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Friday, July 20, 2018

Vegan Spaghetti with Gremolata

Wait!  Meat eaters stay with me here... because this is so good even you will want to eat this!!!



This is ... T O T A L L Y  D E L I C I O U S!!  

Okay, I cooked this for a table of people, both vegans and meat eaters, and everyone loved it!  OK, my more skeptical son wasn't sure, but everyone else really liked it!!  It is full of flavor...I actually brought the Parmesan to the table, just in case, but tried it as-is, 100% vegan first - and realized it totally did NOT need it. Seriously.  If you insist on adding cheese, just please try one bite first without it, I am confident you will see what I mean :) 



So one of my besties recently inspired me to prepare more vegetarian/ vegan meals at home, so this week I've made chickpea carrot burgers, black bean pepper burgers, and yesterday mushroom meatloaf, all surprisingly good!

I went completely Vegan for this receipt and it was AMAZING!!!  Loaded with flavor! 


Amy's Vegan Spaghetti Gremolata:

Into the food processor goes:

Lots of peeled garlic - I used about 10 heads.  Run it until it's completely processed.

Then add to the food processor:

1 cup toasted almonds (you have to toast them first for the flavor!)
1 cup packed arugula
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
Lime zest
Juice from 1 juicy lime  (you can use lemon instead of course)

Pulse a few times until you get your desired consistency; be sure to leave some nutty chunks in there for good texture and mouthfeel.


Meanwhile in a boiling pot of salted water, cook the spaghetti al dente.  Drain and pour into a large glass bowl and toss with good EVOO.  Than pour the Gremolata from the food processor on top and mix it all in.   Add more EVOO until you have your desired consistency.

Test 1 noodle before serving to see if you need or want to add an a little more fresh Lime juice to brighten it up. Then serve and wait to see the reactions.


*1 thing to note, is that the 'sauce' tends to collect at the bottom of the bowl, so I gave it a really good stir from the bottom up each time I went to serve it.  Don't be shy with the olive oil, it is good and good for you, even the Mayo Clinic says so!

Friday, May 18, 2018

Delicious & Filling & Under 300 Calories!!



Delicious and filling lunch using only 4 ingredients for less than 300 Calories?  YUP!

All you need: 2 Corn Tortillas - 1 Egg - 1/2 Avocado - 2 Tbsp Salsa




How I did it:

I toasted 2 small Corn Tortillas on my stove, scrambled up an egg*, sliced half an Avocado, and divided both between the 2 Tortillas and then topped each with 1 Tbsp of Salsa = easy peasy and totally packed with flavor :) 

*cooked the egg with a quick spray of Canola oil

How is this Healthy?  Soooooooo many reasons:


Corn Tortillas:  Whole Grain! and Low in Sodium :)
Avocado: Good for Eyes, Bones, Digestion, Mood.....this list goes on and on!
Egg: Protein, Antioxidants, B Vitamins
Salsa: Vitamin C, Lycopene, Hydration







Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Gluten Free Pasta with Spinach, Red Onions and White Beans



This is a great recipe when you run out of fresh stuff and can't get to the store.....and it is a great way to get a lot of the green stuff into one meal.  And do not underestimate the nutrition of onions, "onions are among the most significant sources of antioxidants in the human diet"!!

Ok, this is what you'll need:

1 box gluten free pasta (obviously you could use reg pasta too)
whipped cream cheese - it's lighter and fluffier ;) 
extra virgin olive oil - that's all I ever use
2 red onions, diced
5 large cloves garlic, sliced
red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp - 1 tsp depending on how much heat you can take!
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
frozen spinach (thawed with most of the water squeezed out)
salt, to taste


Amy's GF Pasta with Spinach, Red Onions & White Beans Recipe:

In a large pot - boil water and cook pasta as per instructions on the box.  Remembering to save 1 cup of the cooking water when you drain the pasta.

Meanwhile heat up a dutch oven or large heavy pan, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom.   Let that heat up a minute or two and then add the onions, garlic & red pepper flake.  Cook for a few minutes, to your desired done-ness, adding more olive oil if needed (or if pan starts to brown you can add a spoon of the pasta water).  Then add the beans and the spinach, mixing it all together, add salt to taste and then cover with lid and put on low heat.

Return drained pasta to large pot - top with cream cheese and 1/4 cup of the pasta water and stir until completely mixed in with the pasta - you may need to add a little more of the pasta water depending on how thin or thick you'd like your 'sauce' to be.

I plated mine separately.....putting the pasta on my plate and adding the spinach mixture on top with some more olive oil drizzled on top.  Though you could simply mix them together before serving.   Possible option to add some parmesan cheese on top, or to make it VEGAN, you can just omit the cream cheese and use olive oil with the pasta instead.

Enjoy!


Friday, February 23, 2018

Broccoli Turkey Pepperoni Quiche



What to do with leftover Broccoli?   Pull out your glass pie plate and spray it with some Canola Oil and dump in the Broccoli!  Mash it into tiny pieces (or if needed, you can cut it into pieces before throwing it in).  Then in another bowl, scramble up 6 Eggs with some Garlic Powder and pour it on top of the Broccoli.  Then shake plenty of Parmesan on top, layer on some Turkey Pepperoni and a torn slice of Provolone Cheese, or whatever kind of cheese you have handy - it's all good.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  

Voila! Broccoli is gone and you have breakfast or lunch or dinner ready to go!  I do this when I have all sorts of veggie leftovers - it's easy, fast and versatile!  You can put in between bread for a sandwich at lunch, or eat it alongside a salad for dinner, or as a high protein breakfast....or my favorite - as a mid-afternoon snack.  See?  Everything is possible with the incredible vegetable quiche! 

And no crust necessary - save yourself all the carbs, and all the hydrogenated fats, those terrible trans fat that are so bad for us!  

If you aren't sure what I'm talking about, I'll let HARVARD tell you here.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Peach Cashew Ranch Salad



Yummy lunch!  This was everything I needed out of a lunch today - sweet, salty, crunchy, refreshing, juicy, creamy and still healthy and delicious - YUM.

I grew up on Iceberg Lettuce, but then later was introduced to the world of Romaine, Escarole, Radicchio, Spinach, Endive, Arugula....and all the other fancy wonderful greens available out there.  They are all great choices in their own right, but don't poo-poo Iceberg Lettuce - it still has it's place in my fridge!  If you buy a head of it, it last a long time and it's cheap, like seriously.   But it is also a nice soft green that somehow is also crisp and a little crunchy at the same time.  Plus everyone is always telling us to drink more water - Iceberg is 95% water!  I'm falling back in love.  AND hello, it's really low calorie - like one leaf = 1 calorie.  Seriously.  Plus it blends with almost anything you can imagine......what fruit, veg, meat, fish, nut, or cheese doesn't go well with Iceberg?   I can't think of one!

So okay, open your fridge and your pantry and throw this together, its good and good for you!



Peach Cashew Ranch Salad Recipe:

Ice Berg Lettuce - chopped - as much as you want
Cucumbers - chopped - as much as you want
Cherry Tomatoes - chopped - as much as you want
1/4 cup Lightly Salted Cashews (good fats + protein!)
1 large Peach, chopped
2 Tbsp Caramelized Onions (you should just make a big batch of this and keep in your fridge to add to things all week long!)
2 Tbsp All Natural Ranch Dressing, if you can find it. If not, just choose the 'regular' kind.  Light versions tend to be loaded with artificial sweeteners and flavors, they taste weird and don't satisfy your legitimate craving for something creamy.

Keep it real - it tastes better!
Enjoy :)