Meat Free Monday: Quinoa

The Inca's referred to quinoa as "the Mother grain". ​It is high in amino acids, oxalates, folates, minerals like magnesium, phosphate, and manganese. The grain is also gluten free and  can be a healthier substitute for rice or cous cous.  No wonder this little power house of a grain has become so popular among health-minded people. 

Although quinoa is usually listed as a grain, it is really a seed. The quinoa seed goes through the same process as most grains, but comes out with more protein. Since it works like a grain but is not one, quinoa is great for people with wheat allergies!  ​

Some of my favorite, simple ways to use quinoa is in a power-house salad or as a rice substitute... Paella with quinoa is amazing! Here are a few other ways to use quinoa that are health and ​taste incredible.

Quinoa Pancakes

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Yes, there is a way to make those delicious tasting and terrible for you pancakes healthy[ish]! This recipe comes from one of my favorite all over crafty, cooking divas, Martha Stewart. The recipe is pretty healthy with a small amount of butter, whole wheat flour, and the quinoa. To make it a little bit better, and a touch more meat free, substitute the low-fat milk for almond milk. When it comes to baking, almond milk works the same as anything else but is a whole lot better for you!

To make this even more homey and fantastic, try making your own syrup! Maple syrup is pretty simple and only takes about 5 minutes, prep and all. Water, sugar, and maple extract are all you need... No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives here! ​

There are some other great quinoa pancake recipes out on the internets as well. The Ambitious Kitchen has a great quinoa pancake recipe that also uses greek yogurt, whole wheat, and bananas. Yum! ​

Quinoa Salad

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Quinoa salads are so simple to make. All you need is a little cooked quinoa, some veggies of choice, and some leafy greens. My favorite alteration in a quinoa salad is with quinoa, and some slightly cooked veggies. ​It is delicious!

Oprah.com has an amazing, and intricate, quinoa salad recipe with cranberries, apricots, and almonds! The salad includes a yummy dressing recipe as well. There is also a great ​quinoa salad recipe at Vegetarian Times. This one has pine nuts, peeled cucumbers, lemon zest, and parsley. So simple, yummy, and refreshing!

For a super simple option, just sprinkle some quinoa over a pre-made salad and add your dressing. Some bagged salads come with cooked quinoa already mixed in with the toppings. ​Check your grocer's salad section and look for anything that uses the word "power" there is a pretty good chance that salad come pre-quinoaed.

​Quinoa Veggie Burger

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Veggie burgers are a great way to get some extra protein and change up that American classic. Vegetarian Times has two great veggie burger recipes that both use quinoa. When it comes to veggie burgers, quinoa will work just like rice (and sometimes better) at holding the patty together. Vegetarian Times also has a great tip for grilling veggie burgers- puree in some overcooked pasta and it works like the glue. Genius! 

Spring is just a few days away, I cannot wait to commandeer someone's grill for these yummy guys!  ​The two recipes that I recommend most are the Black Bean- Quinoa Burgers and the Mediterranean Veggie Burgers. 

Meat Free Monday: Chipotle, Healthy

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Chipotle is an eating phenomenon. I remember going there in college and leaving since there was a line out the door and into the parking lot. It is no wonder they are so popular since they are organic, hormone free, and (sometimes) locally purchased. Here are four meat free options from Chipotle that are tasty and under 500 calories!

The secret for keeping the caloric intake down seems to be with the sauces you choose. If you love the chili salsas, go with the green chili. This one will add 15 calories compared to the added 40 from the red-chili. Guacamole is a much healthier option than sour cream, but if you do not wish to shell out the extra money for a tablespoon of it, you can always opt for something like the fresh tomato salsa to add some extra flavor. Get this and the green chili for some flavor explosions!

The rice will also hit you where it hurts health-wise... Even the brown. If you are going for something that already has a starch component like a burrito or tacos, opt out of the rice and get some veggies and salsa instead. This will cut your caloric intake by about a quarter. When it comes to the Fresh Tomato Salsa vs the Roasted Corn, I like the Roasted Corn more, but it will add 1.5 grams fat, almost 20 carbs more, and 80 calories. The Fresh Tomato only add 20 calories and a few carbs. If you are getting tacos, the soft corn tortillas have about 100 calories less than the flour or crispy. The fat content is less for these as well.

I will always opt for black beans over pinto since they are the same in calories, but black beans have a far greater amount of protein. More for your money.

All of this information can be found by visiting Chipotle's nutrition page.

Burrito Bowl

340 Calories, 5.5 grams fat, 66 grams carbs, 13 grams protein

• Ingredients: Brown Rice, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, Lettuce, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Green Chili Salsa
  

Salad

285 Calories, 10 grams fat, 36 grams carbs, 19 grams protein

• Ingredients: Lettuce, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Cheese, Green Chili Salsa
  

Burrito

450 Calories, 10.5 grams fat, 75 grams carbs, 16 grams protein

• Ingredients: Lettuce, Black Beans, Fajita Veggies, Fresh Tomato Salsa

Tacos

Based on three tacos: 340 Calories, 10.5 grams fat, 51 grams carbs, 15.5 grams protein

• Ingredients: Soft Corn Tortillas, Fajita Veggies, Lettuce, Fresh Tomato Salsa, Green Chili Salsa, Cheese
  

Meat Free Monday: Holiday Party Must Haves

I am currently either helping create a few menu's for some holiday parties, or, making a few on my own. There are a few Hors d'oeurves that I almost always have ready for a last minute party, or, that I can make in a pinch and look like it took all day. So, today's Meet Free will be less about one singular recipe and more about my must have party foods!

Pre-made    

Let's start with the easiest: I always, always, always make some type of pre-made, break and bake type foods. They are wonderfully easy and can be stocked up for last minute use. The best part is that I have recently found out most people think these too are homemade. My favorite frozen treats for parties are Feta and caramelized onion puffs from Fresh Market. I have yet to make them where there are any left over. No, they are not healthy; they are pastry, onion, and cheese... But that is ok, we are not having them every night and we will try not to eat more than five.

Next up are mini quiche. Everyone likes mini quiche- they are bite size and easy and yummy- the end. Mini quiche usually only take 20 minutes to heat up too. Seriously, what is not to love?!

Third, and finally, for frozen appetizers are any type of bite size quick food. I will usually go for feta turn overs made with folio. They are great as a replacement for the puffs, or go well with them and you can get about three bites out, so 1-2 per person is more than enough (usually). 

Homemade

There are two go-to hor's d'oeuvres that are in my repertiore any time of year. Both are quite easy to make and taste delicious. Baked brie is something that, I feel, no party should be without. I love this stuff. If you were to raid our fridge, brie would be in there almost any day of the week. There are a few thousand different ways to serve brie, but my favorite holiday recipe is simple with pastry, jam, and the cheese.

Bruschetta is another easy to make, easy to love appetizers that can be made ahead and brought out at the last minute. In fact, it is even better if made a few hours ahead of a party! I serve mine with toasted and sliced baguette on the side... No soggy bread! If you are in a jam for time, most deli's also have this ready made and the grocery will have baguette pre-sliced and toasted. Just pop the crostini in the oven a few minutes before serving!

Brie Pastry

Servings: 2-10     Prep time: 10 minutes    Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

8 ounce roll of brie, Frozen pastry sheet, Flour for dusting, Plum Jam

Let pastry thaw on counter for 15 minutes before use. Follow pastry cooking directions for oven temp and time cook. Roll pastry out on lightly floured work space until it is 1/16 of an inch thick. The pastry does not need to be round. Place brie in center of pastry and spread jam along the top so it is almost one centimeter thick. Fold pastry over brie so it collects in layers on the top. Place on baking sheet and heat according to package directions.

Let cool for five minutes before serving. You can serve with fruit, or alone with a serving knife.

Bruschetta

Servings: 6-10     Prep time: 20 minutes    Cook time: 10 minutes and 1 hour

Ingredients:

8 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup chopped, fresh basil

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon olive oil plus some for bread

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

1 french baguette

Combine diced tomatoes, basil. cheese, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Cut bread into half inch thick slices and drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven for ten minutes at 350 degrees. Serve and enjoy!

Meat Free Monday: Pumpkin Pie Minis

I happened upon this pumpkin pie recipe over at skinnytaste.com a few months back and have been tinkering with it since Thanksgiving. What I have found is this pumpkin pie is, pretty much, the best pumpkin pie ever! It is supper easy to make and has less than 100 calories per serving. I am still searching and tinkering with healthy and tasty pie crusts, so this one just used the store bought version from fresh market. From what i have gathered, the secret to this being so tasty is mainly due to the fresh pumpkin used. I use two average/small pie pumpkins for this recipe and the results are fantastic!

Cooking pumpkin is quite simple and is the same method I used to make pumpkin soup... Cut the pumpkin in half, lay on baking sheet cut side down, cook at 450 for 45 minutes or until slightly mushy. To get a more detailed approach, click here.

Servings: 35 mini pumpkin pies or 1 whole pie     Prep time: 45 minutes    Cook time: 45 minute- 1 hour for whole pie

Ingredients

• 15 ounces pumpkin (about 2 small pie pumpkins)
• 2 tablespoon vegan or regular butter
  
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup almond milk
  
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 pie crusts (1 if making whole pie)
  

Set oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour area to roll pie dough. Roll dough so it is 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch thick. You want it really thin for the smaller pies. Use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the pie tins or muffin pan you are making the pies in. Cut out the rounds and lightly place in pie tins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. The goal is to form the pie crust into the shape of the tin without tearing the dough or making it paper thin. You may have some remainder, just cut that away and reuse later. 

Quick Method: Use a muffin tin and place dough inside casually so the dough ripples and does not stick to the side... Much quicker and waay easier.

Once the pumpkin has cooled and the flesh is off, place in food processor to puree. Measure out 15 ounces of pumpkin and save the rest for later. Add in the butter and mix again until the pumpkin is even. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and puree again. The pumpkin mixture should be very smooth and liquid-like by this point... It should also smell delicious! Add the mixture into the pie pans so it comes up about 90% of the way. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. IF you are making one pie, it will need to bake for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

Tip: Mix in some nutmeg and cinnamon to your cool whip and serve on the side. Pie is best out of the oven after cooling 15 minutes. Cool whip not included in calorie count.

Roll dough out so it is 1/16 of an inch thick

Use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the pie tin and cut out pie rounds.

Place round in greased pie tin and press dough to the pie tin shape. Make sure not to press too hard and make the pie dough paper thin. Cut off any excess

Puree the pumpkin once cooled

Puree pumpkin and butter

Add whole egg, egg whites, nutmeg, milk, and cinnamon

Blend again until well combined

Pour mixture into pie shell so it fill about 90% of the way

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Or, until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before serving