nutrition

DIY Wednesday: Roasted Salsa Verde

/ ktbuchs87

After 2 years of Spanish in Jr. High, three years in high school, and two semesters in college I can say this with certainty: verde means green.  Therefore, that means salsa verde is green salsa.  Mind-blowing things revealed on my blog today, I know. DIY Wednesday: Roasted Salsa Verde | Life Healthfully Lived

In my brain I understood that salsa verde had to be made with some kind of green vegetable but I never really thought about it.  I just ate my regular salsa and left my green dip needs to guacamole.  Then I saw a sale on tomatillos at my grocery store, bought a few on a whim, and then headed home to figure out what to do with them.  After a little research AKA Google search, I realized tomatillos are what make salsa verde, well, verde.

I also found out that roasting them was common and helped bring out their flavor.  Since I am the Queen of roasting any and everything, I roasted them up, blended them up, and then ate them up.

That’s how simple this recipe is.  If you’ve never worked with or had tomatillos before, don’t be intimidated.  They come in a papery husk and kind of look like a giant green berry.  Like this:DIY Wednesday: Salsa Verde | Life Healthfully Lived

All you have to do is peel away the husk, like this: DIY Wednesday: Roasted Salsa Verde | Life Healthfully Lived

Rinse it off and you’re good to go!  I kept this really simple but you could add other things like jalapeno peppers if you want a kick, roasted apples if you want a little bit of sweet, or stir a little salsa verde into your guac for a delicious twist.

Roasted Salsa Verde: DIY Wednesday: Roasted Salsa Verde | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 3 to 4 medium-sized tomatillos
  • 1 small onion, about 1/2 a cup cut into quarters
  • 3 to 4 whole cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
  1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
  2. Peel the husk off the tomatillos and rinse with cool water.  Dry completely.
  3. Place the tomatillos, quartered onion, and garlic cloves into a large bowl.  Drizzle a little olive oil and toss until everything is coated.  Sprinkle with salt and pour everything out onto the baking sheet.
  4. Roast everything for about 15 to 20 minutes until the tomatillos are a little brown around the edges and soft.  It’s ok if they explode a little while roasting.
  5. Remove from the oven and let everything cool for about 10 minutes.  Then, pour the whole pan into a blender, add the chili powder and blend.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

This salsa is awesome on tacos, with homemade tortilla chips, and even as a dip for plantain chips! DIY Wednesday: Roasted Salsa Verde | Life Healthfully Lived

 

Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pesto Mac N’ Cheese

/ ktbuchs87

I’m having a bit of a thing with cauliflower right now.  I buy at least three big heads of it per week and have been experimenting putting it into different dishes.  I pretty much look at any recipe and wonder, “Could I do this with cauliflower instead?”  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s kind of how life goes right?

Look, life lessons while making yummy food.  Can’t get any better than that.Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pesto Mac N' Cheese | Life Healthfully Lived

Last week I had delicious taquitos (which you should definitely make immediately… after today’s recipe) that had a cauliflower filling and this week I’m doing a little bit of a twist on macaroni and cheese.  Spoiler alert: there is no macaroni.  Or cheese.  There is, however, cauliflower, a delicious cheese-esque sauce, and a slow cooker.

Now, before you Mac N’ Cheese purists come at me with pitchforks and torches this recipe isn’t meant to taste exactly like Mc N’ Cheese it just uses a similar process.  And if we’re on the subject of tasting like Mac N’ Cheese, apparently Kraft rolled out it’s new less artificial Mac N’ Cheese and told NO ONE and there were literally no complaints about it.  So if we want to get technical, no one really knows what Mac N’ Cheese tastes like so who’s to say my version isn’t right?

Ok, that took a weird little turn but back to this recipe.  I love the pesto-cheesy sauce on this and I like that I made it in my slow-cooker so there was minimal effort.  You could easily prepare the sauce stuff before hand and then throw everything together in the slow cooker when it’s time to make dinner.  It all tastes rich, creamy, and decadent yet you’re still getting a lot of nutrients and a big dose of vegetables.  Talk about a win!

Cauliflower Pesto Mac N’ CheeseSlow Cooker Cauliflower Pesto Mac N' Cheese | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 large head of cauliflower, about 5 to 6 cups, cut into florets
  • 1 batch of No Mozzarella Mozzarella
  • 1 batch of Spinach Pesto
  • 3/4 cup of full-fat coconut milk or any other non-dairy milk you like
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp smoked paprika
  1. Cut up your cauliflower and set aside.  Make the No Mozzarella Mozzarella and the Spinach Pesto.  You can do this the night before if you want or right before.
  2. Lightly oil your slow cooker with a little olive oil and place cauliflower florets into your slow cooker.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the mozzarella and pesto.  It will be really thick but don’t worry.
  4. Add the coconut milk slowly and keep whisking until you have a smooth and pourable sauce.  You might not use all the milk and you might need a little more just adjust until you have the right consistency.
  5. Pour the pesto sauce over the cauliflower, making sure to coat everything.  Sprinkle the top with smoked paprika, cover, and cook on high for 3 hours or a little longer if you want super soft cauliflower.

Serve up and enjoy the goodness!Slow Cooker Cauliflower Pesto Mac N' Cheese | Life Healthfully Lived

Healthy Fast Food: Is There Such a Thing?

/ ktbuchs87

A few weeks ago, I posted this article over on my Facebook page.  A reporter for Business Insider decided to eat a fast food diet for an entire week.  The catch?  She would only choose the healthy options at each place.

More and more, fast food restaurants are adding things like kale salads, quinoa, and overall healthier items.  Their customers are demanding better food and they’re trying to deliver.  But are they really? Sometimes the healthy option is actually worse than their regular fair.Healthy Fast Food: Is There Really Such A Thing? | Life Healthfully Lived

I totally understand how it sounds complaining about fast food.  Everyone does it.  They are an easy target.  It’s simple to point at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King and say, “You’re what’s wrong with our health and obesity problem.”  There have been countless documentaries, news stories, articles, and research dedicated to this theory.  I don’t want to add more noise to the crowd with this.

I just want you to really think about your own life and your food choices.Healthy Fast Food: Is There Really Such A Thing?

Is a McDonald’s kale salad really fulfilling your nutrition needs or are you getting it because it’s convenient and you think it’s what you should get?  How often are you getting fast food, healthy options or not?  Does your body feel as good as it possibly could?  Do have energy to get through your day, exercise in some form, and enjoy your hobbies?

These are the thoughts that should go through your mind each time you sit down to a meal and yes, please try to sit down for your meals.  More often than not, I’m going to guess eating anything at a fast food joint isn’t going to leave you feeling as satisfied as a homemade meal.  Like the reporter in the article found, she actually wasn’t eating enough at each meal and she was eating way too much salt.  Fast food isn’t meant to really nourish your body.  It’s meant to be, well, fast. Healthy Fast Food: Is There Really Such A Thing? | Life Healthfully LivedHealthy Fast Food: Is There Really Such A Thing?

If you get the majority of your meals in the form of fast food, I’m not saying you’re a bad person or unhealthy.  I just want you to think about your options.  Could you possibly make some of the things you’re eating in your own home?  Making your own food is always going to be better for you than getting it from somewhere else.  It doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated, just a little meal prep and you could be eating your own kale salad for lunch instead of relying on McDonald’s. Healthy Fast Food: Is There Really Such A Thing?

I get it.  Fast food is easy and cheap.  You don’t have to think too much about it.  But maybe you should.  You might see a big change, not only in your waistline, but your whole well-being.

 

Buffalo Cauliflower Taquitos

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Buffalo Cauliflower Taquitos | Life Healthfully LivedFun fact:  I’ve never had taquitos.  Ok, that isn’t really a fun fact but it is a fact.  I’ve never had fresh taquitos, I’ve never had them from the frozen food section, and I’ve never thought, “Man, I could really go for a nice taquito right now.”  Then as I was roaming around the internet I saw a few recipes for taquitos and they looked really good and simple to make.

And they are good and simple to make.  Really good.  Like so good I seriously thought about eating leftover taquitos for breakfast the next day.  And if the taquitos were delicious, the dip I used was heaven.  I could have stuck a straw in it and had that alone.  Not even exaggerating.Buffalo Cauliflower Taquitos | Life Healthfully Lived

You busy people out there are going to like these too because you can make a big batch and then freeze them.  Now you have a quick dinner ready to go on a busy night.  Just take them out of the freezer and heat them up in the oven.  Boom! Healthy dinner.

If you have time, you can make the filling beforehand and then when you’re ready to make the taquitos all you have to do is fill, roll, and bake.  That sounds like a new dance craze that all the younguns will be into next week.  Just remember, I started it here first.

Buffalo Cauliflower TaquitosBuffalo Cauliflower Taquitos | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 large head of cauliflower
  • 1/4 cup of my buffalo sauce or your favorite brand
  • 1 cup butternut squash puree, you can also use sweet potato or canned pumpkin
  • 1 package of small tortillas, I used corn but you can use flour shells or a paleo version
  • 1 batch of my dairy-free ranch with a few changes, recipe below
  • optional: guacamole, salsa, regular ranch or bleu cheese dressing
  1. Preheat the oven to 325. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower and cut into florets removing as much of the stem from each floret as possible.
  2. Place the cut cauliflower into a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until the cauliflower looks like rice.  Scoop it out and place it into a bowl
  3. Add the butternut squash to the cauliflower rice and stir so everything is coated.  Heat a little (like about 1 tsp) olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Put the cauliflower into the skillet and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add the 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce and stir to combine everything.  You can add a little more buffalo sauce if the cauliflower doesn’t look like it’s coated enough.
  5. Cook this for another five minutes and then turn the heat to low and cover the skillet.  Let this sit for 5 minutes and then move to a large bowl.
  6. Put a little skillet (about the size of your tortilla shells) over low heat.  Don’t add any oil, you’re just using this to heat up the tortilla shells so the roll easily.
  7. Heat the shells about 15 to 20 seconds on each side then add a large spoonful of filling and roll the tortilla up.  Place it seam side down on a large baking sheet. Do this until you’ve used up all the filling.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes, checking towards the end to make sure the tortilla edges aren’t burning.  Remove from the oven and let cool then serve with fancy ranch (that’s what I’m calling it), salsa, and guacamole!

Fancy RanchBuffalo Cauliflower Taquitos | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup cashews, soaked overnight or in boiling water for 15 minutes
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic
  • 2 tsp ranch seasoning
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  1. Blend everything together and taste to see if you need to add salt or pepper.  This will thicken up even more in the fridge so don’t worry if it’s a little soupy.Buffalo Cauliflower Taquitos | Life Healthfully Lived

DIY Wednesday: Butter-Free Buffalo Sauce

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of buffalo sauce.  I don’t hate it, it’s just not really on my radar.  I’ve gone most of my life without and I would say I’ve lived a good life.

But that has changed.

I had an idea for a recipe and I was going to need to rely heavily on buffalo sauce so I started looking around.  Store-bought was out of the question because I couldn’t find any that any redeemable qualities.  That left making my own, which I’m all about anyway.  Well, there were a few good ones out there but a lot of them relied heavily on butter and Worchester sauce (which I will NEVER be able to pronounce properly) and I didn’t want to use those.

Long story short, I created a buffalo sauce that’s made with real ingredients and doesn’t include butter.  It is really easy to make and you can put it on anything that you would use buffalo sauce.  Wings, cauliflower bites, celery, fingers…. Also heads up, you’re going to want to make a batch of this for Friday’s recipe!

Buffalo Sauce: DIY Wednesday: Butter-Free Buffalo Sauce | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1/4 cup hot sauce, I used this one, but use your favorite or make your own!
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp molasses
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Transfer to an airtight container, like a mason jar, and store in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Simple and tasty, just the way I like it!  You can easily double or triple this recipe to make enough for all your buffalo needs! DIY Wednesday: Butter-Free Buffalo Sauce | Life Healthfully Lived