Tag Archives: recipe

Five ingredient hummus

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

Yes, you read correctly! This recipe includes five ingredients and tastes absolutely, positively delicious. Another bonus? It’s inexpensive! One 8 oz tub of Trader Joe’s Tahini Sauce can make up to 8 batches of hummus — unless you really love tahini, then it might only make 4 batches of hummus. Either way, TJ’s sells the tub at $2.99, Garbanzo beans at 89¢ and pre-made hummus for $2.99+… I’ll let you do the math to calculate your savings. ;)

Lemon garlic hummus

Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

2+ tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp Trader Joe’s Tahini Sauce (or a similar product)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic (best if roasted or sauteed first, yumm yumm yumm)

*For more flavor, add spices like salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder, etc.

**For a creamier hummus dip, add Greek yogurt (1+ tbsp).

Instructions

  1. Pour chickpeas and 1 tbsp of olive oil into a food processor. (Depending on the size of your food processor, you might have to blend 1/2 of the can with olive oil first, then add the rest of the can.) 
  2. Once the chickpeas start to breakdown, add the garlic, tahini and lemon juice. Blend.
  3. In order to reach your desired consitancy, continue to blend and drizzle in additional olive oil.
  4. EAT!
    5. About these ads

Vegetarian lentil (meat)balls

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

These aren’t exactly meatballs since they are lacking any kind of beef or poultry, but they are a delicious vegetarian alternative to traditional meatballs if you are looking for something to accompany your pasta. Being pescetarian for the month has led me to have some interesting cravings brought on my temptation and the simple lust for what I can’t have. The forbidden is always so desirable.

Earlier this month, I was tempted by my Aunt Karen’s famous meatballs. When I say famous, I really mean it. If she didn’t make them for a holiday or family gathering, people might riot. Real talk.

Anyways, here is my vegetarian spin on meaty, meaty meatballs. Enjoy!

SONY DSC

Red Lentil and Kale Meatballs

Ingredients

1/2 cup kale

1/2 small yellow onion

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 tbsp scallions

1 tsp olive oil

*preferred seasonings (I used red pepper flakes, curry, chili powder. You could go all Italian with basil, oregano, garlic powder, etc.)

1/2 cup panko

1 egg

1 cup cooked lentils (~1/2 cup uncooked)

*palm full of whole wheat flour

*optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and begin by cooking ~1/2 cup dry lentils according to package instructions.SONY DSC

2. Combine blue ingredients above (kale –> olive oil) in a food processor. Place mixture in a medium mixing bowl. SONY DSC

3. Add egg, panko, preferred seasonings and cooked lentils (once slightly cooled) to the same mixing bowl and combine.SONY DSC

4. Test the mixture next — If you are having trouble forming compact balls, add a palm full of whole wheat flour to the mixture. SONY DSC

5. Line a baking sheet or dish with tinfoil, lightly greasing the bottom. Form lentil balls from the mixture — You should be able to make 9 decently sized balls from the contents of your bowl.

SONY DSC

6. Place lentil balls in the oven for 15-20 minutes, turning half way through. Take them out when they begin to brown and crisp on the outside.

SONY DSC

Serve them up with some pasta, rice, tomato sauce… get creative! Yum yum yum! Once January is over, I might consider adding some ground pork/turkey to these lentil balls.

SONY DSC

Healthy Super Bowl Snacks

Posted in Food & Diet by

By Emily McLaughlin

The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and while I don’t really care about who is playing, I’m still looking forward to the whole “eating” aspect of the event. Football games are all about the food for me. Here are some healthy alternatives to your favorite game-time dishes complements of Stay Healthy, Stay Happy and Hungry Hannah.

1. Sweet Potato Chips/Fries

Don’t buy the bagged stuff, make something better-for-you from scratch. Here are some healthy alternatives to salty potato chips.  We’ve got a sweet choice from me and a spicier one from Hannah’s blog.

img_0469

2. Healthy Edamame Potstickers

I’m obsessed with these right now. I bought some wonton wrappers from the local market and tried all kind of recipes out. These potstickers were one of my favorite concoctions.

SONY DSC

3. Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Super Bowl parties are all about dips — lucky for us, dips are very easy to make healthier. First, try substitution Greek yogurt in for sour cream and avocados in for mayo. Here is a healthy spin on a football party favorite.

img_0431

4. Guacamole Revisited

Guacamole is a crowd favorite — make it healthier by using fresh ingredients and less salt. Serve it up with some whole grain chips, wheat chips or Trader Joe’s chips with flaxseed. Yum!

photo-1

5. 3-Bean Turkey Chili

Another favorite is chili! Please, please, please try turkey in your chili instead of beef. It might be a little pricier per pound, but it’s leaner and kind to your waistline. When choosing the extras, aim for low/no sodium options.

img_9990

6. Fresh Tomato Roasted Chile Salsa

Here is a recipe from Hannah. This salsa is fresh, delicious, the perfect amount of spicy… yepp. Just make it.

img_14901

7. Crispy, Baked Veggie Sticks

I made these over the summer, meaning to share them with my family, but ate them all myself. Whoops! Whatever… they were good and not so bad for me. Try making these instead of bringing over a boring vegetable tray — plus, those trays usually go untouched anyways.

IMG_2346

8. Fruit Salsa

Instead of making a cookie dough dip, a pie, cookies, what have you… make this fruit salsa. Brown sugar and cinnamon add the perfect amount of sweetness. Pair the dip with cinnamon sugar pita chips — homemade or store-bought work.

2526927555_d1a7e3de20_b

9. Black Bean Dip

We really have you covered with healthy dip/salsa alternatives. Try this black bean dip out for size. I served mine with Trader Joe’s sweet potato chips, but a tortilla chip will work just fine as well.

SONY DSC

Happy eating! I hope the team your cheering for wins… ;)

Veggie burgers (black bean/sweet potato/grains)

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

My black bean, sweet potato cravings from this healthy black bean dip carried over to these veggie burgers. I’ve made burgers like this a few times, but tried to mix up the ingredients a little time time around. This recipe makes 6-8 burgers. (I put half in the freezer and half in the refrigerator for later… after eating one, of course.)

Ingredients

3/4 cup TJ’s Harvest Grain Blend

1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cooked and mashed

1/2 can black beans

1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp chopped yellow onion

1 garlic glove

Olive oil

Any seasonings you desire, i.e. cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper — I opted out of everything except red pepper flakes

SONY DSC

Directions

  1. Prepare all of the ingredients, then throw them in a bowl. Mix well, mashing the ingredients together best you can. You can try putting everything (except the mashed sweet potato) in a blender to chop them up, then stir in with mashed potatoes.
  2. Add a little drizzle of olive oil to the mixture and combine well — this helps everything stick a little better.
  3. Form patties with your hands, you should be able to make 6-8 total.
  4. Your veggie burgers are technically edible at this point, but I like to throw them on a (lightly greased) skillet to brown them on each side. Put the stove on medium heat and cook the burgers for 2 minutes on each side.

SONY DSC

Enjoy these veggie burgers with slice tomato, sliced avocado, some salsa and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Yum yum yum!

SONY DSC

Healthy black bean dip

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

Happy holidays, everyone! I have quite a bit to blog after this little holiday hiatus, but I’m going to start with a recipe before I tell you about my trip to New York, my Christmas and everything else.

I’ve got some time on my hands this week because work has, so generously, given me some days off until New Years. I used some of that time today to hit the gym, Trader Joe’s and Russo’s. My first culinary task was a healthy black bean dip. I wanted to try to make my own since I have gone through TJ’s spicy black bean dip like it’s going out of style. Also, I’ve been craving some sweet potatoes, so I picked up some sweet potato chips from TJ’s to go with my masterpiece.

SONY DSC

Ingredients

1/2 can black beans, rinsed

1 garlic clove, chopped

1+ tsp of fresh cilantro, chopped (I pulled the leaves off 3 stems of fresh cilantro)

1 tsp green onion, chopped

1 tsp yellow onion, chopped

1/4 of a roasted red pepper

1+ tsp olive oilSONY DSC

Directions

1. Prepare all of your ingredients. Don’t worry about chopping things too small since you are throwing them in a food processor or blender.

2. Put all ingredient in food processor/blender and mix until smooth. To change the consistency and make the dip smoother, add a small about of olive oil at a time until it reaches your likeness. Taste the dip as you go along to see if you need any seasonings (salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin — any would be a good addition).

SONY DSC

That’s it. Two steps. Serve your healthy black bean dip right away with chips of your choice and store in the refrigerator for later use. I didn’t add any extra seasoning to my dip this time around, but next time I might add some pepper and the smallest pinch of cumin and red pepper flakes.

SONY DSC

Quick baba ghanoush

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

Up until a little while ago, I associated “baba ghanoush” with Wedding Crashers (see clip). When looking for something to do with my leftover eggplant from the other night, I encountered baba ghanoush once again, in a less hilarious and more delicious way. If you love eggplant and enjoy hummus, this is a great alternative to traditional recipes.

SONY DSCQuick, easy baba ghanoush (perfect snack for 1 or 2)

Ingredients

1/2  large eggplant (skin on or off, I prefer on)

1 large garlic clove

seasonings (garlic powder, onion power, red pepper flakes, black pepper)

2+ tbsp olive oil

1+ tbsp Greek yogurt

1 tsp lemon juice

Optional Ingredients (these make it more herby/hummus-like — I did not use them this time around)

1+ tbsp fresh cilantro or fresh basil

1 tbsp tahini

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare a baking dish by lining it with tin foil and drizzling ~1 tbsp of olive oil on the bottom.SONY DSC
  2. Slice eggplant into 1/2 thick pieces then place in baking dish. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over eggplant. Slice garlic glove in half and place in dish. Sprinkle seasonings over eggplant before baking — a pinch of each should do. Bake for 10 minutes, flip eggplant, bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven when eggplant starts to roast/brown (an extra 5-10 minutes might be necessary).SONY DSC
  3. Place roasted eggplant and garlic in food processor. Add Greek yogurt, lemon juice and any other ingredients you are using. Taste the baba ghanoush and see if it requires anything extra. Add more Greek yogurt or a drizzle of olive oil to create a smoother texture.SONY DSC

Serve warm or cool on crackers or pita bread. Yum yum yum! Next time I make this, I might roast some red peppers along with the eggplant and garlic. Sounds delicious!

Japanese-style eggplant parm

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

SONY DSC

I am all about everything Japanese, obviously. ;)

Jokes aside… Japanese food is one of my preferred cuisines (tied with Italian). One of my favorite things to do lately, is fuse Asian flavors into everything I cook, hence: Japanese-style eggplant parm. I’ve made Italian-style eggplant parm and chicken parm countless times, but this time around I wanted to switch up the breadcrumbs and traditional sauces to make for a more Japanese-esque dish.

Building off a Veggie Stick recipe from the summer, I perfected an eggplant parm to tantalize your taste buds. This dish is not just delicious  but also simple to prepare and easy on that bank account.

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch circular slices
  • 1/2+ cup flour (have extra on hand)
  • 1+ eggs, lightly beaten (same as flour, have another on hand)
  • 3/4+ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I mixed dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, a little onion powder and a pinch of red pepper flakes)
  • oil for pan-searing (I like canola or vegetable oil)SONY DSC

Other ingredients:

  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Sliced tomato (to thickness of eggplant)
  • Tomato sauce
    1. Position a rack in middle of the oven and heat the broiler to low. Place the eggplant slices in a bowl of water for 5 minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.
    2. Place the flour in a wide, shallow dish. Do the same with the egg, whisk and aside. Mix the panko, parmesan cheese and seasonings together in a third shallow dish.SONY DSC
    3. Remove the eggplant slices from the bowl and pat dry with paper towels. Bread the eggplant by coating a few slices in the flour mixture. Next coat the eggplant with egg, then press into the panko bowl.  Be sure to coat the slices thoroughly at each step. Place battered eggplant on a baking sheet until they have all been coated.SONY DSC
    4. Line another baking sheet with paper towel.
    5. Fill a large, straight-sided skillet or frying pan with 1/2 inch of the oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil is hot enough (through a panko crumb in there, if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough).SONY DSC
    6. Add about a third of the eggplant slices and fry on one side until golden brown, take less than a minute in some cases. Carefully flip and fry the other side until golden brown. Remove the eggplant and place on the paper towel, and repeat with the remaining eggplant. SONY DSCN.B. Occasionally  you might have to remove excess batter from the surface of the oil so that it does not burn and smoke, so have a wooden spoon on hand. Also, you may need to add more oil as you go along, so have that handy as well.
    7. Lightly coat your first baking sheet with non-stick spray. Arrange one eggplant slice, mozzarella cheese, then tomato slice. Repeat until all used up. Drizzle with some tomato sauce and basil leaves.SONY DSCSONY DSC
    8. Place in the oven to broil until the cheese has melted. Serve right away over a bed of past or sautéed greens — with some extra sauce and Parm. cheese, of course.SONY DSC

Cold Noodle Salad

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

I know, I know. It’s cold and snowy, therefore cold meals are probably the last thing on your mind but I forgot to share this recipe a while back. This Cold Noodle Salad is quick, easy and perfect for lunch or dinner. I made a few batches of this over the summer to store in the fridge for meals to bring to work. It was on my mind today, because I was thinking of making it again. :)

 

Ingredients

Brown rice pasta (or any other pasta/noodles you may enjoy)

Shredded carrots*

Cucumber (peeled, and chopped into small pieces)*

Spinach (or maybe shredded cabbage if you have that lying around)*

Vegetable oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce dressing**

Salt + pepper to taste

*Feel free to add any other veggies you like, cooked or uncooked–they just have to be cold. I’ve toyed with adding broccoli, edamame and even some cubes of tofu to this salad.

**There are no real measurements here… it’s really up to you. As for the dressing, use a 1:1:1 ratio and try to keep it light. For every serving of pasta/noodles, 1/4 tsp of each the oil, vinegar and soy sauce should  suffice.

  1. Cook the pasta/noodles according to package instructions. Note serving sizes and try to stick to them since pasta and noodles are easy to overeat. Once pasta is fully cooked, strain and remove from heat. Let the pasta cool to room temperature. (If you wish to expedite this process, just rinse with cool water.)
  2. Add pasta to an appropriately sized mixing  bowl. To this same bowl, add cool veggies, oil and vinegar — mix well. Season with a little salt and pepper. Maybe even some sesame seeds if you are feeling frisky.

Enjoy! Also, feel free to comment with any questions. Suggestions for dressing welcome! I have tried adding some Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce instead of the oil/vinegar/soy sauce combo… and it is also delicious.

 

 

 

Pumpkin banana bread muffins

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

Happy Halloween, everyone! Looking for a tasty pumpkin treat to bring to that costume party? Want something to do with the insides of you pumpkin after you carve it? Look no further than these pumpkin banana bread muffins.

I read an article in the beginning of October about making use of your entire pumpkin. The flesh, guts and seeds in a pumpkin can be consumed in a variety of ways. When we finally found time to carve our pumpkins last week, my first priority was baking salted pumpkin seeds. The next thing on my list was making use of the pumpkin guts. The stringy insides of you pumpkin are edible, and when baked, have a similar texture to zucchini in zucchini bread.

After a little research here and there, I came up with my own recipe for not just pumpkin bread, not just banana bread, but a pumpkin banana bread in muffin form. These muffins are easy to make, quite filling and work for breakfast or dessert.

Ingredients (yields 15-20 muffins)

1 cup pumpkin guts (strained, not rinsed, and chopped up so the strings aren’t too long)

1/2  cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 banana (fully ripe; I grabbed one out of my freezer, letting it sit in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes)

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare muffin tins by greasing lightly or lining with cupcake wrappers.
  2. Combine all the wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry ingredients in another. Mix both well.
  3. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go.
  4. Once well-combined, fill the muffin tins 3/4 of the way (these pumpkin banana bread muffins barely rise). Pop in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the muffin tops brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  5. Serve warm. You can also store these muffins in an air-tight container for few days or freeze for breakfast on-the-go in the next few months.

Enjoy! :)

Black bean sweet potato burgers

Posted in Food & Diet, Recipes by

By Emily McLaughlin

I bought a can of black beans and a bag of sweet potatoes weeks ago. This evening, I finally got to make these black bean sweet potato burgers–a meal I have been craving since my purchase. These vegetarian burgers are a great alternative to the traditional beef burger — and they are still packed with protein and fiber.

The recipe is quick, simple and easily adapted to agree with your taste buds. Get creative with spices if you so please!

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers 

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cubed)

1 tbps olive oil

2 large celery sticks (washed and diced)

1 large garlic clove (minced)

1 15oz. can of black beans

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cumin

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

  1. Add sweet potatoes to a medium pot, adding enough water to cover them. Bring water to a boil, cooking until split easily with fork.
  2. Heat olive oil in a small skillet, then add celery. After 2 minutes, add garlic and cook until both celery and garlic begin to become translucent. 
  3. When the sweet potatoes are done, drain the water and place in a mixing bowl. Add the black beans and mash together (some black beans will be whole).
  4. Add the celery/garlic, panko breadcrumbs and seasons, then continue mixing.
  5. Form 4-5 patties from the mixture to pan-fry, grill, broil… just cook as you would a meaty burger. You can also refrigerate your veggie burgers if you are using them within the next couple days, or freeze them for the next couple weeks (cooked or uncooked).

Serve topped atop a whole wheat bun with salsa, plain greek yogurt and a garnish of cilantro. Another great burger topper would be some sliced avocado, I just didn’t have any on hand.

Happy eating!

Posts on deck: My ENERGYbits review and “Fridge or cabinet? Where to store your fruits and veggies.”