My Valentine

I'm the lucky one.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Get Your Greens On!

Courtesy

It is almost inherently known from the time we are kids that dark, green, leafy things are good for us. For years I have tried to make a priority of eating something green every day for sure, and on a good day twice or three times - that can be hard! But today while studying a lesson for my health counselor training I was reminded of what a critical role these vegetables play in our diet.

Dark, leafy greens are good sources of: Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Potassium.

These vitamins and minerals help your body with critical functions such as:

-Vision (especially night vision)

-Tissue and bone repair

-Reproduction and fetal development

-Immune system function

-Turning our food into energy

-Regulating appetite

-Skin formation

-Fetal development

-Clotting blood

-Muscle contraction

-Carrying oxygen to our cells

-Metabolic function

-Strong bones and teeth

-Water and electrolyte balance

-And LOTS more

OK, I get it. I need to eat this stuff (yes, I would like for my skin to stay "formed" and to be able to see to drive home after a long night with friends till I'm at least 90, oh, and for my heart to keep beating - thank you very much). But honestly, there's only so much sauteed spinach I can take. So came my hunt for ways to get it good!

Here are some great recipes/ideas we've tried in order to easily incorporate more greens into our diet. These are all really yummy - let me know what you think!

Courtesy of The Kitchen Dispensary

1. Smoothies - I know it sounds gross, but really. Add a big handful of greens to your smoothie with frozen berries, an overripe banana, a big spoonful of full fat Greek yogurt, and organic juice and tell me it's not yummy. It doesn't even turn this green. We've been making one for breakfast or lunch almost everyday lately and I'm loving it. Also, how great does it feel to know you've begun your day with a painless serving of KALE?!

2. Pizza - add frozen (thawed) chopped spinach to your favorite homemade pizza recipe (my friend uses spelt tortillas for a quick crust for her kids). One of my favorite pizzas I've ever had was topped with kale and yogurt cheese (ooh, I can taste it now!). Similar to this.

Courtesy of When Harry Met Salad

3. This recipe for one of my favorite Indian dishes, Chicken Saagwala, includes two boxes or two bags of spinach! I make this at least once, and sometimes twice a month (of course I've tweaked it a bit, but this is a good start and hard to mess up!). It's one of Stacy's favorites served with brown Basmati rice and a dollop of whole milk Greek yogurt on top.

4. Kale Chips - Kids love them! I got my recipe from my inspirational cousin Holly (you should definatley read her blog!). This one looks good and super easy.

What's your favorite way to "get your greens on"? Let's share the blood-clotting, heart-pumping, bone-building love!

A Great Guilt-Free Cookie

I'm really not into the applesauce-for-oil, Splenda-for-sugar, black beans-for-flour kind of baking.

My general philosophy is: Make it yourself, the right way, with real food. Don't eat too much.

However, I am trying to branch out and realizing that just because almond flour (or millet or dates) isn't a staple in American baking doesn't mean it's not real food, and that it can sometimes even make what I'm cooking taste better. Really!

So when I came across this cookie yesterday on Sprouted Kitchen I had to give it a try. I modified it a bit to accommodate what I had on hand, but let me tell you, DELISH! A little sweet, a little salty, and definitely makes for a good chocolate fix. All this with NO SUGAR. The magic is in the mashed banana base - it satisfies my all-time favorite fruit/chocolate combination and doesn't leave you with that "I just had a fake dessert so I have to eat more to make up for the fact that I'm not eating real sugar/butter" feeling.

I really want to hoard these, but I'm going to surrender my selfish ambition and test them out on some friends' kids this afternoon during Stacy's piano lessons. I'm pretty positive they'll be a hit for kids and their parents. Here ya go...

Oat'Nana Pucks

from Sprouted Kitchen

My changes in green. Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

If you have gluten allergies, omit the wheat bran and use almond meal.

3 Well Ripened Bananas
2 tbsp. Good Vanilla Extract
¼ Cup Coconut Oil (olive oil works fine)
2 Cups Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup Wheat Bran (fresh ground wheat flour)
2/3 Cup Finely Chopped Almonds (food processor works great for this)
1/2 Cup Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut (we could only find sweetened at the tiny grocery behind our house, so I only used 1/4 cup. you could omit this.)
1 tbsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
¾ Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips or Carob Chips

Oven to 350’
1. Mush the ripe bananas with a fork. Mix the wet ingredients together: bananas, vanilla, and oil. In another bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently mix. Fold in the chocolate or carob chips. The dough will be loose. Here, my favorite line in her recipe, ‘don’t worry about it’. Ha.
2. On a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat, make mini balls, then give them a gentle smush to flatten them. They don’t really change shape while baking, so spacing 1’’ between is fine.
3. Bake for about 14 minutes until puck or nugget is firm. Do not undercook or they will crumble.

I'm sure this base could have endless nut/add-in variations. Let me know what you think!