Tag: recipe

Energy Balls- Bites of Joy

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We’re told to not set goals in an if-then mindset. Once I weigh this/get this promotion/buy this/ get married, I’ll be happy. For most things, I agree.

But the rules are broken for my recent purchase of a food processor. That DID make my life easier, happier, and I AM making all of the recipes I said “one day” to before. I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it.

These were meant to be peanut butter brownie bites, but I got feedback (from one of the 15 coworkers that devoured these) that the date and PB combo made it taste like a PB&J sandwich.  51Rz319kCLL._SY355_Uncrustables needed a face lift anyway. Welcome to 2018, kiddos.

Most importantly, one coworker, who is looking for me to help him be healthy described them as Bites of Joy, which took the cake in my book. Especially to my skeptical manager’s praise of “much better than I expected.”

Most importantly, here’s how you make them. And just like all the blogs that drove me crazy for years, I can only speak to how to make them with a food processor. You could try out a lot of almond chopping and date crushing, but I can’t make any guarantees.

ingredients bites

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups raw almonds
  • ~20 medjool dates, or use the full pack from Trader Joe’s like I did and skip the counting
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup mix ins: I used cocoa nibs and chia seeds
  • Sprinkle of sea salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. Put almonds into food processor, grind until they are finely chopped like an almond meal
  2. Add mix ins, cocoa powder, peanut butter (disperse this as much as you can) salt and maple syrup
  3. Pit dates (I just pulled the pits out) and add to mixture. Run until they are finely chopped and blended with all other ingredients.
  4. Take out and form into balls, and enjoy! Keep in fridge for best results.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Curried Soup

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There comes a time for everyone to face their fears. Mine is cutting squash and getting things out of the sink drain/garbage disposal. Apparently I’m the only one who does the latter, because it’s obviously not a foolproof plan.

But people everywhere are somehow cutting butternut squash, and living to tell the tale with all ten fingers. It’s inspiring. I make spaghetti squash in a crock pot to avoid this, but buying frozen butternut squash wasn’t cutting it.

So after the advice of many brave souls, I bought butternut squash (with no plan or recipe) and put it in the oven (whole) at 400 for 10 minutes before attempting any chopping. Magic.

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That brought me to this what-do-I-have-in-my-cabinet soup. It was completely random but filling and delicious. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

-1 butternut squash, chopped
-1 sweet potato, chopped
-1 1/2- 2 cups of (cooked) quinoa, I used tricolor from Trader Joe’s. You’ll need just 1 cup uncooked
-4 cups vegetable stock
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 tbsp curry paste
-1 can coconut milk
-5 shakes curry powder
-3 shakes cumin
-1 tsp ginger garlic paste
-1 tsp sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Bake whole squash at 400 for 10 minutes to soften (option to do this with sweet potato as well)
2. Chop squash and sweet potato as shown above
3. Place veggies in soup pot and add broth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Make 1/2 to 1 cup (dry) quinoa in separate pot in the meantime
5. Add curry paste, tomatoes, coconut milk to soup pot and start to mash potatoes and squash. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Mash squash and sweet potatoes again to desired consistency, or remove from pot and blend if you want it super creamy. I prefer some texture.
7. Add curry powder, cumin, ginger garlic paste, and sesame oil.
8. Stir and serve!
Yields ~8 servings

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Superbowl Sunday Veg Buffalo Dip- 2 Ways!

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I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 9 years, and people always ask me if there’s anything I miss. To their disappointment, I always say no, and that it’s such a habit, I forget it’s an option.

And then this time of year in the #BoldNorth rolls around. Minnesotans. love. buffalo. chicken. dip. It’s in every crockpot at the tailgates, holiday parties, and you best believe it will be at Superbowl Sunday. And I’m jealous.

So here we are, the first recipe is vegetarian buffalo dip for the guests that don’t want to be eating bird food. Focus on mentioning there’s cheese, keep quiet about the cauliflower.

Health nuts, keep scrolling for the vegan/paleo buffalo cauliflower hummus that is dairy free, gluten free, and still adored by regular food people like my coworkers.

VEGETARIAN BUFFALO DIP

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INGREDIENTS
1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup Frank’s buffalo sauce
1 tbsp ranch seasoning
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Sliced green onion
Carrots, celery, and/or chips and crackers for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tender and slightly browned. When cauliflower is done, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
  3. Add roasted cauliflower to food processor and pulse until finely diced. Add cream cheese, yogurt, hot sauce, ranch seasoning and 1/2 cup mozzarella to the food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.
  4. Transfer cauliflower mixture to a baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella and optional blue cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until mixture is heated through.
  5. Remove from oven and garnish with sliced green onion and serve with carrot and celery sticks and/or tortilla chips.
""VEGAN/ PALEO BUFFALO HUMMUS
ingredients
INGREDIENTS

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
Sea salt/ himalayan salt and cracked black pepper to season califlower

1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Frank’s buffalo sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
Sliced green onion (optional)
Carrots, celery, and/or chips and crackers for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tender and slightly browned.
  3. Add tahini, olive oil, cauliflower, buffalo sauce, and lemon juice to food processor (blender in my case) and pulse until smooth and creamy
  4. Mix in sliced green onion if you’d like
  5. Transfer cauliflower mixture to serving dish. Sprinkle cayenne pepper on top. Cool and enjoy!
dip
Perfect for our arctic Minnesotan Sundays!

Armenian Stuffed Zucchini

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“Is this a monthly thing or something?” my workers asked me as I shared my casual plans for an Armenian dinner with friends.

Yes, yes they are. For about 6 months, my roommates from my time studying abroad have committed to planning the next month’s plans while we’re together. It makes managing crazy schedules and multiple priorities, well, manageable.

If you’re late to the party, catch up on the first three “cultural dinners” that preceded this one.

Come Thursday, I was given a few options for my contribution to our Armenian dinner, but my scrappiness prevailed, and the zucchini’s I needed to use up because the new focus.

Turns out, Armenian Stuffed Zucchini is a thing…

INGREDIENTS (yields 6 stuffed zucchinis, good for 4 people as a side)

-3 Zucchinis, the wider the better
-1 can chickpeas
-1/2 cup kalamata olives
-1/2 cup crumbled feta
-1 medium onion
-1 small can tomato paste
-1 tomato

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PREPARATION (15-20 minutes)

  1. Cut zucchinis in half and core each half, not puncturing all the way through so it can hold the stuffing.
  2. Chop onion and sautée with zucchini “insides.”
  3. Pour chickpeas, feta, and olives into seperate bowl and mash to a stirrable mixture
  4. Once onions and zucchini insides begin to brown, add in tomato paste and bring to simmer
  5. Take off heat, and stir into the mashed chickpea mixture
  6. Chop tomato and set aside for final topping
I use a cocktail muddler for mashing…no shame

COOKING (40 minutes)

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Stuff zucchinis with filling to the brim, you should have some stuffing leftover
  3. Place leftover stuffing at base of narrow pan- I needed the zucchini to be close together to help keep everybody standing and fillings in tact
  4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, vary if zucchini is preferred crunchier/more well done
  5. Add chopped tomatoes to the final dish, and serve!

I promised myself my “pan picture” would turn out better than one’s I saw online, but I’m not sure it’s possible. Now it’s your turn to try!

If you need help convincing to host an Armenian dinner, please see below…

 

Boereg Prep
Cheese, parsley, eggs, wrapped in pastry puff
Taboulleh
Vegetarian lavash or armenian pizza for me, and egg noodles

Scrappy Banana bread

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If you’ve ever wondered why this blog is called S is for Scrappy, I’d love to help you out. Well, S is first and foremost for Sarah. But my scrappiness is something very inherent to everything I do.

Some would make a nice banana bread as a kind gift, maybe when hosting others, or as fuel for a blog post they’ve had planned out.IMG_5405

Scrappy is whipping up banana bread because your boyfriend brought it to your attention that if you lose the cap for the maple syrup, you can’t just put it back in the fridge capless, like an animal.

This bread and post was also inspired by 3 VERY ripe bananas patiently waiting to be used. Even though I negotiated with myself that if I bought bananas they couldn’t go brown and be banished to the freezer with a rebrand of “smoothie bananas.” Scrappy.

So, I thought to myself, what can I make that uses bananas and maple syrup that won’t be sugar central. The healthy banana bread searches began.

Seeing as I am no Betty Crocker, I looked to Cookie and Kate to make sure the end result would be in a bread formation of some kind. With some changes, here’s what I was working with:

INGREDIENTS

  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup (honey can be used)
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 ripe bananas mashed, I left mine kind of chunky for a different taste/texture
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
  • 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
  • ¼ cup almond milk (I use unsweetened vanilla, but milk of any kind will do)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans- option for any other mix in

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, beat oil and syrup together. Add eggs and beat well.
  3. Stir in bananas and milk. Then stir in the baking soda, vanilla, salt, maca, and cinnamon.
  4. Switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. If you’re adding pecans or any mix-ins, gently fold them in now.
  5. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern for a fun marble effect.
  6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. If you check with a knife, it should come out clean, but my chunky banana approach made that a bit tentative. Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for  at least 5 minutes.

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While I am not committing to Whole 30 or any specific challenges this January, I am striving to be very conscious of my sugar intake. It’s amazing what a downward spiral having any traditional desserts (even in moderation) can be for me in sugar cravings.

With the sweetness of the bananas and pure maple syrup, I’m really not sure why anyone bakes with normal sugar. This was so satisfying in every way! I loved the maple flavor and bites of banana chunks, but that approach did make it more crumbly if that’s a concern of yours.

Moral of the store, if I can bake this, so can you. Looking forward to having this as a guilt-free snack, dessert, or something to bring to the yoga studio for when I am teaching multiple classes and need some sustenance.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes + Savory Oats

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Like any normal person, I decided to make my grocery list by thinking of foods I liked the least. Sweet potatoes and oatmeal, welcome to the party.

I was never into sweet potatoes because the idea of potatoes being sweet was confusing, and brown sugar glazes or marshmallows made the situation even worse. Oatmeal felt like something that was designed to be healthy, but is always served with 30 grams of sugar. Add in my love for protein in the morning and I just didn’t see the point.

However, I thought I must be missing something, especially since both dishes seemed like a very cost effective and filling addition to the day. Here’s how we all found love in a hopeless place:

Baked for Breakfast- Put sweet potatoes in the oven at 425 for 45-60 minutes or until soft to the touch. Cut in half and add protein, hot sauce (if you’re me), and anything else you’d like. Any more potato than that and the ratio isn’t the best for us non-potato enthusiasts. You also just started the meal prep for multiple breakfasts, killin’ it.

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The yolk makes this amazing, topped with sour cream (or greek yogurt)
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Greek yogurt, cinnamon, honey, pecans, and apple pie jam
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Paired with Herbivorous Butcher’s maple breakfast sausage

Savory and Steel Cut- Every morning, my dad makes “oaties” on the stove for himself and our dog. That’s correct. It always seemed like an oddly long process, but yielding 4-5 servings made it worth it. Bring  3 cups water with 1 cup almond milk to a boil, and stir in 1 cup steel cut oats. Simmer for 20ish minutes on medium-low, stirring regularly, until the mixture becomes thick.

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Oats with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and red thai sauce
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Mixed with chocolate chips, coconut, maple syrup, and raspberries for dessert

Let me know what you try!

Zoodle + Shrimp Pad Thai

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Yes, please. If you haven’t heard me talk about my zoodler, you aren’t asking the right questions. I am obsessed. If you aren’t familiar, I’m referring to a handy tool that can make noodles out of any vegetable. {Zucchini noodles–> zoodles –> zoodler} Technically it’s called a veggetti…but that name has obvious issues that the entire marketing team somehow overlooked. If you want to convince anyone that your dish is better than regular noodles, I recommend staying away from that word.

Let’s hit it:IMG_4491

What you need (Prep 20 mins)
-First and foremost, a Zoodler! Aka a vegetti…but that name has obvious issues that the
entire marketing team somehow overlooked. So I call it a zoodler. Rice noodles could be used if you aren’t convinced this tool will change your life.
-6 zucchinis (on the smaller side)
-3 eggs
-15 shrimp, defrosted
-1 can chickpeas
-3 tbsp garlic
-Simmer sauce (Trader Joe’s Red Thai Curry is my fave)
-Crushed red pepper
-Lemon & pepper seasoning

IMG_4492How to (Cook time 15 mins)
-Start boiling the water and zoodle all zucchinis into a large bowl, set aside.
-Sautee shrimp and season with lemon & pepper spice, set aside.
-Add zoodles to boiling water, cook for 5-7 minutes; drain
-Chop shrimp into thirds, add to zoodles with drained chickpeas, garlic, and stir in simmer sauce to cover mixture. Low heat for 5 minutes.
-Scramble the 3 eggs, and stir in.
-Add crushed red pepper to taste, and serve!

Serves four. Or in my language, bring to work in a large tupperware and have with salad for four days 🙂 Why Zoodle?

  • Zucchinis are rich in fiber, protein, vitamins (A, B6, C & K), potassium, magnesium, and folate. This is true for zucchini squash as well!
  • Sweet potatoes are an amazing source of vitamin A (shout out to that beta-carotene), vitamin C, copper, magnesium, fiber, vitamins B1 & B2, and phosphorus. And then you get to say sweet patoodle. My kind of perk.

Compared to pasta, which usually has at least 200 carb-dense calories/serving. For me, the main differentiator is that vegetable noodles have one nutrient-rich ingredient going into their production, while pasta is processed and preserved.

I can tell you from my four months of living in Italy that all of those ingredients, preservatives, and coloring agents do make a difference. Fresh and homemade pasta was not reserved for the most gourmet restaurants, it is just how Italians make pasta. As a result, Americans who are gluten-intolerant/sensitive tend to not experience issues.

If a trip isn’t in the near future, start experimenting with fresh zucchini noodles! Have a favorite zoodler recipe? Please share!

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