simple recipes

DIY Wednesday: Lemon Poppyseed Vinaigrette

/ ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Be prepared for all the lemon/poppyseed recipes this week.  More specifically, be ready for Meyer lemon and poppyseed recipes.  I found a whole bag of Meyer lemons at Aldi for $1.99 and since I had never tried them I picked them up and found a few delicious ways to use them.

Dressing was one of the first things I did with them, I also made muffins, marinades, smoothies, drizzled over fish and chicken for the husband, and even tried them in eggs. Yeah, that last one was not good.  But gotta experiment right? Lemon Poppyseed Dressing | Life Healthfully Lived

If you aren’t familiar with Meyer lemons, they’re kind of like if an orange and a lemon had a baby.  It’s a little sweet and a little sour and a lot yummy.  It works really well in a lot of recipes because it doesn’t have the puckering effect of lemon but doesn’t end up overly sweet.  Sadly, Meyer lemon season is short but that makes it even more special.  So if you have seen these lemons in your grocery store but have never known what to do with them, stick around and try my vinaigrette today and some muffins on Friday!

Lemon Poppyseed VinaigretteLemon Poppyseed Dressing | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (please use fresh juice, it tastes so much better)
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest (from those lemons you just squeezed)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced very small
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced very small (more if you REALLY like garlic)
  • 2 tsp poppyseeds
  • 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
  • 1/4 tsp salt (more if needed)
  1. Place a fine mesh sieve or strainer over a large bowl or sturdy measuring cup.  Squeeze your lemon juice over this so you can catch seeds and any pulp.  Keep going until you have 1/3 cup.
  2. Put the rest of the ingredients into a mason jar or other container with a secure lid.  Shake everything together and use over your next salad or as a marinade for fish, chicken, or pork.

Make sure you store this in the fridge and use it within the next few days.  Now, just so you know as this sits, the ingredients will separate into different layers.  That’s fine, all you have to do is shake it up right before you use it.  The olive oil also might solidify a bit in the fridge but that doesn’t mean it’s gone bad or anything, just let it sit out until it’s back to room temperature.Lemon Poppyseed Dressing | Life Healthfully Lived

Other than that, enjoy this refreshing and healthy vinaigrette!

DIY Wednesday: Cauliflower Stem Cream Sauce

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Ok, so if you read my post on Monday then you know that last week I was fighting off a stomach bug/virus.  It really knocked me on my butt and I’m still trying to get back to completely normal.  Because I couldn’t eat anything more than baby carrots and brown rice cakes (totally weird combo I know, but it’s the only thing that didn’t make me want to run to the bathroom) I ended up with a lot of vegetables that were just about to go bad.

Instead of throw them away, because I hate wasting food, I decided to come up with new interesting ways to use them.  One of my biggest missions is to reduce the amount of food waste we create each year.  There are so many things that we can do with food rather than throw it away but sometimes you have to get creative.  If you want a few other ways to cut down on food waste, you can check out this post. DIY Wednesday: Cauliflower Steam Cream Sauce | Life Healthfully Lived

So today we have a recipe that uses a part of the vegetable that most of us throw away, cauliflower stems.  Yup, you can eat the stem but because gnawing on a big old stem doesn’t sound too appealing, we’re going to make a creamy sauce that can go on pasta, vegetables, meat, or even used as dressing.  The best part is it only requires a few ingredients and minimal effort.

Stop throwing away food that you think you can’t eat because I bet you can use it in a unique and delicious way!

Cauliflower Stem Cream SauceDIY Wednesday: Cauliflower Steam Cream Sauce | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 1/2 cauliflower stems, cut into chunks
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 to 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (or 1/4 cup parmesan cheese if you do dairy)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup reserved steaming water
  1. Save the large main cauliflower stem from your bunch along with any other trimmed pieces you aren’t using with the cauliflower florets.  Trim off the green leaves and the tough woody bottom of the large stem and then cut everything into bites size chunks.
  2. Fill a medium pot with about 2 cups water and set up a steamer basket if you have one.  If not, you can just boil the cauliflower right in the pot.  Steam the cauliflower until very soft and easily pierced with a fork.
  3. Transfer the cauliflower to a blender or food processor and save the steaming water.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender and blend until you have a thick paste.  Add the reserved water a few tablespoons at a time until you reach the consistency you would like.  Thinner for things like dressing and pasta sauce, a little thicker for meat and vegetables. DIY Wednesday: Cauliflower Steam Cream Sauce | 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

Mini BBQ Pizza’s

/ ktbuchs87

 

Mini BBQ Pizza's | Life Healthfully LivedI’m going to tell you a story about pancakes.  Don’t worry it will make sense in the end.

Hopefully.

I can remember one of the first times that I helped my mom make pancakes.  I was very excited because the whole process looked so magical.  We got our mix together, whisked the crap out of it because it was fun, and then started heating up the skillet.  I poured in the right amount and waited until the all-important flip.  After the instructed three minutes, I put the spatula under the pancake and….

Totally destroyed the first pancake.  It stuck to the pan, wasn’t entirely cooked on the bottom, and was just a big mass of half-cooked batter.  I was devastated.  My hopes of being a pancake wizard were dashed.  I started to get a little teary but my mom stepped in and gave some mom advice.Mini BBQ Pizza's | Life Healthfully Lived

“Don’t worry, the first pancake is always like that.  It’s the test pancake.  It lets you test the pan to see if it’s hot enough.  The rest of your pancakes will be better because that first one was messed up.”

And she was right.  The rest of my pancakes turned out just fine.  Now, before you go thinking this was a beautiful teaching moment between mom and daughter, my mom went on to tell me, “Yeah, you’re just like the test pancake.  You were our first baby and we had no clue what we were doing.  We tested everything out on you so when your sister came along we knew what to do.”

I love my mom.

It was all in good fun and it actually was some good advice when it comes to testing out new recipes or new things.  Just because it doesn’t work the very first time doesn’t mean that everything is a total failure.  So what does that have to do with pizza?  I had a bit of trouble making the crust for these tasty treats and my first one (ok, my first like five) turned out like this:

Mini BBQ Pizza's | Life Healthfully Lived

Sad but brave and valiant test pizza crust paving the way for perfection

But I kept at it and was rewarded with this recipe!  I chose to make it with my BBQ sauce and Not Mozzarella, Mozzarella, but you can customize the toppings with what you had on hand!

Thanks mom for teaching me about test pancakes and test babies because without them I couldn’t give the world Mini Pizza’s and that would be a travesty.  Also, you’re welcome for having like the world’s best test baby 😉

Mini BBQ Pizza’sMini BBQ Pizza's | Life Healthfully Lived

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and make sure you have your sauce, cheese, and toppings ready.  Line a large baking sheet or two with a Silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Place all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.  Pour this into a blender and add the water.  Blend until you have a batter.  It should be more on the thinner side.
  3. Heat up a small skillet with a little olive oil, I used my tiny cast iron skillet, and pour about 1/4 cup batter into the skillet.  Let it cook for a few minutes and then flip it over and cook for another minute before putting it on the prepared baking sheet.  Don’t worry if your first one isn’t perfect 🙂
  4. Keep doing this until all the batter is used up.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove and crank the heat up to 400.  While the oven is getting hotter, put the sauce, cheese, and toppings on each pizza.  Pop them back into the oven for another 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
  5. Remove and let them cool a few minutes before totally devouring!Mini BBQ Pizza's | Life Healthfully Lived

 

What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait

/ ktbuchs87

Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully LivedValentine’s Day needs chocolate.  It’s just a fact of life.  I mean every day needs chocolate, but Valentine’s Day needs the fancy chocolate.  Enter this dessert.

Valentine’s Day is on Sunday this year which is just weird.  I don’t know why, but it is.  If you’ve completely forgotten about Valentine’s, don’t worry because this dessert can be whipped up super fast and it tastes super indulgent.

Can you believe I was actually going to post a pizza recipe today?  I know, what was I thinking?  I mean pizza is good and deserves its time in the spotlight, but not right now.  Today, it’s going to be all about the chocolate.  Even better, it’s going to be about healthy chocolate.  I used an old trick to make the chocolate pudding part of this recipe and while it might seem weird and totally gross, go with me on this one.  Avocados make the chocolate pudding layer rich, thick, creamy, and full of good for you fat and nutrients.Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived

What better way to tell that special someone you love them?! I love you, now enjoy some good fat chocolate.  Music to my ears.  Guys, if you want to impress your lady (or yourself, I won’t judge) make this parfait.   You don’t need to do anything fancy, just blend each layer and put it in a glass. Voila! Done.

I hope you have a great weekend and your Valentine’s Day is full of love and chocolate! 🙂

Chocolate Cheesecake Pudding ParfaitChocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 batch of my cream cheese frosting (sub in almond milk for the water)
  • 1 large avocado, very ripe (you want a soft avocado so it blends nice and smooth)
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2-3 tbsp maple syrup, honey, agave or any liquid sweetener
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp full-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of sea salt
  • dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs, optional for sprinkling
  1. Blend up the cream cheese frosting and place in the fridge while you make the chocolate pudding
  2. Place the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth.  Taste to see if you need more sweetener.
  3. Chill the pudding for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Place into a glass in layers and then sprinkle with chocolate chips or cacao nibs right before serving.Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait | Life Healthfully Lived