Tag Archives: veggies

Yummy Detox Salad

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This was lunch today!

Yummy Detox Salad
Yum, right?

I found this over at Iowa Girl Eats this morning.  I had everything I needed at home, except the kale. But since we were heading to Target to have Maria’s puffy goopy eye checked, I was able to get kale, while we waited for her prescription for pink eye.

So yeah, detox salad.  A great way to reset after you go off course with your eating. Nothing wrong with that. But I know for myself, it can be hard to redirect back on course, so something yummy like this is perfect!  I did make a few alterations based on the fact that I’ve never had much kale, so I eased in with just one large leaf. And oh, yeah, no almonds, since I’m allergic… And I made it from memory and I forgot carrots (I will add these next time)

I highly recommend you read the original recipe though, because she does a GREAT job of detailing out the health benefits of all the food in this salad.

Yummy Detox Salad

Kale
Baby Spinach
Shredded Cabbage (I used a handful from a bag of cole slaw mix)
Olive Oil
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Blueberries
Sliced Cucumbers
Raspberries
Sliced Strawberries

First start with cleaning the kale and baby spinach.  For the kale, I took one large leaf, washed it, rolled it up in a paper towel, and then just rolled it back and forth in my hands to tenderize it. and then tore it into bite size pieces.

I then tossed the kale, spinach and cabbage with a drizzle of olive oil and fat-free Raspberry Vinaigrette.

I then transferred it to a large plate and covered with the remaining ingredients.  Then I devoured.  YUM!!

Squash and Apple Bake

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I bought a squash last week at the grocery store. I have never cooked a squash before, but I loved it when my mom made it when we were kids.  Probably because she served it with brown sugar and marshmallows!   I was just going to bake it tonight to serve with pork chops, but when I checked out the Betty Crocker cookbook to find out how to bake it, I found a recipe for Squash and Apple Bake too.   It sounded good and had everything on hand, except mace… I didn’t even know what mace was so after googling, I substituted nutmeg and cinnamon.

I will probably definitely make this again. Chad even liked it, and he’s not a squash fan.

Squash and Apple Bake

2 lbs butternut squash (or buttercup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
3/8 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp mace)
2 baking apples, cored, and cut into 1/2″ slices

  1. Heat oven to 350.  Prepare squash by washing and cutting into 1/2″ slices.
  2. Mix all ingredients except squash and apples.
  3. Arrange squash slices in rectangular 11×7″ pan. Top with apple slices. Sprinkle with sugar mixture.
  4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 50-60 minutes or until squash is tender.

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Tacos with Sweet Potatoes

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Since I went through the process several months ago to puree a bunch of vegetables and put them in the freezer, I finally got in gear and tried another Deceptively Delicious recipe. I did make some modifications, mostly because I make my own taco seasoning instead of buying the packet, so here’s how I did it…

Tacos with Sweet Potatoes

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes (with juice)
1/2 cup pureed sweet potatoes
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper

Plus Other Taco stuff (shells, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, etc)

Brown the ground beef (or turkey), stir in the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until sauce has thickened up.

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Beets on the Grill

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I am trying to work in more vegetables to our diets.  Mostly because I don’t want Maria growing up thinking peas, green beans, and corn are the only vegetables. Also because Chad and I could use more vegetables.  So I decided I need to try and pick up different types of vegetables when I’m grocery shopping.

First go round, I picked beets. I’m not quite sure why. I remember liking them as a kid. I also remember my dad disliking them, so we didn’t have them very often. I have no idea even how my mom prepared them.  I found this recipe and decided it was easy and would be easy to prepare with grilled pork chops.  The only change I made was halving the recipe!

It was incredibly easy. I found out I still like beets. Chad found out he still does NOT like beets.  Oh well.  I may cook them a little bit longer next time, but I’m happy to have found another vegetable that I like!

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Pasta Pucks for Maria

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I struggle with meals for Maria. It’s tough. She is just finally getting her top teeth in, so things still need to be soft and in small pieces. She is also often so hungry when we get home from daycare, that she isn’t going to be able to wait until our dinner is ready.  And we do eat quite a bit of spicy type foods, so that is a struggle also.  I hate relying on the Gerber Toddler meals, even though she loves them. I just hate giving her so much sodium, especially during the week, when I don’t have control over her lunches.

So after some googling, I found this recipe for Pasta Pucks.  It has been great. I froze about 24 muffin cups worth (lined with a paper liner). Then just stored them in a plastic container in the freezer. I pull them out as needed. Microwave for about a minute on 60% power. And it’s ready to go!

It took about 20 minutes to make them (besides freezing time) and probably cost around $5 to make.  Plus Chad even had some for lunch the day I was making them! The best part is she LOVES them!  I’m pretty sure she’ll be up to eating 2 in a sitting soon!

Pasta Pucks

1 pound of pasta (I used the multi-colored veggie wagon wheels)
1 jar of sauce (I used a straight-up marinara sauce)
1 can great northern beans – drained
grated cheese and seasoning to taste (I used Italian seasoning and about 1 1/2 cup of cheese)

Cook the pasta according to directions. While it is cooking, put the jar of sauce and can of beans into the blender and blend until smooth. Add the sauce/bean mix to the cooked pasta and add the cheese and seasonings. Freeze in muffin cups (with papers) or in silicone muffin pans.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

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I made a new salad for Easter at my aunt’s.  I pretty much stuck to the recipe, but altered the amounts of the ingredients a little, and I couldn’t find white wine vinegar at Super Target, but found a fancy Champagne Vinegar, so used that instead.  Plus once I had the dressing made, I decided it was too much, so I didn’t use it all.

Original Recipe here.

This was really good and SUPER simple, and I will definitely make it again.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

8 cups baby spinach
3 cups sliced strawberries
3/8 cup olive oil
3/8 cup champagne vinegar
3/8 cup Splenda
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS:
1.     In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
2.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, Splenda, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.