Tag: lunch

Basil Chickpea Balls

by happycatie, posted in Home, Nutrition, Recipes

Fall seems to have officially arrived in Colorado – the air is crisp in the morning and remains cooler throughout the days. I love it! I’ve already pulled out my pumpkin decorations and bought my Jack O’ Lantern at Costco.

Fall calls for savory meals, so for lunch the other day, I made a cous-cous dish with the loads of garden tomatoes that are popping up, adding these simple, full of protein basil chickpea balls for some extra heartiness. I altered the recipe from thecrunchychronicles.com, using fresh basil and panko flakes.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Flax Seed Meal
6 Tablespoons of water
1/2 cup of Panko flakes
1 can of chickpeas (reserve about a tablespoon of the water they are in)
A handful of fresh, chopped basil
Pinch of Salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
Red Pepper Flakes to taste

  1. Mix your flax seed egg – meal & water – and let sit for 10 minutes (in the fridge)
  2. Get a food processor out and mix your chickpeas & flax egg (once ready) to a smooth paste (some lumps are ok)
  3. Add remaining ingredients (I did this is a bigger bowl)
  4. Roll the balls into small rounds with your hands
  5. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes

I sauteed garden peppers, garlic, coconut oil and kale to top my cous cous & paired it all with these delicious treats, adding garden tomatoes as a topper. It was filling and full of plant goodness!

Enjoy!

Ski Bum Envy Bowl

by happycatie, posted in Adventures, Happy, Nutrition, Recipes

It’s winter in Colorado – and that means skiing! If you can’t reach me, I’ll be in the mountains, enjoying the slopes, snow and blue bird days.

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Except this weekend, which found us back in the foothills at home, with the boring reality stuff everyone deals with. Cleaning, laundry, taxes, work, investment property tasks, bill paying. You know, the stuff that keeps your life moving forward, no matter how boring it is to partake in.

Today, Sunday, we spent our time with our doggies inside & out, and watched a few extreme sport documentaries: Valley Uprising & Further. Talk about feeling like a fatty, couch potato, loser.

These films showed adventurers, risk takers, thrill seekers, outdoor enthusiasts who took to the forests, rocks, national forests, slopes, mountains with a hunger I envied. These characters were living their lives without the constraints of modern society, without the limitations the work week has. Many didn’t have jobs, spent their nights in tents, in the woods, under the stars. And I couldn’t have be more jealous. Yes, I want to be outdoors more than anywhere else. Yes, I am climbing mountains and skiing and venturing into the wilderness on most weekends. Yes, I want to wonder into the unknown and hear the mountain streams and see clear across the mountain ranges. Unfortunately, not on this particular weekend.

So, lunch rolled around and I became inspired to cook a dish that was ski bum appropriate. A cheap dish, that packs a huge punch, both on the nutritional and flavor scale. And I was wearing my Snowbird sweatshirt, so almost like I was out there with those adventurers.

Enjoy!

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Ingredients

  • 4 medium carrots
  • 1/2 head of cabbage chopped
  • 7 button mushrooms
  • 1/2 sweet potato (cooked)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 1-2 cups cooked quinoa
  • Topping Ideas: Raw Pumpkin & Sesame Seeds, Dried Figs, left over refried beans, salt, pepper

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons of Tahini
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons of Almond milk
  • 1/2 can of chick peas

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Directions

  • Heat oil in a pan, adding garlic – 1-3 minutes
  • Chop carrots into buttons – microwave them in 2 tablespoons of water, for 1 min and 30 seconds, so they’re soft
  • Add carrots & cabbage to pan. Add pepper and a pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring till all is covered with oil
  • Add mushrooms to pan and saute for another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a cuisine art/blender
  • Split the quinoa into two bowls and top with the veggie saute. Add the sauce and toppings and enjoy!

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15 Minute No Carb Zoodle Bowl

by happycatie, posted in Nutrition, Recipes
Quick lunch
Quick lunch

Who am I kidding…..no carbs sound like a horrible idea! But, sometimes I do find that they make me a bit more sluggish and it’s good to switch it up with twice the veggies. Now, I do believe if you eat the right carbs, you should have no problems whatsoever & should never worry about counting calories. I’m also a firm believer of eating real food, so carbs or no carbs shouldn’t be a big deal!

I digress….let’s talk about my quick, easy, no carb lunch!

We are heading to the mountains this weekend, so I’m cleaning out my fridge. Not having a ton of time to make anything (busy day at work!) plus, not having a huge amount of food to actually work with…..I pulled out the following:

1 big red pepper

1 small orange pepper

1 whole zucchini

1 big carrot

3 gloves of garlic

An almost empty jar of peanut butter sauce

Coconut milk

Amino Acid

Sriracha

Red wine Vinegar

I shredded the zucchini and carrot with a cheese grater. Chopped the garlic & pepper, which I sauteed in about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil for about 5 minutes (I used a wok). I added the zucchini & carrot mix and sauted for another 5-7. Mixing 2 tablespoons of the amino acids, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a few squirts of sriracha directly in the peanut butter jar…..I shook until mixed. Adding the sauce to the mixture I cooked for another minute or two, threw in a bowl and dove in!

Look at food differently…..and your meals will transform!

Happy Thursday!