Greek Dip

I happened upon this on pinterest, and just changed it up a little bit

Greek Dip
Favorite hummus (I love Sabra, but Costco has a Rosemary Garlic one that is WONDERFUL with this recipe)
Diced cucumbers
Diced red pepper
Sliced olives
Feta Cheese
1/8 c pine nuts
Stuff to dip! Whole wheat pita triangles, Beanito chips, veggie sticks, etc.

Spread hummus in pan. Sprinkle veggies over and stop with olives and feta. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve!

Bee Pollen

I ordered this book a little over a month ago, and I really enjoyed Kimberly's second installment. I've relearned a lot about different foods, as well as learned a lot of information of new information! I definitely recommend reading. It will inspire you to nourish every cell in your beautiful body. Take it a day at a time, and keep it as simple as you can. Spend time and energy on the things that matter most.

Okay, on to something that I've never even heard of as a food source: bee pollen! Here is a picture:

 
Looks interesting, huh? Bee pollen is filled with most B vitamins, so it provides stress relief, improves digestion and balances your hormones. Side note-it doesn't take much to throw your hormones out of whack: pregnancy, monthly cycle, breastfeeding, trauma, stress, etc. I've had many indications that my hormones are out of whack, so bee pollen is my new best friend.

Bee pollen is also a complete protein, contains all essential amino acids, essential fatty acids and nucleic acids. It helps control hunger and protects the nervous system against radiation. It also protects vitamins C & E, which helps protect and repair your skin. How awesome is that?!?!

I throw it in smoothies and eat it straight, only about 1/2 teaspoon. You can find it at your local health food store, from www.mountainroseherbs.com or from a local beekeeper.

Have you ever had bee pollen before?

Super Nachos-Healthified

My husband has a favorite dinner that his mother made while he was growing up. Now, I love it too, but it's not very good for you, so I combined a recipe from Simple Healthy Tasty and some of our favorite tastes, and came up with the following:

-Refried Beans (my guess is 1 large can, but I make my own. I use about 3 cups. See here)
-1 recipe of Cheezy sauce 
-1 recipe Sunflower Seed cream (mixed with 1-2 T taco seasoning)
-1 1/2-2 c frozen corn (rinse to thaw)
-1 pepper, diced (I use sweet bell peppers)
-chopped cilantro
-1 recipe of Guacamole (see below)
-1-2 c salsa or pico
-GMO tortilla chips (we just quarter corn tortillas and toast in oven)

optional ingredients: olives, other raw veggies-chopped, black beans

Spread beans and cheezy sauce and broil until cheezy sauce starts to brown. Layer everything else and serve with chips. Yum!

Guacamole
2-3 avocados
2 T lime juice
1/2 t sea salt (to taste)
optional-chopped cilantro
mash with fork or blend in blender

We like to eat this on a hot day, following a cup of ice cold green smoothie!

Avo Eggrolls with Sweet Cilantro Sauce

1 word: Yum!

The mix of flavors is absolutely amazing!!! Thanks to Pinterest for the initial idea, and to my husband for adding to and making it ours!

Avocado Filling
4-5 avocados, diced
1/4 c red onions, diced
1/4 c sundried tomatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped cilantro (can include stem)
1-2 t sea salt (to taste)
juice from 1/2 lime

Saute onions, tomatoes and garlic in a dab of coconut oil until fragrant. Combine remaining ingredients and fill eggroll wrappers, using water to seal edges. Fry in coconut oil.

Cilantro Dipping Sauce
1 c cilantro
1/2 c sweetener (agave, maple syrup, honey, combination of the 3)

1 T sucanut
1 t cumin
1/2  pepper
4 t raw apple cider vinegar
1 t balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
optional: small handful of raw cashews (will make the sauce creamy), clove of garlic, squeeze of lime, pinch saffron
Blend in blender until smooth.

Serve eggrolls with dipping sauce and close your eyes to pick out all the amazing flavors!

Black Bean Quinoa Flautas

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I love Cinco de Mayo because it reminds me of years of family fun. My sisters always planned a super fun day filled with warm food, chip & salsa, laughter and games for the kids. Oh the wonderful memories I have!
Anyway, we got together with some friends this evening, and I wanted to bring along something healthy & "mexican" to eat. This is what we came up with:

Black Bean Quinoa Flautas
3/4 c quinoa, rinsed well
1 3/4 c water
1 t taco seasoning (for a GREAT homemade mix, click here)
1 t vegetable broth powder
1/4 t cumin
Combine all and bring to a boil. Simmer 20-25 minutes. While this is simmering, work on the rest.

2 c black beans, rinsed
1/4 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, sauteed
1 c mozzarella cheese (you can use vegan cheese if desired)
small flour tortillas (sprouted is best, whole wheat is okay too. We used corn and they just fell apart).
Combine with quinoa. Roll into small flour tortillas and use toothpicks to keep it shut, as seen below.

Fry in coconut oil until brown and serve with tomatillo salad dressing for a dip, if desired. YOU WON'T REGRET IT! :)

Tomatilla Dressing
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 c almond milk
1 c almonaise
1 pkg dry buttermilk ranch dressing mix (still trying to health-ify this!!)
2 tomatillos, husked
2 jalapenos, seeds removed
1/2 bunch cilanto, most of the stalk removed
juice from 1/2 fresh lime
2-3 cloves garlic
Combine first 2 ingredients in your blender and let sit for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Store in fridge.

Say YES to Fun School Lunches!

Allright, here we go. I'm doing this post mostly for me, but I know there are a lot of other parents out there who are at a loss on how to pack healthy lunches for their kiddos, that are fun too! (And that don't take an hour every morning to prepare!) I will be adding to this post as I go!

Salads

Black Bean Taco Salad
1 handful of salad greens with fresh veggies (cucumbers, peppers, whatever you want to add)
1/4 cup of black beans mixed with a bit of salsa or taco seasoning
1 handful of chips, crushed in hand
The dressing is salsa, so pack this is a sealed cup. Everything else can be in compartments so that the kiddos can assemble their own salad and it's not all soggy.

Tuna Salad
1 can tuna
1 apple, finely chopped
handful of raisins
1 small stalk of celery, finely chopped
seeds of your choice (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc)
Mix all together with a bit of vegenaise, onion & garlic powders, cumin
Serve on a bed of greens and chopped veggies

(I actually made this last week with leftover crockpot chicken. The kids loved it!)

Black Bean & Corn Salad
2 c cooked black beans
1 1/2 c fresh corn
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro chopped (leaved only!)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 diced cucumber
1 handful spinach
Combine and drizzle with the following dressing:
1/2 c agave
1/4 c rice vinegar
1/3 c lime juice
1/3 bunch cilantro (leaves only)
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
sea salt to taste
Blend in a blender.

 Fresh Mango & Mint
That's it! Chop up some mango, chop up some fresh mint leaves, mix and voila! It's super tasty!

Strawberry Salad
Spinach or romaine, rinsed and torn
1 cucumber, diced
1 apple, chopped
8 strawberries, quartered
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 can mandarin oranges
crumbled blue cheese
1/4 c slivered almonds or chopped pecans

Combine in a bowl and put the dressing on the side in a disposable cup:
1/3 c agave
1/4 c rice vinegar
8 strawberries
Blend in blender.

Fruit Dips

Yogurt Dip
1 cup homemade kefir or yogurt
Add agave nectar & cinnamon to taste (thanks Jessica!)

Strawberry Dip
1 cup plain yogurt
frozen strawberries, 6ish?
a bit of agave nectar
Blend in your blendtec and pour into those disposable cups to dip apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, pears, etc.

Veggie Dips

Black Bean Dip

1 cup black beans - lightly pulsed in a blender/food proccesor

1 cup salsa

1/4 carrot puree (blend raw carrots in blender until smooth, add water if needed)

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro or 1 tsp. dried cilantro

Mix together and serve with an array of sliced fresh veggies.

Salsa
This is for you folks out there who don't care for raw tomatoes (like me!)
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1-2 raw roma tomatoes
1 bell pepper cut into big chunks
1/2 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
1 T lime juice
1 t sea salt
1 t cumin
1 drop hot sauce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Pulse all ingredients (except cilantro) in blender until you reach desired consistency. Stir in cilantro. Serve with pita chips, rice chips or organic tortilla chips.

Wraps

Spread homemade peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla, sprinkle with raisins and cinnamon. Roll up and slice.

Spread hot refried beans, mozzerella cheese, and shredded veggies (squash, carrots, etc); roll up and serve.

Make homemade guacamole (I wish we all loved this, but only my hubby does) by dicing or mashing a ripe avocado with taco seasoning and sea salt to taste, some lime juice and some salsa. Mix well and roll in a tortilla.

Toast a piece of whole wheat or sprouted bread. Spread with almond butter and top with sliced bananas, raisins and cinnamon.


I will post some soup/chili/stew recipes this fall (my absolute favorite season ever!) that you can send with your child. See here with the link to our soup/leftover container.


I will also post a pre-school breakfast post soon with some breakfast ideas besides that sugary bowl of cereal. My son finally eats a variety of breakfasts instead of mini wheats every day! Woot Woot!


You can always serve a homemade muffin with fresh fruit and veggies and dip. We do this 1-2 lunches/week and the kids looooove muffin day! Here is a link with some muffin recipes!