Almond-Oat Bites

*Casie Here*

I tried out the Almond-Oat Bites recipe Vernon sent me. They were really easy and very tasty.

Ingredients:1 cup organic old-fashioned oats rolled oats1/4 cup ground flax1/4 cup sliced organic almonds, chopped (I used Coco Almonds cause that''s what I had, very yummy)2 tablespoons chia seeds1/8 teaspoon cinnamonPinch of sea salt1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons creamy, organic almond butter, melted and slightly cooled (I used 1/2 almond butter, 1/2 peanut butter)1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon organic honey1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract2 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (or make your own) (I used Enjoy Life Brand dairy free mini chocolate chips)

and I added some walnuts1/4 cup ground almonds (pulse in a food processor), to roll the balls in (the Coco ones again)

Directions:
1.) Combine oats, chopped almonds, flax, chia seeds, sea salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir.

2.) Melt almond butter in a saucepan over medium-to-low heat. Once almond butter has melted, remove from heat and stir in honey and vanilla. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well with a spoon. Fold in the chocolate chips.

3.) Roll the mixture into small bite-sized balls and then roll it into the ground almonds, coating all sides.

4.) Let chill in the ‘fridge before eating

 They were really good. I highly recommend them. I am going to add some different stuff next time and play around a bit.

 Brushetta again!!! Two kinds of tomatoes, fresh basil, little bit of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, 1/4 onion finely chopped, roasted garlic. On toasted French Bread.

 My soaked Cashews. I used half for my salad dressing and 1/2 for the 'ricotta' in the lasagna.

 The onions, garlic and mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with Italian Seasoning.

 I added the chopped zucchini, squash, carrot, peppers and sauteed.

 My 'ricotta' filling for my lasagna. 1 cup soaked Cashews, 1 block firm tofu, big bunch of Spinach, salt & pepper and little water to loosen a bit.

 I added TVP to the veggies.

 And finally pasta sauce.

Layered it up in a casserole dish with noodles and Veggie Cheese! 

GreenGo

We had a recommendation to try this new Omaha restaurant, GreenGo, out. So, Vernon made a special trip over there. It's not on our way, but we wanted to try it so he picked up some things to try for dinner. 

I found another blogger reviewed it HERE.

 The salad. Very good, lots of different toppings. Fresh sprouts she whacked off growing from a container garden., tomatoes, avocados, peppers, dried, seasoned soy beans, and shredded carrots. The dressing was tangy and a little spicy but really good. We got an extra one and I took it to work the next day for my lunch and Sophie took it to school two days later and the salad was still fresh and crisp for both of us. 

 Their was a veggie sandwich with cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, tomato and some sauce that spread on one side that was really good. The sandwiches come with a pickle and these seed tortilla chips (that were really yummy) and homemade salsa that had a kick. I don't care for spicy, but it was so fresh and addicting, I kept going back for more torture. 

 The salad up close.

 This was the other sandwich, a tofu salad. Like a chicken salad, but with tofu instead. It had a good flavor, low sodium (I would have added some salt ~ but I didn't), topped with lettuce, sprouts and tomatoes on whole wheat bread. 

 It was good and actually WAY better the next day. Surprisingly. I thought it would be soggy and icky, but it was so much better the next day for some reason. The flavors got a chance to meld and sit. It was really, really good the next day for lunch!

 Vollen eating the salad. 

 Loved it.

Go try it! 

Dietary Guidelines

Purple!

*Casie Here*

My new obsession. The PURPLE potato! I found these at Whole Foods and snatched some up! I was giddy to try them out in my next dish. 

 I was shocked when I cut them up as to how they were so gorgeous, dark purple the whole way through. The color is so beautiful, fun and different!

 AND, they taste EXACTLY the same as regular potatoes! 

I made roasted veggies with couscous for a simple, delish dinner we had for friends. Here is what is in it:

onions

garlic cloves

portabella mushrooms

celery

I chopped and sauteed the above ingredients on the stove just to give a richer flavor

I put the rest of the chopped ingredients in a gallon plastic bag and drizzled some olive oil in with a packet of Italian dressing mix and shook them all around. Dumped them on a greased cookie sheet. Put it in the oven for about 45 mins or so at 350.

carrots

celery

parsnips

yellow squash

zucchini

red, yellow & orange peppers

purple potatoes

sweet potatoes

Made Near East Couscous on the stove according to the box directions (used Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil  and Wild Mushroom & Herb flavors ~ we love both!)

Mixed everything together at the end. It was yummy and everyone loved it!!! I forgot to take a pict. of the end result, but you get the jist.

Purple Potatoes

We love to cook with purple potatoes and here is even more reason for you to do the same.

 

Best Cooking Method

Interesting information:

 

 

What Is Love?

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Lunch Idea

 

 

 

This was a quick lunch I made last week.  I washed and cut up some asparagus, potatoes and carrots.  I seasoned the vegetables with a very limited amount of Mrs. Dash seasoning, pepper and olive oil.  I did, however, apply a fair amount of nutritional yeast on the vegetables for flavor and vitamin B12.  I broiled the potatoes and carrots first.  Once they began to brown at the edges I then added the asparagus for the last 5-7 minutes as they don't take as long to cook. 

 

For dessert, I washed and served green/red grapes, blueberries and strawberries. 

 

This was a quick meal to fix and was a hit with all the kids. 

 

Matcha Green Tea Smoothie

Here is how I make my green tea smoothies:

 

I put two green tea bags into cold almond milk and let the flavors of the tea seep into the milk.  I let this cold steep for at least 20 minutes. 

 

Green Tea Bags

Remove and discard the tea bags from the milk then pour the green tea flavored milk into a blender.

I add organic baby spinach to the blender.  I grab a large handful and put it in.  You will not even taste the spinach unless you go over board with how much you put in.
 

 

I add a teaspoon of matcha, which is ground up premium tea leaves, to the blender mixture.  You can purchase matcha online or you can pick it up at your local tea shop.  It seems expensive for such a small canister, but you don't use much of the matcha so it really goes a long way.

 

 

Here is a picture of what the matcha looks like.  I use matcha not only because of it's health benefits but also because it has a dense flavor that drives the taste of this drink.  CLICK HERE to find out more about matcha.

 

 

To sweeten this drink, I add organic dates to the blender mixture.  Depending on your sweetness preference, I would use 2-3 dates with pit removed. 

 

 

Adding bananas gives this drink a smooth texture.  Usually, we have peeled bananas in the freezer but on this night we were all out of frozen bananas so we just used these.  I prefer the frozen bananas so you don't have to use ice which dilutes the flavor of this drink.

 

 

This is what the mixture looks like after you blend the tea flavored milk, spinach, matcha, dates and bananas.

 

This is one of my favorite desserts. 

 

 

Yum!!!!!

 

Sip or use a straw....your choice.

Mock Egg/Tuna/Chicken Salad

*Casie Here*

This recipe I made is a refreshing salad perfect for lunch! I used to use pretty much the same ingredients in my egg, chicken and tuna salad sandwiches. So, this recipe reminded me of all of them in one because it doesn't contain any meat, fish or eggs! 

 I started with 1/2 of an onion chopped finely. I didn't take a picture of that (not sure why). I chopped up about 3-4 ribs of celery. I like all the ingredients for these salads chopped really tiny (just personal preference).

 Used the food processor to chop up about 4 smaller carrots (not baby carrots, just smaller whole carrots).

 There was still some onion pieces left from when I ran the onion through there.

 1 can of chic peas (drained) and whizzed in the food processor. 

 This part is your "egg, chicken or tuna".

 This my friends is the *SECRET* ingredient. Shhhhh

 Add about 1/4 cup of Dill Relish. *DO NOT USE SWEET PICKLE RELISH*

 Mix it all together. 

I added some left over Cashew cream dressing that I had in the fridge. Here is how I made this one:

We get whole raw cashews from Whole Foods from the bulk bins. We get quite a bit and keep them in the freezer and I just pull out however much I need at a time.

For this recipe I soak 1 cup of whole raw cashews in a bowl of water on the counter overnight or at least 8 hours (lots of times I go over 8 hours ~ totally fine just don't go like 2-3 days).

When I'm ready to make it, I just drain the water it was soaking in and throw the soaked cashews in the blender (we have a Vita mix) you could also use just any blender or a food processor.

I put in the juice of one lemon.

I use 1- 2 avocados (1 if it's on the bigger side and 2 if they're on the smaller side), just take out the seed and scoop out the rest, plop it in the blender too.

Some shakes of Dill Weed

Garlic if you want (real ~ and I would roast it in the oven or powdered) I didn't use any the other night, but have had it before in there and it's really good.

Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend it up.

I add water slowly until it comes to the consistency I want. Thicker for dip, little thinner for salad dressing!

I put it in a used glass jar that had been cleaned and keep it in the fridge. Surprisingly, it's doesn't turn brown and lasts pretty much a week! 

*BUT* you could just use some Vegenaise. It's what I would have used if I didn't have any of the Cashew cream and I have used it before and it's really good. 

I also used a dollop of my homemade hummus that I always have in the fridge. 

Final touches are salt & pepper, a little cumin and some dill weed. 

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You could stop right here and I definitely would if this is your first time having it. It is FABULOUS right here, right now. YUMMMMM

 Eat it plain, with healthy chips or pretzels, on a pita, sandwich thin, whole wheat toast, tortilla, etc... 

Now, I decided to get crazy because I think I was craving this salad too, so I just married them together. 

I made this Taboule Wheat according to the box basically really hot water mixed with the stuff in the box and put in the fridge, covered for 1/2 hour.

I chopped up some Kalamata Olives maybe like 8-10

 Chopped up some Flavorino Tomatoes.

 Mixed all this together with the salad above including the Taboule when it was done.

 This was the end result. 

 I will call it a Taboule 'Chicken' Salad. Hee hee 

 It was really good the first day for lunch, but WAY better the second day after all the flavors were able to meld together. Try it you'll like it!