Lentil Grapefruit salad with Mint and Black Pepper Dressing

Easily the most beautiful dish I've ever created, this healthy salad is packed with flavor, has an excellent source of protein, and has a unique combo of flavors, which keeps things interesting. I've been on a major grapefruit kick lately, so having it in this salad made it even better. This works as a light meal, appetizer, or could be multiplied and served family-style.

Lentil Grapefruit Salad with Mint and Black Pepper Dressing
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
Single Serving
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup lentils, cooked, and packed in a small cup
1/2 grapefruit, peeled and separated into small wedges
4 mint leaves, shredded, 2 whole for garnish

Dressing:
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 T lemon juice
1/4 t ground black pepper
pinch dried rosemary

Step 1: Whisk together all dressing ingredients until thoroughly blended. Set aside. You may want to whisk it up again before serving

Step 2: Spread spinach leaves at the bottom of a dish. Flip the cup of lentils onto the spinach base and slowly lift cup away, maintaining the shape of the lentils. Place grapefruit pieces evenly around the lentils.

Step 3: Sprinkle mint leaves over entire salad and drizzle with dressing. Top with two mint leaves for garnish.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Special: Apple Pear Crisp

Here's my dessert choice to share!

I can't even remember where I first found this recipe, but I've been making it for a couple years now. It's been a success among all that I serve it to, and I absolutely love it cold with vanilla yogurt the morning after as well!
                                                                                         The dessert selection from Thanksgiving. The crisp is on the right.
Apple Pear Crisp
Ingredients:

Filling:

2 ½  cups pears

2 ½  cups apples

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup sucanat

1 tsp cardamom

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp vegetable oil

Topping:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup safflower oil

4 tbsp sucanat                                                         

2/3 cup walnuts

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°. Add all of the filling ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Oil a 9x13 baking pan and spread the fruit mix into the pan.

Step 2: Mix the topping ingredients. Pour on top of the fruit in the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I usually bake it for a bit longer. 

Enjoy!

Pb(2) and Jelly Smoothie

Smoothie time! Have I mentioned my newest discovery, PB2? I'm a huge peanut butter fan, but you can't really eat that straight out of the jar 24/7... PB2 is essentially dehydrated peanut butter, aka, Peanut butter without the fat. All you do is mix the powder with water and voila! Peanut butter-ish stuff. It doesn't taste identical to the original, but it's pretty close. I used some of this wonder powder in my latest smoothie recipe.


PB2 and Jelly Smoothie
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 individual container nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 T PB2
2 T rolled oats
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

Step 1: Combine banana, yogurt, soy milk, and PB2 in a blender. Puree until smooth.

Step 2: Add berries and rolled oats and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Nutty Apricot Energy Cookies

Here's yet another yummy energy bar recipe! This may be my favorite recipe yet. Thanks to Vicki at Watching What I Eat for the inspiration for this recipe!

Nutty Apricot Energy Cookies
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1.5 cups rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
9 dried apricots, chopped
2 T peanut butter, softened
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 T vanilla extract
1 T pie spice

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix and wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix until evenly blended.

Step 2: Spoon out the dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. You should get about 12 cookies, depending on the size you want.

Step 3: Bake for 15- 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate until eating.




Enjoy!

Berry Lemon Water Infusion

This was my first time infusing water at my new apartment and I discovered a trick to seriously increasing the flavor: Frozen Fruit. I would suggest using the frozen fruit if you have a pitcher with an insert, as the fruit gets very soft when it melts. If you don't have an infusion pitcher, just know that you may be getting some berry chunks when you sip your H2O.

Berry Lemon Water Infusion
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
Water
1 cup frozen mixed berries
4-5 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2- 3/4 lemon, sliced

Step 1: Press Frozen berries into fruit insert. Put Lemon and strawberries into body of the pitcher. Fill with water, leaving room for the infusion insert.

Step 2: Add insert and lid, refrigerate, and let sit for a few hours. The longer the fruit is in the water, the stronger the flavor will be. I thought the flavor was best after leaving the water overnight.

Refill pitcher as many times as you please until the fruit begins to go bad. The flavor will be more diluted than the first time you filled it.

Enjoy!

Very Berry Mango Smoothie

Here's another tasty smoothie!

Very Berry Mango Smoothie
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1T shredded coconut, extra for topping
1T rolled oats
6 oz. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 fresh strawberry for garnish

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

Step 2: Serve topped with coconut and a strawberry. You may want to eat this with a spoon!

Enjoy!

Green Monster Smoothie

I've been wanting to try a green smoothie for a very long time. While some people stick their tongues out and gag when they see a smoothie the color of the grinch, my mouth starts to water. Smoothies are refreshing and perfect for hundred-degree weather like today. The main issue I have with smoothies, however, is that most smoothies sold in smoothie shops have so much sugar that they are no longer healthy. My Green Monster smoothie that I've created has no added sugar and is jam-packed with protein, fruits, veggies, and flavor. I will warn you, this smoothie isn't probably for someone looking for an ultra sweet, dessert smoothie. Yes, it is slightly sweet, but not excessively so. I'll definitely be making this one further down the line.

Green Monster Smoothie
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup frozen edamame
1 c spinach
1 T shredded, dehydrated coconut
2 T quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup Original soy milk, or other milk substitute

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, thick, and creamy.

Enjoy!

Simple Salads

Salads are my main go-to food when I don't want to make anything complicated but want something healthy and flavorful. A major complaint I hear about salads is that they are boring. My response to this is that you simply haven't found the right ingredients! The possibilities for salad are endless. I love throwing together fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts to make interesting flavor combinations. I don't have one standard salad recipe, though I plan to write up a few as time goes on. Until then, I've made a list of some of my favorite bases, toppings, and dressings so you can start to make your own!

Favorite Salad Bases
Spinach
Romaine Lettuce
Mixed baby greens
Kale

Favorite Fresh Fruit and Veggie Toppings
Tomatoes
Celery
Carrots
Edamame
Beets
Broccoli
Radishes
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Apple
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Corn
Onion
Mango
Avocado

Favorite Dried Fruit and Nut Toppings
Cranberries
Raisins
Figs
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Sun dried tomato

Favorite Cheeses
Blue Cheese
Feta Cheese
Goat Cheese

Favorite Dressings (My favorite brand is Annies, but other brands make these flavors as well)
Lite honey mustard
Lite raspberry vinaigrette
Goddess
Green garlic
Balsamic vinaigrette
Red wine and olive oil
Blue Cheese

I hope this helps make your salad experience more enjoyable!

Everything Energy Bars

        For the past six months or so I've been experimenting with making my own energy bars. I first got hooked when a friend recommended the blog Anja's Food 4 Thought. She has amazing recipes for healthy bars and I've been referring to her site ever since. I am also a huge fan of Barres, an energy bar developed by two dancers with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The story behind Barre really inspired me to start making my own! Lately, I've branched off and have begun putting together my own combinations of fruits, nuts, and grains to discover what I like best. As a result, I've managed to create bars that sustain me through an intense workout. This particular recipe that I came up with yesterday even lasted me through and entire Franz Ferdinand concert! The recipe tends to be different each time I make a batch of bars, but I actually recorded my ingredients/ quantities this time so I could share it here! I call this bar the everything bar because I literally picked most of the ingredients at random and threw them all together until I found a combo I like. In the future, I plan to make more specifically flavored ones like carrot cake, piña colada, or snickerdoodle. If you have an flavor suggestions or requests, leave a comment!

Everything Energy Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sun Butter (Sunflower seed butter)
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 shredded, desiccated coconut
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1t cinnamon

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine oats, quinoa, raisins, cranberry, and coconut in a food processor and blend until fruit has been roughly chopped and all ingredients are fully mixed

Step 2: Add Sun Butter and blend until evenly mixed. Scrape down sides with a spatula if necessary. Add blueberries and process until fully mixed. Mixture should be moist and doughy.

Step 3: Cover the inside of a medium square/ rectangle pan with parchment paper. This makes for easy cleanup and keeps the bars from sticking to the pan. Spread dough across the bottom of the pan, trying to keep an even thickness throughout, bringing mixture all the way to the edges of the pan. Depending on the size of your pan the bars will vary in thickness. Ideally, the bars should be no thicker than 3/4". The thicker the bar, the more time you will need to bake.

Step 4: Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and crispy. Cook time can vary by preference as well. If you prefer a chewier, moister bar, I would suggest a shorter baking time. If you want a crispier consistency, go for the longer time. Again, cook time will also depend on the thickness of the bar.

Step 4: Once baked to your satisfaction, remove the large slab of bar from the pan and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, cut into individual bars and store. I usually keep mine in the fridge if I plan to keep them for multiple days.

Enjoy!

Banana Mango Breakfast Smoothie

        I'm a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast. I often eat the same few things, alternating day to day. Today, though, I had an epiphany: Why make the same-old-same-old when I actually have time to switch it up? After all, it's the summer and today I don't have to be anywhere until 12:30. So, I made a smoothie!
        I love smoothies, but I rarely buy them at smoothie joints because of the high sugar content in them and lack of good ingredients. Instead, I just make my own! I really should make smoothies more often because they're great on the go and can be just as satisfying as a parfait. I think the main reason I don't make them is that I hate washing the blender. I know, that's terribly lazy, but true. I guess it's worth it, though, because this smoothie was delicious.

P.s. I was so excited by my new breakfast that I forgot to take a picture. This post will be sadly lacking in imagery until I make this smoothie again.

Banana Mango Breakfast Smoothie
Inspired by Peachy Palate
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
1T quick cooking rolled oats
1t dried, shredded coconut

Step 1: Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Wasn't that easy?

Enjoy!