Tag Archives: Dairy Free

Curried Buddha Bowl

Have you heard of a buddha bowl?

knife

I have, but I can’t remember from where.

curry

I think I remember reading about it. That someone ate a “buddha bowl.” A bowl full of goodness. A bowl full of foods that are just simply good for you. Foods that don’t necessarily go together, until the moment they come together in the bowl. Then they go together just perfectly.

quinoa

I’ve had the idea of a buddha bowl in my head for awhile. I didn’t know if or when I would make one. Until one night, I just needed a buddha bowl.

lemons

You should know, I’m a big believer in giving my body what it’s asking for. My body is asking for a good night sleep? I put off work that was supposed to be done to give it a rest. It’s asking for a big cone of ice cream? I satisfy the craving, happily. My body feels like just doing yoga instead of running too? I just do yoga. That’s how I work. I do what I feel in my body.

veggies

One particular night last week my body was asking for a buddha bowl. I was recovering from some sort of flu-illness. I was craving goodness in my body. I needed food that was light, pure, good for me. I made a buddha bowl.

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In my buddha bowl I put broccoli and cauliflower, roasted with curry powder. Quinoa. White fish. Garlic. Lemon. All of these flavors together in one big bowl. It was delicious. Fresh. Literally felt like the best breath of fresh air. It made me feel good. It was just what I needed.

Method:

This was enough for one. This can be easily doubled, tripled, etc. for more than one person.

1/4 c. quinoa
1 c. vegetable broth
A handful of chopped broccoli
A handful of chopped cauliflower
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 tsp. curry powder
1 medium filet of white fish
1 clove of garlic
1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350*.

Thoroughly rinse the quinoa with water. Add the quinoa and 1/2 c. of vegetable broth to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then cover, turn down the heat, and let cook until all liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, add broccoli, cauliflower, 1 tablespoon of oil and curry powder to a bowl. Toss to coat and combine well. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until veggies are soft and lightly brown.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, to flavor the oil. Once the oil is hot, add fish and let cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. This will depend on the thickness of your fish. Once the fish is close to being done, add a good squeeze of lemon juice.

Heat the additional 1/2 c. of vegetable broth on the stove or in the microwave.

To a bowl, add the quinoa then the veggies, fish, warmed broth and another squeeze of lemon.

Enjoy the goodness!

Blueberry Chia Seed Jam

Do you love jam?

Jelly1

I do. I’m in love with jam. And jelly. And marmalade. And preserves. Any thick fruity substance spread over any bread product = love.

And, I love any flavor. Strawberry, raspberry, marionberry, apricot, orange, pineapple. You name it,  I love it.

Except mint jelly. Actually, I never tried mint jelly. I don’t think I’d like it though. I’d try, but I just don’t think so.

Blueberries

When I was younger, I would spend the night at my grandparents for a week or a weekend at a time. Every single night, like clockwork, my gram and I would have toasted bread with butter and jelly. And let me tell you, my grandparents never had a shortage of jam and jelly to choose from. And they still don’t! Maybe that is where my love came from. I have good memories with jam.

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Now, this jam. This jam is delicious! It is not overly sweet, it tastes just as it should. Like real blueberries.

And chia seeds. These are new to me. But I’m loving them.

seeds

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Four simple ingredients, that’s it!

You can find the recipe here — Oh She Glows

Thank you, Oh She Glows, for the great recipe!

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onion White Bean Dip

What are the foods that you will just NOT eat?

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For me, it’s most meat (I know that’s a big one). That pink ginger that comes with sushi. And I recently discovered I won’t eat a certain brand of roasted garlic hummus. Oh, and a bag of dried papaya I just bought.

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More on the hummus I’m not eating: I really wanted to buy a dip just to have around to snack on. I bought the roasted garlic flavor and knew from the first bite that I just can’t eat it.

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Enter: caramelized onion white bean dip. So much better than store bought anyways, right?

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More proof that everything happens for a reason. I bought hummus I didn’t like so that I would be inspired to make this. 🙂
This dip is sooo good. It’s creamy and so full of flavor. I think you will really enjoy it.

Method

Start with:

1 head of garlic

Roast the garlic. I followed this method.

Next:

1 medium red onion, sliced thin
Olive oil
Salt
10 fresh sage leaves

Heat about 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until caramelized, 25-30 minutes. Once onions are caramelized, remove from pan and set aside. Add sage leaves to the pan to toast, about 5 minutes.

Then:

1-15 oz. can white beans (I used Great Northern beans)
Olive oil
4 cloves roasted garlic, from above
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes (I used about 1 tsp. but add according to your taste)

Using a food processor, process beans and olive oil until smooth. Drizzle in enough oil to get a smooth consistency. Add roasted garlic, lemon juice, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Process again, lightly. Add caramelized onions and toasted sage. Process once more, until just combined.

Enjoy!

*Notes:

-Add as much olive oil as you need as you are processing the dip to keep a smooth consistency. If it’s difficult to process, drizzle  in some oil and try again.
-I left some larger chunks of onion and sage in my dip. If you want your dip completely smooth, process it longer, until it is how you like it.
-I served this with crackers and toasted bread.

Gluten Free Bread

I described this bread to someone at work two days ago as “not really bread, but it’s bread to me.”

Bread

This is another recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Edible Perspective. I made only a few changes to the recipe, and I really enjoy the result.

This “bread” is not going to taste or feel anything like store bought bread. I describe it as a dense flat bread, with so much delicious flavor. It is very sturdy and holds toppings wonderfully. Try topping with nut butter and jelly or nut butter and sliced apple. Or, for a savory version, top it with hummus, a smashed avocado, or with egg and melted cheese.

Jelly

Method

Preheat oven to 375*. Place 1/2 T. melted coconut oil in a 9″ round or square pan and rub around to coat the pan.

Start with:

1 c. quinoa flour

1/2 c. oat flour

1/4 c. almond meal

1.5 T. ground flax seeds

1/4 t. salt

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Next:

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk

1 T. melted coconut oil

1 T. applesauce

1.5 T. honey

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Pour batter into pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is slightly cracked and the edges are golden brown.

*You can make your own oat and almond flour. Process oats and almonds in a food processor until very fine.

Enjoy!

What do you think? Would you give this bread a try?

Almond Milk

I’ve had my eye on making my own almond milk for awhile.

UseAlmonds

Anything that can be made rather than bought catches my attention. I don’t drink a lot of milk (unless with cookies) but I do always have it on hand for cooking. So, for now, I’ll have almond milk on hand, a great dairy alternative and also refreshing.

UseAlmondMilk

I used this recipe, from a blog I really enjoy, Edible Perspective. I followed the method exactly.

What do you think? Is this something you would try?