Tag: spinach

Dairy Free Spinach Pesto Recipe

Melissa King 30 Comments

You need to try this Dairy Free Spinach Pesto!  Who doesn’t like pesto?  I actually prefer it over a tomato sauce any day.  We have basil growing in our backyard, so I thought I would use some of it to create a pesto sauce.

I could seriously sit there and smell it all day!  Seriously, if you don’t have basil growing in your house or yard, you need to get some.

Basil grows like a weed!  You can save so much money by growing your own herbs, and basil is no exception.

Plus, you can freeze them and have herbs all year round.  This dairy free spinach pesto recipe makes more of a paste than a sauce, so if you want to turn it into a sauce, you need to add a bit more oil and/or some water.

 

dairy free spinach pesto

I love using this recipe for making pizza.  It’s great with a cherry tomatoes as well.  If you are not familiar with nutritional yeast,  it comes in flake form and gives a nutty and cheesy taste.

It is often used in place of cheese.  Nutritional yeast is a great source of protein, fiber and B vitamins.

You can find it at most health stores.  I used almonds when making this pesto, since pine nuts are so expensive.  Almonds make a great substitute.

You can also make this healthy pesto recipe with kale if you like.  Works just as well.

Dairy Free Spinach Pesto

Dairy Free Spinach Pesto

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Prep Time 10 min Serves 1.5 cups     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Throw everything in the food processor and mix until combined. Since my food processor’s lid broke and I am waiting for a new one to arrive, I had to use my Vitamix for this. I can tell you it was a bit harder in the Vitamix than the food processor.

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Recipe Notes

This recipe made about 1 1/2 cups and should last a couple weeks in the fridge. You can also freeze it for longer storage. Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

Melissa King 15 Comments

I have been trying hard to get more beets into my diet.  They are so good for you.  I tried blending them up in my vitamix, but couldn’t get them down.  It was not very good.  Maybe they are one of those things you have to get used to?  Coconut was like that for me.  I used to hate it,  but now I can’t get enough!  I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest.  It’s from Gluten-Free Goddess and it was amazing!  Check out her blog if you get a chance.  Lots of yummy recipes and many are vegan.

beet salad watermark

I have made roasted beets in the past and I thought they were delicious.  So I decided to give this a go.  I am so glad I did!  I did change a few things in the recipe, but I mostly kept it as is.  I am not a fan of oranges in salad, so I omitted those.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked quinoa
  • 2 beets peeled (greens removed) and cubed
  • 2 T avocado or coconut oil
  • salt to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Juice of half a large orange or 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari (I used organic soy)
  • 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 T raw honey or maple syrup
  • 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Place the beets on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with the 2 T coconut or avocado oil.
  3. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  4. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.
  5. While the beets are roasting, you can cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. I actually cooked the quinoa the day before.  If you buy your quinoa in bulk, cook it 2 parts water per 1 part quinoa. 
  6. Once the beets are done roasting, let them cool.
  7. Once cooled, combine the beets and quinoa in a large bowl. 
  8. In a small bowl, combine: olive oil, orange juice, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and honey.
  9. Whisk into a dressing.
  10. Pour over the beets and quinoa.
  11. Fold in the spinach.
  12. Now salt to taste and that’s it.

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Recipe Notes

We got about 4 servings. Enjoy!

Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

Melissa King 22 Comments

I have a ton of recipes pinned to try on Pinterest.  It had been awhile since I had tried a new one, so I plucked this up and tried it.  This lovely salad comes from Zizi’s Adventures.  She has a beautiful blog full of yummy recipes like this one.  It looked so good I had to try it.  It tasted AMAZING!  We actually made it twice since the first batch disappeared quickly.  I tripled the recipe and changed a few things the second time around.

avocado sesame salad FG watermark

This recipe has all my favorite ingredients.  In my world, avocados make everything better.  The original recipe called to cook the greens and garlic, but I like them raw better so that is how I did mine.

Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

Wild Rice, Spinach and Avocado Salad with Sesame Dressing

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 1 hr

Ingredients

    Salad

    • 4-5 big bunches of baby spinach chopped (you can do kale as well)
    • 1 1/2 cups wild rice (cooked)
    • 3 avocados sliced
    • 2 cups or 1 can white beans (soak overnight and then cook until soft)
    • 2-3 cloves garlic minced or 2 tsp garlic powder
    • salt to taste

    Dressing

    • 6 T toasted sesame oil
    • 3 T rice vinegar
    • 3 T soy sauce or bragg's aminos
    • Juice of 1 lemon

    Instructions

    1. Cook the rice and let cool. I actually did this the day before. Same with the beans if using dried beans.
    2. In a large bowl, add rice, beans, avocado, garlic and spinach and mix well.
    3. In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the dressing.
    4. Pour dressing in the large bowl and mix well until everything is combined.

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    Recipe Notes

    I found the best way to do this was with my hands. This dish is best eaten fresh, but will still be delicious the next day. I makes about 5-6 servings. Enjoy!

    Adapted from Zizi's Adventures

    Mean Green Smoothie

    Melissa King 20 Comments

    My three year old daughter, Meadow, will not try spinach or kale.  That is….until I wrapped them up in a nice smoothie like presentation!

    It’s only a little white lie that I told her we were having ice cream for breakfast, right?  It’s like the breakfast cookies or the donuts.  You just wrap the healthy food in a nice little kid friendly package and they cannot resist it.  In fact, she was so anxious to eat it, that she could barely contain herself as I was trying to snap some photos.

    Mean Green Smoothie

    Mean Green Smoothie

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    Prep Time 5 min

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups kale stalks removed
    • 1 cup spinach
    • 1 cup frozen blueberries and raspberries
    • 1 1/4 cup almond milk
    • 1 frozen banana
    • 1 pkg raw vegan non gmo organic protein powder

    Instructions

    1. Throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth.

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    Recipe Notes

    This is a perfect breakfast to make for kids on the go.  In fact, you can wash and dry the veggies the night before so all you have to do is throw all the ingredients in.  Super easy!

    Tempeh Stir Fry With Soba Noodles

    Melissa King 7 Comments

    So today I had a bunch of leftover veggies in my fridge.  We are getting a co op basket this weekend so I needed to make more room for it.  So I took everything I had and threw it in a stir fry.  As I said before, stir frys are an easy way to use up some leftovers in the fridge.  Plus, they take only a few minutes to make.

    Tempeh Stir Fry With Soba Noodles

    Tempeh Stir Fry With Soba Noodles

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    Ingredients

    • 1/2 pkg whole wheat soba noodles. (I used the Eden brand)
    • 8-10 mushrooms sliced thin
    • 1pkg tempeh (I used organic flax)
    • 1 carrot sliced thin
    • 1 red pepper sliced thin
    • 2 big bunches of baby spinach
    • 2 tsp garlic powder

    For the sauce

    • 1T miso
    • 3T water
    • 3T mirin
    • 2T organic soy sauce (I used SanJ)

    Instructions

    1. Whisk all ingredients together
    2. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and set aside.
    3. Heat a large pan on med with about 2 T sesame oil, garlic powder, tempeh and the mushrooms.
    4. Cook the tempeh and mushrooms for a couple of minutes until they start to soften.
    5. Then add the carrot and pepper.Cook these for another minute and then add the spinach.
    6. Once the spinach starts to wilt, add the sauce and the soba noodles.
    7. Toss this mixture around until everything becomes well incorporated. Plate and serve. Enjoy!

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    Thinking of Takeout? Try This Pizza!

    Melissa King 7 Comments

    I know that life moves fast and a lot of time you don’t have the time to whip up an elaborate dinner.  Instead of ordering a pizza, try making your own flat bread one.  It’s super easy.

    When I was in high school, I worked at a pizza restaurant.  They used to let us make a small pizza to take home after our shift.  We used to get creative with the toppings.  I think I made a steak and cheese pizza once.  On slow nights we used to make fried dough.  It was fun and yummy.  Probably not too healthy though. 🙂  Now, every time I smell takeout, it reminds me of that time.

    Quick Flat Bread Pizza

    Thinking of Takeout? Try This Pizza!

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    Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 17 min

    Ingredients

      For the pizza

      • Whole grain flat bread
      • 10-12 cherry tomatoes
      • 1/2 cup mushrooms
      • 1 bunch baby spinach
      • 1/4 cup daiya cheese

      Pesto Sauce

      • 1 cup fresh basil
      • 1 cup fresh parsley
      • 1/2 cup almonds (I use almonds because pine nuts are so expensive)
      • 3-4 garlic cloves rough chopped
      • 2 T nutritional yeast
      • 1/4 cup olive oil

      Instructions

        Pesto Sauce:

        1. Grind the almonds up a bit in the food processor first.
        2. Then add the basil, parsley, nutritional yeast and garlic.
        3. As you process those, drizzle in the oil until everything is well mixed.

        For the pizza

        1. Preheat oven to 350.
        2. Take the whole grain flat bread and brush it with oil and bake it for about 7 minutes.
        3. Pull the flat bread out and spread on the pesto sauce, add the mushrooms, spinach and tomato and cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or until the flat bread looks crispy.
        4. Cut up and enjoy!

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