Tag: vegan

What the Heck Do I Do With a Pomegranate?

Melissa King 5 Comments

Okay, so I am still fairly new to this cooking thing.  So when I got my co op basket this week and saw a pomegranate, I realized I had no idea what to do with it.  I have seen the seeds, but never seen them in the fruit.  So for those of you that are like me, here is what you do.
First, you cut it like this.

Then, you remove the seeds like this.

We do it in the water because the seeds and the juice can stain.
After, you are left with this.

These juicy seeds (as my daughter likes to call them), are a bit tart.  The flavor reminded me of cranberry.  So, I thought I would make pomegranate orange muffins.  They came out fabulous!  Perhaps because I had my trusty prep cooks with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pomegranate Orange Muffins

What the Heck Do I Do With a Pomegranate?

print shopping list
Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 20 min

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4c spelt flour
  • 1/2 c almond meal
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 c maple syrup
  • 1/4 c oil
  • 1/4 c applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 2 T orange juice
  • 2/3 milk
  • 1/4 orange juice
  • 1 egg replacer (I used a flax egg. 1T flax meal 3T warm water)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.
  3. Combine all wet into another.
  4. Add wet to dry.
  5. Stir in about 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds gently.
  6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

by

Super Simple Tabouleh Salad

Melissa King 11 Comments

Healthy, simple and quick to put together.  This is my kind of recipe!  I learned this recipe from my Turkish mother in law.   There are a ton of tabouleh recipes out there.   The one ingredient that makes this recipe stand apart from others is the pomegranate molasses.  It adds such a nice tang.  This dish is so simple and delicate in taste, so please make sure to use only the freshest ingredients.

Super Simple Tabouleh Salad

Super Simple Tabouleh Salad

print shopping list
Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup bulgur
  • 3 cups water
  • 4-5 green onion sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • lg bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2-3 T pomegranate molasses
  • salt to taste

Instructions

by

Easy Roasted Seasonal Vegetables

Melissa King 1 Comment

Who doesn’t love the fall?  We have the beautiful colors, the cooler air (although not here in Texas yet) and the delicious food!  I just love when we get a co-op basket.  To find out more about the co-op click here.  It is like Christmas morning.  You just never know what you are going to get.  This week, when I saw we got beets and parsnips, I knew I was going to roast them.  They are naturally sweet and roasting just brings out the flavor even more.  It also makes a pretty dish.

Ours was devoured as soon as it came out of the oven! 🙂 What are some of your favorite roasted vegetables?

Easy Roasted Seasonal Fall Vegetables

Easy Roasted Seasonal Vegetables

print shopping list
Prep Time 4 hr Cook Time 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 3-4 beets remove greens, peel and roughly chop
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 3-4 parsnips peeled and cut into coin pieces
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 3 T Balsamic
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Throw everything into a zip lock bag and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. 
  2. I think we did for about 3 hours.
  3. Preheat oven to 400 and spread the mixture onto a baking sheet. 
  4. Bake for about 45-60 minutes until veggies come out tender.

by

Healthy Tropical Smoothie Peanut Paradise

Melissa King 4 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I LOVED Tropical Smoothie when I lived in Vegas.  I think I used to get one every week.  I would always get the peanut paradise because who doesn’t love peanut butter and bananas together? So one day I actually decided to look through the nutritional info they have at the counter.  I could not believe it!  It had 800 calories!  So, I decided to make my own version.  Mine only contains 315 calories and is super easy to make.

Image

 

I feed this to my daughter for breakfast sometimes and add the flax.  She has no idea she is eating something healthy!

What is your favorite Tropical Smoothie flavor?

Healthy Tropical Smoothie Peanut Paradise

Healthy Tropical Smoothie Peanut Paradise

print shopping list
Prep Time 5 min

Ingredients

  • 1 frozen banana
  • 2 T fresh ground peanut butter ( I use Sprouts Organic)
  • 2/3 cup non dairy milk ( I use homemade almond milk , but soy would work fine too.)
  • If you wanted to make it even more healthy, you could add 1 T flax meal

Instructions

  1. Blend everything in a magic bullet until you get the consistency you desire.  I like mine thick so I can eat it with a spoon.  Sometimes, if I feel like getting crazy, I will through in some chocolate chips.

by

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Melissa King 26 Comments

Hope you aren’t sick of pumpkin yet, because these pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes are delicious.  Full of flavor with very little sugar.  The secret is that if you add enough flavor through the spices and vanilla, they will trick your mind into thinking you are eating something sweeter than it is.   Even your kids will love them.  My kids devour these pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes.   Plus, they took almost no time to make.  I actually mixed the dry ingredients the night before.  That way, I could easily make them up in the morning.  Who doesn’t like fresh pancakes for breakfast?  Plus they make your house smell amazing!

pancakes 1 copy

These pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes are vegan, dairy free and egg free.  I hope you enjoy them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Spelt Pancakes

print shopping list
Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 10 min Serves 10-12 pancakes     adjust servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a food processor , mix the milk, pumpkin, oil and egg until well combined. 
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, spices, vanilla and salt. 
  3. Stir dry into wet being careful not to over mix. 
  4. Fold in chocolate chips or any other ingredients you may want to add.  Pecans or almonds might be good too.
  5. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop batter into a lightly oiled pan and spread it out slightly with a spatula. 
  6. When you see the edges get brown, flip the pancakes over for another few minutes.

by

Recipe Notes

This should make about 10-12 pancakes. Don’t worry about trying to eat them all at once. If you don’t, you can just freeze them in a zip lock bag and they should stay fresh for quite some time.