What’s Always In My Pantry

I won’t lie and say I don’t have a superfood addiction, since my collection has grown quite a bit in the last year, but I use them sparingly and they will last me a while to come.  Here is what is always in my pantry for quick meals, smoothie garnishes, snacks and the like.

1. Rolled oats or instant oatmeal packets from Nature’s Path (Rolled oats add a delicious texture to all things baked and of the cookie variety, and I usually eat a packet of instant oatmeal in the mornings as a supplement to my green smoothies since they alone do not keep me full)

2. Chia seeds (little protein superstars they are, I add them to instant oatmeal for a balanced fiber and protein filled breakfast or snack)

3. Bee Pollen (a complete protein found in nature, I add this to yogurt with some honey)

4. Raw Honey

5. Assorted teas (self proclaimed tea freak)

6. Rosehips for rosehip tea (great source of Vitamin C)

7. Cacao Powder

8. Kale Chips (I like some brands I see in stores but making your own is the best practice)

9. Black corn tortilla chips

10. Quinoa

11. Brown Rice

12. Lentils

13. Black beans

14. Apple Cider Vinegar

15. Coconut oil

16. Nuritional Yeast

17. Almonds, cashews

18. Dark chocolate

Kale Chips with Crisped Parmesan

I have been on a kale chip craze this week and experimenting with new flavors. What kind of kale chips do you guys usually make?

Ingredients

4-5 cups kale, chopped, tough stems removed, washed, and dried

1/4 cup shaved parmesan

Salt, as desired, optional since parmesan is salty

Pepper, as desired

Coconut oil spray, coconut oil, or olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with oil of choice and spread kale in a thin layer on top. Top with more sprays of coconut or olive oil and salt and pepper as desired. After 10 minutes of baking, top with parmesan cheese and bake for a couple more minutes until cheese is melted and crispy.

 

xx

R

 

Superfood Collection Growing

Featured here is coconut oil, bee pollen (which tastes incredible and amazing and its production doesn’t harm bees!), psyllium husk (which is great to make sure your digestive system is in tip top shape and awesome to use in gluten free baking), raw cacao powder (great smoothie addition especially with bananas and peanut butter), wheatgrass powder (new addition, will let you know how much I love it after I use it more) and my go to protein after a tough yoga class, chia seeds, which is awesome for puddings and thickeners in baking, egg replacements in baking, or smoothies.

 

What’s your favorite superfood and why?

Seven Superfoods

Blueberry Kale Superfood Smoothie

A perfect workout drink or green smoothie to power through your morning. With fun superfoods like cocao powder and ground flaxseed and coconut oil, you will be sipping goodness in no time. Feel free to sub for whatever milk you desire but if you are using sweetened nut milks, the smoothie may be too sweet since the pineapple and blueberries add a nice sweetness.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil, melted **

1 cup kale, finely chopped, tough stems removed

1/2 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1 teaspoon ground flaxeed

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk

2 pineapple rings, chopped, or 1/2 cup frozen pineapple

Directions

Blend until all ingredients are mixed well.

** You may want to omit this if you are trying to lose weight. I personally have not noticed weight gain from coconut oil and it is a dose of heart healthy fats, but I have read that it is a high calorie food that may not be suited for everyone.

xx

R

Coconut Loaf from Sprouted Kitchen

I have a love affair with this blog. I have made some of her recipes when I had checked out the cookbook from the library. I love his crisp photographs and her way of writing. They come up with really incredible recipes, and I like reading about them and their lives. Any life that is filled with love, laughter and whole foods seems like a good one, no?

I love the flavor of this loaf because it is a loaf cake hybrid recipe, and it manages to have the perfect amount of coconut flavor even though you are using three different sources of coconut (oil, milk, and toasted coconut). The recipe suggests serving the loaf slices toasted, which would also be incredible. I went to a BBQ tonight and brought this cake over, and it was a hit. We ate it with vanilla ice cream and fresh hand picked strawberries.

Coconut Loaf (from the Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for the pan

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup turbinado sugar (I used light brown sugar)

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Pink Himalayan Salt)

2 eggs

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8.5-inch loaf pan with a thin coat of coconut oil.

Spread the shredded coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping the loaf.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the toasted coconut and the sugar. Sift in the flours, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir to combine. In another bowl, whisk the eggs together, then whisk in 1 cup of the coconut milk, the coconut oil, and the vanilla. Gently stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

While the loaf is cooling, combine 1/4 cup of the remaining coconut milk and the powdered sugar [it helps to sift it] and mix until there are no lumps. Add more sugar or coconut milk to taste, depending on the consistency you prefer. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle the remaining toasted coconut on top.

Recipe by Sprouted Kitchen

xx

Beet Chips with Coconut Oil

Trader Joe’s sells coconut oil in a can spray form. Needless to say it is now my go to spray item when it comes to cooking with oil. These beet chips are incredible. I ate two whole beets mindlessly even though it would be possible to eat more than that. These are incredibly easy with a mandolin slicer or a grater with a slicing attachment, which is what I have. It is no fancy thing, just a simple slicer I saw on sale at a Ross a couple years back. This is one of those tools that really give you value in your kitchen and since they are so inexpensive, I recommend picking up one that you will use through moves, through your twenties, through being a better cook. Even though I have only steadily been cooking for a couple months for myself, I have always had a deep love for all things edible. These were made on Sunday, my go to cooking day because usually time stops for me on a Sunday. I get maybe one day a week to sleep in and I usually choose Saturdays. This weekend is a different story though since I am upping up my yoga sessions and running for the 5k I have in June. I am not worried about the distance but it would be nice to run steadily. Running outside is a different matter and it takes some time for my knees to get used to concrete impact. I have a good friend’s early birthday on Friday so I will be spending some time at Franklin Mortgage and some other fabulous places in Philly, and the planner is filled to the brim with tasks to accomplish. I will be happy to breathe after these couple weeks are done and over with, which will be here faster than I know it. Here is the fabulous, easy recipe for you guys!

Ingredients

2 whole beets, cleaned well, dirt scraped off and the greens cut (save them for a smoothie or a juice!)

Coconut oil for spraying

Freshly cracked black pepper

Himalayan pink salt, to taste

Parchment paper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice beets with a mandolin slicer or thin slicer for thin slicers (these cook the best and are the most crispy). Lay the thinly sliced beets in a layer on parchment paper in a baking pan or cookie sheet. Lightly spray the beet chips with coconut oil or if you don’t have a spray lightly paint them with coconut oil. Top with pepper and salt and bake for 15 minutes or less depending on your oven. Keep an eye on these because they can burn easily!

x

R

The Black Swan

This one is inspired by a cocktail, but hey this is the most antioxidant filled juice I have come up with in a while. There’s a smoothie version to for all of you guys that like smoothies over juices or for those who don’t have a juicer!

JUICE

2 cups fresh blackberries

1 wedge or 2 wedges lemon, depending on how much you love lemon

1 beet, skin removed, washed 

1 apple

Directions

JUICE ME. Best when you drink this as soon as possible after it’s made but put in a mason jar filled to the top if you want to keep it for a day. I would drink this within 24 hours.

SMOOTHIE

1 1/2 cups coconut water

3 tablespoons almond milk, unsweetened

5 almonds

1 cup frozen blackberries

1 tablespoon coconut oil. melted

1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Directions

Blend me.

xx

R

Skin Review, Coconut Oil

I have been using coconut oil for a while in my beauty regimen but i have wanted to take the necessary time for my skin to adjust to it before I wrote a formal review.

Things have also been busier than usual at the office, and I have had some great hours of productivity. It is funny how calming some mundane tasks like writing out return receipts for companies you are suing can be. As I have mentioned before on this blog, I don’t think a future in law is for me, at least not in its traditional form, which is what I have been doing for the last eight months in some form or another. This as been such a great learning experience for me, and I have really needed this time to figure out what I want to do. I am not close to committing to something, but it does not mean that I am not closer than I was yesterday. Our society really  emphasizes what you do and how you do it. As I have spent more time in the postgraduate world and dipped my toes into this life of paying my own bills fully, (I have tried not to have many bills but college definitely ruined that one for me) cooked more of my own food, and been more independent, (I have tried to always cook my own food for the last couple years but isn’t it funny how much you crave your mom’s cooking when you don’t have it anymore?) I have realized how much more growing up I have to do, and trying harder in some aspects of my life that I don’t think I have put all of my effort into. More on that later, but I need to go ahead and prioritize at the moment to work on myself (which I want to say is not selfish, and will stand by that I can’t be a good friend, daughter, co-worker, assistant, and overall human being if I am not happy with myself as a person first).

But anyway, back to the amazing awesome benefits of coconut oil for your skin.

I have never had softer skin on my legs then I have had now.Here are the products it replaced for me:

Shaving cream

Most lotions

Skin cleanser (I still use Cetaphil if I am feeling super dirty on my face)

Eye makeup remover

Deep conditioning hair treatments (I do this once a week because it gives my hair life)

Skin scrubs (I make a brown sugar one with vanilla that smells like dessert and exfoliates like no other)

Berry Coconut Blast Green Smoothie

This is chock full of good for you ingredients and adds a great punch to your usual breakfast.

Ingredients

1 cup coconut water

1 tablespoon raw almond butter

2 handfulls baby spinach

1 cup berries, frozen, I used blueberries because of its high antioxidant levels

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions

Blend and serve immediately!

 

XX

R