Honey Almond Chia Seed Pudding with Strawberries

I first had this little guy at a work retreat.  One of our chefs brought it as an example of a creative way to use a healthy grain. She gave a presentation about how to use quinoa in salads and incorporating millet and farro in soups and such. It was a cool presentation, but this visual aid was my favorite. And the best part? It is so stupid easy to make. 

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when they get wet. They expand and form a jelly like coating that instantly thickens whatever they were added to. I love them in my smoothies or you can even add them to plain water. They remind me a bit of tapioca, so if you are not a tapioca pudding fan, you probably wont like this. Just a heads up. 

And like with most of my recipes, it is easily adapted to fit your dietary needs and taste preferences. But here is how I made it, and it turned out delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Honey Greek Yogurt (I recommend Greek Gods brand)

3/4 cup Vanilla Almond Milk (unsweetened)

2 Tablespoons whole chia seeds

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons sliced/slivered almonds

Directions: 

Combine yogurt, milk and chia seeds in bowl. Mix well and let sit for 10 min. In a separate bowl toss strawberries and honey and let sit. When ready to serve, spoon pudding, strawberries and almonds in to a bowl, parfait style if you want. Enjoy!

Brown Rice Enchiladas with Black Bean Sauce (Updated Version)

Brown Rice Enchiladas with Black Bean Sauce

Sauce:

1 (4oz) can green chiles                                           

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can vegetable (or chicken) broth                    

1/4 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves/teaspoons minced garlic                                      

1 bay leaf

Optional: 1/2 (4oz) can jalapenos (if you like it spicy)

Saute onions in oil until soft and translucent. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for minimum 5 minutes or 15 minutes if you have the time. Remove from heat and pour mixture into blender (taking care because it is hot) and process until smooth. Set aside.

Filling:

1/4 chopped yellow onion                         

1 (4oz) can green chilis (sub for jalapenos if you like more spice)

1/2 cup cooked vegetable of choice (diced sweet potato, chopped kale or corn are great options)

1/2 c lowfat cottage cheese  

1/2 c feta cheese or goat cheese

2 c cooked, brown rice

Saute onions until soft, add green chilis, cooked vegetables, cottage cheese and feta cheese. Stir until just combined and then turn off heat. Add rice and mix well. 

To make:

Flour tortillas

Monterrey Jack or Colby Jack Cheese for sprinkling

Chopped cilantro, to taste

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour thin layer of Black Bean Sauce in the bottom of the pan. Assemble enchiladas by filling tortilla with filling, sprinkling with Colby Jack cheese and rolling. Place rolled and filled tortillas into the pan. Pour more Black Bean Sauce over all tortillas until well covered, sprinkle with a little cheese.  Bake at 375 for 25 min. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve warm. 

One Tasty Salad

Do you remember when you used to go play at a friends house and you were there around dinner and so the mom would invite you to stay? And then you would have to borrow the phone (house phones of course) and call your mom and ask if you could stay for dinner. Good times.

This recipe reminds me of eating at my childhood friend's house. They used to have this salad at almost every meal. To be honest, it was good, but not my favorite as a kid. But as I got older and wiser, I really came to love it. What really makes this salad is the dressing. It is simple, easy to adapt to your tastes and very healthy. Give it a go.

Salad:
1 head Red or Green Leaf Lettuce (chopped)
1- 2 tomatoes, large dice
1 avocado, sliced
1/8 red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1 Tbsp lemon juice (FRESH!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells

I make menu plans every week, to help me grocery shop and be somewhat organized for the week. But I usually only follow it for a few of the days. We get invited over to eat with family, I get lazy, I forget to buy a key ingredient, life happens. So I just push whatever meals I missed to the next week. These stuffed shells have been on my list for a while, and I have been pretty excited to try them out. They were tasty, got good feedback and I would make them again with a few changes that I have included below.

Veggies and cheese get blended to look like a green smoothie!

That green smoothie looking mixture gets stuffed into al dante jumbo shells

And placed face down into a puddle of marinara sauce

Top with more marinara, add some cheese and cook until bubbly

Yum!

20-25 jumbo shells, cooked al dente

Filling:

1 cup spinach or kale, chopped

1 cup cottage cheese (or ricotta- I just don't keep that around)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup italian style bread crumbs (optional, it just gives it more substance)

1 egg

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp italian seasoning

1/4 mozarella cheese

Sauce:

2 cups seasoned marinara sauce

1 cup shredded veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, carrots, or a combination)

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (for the top

Mix all sauce ingredients together. Pour 1 cup sauce into 9X13 pan, set aside. In a blender, combine all filling ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Blend until combined, add an extra egg if it is too thick to blend. Mix in mozzarella cheese with a spoon.  Spoon green mixture into shells and close a little before placing face down into pan. Cover shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over shells and place in preheated oven. Cook at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbling. 

Brown Rice Enchiladas with a Black Bean Sauce

So remember my awesome friends who I grew up with? The ones who gave me the best salsa recipe ever and the delicious Black Bean Soup? Well I have yet another wonderful recipe from them. And I don't know the official nutrition facts on this recipe, but I am willing to assume it is at least kind of healthy because everything the Collet's make is healthy.

I made these as part of our "Vegetarian Project" and they got very positive reviews from the boys. A quote from one of them: " I can't believe these don't have meat in them, they taste so good". That is a huge deal, in case you didn't know.

They take a little bit of prep work and a little bit of time, but they are delicious. My only regret is that the pictures didn't turn out any better... Oh well, make them yourself and you can take a better picture for me to use.

RICE ENCHILADAS W/ BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Sauce:

1 can green chiles                                           

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can vegetable broth                    

 ½ c chopped onion

2 cloves garlic                                      

1 bay leaf

3 Tbsp hot sauce

Combine in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer 5 minutes. Pour mixture into blender (taking care because it is hot) and process until smooth. Set aside.

Filling:

1 c cottage cheese  

½ c sour cream

½ c feta cheese

Blend in blender.  Then stir in:

¼ c onion                         

1 chopped seeded jalapeno

2 c cooked, brown rice

2 Tbsp hot sauce (optional)

To make:

6 Flour tortillas

¾ cup Monterrey Jack Cheese

Chopped cilantro, to taste

Fill 6 flour tortillas (or 10 corn tortillas) with rice/cheese mixture, roll and place in 9 X 13 dish coated with cooking spray.  Pour about half of the black bean sauce over tortillas; cover and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Uncover, sprinkle with Monterrey Jack cheese.  Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Serve warm with cilantro for topping and the rest of the black bean sauce for pouring on top.