Spicy Pizza Hummus in 5 minutes!

Another recipe! Yea! This one is inspired by Katie's pizza hummus... in fact they're pretty similar, so I can't take a whole lot of credit. But nutritional yeast... wow. What great stuff! That's all I'm gonna say. It really punches up the flavor of this, and I think I may start sprinkling it willy-nilly everywhere! And this hummus... I love it. I eat it even without things to dip, that's how good it is. It truly tastes like you're eating a pizza, except the texture is nice and creamy and you get a little zing from the spice that I added. And another plus? It's REALLY healthy, between the beans for protein and fiber, the tomatoes for vitamin C and lycopene, and pretty low calorie, too (only 150 for a BIG half cup that will fill ya right up!)

Without further ado, I present to you:

SPICY PIZZA HUMMUS

1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans, drained if from can

1/4 cup no salt added tomato sauce

2 T. Nutritional Yeast Flakes

1 teaspoon Sundried Tomato+ Rosemary Spice (or mix your own)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon Siracha chil sauce or spicy buffalo sauce (for buffalo pizza flavor!)

Dash Garlic Salt (opt)

Finely Chopped Tomatoes/Pepper (opt)

1. Put everything into a blender and blend for 2-3 minutes. Then puree for an additional minute. I allowed some bean chunks to stay in mine because I thought that added something (hence the veggie chunks, also)... And you're done! EAT UP! YUM!!!

Natural Food Store Review +WIAW

Yesterday, I fell in love. With a store.

To be fair, it was a cute little store, stuffed to the brim with organic and vegetarian products. I had never seen anything like it near me- the closest I'd come was the giant Whole Foods monolith an hour away in West Hartford. But this was in my very town! Sadly, my new crush and I did not have much time together, since my mom had to go to the bathroom and kept reminding me to 'make my choices and get out'. But I could have stayed for an hour. Maybe two. Just LOOKING at all the possibilities. It was my new health food dream come true.

Maybe if you live down in shoreline CT you should stop by. It's called, quite literally, 'The Natural Food Store' in downtown Niantic. But that's enough of that. Here are some of my new finds, which I'm excited to try out:


Arctic Zero Ice Cream- High Protein and looks sooo good. (If you can't tell, this is the coffee flavor.)

Nutritional Yeast. I've been searching and searching and FINALLY found it!



The Uber-cool bag....



Ultra Energy Bar- with 22 grams protein. You know me and protein. It's good stuff! And look at this! Cookies and Cream! I can't wait to sample all my new goodies!

  On to WIAW. The theme is 'FALL into good habits'. What's my good habit? Well, mine is pretty simple, actually. It's...eating. For those who don't know my story, check out the food philosophy page. In short, though, my eating habits these past few weeks have fallen apart. I've really been giving in to restricting urges and it's time that I took control back. My body deserves to be fed, and it deserves a healthy, balanced diet that can fuel my running and daily activities and not leave me an emotional wreck. So the goal for me this Wednesday, and days to come, is to EAT. More. More calories, more often, more nutritionally-concious. It will be good for me.
 

Today's breakfast started off nice and hearty with some Creamy yOATgurt on the stove (recipe to follow). The flavor I settled on was strawberries and cream, topped generously with some peanut butter to make a little PBandJ yOATgurt.



I may also have had some ah-mazing coffee. Another new obsession. It's fall and pumpkin is everywhere, what can I say? It's simply delicious, and the smell just makes you want to hug someone. Spread the love, won't you?



Lunch included a veggie burger on toasted whole wheat bread, Spicy Pizza Hummus and cauliflower for dipping, and some cocoa roasted almonds to snack on before practice.

Haven't gotten to dinner and evening snack yet, but I'm pretty sure the agenda will include some fresh roasted spaghetti squash and Spinach N Veggie Wraps.



And dessert? Well, I'm thinking that coffee ice cream looks pretty good ;)

Butternut Burgers

There is STILL leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin palooza I had the other day, and I was perusing various ways to get rid of use it. One of the more intriguing was in a veggie burger recipe seen here at Oh She Glows, one of my new favorite blogs. But after reading the assessment and careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't willing to let go of my precious pumpkin for burgers. It needed to be used AGAIN in some oatmeal :) But I still needed something for some burgers...

To the cupboard! And almost as if it were magic, a BUTTERNUT SQUASH appeared (not really. It was already sitting there, but...) This would do. This would do.

BUTTERNUT BURGERS

(made 8 small burgers)

1 (15oz) can chickpeas, drained

1 stalk celery, chopped

2/3 cup mashed roasted butternut squash (can be done in microwave. Cut squash in half, microwave one half, cut side down, in casserole dish for 8-10 minutes on high and remove seeds. Mash up flesh to use for recipe)

2 T. Flaxseed

1/2 tsp. ginger

Dash cloves

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees 
2. Mash up your chickpeas using potato masher. Add chopped celery and mashed up squash.
3. Grind flaxseed into powder and add to bean mixture. Add spices.
4. Form into patties and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake 10 minutes, then flip. Bake additional 25-30 minutes until the burgers stay together in burger form. ENJOY!

Daddy's Birthday Dinner

Okay, so it's not REALLY his birthday yet, but it's close enough to cook him a new creation, right? Plus, since I have to go back to school the same day as his REAL birthday, it works out pretty well to just make something now while I've got the time on my hands. And maybe, quite possibly, it's my not-so-subtle attempt to coax him into getting a new food processor. But I'm not saying anything. These are all speculations, of course.

Today just felt like a lazy day. Despite much caffineated bliss, I didn't really feel like doing anything but sitting at the computer and drooling over blogs. Working out? Well...

But ALAS! Be proud of me! I got on that elliptical and sweated it out for 30 minutes before deciding I had paid my dues. It was time to get fancy in the kitchen.

So I looked all over my newly cleaned cupboard (hooray!) and figured I'd make a nice, spicy Indian dish for my Dad. He LOVES Indian food. Me? Sorry folks, I've never been able to get on that bandwagon. Curries are NOT my thing. It's blasphemy, I know. Do I get kicked out of the vegetarian blog world now? (Please NOOOO)

Anyway....

PUNJAB PATTIES

( on SALTED QUINOA FLATBREAD with CHILLED YOGURT)

Serves 2-3

For The Patty

1/4 Cup Homemade Chickpea Flour (I finally used it up!)

2 tsp. Kebab Paste

1/2 tsp. Djion Mustard

1/2 tsp. Flax Oil

Pinch Cinnamon

Pinch Cardamom

5-6 Sweet Potato Chips, Crushed

For Quinoa Flatbread

1/4 cup uncooked Quinoa + 1 cup water for cooking

1/4 Cup Flour (can even use Quinoa Flour again for GF)

1/4 Cup Water

1 tsp. Almond Oil

Kosher Salt

For Chilled Yogurt Sauce

1 HEAPING Tablespoon Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Water

Pinch Curry Powder

Pinch Garam Masala

Pinch Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Kebab Paste

Extras:

Lettuce and Tomato

More Kebab Paste for Sandwich Spread

1. Mix Up all your ingredients for the patty. You may want to add some egg white depending on how dry your flour is... mine was still a tad moist so I didn't need to.
2. Heat up small skillet with oil and lightly pan fry patty until golden and beginning to dry out a little bit. OR if sweet potato chips begin to blacken. Flip and repeat on other side until cooked. Set aside. Mine started to crumble all over but it still worked fine as long as you get those crumbles out of the pan.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook quinoa: (boil water, add quinoa, stir, reduce heat to medium and cover. Leave alone for 5 minutes before returning and fluffing it with a fork. Cook until water mostly absorbed, though still damp.
4. Mix all other flatbread ingredients, except salt, then add cooked quinoa when it cools. Allow to stand for at least 5 minutes.
5. Grease a baking sheet and insert into oven for 1-2 minutes to heat it up. This will help the flatbread to not stick. When it comes out of the oven, lay your 'batter' out in small rectangle, about 4 inches by 10 inches or so (thickness should be maybe 1/4 inch). Put back in oven and bake 9 minutes until it starts to bubble. Take out, flip over, and cook additional 5 minutes if still gooey on other side.
6. When fully cooked, cut in half and toast each slice. Put aside.
7. Mix everything up for your yogurt dressing. Chill at least 5 minutes, or if you make it right ahead of time, there's no need :) Just be sure it's cold when serving.
8. Put everything together; spread a little bit of yogurt sauce and additional kebab paste (if desired) on the bread. If desired, also use lettuce and tomato. Fill with patty/crumbles and top with other bread slice. Serve warm (except for yogurt sauce. If reheating, leave that out of sandwich while heating other elements and then add on).

ENJOY!

P.S. I will continue to be stalking drooling over reading all your blogs out there! Thank you to everyone for making such delicious recipes!

Question of the Day: Do you ever have a 'lazy day'? What's YOUR favorite thing to do when you get in that mood? Mine used to be curling up with a book and then going on Pinterest for hours. (Now it appears to be salivating over blogs. Same difference)

Not Your Momma's Hummus

Despite terrible nausea last night, I buckled down to a goal I set for myself: try something completely new in the kitchen. Which was easy to do given the plethora of new things I've bought in the past several weeks to make accommodations for vegetarianism and a blog... Over here Heather asked about what everyone's pantry looks like: well, mine is kind of a mess. (Today's mission...organize it!) I have beans strewn over several shelves, the flour and sugar are way in the back and I have to push through boxes of crackers to access them, there are duplicate open packages of things (arggghhh), the nut butters are in disarray... it's a train wreck.

Plus, it leads to those feelings where you walk up looking for a good snack, can't immediately see anything you like, and maybe end up heading over to Dairy Queen for a blizzard. Maybe. (My freezer's not working...no banana ice cream could be made D:  )

NEVER FEAR! Sarah is on the job! Or maybe I should say... Beanie is. I've already had a rant about his superpowers here, so I won't repeat, but let's just say that he's magical. Maybe even more so than Harry Potter. (Not than Hermione, however. That would be stretching it. Sorry, sorry, geek reference!)

My first new creation looked something like this:

HUMMUS!

Or, because we had nothing I could dip into it, like this:

A PARFAIT!

TO START, YOU NEED CHICKPEA FLOUR

HOMEMADE CHICKPEA 'FLOUR'

(Makes 3/4 cup of flour)...And WAYYY economical- half the price of store-bought!

*1/2 Cup Dried Chickpeas, rinsed and cleaned

*3 cups water

1. Cook the chickpeas! What was once 1/2 cup dried should now give you about 1+1/3 cups. Drain off all excess water and transfer chickpeas to small bowl.
2. Here's the annoying part... and probably the reason that most people would just BUY flour. Pop each chickpea out of its little skin and put in separate bowl. Throw skins away. Don't get too frustrated if you can't get every little piece of the skin off or if you slaughter smoosh the chickpeas when doing so. You'll have a chance to get skin off again later, and chickpeas need to get smooshed anyway.

Little Demons Chickpea Skins

3. After you've gotten off all or nearly all of the skins, mash up your chickpeas with a fork or the back of a spoon. Or even use a food processer (like everything else I own, mine seems to be broken). HOWEVER, I think the little chunky texture is good especially if you prefer a beany taste so I do recommend the fork/spoon method.

4. At this point, my 'flour' was fairly dry so I called it good. Remove any other visible skins you see. If you are really a perfectionist, however, or if for some reason your bean mash is still pretty wet, use paper towels to squeeze out the excess moisture.Makes about 3/4 cup flour. AND YOU'RE DONE!

*Note, you could just prepare an entire package of dried chickpeas (1 lb) to make more all at once. I didn't because, as I said, this was an experiment, and my Dad didn't want any waste in case it didn't turn out! 

*Homemade Flour (3/4 cup) - about 25 cents

*Store-bought Chickpea Flour (3/4 cup) - about 45-60 cents

Chili and Cornbread

It's that universal meal that seems to just find a way to be a staple of meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. CHILI. The little ditty did, in fact, get it right: "Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot, the more you toot, the better you feel, so let's have beans for EVERY meal!"

So let's talk about beans. Either you love 'em or you hate 'em. Or you, like me, are on a journey towards loving them after a long journey of hating them. The first positive things I found out about beans are:

1. the fiber. Some types can have as much as 8 grams of the satisfying stuff!
2. the protein. 6 grams or so for a veggie-ish food? Not bad, beans, not bad.
3. the versatility. Some beans, like white beans, can even be mashed up in desserts or in cookie dough for a nice boost and a very silky texture. Who would ever have guessed?

Beans. That's about all I have to say on that front. Except, maybe, that they go incredibly well with...

CORNBREAD!!

For Which I Tweaked Indian Head's Cornbread Recipe! (With Rosemary, Cheddar, and Olive Oil!)

1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal

1 Cup White Flour

2 T. Sugar

2 tsp. Salt

3 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Rosemary

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Cup Milk

1 Egg, Beaten

1/3 Cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together all dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients and cheese. Pour wet ingredients into dry and combine until just mixed. It should still be a little lumpy. Pour into greased 9x9 pan and bake 20-25 minutes. ENJOY!

You can even kind of see the little rosemary bits!

AND NOW.....THE COMPLETELY XC Kitchen Made Recipe for

SARAH'S SUPER CHILI! (to be served with said cornbread)

*The one sad note about this is that I never got to eat it. Because I was making dinner for my family, my Dad wanted me to use up the leftover pork and ham from our fridge. THUS, it is not vegetarian :(  *

1 Lb. Dried Black Eyed Peas, Rinsed

6 Cups Water

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Curry Powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

Pinch Mustard

1 tsp. Coriander

Pinch Turmeric

1 Onion, Chopped

1 Tomato, Chopped

1/2 Head Cauliflower, Chopped

4 oz Cooked Ham, Chopped

6 oz Cooked Pork Loin, Chopped

1/2 Cup Ketchup

2/3 Cup Hickory BBQ Sauce

1 Dried Poblano Chili

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Simmer beans in water over medium heat with all spices for 1-2 hours until soft.
2. Add chopped vegetables (I would probably even add about 2 chopped carrots) and continue simmering, now on low heat, until they get soft (another 30 minutes or so.)
3. Remove from heat and let stand in fridge for 1 day or overnight to thicken.
4. Return to stove at medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Remove the chili when it is soft and begins to 'wilt' in the mixture. You may want to vary the amount of ketchup, meat, and BBQ sauce because I was eyeballing it. If you want it spicier, add another chili pepper. If you want it less sweet, add more ketchup and less BBQ sauce. It's up to you.

You know what comes next.... ENJOY!