Simply Staples: Sweet Potato Corn Pudding

Sweet potatoes...or yams...or sweet potatoes.

For the longest time, I had no idea what the difference was between yams and sweet potatoes. So, I took it to google and found this lovely article by the Huffington Post.

Now that you know, you can make this delicious staple recipe that I love. It takes a little more time in preparation, but it’s still quite easy. 

Sweet Potato Corn Pudding

2 large sweet potatoes

1 cup frozen corn

1/3 cup almond milk 

a few dashes of cinnamon

Steam and peel the sweet potatoes. Let them cool. 

Defrost the corn. Add all ingredients to blender. Blend.  

Hmmm...perfect for fall (just the BEST season of the year!). I'll be working on pumpkin recipes next....

Happy Fall!!!

Simple Staples: Vegetable Quinoa

I have a few simple recipes (I guess you could call them side dishes) that I use frequently. They don’t take much time or preparation, and I usually have the ingredients on hand. This vegetable quinoa is one of my favorites! It requires very little preparation.

Vegetable Quinoa 

1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh chopped vegetables (I used a bell pepper, green beans, peas, and carrots)
3 cups vegetable broth

Throw everything in a rice cooker till it finishes and you have lovely, fluffy quinoa.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

It’s hot!!! Don't get me wrong, I love summer. I just don't like melting the moment I step outside. I wanted something savory and easy for dinner without having to use the oven and decided on stuffed bell peppers. (Now that I think about it, I rarely use the oven. It might have something to do with living in a dorm without one for several months.)

Most people bake their bell peppers, but it’s so hot, I just filled raw bell peppers.

Stuffed Bell Peppers 

Ingredients:
bell peppers
1 cup quinoa or rice
1/3 cup lentils 
1 cup frozen or fresh chopped vegetables (I used peas, corn, and carrots)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2-1 teaspoon spice (I used cumin and coriander)
2 2/3 cups water or vegetable broth 

Add all ingredients (except the bell peppers) to a rice cooker and turn it on. 

Slice the bell peppers in half, cut out the stems, and wash the seeds from the inside.

Once the rice or quinoa and vegetables have finished cooking, let it cool for a few minutes. Then, start filling the peppers with it.

Red White and Blue Salad

Just because it’s the Fourth of July, doesn’t mean you can’t have a delicious salad!

Especially a delicious, patriotic salad.

Fourth of July Salad:

greens of choice

strawberries, raspberries, or cherries

red bell pepper or tomato

jicama or cauliflower

blueberries

berry dressing:

1 cup strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Wash and chop lettuce, fruits, and vegetables. 

Arrange fruits and vegetables in the pattern of the American flag.

Blend all dressing ingredients well and add to the salad. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Naked Remake Part 3: Mighty Mango and Green Machine

I couldn't resist doing another round!

Mighty Mango

Yield: about 2 cups

1 mango 

1/3 banana 

1/3 cup orange juice  

1/3 cup apple juice

1/4 lemon

Peel and chop the mango and banana. Add mango, banana, and juices to the blender. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the blender. Blend till liquified.

Green Machine

Yield: about 4 cups

1 banana 

1 kiwi 

1 mango 

1 1/3 cup apple juice

1/4 cup pineapple juice

3 cups greens

1/2 cup chopped broccoli 

dash of ginger (opt.)

1/2 teaspoon spirulina (opt.)

Chop the broccoli. Add broccoli, greens, and juices to blender and blend. Peel and chop the fruit and add it to the blender. Add ginger and spirulina. Blend till liquified.

I love what the Naked Juice website has to say about the green machine:

Some people can't seem to get over the color of green smoothies. Yesterday at work, someone saw me drinking one and asked what it was. After I explained its contents, "It's green," was all she had to say in response. No, exclamations of disgust. No emotion. Just, "It's green."

Enjoy the green!

Tropical Salad

I’ve been trying to branch out from my staple romaine lettuce. I’m wussy when it comes to greens. If it’s not romaine, green leaf, or red leaf lettuce, I’d prefer it in a green smoothie than a salad. But, I’ve been trying kale lately, and it’s growing on me. Kale is a tough green, so I recommend chopping it into smaller pieces than you would lighter lettuces. 

Tropical Salad 

Yields: 3 servings 

Dressing: 

1 mango 

2/3 cup coconut milk 

juice of 1/2 lime 

juice from 1 can sliced pineapple

1 Tablespoon chia seeds 

Salad:

4-5 cups chopped kale (I used about four leaves), or other lettuce 

fruit from 1 can sliced pineapple 

1 kiwi 

1/2 a cucumber 

1/2 a bell pepper 

1 Tablespoon coconut 

For the salad: 

Wash and chop the kale, cutting off the stems. 

Open the can of pineapple. Add the fruit to the salad. Save the juice for the dressing. 

Chop the kiwi (and peel!), cucumber, and bell pepper. (Less chopping if you prepped your veggies in advance!) Add to the salad. Sprinkle on the coconut. 

For the dressing: 

Peel and cut up the mango. 

Add the mango, coconut milk, chia seeds, and pineapple juice to the blender. 

Slice the lime in half and squeeze out the juice into the blender. 

Blend. 

Enjoy a little bit of tropical paradise in the midst of your busy life :)

Simply Bean Salad

Simply. Bean. Salad. 

It’s simple, but I believe the best things in life are simple. 

Simply Bean Salad 

1 can chickpeas 

1 can black beans 

1 can kidney beans 

1/2 cup corn (I defrosted frozen corn.)

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper 

1/2 cup chopped cucumber 

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, chopped 

salsa (opt.)

brown rice (opt.)

Open the cans and rinse the beans off. Mix in a large bowl. 

Chop the vegetables and avocado. Mix with the beans. 

Add some salsa and eat by itself or serve over rice. 

I'll leave you with a lovely quote from Henry David Thoreau. 

“I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run. ”