Pages

Showing posts with label grain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grain. Show all posts

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Patriotic Grain Salad

It seems like the summer is just flying by!  I cant believe the 4th of July is on Friday already.  Although Im not planning on going to any BBQs or Pot-Lucks this holiday, I thought I would make a salad to enjoy over the weekend regardless.  This salad is grain-based and very filling.  It is great to have on its own or on top of a pile of dark greens yum!

Patriotic Grain Salad
Time: 20 minutes + grain cooking/cooling time
Servings: 6-8
Ingredients:
    Salad:
        6 cups cooked whole grains*
        3 cups red cabbage, shredded
        1 cup radishes, thinly sliced
        1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
    Dressing:
        1 package firm silken tofu, drained but not pressed (approx 12-14 oz)
        1/2 English cucumber, roughly chopped, unpeeled
        1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
        2 cloves garlic
        1 tsp dried or 2 tsp fresh dill
        black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1.)  Cook the whole grain following the box instructions.  Allow to cook and cool while you prepare the other ingredients and dressing.  Make sure to drain any excess liquid from the cooked grains.
2.)  Prepare the remaining salad ingredients and mix in a large bowl.
3.)  In a high speed blender, blend the tofu, lemon juice, and garlic until smooth and creamy.  It should be just thinner than a greek yogurt.  Add in the cucumber, mint, and dill and pulse until the cucumber is finely chopped and the spices are well mixed.
4.)  Stir the cooked and cooled grain into the salad bowl.  Top with small amounts of the dressing and stir.  Keep adding until you have the desired amount of dressing on your salad.
5.)  Serve chilled with fresh dill sprinkled on top (optional).

Amys Notes:
*The grain pictured in this recipe is millet, but quinoa would look very similar.  Some other grain options include barley, wheat berries, brown rice, bulgur, farrow, or wild rice.

Ok, so I was originally going for a red, white, and blue theme in this salad for patriotism, but sometimes you just have to use your imagination.  The red is the radishes, the white is the dressing and grain, and the blue is the red onion and cabbage... close enough right?

The salad dressing, if you didnt notice, is very much like a Greek tzatziki sauce.  If you have any left over (I used all of mine on the salad), serve it as a yummy yogurt-like chip or veggie dip.
Gah!  This one is blurry!  Seriously, I need a better camera than my iPad!
Read More..

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Whole Grain Waffles for Easter Sunday

Today I am excited to share with you a recipe from my mom.  I have mentioned several times before that my parents also follow a Nutritarian lifestyle, so I am lucky enough to be able to go home and have it be a safe haven of eating!

Since becoming a Nutritarian in the summer of 2011, my mom has found a handful of recipes that are her regular go-to meals, including teriyaki chickpea and pineapple rice, Thai veggie pizza, black bean and veggie fajitas, lentil soup, black bean burgers, and Kittys Asian Slaw.  Recently she has added a waffle recipe that she created, into her rotation.  I couldnt think of anything more delicious and filling to have for Easter brunch than her Whole Grain Waffles topped with peanut butter and organic maple syrup, with some orange slices on the side.

Whole Grain Waffles for Easter Sunday

Time: 20 minutes
Servings:  2-4

Ingredients:
        1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flaxseed meal & 2.5 Tbsp water)
        1 Tbsp molasses
        1 ripe banana
        6 dates (or about 1/4 cup)
        1/2 Tbsp baking powder
        1 cup plant-based milk (more to thin)
        1 cup whole wheat flour
        1/4 cup ground old fashioned oats
Instructions:
  1. Preheat waffle iron while you prepare the batter.
  2. Stir together the flaxseed meal and water, and set aside.
  3. In a high speed blender, blend the plant milk, molasses, banana, and dates until smooth and creamy.
  4. Mix your dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  Mix in blended banana mixture and flaxseed.
  5. Stir well to combine, adding more plant milk to thin to the correct consistency.
  6. Coat your waffle iron with non-stick spray and pour the batter in.  Cook until as crispy as you like it.
  7.  Serve with fresh fruit, nut butter, or your favorite syrup.
Kittys Notes:
As you are cooking a batch of this, the batter tends to thicken up, so thin with more almond milk if it becomes too thick.  We like to have our waffles with natural peanut butter and organic maple syrup.  It would also be delicious to have some blended fresh berries or mashed banana on top if you are trying to watch your added sugar intake.  We have never tried making this recipe as a pancake, but the batter should be able to cook in a similar way.   If you try this, please let us know how it went in the comment section!
Read More..

Friday, March 25, 2016

Flavorful Tahini and Grain Salad

I hope everyones hump day is going well.  Last night after prepping my breakfast, lunch and dinner for today, I went to yoga at my gym.  It was the perfect way to relax and get quite a sweat going... I just may be becoming a yogi!  Dont worry, this is first and foremost a recipe blog, but I thought I would share with you my experiences practicing yoga.

Over last fall I found that I was beginning to have some tightness and pain in my right hip.  It would have a light pop when I made certain movements and be sorest when I first got up in the morning and when I found myself sitting or standing for longer periods of time.  Since Kevin and I have started going to the gym more in the last month, the hip pain has become more noticeable.  So, I have been desperate to find some relief that didnt involve pain medicine.

I met a friend of a friend this weekend who went to school to be a sports physical therapist, and he suggested that I do a pigeon stretch (in yoga) at least three times a day for 35 seconds each, as well as do more lunges to build up the muscles surrounding my hip and buttocks.

Then, yesterday in yoga I also asked my instructor what she would suggest I do.  She felt my hip bones and noticed that my right hip is 1 inch shorter than the other and that it would take building my core muscles and stretching to fix the popping problem and pain.  She too suggested the pigeon pose and to consciously throughout the day try to lift my core to create space in that hip bone.  Hopefully a combination of both the sports trainer and yoga instructors advice will get me back into shape.  On top of that, losing a bit of weight to not have so much strain on all of my joints is sure to help.

Last night I prepped a salad for lunch today that is one of my new favorite recipes I have made in a long time!  It is delicious, gets me to eat my greens, and can be versatile to whatever grain and bean ingredients I have prepped on hand.

Flavorful Tahini and Grain Salad
Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of cooked grain (I used brown rice, but would love to try it with bulgar, barley, farro, quinoa, cous cous, etc.)
  • 1-1/2 cups cooked beans or legumes (I used 1 can of chickpeas, but I would love to try it with brown lentils or even green peas.)
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
  • Tahini Dressing
    • Juice from 1 lemon
    • 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
    • 2 Tbsp sweetener (I used brown rice syrup, but you could also use date paste or agave syrup.)
    • 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
    • 2 tsp minced garlic
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • water to thin to consistency
    • black pepper to taste
Instructions:
  1. Place all of the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until well combined, adding water as needed to achieve a thinner creamy dressing.
  2. Place all of the other salad ingredients into a large bowl and stir until well mixed.
  3. Pour all of the dressing on top of the rice mixture, and mix until all of the salad is well coated.  Add pepper to taste.
  4. Serve chilled by itself or on top of your choice of green.
Amys Notes:

As I said earlier, this rice salad can be very versatile depending on the type of grain or bean/lentil that you use.  Next time I would like to make it with farrow and lentils.  Mmmm!  This time I made it with brown rice and chickpeas because that is what I had on hand.  I served mine over a bed of well chopped green leaf lettuce.

Last night I returned to my Mom a container of Tupperware I had borrowed, and in it I gave her the rest of this salad that I did not use for my side salad for dinner and lunch today.... all I can think now is, "Why didnt I keep it?!"  Enjoy it this time, Mom <3, because next time I make this, Im not sure if I will be so willing to share ;).
Read More..