Soft Taco Shells and Aquafaba

May 8, 2015May 8, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I will get to the Aquafaba in just a second, but let’s talk about these taco shells.

I have always liked tacos but ever since going gluten-free a few years ago I have missed the texture and fold-ability (totally a real word, trust me) of regular flour tacos. I usually use corn tortillas, which are good but they just aren’t the same as flour tortillas.

There are plenty of recipes out there for Paleo versions of taco shells and I have tried a few of them and they are really good. Pretty much all of them though use eggs and while that’s not a bad thing if you eat eggs, it poses a problem if you don’t. Sure, it is really easy to find egg free taco shells at the store or online, but they more often than not have some weird ingredients that I would rather not consume.

Then I read about aquafaba.

Yes that’s a real word and it isn’t as exotic or strange as it sounds. Technically it’s just the liquid that beans are cooked in. So bean juice to be precise. Bean juice apparently doesn’t sound appealing so people have started calling it aquafaba. Whatever floats their boat. The important thing to me is that aquafaba acts like eggs in most recipes, plus it’s fairly easy and cheap to get. You can either buy canned chickpeas and reserve the liquid they are sitting in or cook your own chickpeas and save that liquid.

Armed with this new “fancy” ingredient, I decided to take a stab at making egg free, gluten free, soft taco shells. Luckily I struck success with my first batch and now I have a simple go-to soft taco shell! Now just a few quick notes:

These don’t have the same taste as regular flour shells, but that isn’t a huge problem for me. I actually really like the taste
You can use canned chickpea liquid if you don’t want to cook your own beans and save that liquid like I did.
You want your plantains to be slightly yellow. Not super green and not brown. The really green ones won’t blend as well and the brown ones will give you a sweet taco shell and that might not be what you’re looking for.

Ok enough talking about bean juice, let’s make some tacos!

Soft Shell Tacos

1 large plantain, slightly yellow (you can also get a few small plantains, you want about a pound once it’s peeled)
6 tbsp aquafaba (either from a can of chickpeas, or cook your own beans and reserve the liquid)
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
juice of one lime
a pinch or two of salt (based on your salt preference)

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and cut your plantain into bite size chunks. Add everything into your blender or food processor and blend until everything is smooth. You want it to look sort of like pancake batter.
Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Scoop about 1 tbsp of batter out onto the baking sheet. With the back of a spoon, spread out the batter into a fairly thin circle. Don’t leave it too thick or it won’t cook through and don’t spread it too thin because it will just burn. You have to be like Goldilocks and get it jusssttttt right 🙂
Do this a few more times, you will have to work in batches because you will only be able to fit 4 to 5 shells on the pan at once. Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and let them cool for at least five minutes. Now this is the slightly tricky part, but just have patience at it will all be just fine. Slowly peel the shells off the baking sheet and move to a wire rack to cool. If you notice the shell starting to stick just use a spatula to help loosen it from the pan. As long as you let the shells cool a bit before you lift them up you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
Repeat until you have used all the batter.

I used two baking sheets when I made these so I could make more at once, but you can work in batches too. Once the shells are totally cool fill them with your favorite taco filling and enjoy!

Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend! Don’t forget to wish your mom a Happy Mothers Day on Sunday!

What Makes You Light Up?

April 27, 2015April 27, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Before you get all sassy on me, don’t say fire or light bulbs (looking at you mom). Rather, what makes you the happiest? What makes you get all excited to get going in the morning? Are you making that your priority?

This is a question that I have been asking myself a lot lately. I spent a lot of my time in college, a place where you should be finding and doing what you love, doing things because I felt that I had to. I had to be a music major, I had to pass my music classes, I had to do well on auditions so that I could get into the ensemble that I had to be in, I had to do this or that or some other thing. Looking back, I wasted time. That’s been a hard concept for me to admit and accept and say out loud.

No one wants to say they made the wrong choice.

But those are the cold hard facts. Life isn’t about always getting it right. It’s about taking what you have and learning from it and making it better the next time. I spent a lot of time bemoaning my situation after college. Luckily I had Adam to help me from becoming a depressed shut in and I found a job I loved and allowed me to find other things that did light me up.

Food, health, and helping others.

I love those things. They make happy. They get me excited to get up in the morning. I’m trying to make those a priority career wise. I can honestly say that I light up when I work on my blog or offer advice to a reader or come up with a new recipe.

Finding your passion is all part of having a healthy and balanced life. Sure eating right and exercising are good things, but they aren’t the only things. You can’t neglect your passions for too long before you start to feel like something is missing and your health can begin to suffer.

That’s why I want to urge you to not only take care of your body but your mind and soul as well. Today, sit down and think about what you love. Things that make you smile or cheer you up when you’re down. Find ways to incorporate those things into your day. Whether that’s with your career, your hobbies, or a side project, make them happen. No excuses, fit something you love into your day no matter what.

Now, what makes you light up?

Hobo Skillet Casserole

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Sunday is usually my big chore day. It’s the day that I do all the laundry, clean the bathroom, super clean the kitchen, clean all the floors, and any other cleaning that is needed. I also get my blog ready for the next day and finish up any other odds and ends that need to be taken care of. Sometimes when dinner rolls around, I really don’t want to put a lot of effort into my meal.

This is where a well stocked freezer and pantry come in hand. You can come up with a delicious and healthy meal in a matter of minutes with just a few staples. I made this meal last Sunday and asked you guys if you would be interested in how to make it. I got a fairly good response so here it is! Keep in mind that you can totally customize this dinner with the ingredients you have on hand.

Hobo Skillet Casserole

1 cup pasta (I used gluten free penne but you can use whatever you normally do)
1 potato, cut into cubes
1 cup butternut squash, cubed (can also use any other squash or sweet potatoes)
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed (can use any green you have like chard, collard, or kale)
1/2 cup assorted vegetables (I used a frozen mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup almond milk or any other non-dairy milk
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
gluten free breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package, drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, mix tomato sauce, almond milk, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. If you do not have a cast iron skillet you can use a regular skillet and transfer the casserole into a casserole dish.
Add a little olive oil to the pan and then saute the onions and potatoes until the potatoes are lightly browned. Transfer the potatoes and onions to a bowl with the pasta.
Add the vegetables and butternut squash to the skillet and cook until slightly brown. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Place the vegetables into the bowl with the potatoes and pasta.
Pour the tomato sauce mix into the other bowl and stir everything to combine. Add everything back into your skillet or casserole dish. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with the bread crumbs if you’re using and bake for another 5 minutes.

This is a great meal to make at the end of the week to use up any food that you have leftover in the fridge. You can use whatever you have on hand. If you don’t want to use pasta you can try brown rice, quinoa, or any beans you have. If want add ground beef or turkey, shredded chicken or pulled pork. Choose your favorite vegetables or whatever is in season. Use different seasonings to change up the flavor or try a different sauce like salsa or hummus or cashew cream.

Meals like this are awesome because they are easy to make and can taste different every time you make it depending on what you use. Get creative and get eating!

Oh and don’t forget I am still hosting a giveaway on my Facebook page. If I get to 100 likes I’ll give away two $10 gift cards of their choice to two of my followers. Make sure you go check out my page and like it!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

My Breakfast

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Breakfast is awesome. Sometimes as I am going to sleep at night I get a little excited to wake up because I get to eat breakfast. Brunch is a thing of beauty and a breakfast buffet? Heaven on earth my friends. I am definitely in camp eat breakfast every morning no matter what, even if it’s something small and on the go.

I thought I would share the breakfast I have been enjoying for a while now and maybe give you some breakfast inspiration. I tend to get stuck on one breakfast for like 6 months and then decide to change things up. What can I say? I really am a creature of habit. This breakfast is in month 3, so sometime mid-summer expect something new.

Oat grains are made up of three different parts, the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Usually the outer husk or bran is removed and most people enjoy the steel cut or rolled form of oatmeal. Oat bran is mostly used for baking and adding to breads and muffins to boost the fiber content. I have been using oat bran to make my morning oatmeal. I like that it cooks super fast (less than five minutes), it has a nice creamy texture, and it is a great base for the most important part of oatmeal. The toppings.

Oat bran also boasts a pretty decent nutrition profile. 1 ounce or about 28 grams has 69 calories, 4 grams of dietary fiber, and 5 grams of protein. It’s also high in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. All good things. You can check out some more of its benefits here and here.

My oatmeal never looks this fancy. This is just for you!

But let’s get to those toppings! This is one of the big reasons I love oatmeal in any form. You can mix in any thing and customize it to your tastes. I have been cooking my oat bran in about a cup of coconut milk for an extra creamy texture and then my toppings of choice lately have been:

dried prunes
goji berries
chopped hazelnuts
flax meal
chia seeds
pureed pumpkin
toasted buckwheat groats
hemp seeds
cinnamon
peanut butter

As you can see I like to shove in as many toppings as possible. The sky is really the limit to what you can put into your oatmeal bowl. Try things like:

any nut (almonds/walnuts/pecans)
any seed (sunflower/pumpkin)
cocoa powder
homemade granola
any dried fruit, no sugar added (cranberries/raisins/figs/apricots)
fresh fruit, especially berries
maple syrup
nut or seed butter

Homemade almond milk. Easy to make and delicious to add to oats!

These are just a few toppings. If it fits in your bowl and you enjoy it, go for it! Oatmeal and breakfast in general doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless just to be healthy. Go make a custom and delicious bowl of your own and see just how awesome a healthy breakfast can be!

How to make Oat Bran

1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup water or non-dairy milk like almond or coconut

Add oat bran and water or milk to a small saucepan. Bring oats to a boil and then lower the heat to low and cover.
Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove lid and pour into a bowl and add all the toppings!

Big Batch Cooking

April 8, 2015April 8, 2015 / ktbuchs87

While I’m working on coming up with a new video series for the blog (totally open to suggestions of what YOU want to see) I thought I would use the Wednesday post to share a few of the things that I do during the week to help make eating and being healthy easier.

Big batch cooking is one of the best ways that I save time and brain power when it comes to making healthy meals. It’s exactly what it sounds like; I cook a lot of food all at once. That simple. I do this with vegetables and grains/legumes. Sunday and Monday I will spend time washing, cutting, and prepping all the vegetables that I bought on Friday.

Parsnips cut and ready to be roasted

Then it’s time to cook it all.

My favorite way to cook my vegetables is to roast them. It tastes great and it’s an easy way to cook a lot of vegetables at one time. I roast sweet potatoes, parsnips, beets, cabbage, and green beans. I also saute a big batch of broccoli and sometimes throw a few carrots into the mix.

Broccoli cooked and ready to be added to meals!

While my vegetables are roasting I cook up quinoa, brown rice, and whatever beans I have on hand like black beans or garbanzo beans. I cook these on the stovetop. I know a lot of people like to use canned beans for the convenience, but I like to use dried beans because it’s cheaper than buying the cans. It takes a little bit of planning since you have to soak the beans before you cook them but other than that you just boil and simmer them on the stove for 20-40 minutes.

Once everything is done cooking, I put them into large glass containers, let them cool, and stick them in the fridge. Now I don’t have to worry about cooking them on a busy weeknight. I can just pull out the container warm them up, throw them into whatever dish I have planned for that night and get dinner on the table in a timely manner.

You can do this with other things as well. You can cook up big batches of chicken or pork, you can hard boil a bunch of eggs, or you can wash, dry and cut up leafy greens to be used for salads throughout the week.

Batch of my chickpea tofu ready to be added to stir fry

Cooking a whole lot of things all at once and having them ready when you want to eat takes the work out of planning a healthy meal. How many times have you come home from a long day at work and realized if you want to eat a healthy dinner you’re going to have to spend at least 40 minutes in the kitchen getting it ready? At that points it becomes much more tempting to just grab something at a drive through or get a frozen dinner from the grocery store, neither of which are that healthy of an option.

Do yourself a favor and give big batch cooking a try. I bet you’ll find that it saves you a bunch of time and helps you stick to your healthy lifestyle!