Bean and Corn Summer Salad

This salad is pretty amazing as a side to any meal this summer, but is substantial enough to eat on its own! I like the blend of sweet flavors from the corn and bell pepper, heartiness from the beans, freshness from the greens, as well as the acidity from the lime juice that packs a punch right through the warm, rich spices of cumin and chilli.

Bean and Corn Summer Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Cup sweet corn
• 1 Can (1 cup) red beans
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 green onion finely chopped
• 2 handfuls mixed greens
• 3 key limes juiced
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Steam and cook corn.
2. Remove kernels by holding ear of corn upright with larger base on your surface and running a knife down the sides. Continue on all sides.
3. Chop all the vegetables into a bowl.
4. Mix together olive oil and spices to create dressing.
5. Toss into salad until everything is evenly coated.
6. Season with salt and pepper.

For a Mexican inspired twist substitute black beans, cilantro, and some jalapeno peppers for a nice kick!

A heat wave is in the horizon for a lot of people out East and it will be traveling into the Midwest.  Stay cool and hydrated! :)

 Get Your Feast On!

Avocado 2-Ways: Sweet & Savory

Savory.

Zingy Guacamole

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 medium sized avocados (the more the merrier!)
• 1 or 2 medium sized tomatoes diced
• 1 small small onion diced & caramalized (or cooked through)
• 2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon Siracha (or to taste
• pinch of salt (or to taste)
• pinch of ground black pepper (or taste)
• optional: pinch of ginger

Cooking Directions

1. Simple gather ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Smash together until desired consistency.
3. Season and serve!

 Sweet. 

Chilled Avocado Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 medium sized avocado
• 1 banana
• 2 heaping teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• optional: milk (as much needed to reach desired consistency)

Cooking Directions

1. Gather ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth like pudding.
2. If it becomes too thick add a little milk to reach desired consistency.
3. Refrigerate until chilled and serve!

 Hope you enjoy!

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge #3 - Day 4

Strawberry, Banana, and Napa Cabbage

Today I decided to try a new green in my smoothie. I've always loved napa cabbage, of course, in salads as well as stir fry, so I figured why not enjoy it in a drink? :o)Because I wasn't sure how it would taste, I went with the traditional Strawberry & Banana.

Healthwise, napa cabbage is filled with benefits.

• For one, it only has 15 calories. 
• Folate filled, which means a healthy heart and metabolism
• It's filled with B-Complex Vitamins as well as A, C, K. 
• It's also a natural source of electrolytes and calcium.
• Abundant in dietary fiber

I must confess though, I did add a little bit of kale (I think I may be addicted) for the added health benefits, but also I was hoping it would add a little more green to an otherwise very pink smoothie. But I guess as long as the greens are IN the smoothie, it doesn't matter what color it actually turns out hehe :oP

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge #3 - Day 3

Apples. Coconut. Kale.

A strange combo you might think. I wasn't even sure what the result would be. Surprisingly it's quite yummy! My smoothie ended up being a little thicker because of the apples. If you want to make this yourself, just add water until it reaches your desired consistency. I didn't mind the thickness! It doubled as a great snack! :o) My sister, who is extremely healthy encourages the family to use coconut oil more often because of course it's awesome for ya and so I have.  Gracias sister!

:oP

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge #3 - Day 2

Today I went with a very simple smoothie. I blitzed together some  kale, basil, strawberries, and peach flavored greek yogurt. The result is a very sweet and tangy delicious smoothie. Again, you can't go wrong with a green smoothie. If you're someone that doesn't always get around to cooking as much vegetables as you'd like, having a daily smoothie is the way to go. You're getting all your vital nutrients, but in basically a sweet almost dessert form.

This smoothie in particular would also be delicious frozen or chilled--a great alternative to ice cream because of the creaminess of the greek yogurt :o)



Day 1 was unfortunately a fail!! I totally lost track of the date. I always get excited when I receive another email inviting me to do these challenges :o) Be sure to check out Katherine's blog for more details and for more delicious healthy ideas

Get Your Feast On!

2013 New Year's Smoothie Challenge - Days 6 & 7

 

Collard Green Hodge Podge Smoothie

So the past 2 days, I decided to use the same type of greens. I decided to try something completely different from what I'm used to and that's, COLLARD GREENS! As you may know, collard greens are much like spinach, but stronger in flavor, slightly bitter even, just overall more....green tasting lol. I mixed it with whatever fruits I had left, which included pineapple, grapes, apples, mango, citrus of all sorts. It was a hodge podge for sure! I just wanted to mask the flavor of the collards as best I can and thankfully I did just that. Out of all the smoothies I made, although still enjoyable, this one definitely was not my favorite at all.  I don't know if it's the copious amount of random fruits or the collard greens or both that put me off, but I didn't care for this one. I actually much prefer kale.

 I know. I feel a bit disappointed in myself, but hopefully the more I drink it the more I'll get used to it.

I'm not one to give up on a food just because I didn't like it the first time. Our taste buds change ever few years, so it's always a good idea to keep re-trying different foods because you may be surprised what you end up liking this time around.

Overall, this round of the Smoothie Challenge was as always super fun and informative. Thanks to Katherine for the invite!! I've been working out almost everyday since the holidays ended determined to take back my health and these smoothies have truly helped wonders to jump start a cleaner diet.

I'm not going to lie, I don't drink green smoothies outside of these challenges as often as I should, BUT the fact that I've included them in my diet is a step in the right direction. The more I experiment, the more I learn and I'll include drinking more green smoothies into the 2013 Resolution List! :)

Cheers to all the other participants as well! It was fun reading about your experiences :)

Get Your Feast On!

2013 New Year's Green Smoothie Challenge - Days 3 & 4

 Day 3

Lemony Basil & Mango Green Tea Smoothie

I know the whole point of drinking a GREEN smoothie is to actually incorporate leafy greens and all its wonderful health benefits, BUT who says I can't use GREEN in TEA form? haha I'm actually trying to cut back on my coffee in-take and though I've always enjoyed green tea when I do decide to make it, it's not something I gravitate towards like I do with coffee. I decided to have a little fun with it. Along with the basil, mango, and lemon juice, I also added some grapes, which are not pictured, for a little more sweetness. After drinking this mid-day I was off the walls and had so much energy. 

The best part? I didn't experience the dreaded crash! woohoo!

Someone's got their eyes on my smoothie!

Day 4

Basil and Peach Green Smoothie

Today was such a beautiful day. The sun was out and the skies blue. My overall favorite greens to work with is spinach because of its mild flavor. But lately I've been obsessed with adding basil to my green smoothies. Basil as you know is slightly sweet and minty. I just think it tastes so good with fruit.

Not to mention the many health benefits of basil, which include but are not limited to the following: 

• A natural anti-flammatory that can help block the enzymes in our body that cause swelling in the bones and tissues. i.e. rheumatoid arthritis.

• Can be used to treat constipation, stomach cramps, bloating, flatulence
• Helps cure cough & colds, flu, stomach flu, as well as other sinus infections and bronchitis 

• Great source of magnesium, which helps promote good blood flow and overall cardiovascular health 

• Filled with anti-oxidants

• Anti-bacterial

- 

  

TGIF!

Go Feast Yourself!

2013 New Year's Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 1 & 2

The first time I was invited to do the Green Smoothie Challenge, I was a little hesitant because I didn't know too much about it, but looking back now I'm so happy I did. It's gotten me more excited about getting healthy and quite frankly let's face it, you can only cook vegetables so many ways. Knowing that I can consume those vital nutrients in a refreshing way that can also possibly satiate my incredibly huge sweet tooth is a plus.

So when I was invited to do it again for the new year, I was too quick to accept. :)

For New Year's, it's a Filipino tradition to prepare 13 different types of fruits (preferably round, but any will do!) to welcome in good luck in the coming year. Much of these fruits will be going into my smoothies. Yum! :)

For Day 1, I unfortunately did not get in my green smoothie. However, I sorta made up for it by having 2 servings today!

Day 2

Creamy Avocado and Banana Smoothie

For Day 2, I made something a little different. One of my favorite bubble tea drinks to get is the Avocado flavor. A lot of people may not associate avocado with desserts or anything sweet, but I swear the mild flavor and creamy texture combined with honey or bananas is an absolute triumph. I tried to keep it as minimal as possible by wizzing up some avocado and banana chunks, some grapes for more sweetness and water content, and a little bit of milk to accentuate the creamy avocado.

The results are amazing! I made enough for 2 servings. One for an in-between breakfast and lunch snack and then the other for after my workout.  I feel refreshed and ready for the rest of the day.

Go Feast Yourself!

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

During this time of year, pumpkins are EVERYWHERE including in our beverages! Yesterday, I pureed a huge pumpkin, so I've been brainstorming up ideas on different ways to use pumpkin puree. The first thing that came to mind is THE Pumpkin Spice Latte made popular by Starbucks. I've heard so many people rave and rave about this drink and since I love coffee and pumpkin, I figured I'd give it a try. I looked at some awesome recipes online and was able to concoct my own easy and healthier version of it.

 I opted to use stevia instead of real sugar and I also added some salt because I just think salt enhances anything sweet. In most recipes you can find, people also like to top this off with a lot of whipped cream. I personally LOVE the taste of pumpkin and so I decided that the whipped cream would've been too much....at least for me.

All in all, I LOVE this. It's so decadent!

Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

Ingredients

• 3/4 Mug extra strong coffee (or espresso)
• 1/2 Mug 2% milk (preferrably whole/half & half)
• 3 tablespoons stevia
• 2 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Cooking Directions

1. Brew some extra strong coffee.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine rest of ingredients (milk, vanilla, pumpkin, spices, & salt).
3. Heat until bubbles start to form. Whisk until it becomes somewhat frothy.
4. Poor into mug with coffee.

As I mentioned, I have A LOT of pumpkin puree, so be on the look out for an onslaught of pumpkin recipes! :)

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 5

I can't believe it's Day 5 already! For today I decided to do a green smoothie version of the Master Cleanse Lemonade, which I know sounds kinda weird. I was running out of ideas and my mom mentioned her co-worker was doing it. I felt a little tickle in the back of my throat and some dizziness, which is a bad sign and cayenne pepper works like a charm for sore throats so I thought this drink would be a great "pick-me-up". I've been sipping on it all day and I feel much better!

For another super healthy green drink, my Day 4 entry is also a great smoothie to prevent colds and ease indigestion.
 

Green Lemonade Pick-Me-Up

Ingredients

• 2 large handfuls kale
• juice of a lemon
• 1 tbsp honey (or to taste)
• pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 1/2 cup water

Cooking Directions

1. Smoothie will be very thin, almost juice-like. 

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 4

Out of all the smoothies, this one is probably going to be the most daring (for me, anyway) and healthy. Only 4 ingredients with a little help from some juicy friends hehe.

The stars of this smoothie are ginger, kale, and turmeric. Enough said. I won't list all its medicinal properties, vitamins, minerals...because there are TONS. Just ask Google :D

Andrea's Green Tonic

Ingredients

• 1 large handful kale
• 1/8th teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 cup crushed ice
• 1 cup orange juice

Cooking Directions

1. In a blend, blend kale, ginger, and honey first.
2. Add crushed ice and juice and blend until desired consistency.

Get Your Feast On!

7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge - Day 3

This is probably my favorite green smoothie so far! One of my favorite snacks of all time is a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich. I decided to turn it into a smoothie haha. Why not! After using the spinach for  Day 1 I realized that you don't really taste it all, so I wasn't worried about using it here. I used fresh peanut butter, but if you want to make this for after your workouts you can totally use peanut butter flavored protein powder.

This definitely has eliminated my dessert cravings for today. Best part? It's pretty much guilt free.

PB & Banana Greenshake

Ingredients

• 2 heaping handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 1 2 bananas frozen & chopped
• 2 teaspoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup milk

Cooking Directions

1. Blend it all together!

Get Your Feast On!

Gluten Free Brownies?

YEP!...kinda

Preface. Tay Zonday from youtube requested SortedFood to make some sort of "healthy" brownie recipe. They came up with this Chocolate Polenta. In all honesty, I was intrigued but super skeptical. The words, "brownies" & "healthy" just don't go together hehe. But I tried the recipe out of sheer curiosity.

Surprise.Surprise. I still prefer actual brownies. HOWEVER, as I bit into one for the first time, I surprisingly didn't miss the dense, rich, fudgeyness of the real thing. So I say, don't make these expecting BROWNIES. These aren't brownies, BUT they are delicious and satiated my chocolate cravings in a different way. For those with health issues or allergies to gluten, this is pretty fantastic.

Sorted Food's Chocolate Polenta Cake

by Get Your Feast On!

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Ingredients

• - 1 C milk
• - 3/4 C corn meal
• - 1/2 C honey
• - 1 C bittersweet chocolate
• - 1 tsp vanilla
• - 1 egg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Separate egg yolks from white. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and honey and bring to a boil. Add corn meal and continuously stir until creamy and thick. Add egg yolks and vanilla and stir to combine. Turn off heat and set aside to slightly cool.

Whisk/beat the egg whites until it forms stiff peaks.

Slowly fold beaten egg whites into chocolate corn meal mixture until well combined.

Line baking pan with parchment paper and evenly layer polenta or use mini cupcake pan instead (below)

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let it cool completely before taking out of pan.

Cut into squares and ENJOY!

Powered by Recipage

 Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!




Feast On!

Andrea Marie

Sweet Potato & Squash Soup

Simple, nutritious, but most importantly delicious! This soup doesn't have much going on, but a single bowlful of this is surprisingly hearty and fulfilling. Good thing this soup has so many vitamins and dietary fiber because I could eat this all day......in fact, I did hehe. Very delicious!

- 1 butternut squash peeled, chopped

- 1 acorn squash peeled, chopped

- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled,  chopped

- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 whole garlic cloves crushed

- 4 celery stalks chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil

- 1 quart stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable)

- 2 C water

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg grated

- salt & pepper to taste

Chop and prep all vegetables.

In a soup pot, heat up olive oil and saute the onions, celery, & sweet potatoes, then season with pinch of salt & pepper. Once the onions and celery are slightly tender, add garlic, stock, and water. Bring to a slight boil, then add squash, grated nutmeg & another pinch of salt & pepper (layer the seasoning). Continue to simmer until all vegetables are soft and tender.

Turn heat off. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender in batches), carefully blend soup until silky smooth. Taste as you go and add salt & pepper if needed. Soup should have sweetness, so be careful not to over-season.

I like to eat this with crispy bacon and saltine crackers on the side. You can also toast up some bread to dip or top with croutons, herbs, and sour cream. Enjoy!!

Feast On!

Pumpkin Mac 'n' Cheese

With an Indian flair and a refreshing surprise ingredient, this version of one of America's favorite comfort foods, mac 'n' cheese celebrates fall in a perfect and new way.

Did I mention, this dish is also guilt free!!

For the recipe,

Lent and Salad!

 I'm not quite sure if I mentioned this already, but I did decide for Lent to give up meat (chicken, pork, beef, turkey, etc. etc.) I still eat eggs, cheese, and drink milk, but if you know me you'd know that giving up meat is a BIG deal, so it's definitely a sacrafice haha. I love meat lol. I have to say though surprisingly, I've been doing awesome! Not one ounce of meat and what surprises me more is that I don't really miss it. If I see a picture of BBQ or if my parents cook something amazing with beef or something, I THINK I miss it, but nothing in my body is at all tempted....so weird. If you're wondering how I get my protein....I guess in general, I'm following a Lacto-Ovo Pescatarianism diet. I eat A LOT of seafood as well as eggs, cheese, nuts, beans.

Below is a picture of what I would "ideally" eat for lunch. Sometimes I skip lunch altogether and just snack on nuts, craisins, or I'll make oatmeal. It's just a salad with poached egg over a bed of greens, grape tomatoes...I added croutons and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to be bad lol, but you can omit all that and just stick with greens and egg to make it healthier. You can also make hard boiled eggs; or substitute egg with a nice flaky white fish or salmon. Any would be delicious. I made just a simple vinaigrette with fresh grapefruit juice, EVOO, salt & pepper.

YUM!

Light easy snack

Instead of the traditional bagel and cream cheese I usually have with my coffe or tea, I decided to dress it up with some basil and tomato. Basil and tomato marry together beautifully, so adding it to a blanket of smooth creamy and tasty cream cheese makes it all the more refreshing and satisfying.

All you need are some tomatoes, whole basil leaves, low fat cream cheese, and 2 bagel halves (plain or flavored). You can also toast the bagel if you'd like, but to keep things simpler, I just make it as is. It's delicious trust me!

 I will be enjoying a lazy thursday afternoon!!

peace&love,

Andrea Marie

Eggless Cookies!

This cookie recipe is perfect for vegetarians as it doesn't use eggs or milk. However, don't think that just because I used the term "vegetarian" that us sweet toothed omnivores can't enjoy them as well :)

I've never been much of a zester, but lately I've been incorporating citrus zest in a lot of my sweeter dishes. I feel so stupid for not doing this earlier. Even if a recipe doesn't necessarily call for lemon/orange/lime flavor, the strong aromatic citrus flavor you get from any of the above adds brightness to the dish. It's awesome. Anyways, for this recipe I used orange zest. I was originally just going to make these plain vanilla with some cinnamon and nutmeg, but I saw the oranges and knew I had to use them.

NO EGGS???! I've heard of cookies made with no eggs, but I never really understood how and why that happens. With extensive research on my part (thank you, google lol) I learned that powdered sugar is made with corn starch and as we know corn starch is used as a thickening agent and this case also a binding agent replacing the eggs in the dough.

They turned out amazing and I hope that you try them sometime! Recipe follows..

Easy Pumpkin Curry Soup

One of the best cooking tips I learned is making pumpkin puree at home instead of buying it. Now that I have a good supply of it handy in my freezer, I can just grab some whenever I need it and I'm good to go! :)

Here's a simple Indian inspired soup that I whipped up for my mom who just had her chipped molar extracted. For a good few weeks she couldn't eat any solid food. Thank God she's healing pretty well though.

For the recipe,

Daily Decisions Determine Destiny!

Lately, I've been a slave to all the yummy snacks we have at the house. From, Oreos, all kinds of cookies, candy bars to fruit juices haha. I'm not complaining!! BUT, it has messed with me a little bit. We do also have a lot of healthy snacks like fresh fruits, oats, bran, LOTS of veggies, but sometimes it's easier to reach for the stuff that's already there prepared waiting for you to eat it. I was sick of making the wrong decisions, so late last night I made a yummy & super nutritious broccoli salad and my balsamic vinaigrette. This salad has always worked in keeping me away from the bad stuff BUT, one ingredient is missing and I'm hoping that one ingredient doesn't make the difference lol....CRUNCHY BACON BITS!!

simple salad

- 1 C broccoli flourets chopped

- 1 C cucumber chopped

- 3/4 C dried cranberries

- 1 C roasted peanuts (or any nuts!) finely chopped

*I didn't have bacon this time, but if you have it, render it off over medium-high heat until it gets crunchy (1/4 C). It adds another layer of delicious flavor!

vinaigrette

- 1/4 C balsamic vinegar

- 2 tsp clover honey

- 1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil

- pinch of salt & pepper (to taste)

The dressing is very light and since we're using very sturdy veggies (as opposed to delicate lettuce), you can go ahead and add the vinaigrette before serving and store it in refrigerator. It will taste even better the next few days! :)

Here's to making good decisions!!