Meatless Monday: Kale Pesto with Feta

Happy Meatless Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had a very productive one- in a good way! I went yard sale hopping (scored a bunch of goodies which I may write a separate post for), attended the beautiful wedding of one of my dearest friends, reorganized and cleaned my house, then had a lovely Sunday afternoon with my family :) What did you do?

Last Monday, I tried a variation on a recipe from WholeFoodsMarket.com, Kale Pesto with Baked Feta! OMG, so good! Even Lily liked it! Recipe below...

Baked Kale Pesto with Feta on Baguette
(serves 6-8)

1 cup rinsed, de-stemmed, and chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 8oz block of feta, drained and patted dry
1 baguette, classic or whole wheat
1 tsp dried rosemary

First, spread the pine nuts onto a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. You can also buy pine nuts pre-toasted. Next, slice the baguette into as many pieces as you plan to eat or serve, then put slices into the oven to lightly toast. Meanwhile, place the kale, garlic and pine nuts into food processor and finely chop. While motor is running on the food processor, drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice. 

I actually- believe it or not -do not own a food processor, so I put everything into my blender, which is not a method I'd recommend unless you really want to try this recipe and don't have a food processor handy. It worked, but it took a while and I had to constantly turn the blender off and shift the ingredients around with a spatula to ensure that everything got chopped properly. 

playing quietly while Mommy works in the kitchen

Once bread is done toasting, place slices of feta on top then sprinkle rosemary on top of that.  Put tray back into the toaster and toast for about 3 minutes, then take out once more and spoon pesto on top, toasting for another 2-3 minutes or until warm. Serve right away as a canape or side dish.

I wasn't sure if Lily would like this since the kale has such a sharp taste, but guess what- she gobbled it up! And then asked for more! I was quite pleased. If you or your child dislikes the strong green flavor of kale, but you want to try this anyway, you can blanch the kale by boiling it for 3 minutes, then placing it into ice cold water for another 3 minutes. This will dillute the bitterness of the kale, but won't decrease the nutrition content by too much.

Also, you can serve this super green up to baby the same way you would spinach. Steam or boil kale until very soft, mash up in food processor, then serve with breast milk or formula. Yummy!!!

This is a wonderful variation on the classic Italian-style pesto. You can enjoy this on a salad or sandwich, or just as is on a fork! I actually took the last bit that was left after all the baguette was gone, and then added the last of the crumbled up feta to it, then ate it like a salad itself. Very satisfying. 

We enjoyed it with some leftover Nanny Rose's Lentil Soup, see recipe here

I don't eat pine nuts too often, but when I do, I am always glad I did. Pine nuts are full of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E, B vitamins, manganese, and oleic acid, a cholesterol-lowering nutrient. They also contain a high amount of antioxidants and healthy fatty acids that can help curb an over-active appetite. They are delicious toasted or right out of the package. Many raw food stores sell them by the pound.


If you have a Meatless Monday meal you'd like to share, feel free to link it up below. Only rules are that it is meat-free and family-friendly. Also, please follow your hostess, moi :)

Meatless Monday: Zesty Corn Fritters

It's a little late in the day, but I figured better late than never! The reason for my tardiness with this post is because Boo-Boovania now has another resident: moi. Yes, as you may have read in my last post, April has been a month for accidents mainly targeted at poor Lily, but yesterday I slipped on the playground I took her to and busted my foot. It was okay at first after the initial shock of pain wore off, but as the day wore on, I realized the pain was not subsiding but getting worse and worse. Fearing the worst after reading about symptoms surrounding broken bones in feet, I made a trip to the emergency room with my dear mother, only to find that I had merely sprained it. They hooked me up with a boot (pictured below) and a pair of crutches (which are just a pain and going unused). My foot feels much better today, but needless to say, being in the ER kept me from writing a post.

This boot was made for limpin'

Today's Meatless Monday post is a recipe a I first made over a month ago and have since replicated in different ways by adding or subtracting ingredients. Overall, this particular concoction is not your average overly-battered corn fritter. Enjoy!

Zesty Corn Fritters

Serving suggestion for if it weren't Meatless Monday

 Ingredients

1 14 oz package frozen corn defrosted, or fresh corn from 3-4 ears

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 small jalapenos or 1 large, de-seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1 lime, juiced

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 cup water (plus extra if needed) 

Apprx. 1 cup oil for frying (canola, grapeseed or vegetable)

In a large bowl, mix flour, seasonings and baking powder together in bowl, then beat in the eggs, lime and water. Stir until smooth, then add all other ingredients except for the oil. If mixture looks too wet, add a little more flour; if it looks too dry, add a little more water. It should basically look like pancake batter with chunks of veggies in it. 

Pre-mixing

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot enough (simmering and smoking, but not boiling), drop spoonfuls of the fritter batter into pan like in the picture below.

Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from pan with a spatula and set on paper toweled plate or cookie sheets. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. These babies go nicely with black beans (such as this soup), enchiladas, or a Southwestern-style salad.

getting golden

a version I made with slightly less flour

Lily-approved

My family and I enjoy these just fine without any dipping sauce, but you can find some tasty sauce recipes at the two links below, where I also based my recipe off of.

 

Raita

Sweet Chili Sauce

These are SO GOOD and quite easy to make. You can bake them too, but these are one of the few foods I really do enjoy more fried. Using a healthier oil such as grapeseed or canola keeps the calories down. You could even use coconut or olive, although I never tried either.

These will be a hit with your family and any dinner guests you might have over. They are also ideal for cook-outs and parties. You can mix it up and add other ingredients to make it unique to your tastes with the greatest of ease. Just use the batter ingredients and corn as your base.

Grapeseed oil is not an oil I commonly use, mainly because it can be a bit costly, but you should be informed of its potential health benefits. It's most commonly known for promoting healthy skin, but it also very good for your heart, full of healthy fats and omegas, and has a high amount of antioxidants from vitamins C, E and beta carotene.  To get the most potent grapeseed oil, go organic!

Once again I hope to be posting more often as soon as possible, until then thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated!

Vegan Sugar Cookies

So. I’ve been busy…again. More like extremely tired on Monday after all the holiday chaos and didn’t feel like doing much of anything except watching Lily play with her new toys, which she actually did very little of. The child got plenty of new toys- puzzles, dolls, books, Radio Flyer Inchworm among them –yet she preferred to hang on Mommy and/or climb all over the furniture instead. Actually, she did quite enjoy the stickers Grandma got her, although she needed Mommy to peel them off their paper backing so she could make a huge sticker mess with them. At least it kept her busy for a while.

OK, enough venting. Let’s get down to the healthy, animal product-free recipe I was supposed to post on Monday. I made these dairy- and egg-free cookies because my niece is allergic to eggs and one of my BFFs is lactose-intolerant. Plus, I never made a successful batch of vegan cookies and I wanted to give it a go again. The first time around this time, they didn’t turn out so hot; the dough came out really wet and additionally I added food coloring (plant-derived, of course), which made them brown instead of red and pale green instead of dark green. That’s the problem with natural food coloring- it doesn’t last long and it takes a lot of food coloring to get it to the color you want. It worked well with the frosting I made for Lily’s birthday cake earlier this year, but not so much for cookie dough. Oh well, live and learn.

Anyhoo, the second attempt came out much better, although I will admit I am not completely satisfied, only because I wanted them to taste the same as cookies that are made with butter and eggs. I was told that that may not be possible since those flavors simply cannot be replaced with substitutes of margarine and almond milk. Paul liked them and so did my niece, however. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to deliver them to my BFF since she had to work on Christmas when I had originally planned on giving them to her, but I think she will be happy enough just to be able to eat a cookie again (her dairy intolerance is a recent development).

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup margarine or other dairy-free spread

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond milk

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl then set aside. In a different bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and then the almond milk until well combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the almond milk and margarine mixture until dough is formed. Divide dough in half, then press onto separate plates like thick discs and refrigerate until dough hardens. This dough is extremely soft with the almond milk in it, and I found it best to refrigerate over night. If you have time to make ahead, I recommend doing so, otherwise keep it cold for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees then get the dough out. If you want to cut into shapes, lightly flour a cutting board and roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. Cut your shapes out then transfer them to ungreased cookie sheets or silicone baking mat. I have never had luck with cutting shapes out of cookie dough, and with this dough being softer than usual, I had no luck this time either, but if you want to take a chance and you do have the skills, go ahead! I ended up just rolling the ball into little 1” balls and placing them on the baking sheets, then flattened them into discs and topped them with red sugar sprinkles. Stick in the oven on center rack for 10-12 minutes until golden and lightly browned on edges.

Once the first half of the dough is in, you can bring out the second and get it ready to put in the oven if you had enough baking sheets; otherwise, wait until the first batch is out and cooled, then reuse the same sheets after rinsing. Once all the cookies are made- and you should have about 4 dozen with this recipe –allow them to cool for at least half an hour before decorating if you plan to do so. The blog where I got the recipe I based this off of included an egg-free icing recipe you can try too. Let me know how it goes!

I hope to one day be better at making shapes and decorating cookies and cakes and such. For now, a smidgen of colored sprinkles is what you get out of me.

Food allergies are weird to me since I don’t have any. Actually, I do get queasy from shell fish like clams and mussels, and I am told that counts as an allergic reaction, but my upset stomach is far from life-threatening like some allergic reactions can be. I had a friend who couldn’t even be within a few feet of peanuts or he’d start to get red and swollen-looking, and I had another friend who after taking one bite out of a fallafel wrap for the first time- and being unaware that it contained her nemesis chick peas, had her face blow up like a balloon in a matter of seconds. I often ponder (well, maybe not often) why certain people have food allergies. Why would nature cause this, and why only in certain people and with certain foods? Is it something genetic? Something inherited from our mother’s diet while we were in the womb? To me, it’s just so odd to think that food that is otherwise harmless and nutritious could cause a fatal reaction in someone. Do you have a food allergy or know someone who does? How do you/they deal with it? Is it a severe allergy, or just a mild one?

Note that I used almond milk in this recipe, but you can use any lactose-free alternative, such as soymilk, rice milk or simply lactose-free cow’s milk. I always thought that was weird too, but I’m not going to get into that one right now. Seeing as how this is an allergy specific recipe, it’s possible the person you’d bake them for is allergic to almonds if they have a nut allergy, so make sure you know ahead of time.

Speaking of almond milk, almond milk is awesome. I don’t drink any other kind of milk as long as I have a choice anymore. It tastes so delicious and is really good for you. I fondly remember the first time I tried it and I recall giving quite the reaction of being pleasantly surprised. I had no idea it would taste so rich and creamy, unlike soy and rice milk, which I generally find bland and watery, especially now that I’ve tried almond milk.

Almonds are full of nutrients like manganese, vitamin E, and copper, to name a few. They are especially good at helping to lower your cholesterol for a healthy heart, as all nuts do, but almonds contain an especially high amount of magnesium and vitamin E that aid in doing so. They offer, according to WHFoods.com, “double-barreled protection against diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” They are also good at helping you lose weight with their healthy fats, help prevent gallstones, and provide you with extra energy. Almonds do all this and more, so click a link to read all about the awesomeness of almonds!

As you may have already guessed, these cookies are totally kid and toddler friendly :)

A Green Smoothy for Picky Eaters of Any Age

One morning I looked in my kitchen and was pleased to see my husband had done a good job grocery shopping job the night before. I’d gone to bed early due to…just being tired!...and missed him when he got home. I gave him a call to let him know I appreciated it, and then he mentioned the organic spinach he’d gotten and suggested I make green smoothies for Lily and myself. And I figured, why not? I had almond milk, bananas, peaches and honey, and really, that plus the spinach is all you need to make a green smoothy that doesn’t taste like grass!

Delicious Green Smoothie

1 cup almond milk

1 cup spinach (or other green such as kale)

1 banana, broken into chunks

1 peach, chopped (or other sweet fruit, such as an apple or ½ a cantaloupe)

1 tbsp honey (stevia can also be used)

Put all ingredients into blender; a good technique is the layering technique, which would go: banana, spinach, peach, honey, almond milk. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses (or sippy cups). Enjoy. It’s that easy!

How good does that look?

I was even surprised at how great this tasted, and we’ve been drinking them ever since. Tastes much better than those powdered shake mixes, that’s for sure. You can use just about any greens and sweet fruit, but always keep the banana to give it that thickened quality. If you want it even thicker, add a few spoonfuls of yogurt. If you use sweetened almond milk, then you can leave out the extra sweetener if you want (depends on how sweet you and your child like it!).I like also like to keep it vegan so it's healthier, but you can definitely use cow's milk or soy milk instead of almond, but if you haven't tried almond milk, you may want to- it's a really good alternative to conventional milk.

It’s really that simple. And most kids like green things that look weird thanks to Nickelodeon, and are unlikely to be turned off by the color. So, don’t let on if you think it’s weird then they might follow suit and not taste it. There was definitely a time I couldn't imagine drinking any "green" drinks, even the thought of wheatgrass turned me off. But, one day I gave one a try (I think it was by Naked) and liked it, then gave wheatgrass a go and that wasn't so bad either, and now I don't have any issues going green with my beverages!

Health food stores and gyms offer energizing smoothies as an alternative to coffee and sugary carbonated drinks, but they are very simple to make at home, and less likely to hurt your budget! Don’t be fooled by places like Jamba Juice though- their drinks are full of hidden sugars and fillers- mainly in the free “Boosts”. Just have a look at their menu. On this menu, sugars are not listed in the Boost ingredients, but if you see the menus they have available at the registers, you will be shocked at how much sugar goes into them (at least they were listed when I used to buy Jamba on the regular years ago, so things may have changed). They have also been criticized for using artificial flavors, although I could not locate any reliable source for this on the internet, but I wouldn’t be surprised since the colors are so bright.

But, anyway, enough with dissing Jamba Juice. Truth is, the drinks are delicious and still better for you than soda, but quite pricey too! So, if you have a few minutes, make your own fruity energy drink at home. They are chock full of vitamins and minerals without having to add anything synthetic; you don’t even need to add any vitamin powder unless you want to take your vitamins that way, but in my experience, those types of drinks always just end up tasting gritty because the powder never dissolves properly (and I’ve tried quite a few of those types of powder supplements).

Greens are super good for you and mixing them with fruit isn’t as icky as it sounds. In fact, have you ever had a strawberry and spinach salad? You’d be amazed how great that combo is! Here’s a little bonus recipe from one of my favorite magazines.

When experimenting with smoothie recipes, if you find a combo you really love, please share in the comments! Thanks for reading!

More reasons to love coconut

My sister came to visit me shortly after Lily was born with the intention of trying out a coconut shrimp recipe she’d came across recently. My sister has the same passion for cooking and baking that I do, although she normally chooses to go with the more flavorful and fatty recipes rather than the healthier ones I choose. When we made the shrimp together, she wanted to deep-fry them, and even though I rarely ever fry anything (unless you count sautéing), I didn’t protest and figured I’d treat myself to a little deep-fried naughtiness for once. Frying is also a lot faster than baking anyway, so we got to enjoy our food sooner.

They definitely came out being quite yummy, although I felt kind of gross afterwards from all the oil I consumed. We used canola oil that time and the shredded coconut had sugar added to it. We also didn’t have any dipping sauce as we were a little short on time when we actually got around to cooking the shrimp (we’d spent so much time shopping and talking prior to actually executing our original plans).

I enjoyed the recipe so much, I decided to make it myself later for my husband and I, but this time I baked them instead and they came out tasting just as good if not better than when they were fried. I also used smaller shrimp, thus dubbing them “Coconut Popcorn Shrimp” and although we didn’t have the delicious mango dipping sauce (see recipe below), we used cocktail sauce and that worked too. Recipes for both are below, but this time I suggested using coconut oil instead of canola, although either one is fine.

Coconut Popcorn Shrimp

Baked:

1 lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined

½ cup flour

½ cup breadcrumbs

½ cup shredded coconut

1 egg beaten

1 tsp coconut oil

Note: you may need to add a little more of each coating ingredient as you go, so keep extras handy

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Have 2 cookie sheets greased with the coconut oil ready to place shrimp onto. Mix the breadcrumbs and coconut together. Put the breadcrumb and coconut mixture, egg, and flour each into separate dishes ideal for dipping the shrimp into. Dip each shrimp first into the flour, then the egg, then lastly into the breadcrumbs and coconut, and then place gently onto cookie sheets. Place into oven on center rack and bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy-looking. Serve with mango sauce for dipping.

Served with brown rice with edamame

Fried:

This recipe requires all of the same amount of ingredients for baking, only you’ll need enough coconut oil so that there is about 1-2 inches of oil in the pan or wok you use for frying. Heat the oil to 350 degrees, then use the same steps you would use for coating the shrimp as you would in the baking recipe, and place each shrimp gently into the frying pan. Cook for about 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown and crispy-looking, then place on dishes or a large platted lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then serve with mango sauce for dipping.

Each recipe variation makes 4-6 servings.

Mango Sauce

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 lime, juiced

½ tsp red pepper flake

½ tsp ginger powder or 1 tsp fresh chopped ginger

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth with some pulp still intact.

Lily is not really into shrimp yet, so I made her a small piece of tilapia using the breadcrumbs and coconut mixture alongside the shrimp topped with some of the mango sauce. I also gave her a couple slices of fresh mango.

For baby (age 6 months+):

2 tbsp pureed mango

1 tbsp plain yogurt

Mix together and serve. Delish!!

Coconut oil is recently gaining popularity for cooking with. Also being a widely used ingredient in body products, coconut oil is a great replacement for just about any cooking oil you normally use. It is full of healthy fatty acids and vitamins E and K, as well as iron and amino acids. It’s also good for the heart, boosts immunity, and also has anti-viral, -fungal, and –bacterial properties.

Besides being good for your body, coconut oil also has a high heating threshold, which means it’s less likely to burn and become carcinogenic (do not heat higher than 350 to prevent carcinogens). I do want to point out that although coconut oil clearly has many health benefits, that does not mean it makes it ok to start deep frying everything all the time just because you’re using a healthier oil. Frying food makes it fattier no matter what oil you use, and eating burned oil will increase cancer risks no matter which oil you use. Frying foods should always be kept to a minimum to maintain a healthy diet.

You may now be wondering, but does coconut oil make everything taste coconutty? The answer is no. Coconut oil has a very delicate taste, one that is almost non-existent. That’s why it is ideal for recipes that require oil that doesn’t affect the flavor of what you’re cooking. Of course I wouldn’t recommend using coconut oil in place of olive oil for certain Italian dishes, or using it in place of peanut oil for certain Asian dishes, but I think it works particularly well with chicken, fish, and vegetables. It also isn’t too expensive, costing about the same as a good bottle of olive oil. It typically comes packaged in a jar in solid form, but it melts very quickly.

Like I said before, coconut oil is used in body products and can be applied directly onto lips and skin for an all-natural moisturizer. Only use if you have dry skin, it’s a bit too greasy for oily skin. Smells and feels great! I recently started using it for a variety of things, and I think once you try it, you just might do the same.