November | 2013 | My Foodie Call | Page 4

Monthly Archives: November 2013
- One-Pot Cauliflower and Squash Penne Pasta
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Nov 11th
  One pot meals are awesome. Less dishes=less work.
  
  I got this recipe from Eating Well. Although I modified a tiny bit on the veggies.
  
  Fast meal on the fly.
  
  I modified the recipe slightly on the veggies to cut out some chopping time. Time saver!
  
  2 bags. Pre-cut. Done.
  
  I broke up the cauliflower a little bit so that everything would cook evenly.
  
  Low cooking with the penne for 12 or so minutes…
  
  Topped with parmesan.
  
  Cauliflower and Squash Whole Grain Penne
  
  Ingredients:
  - 1 tablespoon grapeseed olive oil
  - 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  - 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  - 4 cups vegetable broth
  - 8 ounces whole-wheat penne (about 3 cups of dry pasta)
  - 1-12 oz package cauliflower florets (if they are large, break into 1 inch pieces)
  - 1-12 oz package peeled and cut butternut squash
  - Freshly ground pepper to taste
  - 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  Directions:
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
  3. Add broth, penne, cauliflower and squash. Bring to a boil over high heat.
  4. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thickened. 12 to 14 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat, stir in pepper and let stand for 5 minutes.
  6. Serve topped with cheese.
  Topped with parmesan.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged squash, whole wheat pasta
- Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins with Chia
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Nov 10th
  Do you need something to do with those blueberries you picked over the summer? Need to create space in your freezer?
  
  Here is a good one to try.
  
  I made these blueberry muffins for a recent breakfast when my 10-year-old had a friend spend the night.
  
  Pressure was on.
  
  Let’s just say 10-year-olds can be….
  
  ~~Picky.~~
  
  Honest. My son included 🙂
  
  These muffins were guest approved. The “guest” had three of them, although who’s counting????
  
  Whole Grain Vegan Blueberry Muffins.
  
  So vegan means, no animals were involved.
  
  No oil involved either. Bonus.
  
  Chia seeds WERE involved.
  
  And they actually taste good.
  
  How this happens.
  
  Start by making your dairy-free buttermilk. Not hard. It’s just almond milk and lemon juice.
  
  Then your super food. Super food= Super ingredient right here.
  
  And your unsweetened applesauce.
  
  Now your dry ingredients.
  
  Add your wet.
  
  Slowly fold in your blueberries.
  
  Batter up!
  
  Prepared for baking…
  
  After 13 minutes add your optional cinnamon/sugar topping.
  
  But why wouldn’t you???
  
  Finish baking until inserted toothpick comes out clean…
  
  Finished.
  
  Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins with Chia
  - 2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
  - 1 cup brown sugar
  - 3/4 teaspoon salt
  - 1 teaspoon baking powder
  - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  - 1 cup frozen blueberries, frozen
  - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  - 1/4 cup chia gel (***see below for how to make chia gel***)
  - 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  - 1 1/2 cups almond milk mixed with the juice of one small lemon (or 1/2 large lemon)
  - cinnamon-sugar grinder for topping, optional
  1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare muffin tin with liners or lightly grease with coconut oil (I did the coconut oil).
  
  2) Whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
  
  3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, chia gel, and vegan “buttermilk”.
  
  4) Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir a little bit.
  
  5) Add your frozen blueberries and stir again, just until combined. (As with all muffins, do not over-stir. If you do it will cause overly dense muffins)
  
  6) Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tin.
  
  7) Bake the muffins for 13 minutes.
  
  8) Take muffins out and top the muffins with cinnamon/sugar. (optional)
  
  9) Bake for another 5-6 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
  
  ***CHIA GEL****
  
  Mix 2 Tbls chia seeds with one cup of water. Whisk well. The seeds will float around a bit and not do much. Relax. Wait 2 or 3 minutes, whisk again. Put in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, whisking in between to help it set further set. It will be gel-like and goopy, but this is want you want. It is your perfect healthy binder in place of your egg and oil.
  Posted in Breakfast | Tagged blueberry, chia, muffins, vegan
- Make friends with…Gogi Berries.
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Nov 9th
  Have you heard the term “Superfood” when referencing a food’s nutrition benefits? “Superfoods” are as trendy as “fat-free” foods were back in the 90’s. It seems like the word “fat-free” was slapped on everything it could be…everything short of an apple. But we all know where the fat-free craze got us…. Excess sugar in our goods.
  
  Yes, Sugar overload. Anyhow, back to the labeling of “Superfoods.” On your health journey, you will most certainly come across the term “Superfood”. Really it is a marketing term to try to get you to buy and consume whatever Superfood is being touted as the next big thing. Marketing. And it works. I am guilty. However…what is important to note is that no one particular food can equate to perfect health. The key to great health is keeping a variety of whole, unprocessed foods in your life. Not focus on any one particular “Superfood.” Yes, kale is pretty much king, but make sure you do not ignore collards, spinach, romaine or any other powerful green. Again, I am guilty. I buy and consume these marketed “Superfoods.” I even have some on auto delivery from Amazon. See below 🙂
  
  Gogi Berries. A packaged Superfood. Sweet.
  
  These are the guys I am talking about. Good stuff. In a bag. Long shelf life. No worrying about buying in season.
  
  The reason I will promote this “Superfood” is because they do have pretty awesome health properties. Similar to berries, but no fuss or worrying about them rotting or going bad. No refrigerating required. Here is the deal. Before gogi berries are packaged, they are dried out almost completely and left with about 10% moisture. This gives them their chewy consistency. And although gogi berries look like little red raisins, they are not quite as sweet. But with Vitamin A, C, and Iron? Who cares. Way healthier than a raisin.
  
  My gogi berry and rolled oat cookies from a while back. See those red guys?? These are gogi berries.
  
  According to the Navitas Naturals website this is what they say about their gogi berries and their nutritional content: “Ounce-for-ounce, goji berries contain more vitamin C than oranges, more beta-carotene than carrots, and more iron than soybeans and spinach.” That’s quite a nutritional claim. I’m on board with that. What to do with these babies?
  - Keep them in your purse in place of those almonds you have been carting around for a week. Mix it up a bit.
  - Add them to your salad.
  - Top your oatmeal with them.
  - Add them to granola.
  - Blend them into smoothies.
  - Add them to your cookie recipes?? See above picture :).
  Although I am certain they sell them at Whole Foods Market, here is the Amazon link if you would like to order some from the comfort of your couch. http://www.amazon.com/Navitas-Naturals-Organic-Berries-16-Ounce/dp/B000FFLHSY
  Posted in Make friends with... | Tagged gogi berries
- Whole Wheat Veggie Dog Muffins
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Nov 8th
  Made these dinner muffins and added a kid-friendly, veggie-dog-center.
  
  Don’t like veggie dogs? Captain Obvious says to use your all-beef hot dogs in this recipe instead. 🙂
  
  This recipe is adapted from this cornbread recipe, over at lunchboxbunch.com
  
  The process…
  
  Here is your dry ingredients.
  
  Next add your wet ingredients…
  
  Fold to combine.
  
  Grab your Smart Dogs.
  
  Cut 3 of them.
  
  The set up.
  
  End result.
  
  Whole Grain Veggie Dog Muffins
  
  Ingredients
  - 3/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  - 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  - 4 tbsp. nutritional yeast
  - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  - 1/4 tsp salt
  - 1 tsp baking powder
  - dash of baking soda
  - 1/2 cup maple syrup
  - 1/2 cup vegan butter, (or regular if you are not needing a vegan recipe)
  - 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  - 3 veggie dogs
  - muffin liners or cooking spray for muffin tins
  Directions:
  
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  
  2. Prepare your muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  
  3. In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix well.
  
  4. Add in the liquids. Fold to combine.
  
  5. Pour into prepared tin.
  
  6. Cut each veggie dog into 4 sections, so you should wind up with 12 small pieces.
  
  7. Place one veggie dog in the center of each tin, pressing down so that the batter surrounds the piece.
  
  8. Bake for 23-25 minutes – or until edges become browned.
  
  Totally portable, too. These have been known to make an appearance in my kids’ school lunches.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged vegetarian, whole wheat flour
- Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Beefless Tips
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Nov 7th
  Not a speck of beef in here.
  
  Figured it was time for a “comfort meal”. It seems as though most people have their go-to Shepherd’s Pie recipe. Tradition is good, but not always super healthy. Did you know that the very first Shepherd’s Pie had ground lamb as its meat? No thanks.
  
  I wanted to make something a tad different from standard recipes and decided to add Gardein Beefless Tips.
  
  It worked and turned out great.
  
  Have you ever bought these before? Every standard grocery store has these. Right next to the veggie burgers. Give it a shot, you’ll be surprised how tasty they are….
  
  Let’s go through the process, shall we?
  
  First I made the topping…
  
  Cooked sweet potato ready to process…
  
  All whipped up with the almond milk, nutritional yeast, butter…hmmm. I could eat it like this….
  
  Next I made the bottom layer.
  
  Carrots, peas, onions, and Gardein Beefless Tips.
  
  Add the parmesan cheese.
  
  Give it a stir.
  
  Add it to your casserole dish.
  
  Spread your sweet potato layer on top.
  
  It’s coming together…
  
  Bake for 30 or so minutes…
  
  Done. Good stuff.
  
  Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Beefless Tips
  
  Sweet Potato Topping
  - 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 lb.)
  - 1/2 cup almond milk
  - 2 Tbs. butter
  - 1 Tbs. nutritional yeast (optional)
  - 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  - 1/2 sp. ground nutmeg
  Filling
  - 1 Tbs. grapeseed oil
  - 1 medium onion, chopped
  - 3 carrots diced (or about 1 1/2 cups)
  - 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  - 1/2 tsp sage
  - 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
  - 1 9 oz package Gardein Beefless Tips, thawed and sliced in half.
  - 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
  - 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  Directions
  
  For Sweet Potato Topping:
  1. Bring large pot of water to a boil.
  2. Add diced sweet potato, cover, and boil 10 minutes, or until tender.
  3. Drain and add to food processor with almond milk, butter, optional nutritional yeast, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process with quick pulses until you reach your desired consistency.
  For the filling:
  1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, or until onions are soft.
  2. Add carrot, thyme, and sage. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more, or until carrot begins to soften.
  3. Add veggie broth.
  4. Stir in peas, and Gardein Beefless Tips. Cover and cook on low for 16-18 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Stir in parmesan cheese.
  The assembly:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Pour filling into 2-qt. casserole dish that has been pre-sprayed to prevent sticking. Spread Sweet Potato Topping over Filling.
  3. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes, or until filling is bubbling.
  4. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
  Leftovers rock, too.
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged beefless, gardein, sweet potatoes, vegetarian
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