This is one of those recipes that I could definitely see myself being scared of a year or two ago.

It involves making your own dressing! Omg. Scary.

I promise it isn’t that hard to make though: the secret ingredient is – peanut butter. And paired with quinoa? Gotta love that protein.

This recipe was inspired by Ambitious Kitchen.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• fresh lime juice, to taste
• handful of green onion, chopped
• garnish with chives, chopped
• head of romaine lettuce

Dressing:

• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 1 tbsp honey (sub with agave if vegan)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp water

Directions:

Cook quinoa and let cool.

Make the dressing: add peanut butter and honey to a medium microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, water, sesame oil, and olive oil. Stir until smooth.

Add the dressing to quinoa.

Mix red pepper, cabbage, onions, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Squeeze a little fresh lime juice and garnish with chives. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

It looks good…but I didn’t feel like eatin’ it straight up.

Luckily, I remembered I had a bag of romaine lettuce in the fridge!

The best part? Lots of leftovers!

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

Um. So. Delicious.

Tuna and I agree that these are going in the regular rotation.

The texture of the guac/yolks is perfect and the contrast with the cool eggs is super refreshing. The only thing I think I’ll add next time is a little bit of lime juice and a teensy bit of cilantro.

Another pro – they’re filling! And don’t forget: a good source of healthy fats and protein.

Ingredients:

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1 avocado
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp olive oil
• pepper to season

Makes 12 deviled eggs. 

Recipe adapted from HERE. (The name – ha).

They were surprisingly great as an added filling to a bed of lettuce and a side of sweet corn.

I need to have a summer dinner party to go to soon so I can bring these.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

Here’s another money saver for ya. Once you buy the ingredients to make hummus the first time, most of them last for awhile.

It’s def a little more work, but I’m on the homemade trend now!

The past few weeks I’ve been scrutinizing my diet to make sure I’m getting everything I need, especially since I’ve been trying to work out on a more regular basis. I’m not a big fan of cooking meat, so I like bringing hummus with me to work for some extra protein to get me through the day.

Tuna helped me make this first batch, and we were quite proud of ourselves. 🙂

This recipe is adapted from one found on the Whole Foods website.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans
• 1 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp reduced-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse and drain garbanzo beans.

Put garlic in a blender and pulse to roughly chop.

Add garbanzo beans, tahini, water, lemon juice, tamari, cumin, a pinch of cayenne, and blend until smooth.

Scoop into a bowl, cover and chill for an hour or so.

Mix in parsley before serving.

Thanks as always to Jenn for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this recipe with you yet. This was the first clean eating recipe I made last January, and it’s definitely a winner. Whenever I’m about to make these bars, and need the ingredients, I google my blog recipe page and realize – oh yeah, they’re not on here.

Well, now they are!

Jamie Eason’s recipes are the best. You can find the recipe for her pumpkin protein bars HERE.

I use an 8in x 8in glass Pyrex dish for this recipe.

Makes 16 bars.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oat flour
• 2 scoops whey protein powder (I use chocolate)
• 3 tbsp baking cocoa
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup truvia or splenda
• 4 egg whites
• 6 oz apple sauce
• 4 oz water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a big bowl (oat flour, protein powder, cocoa, salt, baking powder) together in a large bowl.

Stir wet ingredients (sweetener, egg whites, apple sauce, water) in with the dry.

Spray cooking dish with a non-stick spray and add batter to dish.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

*****

I love to eat these as an afternoon or evening snack, and they really keep you full. Perf with some sliced strawberries [obsessed] or a glass of milk.

I think they expand in your stomach or something.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

My mom made apple sauce bread for me for breakfast when I went to go visit her in Durham a few weeks ago.

I liked it so much that I asked her to send me the recipe!

I made a loaf last week to bring on our road trip, and we (several of us, ha) ate it all – it was nice to have a healthy snack with us on the road and in the hotel/s.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup apple sauce
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp chopped almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix wet ingredients together in a bowl, then add oats. Stir in remaining ingredients until mixed.

Top with chopped almonds and sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Bake in a greased loaf pan (over a cookie sheet in case of drips) for about 50-55 minutes.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

We could all use a little pick-me-up lately, and dark chocolate definitely works for me.

When I saw a recipe for dark chocolate pistachio bark in this month’s edition of Women’s Health Magazine, I knew it would be a great recipe to bring to book club.

This dark chocolate pistachio bark is the perfect combination of sweet and salty, making it a great snack.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that it is ridiculously easy to make. Promise.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 shelled pistachios, chopped
• pinch of salt

Directions:

Prep a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Melt chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute 40 seconds (take out and stir in 20 seconds increments).

Stir in chopped pistachios.

Spread out the mixture flat onto the baking sheet.

Sprinkle salt on the top of the flat mixture.

Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

Take out, break apart as desired.

Store bark in the freezer if serving in a few days. If serving that day or night, keep cool in the fridge until ready to serve.

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

I already love my slow cooker. (Thanks, Dad!)

Crock-pots may perhaps be one of the best inventions ever. How did I not have one until now?

They are ridiculously easy to use since you just plop all of the ingredients into the pot and let it sit. Plus, when everything was cookin’ away, it made the apartment smell so good. 

Here’s my first slow cooker experiment! I hope you like it as much as Tuna and I did.

We though it was delish and quite hearty. Too bad I discovered this recipe as soon as it is spring/summer!

Recipe adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking. 

Makes 4-6 servings

Note: I used a 4 quart slow cooker size.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 2 tbsp red onion
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup orzo

Directions:

Dice veggies and cut up chicken breast into pieces.

Place chicken, chicken broth, celery, onion, carrot, tomato paste, tomatoes, garlic, basil, bay leaf, salt, and pepper into slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

Add in the orzo and cook on high for about 15-20 minutes.

*****

Thanks as always to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons for hosting WIAW!