Meatless Mondays, Attempt 3: Eggplant Parmesan

I've tried a few different Eggplant Parm recipes in the past couple years, but all of them just required way too much work for me to repeat them again - the egging, breading, & frying BEFORE all of the work to make them actually happens!  So I was thrilled to find this recipe from Chic galleria in which the eggplant was simply grilled in the oven before everything was put together!

Anyhow, my husband LOVED it (I have to say, he hasn't put up the fight I thought he would about 'meatless' meals!), my 10 month old devoured it, my 2 year old wasn't in an eating mood, and I couldn't help but take seconds!

I forgot to take a pic of the whole pan before we ate!  

I'll send you over to her page for the recipe, but a few notes from me first.:
1) I didn't have any basil, but I did have pesto.  I layered the pesto on the eggplant before the tomato sauce.
2) I didn't have nearly enough to line the pan with eggplant slices, so I chose to make 5 individual Eggplant Parm 'towers' (2 slices in each).
3) I would slice the mozza thinner next time - it was a LOT of cheese.  And I LOVE cheese.  But it was too much.
4) It was pretty warm in our house today so I didn't want to turn on the oven - I did all of the grilling & cooking in the BBQ outside - heated it up like an oven & resisted the urge to open it more than once once the food was in! (fortunately the thermometer still works on ours!)  It worked GREAT!

Healthy Snacking & Freebies!

In the midst of my campaign to become my 'healthier' me, I will admit that there are days when I don't get enough of my fibrous veggies in - and let's face it, even though us moms are on the move all the time, it's important that we make sure that our systems keep 'moving', too!  I was lucky enough to get an advance box of a brand new cereal in the mail a few weeks ago, which has provided such a perfect treat for days like that!  (And guess what?  You can have a free box of it, too!  Keep reading to find out how!)
Anyhow, as I said yesterday, while I'm trying not to eat wheat as part of my regular diet, it sure makes a nice treat from time to time. And so, 1 bowl of this super tasty cereal (am I the only one who sort of expects a fibre cereal to look & taste like rabbit pellets?) -which is to say, a serving of 1 cup - topped with half a serving of wild blueberries (1/4 cup) provides me with a raucous 46% of my daily recommended intake of fibre!  Not to mention the fact that I'm getting 52% of my daily iron intake (50% from the cereal, 2% from the blueberries) - for an iron-deficient girl, that is a super benefit!  What a delightful, sweet little indulgence.

I mentioned earlier that YOU can get a free box of cereal, too - and here's how!  Head over to the Life Made Delicious facebook page, where you can claim your coupon redeemable for either one (1) box Fibre 1 Almond & Cluster Delight Cereal OR one (1) box of Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch - here's the catch - it's only redeemable on July 16, 2013.  

And there's more!

As a bonus there's a 2nd coupon available for you, valid only on July 23, redeemable for Nature Valley, Fibre 1 bars, Golden Grahams OR Cinnamon Toast Crunch treats!

Hurry over to their page - quantities are limited, you don't want to miss out on your free coupons for these fun new products!  Come on back here when you get your freebies and let us know what you think!

Who doesn't love free stuff??  Am I right? 

Disclosure – I am participating in the Fibre 1 Almond & Cluster Delight Cereal blogger campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of General Mills. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins - Gluten Free / Grain Free / Dairy Free!

I love baking.  I love eating baked goods.  Problem is, the baking that I'm good at is largely unhealthy for me, and really not good for my son to eat - it contains white flour and a lot of sugar.  Even 'healthy' baking, like zucchini bread, has more refined carbs & sugars than I should be eating, and my poor wheat-free son can't eat it at all.
{I would just like to mention that I completed the 'Biggest Loser' challenge about 3 weeks ago, and during a 6 week long period during which I altered my eating by simply removing almost all refined carbs & sugars from my diet and increasing my level of physical activity about 75% (I really wasn't doing much before, so increasing by 75% was neither hard nor impressive.  Don't be impressed.), I lost 7% of my body weight!  Hurrah!  I still got to eat super tasty things in normal servings, I ate when I was hungry, I snacked at night (popcorn with coconut oil & ranch dressing mix - yum!), and I still lost 7% of my body weight!  That was *nearly* enough for me to win the competition - or at least, nearly enough for me to be the runner-up (she beat me by .2%), but I'm happy with my accomplishment none-the-less.  That is how I know that avoiding simple & refined carbs is the best choice for me and for my body.}
Anyhow, when I found this recipe for Grain free Banana Nutbutter Muffins, I was instantly in love.  Muffins with no flour of any sort - that look AND taste like REAL MUFFINS?  Sign me up!  I make them about every 3 days in our house - and when I use natural almond butter or peanut butter, I don't feel badly in the least about consuming any ingredient in them!
This week at the grocery store, I saw zucchini and thought, I would really love to make some zucchini muffins!  And so, I figured I'd give this recipe a go with a few additions.  Here we are:

The Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup any nut butter -natural leaves the excess sugar out of the recipe!
• 2 VERY ripe banana (very spotted)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil*
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (roughly 1/2 a zucchini)
• 2-3 Tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips**
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place first 6 ingredients in the food processor.***
3. Blend until well mixed, batter will be thick
4. Pour into bowl, stir in last 3 ingredients.
5. Pour batter into a greased muffin tins (I love my silicone ones for this, no greasing necessary).
6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 16-19 minutes.  They muffins may appear to be doughy, but touch with your finger - as long as there's a bit of spring back, your muffins are done.
7. Cool in tins for 5 min, then transfer to baking rack.  
8. Especially in this weather, these muffins are best stored in the fridge if they're not going to be completely gone within 24 hours - they do tend to mold very quickly.

*There is no need for oil in this recipe, it's very moist without it, but our naturopath said that using a lot of oils in a diet (particularly, 'healthy' oils like coconut) helps with the digestive system - it 'greases' it up, so to speak - and since our son has issues with constipation (why we avoid wheat), I like to add it to as much of his food as I can.  So you can feel free to leave it out.
**Use chocolate chips best suited to your diet - if you're gluten or dairy free, I'm sure you have the sort of chocolate in your house that works best for you, anyhow.
***This can be made with a hand blender as well, as long as your bananas are good and purreed before you add the other ingredients.  

Flourless "Hummus Crackers"

MR - As soon as I saw the picture of this pin, I knew I had to try it - they looked delicious, easy, and very healthy - exactly what I look for in recipes.  And as for it being gluten-free, I know that I can feed it to a friend's child, or recommend it to family members who are avoiding gluten.  It's also probably a good thing to eat less grains, if possible.

They are called Chickpea Crackers, but our kids love hummus, so we call them Hummus Crackers.

I followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I didn't have any garlic to add.  I figured that was okay, though, so it would be  a milder taste for our kids.  One small can of chickpeas made two trays of crackers (around 100 smallish crackers).

They taste great.  They would work well with dips or cheese.  We'll definitely be making these again.  Maybe trying new taste combinations with various herbs or possibly some cheddar cheese.  I'm also wondering about some honey to get that "Wheat Thins" flavour.   Head over here for the recipe!

Note:  They do end up being slightly dry, so they taste best with some sort of topping or dip.

Angry Birds Pinata

 

Wow...he does look  kind of angry doesn't he?

MR - I've never actually played the game, but I've heard that it is very popular, and my 6-year old really wanted something with "Angry Birds" for his party.  We decided to try to make a piñata.  Now, it's been years since I've made anything with paper mache, and I kind of forgot how messy it was (especially with four young "helpers").

We started with a balloon blown up as big as possible.  We followed the instructions from The Copycat Crafter here, and it turned out pretty well.  I'm glad we started a week early, because it takes that long for each of the layers to dry.

The kids loved it for the party, but next time I need to use stronger rope - the rope was the only thing that broke after the first few whacks!

As cute as it is, I can't see doing this every year for every child - very time-consuming.  Maybe one piñata each, and that's it...

Meatless Monday: Attempt 2: Chickpea & Spinach Burgers

Wow- it's been a while. Sorry about that!  Many things going on, I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I had posted last!
Last Monday, I chose a recipe that I had made once before - Spinach Chickpea Burgers.  Chickpeas are inexpensive and versatile, and the weather was perfect for a BBQ. The recipe that I started with didn't include spinach (or veg of any sort), but I had a ton of it in my garden and it's a great way to get more greens into my son's belly!  The result is a very green burger that, to be honest, doesn't look as good as it tastes.  But let me tell you - it tastes fantastic!  It's moist and fresh, and everyone from the 33 year old to the 9 month old approved!
I started with this recipe here - and then, of course, I adapted it to my tastes, because for some reason I am unable to follow a recipe the way that it's written.  So here's my take on these burgers:

Spinach Chickpea Burgers

Ingredients
1 carrot (medium size grated)
2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed & dried
1 garlic clove
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 handful of fresh cilantro, or 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro paste
salt & pepper
1 large egg
2 tablespoons plain flour
{oil for brushing burgers}

Directions
Drain & rinse chickpeas, then empty into food processor.  Pulse several times to get the peas to a paste consistency, then add the rest of the ingredients {except for the oil} and pulse several more times to blend all ingredients together.  I attended to my 9 month old who just woke up at the time, so my ingredients got very blended and we ended up with very green burgers.  They still tasted great, so don't worry about over doing it - it won't affect the taste.


Cut 6-8 ~6" squares out of wax or parchment paper - I usually just rip a 6-7" strip off of the wax paper roll, then cut it in half, lather, rinse, repeat.  Using a large spoon, scoop some of your burger mixture into your hand and form a ball (about a 3" diameter), then place it on a square of the wax paper and with your hand, flatten it to about 1-1 1/2" thick, and place your burger on a cookie sheet.  Once you've use up all of your mixture, place your cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to firm up and make grilling easier.  Before cooking, brush top with oil (I use unflavoured coconut oil), flip over back onto the wax paper, and brush the bottom with oil as well.  
These burgers can be cooked easily in a clamshell grill or on the BBQ.  In an electric grill, heat on med-high, and cook for ~5-6 min.  On the BBQ, preheat on med, place on top rack, and cook for ~18 min, turning halfway .  
Serve with tzaziki sauce, tomatoes, tahini, & pickles.  

Easiest Crepe Recipe Ever!!

MR - Having spent a semester in Paris, I'm very partial to French foods, especially crepes.  You can get sweet dessert crepes or savoury dinner crepes.  You can buy them from a stand on the corner, and they are still amazing!

My dad always used to make the best crepes (we called them Skinny Pancakes).  We knew whenever it was Dad's turn to cook, we'd either have BBQ or Skinny Pancakes!

I've tried a few different recipes when making my own, but I always come back to this easy one I learned in France, partially because it's so easy to remember!

Here it is:

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl, mix until smooth:
1 egg
1 cup of milk (plus a little more if necessary)
1 cup of flour

That's it.  So simple.  Easy to increase for bigger appetites (with my four  boys we usually triple or quadruple it) or to just make a small amount.  It's very versatile, and works well with substitutions.  I've used half whole wheat flour (sometimes even all whole wheat).  I've used some water along with the milk when I was low on milk.  And it always turns out great.  You could add a bit of sugar, or a pinch of salt, depending on your taste.

The only thing I do is add some more liquid, once it's all mixed together - you want a very thin, runny batter.

The batter also works well having sat in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter onto a hot greased skillet.  Immediately tilt the pan in all directions to make the thinnest crepe possible.  Flip after about a minute or so.

Fill with any topping you like.  We enjoy these combinations: banana slices & peanut butter;  lemon juice & white sugar; or any fresh fruit and whipped cream.  Mmmm....

Meatless Monday: Attempt 1, Part II: Goat Cheese & Fresh Herbs Soufflé

Along with those super delicious spinachballs that my two-year-old just devoured, I made an attempt at my very first soufflé.
My first exposure to soufflé was watching Sabrina (the classic movie with Audrey Hepburn, not the teenage witch).  She learned how to bake a soufflé when she went off to cooking school in Paris.  "A woman happily in love, she burns the soufflé. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven."  Fortunately for me, after I did some research on soufflé techniques, my soufflé came out almost perfectly.
I'll be honest with you - I didn't use fresh herbs.  Or, at least, only one of the herbs that I used came fresh from the garden (I had no idea when I planted chives a few years ago that they would just keep coming back and never die!!) - the others I just used dried, and it still tasted fantastic!

Soufflé tips that I picked up from various sources on the web:
1. Room temperature egg whites work best for creating a perfect meringue.
2. Adding a dash of cream of tartar helps to achieve perfect peaks in your meringue.
3. Be careful not to over-whip your egg whites - just whip until it peaks softly without drooping.
4. When buttering the side of your soufflé dish, use upward strokes.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese  in the soufflé dish, turning the dish around and allowing the Parmesan to lightly coat all surfaces - this helps the soufflé climb the dish and get the height that you're looking for.
6. Don't add all of the egg whites at once - fold in about 1/3 of them first, that will make it easier to fold in the rest of the egg whites without loosing the airiness of the meringues.
7. Stop folding in the egg whites just before you think it's all incorporated.  This will keep you from over mixing it and losing the possible height.
8. DON'T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR BEFORE YOUR TIMER GOES OFF!  No peeking.  The change in temperature will cause the soufflé to prematurely deflate.  Then it won't look so amazing when you serve it.
9. Have the rest of your dinner ready and waiting to serve, so the soufflé will look its best for presentation.  It will still taste fantastic when it's deflated, it just doesn't have the same wow factor.

So.  As I didn't change a thing from the recipe that I used (other than using dry herbs), I'm going to send you over to the recipe at FoodandWine.com.  Go. Make.  Eat!

Serve with spinachballs for a delicious meat-free meal!

 

Meatless Monday Attempt 1, part 1: Spinachballs

Yes.  Spinachballs.  Like meatballs.  But instead of meat, spinach.  And you know what?  They're really good.  My husband and I really liked them.  But our 2-year old toddler, who believes that he's allergic to vegetables?  LOVED them.  I'm fairly certain that he ate about 1/2lb of spinach last night.  I'm not exaggerating. 

Yesterday during naptime, I was frantically searching my Pinterest boards for something that I could make for dinner - something that fell into the low-carb, low-sugar, high-protein category that I'm trying to stick with right now.  The protein part was a little tricky, since I didn't take any meat out of our little meat freezer before naptime, and said freezer is located in the 8-month-old's room.  (The joys of renting out your basement....freezers in bedrooms!)  So.  I remembered hearing about a thing called 'Meatless Mondays' a little while ago, and I did a quick Google & Pinterest search for that term.  Wow.  So many good recipes!  I filtered them by dishes that looked delicious and then by ingredients that we had on hand, and I was left with my main and side dishes - Goat Cheese & Fresh Herb Souffle (I'll get to that one in a bit) and Spinachballs. 

 I came across the Spinachballs at Denise's blog, Chez Us.  Head over there to take a look at the AMAZING recipes and photos that she posts, as well as the original recipe for Spinachballs.  I altered some things, so I'm going to share my version of her recipe with you here.

Ingredients

• 3 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach
• 1 cup panko or crackers put through the food processor
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 clove garlic mashed
• pinch of kosher salt
• coconut oil (taste/aroma free is what I used) for frying

Directions

• Thaw spinach, rinse with cold water
• In batches, place spinach on cheesecloth, roll up, and twist to ring out as much water as possible.
• Place the spinach, panko/cracker crumbs, cheese, nutmeg, garlic and salt into a large mixing bowl.
• Beat the eggs in a separate mixing bowl, then add to the spinach mixture.
• Using your hands or a KitchenAid, mix well.
• Form into small spinach balls.
• Add about 1/4c of coconut oil to a large frying pan.
• Heat over medium heat.
• In batches, brown the spinach balls until golden brown; about 2 minutes per side.
• Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs, set aside on a paper towel.
• Continue browning the spinach balls. 
• Serve warm.  

 Yes, this is a LOT of spinach.  It makes roughly 30 balls, which was enough for 3 adults and 1 toddler in our house (who ate almost as many as we did!).  If you're using fresh spinach, please head back to Chez Us to see the measurements for fresh.  The original recipe called for using canola oil - I'm really trying to be healthier with the fats that we eat right now (not cutting them out, by any measure!  Just trying to make healthier decisions), so I opted for using aroma free coconut oil.  (I am really not a coconut person, or I would use the unrefined, virgin oil, as I know that's the healthiest.)

Anyhow, I served it along side the souffle (my first attempt at making a souffle!  And it turned out perfectly!!) and a green salad (not really necessary, considering the amount of greens we consumed in the spinachballs...  but the plates just seemed to be asking fore something else!).  I'll share my souffle with you soon.  I think that I'll try to keep on going with the Meatless Monday schedule. 

Mediterranean Tomato, Chicken, Artichoke, & Quinoa Skillet

Continuing on with the low-carb, high protein theme, last night I used this recipe for "Mediterranean Pizza Skillet" as a jumping off point.  However, I don't like olives, I didn't have Italian Seasoning, and I didn't want to serve it with a side of carbs.  I ended up with a very tasty supper, and even my incredibly picky two year old ate his whole bowl of it!  (Though I did not serve him 'leaves' with his.)

What follows is my take on the recipe:

 

Ingredients

•  1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

• 3  medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 3  tomatoes, chopped
• 1  14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained 
• 1/2  teaspoon dried Greek seasoning
• 1/4  teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2  cups romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1  cup crumbled feta cheese (4 ounces)

Directions

In a 10-inch skillet cook and stir chicken and garlic in hot oil over medium heat for 2 to 5 minutes or until chicken is brown. Stir in artichoke hearts, quinoa, Greek seasoning, and pepper. Cover, and cook on low for 5 minutes, or until heated through. Add tomatoes and 1/2 c. cheese. Cook, covered, for 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve on a bed of romaine and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Makes 4 servings.