Well, I've been quite busy recently! Our baby was born July 2nd - and while I've cooked a few meals since then, I haven't cooked a healthy meal, taken pictures, and had time to write about it. Tonight I actually had time for a glass of wine and might even be able to write this post in one sitting. My husband's aunt and uncle visited to meet the baby and brought us a ton of produce from their garden. Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, okra, and jalapenos. (Sadly I didn't even know what the okra was and had to ask my husband). Tonight I googled "eggplant recipes" and an easy one for ratatouille popped up so I decided to try it. It all goes in one pot so there isn't much clean up, and aside from chopping up the vegetables there isn't much prep work either. Perfect meal for when you don't know how much time you'll really have to be 30 feet away from the boss, aka newborn.
I'll link you to the recipe here - I followed it exactly. And, important to note, it was husband approved (surprising for a dish made only with vegetables!)
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And of course, what has kept me so busy the last 6 weeks (but also enabled me to watch way too much Netflix) is Afton!
I do keep hearing I'll be able to sleep again one day.
Today's blog post is kind of a recipe. I've been doing the "no poo" method of washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. First I tried castile soap, but that didn't work too well for me. The baking soda and vinegar has been working great, but I know it doesn't work for everyone. Doesn't hurt to try for a bit, though - especially if you have some time where you don't need to have awesome looking hair (just in case).
What you will need:
a plastic cup
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
So, all I do is take my plastic cup in the shower and put 1 tablespoon of baking soda in it. Then I put a bit of shower water into the cup, swirl it around to dissolve the baking soda, and then fill up the cup a bit more. Slowly pour the mixture over your head and rub into your hair as best you can. Rinse and then repeat with the vinegar. Rinse the vinegar and you're done! It doesn't lather, but it gets my hair nice and clean. Also, it stays clean for a long time - I only wash it once every two or three days.
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| clean hair! with the castile soap my bangs always looked dirty |
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I'm thankful to have my family and father in law visit tomorrow to help us paint the nursery and do a few other home improvement projects. Today will be spent making hamburger/hot dog buns, apple pie, and cleaning - a hopefully productive Friday afternoon.
If you like guacamole and chickpeas - you will like this recipe. It is great on a sandwich or used as a dip, and is perfect for the warmer weather we've [finally] been getting. Slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod, I highly recommend trying it.
What you will need:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 avocado
2 tablespoons red onion
1 lemon, juice of
1/4 cup cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Then, in a medium sized bowl, smash chickpeas and avocado together. Add onion, lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix.
Pretty easy! I had mine on Ezekiel bread with some sliced tomato. You can add your favorite sandwich toppings or eat as a dip with crackers.
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On to other news, I am now 22.5 weeks pregnant. Baby is about the size of a spaghetti squash (which I have a few bags of in the freezer that I need to use...) I've been working on a pinterest board for the nursery which includes a few things I've already gotten. You can follow it
here. Etsy has been the most fun place to find prints and other decorations.
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| 21 weeks pregnant on my birthday |
I've heard there's more snow in our forecast, but I'm really hoping the weather will stay warm soon. And most of all, I hope we don't just skip spring and go straight into summer. I think Williamsburg summer will be even less tolerable while pregnant.
Well, hellooo. I've definitely been away for a while. I'd say a lot has happened since I last wrote. I was busiest with my part time travel job this summer/fall but it's been quiet more recently. I am also 5 months pregnant and we found out yesterday that it's a girl! For a month or two I was in no way interested in cooking, but I am now mostly back to eating my healthier groceries. Last night I made fresh veggie spring rolls and wanted to share the recipe.
As with most of my favorite recipes, these are easily adaptable to what you have on hand. Also, vegetables seem more exciting to eat when they're all cut into thin strips.
What you will need:
1 package of rice papers
1 container of warm water (I used an 8x8 dish) to dip rice paper in
1 cup rice noodles (I found mine in the tofu/hummus/dip section of Trader Joe's)
1 red bell pepper
1 avocado
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1 tomato
3 green onions
fresh basil, to taste
Cook rice noodles according to package. Mine only took 90 seconds. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Take rice paper and dip in warm/hot water for 15-20 seconds. Then, lay on a wet tea towel and fill with noodles and vegetables (or with whatever you want in the spring roll). Put the ingredients toward the bottom center of the paper. Roll bottom of paper over ingredients, roll in sides of paper, and then roll up the rest of the way. Repeat!
I made 10 spring rolls this way, with certain ingredients left over. Since they are so easy to make, I plan to put the rest together today or tomorrow - I believe there are 15 rice papers in each package.
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And, on to more exciting things, we've been doing lots of planning for the baby. I have a nursery theme picked out, but unfortunately Ikea is three hours from me so I have to plan wisely (the crib, dresser, and a few other things I want are from Ikea). I also have to learn how to sew because I bought two really cute fabrics that would make fun dresses (or anything, really). I've also learned very quickly that registering for baby stuff is overwhelming (do I want an ergo, moby, boba? If I want an ergo do I want the original, organic, sport, performance?) and I know, first world problems, but there are almost too many options for anything out there. Anyway, I'll try to be better about posting recipes and adventures in getting ready for baby.
Another pasta dish, I know - but this is a great one for summer. The combination of the fresh vegetables and spices is great, and topping it with feta at the end makes it even better (as cheese usually does).
What you will need:
12 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 cups chopped bell peppers, assorted colors
2 cups arugula
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper *omit if you don't want a bit of a kick
salt and pepper, to taste
feta, to taste
Cook spaghetti according to directions. While spaghetti is cooking, place peppers in strainer in the sink. Drain noodles onto peppers to warm them slightly. Place noodles and peppers in a large serving dish. Add olive oil, arugula, garlic, and spices. Toss to coat. Top with crumbled feta when ready to serve.
You may have gathered by now that I love pasta - and probably eat way too much of it. That's why I like to bulk it up with healthier ingredients (as I've mentioned before). This pasta dish includes swiss chard, which is full of vitamins and other health benefits, plus, it loses its bitter flavor when cooked. This pasta also includes my favorite ingredients such as fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic.
What you will need:
8 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lemon, juice of
3 cups baby arugula
2 cups swiss chard
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
pepper, to taste
Cook pasta according to the directions and drain. In a medium sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and capers. Stir frequently for 1 minute. Add swiss chard, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Combine mixture with pasta and add arugula. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and toss to combine. Garnish with parmesan cheese and pepper, if desired.
This pizza is completely amazing. The sweet dates and creamy goat cheese go very well together - and you can't go wrong with pesto. It was also an exciting lunch because I had all the ingredients on hand.
What you will need:
1 pizza crust (I made a half whole wheat/half white flour one)
6 tablespoons pesto
2-3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
8 medjool dates, quartered (you can also use fresh figs)
a few small handfuls of arugula
Pre-heat oven to 425 and roll out pizza crust as you usually would onto an ungreased baking sheet. Top with pesto, goat cheese, and dates. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Top with arugula, serve, and enjoy!
Mmmmm. That's all I can say about these. Well, not
all I can say. They're not only delicious, but they're also very healthy! All natural - can't beat that. They're husband approved, too.
I changed two ingredients from the original recipe, but that was just to avoid going to the store. The original calls for pecans instead of walnuts and raisins instead of dates. I'm sure either way you decide to make these, you will enjoy them!
In a large bowl, mix oats, walnuts, and ground flax seed until combined. Add almond butter, honey, and cinnamon and mix until combined. Stir in carrots and dates.
It's up to you how big you want to make the bites. The original post made 22 with each using 2 tablespoons of the mixture. I didn't measure and ended up with 12 bigger bites. They're pretty messy to handle, but if you use a spoon or a cookie scoop things will be a bit neater. Next time I make these (which will be soon) I may actually just press the mixture into a baking dish, refrigerate, and cut into bars.
Anyway, form them any way you'd like, put on a cookie sheet or in a dish, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Make sure you check out
Cookin Canuck for tons of other healthy and amazing looking recipes!
My friend and I actually made these shrimp tacos back in April when she visited for the afternoon (and took some glamour shots of Dingo and me, of course) - but since I went MIA for a while, I am just posting them now. This is a great, fresh meal for a warm day. We topped ours with some pico de gallo and made a pitcher of lemon water. Yum!
This recipe is from April's issue of Better Homes and Gardens and just has a few minor changes. Serves 3:
Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Rinse it and pat it dry. In a resealable bag, combine olive oil, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. If you want your shrimp to be spicier, you can also add 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Add shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat shrimp. Chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
To make your lime slaw, combine cabbage, lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 chopped red onion in a large bowl. Set aside.
Thread shrimp on 10 inch metal skewers. If you are using wooden skewers, make sure they have soaked for at least 30 minutes. Cook shrimp on grill for 5-8 minutes, until opaque, turning halfway through.
Remove shrimp from skewers. Put shrimp and lime slaw on tortillas of your choice, along with any other toppings you may want to add. If desired, sprinkle with cilantro and lime juice.
Well, between an increasingly busy schedule, a lost camera cord that is keeping me from uploading any decent pictures, and a lack of motivation ...I've let over two months go by without writing in the blog. Woops. It doesn't help that every time I come back to it I decide I hate the font and layout. I should probably learn more about blogger...
Anyway, despite the lack of posts, I've still been doing a decent job cooking new, healthy recipes. I'll share an easy one with you that I made last night. I'm trying to do a week of healthy/vegan dinners (might have to make a few vegetarian towards the end because I'd rather not go shopping).
I love this recipe because it has all my favorite ingredients - garlic, lemon, avocado... plus it's very easy to whip up.
What you will need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic
1 ripe avocado
salt, to taste
6 ounces pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 cup sliced/peeled zucchini
Cook spaghetti according to package. While it is cooking, blend olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic in a food processor. Add avocado and salt and blend again until smooth. If you don't have a food processor, you can whisk it together by hand.
Drain and rinse spaghetti, but reserve a small amount of water to put zucchini into. I'm not sure how long zucchini really takes to cook, but I put it in the pot I had the spaghetti in for a few minutes, until it was tender.
Combine sauce, pasta, and zucchini. You're welcome to omit the noodles and just use zucchini, or vice versa. The sauce is really the best part here.
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All in all, May has been a very good month. I am working on another project with my old company which will have me traveling all over the United States! I also got to see a bunch of friends and family at a Cinco De Mayo party I had (I'd post the recipe for the tres leches cake but I don't think it belongs on a health food blog). Plus my first nephew is due any day now. I'm sure you will be seeing pictures of him soon enough - I won't wait another two months to post!
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| cinco de mayo fun, excitement over a new dress, and as usual - a sleepy dog |
This isn't much of a recipe, but I wanted to share an interesting substitute for spaghetti noodles. Of course it doesn't taste the exact same, but it's amazing how you can be fooled if you transform your food to just look like what you'd rather be eating. Anyway, this is just raw, sliced zucchini. I topped it with no sodium added marinara from Trader Joe's and some parmesan cheese. Excuse the puddle of sauce, I microwaved the whole plate for a few seconds. I don't love zucchini, necessarily, but this was really good. Also, by cutting them thin enough, they have a similar texture to pasta - not too hard or crunchy. Just slice and top with your favorite pasta toppings!
Healthy, fresh, and simple. Anyone have any other pasta substitutes out there? It is definitely one of those things I want to eat more often than I should, and I think I've overdone the spaghetti squash for now. I think this version makes for a nice spring lunch or side dish. Seems like I was just wishing for cooler fall weather - but now I am definitely ready for spring (summer can hold off as long as it'd like). March is nearly half over but was filled with some birthday celebrations with friends and family and even a trip to Blacksburg - plus some fun decorating of my guest room.
Here's hoping April brings [slightly] warmer weather and some fun trips. Oh, and maybe a job, that'd be nice.
Thanks to some free time and a Netflix subscription, I have still been watching lots of documentaries that have me thinking about the chemicals in my drinks, food, cosmetics, household cleaners, etc. It really is scary what we put into and on our bodies on a daily basis without thinking about it. On any given day I would shower using shampoo, conditioner, soap, and face wash. After, I would put on lotion and face lotion. I wouldn't think twice about drinking a diet coke, eating a frozen meal, etc, etc.
And now, while I haven't rushed to throw out all of my shampoo, I am just much more aware of the products I am using and eating. It feels nice to cut one or two items out of my daily regimen. I stopped using my face wash and face lotion. My skin has always been extremely sensitive so I was nervous about the change, but I have been using only organic virgin coconut oil ($5-$6 at Trader Joe's) for about a month now and it has only improved my skin. I know, sounds crazy, but it works. Google "OCM" or "oil cleansing method" and you'll find all kinds of information. Plus it's all natural and smells great. When I do run out of shampoo and conditioner, I'd like to try making my own. Of course, there are also brands out there like Burt's Bees and Tom's that I can try. It's also been a month now since I've had any type of soda (hooray!). I am not at all above it, and I'm not saying I won't drink it ever again, but I actually don't miss it. I've been perfectly happy with water, tea, and coffee.
Another way to cut out some chemicals is to make homemade household cleaners. Baking soda and vinegar are awesome for a number of reasons.
This article says that a vinegar water mix is actually much more effective at washing your produce than a store bought vegetable wash or a scrub brush. Also, super cheap. 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar - I did it in my sink and put all my produce in at the same time. You could also make the mixture in a squirt bottle and use whenever you needed it.
I think that may be enough of a rant for today. If you have any other suggestions for me I'd love to hear them!
I love pasta, but find it too easy to sit down and eat 4 or more ounces of it topped with sauce and cheese. This recipe is great because the mushrooms and and spinach help to bulk it up, giving you a large serving without too many noodles. The oil also takes away the stickiness you can sometimes get with whole wheat noodles. Serves 2-3.
What you will need:
6 ounces whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 10 oz package of button mushrooms, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces spinach leaves (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
In a medium pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package. Drain and set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally about 5-6 minutes. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add noodles and spinach to skillet and toss until spinach wilts and noodles are warmed through. Add soy sauce and sesame oil and toss to combine. Enjoy!
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