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!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Here's another hummus recipe in case you're tired of the simple recipe!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans, 2 T of liquid reserved
1/2 c tahini
3 T Lemon juice
1/2 cup fire roasted peppers


Step 1: Blend tahini, liquid and chickpeas in a food processor. Add lemon juice and peppers and blend until creamy and smooth.

Serve with your favorite veggies, chips, crackers, or bread!

Enjoy!


                

Basic Spiced Crunchy Bars

Here's the recipe for the first batch of bars that I've made at the new apartment! If you make these bars, feel free to edit the variety of nuts/ fruit/ spices that you use. I just used the ingredients I had available to me, since I didn't want to run to the store.

Basic Spiced Crunchy Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup almonds
4 dried figs
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Joe's O's, Cheerios, etc.
1t Vanilla extract
1t pie spice

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, rough chop the almonds and figs. Combine those, along with all other dry ingredients, excluding the O's cereal,  in a large mixing bowl, stirring thoroughly.

Step 2: Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and blend thoroughly. Add to dry ingredients and stir until completely blended/ mixed. Let mixture sit for about 10 minutes, or until most of the milk is absorbed by the oats.

Step 3: Add the cereal to the mixture and immediately spread in a baking pan lined with parchment paper, making sure there is an even thickness throughout and the bar "dough" goes all the way to the edges of the pan.

Step 4: Bake for around 30 minutes, or until bar seems firm and doesn't have a lot of extra moisture. Your bake time will probably vary depending on how long you let it soak and the thickness of your bars.

Step 5: Remove from pan and let cool before cutting into individual bars. Refrigerate once they are completely cool.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Bars

In honor of having my 500th hit today, I've decided to do a new bar recipe! My Everything Energy Bars have gotten the most page views of all my recipes, so I figure you guys might like some variety! I'm pretty proud of this one because I didn't look at another recipe as I created this. It was completely improvisational! The whole kitchen smelled like pumpkin as these were baking, and the taste is pumpkin pie-ish. I will say, if you prefer sweeter flavors, I would add some sugar or maple syrup to the mixture.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 15-0z can pumpkin puree
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup original soy milk
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1.5 t pie spice
1 t vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

Step 2: Add oats, almond flour, and spices, followed by the dried fruit and nuts. Stir until mixture forms a moist dough.

Step 3: Line a medium sized, square baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer mixture to pan and spread evenly across bottom with a spatula.

Step 4: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crispy on top. Remove to cooling rack.

Step 5: Once cool, cut slab into bars of desired size.

Enjoy!

Hey guys! I have a little update on the pumpkin bars. As I learned the hard way today, these bars need to be refrigerated immediately after they cool. They have a shorter shelf life than my other bars, and consequently went bad in a few days when out of the fridge.

Thanks!
Caroline

Simple Cold Quinoa Salad

In my opinion, lunch is the most easily monotonous meal. At lunchtime, I almost always seem to be in a hurry, out and about, or don't feel like making something super complicated and gourmet. I tend to find myself consistently eating veggies and hummus, some kind of whole grain, and some kind of fruit. Consistently, meaning it's what I had for lunch nearly every school day this past year. That's a lot of veggies with hummus. Don't get me wrong, I still love that combination and am not opposed to having it, but there must be more options to make lunch a little more interesting, right?

The answer is yes. Last night, I decided I no longer wanted to have the same-old same-old for lunch. I'm in the middle of a ballet intensive at my studio, which means packing a lunch every day or buying it from the food co-op near my studio. Even though I could easily get something new and exciting for lunch there each day of the week, I don't see the point in buying more food when there's plenty in my own kitchen to work with! So, I threw together a quick little cold quinoa salad for my lunch today. It was incredibly refreshing to have after class and was packed with protein to last me through a few hours of rehearsal.

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe at all, since it's so simple, but one of my friends tried a bite, liked it, and asked for the recipe. This one's for you, Lucas!

Cold Quinoa Salad
Ingredients: You can mess around with quantities until you find a balance you like. You can't really go wrong here!
1-1.5 cups cold, cooked quinoa
1-2 T sun dried tomatoes

1/4- 1/3 cup edamame (fresh or frozen and thawed)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste (About 1 T each)

Step 1 (the only step!): Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix until evenly coated with olive oil and vinegar.

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!

Spiced Coconut Bites

        I used to view potlucks as a burden because it meant I had to come up with something to bring... Now I love them because it means I have to come up with something to bring! Today I went and saw a local circus group with my friends and we all brought a little something to munch on. Since we 'd be sitting on grass without a ton of space, I didn't want to bring something that needed napkins, plates, forks, etc. Instead, I made a dessert-ish finger food: Coconut balls.

        Inspired by Anja's recipe on Anja's Food 4 Thought, I used her basic recipe and spiced it up a little (literally). The result had a taste similar to cinnamon cookie dough (which was dangerously delicious), but without the excessive butter, refined sugar, and flour. The only issue I had with these little bites was that they were a little difficult to shape, as they are a little crumbly. However, I found that using a teaspoon as a mold was extremely helpful. These balls are great as a dessert, snack, or potluck item and are healthy in comparison to cookies, cakes, and other classic desserts. 

Spiced Coconut Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal

1 cup coconut flakes

2T agave syrup

1t cinnamon

1t cardamom

1/2t vanilla extract

Extra coconut flakes and cocoa powder for coating

Step 1: Blend all ingredients in a food processor until completely mixed and mixture sticks together when compressed.

Step 2: Using a teaspoon or other round spoon, fill with dough and press until sticking together. Gently slide ball out of the spoon and carefully coat in either cocoa or coconut flakes. Once all dough has been shaped, serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

 Enjoy!

Savory Celery Stalks

        Celery has never been a favorite food of mine. However, this summer I've become quite a fan of it. It's the perfect base for tons of dips, spreads, and toppings and is way healthier than crackers or bread. I've come to love the crunch and the unique flavor that really good celery has. 

        My favorite celery topping is definitely the old favorite, peanut butter with raisins (a.k.a. "Ants on a log"). Today, as I went to prepare said celery for lunch, I noticed my mom eating some rice cakes with balsamic hummus. She then suggested putting some of the hummus on celery instead of peanut butter. I tried it out and loved it! However, I decided that was far too boring a recipe for this blog. So I spiced it up a little. By topping the celery with balsamic hummus and sun dried tomatoes, I created a new snack to add to my repertoire. The combination of crunchy, creamy, and chewy textures make for a fun chewing experience, and the different flavors blend together in a very delicious way. 

Savory Celery Stalks

By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:

Celery, washed and cut into 3-4 inch pieces

Balsamic hummus (you can buy this at the store or make your own by adding balsamic vinegar to regular hummus)

Sun dried tomatoes, sliced (dry, not packed in oil)

Step 1: Spread the hummus on each celery stick so it fills the bowl-like part, but not overfilled.

Step 2: Take 2 or 3 pieces of tomato and press them into the hummus

Enjoy!