Category Archives: Recipes

Sunday Recipe: Carolyn’s Squash Bowl

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My friend and fellow blogger posted this recipe on Friday and I made my own version that night for dinner. Here is her original post. She is an incredibly healthy and fit woman and I learn a ton of new stuff from her. Check out her blog!

I don’t really love the format of “reblogging” so I’m just going to copy/paste the recipe here.

“Roasted Stuffed Squash

This is a great fall meal and its easy to make, and lasts a while in the fridge. You’ll need:

Ingredients:

Acorn Squash (as many as you want to cook)

Quinoa (or any other easy-to-cook grain like brown rice, kamut, wheat berries, etc.)

Veggies (I usually use spinach and mushrooms, but you can add anything you want!)

Chickpeas (or black beans, or lentils, etc as you can see this recipe is really what you make of it)

Tiny bit of butter

Paprika

Sea Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Instructions:

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (save these to cook later)

2. Put squash halves on a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes (or until the squash is soft)

3. You can coat the seeds in olive oil and any spices you want and toss them in there on a baking sheet with parchment paper for about 10-15 minutes for a super tasty snack!

4. Cook up the quinoa (or whatever grain you’re using accordingly)

5. Saute those veggies

6. In a large bowl, mix the veggies, cooked quinoa, chickpeas, a tiny bit of butter and the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

7. When the squash is done, fill the centers with the veggie-quinoa mix and BOOM you’re done.

8. Grab a fork and get after it.

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These things are small but very filling and nutritious so I usually just have one half at a time. Throw some plastic wrap over any of the extra squash halves and you’ve got yourself a delicious lunch for tomorrow, or easily reheatable dinner for another night this week. Enjoy!”

I filled our squash with veggies,  kidney beans, and these egg noodles I’ve been wanting to try. I think it would be better with chickpeas and quinoa though. I’m also out of paprika so I used Jamaican All Spice.

There was a photo but it was lost in my recent phone disassembly. BOOO. I definitely plan on cooking it again though and will post photos when I do.

Thank you Carolyn! It was delicious.

Ashley Life Update: Mike and I are holed up in our apartment this weekend trying to get over the last of our flu/cold/strep throat. It’s times like these that make it very tough not taking any kind of medication (including ibuprofen). I’m relying on sleep and my body’s ability to heal itself. Man it takes some self-control though! Hopefully we can end today well and wake up tomorrow morning fresh as the day we were born! Hah. We shall see. I hope you’re all having wonderful Sundays.

SMILE 🙂

Thirsty Thursday: Pick Me Up Green Machine Smoothie

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How much time do you usually have for post-workout meals? Or even lunch? Not very much time? Me neither! That’s why this recipe is perfect. You can make it in the morning, stick it in the fridge, and eat it any time of day. I used to bring it on Pedi-cab shifts with me and now I just pack it in my lunch and have it as a pick me up.

Smoothies are awesome because you can work with whatever you have in the fridge. The only necessary requirements are:

Ingredients: a soft frozen fruit, a soft room temperature fruit, some dark leafy greens, and some liquid.

For soft fruits you can use: berries, banana, melon, peaches/nectarines, etc.

For leafy greens I highly recommend spinach (it’s tasty in smoothies and high in protein) or kale.

For liquid use coconut water, almond milk, or even just water. Definitely nothing like juice from concentrate which has lots of added sugar.

^This smoothie has coconut water, frozen blueberries, a room temp banana, a big handful of spinach, and a scoop of protein powder.

Instructions: Combine it all in a blender and blend until smooth. The sooner you drink it after blending, the better. This is because the food is already partially digested and the nutrients start to diminish as soon as you blend it. Freezing it helps pause the process so, if you can, keep it cold.

^ It looks kinda gross but it’s actually sweet and very tasty.

Ashley Life Update: I’m still sick! Bleh. But I’m doing very well and not taking any kind of medication other than what I described in this post. I’ve just canceled all my evening plans for the next week and am going to bed at 8:30. Luckily I have an awesome job that keeps me busy all day so I barely have time to think about how crappy I feel. Also, I made a big change to my life yesterday. But you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to hear about it!

I hope you’re all having wonderful days. We’re getting closer to the weekend so just sit back and enjoy the rest of your work week. Besos!

🙂

Sunday Recipe: Hummus!

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Happy Sunday! Hummus is by far one of my favorite foods. I have realized that people either love it or they hate it. However, the awesome thing about making your own is that it’s cheaper in the long run AND you can adjust the ingredients so that it’s delicious to your particular taste buds. Also, hummus is a great source of protein to bolster protein intake for those of us that can’t afford organic chicken or grass-fed beef all the time.

^ I use a very basic recipe that I found in my small selection of cookbooks. If you’re trying to go gluten-free this is an awesome book. I know it’s pretty affordable on amazon, check it out here.

Ingredients:

12 or 14 oz. can organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp tahini (it’s ground sesame seeds and lasts forever)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 ground cumin (great spice to keep around)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

^ Drain the chickpeas. Then combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend it all up until smooth. Taste it and add whatever else you’d like to make it taste even better.

^ Quick tip I learned from my second momma, Debbie, squeeze the lemon upside down with a fork to avoid getting seeds into the mix.

^ Scoop it out and keep it in a Tupperware. Use it instead of ranch! I eat it over salad, with celery, apples, and carrots. It’s flippin’ good. Let me know how yours turns out!

Ashley Life Update: I got my mind into a good zone towards the end of the week and ended up doing really well and overcoming all the obstacles that had been haunting me early last week. I’m pretty proud of myself. Last night, after a long day of work, my friend Sara asked if I wanted to ride this morning. My immediate inclination was, “heck no!” but I decided to commit and go anyway. It was a chilly 40°F but it also made me realize how little outdoor riding is left in the year. I’m completely exhausted but happy I went out. On top of getting in about 35 miles, we spotted a train! Now the rest of my day will be filling with eating and relaxing. I really do love my life.

 

^ It is confirmed, I live in the midwest. Please note the tractor in the background. Also, this train was so long that I had time to fumble around with my frozen fingers, take about 15 photos and put my phone away before the train ended. Pretty crazy.

One last thing, my Gran always tells me that she loves reading my blog because it makes her feel closer to me; so from now one, she will be getting a hello. So…Hi Gran! Love and miss you!

I hope you’re all having wonderful days. Enjoy the rest of your weekend 🙂

Thursday Thirst: Chicken Stock (15 min prep, 4 hrs cook time)

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Ok, I know this recipe sounds really boring but hear me out! Chicken stock is the liquid that makes everything taste better and cheaper! I make my own every time I roast a chicken and end up using it for the next few weeks.

Before I give you the VERY EASY recipe, here are some ways you can use chicken stock:

1.When cooking rice, replace the water with chicken stock or do a 50/50 combo.

2. Stick it in your crockpot instead of water or cream or whatever.

3. Replace the water with it when steaming veggies.

4. Use it to make soup.

Basically just use it instead of water to make any savory dish SO much tastier.

Ingredients:

chicken carcass (Everything including the skin, bones, and stuffing. Gross I know)

chopped celery

chopped carrots

diced onion

any other veggies that are on their last legs

salt and pepper

garlic (optional)

Instructions:

Pile everything into a big pot and fill with water up to the top of the carcass (the more water the more stock).

Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 4 hours. I left the house for errands then did a bunch of chores, you don’t really need to watch it. Every hour or so use a small cup to skim the foam off the top (I didn’t have any foam at all).

Turn off the heat, let it cool then freeze it! I use jars that I recycled to freeze mine but you can really use anything, including Ziploc-type baggies.

 

Now I have a freezer full of stock that I can use whenever. I just thaw a few a week and use them whenever the recipe calls for water (BOOOOORRRING).

 

Ashley Life Update:

On another note, I have been sleeping terribly lately because I’ve been trying to train myself off a bad pre-bedtime habit. I’ve been trying to drink a glass of wine before bed the last two nights but quickly realized that it’s a stimulant (whoops!). I used the bad habit yet again last night because I just plain needed sleep. Once I’m caught up, experimentation starts again.

I can’t tell you how guilty I feel about this habit because I just don’t want to rely on something besides my own body for something as simple as sleep! But Katie and I were talking this weekend and I think I just need to forgive myself for being imperfect and keep on pushing for my goals, it may just take a while.

Also, a new phone/camera is high on my Christmas list this year so the photos WILL get better! I swear. I hope you’re all having great days. Your challenge today: smile at everyone until you get at least 3 smiles back.

🙂

 

Sunday Recipe: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free Pancakes

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Today is a seriously gorgeous day in Peoria. Scattered clouds, beautiful blue sky, about 67°F. AND one of my best friends managed to extend a work trip in the area and we get a whole two days with her! She is leaving very soon and I’m gonna be really sad. It’s so amazing to be around someone who you can sit in comfortable silence with then break the silence with an awesome conversation and easy laugh. I love it and miss it/her a lot.

And what’s even more awesome is that she is gluten and lactose intolerant just like me! So this morning we made gluten free pancakes for all of us. They were SO good. Just sweet enough and dense enough to be like normal pancakes without all the bloating and over-full feeling. And Katie had the awesome idea to use the leftovers for a post-workout snack.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/3 cups multi-purpose gluten free flour (I keep this around to use as a thickening agent in some recipes)
  • 1/2 tsp stevia powder or 15 drops stevia liquid
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon xantham gum

Instructions:

1) Whisk together the eggs, melted butter, coconut milk, and vanilla.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Stir in the egg mixture.

3) Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes (this makes them fluffier). Preheat skillet on medium for the last 5 minutes.

4) Lightly grease it with coconut oil or another high heat oil. Scoop the batter (I use a small glass) into small dollar sized pancakes.

5) Cook pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, till the tops lose their shine and bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.

6) Top it with whatever delicious yummies you can find in your fridge. We used berries and pure maple syrup (not sugar free).
Sunday breakfast is probably one of my favorite meals of the week. YUM.
I hope you’re having wonderfully peaceful Sundays 🙂

Recipe Thursday: Simple Roast Potatoes

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Happy almost weekend! Thursdays are my cleaning mornings and I’d like to procrastinate that very much and so, let me post a recipe.

For whatever reason I’ve always been terrible at making potatoes. Their thickness and readiness to burn without cooking on the inside are a source of endless frustration for me. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic but it does annoy me. So I decided on Sunday that I would conquer the potato, and I did! Also, I made a huge batch of these so we could have them for lunch during the week. This is a great way to cut back on prep and cooking time when you don’t have any spare minutes during the week.

Here are the ingredients but I can’t stress enough that if you don’t have everything, just improvise. Smell the food then the spices you have and pick out which ones you think would go best. That’s why cooking is awesome, it’s based simply on your senses.

Ingredients:

potatoes, peeled and cubed (any kind of potato works)

olive oil

garlic

jamaican all spice

salt

pepper

Instructions:

Heat oven to 475°F. Get out a shallow baking pan. You don’t need to prep the pan (awesome!).

^ Quickly mix the oil and all spices in a large bowl.

^ Dump in cubed potatoes and mix it all with your hands. This is super messy, fun, and perfect to do with kids. (I know I look skeezy in this photo but Mike took it and I didn’t want to test his patience, he was already helping me peel potatoes).

^ Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet. Slide it into the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally to brown on both sides.

^ And this is the result! Ours were a bit too oily but still SO DELICIOUS. And so easy to make.

*My mom makes the most incredible roast potatoes. Same recipe but she uses red potatoes, keeps the peel on, chops them in bigger chunks, and adds rosemary. Also, SO YUMMY.

I hope you’re all having great mornings. We’re getting so close to the weekend 🙂

Thursday Recipe: Build-a-Salad

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*to those interested, birthday update at the bottom of the page

Whenever I mention healthy eating, people’s automatic reaction is, “I hate salad.” Let me share something, me too. The typical restaurant salad is cold, unsavory, and wholly unsatisfying. But I’ve recently determined that they’re doing it wrong. As I’ve mentioned before, my current lifestyle goal is only eating grain for lunch and restricting carbs at dinner. This is not to lose weight but to prevent a haphazard insulin spike right before bed. So “salads” have become my go to dinner options and I’ve realized, they’re not all that bad!

To build a great salad just replace whatever carb you were going to use (pasta, rice, potatoes, etc) with dark leafy greens (I prefer spinach). This means that you get the healthy without sacrificing the hot and savory.

Recently, in the vain of cooking a big portion of one thing, I made cooked a big batch of lentils and steamed some extra veggies I had lying in my fridge. Here is the result:

^ Start with the leafy green base. Don’t worry, it will be covered up soon.

^ Add whatever warm veggies you decided to cook. I have zucchini, red bell peppers, and eggplant.

^ Pile on whatever protein you want. I made lentils but you could do any kind of meat or legume.

^ Top it off with a healthy fat like goat or sheep cheese (pretty much lactose free) and some oil based dressing like balsamic or italian. And enjoy!

* Final note: My birthday ended up being quite wonderful. My coworkers remembered and even gave me gifts. I got so much love through this blog and facebook and texting and phone calls. AND Mike came home from his business trip early! He surprised me at work with flowers, a bottle of wine, and a Gap coat that I’ve been eyeing for months. What wonderful people I have in my life. Thanks everyone 🙂

Today, just smile.

 

Braving a World of Junk Food: Packing a Lunch

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As I last posted, I’ve been working the Morton Pumpkin Fest for the last several days. If any of you know of the festival, you know it’s full of some seriously delicious junk food; including but not limited to: pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin funnel cake. Everything delicious, in pumpkin flavor!! It’s my own personal temptation hell.

However, it’s so important to learn how to brave these situations and so that you can join the rest of your community celebrating awesome things like Fall!

Some Tips:

1. Choose one thing to treat yourself to and wait until the end of your trip to do it. The buildup will make sure you don’t violate your own rule.

2. Make sure, before you leave the house, that you eat a big, healthy meal. Being full means you’ll be less tempted by anything other than your planned treat.

3. Bring some snacks! This is where dinner leftovers make things quick and easy.

 

Here was mine for an 8 hour shift at the fridge:

– Sandwich – gluten-free bread, sunflower butter, and blackberry jam we found at the farmers market.

– Smoothie – coconut water, 1 banana, handful of frozen fruit, handful spinach, scoop of protein.

– Salad – whatever is in your fridge. Mine was tomatoes, spinach, pinto beans from the chili last week, and humus.

Tools that make it easy:

– Resealable container like a Tupperware.

– Blender bottle for the smoothie. It’s not only easy to drink out of but it has a little spring ball that you keep in the liquid and when you’re ready to eat you just shake it all up.

– Lunch box/ bag keeps things cold or hot and easy to carry.

^ My handy dandy lunch box.

I was full and happy with my lunch and this morning, as a treat for resisting for 5 days, I had a giant pancake breakfast!

Enjoy your Sundays. Don’t forget to smile!

Low Grain, High Protein, Gluten Free Breakfast!

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Low Grain, High Protein, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, and Raw. I realize it sounds pretty gross but I’m telling you, this “granola” is DELICIOUS. When I’m not home to cook, this is what Mike has for dinner. Haha.

I started making this stuff when I started my new goal of less grain/carbs for breakfast and dinner and much higher protein. Granola is my #1 choice for breakfast but I can be kind of picky. That’s why I was so surprised that it is SO GOOD. It’s a twist on another recipe from the awesome book in this post.

Ingredients:

1 cup pepitas, aka pumpkin seeds (they’re really high in protein and so yummy)

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup brown rice protein, OPTIONAL

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup raw almonds, slivered or sliced

3/4 cup raw walnuts, in pieces

1 cup dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries, or a mix!

1/2 cup GF oats

Instructions:

Grind up pepitas, sunflower seeds, and coconut. I use a tiny food processor I got at Goodwill. You could do it in a blender though, or just leave everything whole. Pour all that into a gallon ziploc bag. Add all other ingredients. Shake it all up. Scoop out 1/2 to 1 cup, pour some almond or coconut milk over it. Enjoy!

This is possibly the easiest all-at-once breakfast I’ve ever made. It takes about 10 minutes to make a batch to last 2 or 3 weeks. And, because it’s so high in protein, it keeps me full for hours.

Another tip, keep the granola in the gallon bag with a 1/2 cup measuring cup in there. This way you can ration your supply saving you money and preventing over indulgence.

 

Smiles are contagious, plant one right on your kisser and keep it there all day 🙂

Recipe: Big Ole Pot O’ [healthy] Chili

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Sorry for the late post today. I was cooking all day and wanted to post a recipe of something cool. And I made chili!

I mistakenly bought dry pinto beans instead of canned ones so that added an extra 5 hours onto the hour and a half taken to actually prepare the chili. BUY CANNED PINTO BEANS.

This recipe is from my favorite nutrition book, check it out here. It’s a scientific breakdown of your body and the nutrients it needs and doesn’t get in the modern american diet. Anyway, here’s the recipe. It’s really simple and takes a tiny bit of prep time and some serious simmer time. But it’s SOOOO delicious and SOOOOO healthy.

Prepping dried pinto beans (if you don’t want to spend the time just buy canned ones):

^ Sort the beans to pick out any rocks or cracked beans, then rinse them.

 

^ Fill pot with water 3″ above the beans. Boil then cover and simmer for 1 hour. Drain them.

Fill pot with water 1″ above the beans. Boil then cover and simmer for 4 hours. Check every hour to make sure there is still water.

Drain and they’re finally ready!

Ingredients (serves 8-10 < but they’ll want more than one serving):

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

4 cloves minced garlic

2 cups chopped green pepper

4 cups pinto, black, or kidney beans

4 tsp oregano

4 tsp chili powder

4 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sea salt

2 8 ounce cans crushed tomatoes (get organic if you can!)

1.5 to 3 pounds of organic ground chicken or turkey or grass-fed ground beef

Instructions:

Heat oil in large pot and saute onions, celery, garlic, and peppers until onion is translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add meat, chili powder, and cumin, continue cooking, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes. Pour salt and tomatoes into pot. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for at least one hour. I finished cooking earlier than I expected so I just kept the simmer going and it got even more delicious.

^ nom nom nom.

If you try it, let me know how it goes!