Recipe: Popcorn Clusters

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Friday. I can hear the collective sigh of all you hardworking people! I know that this week has been crazy busy for me and I am really glad that the weekend is almost here.

Adam and I are actually going to his aunt’s wedding today in Waukegan so our weekend is going to start a little early. But I did want to make sure I gave you guys something yummy to make over the weekend. I’m always thinking of you like that!

This is just a quick snack I threw together because I randomly had leftover popcorn. I know, weird right? Who has leftover popcorn? Anyway, I was going for a healthy popcorn ball but that did not happen at all. Luckily what did happen is a fairly tasty treat/snack. It’s always great when your mistakes turn into delicious things. Don’t you wish that would happen in real life? Like don’t worry about messing up that interview, it’s now a plate of cookies! That would be awesome. Oh well, maybe someday…. Ok enough babbling onto the snack!

Popcorn Clusters

1 1/2 cup popped popcorn
2/3 cup assorted nuts and seeds (I used pecans, almonds, and pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp tahini or almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

In a medium bowl mix together the nuts, seeds, and chocolate. Set aside and line a muffin tin with liners. Place about 2 tbsp popcorn in each liner. Sprinkle a little of the nut/seed/chocolate mix over this.
Place the oil and maple syrup in a medium saucepan and place over medium high heat. Heat until the mixture is just bubbling and then add in the tahini or almond butter. Stir to combine and heat for 2-3 minutes.
Turn of the heat and stir in the cinnamon and salt and then moving quickly pour about a tablespoon over each muffin liner.
Once all the tahini mixture is used up, move the popcorn clusters to the freezer and freeze for at least 30 minutes or until the clusters have hardened.

Once the clusters have cooled you can pop them out of the tin and store them in an airtight container. Make sure to keep them in the freezer or fridge so they don’t melt! Now you have a delicious snack whenever you get hungry!

OH! You guys should also go check out the blog Girl-ish. They are an awesome blog that writes about fashion, entertainment, life, and health and I am one of their newest contributors! I’m really excited to be working with these ladies and can’t wait to bring you more tasty and healthy food over there.

Have a super weekend and see you guys on Monday!

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!

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!

Chickpea Pizza Bites

April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I don’t know about where you live, but today we are enjoying some GORGEOUS weather! The sun is shining, it’s warm, there is a light breeze, and I am one happy camper. I am going to try and soak in as much as possible because living in Chicago on the lakefront you never know when the weather will turn.

Today’s recipe was kind of a spur of the moment idea. I was trying to think of something different to do with my chickpea tofu and somehow pizza popped into my head. It was easy to put together and makes a really great snack or appetizer. I made some with regular cheese for Adam and used nutritional yeast for mine. We devoured these as we watched the season premier of Game of Thrones. Because I was still housesitting at that point, we were able to watch on a big screen with surround sound and it was amazing. It was also the first time that we were able to watch the season premier on the actual day that it premiered. It was quite the night and these little bites made it even better.

So put some of these for your next get together or make some for your next movie/netflix binge. You won’t be sorry!

Chickpea Pizza Bites

1 batch of chickpea tofu, poured into a bread loaf pan instead of a casserole dish or brownie pan.
1 8 oz can of plain tomato sauce
2-3 tsp pizza seasoning OR
1 tsp each of basil, oregano, garlic powder, and marjoram
1/2 tsp salt
handful of shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) OR nutritional yeast to keep it vegan

1. Preheat oven to 375. Make the chickpea tofu and pour it into a bread loaf pan to set.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Once the tofu has completely cooled, remove from pan and cut into bite size pieces. Place on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

3. In a small bowl mix together the tomato sauce, pizza seasonings, and salt. Taste to see if you need to adjust the flavor.

4. Remove the tofu from the oven and top each slice with tomato sauce and either a sprinkle of cheese or nutritional yeast. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

If you have any extra tomato sauce you can use that to dunk your bites into! I’m working on making some more snack/appetizer type foods that are simple to put together, taste delicious, and are of course healthy! Are there any of your favorite appetizers or snacks that you would like to see made healthier?

Oh and quick sidenote I have started a Facebook page, Life Healthfully Lived. You can find all my posts, pictures that I take, and other articles/recipes that I find and think you would enjoy. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out and click like. If I get to 100 likes by the end of the month, two of my followers will win a $10 gift card of their choice!

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend everyone!

Spring Casserole

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015 / ktbuchs87

It’s been a struggle, but I think spring is almost here. Every time I say that we slip back into 30 degree temperatures with a chance of flurries in the forecast. But I’m going to be optimistic and say the worst is passed and sunshine and warmth is right on the horizon.

One of the ways I’m able to stay so optimistic is that spring produce is starting to hit the shelves. Things like asparagus, peas, leeks, and mushrooms are all emerging and signaling the end of a long winter. When new fruits and vegetables come to the grocery store I always get excited to try new recipes and come up with some delicious meals.

I can’t take all the credit for this dish though. It was largely influenced by Keepin’ It Kind’s Pumpkin Seed Pesto Rice Casserole. I really liked the idea of using a pesto as the sauce in a casserole. I changed a few things up and loaded it with a lot of yummy spring vegetables. I brought it along with me to my families Easter brunch and they seemed to enjoy it. It’s great to feed a crowd and really simple to put together, plus the leftovers are delicious!

Spring Casserole

Slightly adapted from Keepin’ It Kind’s Pumpkin Seed Pesto Rice Casserole

Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup spinach (I used frozen but if you use fresh add another cup)
3 large cloves garlic
1 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Spring Casserole

1 cup chopped asparagus
1 package mushrooms, sliced (any variety, I used baby bella)
1 cup peas
2 leeks, white parts only, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

Bread crumb topping

This topping is totally optional but adds a nice crunch. If you’re gluten-free use your favorite gluten free bread.

2-3 slices bread, dried out
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt

1. Start by making your bread crumbs. Place everything in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until you have a crumb consistency. Set aside.

Bread Crumb Topping

2. Make your pesto next. Combine all pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender until you reach desired consistency.

Spinach Pesto

3. Next, heat a large pan over medium high heat. Saute the onion and leeks until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add in the mushrooms and cook until their size reduces by half. Then add in the peas, asparagus, rice, beans, and seasonings and heat through for another 5 to 8 minutes. Place this mixture into a large bowl.

4. Preheat oven to 375. Scoop the pesto into the large bowl and combine everything really well. You don’t want any large chunks of pesto hanging out in the mix. Then pour the mixture into a lightly oiled casserole dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs across the top. Place in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bread crumbs are golden brown.