Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley

This salad was incredibly refreshing after a long day of dancing and is

packed with cleansing, delicious ingredients. It was very easy to make, apart from the shredding of the beet. My Zyliss julienne peeler did the job, but not without a fair amount of frustration on my part. The salad was worth the labor though!

Raw Cucumber Beet Salad with Parsley
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 large beet, peeled and shredded
1/2 large cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, washed with stems removed

Dressing
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 t tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
Lemon pepper to taste


Step 1: Combine all salad ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over salad and mix until thoroughly coated.

You can serve this dish immediately, but I thought that it actually tasted better after a night in the fridge. Even a few hours would allow the flavors to blend more and the beets and cucumber to marinate in the dressing.


Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Raw Vegan Zucchini Lasagna

What's better than lasagna? Raw vegan lasagna! I recently came across this recipe on Pinterest and after a few alterations produced my own! This is truly delicious and, despite some doubts on my part, held its shape remarkably. The flavors really jump out at you and the texture of the zucchini noodles is great. You can pack even more veggies and toppings into the "casserole" to make this dish unique!

Raw Vegan Zucchini Lasagna
By Caroline Mac, after This Rawsome Life

Ingredients:
Noodles
1 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise

Cashew Cheese
2/3 c cashews
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T lemon juice
2 t Italian seasoning
3 T nutritional yeast
Water

Broccoli Pesto
1/2 head broccoli
3 T sun dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil
1 T olive oil
3-4 leaves fresh basil
Lemon-garlic seasoning (I used Penzey's Trinidad)
Water

Toppings- To taste
I used...
3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tomatos, thinly sliced
Basil leaves, ripped into small pieces



Step 1: Blend all cheese ingredients in a food processor, adding water until mixture reaches a creamy, spreadable consistency. Set aside.

Step 2: Blend all pesto ingredients, adding water until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Step 3: Layer your ingredients in a small casserole dish, starting with a layer of zucchini noodles, until you have used all ingredients. My pattern was "noodle, cheese, pesto, tomato, mushroom, basil, repeat". I ended with a layer of cheese and pesto.

Step 4: Slice and serve!

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Baked Quinoa Patties

Tonight's recipe is a recent result of a friends' cooking night! Paige and I decided to try yet another new recipe: Quinoa patties! The original recipe called for eggs as a binder, but since I'm not an egg fan I decided to try a replacement... tomato paste! Wait... tomato paste? I was skeptical too, but the internet said it would work! As a dedicated food blogger, I decided it would only be right for me to test drive this miracle ingredient before you do! It worked, in case you were wondering. In addition to holding everything together, the tomato paste added great flavor and color to the quinoa.

Don't just take my word for it, though! Try out these quinoa patties to dip, top salads, or as a quick and easy snack. They're great hot or cold.

Baked Quinoa Patties

By Caroline Mac

Makes 24 small patties

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c uncooked quinoa

5T tomato paste

1/2 t salt

1 sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped 

1/6 c chopped fresh dill

1/2 c frozen chopped kale

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1.5 cloves minced garlic

1/2 t cumin

1/6 c crumbled feta cheese

1t olive oil

Step 1: Cook quinoa according to the directions on the package. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until evenly mixed.  

Step 3: Form quinoa mixture into small patties about 2 inches in diameter. Place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until bottoms are browned. Flip patties and bake for another five minutes. 

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

White Bean Dip with Lemon and Rosemary

Here's another healthy and delicious dip that I whipped up for a party this past weekend. There is only one step when making it: Put everything in a food processor and hit purée!


White Bean Dip with Lemon and Rosemary
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 T olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/2- 3/4 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade (you can also use garlic powder)
Lemon pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Serve with your favorite chips, crackers, or veggies.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Fennel and Clementine Salad With Lemon Garlic Dressing

Since it's getting warmer outside, I've been craving more and more raw, fresh food instead of hearty warm dishes. The result? Salads galore. I usually have pretty much the same salad during the week- a combo of dark greens, mixed veggies and cottage cheese for protein. Even though I love this salad, I decided it was time to switch it up and make something a little more gourmet. I decided that fennel was the way to go. 

I love the taste of fennel. It's similar to black licorice, with a sweet flavor that is great raw or cooked. I thought that it would go especially well with tangy and sweet clementines topped with an acidic splash of lemon combined with savory garlic. 

Fennel and Clementine Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing

By Caroline Mac

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

1/2 bulb of fennel, outer layer peeled and thinly sliced, some greens reserved for garnish

Approx. 1 cup salad greens of choice (I used Trader Joe's Power Greens)

1 clementine, peeled and broken into sections

1 t olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

1/2 t apple cider vinegar

1/4 t minced garlic

1/8 t ground black pepper

1/8 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic seasoning (You can use a combination of lemon pepper and garlic powder as well)

Step 1: Spread greens across the bottom of your dish to create a bed of lettuce.

Step 2: Place clementine sections around the edge of the greens. Create a tower of fennel in the center.

Step 3: Whisk oil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, and seasoning together until thoroughly blended. Drizzle over  the fennel. Garnish with fennel greens.

Enjoy! 

~Caroline~

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

My friend Paige and I were overdue for a cooking night. Our choice? Stuffed bell peppers! Since neither of us had ever made this dish, we decided it would be safest to follow a recipe. Next time I'll definitely create my own! This yummy recipe is protein packed and was really delicious. I added a little extra heat to up the Mexican-style feel of the dish. It would still taste great without the spice, which I why I put "to taste" next to the cayenne. I can't wait to create my own fillings in the future!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 T ground cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, partly thawed
2 15-oz  cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
15 oz can black beans, no salt added, rinsed and drained
3/4 c dry quinoa
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c shredded cheese (I used vegan cheese)
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Step 1: Heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion, celery, and garlic until tender and fragrant. Add cumin and cayenne and saute for another minute. Reduce heat to medium, add tomatoes and spinach and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is mostly evaporated (there will still be some, which is ok).

Step 2: Stir in beans, quinoa, and carrots, as well as 2 cups water. You can use a little less water is there is still a lot of water from the spinach and tomatoes. Bring this to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Quinoa should be tender. Stir in cheese.

Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour tomato juice in the bottom of a baking pan. Fill each pepper half  as full as possible with quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Hearty Vegetable Soup

It's a snow day today! That means I can post some of the stuff I've been accumulating!

I haven't made soup from scratch in a very long time. On Sunday, I decided it was time to change that. The result was a hearty (and easy!) soup packed with colorful veggies in a flavorful broth!

Note: This makes a LOT of soup. I won't have to cook at all this week, as a result. I also thought the soup tasted even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, since the flavors had time to come together; so don't be afraid of leftovers!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients: 

4 c low sodium vegetable broth

1 can low sodium kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

10 asparagus spears, chopped

1.5 c broccoli florets, broken into smaller pieces

1 c sliced white mushrooms

1  14-oz can diced, no salt added tomatoes in juice

1/2 c chopped fresh basil

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 t chili powder

1t ground cumin

1 1/4 t salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/2 t Penzey's Trinidad Lemon Garlic marinade

Step 1: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add all vegetables and garlic and saute until they begin to tenderize and onions turn translucent. This may take a little while, due to the large amount of veggies. 

Step 2: Add chili powder, cumin and basil and stir for another 2-3 minutes. 

Step 3: Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Add salt and Trinidad marinade. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 4: Serve warm! Refrigerate remaining soup for delicious leftovers.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

A Decadent Sunday Breakfast!

Happy Sunday everyone!

I know I haven't been posting very often, but that's going to change very soon. I have a couple of recipes that are still waiting to be posted and a few that I'm planning for the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye out for a yummy veggie soup recipe that I'm going to cook tonight!

The recipe I'm sharing right now was an unplanned, impromptu experiment that ended deliciously. After writing a post on the health benefits of dark chocolate for the Barre Blog, I have been trying to incorporate a little bit of it into my diet. I am by no means a chocolate lover. In fact, up until about a year ago, I could not even tolerate the taste of the mildest of chocolates. However, taste buds change as you get older, and I can now say that I can TOLERATE it. Thus, a tiny square of 70% extra strong dark chocolate each evening is all I need! I'm in no danger of becoming a "chocolate addict" as I still don't remotely crave the universally loved sweet, but I can at least reap the health benefits of this little superfood.

To make the chocolate experience a bit more tasty, I decided to try incorporating it into a healthy, energizing breakfast! Since peanut butter and chocolate is such a classic combination and oatmeal is a classic breakfast food, why not put them all together? The result was a satisfying breakfast that is quick to make and weighs in at around 275 calories with about 10g of protein and only 4 grams of sugar!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1/4 c quick cooking, steel-cut oats
3/4 c water
1 T crunchy all natural peanut butter (you can use creamy, but I prefer the texture)
1 square of extra strong dark chocolate (I used 1/16 of a bar of Chocolove 70%)
Cinnamon to taste

I didn't think to take a pic until it was almost gone!

Step 1: Bring water to a boil. Add oats, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly.

Step 2: When oatmeal begins to thicken, add cinnamon and peanut butter. Stir until incorporated.

Step 3: When oatmeal has just about reached your desired consistency, add chocolate and stir until it has melted into the oatmeal.

Step 4: Serve warm.

Enjoy!


Want to brush up on your dark chocolate knowledge? Check out my "What's Inside" post about cocoa (the main ingredient in chocolate) on the Barre Blog to see why it's actually good to have some in moderation!

~Caroline~

Tzatziki Yogurt Dip

I am a fan of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. Dolmathas, hummus, spanikopita, babaganoush... you name it. One of my favorite dips is this creamy, flavorful, and savory cucumber yogurt dip. My mom made a similar dip when I was home during winter break, so I decided to create my own! With two special spices from Penzey's, I made my own version! This is a flavorful, high protein, low fat, and versatile dip that can be used with veggies, breads, chips, and anything else that suits your fancy!

Tzatziki Yogurt Dip
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
2C plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1T extra virgin olive oil
1T lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1T fresh dill, finely chopped
1T fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2t Penzey's Zatar seasoning
1/2t Penzey's Turkish seasoning
1/2 large cucumber, peeled and chopped

Stir all ingredients except for the cucumber together until smooth. Add cucumber and mix again until thoroughly blended.

Serve as a dipping sauce for chips, crackers and veggies, or as a bread topping. 

Enjoy!

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!

What I Buy: Siggi Yogurt

I used to hate yogurt. I rarely ate it unless it was in a recipe. That was then. Now, I eat yogurt at least every other day. In fact, yogurt is one of the few dairy products that I still consume! I rely on yogurt as a source of protein and calcium to get me through a long day of dancing. However, I don't eat your average, nonfat yogurt. I always buy either Greek yogurt or my new favorite, Siggi Icelandic Yogurt! I believe it's actually called Skyr, but no one would understand me if I referred to it by that name.

You're probably wondering what's so special about this yogurt besides the fact that it's expensive and Icelandic. Like Greek yogurt, skyr has LOTS more protein than regular yogurt. In fact, one container of  nonfat Siggi has 14g of protein, versus a single- serving container of Brown cow yogurt, which has only 6.
Another plus is the low sugar content. I'm a person who doesn't particularly like the taste of plain yogurt (It reminds me of bile... not good.), which means I either have to buy a flavored yogurt or add applesauce, agave or some other kind of flavor. With a typical yogurt I would shy away from buying a pre-flavored variety, as a Brown Cow strawberry yogurt has 23 grams of sugar. Even a strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt has 19 grams! When I saw that Siggi only has 9 and still tastes equally delicious, it became the obvious choice.

Besides Nutritional information, the flavor assortment makes Siggi even more appealing. The vanilla, which happens to be my favorite flavor, tastes like less-sweet vanilla bean ice cream. When the vanilla gets boring I can spice things up with flavors like orange- ginger, grapefruit, pomegranate- passion fruit,  and acai-berry. What's not to love about this healthy, tasty, and sustaining food?

Learn more about Siggi here: Siggi's Wesbite

Crispy (And Spicy!) Baked Tofu

Here's yet another delicious way to prepare tofu! My goal for this one was to duplicate the spicy tofu I  buy at Food Front Co-op in Portland. My absolute favorite tofu, I've never been able to find this tasty, charred, and spicy version anywhere else. I'll be the first one to say that my tofu isn't the same as the goal, but I did achieve a spicy and flavorful version with a crispy skin. This tofu is great on it's own as well as chopped up in a salad or stir fry.

My New Tofu Press!

Crispy and Spicy Baked Tofu
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 16 oz package extra firm tofu (I like Trader Joe's high protein tofu)
Sauce:
2 T sesame oil
1t rice vinegar
1/4 t soy sauce
1/2 t sweet chili sauce
1/2 t red chili pepper
1/4 t garlic powder

Step 1: Rinse block of tofu and press it in a tofu press or under weight for 30 minutes. Remove and cut into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.


Step 2: Whisk together all sauce ingredients until thoroughly blended. Brush sauce onto both sides of each slice of tofu. Place slices in a dish and refrigerate for two or more hours.









Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tofu slices on a non-stick cookie sheet and brush any remaining sauce over slices.

Step 4: Bake tofu for one hour, flipping the tofu every 20 minutes (a total of three times). Tofu should be brown/ golden and crispy on all sides. Remove from oven and serve!

Enjoy!

Southwestern Black Bean Hummus

Here's a southwestern twist on a mediterranean classic! I had some spread on a rice cake topped with sun dried tomatoes. You could also serve it with veggies, crackers, or even in a mexican-inspired wrap!

Southwestern Black Bean Hummus

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained, no salt added

1/4 c tahini

3 T fire roasted green chilis

2T Southwest style seasoning

11/4 t cumin

2 pinches salt

1t lime juice

6-10 drops Cholula hot sauce

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until creamy! 

Enjoy!

Sesame Ginger Green Machine Stir Fry

I didn't realize this stir fry was rather monochromatic until all the veggies were in the pan! Well, if green veggies are good for you, then this recipe takes the cake!

This recipe makes 2-3 smaller servings.

Green Machine Veggie Stir Fry
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 c green beans, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c broccoli florets
1/2 cup edamame
1/2 c sugar snap peas
1-2 small heads bok choy, cut into large pieces
1 recipe of spicy sesame ginger sauce
1 square of baked tofu, cut into small pieces
Canola oil for cooking






Step 1: Add small amount of canola oil to a pan and stir fry/ saute all veggies over medium-high heat until tender. I prefer my veggies a little bit crunchy, but you can go as long as you want until you reach your desired texture.











Step 2: Reduce heat and add tofu and sauce. Stir until ingredients are thoroughly coated and tofu is heated through. Serve hot.

Note: Though I didn't include it in the recipe, you can serve the stir fry over noodles, rice, or another choice of grain. 

Enjoy!

Veggie Quinoa Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

One of my goals for my blog this year is to start creating more of my own recipes. I thought a good first one would be a classic tomato sauce. I decided to make it a little more interesting than your average marinara by adding basil and a kick of chili pepper. I made a meal out the sauce by adding veggies, beans, and some protein-packed quinoa pasta! 

Veggie Quinoa Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Sauce

6 oz tomato paste

3/4 c fresh basil

2 cloves garlic

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled

1 t olive oil

1/2 T Italian seasoning

4 pinches salt

1/4 t plus 1 pinch chili pepper

Veggies

1 squash, diced

1 zucchini, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1 1/2 c mushrooms

1/2 c great northern beans

Olive oil to sauté veggies

Chosen amount of quinoa pasta 

Step 1: In a food processor, combine all sauce ingredients and puree until relatively smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Step 2: In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil until tender and onions become translucent. Add squash and zucchini and sauté until tender. 

Step 3: Add beans and sauce to pan and stir until everything is evenly coated. Cover and set heat to warm until pasta is cooked.

Step 4: Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Top with sauce and serve warm.

Enjoy!

The Barre Blog

As many of you may know by now, I've recently become an intern at Barre: A Real Food Barre. However, this is the first time I've mentioned it on this blog! I definitely should have shared it a long time ago. I'll do a more detailed post on Barres later, but I thought I'd share the Blog, Facebook, and Pinterest so you all can check it out!

My most recent post is on the benefits of eating dates. Since I've used them in a few of my recipes I figured it would be worth sharing here. So, This is why you should eat them!

The Blog: http://realfoodbarre.com/blog/

Please, please, please check out the other social networking pages as well! This is a great small business that deserves a TON of attention. Better yet, buy some Barres! You won't be sorry. :)

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realfoodbarre/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/realfoodbarre

Christmas Special: Vegan Holiday Loaf

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of friends, family and delicious food. I cooked for the first time in my apartment's newly renovated kitchen! It was also my first time cooking a legitimate meal since Nutcracker performances began. I didn't have to cook nearly as big of a feast as for thanksgiving, but I chose two dishes that I felt would stay in the traditional Christmas realm of foods, but were also vegan and healthy!

I'm only sharing one of these recipes today, since I feel that the other one needs some work and troubleshooting. Here is the main course for the evening!

Vegan Savory Holiday Loaf
Adapted from A Tasty Love Story

Ingredients:
12 oz mushrooms
1 1/4 cup cashews
1 small celeriac (aka Celery root), peeled and cubed
2 white onions
4 cloves of garlic
10 prunes, sliced
1 Apple, sliced
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
Pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Boil celeriac cubes for 10 minutes, or until tender and soft. Remove from water and blend in food processor or blender until smooth.

Step 2: Chop each ingredient EXCEPT the apple and prunes in the food processor until finely chopped. It is best to chop each ingredient individually as to retain the unique textures. The loaf won't be as good if you blend everything at once.

Step 3: Mix together all chopped ingredients and celeriac until evenly blended. Add salt, soy sauce and pepper.

Step 4: Spread half of the mixture in a greased or nonstick bread/ loaf pan. Next, spread the apple slices in an even layer across the top, followed by a layer of prunes. Leave a few  apple slices for garnish. Cover the fruit layer with the rest of the mixture and place remaining apple slices on top top.

Step 5: Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and slightly crispy on top. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Loaf will be soft and probably won't hold the shape of a slice, but will taste delicious.


Enjoy! Happy holidays!

Caprese Eggplant

This recipe is looong overdue. Even though I have cooked lots and lots of recipes, I haven't prepared many for more than a couple people at a time. This Caprese Eggplant was one of the first dishes I made for an entire party of people! Might I add that my creation was very successful? 

My inspiration for this tasty finger food was a traditional Italian caprese panini. I've yet to meet someone who doesn't like the classic grilled mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich. My adaptation was to remove the bread and instead place the fillings on thin slices of grilled eggplant. The result was a healthy, colorful, and flavorful side dish!

Caprese Eggplant

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

1-2 large eggplants, thinly sliced

1 roll of fresh marinated mozzarella cheese, sliced (make sure there are enough pieces for each slice of eggplant. My favorite is the Trader Joe's brand)

Enough fresh basil leaves to top each eggplant slice with 1 or 2 leaves

1 package fresh mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced

Olive oil

Italian seasoning to taste

Step 1: Brush both sides of an eggplant slice with olive oil. Place on a grill or pan over medium-high heat. Grill first side until it begins to brown. 

Step 2: Flip the slice and immediately top with mozzarella and seasoning. Continue to grill until cheese begins to melt and eggplant begins to brown on second side. Remove from heat and place 1-2 basil leaves and 1-2 tomato slices on the eggplant.

Step 3: Repeat for every slice. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!