Asian Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is the perfect complement for a powerful salad that is also good for your body. It has a lot of flavor and it is a complete protein at that. Add a few veggies, some soy dressing, and scallions and you have a winner! In my version, I added edamame, which is a soy bean but it has 3 grams of fiber. This meal is light, healthy yet very fulfilling. I ate mines with water and wasn't hungry afterwards. Hope my healthy foodies enjoy this.


Asian Quinoa Salad


Adapted from Two Peas & a Pod

Ingredients

• 1/2 cucumber, diced
• 1 cup of red quinoa, cooked 
• 1 organic carrot, diced 
• 1/2 stalk of green scallions, cut very small 
• 1/2 cup of edamame, unshelled 
• Sesame Seeds (a handful as garnish) 
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• Dressing (store bought ginger and soy dressing, or make your own!) 

Instructions

1. Boil quinoa for 15 minutes, set aside. 
2. Chop all vegetables except for edamame, and set aside. 
3. In bowl add vegetables, quinoa, scallions, red pepper flakes and toss with soy dressing. 
4. Toss Sesame Seeds on top. 
5. Set in fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes before serving. 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a little girl I recall my mom cooking cookies and cakes. I used to be her 'helper' in the kitchen. The help included licking the bowl!  As I grew older, I made my own sweets including homemade lemon bars (coming soon to the blog), cheesecake and pound cakes. The last time I cooked cookies was when I lived in Chicago. This is my first batch in my place and I chose to use whole wheat flour, less chocolate chips and oat flour! I really liked the batch as they were yummy and I even chose to not use as many eggs. The next time I make these, I'll use 'flax eggs' and see how they go. Since the holidays are coming up, I felt it was time to revisit my favorites. I truly hope you enjoy and if you have any comments, please leave them below. 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of whole wheat flour 
• 1 cup of oat flour 
• 3/4 cup of raw brown sugar 
• 3/4 cup of organic white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt 
• 1 cup of Olivio Spreadable Butter (Omega 3s are in this butter!) 
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 
• 1 cage free egg
• 1 cup of Hershey's Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees 
2. Mix all dry ingredients. Add  brown and white sugars, spreadable butter, vanilla extract, egg and 1/3 cup of water. 
3. Add chocolate chips and salt. Fold into batter. 
4. Place chocolate chips on cookie sheet (on greased parchment paper). 
5. Bake for 15 minutes in batches. 
6. Serve and enjoy 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

Roasted Eggplant Spread

Every now and again I need something to spread on my crackers or in pita breads. I used to be a fan of mixed dips like French Onion or Ranch. However, it has become very easy to make your own and that is what I did with a few things I had on hand. I used raw cashews, onions, dried basil and oregano and eggplant I roasted before hand. Now, this takes some prep before hand. When you are finished with this, you won't want to buy the store brands since fresh is best! Enjoy


Roasted Eggplant Spread 

1/2 eggplant, roasted in olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Kosher or Sea Salt
1 cup of raw cashews, soaked for 8 hours
Water (as needed)

Step 1:
Soak a cup of raw cashews for 8 hours before hand. Place in cup or bowl with water covering it.

Step 2:
Wash eggplant and roast by adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Set aside and place in bowl, cover for later usuage.

Step 3:
Combine all seasonings with cashews (which have been drained), eggplant, and place in food processor or high speed blender. Mix for 5-10 minutes. Set aside in fridge to let cool before using.

Step 4:

Serve on crackers, with pita breads or in sandwiches. I used mines on some ruffled potato chips and a veggie sandwich.

Spread will last for up to 7 days. Use before then!

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey

Farro Salad with Cherry Tomatoes & Nuts

Every now and again, it's good to eat a savory salad that is non traditional. I was shopping in an organic store in Brooklyn when I saw a bag of Farro. It was either the Farro or Whole Wheat Berries so I chose the Farro. It looks nice, small and grainy like barley and packs 5 grams of fiber. You can serve as a cereal or add fruits and veggies to it like a salad. Either way you go, it is a good way to include fiber. Every week in schools I try to avoid going out to restaurants and I try to brown bag it. I made this salad on my way to work early one morning. It kept for several hours and since there is no dairy, meat, it worked out really well. It made me feel full. All I needed was some water and I definitely enjoyed tasting this.

Farro Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Nuts, and Fruit 

Ingredients 

1 cup of Farro, cooked 

6-8 cherry tomatoes, washed and sliced 

a handful of Mixed Berries and Nuts

Balsamic vinegar 

Zucchini cut in spiralizer (optional, as garnish only) 

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

1 teaspoon of garlic powder 

1 teaspoon of dried or fresh basil 

Instructions 

1. Combine water and farro, boil for 15 minutes. Add kosher or sea salt. 
2. In bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, garlic, basil, cherry tomatoes and olive oil. Set aside in refrigerator to marinate before adding. 
3. Rinse water from pot; Allow farro to be drained and add with other ingredients. 
4. If you have a spiralizer, cut 1/3 of zucchini and add as garnish on top. 
5. Set in fridge for 20 minutes before eating. 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

Pam's Power Bars

This is something you will like especially after eating bars from the stores. It is great because of the nuts and almond butter. You can also substitute with peanut butter. I eat these in the middle of the day when I want to avoid unhealthy snacks. The bar include healthy fats (sunflower seeds and almond butter). It is also very tasty and can be amended as you like.

Pam's Power Bars

Ingredients

1 cup of rolled oats
2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal
or 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 1/2 cup of water
Unsweetened apple juice
1 tablespoon of Olive oil (coconut oil is also great)
Almond butter (1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
a handful of mixed nuts and berries (I used dried cranberries and almonds)
1 tablespoon of raw sunflower seeds

Instructions

1) Mix all ingredients in a bowl
2) Lay out parchment paper, grease it with the oil and spread your 'bars' on it. This is the fun part, use your fingers to shape the bars.
3) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

MAKES 12 bars

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey

Raw Apple Avocado Soup

Okay, I know what you are thinking. Are you becoming a vegan Pam? The answer is no for now, but that could change. What I am doing is exploring different food to explore the fullness of my palate! For a while now I have seen recipes online for raw dishes and I always wanted to try something different. It beats me getting back on the eating fast food track. So I think this raw soup is delightful, it's creamy and most of all it's quick to make. It is not expensive and most of all it is savory to the fullest. I used my  magic bullet to make this in a few short seconds. I think you can easily prepare this in a quality blender, or a food processor. It is really good. Serve cold. I liked it that way. Enjoy.

Ingredients

1/2 large avocado (cost. 99 cent)
1 large apple (any variety, but I used red apple)
1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of kosher salt (optional)
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a handful of spinach or collard greens leaves

Instructions

1. Wash and cut apple and spinach leaves. 
2. Set aside leaves for garnishing. 
3. Put apple slices in your blender or food processor with avocado. Add water and pulse.
4. Mix for 1-5 minutes. In my bullet this took 2 minutes. 
5. Serve in bowl. Add leaves and red bell flakes for garnish. 
6. Enjoy

Avocado is a healthy fat. Apples are a joy to eat. The sweetness of the apple is complimentary and your mouth will sing when this enters it.

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey 

Squash Muffins

So I had the idea of mixing squash with muffins. However, I am not the first person to do this. Although I am not the first, I think this short recipe can be adapted in different ways. My process was to roast my pumpkin in the oven, then roll over into a batch for the muffins. In hindsight, I would cut up in smaller pieces and bake, not roast. I think it would be good to see if I can have the pumpkin cut in smaller pieces where it is actually seen in the muffin, not mixed smooth, like my first batch was. Again, it's all on what you prefer. These muffins are nice and moist and could be served with a small salad or along side homemade soup. With my muffins, I will be serving with homemade vegetable soup. Enjoy

Ingredients 

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of oat flour
1 tsp of kosher salt
1 cup of roasted pumpkin or butternut squash
1/3 cup of fresh or frozen scallions
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of basil
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 brown or cage free eggs

Instructions

1. Wash and then roast the pumpkin. Add to a pan and bake with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. 
2. Bake the pumpkin/squash @ 425 Degrees for 15 minutes. 
3. Once roasted pumpkin is done, mix the dry ingredients of the batter (flour, salt, oregano, basil, garlic powder, baking powder). Add the cage free eggs, remaining olive oil, milk, and scallions to the batter. The last ingredient to the batter should be the roasted pumpkin/squash. If you want a smoother batter, you can let it roast for 25-30 minutes before adding to the batter. if you want more of the smaller pieces to be baked but not soft, bake for less time, then add to the batter. 
4. Bake the mixed batter for an additional 25 minutes at 405 degrees. 
5. Serve with soup or with anything of your liking! 

(c) 2013 by Pam Osbey