Posts by admin:
- stretching in the mornings when I wake up
- taking an occasional walk outside (if sunny) or go to the mall
- I’ve done ONE 30-day Shred video
- I’ve done sit-ups with the baby
- I swing the car seat twice a week for arm strength to lull baby to sleep
- 3/4 cup corn flour
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 7 slices turkey bacon
- 1 1/2 cups chopped portabella mushrooms
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli 60%)
- 1/2 cup huckleberry or raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed
- 1/2 cup tri-color quinoa or regular quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1 cup black beans
- 1-2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese, vegan or regular
- 4 Tablespoons sour cream,vegan or regular
Bring in your Valentine’s Day Recipes!
February 9th, 2012
Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and the time is coming where ideas for meals, desserts and treats is desperately needed. This is why I thought that everyone should contribute and share their favorite recipes in order in inspire the uninspired.
I have a Pinterest board dedicated to all things Valentine’s Day but I thought this round-up would personalize it so please add and share your sweet and savory treats for all to see.
Add your raw, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and any recipe you’d like to share! Add your link BELOW!
Add your raw, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and any recipe you’d like to share! Add your link BELOW!
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| S’mores Cupcakes |
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| Raspberry Cupcakes w/ Raspberry Icing |
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| Dark Chocolate Cake Truffles |
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| Spicy Tomato Alfredo Pasta |
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Peekaru not Peek-a-boo
February 7th, 2012
Hello from mid-Michigan, where it is supposed to be covered with snow and dreary outside.
Yes, like everywhere else, we have been lacking the mounds of snow we would already have by now. It has been in the lower 30s and mid 40s with lots of sunshine. I cannot complain because Julianne and I have been able to take walks.
Exercise has been almost non-existent. The extent of it happens to be in the mornings when I wake up. Here is how I HAVE been exercising:
Does that look sad or what? I daydream about going to Zumba, perhaps taking the baby on a playmat while I dance to my heart’s desire, but then it is almost her nap time / fussy time. I totally cannot do that!
Eventually I will start working with some Zumba clips I have saved on YouTube that I have done before. Ryan has been super crazy busy so leaving the baby with him is virtually impossible. For the meantime, I will have to rely on our walks around our neighborhood or mall.
Which brings me to the following. What am I wearing? Yes, I received a Peekaru fleece vest to wear over my Ergo carrier. Thanks to the nice folks at TogetherBe, Julianne and I have been able to take snug walks in the chilly weather without blankets and extra jackets.
The owners of TogetherBe, Melissa and D Hamilton Radcliffe, came up with this idea back in 2006 after Melissa realized that wearing a men’s XL ski jacket was not going to cut it. I love the bond that Julianne and I have, especially with the fact that I carried her for 10 months, I knew that bond to be near her would be important. This is why I loved TogetherBe’s mission, was to continue to bring that bond together between parent and child EVEN during the cold season. This is how the Peekaru Original was created!
I have tried different carriers and I finally decided to transition Julianne, who is now 3 months old, to the Ergo carrier. She sits in a frog position with her little legs sprawled out. She has taken several naps in her carrier but as for walking and exercising with mom, not yet.
When the Peekaru original arrived at home, I quickly took it out and tried it on. The vest is made from 85% recycled high quality Polartec fleece, each Peekaru Original™ saves approximately 25 plastic bottles from reaching the landfill.
I tried pulling the zipper open and placing the vest as instructed in the directions but I had the hardest time reaching for the zipper and bring it together to close. I finally zipped up the vest and placed it over my head and over Julianne’s head.
So much easier. Now granted, she is still a small baby but her head was outside the vest and she seemed so snug and happy.
We enjoyed a 30 minute walk around our neighborhood and not a peep was heard from my babe’s mouth. The last 2 times that I have used it she has napped MUCH better after taking a walk.
This Peekaru Original vest fits comfortably over all soft-structured carriers including Baby Bjorn and Ergo, as well as a variety of mei tais, ring slings, and wraps. They also have an amazing looking Peekaru Hoodie to wear in temperatures around 45 and 65 degree F. Make sure you go to their website to check out all their other products like Peekaru Ozone, Peekaru Soft Shell, and more!
I am so glad I got to try this vest because I am hoping I can use this for the next couple of months before it started getting warmer. Great product to try! Thanks TogetherBe!
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Secret Recipe Club: Portabella and Turkey Corn Cakes
February 6th, 2012
It is that time of the month folks when we are assigned a blog for the Secret Recipe Club! I really have enjoyed being a part of this group because I get to discover new blogs, recipes, and new bloggers!
This month I was assigned Paulchen’s Food Blog. This gal is a Viennese in her 30s who loves to do all kinds of experimental cooking. I loved reading that about her because I am that type of cook. I perused many of her recipes and almost chose this recipe:
Streusel Potato Cake
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| From Paulchen’s Food Blog |
I still have plans to make it but I was even more convinced when I saw her picture for Sage and Prosciutto Corn Cakes:
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| From Paulchen’s Food Blog |
Yes, I know, it has meat, but many of you know that I started eating meat while I was pregnant and have still been eating meat but choosing leaner meats to continue my healthy lifestyle.
Even though this recipe called for prosciutto, I decided to use turkey bacon. It is not my husband’s favorite but once I used it in this recipe he enjoyed the flavor much more. I totally did not want to use bacon because it had more fat.
These corn cakes, or muffins, came out SO delicious! The original recipe called for instant polenta but I just used corn flour, or finely ground cornmeal, for this recipe. The cakes were moist and scrumptious.
Instead of sage I used Italian seasonings. I gave these more flavor by adding chopped portabella mushrooms as well. All in all I was pleased with them. I made a huge green salad to go with these and we called it our dinner for 2 nights.
I wanted to veganize these but I have not had the time. You could use tempeh bacon and Tofutti sour cream and also substitute the eggs for flax seed meal or chia seeds. I challenge someone to do it for me. Either way, I know it would be tasty.
Here is the calorie count for one muffin!
These are so much lower in calories than the original recipe because of the prosciutto. Give the recipe a try. It will not disappoint. Quick dinners come in small forms indeed.
Portabella and Turkey Corn Cakes
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients (14 corn cakes or muffins)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray 12 count muffin tin with non-stick spray plus 2 Pyrex 7-ounce dishes.
In a medium bowl, mix the corn flour, flour, baking powder, baking soda, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, mix the sour cream and eggs combine well. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the mushrooms.
Cook the turkey bacon in a non-stick skillet for half its time. Slice each bacon strip in half and line a muffin tin with each strip.
Fill each muffin tin with the cornmeal mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked.
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Double Berry Truffle Brownie Bites
February 3rd, 2012
Okay so everyone has been posting recipes for the Super bowl on Sunday and well I am sure everyone is overwhelmed with choices right? I am at least. The last 2 years I have made my favorite Pace Picante Phyllo Party Cups. It won a prize 2 years ago and I love making them and they are always a sure winner at parties.
This year though, I wanted to make them a little healthier so be on the lookout for a healthier version without skimping on the flavors.
I will leave you with that only to tell you that I have a second BEST recipe, ahem, because I really did not create it, that I saw on Post Punk Kitchen. I have made several recipes that are all vegan and that have never failed me.
I saw this picture posted by Ms. Isa a few days ago and frankly I have been daydreaming about them. I really have tried to limit my sweets but it has been hard, so that only means I need to find healthier options and by options I mean, cutting corners in order to partake.
Does this photo not call out to you??
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| From Post Punk Kitchen: Raspberry Truffle Brownies |
I decided to take on a task of measuring and calculating the calories in these babies and then I decided to cut some calories by reducing the amount of melted chocolate the original recipe called for and I used a different flour.
Isa’s brownies come out into 8 brownies in an 8×8 pan.
Guess what else I did? Instead of making these in an 8×8 pan I decided to use a 24-count mini muffin pan. SWEET! It meant I could indulge in 3-4 pieces. SCORE!
These brownies are awesome! I added to different berries because I was out of raspberry jam so I used a jar of huckleberry jam that my grandmother brought from Idaho.
Thanks to Isa for creating an awesome recipe and I might, just MIGHT bring these to our Super bowl party this Sunday. These brownie bites are moist, chocolaty with a perfect mixture of extracts and berry flavor.
PERFECT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY TOO!!!
Double Berry Truffle Brownie Bites
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: bake appetizer dessert low-sodium soy-free vegan berries raspberries brownies
Ingredients (48 brownie bites)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 24 mini muffin pan with non-stick spray.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 2 minutes on power setting of 5. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, vigorously mix together the jam, sweetener, and applesauce, then stir in the extracts and the melted chocolate.
In a separate small bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix very well. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and fold until dough has come together.
Fold in the raspberries. Using a Tablespoon add 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of dough to each mini muffin cup.
Bake for 10 minutes until a tester toothpick comes out with little crumbles. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
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Tri-Color Quinoa and Black Bean Burrito-in-a-Bowl
February 1st, 2012
Ahhhh.We finally got home yesterday after a long weekend in Indiana celebrating our 3rd Christmas with Ryan’s extended family.
On our way back I decided to make a slight detour when I found out that Trader Joe’s was close by! I have not been to one in a year so I was excited. I almost changed my mind because I did not know how Julianne was going to be. I cannot seem to completely comfortable taking her to places because I do not know how she is going to be but I decided to try to plan as much as I could.
I recently purchased an Ergo carrier so I could slip Julianne into it instead of taking our clunky car seat into places.Well our trip begins and we arrive in an hour after she had slept the way. I slipped her into the carrier and she started crying after 10 minutes. I tried giving her a bottle, soothe her and then she stopped crying after 5 minutes. I continued through the store and purchased my items and then took her to the bathroom.
Sure enough, she had a dirty diaper. She was a happy camper again. I loaded all the goodies into our car and then fed Julianne a bottle before we started our 4 hour trek back home. Yes….4 hours with a baby!
I was so nervous but I really prayed that the baby would not get irritated in her car seat or cry incessantly. I really was trying not to stress about it. Do you know that Julianne slept 3 1/2 hours out of our 4 hour trip? I was praising God for such a great trip. I mean I did stop 2 hours into the trip to feed her and change her diaper so it all went well.
We enjoy the fact that when she sleeps, she is a good sleeper.
So back to our cooking!
I found a large bag of Trader Joe’s tri-color quinoa that I was fascinated and decided to purchase it. I did not know that I was going to immediately do something with it but I was inspired tonight!
I am a big Chipotle fan and while I could have it every other night, I know that it tends to pack on the calories with the rice, beans, meat, guac, and more. I decided that I would love to try my hand at a veggie variety with quinoa. This dish was super quick and delicious! It was also very filling and nourishing so I knew that I had to prepare some more quinoa for the rest of the week because I need a quick lunch while taking care of the baby.
Try it this week and let me know how you like it! Cheers.
Tri-Color Quinoa and Black Bean Burrito-in-a-Bowl
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (2 servings)
Instructions
For the Quinoa
Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Place the quinoa in a small pot and add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil then reduce to low heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until the broth has evaporated and the quinoa has popped.
Assembly
Mix the salsa into the cooked quinoa and divide between 2 bowls.
Divide the black beans between each bowl.
Add the chopped spinach and top with cheese and sour cream.
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