fresh fruits and vegetables

DIY Wednesday: Parsley Cream Zoodles

/ ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

This is quite possibly the simplest dinner I have ever made.  On Memorial Day, I spent the day with my parents and got back home right around dinner time.  I didn’t have much in the house and really didn’t feel like cooking.  Many people might eat peanut butter straight from the jar and call that a meal full of “good fats” (totally not talking about me…) but I wanted to be somewhat of an adult.  I had a few zucchini’s in my fridge and I had made this sauce earlier when I noticed my parsley was going a little limp.  So I quickly spiralized my zucchini, tossed it with this sauce, and called it dinner. DIY Wednesday: Parsley Cream Zoodles | Life Healthfully Lived

Level: Adulting like a boss.

This is a great dinner for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking, it’s too hot to turn on the oven/stove, or you somehow forgot you need to eat dinner and want food fast.  You don’t even have to use zucchini.  You could use regular noodles, other vegetable noodles, even quinoa or brown rice.  You could get fancy and add some cooked chicken, shrimp, or beef or you could add extra vegetables like cherry tomatoes, carrots, or summer squash.DIY Wednesday: Parsley Cream Zoodles | Life Healthfully Lived

The point is when you need food in your food hole NOW this is the meal you can turn to.  Maybe that will be my new blog motto.  Food for your food hole NOW…. Has a nice ring to it.

Parsley Cream Zoodles

  • 1 cup parsley leaves, stems removed
  • 1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp dried minced onion
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk or 1/3 cup water (coconut milk will make it creamier)
  • 1-2 zucchini, spiralized or cut into thin strips (could also use regular noodles or some other vegetable like cucumber)
  1. Put all the ingredients except the zucchini into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  You don’t want any large chunks of cashew.  You can also make this sauce ahead of time and keep it in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.
  2. Spiralize or cut your zucchini and put it into a large bowl.  Pour in about half the sauce and stir to coat all the zoodles.  Add more sauce if necessary or if you just want to be a rebel and eat all the sauce.  You do you.DIY Wednesday: Parsley Cream Zoodles | Life Healthfully Lived

That’s it.  You could be eating in about 10 minutes, less if you already made the sauce ahead of time.  Don’t ever think you don’t have time for a healthy meal.  That’s just a lie the pizza delivery guy wants you to believe 🙂

 

BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Stick with me on this one even though it sounds weird.  I have a weird affinity for turning vegetables into something other than vegetables.  Like cauliflower.  That vegetable is magic because it can become anything.  I’ve turned it into pizza crust, taquitos, bites, rice…. It’s a very versatile vegetable.  But other vegetables can be just as magical.

I know vegetarians and vegans get a bad rap for trying to turn things that aren’t meat into meat saying, “It tastes just like the real thing!”  Meat eaters, of course,scoff at this, the vegetarians/vegans get mad and no one wins.  Maybe to them the meat alternatives taste just like the real thing or maybe they just want to get more people to try their food.  I think it shouldn’t be important if meat alternatives taste like the real thing they should just taste good.

Like these BBQ pulled carrot sandwiches.BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches | Life Healthfully Lived

I’m not going to tell you they taste like BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, because they don’t.  They do taste delicious and it’s a pretty neat way to make a BBQ pulled sandwich even if it does use only vegetables.  I think the key here is really good BBQ sauce and for me that means homemade.  I did a little variation on my Even Better BBQ Sauce, but you can use the original, or this one, or your own homemade sauce, or store-bought if that floats your boat.  I ain’t gonna judge.BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches | Life Healthfully Lived

I thought this would be the perfect recipe for Memorial Day weekend especially if you’re having a party.  It’s easy to make a whole bunch of these pulled carrots and now you have something that is vegetarian/vegan-friendly, doesn’t have gluten, and you can dazzle your guests by telling them that it’s carrots.

Ok, maybe they won’t be dazzled.  But I’ll bet they’ll find it tasty!  You can make these ahead of time and keep them in a slow cooker on low so you don’t have to heat up your oven and therefore your house.  See?  I think of everything.

BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches | Life Healthfully Lived

BBQ Sauce-

  • 1 can tomato sauce (check the ingredients to make sure it’s just tomatoes)
  • 1 tsp olive or coconut oil
  • juice from one lime
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp molasses (could also use honey or maple syrup)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp dried minced onions
  • 2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Pulled Carrots- 

  • 1 large red onion, sliced into strips
  • 1 lb bag of large carrots, shredded
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  1. Make the BBQ sauce:  Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until they are well combined.  Pour into a bowl and let the sauce sit in the fridge while you make the carrots.
  2. Slice the onions and shred the carrots.  If you have a food processor, you can use the shredding blade and this goes super quick.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Place the onions and carrots into a large bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  4. Lay the carrots and onions out on the baking sheet in an even layer, you might need to use two sheets depending on how big your baking sheet is.  Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven, toss a little, and then put back into the oven without the foil for another 10 minutes.
  6. While the carrots are cooking, pull out a dutch oven or large pot and cook the sauce on medium high heat for about 10 minutes.  When the carrots are done had them to the hot BBQ sauce and stir to combine.  Lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.  Alternatively, you can use your slow cooker at this point and keep it on low until you’re ready to serve.BBQ Pulled Carrot Sandwiches | Life Healthfully Lived

You can serve these on hamburger buns, tortillas, lettuce leaves, or even on arepas like I did here.  It also tastes pretty awesome with a smear of guacamole, but then again, what doesn’t?

I hope you have a great weekend and a Happy Memorial Day!

Homemade Banana Pudding

/ ktbuchs87

Homemade Banana Pudding | Life Healthfully LivedOk, so I learned some new things while making this recipe.  First, I have to tell you about my inspiration for this one because it’s weird and who doesn’t like weird stuff? No one.  That’s who.

I was making a loaf of my gluten-free banana bread (which you should make immediately because it’s the bomb.  Side note: I’m bringing back “the bomb”) and as I was blending the banana and avocado together I thought to myself, “Antoinette, (I call myself Antoinette NBD) that kind of looks like pudding.  I wonder if it would be any good as pudding?  I wonder if there is banana pudding?” So I set about to research banana pudding.

This is my life people.Homemade Banana Pudding | Life Healthfully Lived

I remember pudding snack packs used to have a banana flavor but I doubt that there was any actual banana in that pudding.  My google searches told me that banana pudding was indeed a thing.  A southern thing.  Which means it’s delicious because it has all the fat and sugar.  All delicious things have fat and sugar.  Most recipes called for making a vanilla custard type deal and adding sliced bananas, vanilla wafers, and in one case merengue.  While it wasn’t a difficult process, it was more steps than I wanted for my pudding. And by more, I mean this is pretty much just one step.

There are no eggs in this so you don’t have to cook anything but because of the addition of avocado, stick with me, it is creamy and delicious without the eggs.  And depending on how ripe your bananas are, it’s pretty sweet too.  You can add maple syrup if it isn’t sweet enough but mine was totally delicious without it.  See?  Fat and sugar.  Just a better version of fat and sugar.

I know you’re probably getting tired of me putting avocado in things but I’m not, so get over it 🙂  It’s delicious and I can’t stop, won’t stop.  You can get creative with toppings like coconut whip cream, pecans or walnuts, crumbled up graham crackers, or in my case cacao nibs because, chocolate.

Banana PuddingHomemade Banana Pudding | Life Healthfully Lived

As I was making this I started singing the part about figgy pudding from We Wish You A Merry Christmas.  Adam asked me if I was singing a Christmas song and I said no, I was singing a pudding song because how do you make pudding without singing about it?  So feel free to sing about pudding while making this because I think it enhances the flavor.  

  • 2 very ripe bananas, sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 avocado, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup coconut cream (you can buy coconut cream from Trader Joes or just put a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight and scoop off the solid cream)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional if your bananas aren’t super ripe.  I didn’t need any extra sweetener for mine
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp maca powder, optional but adds a nice caramel-y flavor

Toppings (optional)

  • chocolate chips or cacao nibs
  • pecans or walnuts or almonds
  • sliced banana
  • coconut whip cream
  • graham crackers
  • nilla wafers if you’re rebellious or Southern 😉
  1. Ready for this?  Put all the pudding ingredients into a blender and blend until super smooth.  Dish it out and put on all the toppings.

Told you it was one step 😀 Happy Friday friends! Have a great weekend!Homemade Banana Pudding | Life Healthfully Lived

Zucchini and Pea Cauliflower Risotto

/ ktbuchs87

Zucchini and Pea Cauliflower Risotto | Life Healthfully LivedYup. Cauliflower is back.  I know you’re probably getting a little tired of seeing it featured in my dishes but you know what?  You’re wrong.  Cauliflower is the magical unicorn of the vegetable world and I love turning it into all sorts of things from taquitos to sauce to sweet and sour bites to mac n’ cheese.  It’s awesome and you’re going to have to deal with it.

Which should be easy if you’re stuffing your face with this tasty meal.  Most people tend to shy away from risotto because it takes a really long time to cook and even if you follow all the steps it somehow still tastes like you didn’t do something right.  Or is it just me chomping away and still uncooked rice?  Just me? Ok.  Zucchini and Pea Cauliflower Risotto | Life Healthfully Lived

Moving on.  If you think risotto is too fussy or you’ve never made it before then you need to try this cauliflower risotto because it is the exact opposite of fussy.  It doesn’t take long to make and you don’t have to stand over the stove stirring until your arm falls off like with regular risotto.  Again, just me?  This risotto is still creamy and rich like regular risotto but it’s also nice and light with all the fresh spring-y vegetables.

One other note about this meal, I really think that what gave this dish the depth of flavor I was going for was the Sherry I used to deglaze the pan.  I know some people don’t like to use alcohol in their cooking (to each their own) and you can use water or broth instead but I don’t think it will have the same taste.  Other than that, this risotto is straight forward and will have you licking your plate clean.  Still just me?

Zucchini and Pea Cauliflower RisottoZucchini and Pea Cauliflower Risotto | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, riced (you can grate it for bigger pieces which I did or run it through your food processor for smaller pieces)
  • 2 medium zucchini’s, sliced into half moons
  • 1 cup peas, if frozen make sure they’re thawed
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup onions, diced
  • 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup sherry (I used this one) or other dry white wine or water/broth
  • 1/2 cup water/broth
  • 1/2-2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (or pine nuts if you can shell out the small fortune a 1 oz bag costs)
  • zest from one lemon
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  1. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute the onions until they’re soft then add in the garlic.  Season this with a little salt and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add in the riced cauliflower, adding a little more oil if needed, and season again with salt and pepper.  Cook for another five minutes until cauliflower is soft and just starting to get a little brown. Sprinkle the nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese over top.
  3. Pour in the 1/4 cup sherry and deglaze the pan.  Cook and stir everything until most of the liquid as evaporated.  Add the zucchini and peas and pour in the water/broth and coconut milk.  Stir everything together and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and parsley.  Top with the toasted almonds and taste to adjust the salt and pepper.  Zucchini and Pea Cauliflower Risotto | Life Healthfully Lived

Balsamic Roasted Broccoli Rabe

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Broccoli rabe is having a moment in the Dawson household right now.  Every time I go to the grocery store I just can’t pass up those bright green bunches.  I like the bitterness of the leaves and the slightly sweet broccoli, kind of like if kale and broccoli had a baby.Balsamic Roasted Broccoli Rabe | Life Healthfully Lived

That’s weird to imagine, so let’s move on.  I usually just blanch and saute broccoli rabe because I don’t mind the bitter but some people are turned off by that taste.  More rabe for me!  But in an effort to be a little less selfish with my food (a very tough feat, just ask my husband) I decided to try preparing it a little different.

Roasted.Balsamic Roasted Broccoli Rabe | Life Healthfully Lived

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that #roastallthethings is pretty much my favorite hashtag because I really do roast all the things.  Roasting brings out the natural sugars in food and in turn makes things like broccoli rabe more palatable for everyone.  The balsamic vinegar just ups the ante even more and adds a nice tang.

This is a simple side dish and after blanching it doesn’t take that much time.  In fact, you could blanch the broccoli rabe a few days in advance so all you have to do is throw the rabe into the oven when you’re ready to eat.  Easy peasy!

Balsamic Roasted Broccoli RabeBalsamic Roasted Broccoli Rabe | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 shallots, finely diced
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  1. The first thing you need to do is blanch and shock the broccoli rabe.  This helps it keep it’s color and tames a little bit of the bitterness.  Separate the leaves from the broccoli stems, but don’t throw them away, and chop the broccoli part into bite size pieces.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Fill a large bowl with cold water and add a few ice cubes.  Have a colander ready.
  3. Once the water is boiling, dump the chopped broccoli pieces and stir around.  Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until the water starts to come to a boil again.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to the cold water bath and then drain in the strainer.  Repeat this process with the leaves.
  4. Once the broccoli rabe is blanched and shocked you can roast it right away or store it in the fridge for about 2 days before you’re ready to cook it.
  5. Preheat the oven to 400 and line a large tray with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Toss the broccoli and leaves in the coconut oil and then lay them out in an even layer on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle the shallots and garlic slices over them and then drizzle everything with the balsamic vinegar.  You can add a pinch of salt as well at this point.
  6. Roast for about 10 to 15 minutes, keeping a close eye so the broccoli rabe doesn’t burn.  Remove from the oven let cool slightly before serving.Balsamic Roasted Broccoli Rabe | Life Healthfully Lived