Red Pepper tabouli

 A little taste of the Mediteranean to start my week off right!

Red Pepper Tabouli

Clean Eating Magazine

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 red peppers, diced into 1/4-inch pieces (2 cups)
• 2 stalks celery, diced into 1/4-inch pieces (1 cup) 
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch parsley, minced (1 cup)

DRESSING

• Juice 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium-size heatproof bowl with lid, pour 2 cups boiling water over bulgur. Cover and place in refrigerator for 45 minutes.
2. Pour oil into a large nonstick skillet. Add peppers and celery, sprinkle with basil and salt, and sauté on medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In another small bowl, stir together lemon juice, oil and vinegar for the dressing.
4. When bulgur is finished soaking and water is absorbed, spoon it into a large bowl with the sautéed red pepper and celery. Add parsley. Pour dressing over and stir gently.

Nutrients per 3/4-cup serving: Calories: 93, Total Fat: 2 g, Sat. Fat: 0 g, Carbs: 17 g, Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 2 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 89 mg, Cholesterol: 17 mg 

 

 

And if normal tabouli is just too blah for your exciting life, go a little crazy and don't put the peppers in the the salad... put the salad in the peppers!!

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Spicy Meatloaf!! Just give it a chance!

Check it out!
I made my very own meatloaf!

Okay, okay, I know meatloaf isn't exactly what comes to mind when you think of tasty delicious wholesome food...it actually makes me think of some greyish nasty square thing with a side of mashed potatoish type mush.

But mine actually turned out!
It looks maybe a 3, but tastes like a ten!

 CLEAN EATING'S SPICY MEATLOAF

Ingredients:

Olive Oil cooking spray
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp chile powder
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
2 1/2 lb extra lean ground sirloin
1 cup organic catsup
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse onion, carrots, celery and garlic until finely chopped, about 10 pulses.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, chile powder, thyme, salt and black pepper; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg. Add sirloin to egg and mix thoroughly with

your hands. Add oat mixture and onion mixture and mix with your hands until well combined. Spoon into loaf pan, smoothing top with the back of spoon. Place pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.

Prepare glaze: In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Remove meatloaf from oven and pour half of glaze over top, distributing evenly; reserve remaining half. Return to oven and bake for 30 minutes, until an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in center. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 8 equal pieces and serve with remaining glaze for dipping.

Nutrients per serving (1/8 of meatload and 1 tbsp glaze) Calories 267, Total fat 9g (Sat 3.5g, Mono 3.5g, Poly 1g), Carbs 13g, Fiber 2g, Sugars 2g, Protein 33g, Sodium 385mg, Cholesterol 114mg

Don't discriminate against the ugly foods! They taste just as good, so give em a chance!
~Princess

Mustard Thyme Dressing (i.e. making veggies taste good!)

This is the perfect quick and easy dressing for any kind of veggie!

I discovered it yesterday in my Clean Eating magazine:

 Mustard-Thyme Dressing

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Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp minced red onion
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• dash salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Just mix, pour over veggies, and serve!

Ta ta for now!
~Princess

2012 goal, take more tea breaks!

Phew!
This year is already off to a speedy start!
My goal this year is to take a few minutes from my sometimes hectic schedule, relax, and just BE. Put my swanky new iphone to the side (I can beat my bakery game high score later), take a breath, and forget my stresses for a bit.
Maybe start having more tea breaks?

I think this present from my grandparents will help me do just that:

How do the flavours Green and Fruity, Forever Nuts, and Read my Lips sound??
Well, got to run... I can hear the kettle boiling!
~Princess

Big batch muffins!

At home during the holidays, with nothing but time on my hands! What to do?
Why not bake a huge batch of muffins?!

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When I start January all motivated to make great lunches to take to school with me, I'm going to be so ready in the snack department. Just grab some muffins from the freezer, and they'll be perfectly defrosted by snack time. No effort required!!

I started with this basic muffin recipe (it's good to double or triple it):

Note: It uses light spelt flour, which gives a more 'cake like' texture.

Basic Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups light spelt flour
• 2 tbsp wheat bran
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups.               
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.         

I followed this recipe, but before I poured them into the muffin tray, I separated the dough into a few batches and made some variations. Look ma, no recipe!!!

Granola muffins: Kashi granola, dried fruit, sliced almonds. (Top right)
Blueberry walnut: fresh blueberries, chopped walnuts, vanila, cinnamon. (Bottom left)
Tropical muffins: flaked coconut, rum extract, toopped with banana slices ( Bottom right)
Cinnamon bun muffins: cinnamon, raisins (Top left)

Hope everyone had a great new years, and your heads feel okay today ;)

~Princess