Buffalo Barbeque Hummus

 

This a an awesome recipe that puts a new twist on hummus. My husband, who doesn’t love hummus the way I do, devours this stuff…so it is totally man approved!

 

Here’s what you will need.

 

I have been searching for a yummy organic barbeque sauce for months…

 

 

and here it is! Organic Ville Original BBQ Sauce. I found this at Meijer. It has a delicious smoky sweet flavor, and is sweetened with agave nectar, as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup or other processed sugars. Very cool!

 

 

Oops! I forgot the paprika…but we can all  pretend that it is in the picture above…right?

 

 

This is WAY simple. Put all of the ingredients into your blender or food processor…

 

 

and puree for about 30 to 45 seconds, until smooth.

 

 

 

Pour into a pretty dish (or a plain ol’ storage container…BPA free, of course).

 

 

Sprinkle with  little paprika. Garnish with some celery stalks.

Serve with some tasty Food Should Taste Good Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (which are gluten free, non-GMO, all natural and a bunch of other good things) and celery sticks.

 

 

LUNCH! (or snack or dinner…)

 

Now here’s the recipe:

 

Buffalo Barbecue Hummus

2-15oz cans of organic garbanzo beans (reserve 1/2 cup of liquid)

1/4 cup tahini paste

3 cloves of garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp of hot pepper sauce  (I used Frank’s Red Hot…no preservatives)

2 Tbsp of organic BBQ sauce

1 Tbsp of distilled while vinegar

1 tsp of paprika

1-2 tsp sea salt

 

Blend everything together 30-45 seconds. Eat right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Happy munching!

 

Jessie

Trying Something New

Today was a day of new experiences.
I didn’t actually wake up an say, “Hey, I’m gonna try a bunch of new things today.” It just sort of happened.
First, my kiddos and husband had a snow day (it was really more of an ice day). I had been planning on going back to the natural foods market since last Monday, and we decided (when the ice melted off the roads) to venture in as a family. Note: A curious, “helpful” little girl, and an autistic boy with Tourette’s Syndrome are always a blast to take along anywhere…especially a store with bulk food bins…NOT!
I have been scouring the internet for new soup recipes all week long, ever since I first laid eyes on all of the gorgeous bulk beans last week.


A little sample of what we bought. I’m thinking…Chili, Vegan Split Pea soup, and this recipe for Garlicky White Bean Soup with Dark Greens. Gotta LOVE soup in the winter! (Oh yeah…I couldn’t forget the organic popcorn for plain old munching.)
.

We then loaded up the van and were off to the grocery store to pick up a few other things…





This, my friends, is kale. We have NEVER tried kale, so…I said “what the heck,” and tossed it in the cart. Kale is highly nutritious, packed full of cancer fighting antioxidants, and it aids in digestion and detoxifying your body. AWE-SOME!
I had absolutely no clue what the kale’s fate would be…





Until I saw 2 containers of organic mushrooms in the fridge that had to be used ASAP. 
A bunch of kale, some button mushrooms and garlic, sautéed in a little organic butter and olive oil, with some non-GMO soy sauce for flavor. It was TASTY, TASTY!

Still feeling adventurous, I decided to whip out the chia seeds I had also purchases at the natural foods market, and take a stab at making the Chocolate Chia Pudding I have been seeing all over the land of health blogs.






It is a tad slimy, but not disgustingly so. It does still need something…
I think I will be tinkering around with this one a bit, because I did really like the taste of the chia seeds. And, the health benefits of these are RIDICULOUS…Omega-3’s, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, fiber, weight loss potential…I could go on and on. Maybe I will try a vanilla fruit version…
So, there was my day of new experiences. I guess it was only three things, but hey, it was way more adventurous than I had planned.

Jessie

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies

I have been searching for a tasty cookie recipe that uses only whole wheat flour, and contains no processed sugar. I found a few that looked promising, but nothing PERFECT. So…
I combined and added to make my own recipe!
It turned out fabulous…If I do say so myself.
The result is a soft, cakey cookie, with a little chew from the oats. It is not too sweet, but definitely a treat.

Here’s the “gredients” (as Lily calls them).

First, get all of your wet ingredients together (actually, it should be the dry first…according to my recipe, but whatever…it  doesn’t really matter).

For measuring  the raw honey, I like to use the same measuring cup that I used for the oil.




It slides right out!



I used my 4 cup Pyrex measuring glass. It works well.



I add the organic brown sugar to the “wet” ingredients.




Whisk well, and set aside.





Measure all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl.






Give ‘em a good toss to combine.





Now, it’s time to add the wet ingredients to the dry.





Stir with a spatula until everything is well combined.





The mixture will be pretty runny. That’s fine.





Cover with some plastic wrap and place in your packed fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 335 degrees.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.





I use a Pampered Chef medium cookie scoop for all of my cookies…I LOVE it!





Next, I flattened them a tad with a fork…





and made sure there weren’t any stray oats lingering around the outer edge of the cookies.




Bake for 15 minutes…





Yum!

I pull the parchment paper right off the cookie sheet and let cookies cool on my table.





First bite!





Lily liked them (and she’s my pickiest eater)!




Can you tell she dressed herself this morning? Oh well…it’s Saturday, and we aren’t going anywhere. 





Gabe is fishing with daddy, so he’ll have to enjoy his later.




Store in an airtight container. (I think they taste better the second day!)



Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour (I LOVE King Arthur)
1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder (Calumet or Bob’s Red Mill are good options)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raw honey
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
2 Tablespoons organic brown sugar
1 organic egg
1 Tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Directions
In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In a medium bowl (or large glass measuring cup), mix all the rest of the ingredients together. Next, mix the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 335 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes.
ENJOY!!


Jessie

Super Easy Homemade Veggie Lentil Soup

This is am easy, healthy recipes for Vegetable Lentil Soup…Well, kind of a recipe…I don’t measure, so it is mostly approximations.
And…You can use any vegetables you wish. It is completely up to you!
I used what I had on hand…
Carrots, cabbage, celery, onions and garlic (which you just have to have in order to flavor the soup), and zucchini.



Just remember you need to have a liquid base to your soup. Mine is canned tomatoes and water, but you could use vegetable, beef or chicken stock.



First I chopped my carrots, onions and celery. I included the leaves of the celery stalks, due to their added taste and nutrients.



I sautéed them in about a tablespoon of organic canola oil…about 5 minutes, or until tender, over medium heat.



Next, I chopped the zucchini and added it to the sautéed veggies. You can add any other soft veggies to the mix at this point…corn, green beans…whatever you chose.



I crushed my garlic (I used 4 cloves!). LOVE my Pampered Chef Garlic Press!!! Don’t do this until you are almost ready to add your liquid, or the garlic may turn bitter.
I added my canned tomatoes, 4-5, or maybe 6 cups of water (I told you I don’t keep track…haha!), and a can of tomato paste for a little thickness.



Gave it a good stir…
Then added my salt and herbs.
1 Tbsp of seal salt (nothing I used had added salt…you may want to check your labels before using that much…especially if you are using stock)1 Bay leaf, 1-2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano 2 tsp basil and a generous grinding of black pepper. 


 

Stir a bit more…






Looking delicious!




I let everything come to a boil, then added about 3/4 cup of lentils, which was what I had left in my bag.



Lastly, I chopped and added half of a medium head of cabbage.
I covered the pot, reduced the heat to low, and let it simmer for about an hour.




Super easy, super healthy, and VERY filling!
Make yourself a bowl tonight!

Jessie

Monday Afternoon

 

Because I am sure you are all dying to know what I do on a Monday afternoon…

Here goes!

After I drop Lily off at preschool, I usually take my big, drooling mutt for a walk.

Here I am after an hour and ten minutes of brisk walking in 31 degree weather.

Very much ready for a warm coffee treat!

Grande Vanilla Latte with nonfat milk…Ahhh!

Then, because I have almost two hours to kill (I would just go home, but we live too far from town and I can’t justify wasting the gas), I usually run my errands or find a place to park and work.

Today I parked at the waterfront so I could enjoy the frigid lake view.

 

Tuned into my FAVORITE station…Sirius XM The Bridge…yeah…I’m that big of a dork.

 

My MiFi and Kindkle Fire, ready to get down to business. (On a side note…I think that the bus driver parked across the lot from me thought I was nuts…taking pictures of myself, my lap, the water…)

 

Oh yeah, if you look at my reflection, I still have my hat on, and kind of look like a thug…in a minivan..haha!

NUTS, I tell you! Completely NUTS!

 

So…I lost my hat and chugged my caffeine.

 

After I finished answering emails and making a few Shaklee calls…

 

I ventured into the natural food market to look around. There is some AWESOME stuff in there! I hadn’t been in a long time…but I am going back again soon!  It is the perfect place to find gluten free groceries. Next time I may take my camera…I feel a blog post coming on…

 

Here are my scores.

 

After the market, I picked up both kiddos and headed home to make some homemade veggie soup.

Recipe to come tomorrow!

 

So there it is…What I do on a Monday afternoon.

 

Jessie