Avocado’s & Pit’s
Posted: May 20, 2012 Filed under: Beauty & Hygiene, Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa, Thoughts | Tags: Avocado, Basil, garlic cloves, Inspiration, Lemon juice, Olive oil, pepper, Pit Potion, Sea salt 9 Comments »FOOD
One of my Vitamin De face book friends (Kristy), suggested the featured recipe and I’m not even exaggerating when I tell you that it’s delicious!
15 minute Creamy Avocado Pasta
Ingredients
1 medium-sized ripe Avocado, pitted
½ lemon, juiced
2-3 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon sea salt
1-teaspoon basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Your choice of pasta
Black pepper to taste
Directions
- Cook pasta according to directions
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
- When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings.
*Note: This dish not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. Please serve immediately.
- Original recipe (and picture) by Angela Liddon. I’ve revised the recipe a little bit.
BEAUTY
If you have tried natural deodorants in the past you know that it’s not easy to find one that really takes the place of your everyday ordinary one’s. I’ve gone through several and finally stumbled across one that works for me. What does it smell like? Nothing. Not even at the end of the day. You stay fresh but it seriously smells like nothing. I can’t explain it. All I know is that when I read the ingredients, I can understand every single one listed and I like that.
Pure unrefined shea butter**, pure unrefined cocoa butter**, corn starch*, baking soda, kaolin clay, rice bran oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba, glycerin, wheat germ oil, rosehip seed oil*, tea tree oil*, 100% organic essential oil blend*, and Vitamin E.
PIT POTION ROCKS! :) http://www.natureofbeauty.com/pit-potion/
INSPIRATION
Quinoa recipes
Posted: March 14, 2012 Filed under: Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa | Tags: chili powder, Garlic, Mushrooms, Olive oil, Protein, Quinoa, quinoa recipes, Spinach, Vegetable broth 2 Comments »Did you know that Quinoa is a complete protein?
With that said, I’m always on the lookout for easy, quick Quinoa recipes. Below are two that I think you will enjoy.
Spanish Quinoa
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 cups vegetable broth
½ cup organic tomato sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
Crushed garlic
Directions:
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa and toast until grains are slightly golden brown, around 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add broth, tomato sauce and chili powder and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes.
- Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Slightly revised from Peas on the Side.
Quinoa/veggie salad
Ingredients:
2 handfuls red bell peppers strips
1-handful garlic cloves
2 handfuls mushrooms of your choice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-cup quinoa
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups spinach leaves
Directions:
Put peppers, mushrooms and garlic in a large zip lock baggie.
Pour olive oil into bag, secure zip lock and shake ingredients together.
Empty contents of bag onto a large baking sheet.
Place in pre-heated oven (400 degrees) for 30 minutes until veggies seems tender.
In the meantime, cook quinoa-according directions on package.
Whisk together tomato paste and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl.
Place roasted veggies, spinach and quinoa in a large serving bowl and stir in the dressing.
Serve warm and enjoy!
My friend (G.S.) sent me this recipe but after I revised it, I deleted where the original came from. My apologies to the creator!
*It’s Wednesday, have you hugged your kid today?
(My dad says this to us all the time but for everyday of the week) :)
Photo by: myspacecomments.com
Two-fer
Posted: March 11, 2012 Filed under: Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa, Veggies, Dressings and Sauces | Tags: Cayenne Pepper, Garlic, garlic cloves, Olive oil, Paprika, Sea salt, Spinach, Sweet Potato, sweet potato fries 10 Comments »My husband and I have been on a sautéed spinach kick lately. As you know, fresh spinach shrinks when you cook it, so it seems like you can never prepare enough. I use a whole bag for just the two of us.
Sautéed Spinach
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves
10-ounce bag of fresh spinach
Warm a large skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and garlic; sauté 30 seconds, stirring, until garlic softens but does not brown.
Add spinach; cook tossing with tongs until just wilted.
Serve immediately.
I can’t remember if I already posted the following recipe and I can’t seem to find it in my notes, but I’ve been craving these “fries” so I thought I’d post it anyway.
Spicy Sweet-Potato Fries
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp paprika
½ tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then cut each half into four wedges. Toss the wedges with the oil, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt. Lay the pieces on a baking sheet. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until they are browned on the outside and tender all the way though.
*I can’t remember where I found this recipe but I see Rodale published it.
Hope you have a relaxing Sunday! :)
Peanut Noodles
Posted: November 29, 2011 Filed under: Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa | Tags: Asian, Dinner, Noodle, Recipe, Vegan 2 Comments »Oh, how I love 5 ingredients or less recipes made in 15 minutes! As an extra bonus, this one has 9 grams of fiber per serving.
INGREDIENTS
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles (gluten-free if need be)
5 tablespoons organic natural creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup of cooking liquid used to boil spaghetti noodles
DIRECTIONS
Prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain pasta in colander.
Whisk together: cooking liquid, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce and green onions. Add to pasta, tossing to combine well.
Serve in bowls and add additional green onions on top (optional).
ENJOY!
Revised version taken from: prevention.com/recipefinder
Carbs are not the enemy
Posted: November 15, 2011 Filed under: Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa | Tags: Carbohydrates, Food 2 Comments »Carbs are not the enemy! Despite the bad rap carbohydrates have fallen under, they are essential to our well-being.
The primary function of carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body, especially the brain and the nervous system. An enzyme called amylase helps break down carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar), which is used for energy by the body.-Medline Plus
The healthiest diet you can possibly consume is a high-carbohydrate diet. It has been shown to reverse heart disease, reverse diabetes, prevent a plethora of chronic diseases and has been shown many times to cause significant weight loss (Campbell, 2006).
With that said, you can’t just eat any old carbohydrates to reap the benefits. You have to choose the good guys. :)
*Bad carbs: are refined, processed carbohydrate foods that have had all or most of their natural nutrients and fiber stripped in order to make them more consumer friendly.
BAD Carbs: (Just to name a few)
White bread
White pastas
White rice
(I’m seeing a trend here)
White flour
White sugar
Soda
Potato chips
Cereals (some)
Bagels
Cookies
Muffins
Cakes
Possibly effects from consuming bad carbs:
Acne
Mood swings
Energy “highs” and “lows”
Weight gain
Various effects on blood sugar
Candida yeast overgrowth
Weak immune system
Hormonal imbalance
*Bad carbs are empty calories. Repeat after me, bad carbs are empty calories….
*GOOD carbs: are unprocessed carbohydrates in their ‘natural’ state – or very close to their natural state.
GOOD Carbs: (Just to name a few)
Vegetables
Brown or wild rice
Beans
Chickpeas
Hummus
Quinoa (KEEN-wa)
Pasta made from brown rice or whole wheat
Potatoes (controversial carb)
Fruits
*Best time to eat carbs is after exercise.
*The effects of carbs on people with diabetes is complicated. Hopefully, I learn more as I go along in my studies. My friends that do have diabetes, please reply if you have any advice about carbs.
Campbell.T., Campbell.T.2006.The China Study. BenBella Books Inc.
Sweet potato/Almond butter “fries”
Posted: November 6, 2011 Filed under: Pasta, Potatoes and Quinoa | Tags: Sweet Potato 3 Comments »Revision of: The Kurious Kale Almond Butter Fries
I prepared this recipe for dinner one evening only to discover that if you drizzle organic maple syrup on the sweet potatoes (after they cooled a bit) it would be a delicious weekend breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into fry-like strips)
3 tablespoons organic raw almond butter (creamy)
1-tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Organic maple syrup (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Spray baking tray with non-stick spray
Place potatoes in a large bowl
In a small bowl, combine the almond butter, oil, sea salt and cinnamon
Drizzle the coating over the potatoes and toss mixture with hands until evenly coated
Line the potatoes on cookie sheet in a single layer
Bake 35-50 minutes until coating is browned and a bit crispy
Makes 3-4 servings
Will keep refrigerated up to 3 days
