Basic Hummus

This recipe is from a friend of mine.  She says she normally doubles the batch and it will keep fresh up to 2 weeks.  She likes to add roasted red peppers and hot pepper flakes to it......I guess the possibilities with hummus are endless- you can add whatever you want!

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
1/4 c. tahini
1 clove garlic
2 T olive oil
2 t ground cumin
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2-1 t salt
1/4 c. water
dash of paprika for serving

Combine and blend together in your food processor.  Done!

Easy Banana Ice Cream

This recipe is based on one that I saw from Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook.  It was so easy and so good!

4 ripe bananas
2 T maple syrup
1 t vanilla
1/2 c. almond milk

Peel and slice the bananas thinly.  Lay out the bananas onto wax paper covered pans or plates.  Freeze for 3 hours.  Take the bananas out of the freezer and put into your food processor.  Add the other ingredients and pulse in the processor until soft ice cream consistency.  Sprinkle some nuts on top or add a dollop of natural peanut butter.  Enjoy!

Easy Caprese

If you are looking for a quick snack that includes protein and a vegetable, here it is!

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 string cheese
drizzle of olive oil or macadamia nut oil
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
sea salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together.  Enjoy!  This is a great summer recipe!

Fried Egg Over Spinach Quinoa

If you like quinoa, but don't have a variety of recipes to use it in, here's a good one....AND it's for breakfast!  I've made this a few times and really like it.

1 c. baby spinach
1/2 c. cooked quinoa
1 egg
1 tsp. olive oil

Cook the spinach with the cooked quinoa over medium heat until the spinach wilts.  In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and crack the egg into it.  Fry the egg to desired doneness.  Place the fried egg on the quinoa mixture.

Zucchini Noodles

I can't take credit for coming up with this idea.  It's another one that I saw on mariahealth.blogspot.com.  I just really liked it and it's so easy.  If you are trying to replace grains with vegetables, like I am, then this is a recipe for you.

4 zucchini (green)
2 T. butter

Take a vegetable peeler and peel the dark green skin off of the zucchini.  Cut the ends off and discard.  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Grate the zucchini into the pan in long strips using your peeler, turning the zucchini as you go to make it even.    The strips will resemble linguine.  Peel until you get to the seeds and then discard and go to the next zucchini.  Saute the strips in the melted butter until the edges are translucent and the strips are soft.  Top with your favorite marinara sauce.  I find that 4 good sized zucchini feeds two adults.

Sunflower Seed Crackers

I love crackers!!  Anything crunchy, really.  It's something that I'm not eating these days until I found this recipe for homemade sunflower seed crackers on the mariahealth.blogspot.com website.  They are really yummy and really filling!  I made a double batch.

1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup water

Put the seeds and cheese in a food processor and pulse until its a fine meal.  Add the water and process until it's a sticky dough.  Put the dough on parchment paper and roll it out thin.  The thinner the better.  Score it into cracker squares with a pizza cutter.  Place it on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 28-30 minutes.  Let them cool and break apart along the scored lines.  Store in a container.  Yum!

I will say that my kitchen smelled a little funny when I made these because of the parmesan having such a strong smell.

Roasted Vegetables

Have you ever roasted vegetables?  If so, you know how easy it is to do and how yummy they always turn out.  You can get creative with the vegetables you choose.  I like mixing different root vegetables like:
-sweet potatoes
-red or yellow potatoes
-onions
-carrots
(Tip:  Sometimes, I cube up some lean ham and cook it with these root vegetables.  SO good!)

But, really, you can do anything-
-broccoli
-bell peppers
-zucchini
-squash
-shallots
-tomatoes
-asparagus
-brussel sprouts
-cauliflower
-Whatever!!

All you do is cut the veggies up into whatever sized chunks you want.  Lay them out in a single layer on a pan sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.  Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables, sprinkle a little sea salt, lemon pepper, black pepper, parsley, or whatever spices you want to try.  I usually just do sea salt.  Roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, take out of the oven and stir the vegetables.  Return the pan for another 20 minutes.  Done!  Serve with your favorite meat and a salad or fruit.  Healthy and filling!