Last day to carve pumpkins!!

Toast your seeds for a sweet and savory snack.

I'm a Northwest girl at heart, and where I'm from we carve pumpkins much earlier in the month. For my first time carving pumpkins in the Bay Area, I forgot to take the warmer weather into account. We carved on week two of October and by the third day the pumpkins were white and fuzzy with mold! Even though the jack-o-lanterns didn't work out, we were able to bake some really yummy seeds! Tonight, being the last night before Halloween, we are going to try carving once again. Good thing we are, because it reminded me to share this pumpkin seed recipe with you! Originally we were trying to follow this recipe, but it was getting late and we were missing a few pieces. Lagging about half the ingredients, this is what we did and they turned out perfect.

Ingredients

1 medium size pumpkin
8 stevia extract packets

1 tsp of granulated sugar for texture
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp. hazelnut oil

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using which ever method you prefer, separate seeds from pumpkin flesh.This should yield about 1 cup. 

2. Spread pumpkin seeds over paper in an even layer. Bake until seeds are dry, which should take about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, combine cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and red pepper flakes. In a non-stick pan, heat hazelnut oil over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds, stevia, and sugar and let cook until sugar starts to melt (about 45-60 seconds), stirring frequently. 

4. Add seeds to spice mixture and stir well. Return seeds to parchment paper for cooling. Once they are cool they may be kept in an air tight container for up to 1 week. That is, if they last that long.

             I hope you enjoy my recipe! It is super easy and fun to make with loved ones.

Cook, enjoy, pass it on.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Crock Pot Turkey Pad Thai, a healthy alternative to take-out.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm the queen of making the easiest meal the most difficult. I modify portions, change the process, and play with ingredients. What I like about the crock pot is that no matter how many changes I make, the directions are still basically the same: Throw it in, let it sit, stir occasionally. 

Dinner made easy. 

Talk about green ingredients!

     1/2 cup hot water

        6 packets stevia extract 
        2 tbsp rice vinegar
        2 tbsp organic low sodium tamari, which is gluten free soy sauce 
        1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
        1 lime, juiced 

        1 tbsp extra virgin O.O.

        1 tbsp sesame oil

        1 tsp onion organic powder
        1 raw turkey breast tenderloin, cubed
        2 cup broccoli slaw, packed, 
        1 cup bok choy, chopped and packed
        1 cup napa cabbage, chopped and packed
        1/2 cup cilantro packed
        1/2 med. onion, sliced 
        3 garlic cloves, minced
        3 scallions, chopped

        2 tbsp sesame tahini

        8 quinoa or any gluten free spaghetti / Asian style noodle

Before

1) Combine water, stevia, vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and lime juice to crock pot. Turn on low heat and let set

2) Using a medium sized sauce pan, heat olive oil on high heat. Chop raw turkey into small half inch size cubes. Add the sesame oil to the pan, and brown the turkey. Add onion powder while turkey is cooking.

3) Add browned turkey, broccoli slaw, bok choy, onion, garlic, cilantro, cabbage, and scallions to the crock pot. Stir mixture, and let cook for six hours on low. Stir every half hour if you can, but don't fuss if you miss an hour or so ;)

4) Cook your pasta according to package directions, without adding any butter or salt! While pasta is cooking, add tahini to the cock pot mixture. This thickens the mixture slightly and adds a little bit of a nutty flavor. This was our first time using tahini, it's sort of like a healthy peanut butter.

5) Toss pasta with the Pad Thai mixture and enjoy!!

A few pointers......

Make sure to keep the veggies from sticking to the side of the pot, above the mixture line. This will prevent any burning!

This is another recipe that makes quite a bit of food, most likely suitable for a family of 4-6 people. Remember, you can always use the left overs as pre-portion mini meals, and pop them in the freezer!

Obviously, this is not the most photogenic meal on the planet. Here is a picture of what the Pad Thai should look like in the cock pot when it's done. I promise it's a million times tastier than it looks!

After

I hope everyone enjoys my version of a slow-cooker Pad Thai. Don't tell your kids there's veggies, they'll never know ;)

Happy eating!

Let's start with a recently discovered favorite..

A clean eating rendition of wedding soup.

Have a cold, feeling cold, or even hung over? ;) This recipe is amazing. I found myself craving some sort of chicken wedding soup a few weeks ago when I was feeling under the weather. My boyfriend and I have gotten into clean eating recently and we're willing to try anything. When you start following me you may find that I share 3-4 recipes a week; all of them are along the lines of clean eating, paleo, and detox worthy (or easily modified). 

Cuddle up in some sweatpants, throw your hair in a pony-tale, and enjoy a bowl of chicken soup with mini turkey meatballs with a loved one. I provided the original recipe link just above, but you will notice we made quite a few modifications to make the meal healthier. 

You will need the following ingredients...          

• 1lb pound or package lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup finely minced onion
• chopped oats (1 cup) to make it gluten free
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt This recipe does not need salt!  Chicken broth is hard to find with out added sodium. 
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste. In the spirit of traditional Italian wedding soup 
• 10 cups chicken broth We used Trader Joe's low sodium organic chicken broth. 
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 cup orzo, but you could also use quinoa or bamboo shoots
• 1 6oz bag of spinach cut the leaves how ever you prefer

1) In a large bowl combine turkey, water, egg whites, onion, oats, cheese, and as much black pepper you'd like! If you froze the turkey ahead of time, the mixture may not be quite pliable as you prefer, so it's ok to throw in a little gluten free flour to thicken the meatball mixture. Form to 1 inch balls and set aside.

2) In a large pot, bring broth and carrots to a simmer, add orzo, and cook for 5 mins. Stir frequently. This is also a great time to add more ground pepper to the broth. Don't be hesitant, it's the right type of spicy for the soup!

3) Add meatballs to broth and simmer for 10 minutes.Stir in spinach for 1 minute or until slightly wilted. Serve with a ladle and top with a little more cheese and pepper if you'd like!

We had a blast making this, and now we've done it a few times. This makes a HUGE batch so it's great for meal planning and such. We get the microwavable Zip-Lock containers and freeze them pre-portioned. 

Thank you for visiting my blog, hope to see you back for more... 

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