Red and Green Quinoa Salad

My husband and I decided to take the Engine 2 challenge that started on the 3rd of this month. He has been working out like crazy at lunch time and not eating enough. I decided to make him a protein packed lunch with added fat from an avocado. It turned out quite tasty. Unfortunately, I dumped the bowl on the floor as I was reaching for something in the fridge, as our fridge is packed with all kinds of healthy foods! I’m glad I got to eat some before the accident. The dog liked it too.

2 cups cooked quinoa (I used tri-colored from Trader Joe’s)

1 can kidney beans

1 cucumber sliced and quartered

6 grape tomatoes quartered

3 sliced green onions

Mix the dressing with an immersion blender

1 avocado

1 TBS Lemon Juice

1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar

1-2 TBS water, if necessary

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

 

 

Mom’s Macaroni Salad

With all the Thanksgiving recipes floating around this time of year, I thought I would post a summertime recipe…actually I got a craving for it and decided to make it for the first time. My mom’s summer dish is tuna macaroni salad, she would make it without tuna for my sister and I. These days she has to make 4 versions: regular, vegetarian, vegan and gluten free for my dad who has a really bad wheat allergy. It is so simple but I love it. It’s all about the peas, in my opinion.

1 box of whole wheat macaroni

1-2 cups low fat or fat free vegan mayo

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

1 can chickpeas mashed

2 stalks celery diced

1 small onion diced

salt, paprika to taste

 

Seriously Good Cookies

Nino Salvaggios makes the best vegan cookies. They make a sugar cookie, oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip. My mom likes to buy them for the kids and to sabotage my healthy eating habits. I usually eat most of them. I’m very proud of myself for only having one this time. While I’m on the subject, Ninos is a really good fruit market. Great produce, lots of dry beans and Panda brand tofu (locally made and very firm). The store is a little on the pricey side but worth it. No I don’t work for Ninos, I’m just a fan.

Beetza! Vegan beet pizza

Today I took a phone pic of my dinner, because I thought it looked fancy, and posted it to Facebook. I did get more likes than negative comments but I was taken aback by all the people so disgusted by my attempt at healthy eating. I have made plenty of things that would warrant a “yucky” comment but I did not think this was one of them! Maybe it was the pizza aspect that made people think it was just too much. If it was a salad of some sort than I think it would have been safe from criticism. Anyhoo…this is how I made it (it was really good)
I roasted a bunch of beets earlier, washed with the ends chopped, in the oven wrapped in tin foil @ 400 for 45 minutes. Tin foil beets from the Appetite for Destruction Cookbook.
We were making pizza for dinner so I decided to incorporate the beets because I love them so. Tomato sauce didn’t seem to go with this pizza, so I took half a can of cannelloni beans, a handful of fresh basil, a clove or 2 of garlic, a bit of soy milk, a few toasted walnuts (save the rest for the top) salt and pepper and blended it to make the pesto sauce. I used Trader Joes Whole Wheat pizza dough and pre-cooked it on each side of the grill for a few minutes (you definitely need to oil the grill). I brought it back inside and topped it with the bean pesto, baby spinach, roasted walnuts and roasted beets. Then put it back on the grill for 10 minutes on lower heat. I’m pretty sure dairy cheese and dead animals are a lot more yucky than this simple, healthy pizza.

Teddy Grahams are no longer vegan

I bought some Teddy Grahams and noticed the box was different. I happened to glance at the ingredients a few days later and saw the word honey. They didn’t contain honey in the past. I am very disappointed. I let the kids eat honey on occasion (if it’s in something) but don’t eat it myself. I will not be buying them anymore, which is probably good because they aren’t healthy.

Healthy Cookies

I whipped up some cookies today and my daughter went crazy for them. I felt like I was in one of those commercials where the parent says “shhh, don’t tell her it’s good for her.” They aren’t very pretty but at least the chocolate chips make them look a little more cookie-like. I just threw a bunch of ingredients in the food processor without measuring them. As long as the batter is not too thin then they will work out. 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. They are chewy so cook longer for a more crunchy cookie. I only put chocolate chips on the top, not inside. A little taste of chocolate is all I need.
Raisins (soaked)
Dried cranberries (soaked)
Pepitos (soaked)
Oatmeal
Grape nuts
A little whole wheat flour
2 bananas
Pinch of salt, cinnamon and baking powder.

Whizz em in the food processor and scoop on to lightly oiled tray.

I will experiment with other ingredients in the future. Perhaps cashews, zucchini, cherries, flaxseed (not all on one batch).

Detroit Kid City- Review

Kid City isn’t a restaurant but an awesome place to take the kids. They have a little city constructed indoors. The kids can go into a barber shop, recording studio, school, and restaurant to name a few. They have a craft everyday and story time. Admission is $10 for kids and adults are free. All the drinks they have are vegan. They have flavored soy milk and a really good smoothy/shake type drink with strawberry, peanut butter and chocolate sauce. They have great coffee and even wheat grass shots. The place itself is spotless. I went there when it first opened and thought to myself “it won’t look like this for long!” I was wrong. It might be harder for them to keep clean on the weekends but when I go, during the week, they are constantly picking up after the kids and all the toys are in good shape.

Tofu Kabobs

I got a Barbecue last year for Mother’s Day. This year I’m going to get more creative with my q-ing. Last night’s dinner was not very creative but it was delicious. I bought a metal kabob holder so it keeps them slightly elevated above the grill and the tofu doesn’t stick. I marinated everything in veggie broth, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and thyme. The kids ate the tofu but not the veggies (not surprising).

Cakewalk

I had an opportunity to introduce a few families to some good vegan baking and I blew it. Two days ago, a PTA mom shoved some cake boxes into my car window, as I was waiting to pick up my step-daughter from school, and asked if I would make some cakes for the cakewalk at the school fair today. Maybe if I had more time and didn’t have a cranky, teething baby I would have made some awesome cakes. Instead, I made a basic chocolate cake with rather runny chocolate frosting (I got lazy last night and didn’t measure properly). I’m sure the cakes taste fine but they didn’t look so appealing. I had to write the ingredients on the cake box, looking at mine, it was they boring and simple. Apparently, they do this cakewalk every year, next year I will do better!

Product Review: TJ’s Vegan Mozzarella

Shortly after I went vegan, about 9 years ago, I tried my first vegan cheese….it was really disgusting. The dogs wouldn’t even touch it.  Vegan cheese has come a long way since then. Daiya is probably the best, in my opinion. If it weren’t for the kids I probably wouldn’t eat any, but they like it and I try to give them “normal” kid foods like mac & cheese, grilled cheese and pizza.

I was excited to find vegan cheese at Trader Joe’s, I bought some to use on our pizza.  It was not as bad as the vegan cheese from a decade ago but it sure didn’t taste good.  It melted too much, our pizza was a runny mess. I was disappointed mainly because it’s my dream to buy all of my groceries at one store. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.  Trader Joe’s has a few staples that I really like but I can’t get everything there (their produce is not so good, either).