Foodie Pen Pals Reveal Day!

Oh wait. 

I didn't get a foodie pen pal box this month.

 Bummer.

See, I sent one, but the person I was paired with didn't. Obviously in a program like this, there are going to be times when things just don't work out. Maybe the girl I was paired with had a family emergency or life just got too much in the way. And that's okay. I'll sign up again next month and see what happens.

And the other weird thing is the pen pal I was assigned to send to this month is the same one I sent to in March. All pen pals are paired randomly and with over 1,000 participants chances of that happening are pretty slim. But happen it did. And that's okay too. I have been reading Renia's blog and had fun putting together another box for her.

Click here to visit her blog and see what I sent!

If you'd like more info on the program or would like to sign up, just click on the Foodie Pen Pals stamp like this on the left.

It's a live link that takes you right to Lindsay's site, The Lean Green Bean, where you can learn all about the details, see what others have received, and sign up for the monthly program. And though this month wasn't exactly what I had hoped for, months past have been, and I will certainly be participating again. 

Gluten Free Granola, 2 ways

Have you ever walked out of the gym, after a really hard workout, feeling like you deserve something really decadent?

Well, I have (more often than I'd like to admit); today actually.

It had to be chocolate, and I'm not sure why, but it had to be crunchy.

So I headed to Trader Joe's where I knew I could find all the ingredients I needed at a good price and rushed home to get to work. I didn't actually start out with the goal of making this granola gluten free. The Trader Joe's rolled oats that are the base of this recipe were gluten free, so I just kept the trend going.

What you'll need:

2 cups gluten free rolled oats

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup seeds or nuts (I used sliced almonds)

2 Tbsp flax seed

2 Tbsp oat bran

2 Tbsp chia seeds

3 Tbsp dark cocoa

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of raisins, cranberries, dried cherries and blueberries)

1/2 - 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Variation: replace the cocoa powder with 1-2 tsp cinnamon, and the chocolate chips with vanilla chips for a non-chocolate version.

What you'll do:

Before you get going: this granola ends up fine and crumbly and is great as a topping. If you want a chunky, eat-with-your-fingers type of granola, double the middle 5 ingredients (but beware, that's a lot of calories!) Doubling the "sauce" that gets stirred into the cereal before baking will encourage the cereal to stick together in little chunks. I worked out hard today, but not that hard.

Mix the oats, coconut, nuts, seeds, and bran together in a large bowl. In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over low heat -- doubling the amounts of this and the next 4 ingredients for a chunky, eat-with-your-fingers type of granola. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa, syrup or honey, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Pour over cereal mix and combine well. You may have to use your hands to make sure everything gets coated. Pour mixture into a large baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring at the half way point. Remove from the oven, stir again, and then allow to cool for at least a couple of hours. Once cooled, stir in the dried fruit and chocolate chips. Store in air tight containers to share or to keep. 

Try it on oatmeal or yogurt for a delicious crunchy treat!

But if you're in need of a cookie...

have no fear.

Chocolate Granola Cookies

What you'll need:

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup oat bran or almond meal (or flour, if gluten is okay)

1 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups chocolate granola

What you'll do:

Beat the butter and peanut butter together. Cream the sugar into the butters. Add egg and beat well. Mix in baking soda, baking powder, oat bran, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Stir in granola by hand and mix well. Scoop out cookies onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned around the edges.

Makes about 2 dozen large-ish cookies.

What's for dinner? Salad. Again.

We tend to eat dinner rather late (like 8 or 9 pm -- gasp!), as my honey works hell-acious hours. I want to eat with him but don't want a heavy meal so late in the evening. He comes home starving. 

The solution: a light yet satisfying meal. Hence, we have salad for dinner several times a week.

I recently stumbled on this product from Trader Joe's, Harvest Grains Blend. It contains Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. I played with ways of fixing it and this make-ahead salad is a winner. The recipe makes about three and a half 1 cup servings but you can always add more veggies to make it go a little further or to clean out your veggie drawer. And the left-overs, if there are any, are awesome.

What you'll need:

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute

1 cup Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives
1/2 cup chopped, peeled, and seeded cucumber
1/2 cup chopped orange or yellow pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 ½ tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
1/4 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Optional: add cooked chicken, pork, or shrimp

What you'll do:

Bring water and seasoning to a boil. Add Harvest Grains Blend. Bring back to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove cover and allow to stand until all the  liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

In a large serving bowl, lightly toss grain blend, sun-dried tomatoes, and veggies. Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice and the additional seasoning. Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Cover and refrigerate. Top with feta cheese just before serving.

You could substitute fresh chopped tomatoes for the sun-dried ones, but I think the sweet, rich flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes is part of what makes this salad special.

This week's eats (4/20 - 4/26)

This week was especially busy and I kinda felt like we weren't eating all that well. I was relieved when I looked back over my meal pics and realized we did okay. Phew.

Some random meals from this week:

1. Snack: fruit (ours)
2. Dinner: pad Thai with lots of veggies (hers) and pork tenderloin strips (his)
3. Dinner: spinach and carrot polenta with a side of sauteed veggie chop (hers)
4. Treat: Trader Joe's trek mix [almonds, craisins, white chocolate chips, and granola bites] (ours)
5. Lunch: roasted butternut squash (hers)
6. Lunch: Green Giant veggie medley and a black bean burger (hers)
7. Snack: Greek yogurt, veggies, and white bean/basil hummus (ours)
8. Treat: Trader Joe's dark chocolate with almonds (ours)
9. Breakfast: high fiber cereal mix [Fiber One and Kashi] and blueberries (hers)
10. Lunch: turkey, spinach, avocado wrap, grapes, and trail mix (his)
11. Dinner: sauteed veggie chop on couscous with roasted chicken (his)
12. Dinner: big green salad with lots of veggies, chick peas, sunflower seeds, and pork tenderloin strips (his) or tofu (hers)
13. Lunch: cold couscous veggie salad with cucumbers, peppers, tomato, onion, kalamata olives, and feta, drizzled with lemon juice and balsamic vinegar (ours)

Other random eats not pictured: lunch at Panera (soup and 1/2 sandwich), yogurt covered pretzels, a soy based dark chocolate protein shake (a sample from a friend - so tempted to buy a jug of it, but it's ridiculously expensive) and carrot cake wedding cake with cream cheese frosting -- I may or may not have licked the plate.

Last Week's Eats (3/2 - 3/9)

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know Saturdays have traditionally been my Meal Plan Day. And they still are. But I was afraid the Saturday meal plan post was becoming repetitive, boring, and repetitive. Using the labels on the left, you can easily access months of meal plans if you need ideas. I won't bore you each week by posting my plans for our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners for the upcoming week.

Instead, I will bore you with pictures of random meals we ate over the last week....

1. Dinner: Taco casserole: my honey's with ground turkey and cheese, mine w/tofu and veggie shreds; both versions have lots of veggies and flax seed tortilla chips from Trader Joe's. Yum.
2. Dinner: Salad with tofu, veggie chop, veggie shreds, and avocado
3. Snack: baby carrots, hummus, TJ's flax seed tortilla chips
4. Dinner: Curried lentils and sweet potatoes over butternut squash, topped with veggie chop
5. Breakfast: green smoothie- almost every morning, my go-to of late
6. Lunch: green salad with tofu and avocado
7. Lunch: salad with red beans and veggie shreds
8. Dinner: roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes
9. Dinner: Mixed veggie salad with spinach pesto dressing topped with veggie shreds