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Snack bar squares

June 5, 2011 by 11 Comments

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It’s nice to do things for other people. It’s even nicer when it involves food, and when it’s not a time consuming deed. These little oatmeal bars are a perfect gift. Here’s why:

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  • They have a short ingredient list.
  • They are healthy.
  • They are good for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
  • They freeze well.
  • They are quick to make with few bowls to clean.

I really think this makes for a perfect goodie. Easy on the baker, easy on the recipient. I made two batches–one each for two friends with newborn babies. These little treats would be such a nice gift for new parents who don’t have time to grocery shop or research easy recipes to try. A grab and go bar to eat with one hand seems like a good idea. I’d like to receive something like it! Gifts baked with love are the best.

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Chewy Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C rolled oats
  • ¼ C chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 C sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 C dried fruit (I did raisins in one batch and raisins + apricots in another)
  • ¼ C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 ½ C milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined.
  • Pour batter into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper for easy transferring. My dish is 9 x 9.
  • Bake 30 minutes. Once cool, cut into bars or squares.

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If you are curious about the nutritional info, they are 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus for a square, and 5 PP+ for a bar. The recipe makes 8 bars or 16 squares.

They are most tasty when slathered in peanut butter. For two points (not counting peanut butter), they would be a great little meal ender or something to snack on. I see a third batch in the making.

I saw two similar recipes online, one by Anne and one by Kath. I compared ingredients and instructions and  created my own as the recipe above. Things you could change would be the type of dried fruit and seeds or using chocolate chips.

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I loved that these bars were chewy and easy to slice, and not too sweet. A short ingredient list is also nice. These would be so nice to wrap individually and freeze to take when traveling. And I do encourage the use of nut butter slathered on. Makes it last longer.

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I boxed up the squares in this box lined with foil on the bottom and tissue paper on top. And tied with a bow.

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Since we didn’t get our own batch, I’m off to make another!

What’s your favorite food gift to give?

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Three K for P recipes

April 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you tired of this stuff yet? Hope not! A few more days of Passover eating to go, then it’s back to muffins and cookies and cereal.

So far, Passover hasn’t been that bad. For me, getting past breakfast is the hard part, and lunch and dinner aren’t a big deal. It’s good to change things up once in a while to get out of food habits. I have eaten all my meals in the house, but the weekends are usually tougher. Not sure of our plans this weekend. It ends Monday night.

Today I have three recipes to share, one is new, two are twists on ones I know and love. All are made in the food processor for easy cleanup.

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Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

First up is homemade almond butter. Peanuts are a no-no for Passover because they are from the bean family, but almonds are ok. I actually didn’t know that until this year. I have wanted to make peanut butter for a few months ever since I saw many great looking ones on Ashley’s blog, and Passover was the time to try.

Making peanut butter (I use that term to mean any nut butter) looked pretty simple. It’s few ingredients, and you whirl away in the food processor for a long time, like 15 minutes. That’s a real long time when usually things are ready in seconds.

My final picture is the one above, and the texture never got quite right. It was very crumbly and I kept adding water and oil, but it wouldn’t come together in a smooth texture. Any ideas? I followed her recipe to the T.

Ingredients:

  • 1 C raw almonds
  • 2.5 T maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2T oil (she called for 1/2 T, but I streamed in quite a bit more olive oil and water)

Instructions:

  • Preheat your oven to 325*
  • Pour the almonds on a pan or in a baking dish and mix with the maple syrup.
  • Roast for 15min, stirring 3 times.
  • Let them cool for 5 minutes.

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  • Process and let it go until it’s buttery ~15min.  Scrape down the bowl as needed (I did this part a lot).
  • Add in the salt + cinnamon after 12ish minutes and process again until smooth + buttery.

(this was after a few minutes)

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(This was after more minutes, it was about as “together” as it came.)

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Final product, served with matzo crackers called Tam Tams. It was not easy to spread. What did I do wrong?

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Herby Hummus

I had much more success with this recipe because I make it every week. It really is my favorite hummus of all time. I do realize this looks like tuna salad and I’m not sure why. It’s hummus with parsley.

We had parsley left over from Passover seder so I added it to the hummus for a little greenery. I used this recipe exactly. If you want a runnier hummus, add more water.

I talk about hummus a lot, you know I use it with everything.

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Cherry Pie Bites

Next up are cherry nut balls. These are like homemade Larabars, and I keep variations of flavors in my freezer always. Especially for this week when grabbing a nibble of something is off limits, these are great. When I wake up at 5:32 a.m. for a 6 a.m. exercise class, I usually grab a handful of cereal to chug some water. Now I’ve been grabbing a bite of these. With simple ingredients in a bite size, these are great for little hold you over snacks.

Another one I made recently (not kosher for Passover) are cookie dough flavor. They are awesome if you’re looking for another one. I also like the Cocoa Nut Balls. I really do have a lot of these in my freezer always.

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C almonds
  • 1/4 C dates, pitted
  • 1/4 C dried cherries or craisins
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 T water

Instructions:

  • Pulse everything but water together until it turns into tiny bits. Add water and pulse again to come together.
  • Form into small balls, press down if you want a flatter cookie shape. Refrigerate or freeze.

What are you doing this weekend? Happy Easter if you’re celebrating!

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Simple Cinnamon Raisin Granola

March 23, 2011 by 8 Comments

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I’ve been thinking that I should give you an update on fitness and things not food related. I realized that my posts have been very food heavy and not fitness related in a while.

But first, granola!


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On my quest for a simple and low calorie granola, I came up with this one. It is mostly oat based with less dried fruit than some of my other versions. It’s crispy and crunchy, and a great addition to yogurt as breakfast or a snack, or to munch on by itself. Stored in a container, it will last quite a while.

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Cinnamon Raisin Granola

Ingredients:

  • 2 C old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 C almonds (mixed whole and slivered)
  • 1 T flax meal
  • 2 T applesauce
  • 2 T apple juice
  • 1/4 C brown rice syrup (can sub honey)
  • 1 C raisins
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

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Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350*.
  • Mix dry ingredients and spices in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  • In a separate bowl, combine applesauce, apple juice and brown rice syrup. Stir with a spoon to incorporate.
  • Pour over oat mixture and stir well.
  • Spray cooking spray on baking sheet and pour granola on top. Spread evenly to cover baking sheet.
  • Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.
  • Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

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One thing I might change is to not bake the raisins with the granola and add them in when it’s done. They expanded in the oven and then came back down to size, but tasted a little more crispy than soft. I would also add more cinnamon for a more vibrant flavor, maybe 1 T cinnamon.

I really liked the crisp-ness of the oats without the brown rice cereal which I use sometimes in granola. The coconut toasted nicely in the oven, and the flavor came from nutmeg and cinnamon.

A fitness update:

Well, if you’ve been following along, you might remember that I’ve been having pains along my right leg for quite a while. No one likes a complainer, so I just stopped writing about it. I’ve been doing some physical therapy, got a cortisone shot, had an x-ray, have stopped running for a few weeks, and continue to stretch and not do too much on my foot. My right ankle area is strained, which should get better with time, and my right IT Band continues to be a booger only when I run.

To make up for not running, I have been walking more, doing the elliptical, stair master, jumping rope, etc. I still do CrossFit two days per week which is still the most intense workouts I do. I would like to start swimming again, but for now I enjoy being outside since the weather is nice. When it gets really hot, I’ll want to get in the pool again. It could be tomorrow when it’s mid-80s, who knows.

I am glad that 2010 was the year of racing for me, because my right leg will not have it right now. Even though the half marathon in December was what really triggered some major lingering pains, I am very glad I accomplished it! And I’ll deal with my leg over time.

Until then, I don’t have many fitness related goals, except to keep exercising and sweating and challenging myself. I have some CrossFit related goals, like to get faster and hustle and to continually lift heavier, so those are good to work toward.

It has been quite a bummer to not be able to run the distances I want, but it could be worse.

 

Filed Under: Breakfast, Exercise, Injuries, Snacks · Tagged With: , , , ,

Homemade Pita Chips

March 13, 2011 by 7 Comments

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Let me tell you a little story about a family favorite snack that is always at my grandparents house.

First, my grandfather turned 80 last week and he came to Houston so we could go to dinner with him on his birthday. Happy birthday Gigi! He still rides his road bike almost daily for miles and miles and was a triathlete until just a few years ago. Talk about a reason to exercise and eat right!

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This recipe is one of his favorites, so it must be a key to a long life, right?

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The family snack is homemade pita chips. We call it “pita bread.” This treat is always kept in a tin container at my grandparents house in San Antonio, and travels on car trips for us to snack on too. Jeffrey loves it, so we also have it in Dallas when we visit. It was time for me to make it for him one weekend.

(pictured: pre-baking)

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This snack is not a healthy treat, but it is simple and fast. We eat it plain because of tradition, and because it’s plenty flavorful, but you could dip it in something or eat it with lunch. But eating plain like a chip works just fine.

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Homemade Pita Chips

Ingredients

(for two baking sheets worth, about 35 chips)

  • 1 pack white pita (like Sara Lee)
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • big handful Parmesan cheese (from the refrigerated can)
  • 1/3 container dried onion flakes (in the spice aisle)

Instructions

  • As you can see this recipe is not an exact science.
  • Preheat oven to 250*.
  • Take your pita and open them up and tear along perforation. Cut each half into thirds and lay on baking sheet.
  • Do this for two baking sheets, or almost all of the pita from the pack.
  • Melt butter in the microwave or oven, and brush onto each piece with a pastry brush or back of spoon.
  • Sprinkle parmesan cheese onto each piece generously.
  • Sprinkle onion flakes on top of cheese.
  • With fingertips, pat each one down so the cheese and flakes stick better when baking.
  • Bake at 250* for about 35 minutes, or until corners curl and they start to brown. Don’t overcook and watch so they don’t burn.
  • Remove and let cool. Store in ziploc or airtight container for about a week.

 

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Your house will smell delicious, with a mix of cheese and onion in the air, and butter of course.

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Cheese and onion is a great flavor combo, and the pita gets nice and crispy. These are like Pringles, once you start, you can’t stop.

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What’s your family’s special simple recipe?

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Avocado Hummus

March 7, 2011 by 4 Comments

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Green with deliciousness is what this hummus is about. Hummus is something that I always have in my refrigerator. I have tried many brands, but recently have been on a kick to make it at home from scratch.

I made a basic one recently, and then I saw this one on Edible Perspective. Ashley added avocado and spinach to make a beautiful green hummus filled with iron, good fats, and protein. It’s almost like a complete meal in a food processor.

Avocado Hummus

(By Edible Perspective)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
  • 1/4 C bean liquid (from the chickpea can)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 C tahini
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1/4 C lemon juice
  • 1 avocado
  • 2-3 C spinach

Instructions:

  • In a food processor, combine all ingredients except spinach and process until semi-smooth.
  • Add spinach and process again until it’s all incorporated.
  • Scrape down sides so everything is included.

 

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Whirl away!

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Above picture is before spinach, below is after. The spinach gives it a beautiful green color and the avocado makes it extra creamy. Still tastes like regular hummus.

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Serve with pita chips, carrots, you name it. Top with paprika for extra color splash.

I eat hummus as a dipper/dressing in lunch all the time. It goes with everything!

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This kept in the refrigerator for a few days, but since it has avocado in it, it turns a little brown. Stir it up and it’s good to go, but original hummus lasts many days more.

A Jeffrey approved recipe! Even with spinach.

 

P.S. Announcements:

Here is my latest story on CultureMap. Do you watch Dancing with the Stars? I used to, but the talent is so terrible! That’s what I wrote about.

Dancing with the D-list stars; where has all the celebrity talent gone?

Also, another picture on TasteSpotting. These things make me very happy, kind of like validation that my photos are good sometimes!

Link to my page here.


Filed Under: Lunch, Snacks · Tagged With: , ,

Granola Bar Bites

February 28, 2011 by 6 Comments

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On Friday, I received a package of yogurts from Chobani, and the my brain started churning about what I could make to go with the yogurt to have this week.

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I love granola, but usually like it homemade so I know how it’s made, and have tried many variations.

This time I decided to create a sticky, crumby granola that was more crunchy than crispy, but still filled with fruits and nuts. How’s that for adjectives to describe it?

I sort of combined some different recipes, flavors, and baking techniques to create Granola Bar Bites.

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Granola Bar Bites

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C old fashioned oats
  • 1 C puffed cereal
  • 3/4 C almonds (mixed whole and slivered)
  • 2 T flax meal
  • 1/4 C shredded coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 C dried cranberries
  • 1/3 C raisins
  • 1/4 C crumbled banana chips
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1/4 C sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 C brown rice syrup
  • 2 T applesauce
  • 2 T creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 C brown sugar

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Instructions:

  • In a medium sized bowl combine all dry ingredients and dried fruit.
  • In a small microwave safe bowl, combine wet ingredients (brown rice syrup, applesauce, peanut butter, brown sugar) and microwave for 20-30 seconds until softer and easier to stir.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to mix well.

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  • Line a small brownie square baking tin (9×9) with parchment paper and pour mixture on.
  • Press down and smooth out well.
  • Bake at 300* for 25-30 minutes or until the top starts to brown.

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  • Remove and place in refrigerator for a few hours before cutting.
  • Remove from refrigerator and lift the parchment paper out of the baking tin.
  • Slice into squares or crumble into pieces.
  • Store in airtight container.
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What I liked about this granola compared to the others was it was really a mix of a crumbly granola and a bar. That’s why it’s called a bite. It did not cut nicely into bars, but didn’t completely crumble either.

I love the cranberries and raisins as they pop in your mouth, but also love the subtle hint of peanut butter and the stickiness from the syrup.

It’s not overly sweet, and is very dense in lots of nuts, seeds, and natural sugars.

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Ingredient Challenge Monday:

This week, the ingredient for the challenge I am participating in is tofu. I didn’t make tofu this weekend (it’s more of a weeknight food for me since I am the only one that eats it), so here is a look at some previous tofu recipes. Tofu is a great source of soy protein and very versatile and easy to cook with. I have only tried firm tofu, but another variety is silken or soft tofu.

 

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes, Snacks · Tagged With: , ,

One day, three recipes

February 22, 2011 by 3 Comments

First, please remember to enter the giveaway for Picky Bars! Info in this post. Giveaway closes on Thursday and winner is announced on Friday.

Also, I have a new story on CultureMap about making homemade granola. Link here.

Sunday was busy in my kitchen, and no desserts came out. That’s a good thing. I am still hooked on Terry Walters’ book Clean Food and found a recipe for corn chowder that is “cleaner” than traditional chowder. To go with this, I made Kale Chips because I found kale at the grocery store for 99 cents. A gigantic bunch of organic kale for under one dollar. It was so big, it took up a whole shelf in my refrigerator. Don’t say eating green and organic is expensive. 99 cents!

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I also found black quinoa at the grocery (I’m talking about Central Market if you live in Texas) in the bulk bins and wanted to try this recipe for Black Quinoa Pudding with Blueberries that Emily made last week.

Here’s the details about all of the recipes.

Black Quinoa Breakfast Pudding

Emily made this recipe last week that is a spinoff of rice pudding using black quinoa. Quinoa, which I’ve cooked with before, is a grain but very high in protein and very good for you. This dish was packed with protein, sweetness, and a berry flavor. I ate it for breakfast one day, but it is definitely great as a snack or dessert too. Quinoa comes in many colors, but I hadn’t tried black before. It’s very mysterious.

Ingredients:

I cut the original recipe in half because it was just me that was going to try this, and I didn’t want to use a whole pint of blueberries. I also added bananas to the mix.

This would serve 2 for a breakfast, 3 for a snack or dessert probably.

  • 1/2 C dry black quinoa
  • 3/4 C water
  • 1/2 C light coconut milk (I could only find the large containers of Silk so I’ll be drinking coconut milk with cereal and in smoothies this month)
  • 1/2 C your milk on hand or soymilk
  • 1/8 C honey
  • 1/2 C blueberries
  • 1/2 banana, sliced

Instructions:

  • First, black quinoa is cooked the same way as other quinoa, so fill a pot with 3/4 C water and add the 1/2 C quinoa, adjust according to how much you do. Cook and stir until water is dissolved.
  • In a separate soup pot, combine coconut milk and regular milk and honey, stir until honey dissolves and milk starts to simmer.
  • When quinoa is cooked, add to the milk pot and stir for a few minutes so milk can start to thicken.
  • Add blueberries and banana and remove from heat.
  • Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for a few hours. I stirred every so often because the quinoa tends to sink to the bottom.

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I ate a cup of this for breakfast and it was a nice change from traditional breakfast. The coconut milk was new to me too, with its strong naturally sweet coconut flavor. And the quinoa adds a nice nutty and chewy texture. I liked the addition of bananas as well.

I did not think that the mixture thickened as much as I expected, and I also let mine sit overnight. I think I expected it to become more like a drippy yogurt but it was still very milky.

The color of mine was more purple so the blueberries definitely influenced that. Emily’s did not look so purple in her photos. You could wait a little longer on the stovetop before adding blueberries. I would try that next time.

Regardless, it was a packed with protein and was a filling dish. Colorful too.

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Other recipes using quinoa:

Corn Chowder

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Ingredients:

  • 1 T EVOO
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 C frozen corn kernels
  • 5 C milk (I would change this to 3 C milk, 2 C water)
  • more salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions:

  • In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion in olive oil until soft.
  • Add celery, carrots, potatoes, and salt and saute until vegetables are soft.
  • Add corn and milk/water to cover ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (we had to watch ours carefully so it didn’t boil over.
  • Remove from heat and puree in a blender. We pureed about 3/4 of the soup and left the rest to keep some chunky texture.
  • Season with salt and pepper (we used a lot of salt and pepper).
This would serve 4 moderate sized appetites, 3 hungry ones. Or if it was part of a course and not the main course, it would serve more.

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Kale Chips

I have made these once before, but like most things, it takes time to perfect.

This time, I made them right when I wanted to eat them instead of letting them sit for a while. Keeping them hot out of the oven is important. I also tore them into bite sized pieces before cooking, because they are very hard to cut. Tearing the stem off is also important too. Here’s how it works:

Ingredients:

  • Gigantic bunch of kale
  • salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika

Instructions:

(see this post for some step by step pictures of kale chips)

  • Tear leaves off of the stem and place in bowl of water to clean. Tear into small pieces and dry very well.
  • Lay on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. You can crowd them on, they’ll shrink up.
  • Season with cooking spray on top, then salt, pepper and garlic powder.
  • Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes, but watch so they don’t burn. They should be crispy but not burnt on the edges.
  • Season with paprika out of the oven and eat once cooled.

These are great as a side dish, in a salad, and since it’s just greens, you can eat a lot. It’s also a dark leafy green, which is the most nutritious kind.

Kale has a kind of bitter taste and can be chewy if you eat a stalk. The seasonings and tearing from the stalk helps this.

Other recipes with kale: Lean Green Salad

It was a busy  Sunday in the kitchen, but that’s my kind of Sunday. It’s great because all of these recipes made more than enough for one day. Cook once, enjoy for days.

What’s your favorite thing to cook on Sundays?

Quick plug: If you like my blog, would you nominate me for the Women’s Healthy Blog Roll? Click here. If you’re a blogger, let me know and I’ll reciprocate too.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Dinner, Snacks · Tagged With: , ,

Picky Bars Giveaway

February 21, 2011 by 35 Comments

Picky Bars Giveaway!

When I was at a press conference for the Houston Marathon at the end of January, one of the female runners gave a plug to Picky Bars. Stephanie Rothstein came in third place at the Houston Marathon with an unbelievable time under 2:30, 10 minutes faster than her marathon PR. I really liked her running story because she was benched from running last year and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her body. She realized she had Celiac Disease and cut gluten from her diet. In the meantime of not running, she and Lauren Fleshman grew their Bar business into something marketable. I just really like stories like that.

I contacted Picky Bars to see if they’d let me host a giveaway for them, and here we are.

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Picky Bars are the perfect ratio for athletes on the go with the 4:1 Carb to Protein ratio. They are under 200 calories, are gluten and dairy free, and full of “real” ingredients including chocolate chip morsels. Check out their Nutrition page for the details.

There are three flavors right now (two are unnamed and you can name them on their homepage!) and the winner of this giveaway will receive a pack of Picky Bars.

I thought the Picky Bars were really, really delicious. They are a consistency of a Larabar, but thinner and much better tasting. Larabars are so dense and chewy and have very strong nutty flavors and I usually only eat them half at a time. These are a small and mighty bar but would be great when you need fast fuel before or after a workout. And they are perfect for athletes with that ratio all figured out.

You can’t find these in stores, so enter below to try them!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment here telling me your favorite way to sweat.

2. Leave a comment on their site suggesting a name for the bars before Wednesday (and leave a separate comment here saying you did so).

3. Friend them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter (and leave a comment here saying you did so).

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This giveaway closes on Thursday and I’ll announce the winner on Friday morning. Good luck!

P.S. The recipe I posted yesterday is a really delicious brownie bite.

Quick plug: If you like my blog, would you nominate me for the Women’s Healthy Blog Roll? Click here. If you’re a blogger, let me know and I’ll reciprocate too.

Filed Under: Snacks · Tagged With:

Clean Food

February 14, 2011 by 5 Comments

Recently, I have read a lot about a book called Clean Food by Terry Walters. The secondary headline describes it best:

A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You


It is a recipe book, and there’s a sequel called Clean Start. It happens to be a vegetarian cookbook, but not because she is opposed to eating meat. She spends the beginning of the book explaining ways to eat cleaner and talks a lot about beans, nuts, and different kinds of vegetables. It also talks about being more in tune with how foods make you feel and taking time to think about what you’re eating and where it’s from. It’s not a diet book, just a clean eating cookbook.

I liked that the book is divided by seasons instead of meals because it focuses on eating locally and seasonally, and many recipes can be combined to make a meal + side, or served lighter for lunch or heavier for dinner.

I did not like that there were no pictures of recipes, and I wish that the calorie counts were on each recipe. However, I did earmark a few dozen recipes to try, which led us to our first experiment with hummus and a vegetable pasta dish.

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Traditional Hummus

This hummus dish is the first recipe in the book. I love hummus and buy it every week, so this week I made my own. Hummus is based on ground chickpeas, which is a great source of protein. It is also so versatile, used as a dip for carrots or chips, or as an alternative to salad dressing. You can also change the flavor by adding red peppers or more spice.

Ingredients:

  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 C cooked chickpeas (1 can)
  • 3 T EVOO
  • 2 T tahini
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Water (I used about 3 T)

Instructions:

  • In a food processor, pulse garlic and chickpeas. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine. Add water as needed to thin it out. It will congeal in the refrigerator so you can make it looser knowing it will thicken.
  • I added paprika for garnish.
  • This was a winning recipe, approved by Jeffrey too! If you live in Texas, this recipe reminded me most of Central Market’s hummus, which is my favorite of all the brands I try. My favorite store bought brand is Athenos Greek style original if you’re wondering.
  • It honestly took longer to get out the machine and then clean it than it did to make the dish and put the ingredients away. That’s the one downfall of the food processor!

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Artichokes, Fennel and Olives over Penne

(serves 4)

The second recipe we made was Artichokes, Fennel and Olives over Penne. I was surprised Jeffrey agreed to this one without chicken on top or a pasta sauce, but he was a good sport and was pleasantly surprised at how filling and flavorful it was. His finger was the only casualty opening the can of artichokes.

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lb penne (this was way too much for 2 people, but we wanted to follow the recipe and not cut it down. We also used whole wheat.)
  • 3 T EVOO
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can artichokes, quartered
  • 1/2 C kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch arugula (this ended up wilting down significantly so I added more, probably 3 very big handfuls)
  • 1 C chopped tomatoes
  • 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Instructions:

  • Cook penne as instructed on package. Rinse, drain and return to pot. Add 1 T EVOO.
  • In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion and garlic with 2 T EVOO (about 3 minutes until soft). Add artichokes, olives, fennel, arugula. Saute until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
  • I poured the penne over the vegetables and cooked together for a minute with the fire off.
  • We topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I served mine over more arugula. He had his with added red pepper flakes.
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Since we are two for two out of the book, look for more recipes out of here coming soon.
P.S. Check out yesterday’s post for recipes with Red in them for Valentine’s Day. And check out these posts for other red recipes as part of an ingredient challenge.
Do you own these books? What’s your best tip to eat clean?
Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , , ,

Cocoa Nut Balls

January 31, 2011 by 5 Comments

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Today’s recipe is brought to you by the ingredient: Dates.

Every other Monday, I participate in an ingredient challenge with a few bloggers around the country. This week’s recipe is the date, and since I already cook with them regularly, I have a few recipes to link to below.

Dates are not the most appealing dried fruit based on looks, but they are very versatile and easy to add to sweet or savory dishes. They are sticky so you don’t need extra stick like honey, and they are sweet so you don’t need extra sugar. If you like them by themselves, they would be a great simple snack. But I don’t.

I made this recipe based off of a recipe that Ashley made.

Cocoa Nut Balls

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Ingredients:

  • 1 C mixed almonds and pecans (could sub walnuts, I always use pecans instead.)
  • 1/2 C pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 T cocoa
  • 2 T coconut (mine is sweetened)
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Instructions:

  • In a food processor, pulse the nuts until they’re in pieces. Remove from food processor and add in dates. Pulse those.
  • Add back the nuts, cocoa and coconut.
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  • Pulse until it all comes together.
  • I added a few Tablespoons of water one at a time just to get them to come together easier.
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  • Form into balls and refrigerate or freeze.
I keep mine in the freezer for long periods of time.
One batch makes about 13 balls.
These are great little snacks of unsalted nuts, naturally sweetened fruits, and a little sweet coconut. The cocoa gives it a devilish feel, but they are pretty harmless for you.
Other recipes with dates I have created include:

To see the other bloggers and their recipes using dates, click their pages here:

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Filed Under: Recipes, Snacks · Tagged With: , ,
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