Hummus is a great addition to your diet and can help you enjoy your veggies so much more. I have mentioned in the past how important veggies are to your overall diet. They have lots of great natural vitamins in them and can make you feel full without the extra calories. I love to eat carrots, celery, radishes, sugar snap peas, and broccoli all dipped in my hummus. I also like to use hummus as my condiment for my sandwiches. Sometimes my sandwiches are made as lettuce wraps smothered in hummus with some turkey and fresh ground pepper and oregano. If you love your cheese you can add one slice of cheese too. It can also be spread onto bread instead of mustard or mayo. Hummus, which is made of chick peas (garbanzo beans), is a great source of Protein, Fiber, Folate, Copper, and Manganese. I will also add it to my salads to add a little bit of moisture without adding more dressing of any kind. I love my hummus. It can made all the way from scratch with dried chick peas (garbanzo beans), or with a can of the chick peas (garbanzo beans). If I use the can I will decrease salt and I always buy cans without added sugars or salt if I can find them. I do prefer to make hummus starting with the dried chick peas. If you go ahead and soak a bunch of them and cook them up, then you can store whatever you don't use in a Ziplock bag in the freezer. Making things simple is key to continuing to cook healthy dishes. I freeze extra whenever possible for those days that you don't have as much time. So here is my recipe, as best I can, but always remember to add more or less of something to make it yours.
Hummus
1 1/2 cups cooked chick peas or 1 16oz can of chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained.
Juice of 2-3 lemons
1/4 cup tahini (ground up sesame seeds- I usually find in the organic section close to peanut butters)
1 tsp Celtic Sea salt
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cummin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 pinches of cayenne pepper (more or less to desired spice)
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
Directions:
Blend all ingredients in food processor. Add more or less water to get to desired texture and moisture. I usually need less water when I use the canned beans. I may also add 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil for a little flavor and good fat. Blend until desired smoothness.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Sunday, December 16, 2012
A Bobo Breakfast
Usually during the weekend sometime, Dan or I will make some kind of big breakfast for the family. The menu is very similar to what most families eat, but we make everything from scratch. We have pancakes or waffles, eggs, bacon or sausage, and sometimes hash browns. It's definitely work, but well worth it and a good way for the family to help cook and sit down together for another meal. We use farm fresh, cage free eggs and no hormones or steroids added bacon or sausage. Sometimes we will make an egg casserole which is an easy way to add veggies to our meal. If you haven't noticed by my addition of vegetables to each meal, I am a huge advocate of large amounts of veggies in our diet. They will fill you up more, without the addition of extra calories and they are just a good source of so many vitamins that your body needs. So here are the recipes we somewhat follow. Again, I am not good at measuring all the ingredients and sometimes I do not have everything a recipe calls for, but we will start with a basic recipe.
Waffles
2 large eggs
2 cups of whole wheat flour - I often substitute 1 C whole wheat flour and a combination of 1 C of oat bran, rice flour and oat flour
1 3/4 cup milk - I have used almond milk to keep away from dairy
1/4 cup olive oil - I usually use light flavored olive oil, but extra virgin is fine. It just adds more olive oil flavor.
1 Tbsp organic brown sugar - usually we leave the sugar out all together because we add toppings to our waffles that make it sweet
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Heat waffle iron.
Beat eggs in a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients.
Depending on the size of your waffle maker....pour about 1/2 cup mix into waffle iron.
Cook until golden brown.
Toppings:
I like to take some frozen berries and heat up in microwave with just a little organic sugar or stevia to sweeten. Then I cut it up into small pieces with a fork and knife and serve over waffles.
We also like pure maple syrup, natural peanut butter and jelly.
The rule in my house....only one topping. It's full of sugar in any of the choices except peanut butter.
Scambled Eggs - Dan's way
Crack the eggs into a greased skillet. I like using coconut oil
Then break yolks and all in the pan and mix up in the pan. You could also beat eggs in a bowl before adding to the pan, but NEVER add milk.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. We may also add cayenne pepper or curry seasoning.
Our trick to extend this breakfast into the busy weekday mornings, is to make extra. We usually cook a few waffles and pancakes just until light brown. We let them cool and then put them into an airtight ziplock bag and stick into the freezer. During the week we can pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the toaster. It's a perfect warm breakfast that is cheaper and healthier than a box of frozen ones from the store.
Waffles
2 large eggs
2 cups of whole wheat flour - I often substitute 1 C whole wheat flour and a combination of 1 C of oat bran, rice flour and oat flour
1 3/4 cup milk - I have used almond milk to keep away from dairy
1/4 cup olive oil - I usually use light flavored olive oil, but extra virgin is fine. It just adds more olive oil flavor.
1 Tbsp organic brown sugar - usually we leave the sugar out all together because we add toppings to our waffles that make it sweet
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Heat waffle iron.
Beat eggs in a large bowl, then add the remaining ingredients.
Depending on the size of your waffle maker....pour about 1/2 cup mix into waffle iron.
Cook until golden brown.
Toppings:
I like to take some frozen berries and heat up in microwave with just a little organic sugar or stevia to sweeten. Then I cut it up into small pieces with a fork and knife and serve over waffles.
We also like pure maple syrup, natural peanut butter and jelly.
The rule in my house....only one topping. It's full of sugar in any of the choices except peanut butter.
Scambled Eggs - Dan's way
Crack the eggs into a greased skillet. I like using coconut oil
Then break yolks and all in the pan and mix up in the pan. You could also beat eggs in a bowl before adding to the pan, but NEVER add milk.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. We may also add cayenne pepper or curry seasoning.
Our trick to extend this breakfast into the busy weekday mornings, is to make extra. We usually cook a few waffles and pancakes just until light brown. We let them cool and then put them into an airtight ziplock bag and stick into the freezer. During the week we can pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the toaster. It's a perfect warm breakfast that is cheaper and healthier than a box of frozen ones from the store.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Spaghetti Dinner
One of our families favorite meals is spaghetti. Of course this can be a very simple open a jar and throw on some noodles type of dinner, but that's not how we do it here. I make my sauce from scratch for the most part. I do use some canned tomatoes, but I have had some fresh canned tomatoes that Dan's mom, Kathy, has given me that made this sauce so much better. However, I am realistic in my time right now and a good can of tomatoes from the store will work. During the summer months I may have some fresh basil or other herbs from my small potted garden that also make this dish great. Not only do we eat my homemade sauce, but we also make some fresh Italian whole wheat bread in the bread maker. You can definitely be carb overloaded, but its a meal no one will refuse. We also have some dipping sauce for our bread that is made of extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and Italian seasonings. You will not go wrong with this meal.
Spaghetti Sauce
1 small to medium onion
2 celery stocks
2 carrots or 2 handfuls of baby carrots
6 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper(more or less depending on how spicy you want)
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
2 Tbsp red cooking wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28oz can diced or petite diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
Directions:
Blend onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to desired thickness. Puree if you want smoother sauce and hidden veggies. In a large pot at medium low heat, add 2-3 Tbsp olive oil and then add blended veggies to cook for about 5 minutes just to soften. Add basil, parsley,oregano, thyme, sage, and crushed red pepper. Stir to mix with veggies. Then push to the side of pot and add ground turkey or beef. Cook til meat is fully cooked, browned. Then add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low at a simmer for about and hour. Uncover and keep low and cook for another 1/2 hour to hour to cook off liquid and get to a desired thickness for a sauce. Serve over pasta of your choice. We like whole wheat angel hair, penne, or really anything that is noodle form left in the cabinet. I stick with whole wheat, rice, or oat bran noodles. Serves about 10.
*If you are looking for a more adult version of spaghetti or just looking to add more veggies to your diet, I will sometimes saute some green and red peppers and onions with some spicy seasoning and add that to my plate. Not usually a kid favorite, but I am always looking for ways to add veggies.
Whole Wheat Bread- In the bread machine
I use Bob's Red Mill flour, found in the organic section of the grocery store. I do use his recipe very close except for a few changes
1 cup warm water
2 cups Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tsp salt
1 package dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp light or extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 Tbsp milk
1 1/4 Tbsp local honey
Directions:
Put all your dry ingredients in first, yeast on top. Then I add honey, milk, and olive oil to my warm water and stir. Then immediately pour on top of dry ingredients and turn bread maker on. This will make plain whole wheat bread, but to make it my Italian way....when your bread maker has you add other ingredients about half way through its mixing cycle, then add 1 Tbsp dry Italian seasonings and 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.
ENJOY!
Spaghetti Sauce
1 small to medium onion2 celery stocks
2 carrots or 2 handfuls of baby carrots
6 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper(more or less depending on how spicy you want)
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
2 Tbsp red cooking wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28oz can diced or petite diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
Directions:
Blend onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to desired thickness. Puree if you want smoother sauce and hidden veggies. In a large pot at medium low heat, add 2-3 Tbsp olive oil and then add blended veggies to cook for about 5 minutes just to soften. Add basil, parsley,oregano, thyme, sage, and crushed red pepper. Stir to mix with veggies. Then push to the side of pot and add ground turkey or beef. Cook til meat is fully cooked, browned. Then add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low at a simmer for about and hour. Uncover and keep low and cook for another 1/2 hour to hour to cook off liquid and get to a desired thickness for a sauce. Serve over pasta of your choice. We like whole wheat angel hair, penne, or really anything that is noodle form left in the cabinet. I stick with whole wheat, rice, or oat bran noodles. Serves about 10.
*If you are looking for a more adult version of spaghetti or just looking to add more veggies to your diet, I will sometimes saute some green and red peppers and onions with some spicy seasoning and add that to my plate. Not usually a kid favorite, but I am always looking for ways to add veggies.
Whole Wheat Bread- In the bread machine
I use Bob's Red Mill flour, found in the organic section of the grocery store. I do use his recipe very close except for a few changes
1 cup warm water
2 cups Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 tsp salt
1 package dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp light or extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 Tbsp milk
1 1/4 Tbsp local honey
Directions:
Put all your dry ingredients in first, yeast on top. Then I add honey, milk, and olive oil to my warm water and stir. Then immediately pour on top of dry ingredients and turn bread maker on. This will make plain whole wheat bread, but to make it my Italian way....when your bread maker has you add other ingredients about half way through its mixing cycle, then add 1 Tbsp dry Italian seasonings and 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.
ENJOY!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Since You Asked
Each day I am asked about the types of food I eat and if I could share some of my recipes. So here I go, the best I can...because my biggest secret in the kitchen is that I don't measure much of anything. I can blame that all on my mom, whom I still ask for some of her recipes and the measurement could be a little shake of that and a shake shake shake of this, and then a final word of 'add more to taste.' It does make it hard to duplicate, but with the right ingredients you can get close. And really, who wants to taste the same dish the same way each time you make it.
So what do I have in my pantry? Let's start with a little bit of what I don't have in my pantry. But even before that, let me start by saying I am not a Doctor, nor nutritionist, nor do I claim to know everything or claim to be correct in my thinking, but I do know what I consume and what I do not. Where I get my information on what I do and don't consume is really from many sources. I know I am not perfect in all of my dont's, but I do strive to eliminate them the best I can.
Bobo Dont's
No trans fats- no partially hydrogenated oils
No corn syrup
No white flour
No regular sugar
No boxed oatmeal
No white bread
I'm sure I will add to this list as I go. I have realized that we really do eat so much differently than many people so somethings do not jump up at me to list right now. So what kind of things do we use in our daily meals?
Bobo Favorites
Plain yogurt- which is used in place of mayo and sour cream
Organic sugar- no GMOs
Whole Wheat flour, Oat flour, Rice flour, Oat Bran
Purified water- hopefully I will cover this in a post all on its own
Organic cereals
Organic meats
Organic apples
Organic free range eggs
Oatmeal-Regular and quick cooking oats
This is a good start. I would love to have most everything organic, but resources do not always allow for that to be possible. So we do what we can and buy what is on sale. I am still working on a good recipe to share, but the measuring does slow me down LOL! But my husband, Dan, would like me to first start with how to boil eggs. Yes, boil eggs, probably because its one thing he always has to ask me over and over again and then still starts wrong.
Boiled Eggs
Gently place eggs in a Large pot
Add cold water to the pot until it covers about an inch over the eggs
Place on stove at high to reach a boil...once boiling cook for 10 minutes
When time is finished immediately run cold water over the eggs to cool
Then peel All the eggs- it is easier to peel them when they are still a bit warm
Then let cool and place in air tight container in frig.
Boiled eggs are a great thing to have on hand to grab as a snack or have for a quick breakfast. They are a great source of healthy fat and protein. The protein is in the egg white and the fat is the yolk. We sprinkle with a little bit of Celtic Sea Salt and pepper and sometimes for a spice add a very small amount of cayenne pepper. Happy snacking!
So what do I have in my pantry? Let's start with a little bit of what I don't have in my pantry. But even before that, let me start by saying I am not a Doctor, nor nutritionist, nor do I claim to know everything or claim to be correct in my thinking, but I do know what I consume and what I do not. Where I get my information on what I do and don't consume is really from many sources. I know I am not perfect in all of my dont's, but I do strive to eliminate them the best I can.
Bobo Dont's
No trans fats- no partially hydrogenated oils
No corn syrup
No white flour
No regular sugar
No boxed oatmeal
No white bread
I'm sure I will add to this list as I go. I have realized that we really do eat so much differently than many people so somethings do not jump up at me to list right now. So what kind of things do we use in our daily meals?
Bobo Favorites
Plain yogurt- which is used in place of mayo and sour cream
Organic sugar- no GMOs
Whole Wheat flour, Oat flour, Rice flour, Oat Bran
Purified water- hopefully I will cover this in a post all on its own
Organic cereals
Organic meats
Organic apples
Organic free range eggs
Oatmeal-Regular and quick cooking oats
This is a good start. I would love to have most everything organic, but resources do not always allow for that to be possible. So we do what we can and buy what is on sale. I am still working on a good recipe to share, but the measuring does slow me down LOL! But my husband, Dan, would like me to first start with how to boil eggs. Yes, boil eggs, probably because its one thing he always has to ask me over and over again and then still starts wrong.
Boiled Eggs
Gently place eggs in a Large pot
Add cold water to the pot until it covers about an inch over the eggs
Place on stove at high to reach a boil...once boiling cook for 10 minutes
When time is finished immediately run cold water over the eggs to cool
Then peel All the eggs- it is easier to peel them when they are still a bit warm
Then let cool and place in air tight container in frig.
Boiled eggs are a great thing to have on hand to grab as a snack or have for a quick breakfast. They are a great source of healthy fat and protein. The protein is in the egg white and the fat is the yolk. We sprinkle with a little bit of Celtic Sea Salt and pepper and sometimes for a spice add a very small amount of cayenne pepper. Happy snacking!
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