Pumpkin Pasta

We love east weeknight meals in our house, and my son loves his Mac and cheese, or anything with cheese and pasta in it. This is the perfect elevated ‘Mac and cheese’ type dinner, and what’s even better there some pumpkin in it!

What you will need:

1 pound fusilli pasta

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp sage

2 tsp rosemary 10 tbsp (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 tsp ground ginger

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

15 oz pumpkin puree {recipe here} or 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree

2 tsp dark brown sugar

¾ cup finely grated Parmesan

Salt & black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta to the pot and stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom as it cooks. Cook the pasta according to package instructions, 8 to 10 minutes. Reserve some of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta in a colander and hold it there until the sauce is finished.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter until it starts to turn light brown. Add the ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. add in the sage and rosemary. Add the pumpkin, sugar and some of the reserved pasta water. Stir in about ½ cup of Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and warm gently, tossing to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Top with the remaining Parmesan. 

Enjoy!

{Healthy} Spinach Banana Donuts

These cute healthy donuts are the perfect toddler-approved two bite snack. There are only 6 ingredients!

These green donuts are packed with nutrients, and if your toddler is like mine and does not like most veggies these help fill in that area.

These donuts are so easy to make and are versatile. You can make them in mini donut pans like I did, or even muffins. They freeze well {in an airtight bag or container} for months and you can pop them out as needed. 

What you will need: 

1 ½ packed cups baby spinach 

1 banana 

2 large eggs 

3 tbsp rolled oats 

½ tsp cinnamon 

1 tbsp ground flaxseed 

Glaze- 

6 tbsp powdered sugar 

 2-3 tsp water 

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease your donut pan.

Add all of the ingredients into a blender and process until smooth.
Pour the batter into the donut cavities and bake for 17 minutes or until the donuts are firm and browning on the edges. 

Pop out of the donut cavities and let cool completely before adding the optional glaze or freezing. 

Glaze- 

Combine the powdered sugar and 2 tsp water in a bowl until it’s a thick consistency. If too thick, add another tsp water. 

Glaze your donuts by either turning over and dunking into the glaze, or drizzle over the top with a spoon. 

Decorate with some sprinkles! 

Enjoy!

Flawless Kale Chips

I’ve suffered through one too many batches of burned or soggy kale chips. It took me a while to master my baked kale chip recipe, but I’ve learned some valuable lessons along the way and I’d like to pass my tips along to you! 

You want a balance between crispiness and chewiness, without tasting burned. When baked properly, they really do make the perfect base for a satisfying chip alternative. They are also a super food and have many health benefits.

With these few easy techniques you’ll be well on your way to kale chip heaven. No dehydrator required!

What you will need:
Kale
Olive oil
Sea salt or other seasonings (optional) 

1. Remove the stems and tear leaves into large pieces. Remove the stems very quickly by grabbing the base of the stem with one hand and pushing outwards along the stem to slide off the leaves.
 
2. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves before beginning. If the leaves aren’t properly dried, the water can “steam” the kale chips while baking and lead to the dreaded soggy kale chip. Be sure they are nice and dry before you add in the oil.

3. Don’t skimp the oil, but don’t drench it in oil either A little bit of extra virgin olive oil goes a long way. I like to use ½ TBSP. of oil per baking sheet of kale chips. Rub the oil into the leaves to ensure all of the leaves are coated. Oil also helps the spices stick to the leaves. 

4. Spread kale into a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Be sure to rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking. 

5. It’s all about the low-heat for even baking. It takes a bit longer to bake, but I can assure you it’s worth it because you don’t get any burnt pieces. The goal is to crisp the kale, not scorch it into little black burnt pieces! In my oven, I bake at 300 for 10 minutes, then I rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 minutes.

6. Cool for just a few minutes on the baking sheet. This allows the kale chips to crisp up even more once they are out of the oven. 


Enjoy!

Glorious Greens Pasta

I don't know about you, but pasta gets boring after a while.  Pasta with sauce, baked ziti, spaghetti and meatballs. I thought I was over pasta, until I tried something new with it.
Skip all that red sauce, and just sauté some greens in olive oil and add some bread crumbs.  This way is much healthier and you don't feel guilty about eating those pasta carbs!

What you will need:
Box of pasta
1 bunch of kale, washed and stems trimmed
A few stalks swiss chard
Handful of spinach
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup Seasoned bread crumbs
Handful of parsley
Olive oil

Boil the pasta according to it's directions.
In a large skillet, heat the olive on medium heat.  Add your greens and lower the heat to low.
Allow the greens to slightly wilt.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Once the pasta is ready, drain and add to the skillet.
Mix the pasta into the greens and add the bread crumbs and a little more olive oil if it seems too dry.  
Top it all off with some fresh parsley.
Plate it up and devour!

Enjoy!

Post Juice Cleanse Healthy Muffins

As part of my New Year's Resolution I promised myself that I would exercise more and eat healthier this year.  Normally, my motivation for my resolution gets thrown out the window a few weeks after January 1st rolls around.  But, this year it's almost Summer and I'm still sticking to my plan!
I started my resolution by doing a 3 day juice fast from Healthy Blender Girl {the winter juice} and plan to do it every season {every 3 months.}  I know what you're thinking…that's impossible or that the results don't last. But let me tell you, it was definitely hard the first day.  I was starving and wanted to quit only a few hours in! But, by day 2 I was feeling better and actually felt satisfied with my juices and midday herbal teas.  

After successfully completing all 3 days of juicing, I weighed in.  I had lost 4 pounds!  While this may not seem a lot for some people, that was really all I wanted to lose.  
The next 3 days I needed to restrict my intake to raw veggies and fruits.  This part was easy because I had a ton of my juicing veggies and fruits left over.  The next 3 days I was able to introduce other meat/dairy items back into my diet.  
That is where this recipe comes in.  The muffin base is an adaptation to my Pumpkin Bread recipe.  Swap out the pumpkin puree with your leftover day 2 midday carrot/butternut squash pulp that you saved after straining it from your juice.  This pulp still has a lot of the vitamins left in it, and great flavor!

*PS notice my new carrot logo on my photos? From now on I am going to add this to my healthy posts!

What you will need:

1 cup flour
1 ¼ tsps. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 slightly beaten egg whites
½ cup leftover juice cleanse pulp½ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
Nonstick spray
2 muffin pans

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together egg whites, juice pulp, sugar, and oil.

Stir flour mixture into juice pulp mixture until well incorporated.

Liberally spray your muffin pans with nonstick spray.
Spread batter into pans and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Another variation I tried for these muffins was my day 2 evening juice of broccoli/romaine/cilantro pulp.

 Enjoy!

Any questions or comments about juicing just ask away!