The Picky Plate

For those of you with a sweet tooth, this treat will hit the spot–with a healthy spin. This recipe is from the book “The Kind Diet“. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup maple sugar (I used regular sugar)
• 2 teaspoons egg replacers (or 1 egg)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup soy or rice milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (or agave nectar)
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Oils pans (I used a muffin pan, but a loaf pan will work too).
• Combine the flours, sugar, egg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a seperate bowl, combine milk with lemon juice and set aside for a minute; it will look curdled. Whisk in oil and syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Pour in poppy seeds.
• Pour the batter into pans and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool cakes completely.

To make the Lemon Maple Glaze, gather the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons kuzu or corn starch dilluted in a bit of water, to thicken

Directions:

• Combine syrup and lemon juice in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in thickener and continue to stir until glaze comes to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute. Drizzle over cake and serve.

Happy eating

Breakfast for dinner? Dinner for breakfast? This recipe covers it all. I originally made this for dinner, but the next morning  my husband and I had it for breakfast. So good and so simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound yukon gold potatoes, diced into 1/4 in. chunks
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (I was out, so I used red onion)
• 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Combine potatoes, onion and 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl and toss to coat evenly. Transfer potatoes and onion to baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes until golden brown. Broil another 2 minutes to crisp.
• In large skillet, combine remaining oil and bell pepper and saute over medium heat until tender.
• Lower heat and add tomatoes and beans. Saute 5 minutes until warm. Add ground flaxseed, oregano, paprika, potaotes and onion and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix and serve warm. I like to add salsa or ketchup to mine

Enjoy!!

Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, it is quite refreshing. I got this drink recipe from The Kind Diet. I love that the recipe uses green tea!

Ingredients:

• 4- 6 green tea bags
• 4 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
• 1 small bunch fresh mint leaves
• maple syrup to taste

Bring water to boil in a kettle, and place the teabags in a pitcher. Add 8 cups boiling water to the pitcher and steep for 10 minutes. Remove and discard teabags, and allow tea to cool to room temperature. When cooled, add peaches and mint to tea. Sweeten with maple syrup to taste. Chill with ice and serve.

Enjoy!!

Food & Wine magazine is probably one of my favorite sources to find good quality recipes. I appreciate the variety of foods they display for readers–there is something for everyone. Recently, I found this recipe for Crispy Coconut Kale Salad w/ Tofu and I knew I wanted to try it. Verdict? Amazing! I really enjoyed it, and although my husband isn’t too fond of kale (he’s a picky guy), I plan to make this again soon. I actually had the leftovers for lunch today

To start, gather your ingredients:

• 1 cup short grain brown rice
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 large bunch Kale- stems & ribs removed, leaves chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweet coco flakes (I personally used 1 cup, love this stuff!)
• 12 oz extra firm tofu, drained & cut into 1/4 in. cubes (about 2 cups)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven. In sauce pan combine rice with 2 cups water and pinch of salt, bring to boil. Cover and let simmer on low heat for about 35 minutes- until rice is tender.
• In small bowl whisk olive oil, sesame oil and soy sauce. Transfer half the dressing to a large bowl. Add kale, coconut and tofu. Toss to coat.
• Spread kale mixture onto 2 rimmed baking sheets, bake for 25 minutes until crispy. Stir once or twice and shift pans halfway thru baking.
• Return mixture to large bowl and toss with remaining dressing and rice. Mix well and serve warm.

Enjoy!!

Happy Wednesday! Thankfully, the weekend is near. I always look forward to Sunday because it’s usually my only true day of rest. Why does life have to be so busy?

This afternoon I was seriously craving a peanut butter and banana sandwhich, so I made one while watching Oprah.  Michael Pollan was on talking about food and such. If you have not seen “Food Inc.” please go rent it today

Last night I had a date with my friend Misty, we went to a cozy little place in our neighborhood.

Chips, salsa and a swirl rita to start…

I ordered the Baja fish tacos, which is what I usually get when I’m there. So good you would not believe!

No girl’s night out is complete without dessert, right? Sopapilla’s and Mexican Bean ice cream…OH. MY.

This is a bit random, but I wanted to share some pictures from a bridal shower Misty hosted for her sister last week. She did such a great job putting everything together! Not to mention the cupcakes– I just can’t get over them. They were gorgeous and soooo good! That’s pretty much the only reason why I’m bringing this up….I just need to share the cupcake love! 

Misty and the bride to be, Brandi-

The other details were fun too!

Well, I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week. I have tons of new recipes coming your way, so stay tuned!