of my same old oatmeal or smoothies each morning, so I thought I would prepare something more fun and exciting for breakfast this week!  I have been wanting to make wheatberry bowls from 101cookbooks.com for awhile now, but I never seem to have enough time!  This is just the week to make them!

I cooked 1 cup of wheatberries according to the package instructions.  Wheatberries take at least an hour to cook, so this is definitely something that you need to do in advance!  After my wheatberries were cooked, I just popped them into a container and put them in the fridge to use each morning.

I also cut up some dried fruit – 3 whole dried bananas, 1/4 cup dried ginger and 1/4 cup dried apricots (all of these contain no sugar!).  I mixed all of the fruit together and placed it into an airtight bowl for safe keepings.

I also toasted some pecans.

The last thing that I did was carmelize some pears!  I sliced 2 pears and cooked them with 1 tsp butter over medium heat until they were soft and a little browned.  They came out so good and sweet!

I woke up this morning knowing that breakfast was waiting for me – no waiting for my oats to cook this morning!

I scooped 1/2 cup cooked wheat berries into a bowl and topped it with 1/2 carmelized pear, handful of mixed dried fruit, a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a drizzle of pure maple syrup!

YUM!  This was the best breakfast ever!  A wonderful change of pace from my normal oats and smoothies.  I was in need of a break for a week.  I love the sweetness of the maple syrup and pears, and the spiciness of the dried ginger!  The yogurt makes everything mix together just perfectly.  This is a delicious breakfast that would be perfect served to a large group for brunch!  I will be eating it all week.

Lunch was also packed last night, since I had some extra time.  I made some tuna fish mixed with stoneground mustard, celery seed and chopped celery.  I hate mayo, so I never use it, not even in tuna!  I much prefer the tangy taste of mustard.

I filled 1/2 white (I know, bad bad!!) pita pocket with some arugula and the tuna.  It was a great tuna sandwich, and just filling enough.

On the side, I snacked on some Roasted Plantain Chips that I picked up from Trader Joes.  I have had my eye on these for a while, but just got around to actually buying them this week!

They are great!  The ingredients say that they are roasted in a little sunflower oil and salt.  That’s right, just 3 ingredients: plantains, sunflower oil, salt!  The flavor is just perfect.  Not too oily and not too salty, just right.  I have previously only had sweet plantains, so this was a nice change.

One serving (about 20 chips) contains 140 calories and 6 grams of fat.  Not so bad!

That was a great lunch!  Very satisfying.

I broke open another You TrailMix for a snack this afternoon.  This mix was Chocolate Trails, which contained organic peanuts, pecans, cherries, pretzels, chocolate chips and chocolate covered raisins.

This was a good mix, better than the first one I tried.  I still prefer to make my own trail mix, but this mix is probably similar to one that I’d make on my own!  It was perfect to hold me over until dinner.

Before my morning workout, I snacked on a new bar that I found.  They are marketed as all raw bars, but this one was only about 89% raw.  Still more raw than any other bar out there though!  I loved it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

It tasted somewhat like a Larabar, but not as dry.  And, it had mini chocolate chips in it, which was obviously a big seller for me.   It had 200 calories, 10 grams of fat and minimal ingredients, which was also a big seller for me.  It kept me going throughout my workout.

Anyways, on to the workout.  Today was Day 3 of my weight routine – Back & Biceps.

I started with a 6 mile easy run on the treadmill (60 minutes) to get in my cardio and miles, and then headed to the weights.  Here is what I did today:

Back & Biceps

• Lat Pulldown (3 sets of 12, 50 lbs)
• 21′s (3 sets, 10 lb dumbbells)
• Hammer Curls (3 sets of 12, 10 lb weights)
• Bent over Dumbbell Fly (3 sets of 12, 7.5 lb weights)
• Back Extension (3 sets of 10, 10 lb weight)
• Seated Row (3 sets of 12, 35 lbs)
• Pushups (2 sets of 15)

Skipped the corework today due to time, I’ll have to add that in at some other point this week!

My breakfast yesterday was oatbran instead of oatmeal.  It’s nice to change it up once in awhile.  I think I went on oatmeal overload and I need a little break!  Oatbran is basically oatmeal in a different form (more ground up), but it feels different to me!  It doesn’t feel as hearty, even though it fills me up just the same.

Normally, I eat thick rolled oats for breafkast.  Thick rolled oats are steamed whole oat groats that are rolled into a thick flake, which gives them the texture of a steel cut oat, but one that cooks faster.  They are thicker than old fashioned oats (like quaker) and are a bit chewier and heartier.   Because of their thickness they take a little longer to cook, are very filling and take longer to digest, thus keeping you full and satisfied for longer.  I buy mine in the bulk foods section at whole foods.

Oat bran is made from whole oat groats, as well, but they are ground into a fine oat meal and then combined with some of the outer bran or husk of the oat.  Adding the husk increases the amount of fiber (oatbran = 6 grams of fiber, rolled oats = 4 grams of fiber).  Oat bran cooks fairly quickly and has a smoother texture than my normal thick rolled oats.  I prefer the taste and texture of rolled oats, but I do like to change to oatbran one in awhile.

Anyways, on to my breakfast of oats in a jar!  I usually eat my oats with a spoonful or two of nut butter, so when my peanut butter jar was almost empty, I new it was the perfect portable container for my oats!

I cooked my oatbran just like my oatmeal, with a banana and a scoop of ground flaxseed.

Boil 1 cup of water in a small pot on the stove, then add in your ingredients: 1/3 cup oatbran, 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and 1 ripe banana.

Cook the oatbran for a few minutes, until it creates a creamy oatmeal (almost like a cream of wheat consistency).  I like to whip up my banana while it is cooking to make it all blend together.

Then, I scooped my oats into my almost empty peanut butter jar!

And added a spoonful of chocolate peanut butter, just for fun!

And, off i went with my oats in a jar and spoon.

Fast forward to dinner!  Victoria was in town for the night, so I needed to find something quick and yummy for dinner!  I decided on 101cookbooks Orzo Super Salad which I have made multiple times before!  Because I have made it so many times, I kind of just made up the recipe as I was going along, but it obviously came out very similar.

I used asparagus, brocolli, a huge cucumer, bean sprouts, and a Florida avocado for my veggies.

You might be wondering what a Florida avocado is?!  Well, I saw these huge avocados in the grocery store this week, and was intrigued.  They were marketed as a Slimcado with half the fat.

Now, normally I would not be intrigued by something like this, because avocados have healthy fat and we should not be cutting that out of our diets.  Plus, I rarely buy anything that says low-fat or fat-free because of all of the unhealthy additives that go into them.  Anyways, I needed an avocado for this recipe and this was all that they had at the grocery store I went to.  So, I decided to try it out.

I did some research online when I got home to see what all of the fuss was about, and found out that Florida avocados are grown in more tropical climates with lots of rain, while regular avocados (like Hass) are grown in extremely hot and dry areas, like South America.  Therefore, the Florida avocados retain more water, making them have less fat.  Interesting, I thought…

So, I opened this baby up…and found this…

…a HUGE pit!!  Well, no wonder these Slimcados contain half the fat?!  There is half the avocado meat in there!  Jeez!  Marketing…it will do crazy things to the mind.

But, the avocado did still taste great!  And, it looks the same once it is all cut up.

While I was chopping up my veggies, the orzo was cooking on the stove.

Once it was done, I drained it and added all of my veggies along with some toasted walnuts and feta, and mixed it all up.

Instead of making up the dressing that Heidi Swanson recommends, I just squeezed a lemon and drizzled some olive oil over the whole salad and mixed it up well.

As usual, it was a hit!  This salad is great for a potluck or a summer BBQ!  It is always a crowd pleaser!

Orzo Super Salad

from 101cookbooks.com

Serves 4 (so it says – this recipe makes a lot!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried orzo pasta
• 10-12 medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments
• 1 medium head of broccoli, cut into small trees
• Small handful of cilantro (I omitted this, I don’t love cilantro)
• 1 small clove of garlic (I cooked this with the orzo)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I just used a drizzle)
• a small handful of sprouts
• 1/3 cup almonds, toasted (I used walnuts)
• 1/2 small cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I doubled this)
• 1 medium avocado, sliced into small pieces
• 1/4 cup feta, crumbled

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously (and add garlic) and boil the orzo per package instructions.
2. About 30 seconds before the orzo is finished cooking stir the asparagus and broccoli into the orzo pot. Cook for the final 30 seconds, drain and run under a bit of cold water. Just long enough to stop the cooking.
3. In the meantime, whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and more salt (if needed) into the dressing. Set aside. (I omitted this step and just squeezed the lemon and drizzled the olive oil over the salad once mixed)
4. Toss the orzo, asparagus, broccoli, and cilantro.
5. Now add the sprouts, almonds, cucumber, avocado, and feta. Very gently toss a couple of times to distribute those ingredients throughout the salad and serve.

It is great served warm, roomtemp or chilled!!

I changed it up again by adding something green to my smoothie to get some fruit and veggies in my breakfast.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 6 ice cubes

• 1/4 cup cacao powder
• a few squirts of agave

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• 3 handfuls of spinach!!

• Mix it all up and get this yummy smoothie!

Don’t be disturbed by the green color, I promise, you cannot taste the spinach!

And, if you can’t get over the color, than do what these girls do and use a sippy cup!

This was my first green smoothie, and it was really good!

Lunch was leftovers from last nights dinner!  Still great the next day -maybe even a little better because the veggies were more marinated.

After my 8 miles of speed-work at the gym, it was time for a good and substantial dinner, so I made another Moosewood recipe, Wild Rice Waldorf Salad.  It was a twist on the classic waldorf that I love.

While the combination of wild and brown rice was cooking, I set to work chopping up all of the fruits and veggies: yellow pepper, celery, red onion, and 2 granny smith apples.

I tossed the apples with lemon to keep them from browning.

Then toasted some walnuts, and whipped up the dressing!

This was a super simple recipe.  The longest part was cooking the rice!  There was a lot of sitting and waiting around while it cooked.  Next time I will pre-cook the rice the night before.

My husband and I both loved this dish.  The tartness of the apples and the sweetness of the raisins really added to it.

I served it on a bed of mixed salad greens.  I love to add in more veggies when I can!

Wild Rice Waldorf Salad

from Moosewood Restaurants Low-Fat Favorites

Serves 6

Salad Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup wild rice
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 medium granny smith apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup red onion, minced
• 1/2 cup unsweetened raisins
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1-2 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Soak the wild rice in 1 cup of hot water (in a closed saucepan) for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, add the brown rice and the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes until rice is tender.
3. When the rice has cooked for about 30 minutes, dice the apples and toss with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
4. Chop the pepper, celery and onion and add to that bowl along with the raisins and walnuts.
5. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a seperate bowl.
6. When the rice is cooked, add it to the bowl of veggies and toss everything with the dressing.
7. Serve over a bed of greens!

And, dessert was 2 homemade macaroons!  The chocolate with some raw almond butter on top.

It was Day 2 of my weight training today, so I worked out my Legs & Abs.

5 minute warmup – jumping jacks

Legs

• Lunge & Lift – 3 sets of 12
• Stability Ball hamstring curl – 3 sets of 12
• Mountain Climbers – 1 minute
• Calf Raises with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Squat jumps – 1 minute
• Deadlifts with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Step-ups with 10 lb weights – 3 sets of 12
• Burpees – 1 minute
• Leg lifts – 2 sets of 12

Abs

• Crunches – 3 sets of 15
• Reverse Crunches – 3 sets of 15
• Bicycles – 3 sets of 20
• Frogs – 3 sets of 10
• V-ups – 3 sets of 10

5 minute cooldown – jumprope

Tough workout tonight, my legs were burning during those squat jumps and burpees!  I’m sure I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it!

Then, it was time for dinner and baking!

Tonight on the menu was our favorite – quinoa!  You probably think that we eat quinoa all the time.  Well, we do!  It is a delicious grain (actually, it’s a seed) and it pairs nicely with any type of vegetable.  Quinoa is about 15% protein, which is very high for a grain, so we rarely eat much other protein with it.

We used a recipe out of one of the Moosewood Cookbooks tonight.  These cookbooks are great, especially for vegetarians.  They make all sorts of delicious recipes.

Quinoa cooks like a couscous does, very quickly.  I started dinner by rinsing 3/4 cup of quinoa (it is important to rinse the quinoa because the seed produces a natural coat to protect itself from insects and you want to rinse this bitter coat off) and placing it in a pan with twice as much water to boil.  Once it boils, you just reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.  A few minutes before the quinoa was cooked, I added some corn to the mix.

Meanwhile, I chopped up my veggies: garlic, onion, green pepper, zucchini, summer squash and tomatoes.

Add the onions and garlic to a pan heated with olive oil and cook until tender.  Then, add the pepper, zucchini and squash and cook until a little browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes along with 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a tablespoon of thyme and cover, simmering until the veggies are all tender.  Then add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  We like our food a little on the spicy side, so I added extra pepper flakes!

Serve the stew over a scoop of the quinoa mixture!  The quinoa really works nicely with the stew.  It is a much lighter dish that it would be with a rice.  Delicious!

Quinoa with Vegetable Stew

adapted from Moosewood Restaurants Low-Fat Favorites

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 summer squash, chopped
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa and add to pan with water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender and fluffy.
2. When quinoa has cooked for about 10 minutes, stir in the corn, and continue to cook.
3. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, until the onions soften.
4. Add the pepper, zucchini and squash; cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomatoes and thyme.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, until veggies are tender.
6. Add red pepper flakes, then salt and pepper to taste.
7. Fluff the quinoa mixture, spoon it onto individual serving plates and ladle on the vegetable stew.

Nutrition Facts: About 300 calories per serving.  9.2 grams of protein and 6.5 grams of fat.

My dessert creation of the night were some delicious Almond Coconut Macaroons and Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons!  We are having some friends over for dinner this week, so I needed to try some things out.  I can’t serve just any old thing to my guests.

I got this recipe from another foodie’s blog and they came out perfectly.  Plenty of almond and coconut flavor.  I added extra sun-grained chocolate chips to the chocolate ones which makes them much more chocolaty and sinful!

I buy my raw almonds and raw coconut whole because you get more bang for your buck, so my first task was to chop them all up.  I ground up the almonds in my food processor until they were almost to a flour-like texture.  I did the same with the coconut, but made sure it had more texture.

Once chopped, I mixed all of my ingredients together and formed them into ice-cream scoop sized balls.  These are supposed to be placed in a dehydrator, but mine isn’t large enough, so instead I turned my oven on to 170°F (the lowest it will go) and “cooked” them for about 4 hours.

Almond Coconut Macaroons

borrowed from Joggerslife.com

makes 9 macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw Almonds, ground (flour-style)
• 1 Cup Raw Ground Coconut
• 2 Medjool Dates, spun in food processor
• 1/8 Cup Raw Agave Nectar
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract

Double Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons

borrowed from Joggerslife.com

makes 9 macaroons

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw Almonds, ground (flour-style)
• 1 Cup Raw Ground Coconut
• 2 Medjool Dates, spun in food processor
• 1/8 Cup Raw Agave Nectar
• 1/4 Cup Raw Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract
• 1/2 Cup Raw Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Sun-Grained Chocolate Chips

Directions for both recipes:

1. Preheat oven to 170°F. (or use a dehydrator at 105°F for 6-8 hours)
2. Combine all ingredients.  You’ll know it’s perfect when everything sticks together easily.
3. Form batter into round balls, and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
4. Allow to stay in oven for 3-4 hours, or until macaroons are firm to the touch. (mine took 4 hours)

These babies are so good.  I could eat them all day long!  They would be great topped with a little almond butter, or even broken up over some coconut ice cream!

I will be making these for family and friends in the very near future!  They just might be the 2010 Christmas cookies!  By then, maybe I’ll have a bigger dehydrator.

Our house was pretty empty in the food department last night, especially veggies so my favorite childhood dinner was on the menu!  We were both starving, so Brant whipped up some quick scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and whole grain toast, while I went to work with my new juicer!!!

Dinner

Brant makes great scrambled eggs – he adds some milk, salt, pepper and cheese.  They are my fav!

And, of course I add ketchup!  But, I make sure to use the stuff without high fructose corn syrup.

Now on to the good stuff

I have had my eye on a juicer for awhile now, but was always hesitant to pull the trigger and just buy one.  The good ones are a little pricey, and how often was I really going to make juice?!  But, after getting some giftcards for Christmas, I knew exactly what my purchase would be!

It’s been 3 weeks since Christmas, and this is the first time I am using it!  But, now that I have unpacked it and tried it out, homemade juice will be a staple in my diet.  I mean, it is such a great and easy way to get more fruits and veggies in your diet (and your husbands!).  And…it is delicious!

Check this thing out!

I started out easy with apple juice.  I took 3 medium apples and literally put each one right into the juicer – whole!

It literally extracts every ounce of juice out of the apples!  The juice is delicious, and the pulp is completely dry!  The juice was unlike any other apple juice I have had.  It tasted just like you were eating a juicy apple – yum yum yum!

Next up was Apple, Carrot, Celery juice.

I took 2 medium apples, 2 celery stalks and 1 carrot.  I wanted the juice to be mainly apple-y tasting with a hint of carrot and celery, but you can switch up the proportions to the taste you want.

Next time, I might add some ginger.

The fruits and veggies get sucked into the chopper and the pulp flies one way, while the juice pours out of the other side.  You wouldn’t believe how much juice comes out of these babies!

Can you tell I’m excited?!

It is definitely very frothy coming out, but fortunately when you pour the juice into your glass, there is a froth collector (or whatever you want to call it), so you get minimal froth in your juice.

I have heard that you can make a lot of things out of the dry pulp, so that will be on the agenda for the weekend!  They suggest that you use the pulp the same day in order to maintain the vital nutrients in it.  You lose all of the fiber by using a juicer, so why not get that fiber back with pulp crakers!

My 2 apples, 2 celery stalks and 1 carrot made one 8 ounce serving of juice.  A perfect amount.

The one problem…it is a pain to clean the whole juicer after making one glass of juice.  Oh well!  To me, it’s worth it.

Happy Friday!

Do you have any favorite meals that you remember from being a kid?

We love quinoa and made another delicious quinoa dinner tonight!  The prep didn’t take too long, but make sure you get the tomatoes into the oven early because they will definitely take the longest.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Splash of Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F

• Cut cherry tomatoes in half

• Place open side up in a baking dish

• Spritz or drizzle tomatoes with olive oil

• Then sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper

• Place tomatoes in oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on size.  Keep checking every so often to see if tomatoes are done.  They should be slightly wrinkled and very tender.

• Our tomatoes cooked for 30 minutes!  Let tomatoes cool before serving.

Quinoa with Vegetables

adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Serves 4-6, depending on type of dish

Ingredients:

• a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
• a pinch of fine grain sea salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups rinsed quinoa
• 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups kale, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 1 cup oven roasted cherry tomatoes (recipe above)

Directions:

• Place 1.5 cups of quinoa and 3 cups of water in a saucepan; bring to a boil

• Once it comes to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.  When ready, quinoa will have small spirals off of each seed.

• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and salt in a saute pan over medium heat.

• Add onion, and cook until tender.

• Add quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling.

• Once sizzling, add the kale and cook a few minutes until wilted and tender.

pre-chopped

chopped

• Then add the pesto (we used store bought, but you could make your own!) and stir until well blended.

• Once mixed, add the toasted pumpkin seeds and stir.

(place on a baking sheet, and toast for a few minutes until browned)

• Serve with oven roasted tomatoes on top!

We both loved this meal!  The pumpkin seeds gave it crunch, and the tomatoes added a little sweetness to the dish.  The pesto was not overpowering at all, just a little flavor.  Give it a try!

Does anyone have any delicious quinoa recipes that are a must try? Or is their another grain that you love?

YUM – it was juicy and delicious!

Then, I moved on to another favorite – Justins Chocolate PB and Cinnamon Raisin Toast!

Dark Chocolate

Another favorite thing of mine (especially on Friday’s) is dark chocolate!  Friday is the one day of the week that I do not feel guilty splurging!  I always say, everything in moderation, but sometimes I go overboard!  I love dark chocolate and I love trying new varieties.  Today, I went to my local health food store and picked up these 2 bars:

They are both All Natural, Organic and Fair Trade chocolate.   And, they are both Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Almonds - YUM!  I did a taste test and decided that they were both delicious, but the Endangered Species brand was to die for!  Little chips of cherries and almonds were peaking out of the bar.  The Theo bar was great too – not as many pieces of cherries and almonds for my liking, but the actual chocolate was delicious.  Very bitter and melt-in-your-mouth at the same time.

Theo:  Dark Chocolate with Cherries and Almonds features rich 70% dark chocolate combined with tangy, sweet dried organic cherries and crunchy roasted almonds.

Endangered Species: this dark chocolate bar is made with all-natural, shade-grown, ethically traded, single-origin cocoa. Combined with cranberries and almonds, the dark chocolate is 72% cocoa content.

Both brands have a variety of flavors!  They are definitely worth a try .