Crunchy Fruity Coleslaw

Last Saturday after the Gretna Gritty we had a healthy potluck picnic. Best picnic I've ever been to!! We had so many healthy choices with a few not-so-healthy options to keep us balanced. Some of the healthy options included turkey/veggie chili, quinoa/bean chili, venison with homemade sauce, hummus, veggie tray, fruit tray, gluten free pasta salad, brownies, PB cookies, and more! One of the side dishes was Amy's cole slaw. Delicious! I haven't had the chance to make it yet but I highly recommend it! Here is her recipe...

Below is the recipe I sort of followed on Saturday. The first time I made this I did make the dressing part (olive oil, vinegar, garlic and honey)...it is good, but the following times I didn't have honey on hand so I just used oil and vinegar. Saturday's version did not include garlic or honey.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced in 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, chopped (4-5 onions)
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine green and red cabbage, red pepper, apricots, corn, green onions, almonds and sesame seeds

2. In a small bowl whisk together remaining ingredients.  Toss dressing with salad, mixing well.

Hope you enjoy!

Quinoa Strawberry Avocado Salad

I still had prepared quinoa and I wanted to use it for tonight's dinner since we were going meat free with the portobella mushrooms. Quinoa offers a good amount of protein, iron, and fiber. Steve recommended adding the walnuts last so that they stay crunchy. Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients

For The Salad:

• 1-2 big avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• 3 cups strawberries, quartered
• 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• a large handful of arugula

For The Dressing:

• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a small jar with a lid, combine the lime juice, olive oil, honey, and mustard. Cover and shake until mixed well. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
2. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss again. Serve.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I made extra quinoa - a lot of it. I needed more recipes to eat it up! I found a recipe and my sister and her family loved it! We finished the entire salad and wanted more! Here is the original recipe; below is what I used with what I had on hand.

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup tomato, sliced
• 1 cucumber, sliced (my cucumber was rotten but I'll make sure I have it for next time!)
• 1/4 cup olives
• 1/4 cup feta, crumbled
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (~1 lemon) 
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• salt and pepper to taste

directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together and refrigerate for at least one hour. 

PB Oatmeal Cookies

Amy & Doug had to put the cookies on top of the cabinets so the kids and I would stop eating them. They were fearful we'd eat them all before the picnic started! Yes, they are that good! I had to make some and the kids loved helping me!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup organic peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 2.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to cream peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs.
3. Add rolled oats and baking soda to creamed mixture, and mix well.
4. Line baking sheets with  parchment paper.
5. Roll dough into two-inch balls, and press to flatten on the cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies turn slightly brown.
7. Cool cookies on a rack, and store leftovers in an airtight container.

Creamy Quinoa Casserole

This meal was quickly gobbled up! Of course they liked it - I finally added cheese to a meal. It's a rare occasion! Of course I had some changes with what I had on hand, plus I wasn't going to use heavy cream ;). Check out the original (not as healthy) recipe here.

Prior to baking - smelled so good!!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooked quinoa

1.5 cup of your favorite pasta sauce - homemade or organic if you can!

1/3 cup greek yogurt

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

3 slices mozzarella, divided

1 can stewed tomatoes, low sodium, divided

1 can kidney beans, low sodium, rinsed and drained

1 Tbsp Basil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup feta cheese, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat tomato sauce over low heat in a large saucepan. Once warm, stir in yogurt, parmesan, and crushed red pepper. 
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the quinoa. Add half of the mozzarella, half of the tomatoes, and the basil. 
4. Once combined, spray an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire quinoa mixture into the dish. Top with remaining mozzarella and tomatoes. Sprinkle feta cheese on top, if desired.
5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn the broiler on and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Blackened Chicken w Avocado Sauce

Steve enjoys a good blackened chicken salad so I thought I'd give this recipe a try. He didn't like it!! WHAT?! He said it was too spicy...yet I had two servings!! I thought it was delicious. :)

Find the recipe here. The only changes I made was the amount of chicken (I used four smaller chicken breasts) and I used a whole avocado instead of half.

Ingredients:

• 4 — 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice, divided
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 avocado
• ½ tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. In a medium size sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add quinoa, turn heat down to low, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, covered. When it’s finished cooking (no liquid left), stir in scallions and a 1/2 Tbsp of lemon.
2. In a small bowl, mix paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, onion powder, salt and pepper. Rub all over chicken breasts.
3. Spray a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook chicken for 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Tip: cover the pan while cooking.
4. Meanwhile, mix Greek yogurt, remaining lemon juice, garlic powder and avocado in a food processor.
5. To serve, place the chicken on a bed of quinoa and drizzle the sauce on top.

I had tons of quinoa left over that I used for my next recipe!

Quesadillas

Cinco de Mayo!! We celebrated the American-Mexican holiday by eating quesadillas for dinner. We love all kinds of ethnic foods in our house! Of course I had to make them with a healthy twist. :)

Ingredients:

• 6 Ezekiel Tortillas
• 1/2 pepper, chopped
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms
• 1 can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 2-3 cups spinach
• 4-5 chicken tenderloins
• 1-2 Tsp taco seasoning (I made my own)
• Salsa
• Avocado, diced

Directions:

1. Add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms to a pan over medium-high heat. 
2. While the vegetables are cooking, grill the chicken and sprinkle the taco seasoning over it.
3. After the veggies are tender, remove them from the pan and add the spinach. Cook just a few minutes until the leaves are wilted. 
4. In a clean pan and hot pan, add 1 tortilla round, sprinkle with cheese, add the spinach, veggie mix, cut up chicken, a little more cheese and the other tortilla round. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat and then flip.
5. Top with salsa and avocado.

Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

I tried making a healthy granola bar per Steve's request but it didn't stick like it was supposed to but it turned out to be his favorite cereal ever. My mom likes it, too!! I enjoy it with my yogurt. Check out the original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 11/2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2/3 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 11/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 cup puffed rice cereal
• 1/4 cup raisins or crasins
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil.
2. Spread the oats, walnuts and almonds onto prepared baking sheet. Place in the oven and toast for 7 minutes. Add coconut and toss well, then place back in the oven to cook about 6-8 minutes more. Keep an eye on it towards the end; you want the coconut to turn golden but not burn.
3. In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir with a whisk until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. Turn off heat and set aside.
4. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees. Combine the the oat mixture, honey mixture and rice cereal in a large bowl and toss well. (Reserve aluminum foil.)
5. Use the reserved foil to line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, then spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Turn granola bar mixture out into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly, being careful not to press down too hard. Bake for 20 minutes (be sure heat is reduced to 300 degrees). Remove from the oven and cool completely, about 1-1½ hours. 

If you used only 1 cup of cereal it may become more of a granola bar. I use more so it's more of a granola for cereal. The last time I made it, I had to break it apart a bit but still had the same great taste!