March 24, 2015 March 24, 2015/ Morgan
This is the newest sauce that is gracing my refrigerator with its presence. I always have room for more sauce (especially hot sauce!) Well not really. I’m running out of room. And containers. And really I need more room for hot sauce. I was saying that I need a little fridge entirely for condiments when we move to a place with a bigger kitchen. Seriously. I have lots.
I sort of just decided that I was going to make a pesto and a broccoli pesto at that. It turned out better than I could have hoped! It’s fulllllll of veggies, not oil, but tastes totally amazing. I can’t wait to have it on some pasta tomorrow!!!!
It’s based off this recipe. I just lightened it up even more and added some more veggies and basil!
Roasted Broccoli Basil Pesto4 cups chopped broccoli1/4 cup macadamia nuts (or whatever really – cashews, pinenuts, almonds, sunflower seeds) 1 whole avocado, seed removed of course4-5 cloves garlicjuice 1 large lemon2 cups basil1 cup kale1- 1&1/2 cups water
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt (to taste or less if you prefer)
Heat your oven up to 410 degrees and place your broccoli on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and roast for 15-20 minutes or until they are slightly charred.
Meanwhile place the garlic, avocado, nuts, lemon juice, basil and kale into your food processor and process until it starts to become smooth. Then add int he broccoli and 1 cup water. Add more water as necessary to get a good smooth texture. Then add your salt to taste (and perhaps more lemon juice – really depends on the size of your lemons!)
Now put that stuff on everrrrrything. Pasta! Pizza! Grains! Beans! Potatoes! Toast! Chips! Whatever!
Serving size is 1/4 cup. 1 WW pt per serving.
March 24, 2015/ Morgan/
This is the soup I make ALLLLLLLLL of the time now! It’s fantastic, easy as heck and full of veggies. Do you really need anything more than that? (More pictures to come shortly, friends or just make your own and take a picture and send it to me!!!!)
Beer cheese cauliflower soup
1 head cauliflower chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
2 carrots chopped
4 cups water
12 oz beer (preferably a Hefeweizen – nothing too bitter!)
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 tablespoon tahini
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Bring all ingredients except lemon juice to a boil, cover and turn down to low to simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, purée, add additional salt and/or lemon juice to taste and serve.
*note you can add 4 cups chopped broccoli and another cup of water to the soup for a broccoli cauliflower cheese soup.
-2 WW points per cup!-
March 24, 2015/ Morgan/
Summer rolls are so amazingly delicious and surprisingly easy to make. Don’t worry about the wrappers. They are really easy to handle once you know the tricks. You can put whatever you want into them but I feel like there are a couple of requirements : 1.) herbs – mint and cilantro especially (mint and basil would be great too!) 2.) cucumber 3.) avocado – beyond that any vegetables, tofu or tempeh or seitan or or or… see you can wrap anything up in there.
Also the sauce is awesome and 1 WW point for the whole recipe!
Easy Peanut Sauce
2 Tablespoons PB2 Powdered Peanut butter 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon sriracha
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 Tablespoon water
Mix everything together and dip everything into it!!
For the rolls –
Baked Tofu or Tempeh (I like Sriracha Baked Tofu) Avocado Herbs: mint, cilantro, basil, etcVeggies: cucumber, bell pepper, onions, shredded broccoil, carrots, cabbage, kale, spinach, etc!!
Rice Paper Wrappers (These are 3 wrappers for 2 WW points!)
Now this is what you’ve been doing wrong with rice paper wrappers – you do NOT soak them in water. Just give them a quick rinse under running water to make sure they are completely moistened and place them on a plate or wherever you are assembling your rolls. They will still be hard but trust me. Put all of your ingredients on your paper and by the time you’ve got that done it will be perfectly flexible but not soggy!! It’s a game changer, seriously. If you over stuff them they will probably still split though so be careful. For 3 rolls I used 1/4 avocado, 3 oz baked tofu and a bunch of veggies. Comes out to 2 points per roll with that combination of ingredients.
Now go make some!! (I’ve got all of my veggies cut up now ready for tomorrow because I’m pretty sure this is going to be my new daily quick lunch!!!!)
March 23, 2015/ Morgan/
Inspired by Keepin’ It Kind’s S&S Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower broken into bite sized pieces1 – 20oz can pineapple chunks, separated1/4 cup sliced dried tomatoesjuice 2 small lemons (or 1 large)1/3 cup rice vinegar1/2 cup water2 TBSP tapioca starch (or cornstarch) mixed into 1/3 cup water3 large dates, pitted2 TBSP tamari or soy sauce1 TBSP sriracha (or more if you aren’t serving it to sensitive folks!) 1 bell pepper cut into chunks1/4 red onion cut into chunks4 green onions slicedPreheat oven to 410 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat liner. Throw the cauliflower on there and sprinkle with salt if you want to. Set the timer for about 25 minutes and let it cook until slightly browned but still tender crisp.While that’s cooking throw 1/2 cup pineapple chunks, all of the pineapple juice, the dried tomatoes, lemon juice, rice vinegar, water, cornstarch water mixture, pitted dates, tamari and sriracha into a blender and blend until totally smooth. Pour into a small sauce pan and add the remaining pineapple, bell pepper, red onion and most of the green onion (I leave some for pretty color on top) Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until thick and gloopy. The veggies will still be very crisp – that’s a good thing! Should take a few minutes.
Once the cauliflower is done add it to the sauce, mix well and serve! Great with rice of course but I’m sure any grain would soak up that delicious sauce. Speaking of sauce, theres enough for you to add extra veggies if you like. Go for it! Green beans are my mega pick.
Makes 4 HUGE servings – 2 points per serving!!!!!
March 18, 2015/ Morgan/
Inspired by the recipe on theppk.com except even easier and with FoRealsLife ranch.
For one salad:
I just crumbled 3 oz tempeh into a pot with some water and boiled for a couple of minutes. Then I just drained it, tossed with Franks Red Hot Sauce (to taste) and put it on my salad with ranch, tomatoes, red onion, dill and cucumbers. Don’t like tempeh? Kid Tested Firefighter Approved Buffalo Ranch Chickpeas would be amazing too!!!
•5 WW pts• for everything (including 1/4 c ranch!)
March 18, 2015/ Morgan/