Real Food Day 20 - Pear Quinoa Bites

I was browsing Pinterest today, and I came across a pin to this recipe:

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Bites

I just ran out of muffins today, so I thought these would be great to make tonight after Peanut went to bed.  So, I got started...I measured out the quinoa and got it cooking, then I went to get out the apples.  Oh, no apples.  Hmmm....pears.  Okay, pears!  So, I chopped up the pears, and I started measuring out the other ingredients.  Oats...oh, no oats.  Hmmm....hmmmm.....cereal?  Multigrain OATbran cereal?...ummmm, okay.  So, I crushed up the cereal as best I could, and continued following the recipe.  And then refined sugar...oh yeah, I'm not supposed to have that...or brown sugar.  Well, I'll cut out the white sugar, and reduce the brown sugar and maple syrup.  Oh, and I don't have a mini muffin tin...so I'll just put globs in muffin cups. Okay, done!

So, in the end, I have a somewhat altered recipe, but they turned out GREAT!  Loads of flavour!  Yum!

Quinoa Pear Cinnamon Snacks

Here is the final recipe:

Quinoa Pear Cinnamon Snacks

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup crushed flake cereal (I used Multigrain Oatbran Cereal)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 cup chopped pears

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large mixing bowl, add your cooked quinoa and quick oats.  In a separate smaller mixing bowl, combine your cinnamon, nutmeg and sugars and then add the spice mixture to the quinoa and oats.  Then add the maple syrup, apples and eggs and mix until just combined.

3) Spray your mini muffin pan (24 count) with non-stick cooking spray.  Make sure to spray the top of the pan as well.  The quinoa bites will overflow out of the cup a little bit, so you don’t want the tops to stick.

4) Fill each muffin slot with 1 tablespoon of the mixture and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

**UPDATE:  These are really really yummy!  Also, the were a HUGE hit with Peanut at breakfast this morning - sweet, flavourful, and nutritious!  I think next time I will reduce the sugar even more since the cinnamon, nutmeg and fruit add such a flavour punch.

Real Food Day 17

I got this book from the library, and I am really loving it.  The pictures are lovely and inspiring, and most of the recipes are pretty simple.  She also has pictures on each recipe to indicate what season it is best to make that recipe in - handy!

Buy it here

Today I am making my own vegetable stock.  I will use it to make soup later, or possibly to flavour some rice or quinoa for a stirfry.  I used to think that making vegetable stock from scratch was wasteful (shouldn't I just eat those vegetables), until it occurred to me to just save the part that you don't eat...like onion peels, celery leaves, etc.  So, I did that for a few days, and now I have enough to make a good amount of stock!  It's really simple - and here is the recipe that I am using (from the above book).

Vegetable Stock:

Ingredients:

1 part vegetable scraps

2-3 parts water

Directions:

1 - Place the veggies in a saucepan or soup pot.  Pour in water so it covers the veg by about 2 inches (5 cm).  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook for as little as 15 minutes or as long as 1 hour.

2 - Allow the stock to cool enough to handle (so you don't burn yourself).  Place a sieve over a large bowl, pour the stock through, and press the veg with a spatula or back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as you can.  Dispose of the scraps in the compost (your garden will love you!).

Vegetable scraps ready to cook for stock

Real Food Day 15

A busy day today!

Peanut went to the sitter's for the afternoon, so I took the opportunity to get some errands done and get busy in the kitchen!

First I made a double batch of whole wheat tortillas (I will keep them in the freezer until I need them).

As the tortilla dough was resting, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat strawberry muffins (see recipe below).

As they were baking, I cooked the tortillas.

After that was finished, I put in some red peppers to roast, because later this week I am making spaghetti squash with roasted red pepper sauce, so I thought it would be best to be prepared.  I should've had the peppers going in the toaster oven while I was doing the muffins in the oven and the tortillas on the stove top...this would've saved a bit of time, but I didn't think of that.

Finally, while the peppers were roasting, I whipped up a batch of this DELICIOUS detox salad.  We are having salad with most of our meals this week, and this salad keeps so well in the fridge, that I figured I'd make it while I have the time so that I can spend less time in the kitchen later, and more time with Peanut.

And now...dishes.

Here's the muffin recipe:

Aren't these muffin cups cute?  I think they are from homesense - we used them for our wedding :)

Strawberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1C whole wheat flour
3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 C maple syrup (or slightly less)
3/4 C milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
1/4 C oil (such as butter or coconut oil)
1 C sliced strawberries (use fresh when they are in season, or use frozen during the rest of the year)

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together.  Mix wet ingredients together.  Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients (stir until moist...batter will be lumpy).  Pour into muffin cups.  Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes (they are done when you can insert a toothpick and nothing sticks to the toothpick).

Real Food Day 14

We were away on the weekend, and on Saturday I pretty much threw the rules out the window by eating a chocolate chip cookie and some chocolate peanut butter pie (though, they were both homemade!).  But now I am back on the real food bandwagon!

Last night I boiled some eggs so that I would have some handy to throw in salad, or eat as a snack.  So, this morning I had coffee, a boiled egg, and some dried fruit.

Lunch was a quesadilla (whole wheat tortilla, cheddar cheese, spinach), and then for snack I had another tortilla with plain cream cheese, dates, and sliced almonds.  The plan for dinner tonight is stirfry on brown rice.

I find that meal planning really helps me to keep on track with healthy eating, so every Sunday I sit down with the flyers and plan the meals for a week.  Sometimes I don't find the flyers that helpful because the stuff that is on sale most often is processed food.  However, it's good to know what produce is on sale and plan around that.  Meal planning prevents those "it's 5:00...what's for dinner?" moments, it saves money because it means less trips to the store (and I don't buy things we don't need), and it also means less wasted food.

Here's our meal plan for the week:

Monday: Stirfry (veggies, brown rice, tofu)
Tuesday: Salmon, whole grain couscous, steamed broccoli, salad
Wednesday: Soup and salad (just Peanut and I)
Thursday: Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Red Pepper sauce (NEW - I'm using this recipe)
Friday: Black Bean Tortilla Pie (also new, with this recipe, and homemade tortillas)
Saturday: Leftovers

Real Food Day 9 and 10

Last night I had a big fail with the real food gig.  We went out for dinner at one of our favourite restaurants, and they have a NEW MENU.  So, I ordered the veggie burger (comes on a white bun), topped with apple and brie, and a side of fries....bad bad me!  I didn't drink any pop though, and I LOVE cola, so that's good, right???

Anyway, today I am back on track - eggs and toast for breakfast, tomato barley soup for lunch, and we're having shepherd's pie for dinner!  Here's the recipe for the shepherd's pie I'm making: SHEPHERD'S PIE.  I love this recipe - it's so easy to make, and I always have the ingredients on hand, so it's one I go to when I realize I am running low on food but don't have time to go to the store.  It's also really easy to freeze, which makes it great for making ahead, and it's also a good one to give to people who are in need of food (e.g. grieving, just had a baby, etc).  I also love it because the food is soft enough for peanut to eat, so I don't have to make anything separate for her - YAY!  What's not to love, right?

Real food Day 8

For breakfast this morning, I enjoyed 1 pancake topped with berries, 1 egg, and a cup of fruit salad (homemade...basically just cut up fruit with some lime juice squeezed over it).

Lunch was leftovers from last night's stirfry, but to change it up a bit I added some slivered almonds and some cut up dates - this was a brilliant idea!  The dates added a nice touch of sweetness, and the almonds added some crunch.  YUM!  Here's a picture:

7 grains with vegetables, tofu, dates and almonds.

Haven't had supper yet, but I've got a delicious tomato-barley-vegetable soup cooking up in my crockpot, and it smells lovely.  I don't have a recipe, but basically what I did was throw in pot barley, red lentils, yellow split peas, a can of no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, about 6-8 cups of vegetable broth, onion, celery, carrots, potato, and some herbs and garlic.  I'm cooking it in the crockpot on high for 4 hours so that it will be ready for dinner!

Update - the soup was delicious!  Here's a picture:

Tomato Barley Soup

Real Food Day 6 & 7

January 6 - even though it was only yesterday, I totally forget what I had for breakfast.  Lunch was a delicious plate of homemade hashbrowns, whole grain toast, poached eggs, tomatoes and fruit.  For dinner I had baked salmon fillet with mashed potatoes and steamed brussel sprouts.

January 7 - this morning I enjoyed some whole grain pancakes.  I was lucky enough to find the pancake mix at a local store where they buy wholesale, then sell it in convenient smaller packages.  It's got wheat, corn and barley flours, and a few other baking ingredients.  All I did was mix it with water (easy and convenient!), though there is a mix with egg and water option which I will try next time because I think it will taste better.  I topped the pancakes with berries (no maple syrup).

Whole grain pancakes with berries.

Lunch was leftovers from last nights dinner <3

For dinner we had a 7-grain blend (rice, barley, oats, etc) with stir-fried vegetables and tofu.  The veggies were fried in olive oil, and for a sauce I used a touch of honey mixed with some garlic and soy sauce (naturally brewed...not sure if this breaks the rules or not, but I'm sure it's better than lots of the store sauces that can be purchased).

Dessert was fruit salad (my "salad-of-the-day") topped with sliced almonds.  The almonds added a nice crunchy touch!