Not yo Mamas Quinoa

I have a GO TO recipe that pretty much is one of the only Quinoa we eat around here. They kids love it, the husband loves it, and I could eat a whole bowl of this myself. I'm always getting the whole, 'hey can I have that recipe' comment, and I'm HAPPY to be able to give it to you today!

For those of you that don't know much or have never tried Quinoa, is some information on it: HERE

But in a nutshell, quinoa is high in Calcium, Iron, protein and fiber. It doesn't replace legumes in terms of fiber, but every little bit helps!!

Mexiquinoa:

1 Cup Quinoa
2 cups Chicken/vegetable/water (two cups of any of that will be good, but I prefer chicken stock in mine)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup corn kernels (they have to be cooked, but do not have to be warm)
1 cup black beans (I used canned, again, cooked, but do not have to be warm)
3 green onions
1 small bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped (you can add more if you like cilantro)
2 Tbsp olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lime (again, more if you like lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
avocado diced (optional)

combine the quinoa and broth (or water) and salt in a saucepan, and bring to a full boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook until all of the broth or water is absorbed, about 15-20 min (when done, the grains will look almost clear.)

While quinoa is cooking, place corn, black beans, green onions, cilantro, olive oil, lime zest and juice and cumin in a bowl. Once Quinoa is done, add to bowl, stir and serve adding avocados on top if desired.
*recipe adapted from:thedailymeal.com

I LOVE this salad warm, my husband likes it cool. go figure.

When I eat Quinoa:
I like it for DINNER. I pair it with a roasted veggie of some sort in the winter. In the summer, I usually eat it with some kind of fruit salad.

LUNCH: leftovers, YES!

SNACK: more leftovers, double YES!

I hope you enjoy this as much as our family does. Can I say STAPLE anyone??

Also, here's a freebie for you: 

If you use canned beans and corn, you will have about 1.5 cups leftover. For my kids, I add clean salsa to it, and they eat it like an entree...double score for me...no waste, healthy kids. 

hummm...us??

I'm a lover of wraps. . . I just am. I love the idea of putting anything I want into a wrap and having every bite taste just how I want it to!! However, eating clean does put a restriction challange into the dressings. But perhaps you can have your wrap and eat it too? Since the demise of putting ranch dressing on just about everything I put into my mouth, I've found a new love and use for HUMMUS. Hummus is great, you can make it bland, spicy, colorful, or well, bland!  I also love hummus for my family and especially kids because it is inexpensive to make, its high in fiber, and has a lot of protein. My kids love dipping things in it, and I don't even care half the time if they just suck the hummus off, because its the hummus I want them to have! Here is my personal favorite hummus recipe.


HUMMUS
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
(I've used the concentrate in a pinch)
2 Tbsp Tahini (recipe to follow)
1 clove of garlic (more if you like the flavor of garlic)
1/2 tsp salt
15 oz can chickpeas, drained and 1/4 c liquid reserved

Add ingredients, incuding the 1/4 c reserved liquid to jar in order listed and blend.
This wont be completely smooth, so blend as you will....you won't get it totally creamy.
This makes about 2 cups

TAHINI
1/4 C Olive Oil
3 C hulled and toasted sesame seeds

Add oil and seeds to jar and blend. You may have to stop and push down the sides of the blender and re-blend.
TO TOAST:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. spread sesame seeds on  pan. Toast seeds for 10-12 min. Stir seeds half way through (so at 5-6 min).

This makes about 2 cups and I keep it in the fridge for 8 weeks. You'll find that you will use the Tahini up in other clean recipes as well...don't fret. I can see the look on your face right now.....

*Recipes were taken from BLENDTEC Fresh Blends cookbook.

HOW I USE HUMMUS:

LUNCH:
I use it in wraps for the dressing. I spread it on the tortilla and then add red or yellow bell peppers, mozz cheese if I wish, spinach, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

My kids will eat the wraps too, but I put deli meat in theirs to keep them going (they love meat)

MID MORNING OR MID AFTERNOON SNACK
I also use it for just dipping vegetables. Its a great snack...you know, since we clean eaters are supposed to eat 6 times a day!

Don't love me for my skills to with lighting....

I think I wrapped this before I had more than spinach in it...not sure why.....yikes.

Eat and be well!!

XOXO

Inagural Post and can I get a shout for smoothies??

Welcome to healthyhearthappysoul!! I've been thinking about doing a blog like this for a little while now, but we all know how it goes....if not, let me help you out:

7:30 wake up to crying baby
7:40 feed crying baby
7:50 attempt in vain to put baby back down to sleep so you can squeeze 20 more min of sleep
8:00 pick baby back up due to nonstop screaming
8:15 2nd baby awakes
8:30 sit down to breakfast
8:45 kids still are waiting on breakfast while watching you run around your kitchen frantically looking for something "healthy to eat"
9:00 still waiting on breakfast all the while asking yourself, can kids eat this for breakfast??

Sound familiar? perhaps you are a little more on top of things than I? Well, if this sounds like something  you would do, or have ever done, this blog is for you!

I've recently begun the conversion to Clean Eating. You can find information on clean eating here. I stumbled upon this way of eating after trying for 4 years to have children and finally being told by an OBGYN that children just weren't in the cards for us. I refused to believe this! we exercised, ate "healthy" (I used to use this term in place of not being overweight....I wasnt very smart) and there was no family history of infertility. A neighbor gave me a book called pH Balance (purchase herethat she loved...thus my eyes were opened to a whole new world! After jumping on board with this way of eating, we were pregnant within 2 months. NOW, not everyone's experience will be the same. After further research, it was my hormones that were stopping me from conceivng. Once I cleaned the crap  processed foods out of my body, my hormones were able to get back in line and boom! two babies in a year!

As I don't like the idea (yet at least) of cutting out dairy and wheat and fruit from my diet, I love the idea of eating a more "from the ground" type of diet and my love of clean eating was born. So I guess you could say 3 BABIES in one year...or not. haha

I want everyone who comes across this blog to feel comfortable. Some blogs are so hard core and gungho, that I feel like I'll never be that good, or I'm not good enough to comment, or if I do comment, I think I'll look like a doof. NEVER ON THIS BLOG WILL YOU FEEL THAT WAY! I'm just starting my conversion so guess what, there are still processed foods in my pantry!!! WHAT, WHATS THAT YOU SAY?? yes, I have a hard time wasting food, so I've thrown out anything with high fructose corn syrup, and many things like that, but I will use what I have and continue to replace all my pantry items as I go. I wish I had a million dollars to just go out and buy EVERYTHING I need, but you know what? Im learning a LOT, like A LOT A LOT about the foods in my pantry as I read labels and throw away. Its good motivation on a daily basis. So hang in there, you don't need a pantry full of nuts and seeds and wheat to be good at this. I PROMISE. Step by step, day by day.....we'll get there!

Here are a couple of Green smoothies to kick things off for you.

How I use green smoothies in my life:
Breakfast
For me AND the kids
They are fast and easy to mix up and PACKED with nutrients. You can also pre-package your green smoothies and freeze them (only suggested if you own a Blendtec or vitamix that can handle lots of frozen foods) or just buy large quantities of Spinach and bananas and freeze those two things.
Mid morning or Mid afternoon snack
After dinner as a treat (make a sweeter version if you are used to dessert every night. There are lots of fruit smoothies you can make or some with greek yogurt that are yum.

Peach green Smoothie HERE
Non green peach Smoothie HERE

Also, I've since stopped using yoplait yogurt and I'm all greek now...if you need vanilla flavoring in yogurt, just use greek yogurt, and a small amount of vanilla extract. about 1tsp to 1 cup yogurt.

ENJOY!