Pumpkin Black Bean Hummus

PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN HUMMUS

Looking for a light New Year's Eve or New Year's Day snack to serve that will offset some of the heavier things that may have been on the table this past week? Try this dish!

I was looking for some healthy and filling options to add to my Christmas Eve menu, as this year we celebrated with appetizers and cocktails rather than a regular dinner. This hearty and tasty recipe was one of a few that I came up with! Stay tuned for one more recipe: a raw, vegan and gluten free dessert tomorrow!

THE EASY INGREDIENTS

 AND INSTRUCTIONS

--One can (drained) of your preferred brand of cooked black beans (or roughly just under two cups of cooked beans if you prefer to do it yourself). I used SimplyNature organic brand.

--One half of a can of your preferred cooked pumpkin puree (or around 1 cup of cooked pumpkin). I used Libby's!

--Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

--Cumin, salt and pepper to taste

--For anyone who likes a little heat, a dash of Sriracha or your favorite hot sauce or powdered spice

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Creates about three cups of hummus and serves 4-6.

Combine all ingredients in your food processor and blend until somewhat smooth (I actually like my hummus a little on the chunky side!). This could also be done in a blender but you would end up needing a little extra liquid for blending, and your hummus would be thinner. With this recipe, you could easily hand mash the black beans and stir in your pumpkin puree, as black beans are quite soft! Your hummus would be a little on the chunkier side.

I served my hummus with carrot, broccoli and cucumber slices, as well as rice crackers. It was delicious and full of protein, fiber and antioxidants (plus the pumpkin gives it a nice vitamin A and C boost!).

Enjoy!

Turkey, Sweet Potato and Pea Curry {Plus Kale!} Crockpot Dinner

Turkey, Sweet Potato and Pea Curry {Plus Kale!} Crockpot Dinner

You can easily subtract the meat (and garnish of yogurt) from this dish to make a wonderful vegan dinner! 

Serves 2 for dinner, or perhaps 3 smaller lunch servings

YUM. This was dinner last Friday, and it was all just "thrown" together with creativity in the crockpot with delicious results. I had to share this quick, healthy and tasty recipe with you! Remember, curry spices are absolutely wonderful for your health, as well! Here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb lean ground turkey

2 large sweet potatoes, washed and sliced into thick rounds

1 bag of frozen peas

5-6 green onions, diced into small pieces

4 large leaves of Kale, chopped into small pieces

1 cup of water

Turmeric

Cumin

Curry Powder

Cinnamon

Garlic

Pepper

Kosher Salt

Garnish: Greek yogurt and fresh chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

Add the turkey (raw) into the crockpot (I have a medium sized pot which was plenty big). You can brown meat ahead of time if you like, I didn't to save time. This created somewhat bigger chunks of turkey in the curry, which we really liked, rather than fine bits. Add potatoes, peas, chopped onions and kale. Add cup of water. Stir ingredients. Add spices to taste, and stir once more to incorporate everything.

Turn crockpot on high (depending on the power of your crockpot) and allow to simmer for about 4 hours with lid on. This was an easy "lunchbreak" dinner for me, because I threw all of the items together on my lunchbreak from work, and when I returned...voila!

You will know your curry is done when potatoes are soft. Yes, the rounds will fall apart. Gently stir and break apart any extra large chunks of turkey if you have included the meat. Once you have stirred and incorporated all the ingredients carefully, serve in bowls with a garnish of Greek yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro!

Blue Vintage Gingham and Veggie Frittatta recipe!

OH! Hello. I'm a total dork! And I'm in a cooking mood today!
(P.S., the vintage blue gingham dress I'm wearing was thrifted for $1.50)

BLUE VINTAGE GINGHAM AND VEGGIE FRITTATTA RECIPE!

I was in a SERIOUS cooking mood today! It all started with poached eggs and fresh strawberries this morning. From there, I made butternut bisque with home made whole grain croutons, and fresh cilantro. The sriracha was flowing freely, my turntable was spinning records, life was good.

I got lazy.

I had fully intended to share this cute blue gingham dress and the grey and brown accents I paired with it (including a super cute vintage Dooney & Bourke handbag I had thrifted a while back)in a great outfit post...but I got lost in my kitchen and an apron. 

Then I thought...why not share? As some of you may know, I've been using the Weight Watchers program to lose weight! I'm about twenty pounds from my goal weight, and though I haven't been on the program throughout my entire weight loss journey, I've lost about 25 pounds since last August. Over the last three or four years, I have also made some serious dietary and lifestyle changes, but honestly--nothing was easier for me than eating healthy. I love it! It pleases me to cook and eat this way. And I love sharing the food I make!

Try my recipe for veggie frittattas out and see what you think. They were SO YUMMY and according to my calculations, only about 2 weight watchers points per patty! I had two with creamed avocado, cottage cheese and tomato slices. This was an 8 point dinner total; very filling and about 450 calories according to my (somewhat loose) calculations! Enjoy!

VEGGIE FRITTATTAS (Makes 4 patties)

Ingredients: 

--1/2 bag frozen stir fry veggies (mine included broccoli, snap peas, peppers, onions and water chestnuts)

--1/4 bag frozen shredded spinach

--1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

--1/4 cup fresh chopped green onion

--3-4 heaping tbsp of unbleached whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur brand)

--2 heaping tbsp of ground flax (I keep my flax in the refrigerator in a clean glass peanut butter jar for easy use!)

--Salt, pepper and seasoning to taste (I used, in addition to salt and pepper, garlic powder and veggie flakes)

--1 egg (vegans can easily substitute Vegg Yolk or even 1/4 cup pumpkin or squash puree)

--olive oil for frying along with frying pan over medium-high heat

I thawed out my frozen veggies but didn't heat them (I didn't want the excess liquid).



I added my flour and seasonings in and stirred things up!



Then came one egg and more blending.



I'm always sprinkling flax into things! ;)



Got my pan nice and hot with a drizzle of olive oil! The mixture was ready to go but slightly watery upon sitting for a moment, so I added a touch more flour to firm it (less than a tbs). Use your best judgement!



I formed patties with my hands and tossed into the pan! Patties will be "gooey" upon forming but no worries...they will firm up and fry nicely once they are in the pan/griddle.



I fried them to golden brown which was about 3-5 minutes on each side! The egg cooks quickly and because the frozen veggies are already cooked, these were very quick to make!



As if the patties weren't already AWESOME enough on their own...I decided to make them even sexier by adding a dollop (yes, I said dollop) of avocado on each one! All I did was cream one half of an avocado. One half of an avocado was the perfect amount to top the four patties.



I served them with cottage cheese and fresh tomato slices...and a little dash of salt! OOOOOOHHHH yeah...that's a little sriracha on top. Couldn't help it!



IS THIS A BIG BITE? I CAN'T TELL!
HAHAHA! 

Mmmm...I'm so glad I had leftovers for lunch tomorrow. These were absolutely amazing!
Try it out...and let me know what you think!

PS....Click the image below to visit me on Instagram! :)

What you need is a little Chai...

KUNDALINI CHAI

Sigh. I've landed head first into a super strength cold. I just can't win this season!

Must be stress...school, work, family, bands...I'm a little too busy.

Came home a little early for some R&R this evening and was so glad I had made a pot of home made chai the day before...and snapped these pics.

Thought I'd share the recipe for my wonderful and delicious health tonic for anyone who feels like brewing up a pot of cleansing and aromatic chai tea--no caffeine! Note that you can easily steep your favorite black tea in it if you prefer some "kick" in your cup!

KUNDALINI CHAI

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Best Kundalini Chai: A 2000 year old recipe given to me by my yoga instructor. Been making it every day since. It has amazing properties including anti-inflammatory and immune boosting. In India, they use it to treat fever. Also good for indigestion among many other things. BE CAREFUL WITH THE PEPPERCORNS. the power of 3-4 whole peppercorns is amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

About 4 liters of water

3-4 short cinnamon sticks

Small handful of cloves (6-7 individual)

1 tbs ginger

1 tbs cardamom powder

1 tbs fennel powder

1 tbs turmeric

4-6 whole peppercorns (more if you like spicier chai--but BE CAREFUL!)

Bring to a rolling boil in a large stockpot for about 15 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for another 45 minutes. Allow to steep and sit afterwards. Once it has cooled you can store it in the fridge. Stays 2-3 days unrefridgerated on the counter before things start to turn. No need to strain. I like to stir up the sediment in mine. Serve with almond milk and honey. Say, "MMMMMMM". :)