Power Foods Recipes- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

On a family night out to B & N I found this amazing cookbook with whole food recipes. I was not able to get it that day, but just about every single recipe in this cookbook I wanted to try, so I saved & came back to get it later.
I have really been passionate about finding healthy whole food recipes. If it is gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or raw I am very interested in trying it. Although, it does need to still taste good ;)

My hubby & I do our grocery shopping bi-weekly, so I used this cookbook to meal plan for 2 weeks & I feel healthier already!

This is one of the things I made with this cookbook:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This was my first time roasting my own peppers. It is super easy & you don't have to worry about preservatives or any other added ingredients. I adjusted this recipe a little.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

3 red bell peppers

2 cups of garbanzo beans (I used the dried ones & then cooked them with water in my crockpot for 3 hours)

whole wheat pita, toasted

1 garlic clove

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

2 tsp grapeseed oil, plus more for drizzling

salt & pepper to taste

Wash peppers & place them in a rimmed pan & drizzle oil over top. Place in a 400 degree oven & roast until blackened all over. Turning when needed. Take out of the oven &

transfer peppers to a bowl with a lid & let sit & steam for 15 min. Using paper towel, rub of skins, & then remove stems, seeds & ribs.

Place peppers in food processor. Add beans, garlic, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, paprika, cumin. Blend. Stir in salt & pepper.

Serve with toasted whole wheat pita & carrot sticks.

Vintage Baby Shower

This is a baby shower I did for my cousin. It was a vintage / shabby chic / Martha Stewart inspired theme. We set the tables with pretty lace linens & used my tea cups & decorated the tables with wooden blocks that were decoupaged with vintage cards. I also added little bears here & there because their last name is "Barrett" & my cousins husband is a vet. To honor the grandfather who was a fireman, but had passed away, I placed little vintage fireman bears around. We placed the mom & dad's baby pictures on each table with a fun little fact about each one. Then we hung our Gpa's old vintage baby clothes & some vintage baby clothes I had found at an antique store & dyed with tea onto clothes pins.

When the guests arrived, they were given an option of buying a raffle ticket (with the proceeds going to the baby's college fund) for a gift basket of pampering goodies.
Then they could guess how many marbles were in a jar & win a prize if they were the closest.
Then they went over to the "Create the Baby Face" game that I had set up. I enlarged baby pictures of the mom & dad & laminated them, then cut the eyes, nose, mouth & chin out in strips. The guests could go & rearrange the faces to create a new face of what the baby might look like. This one had no prize, it was just for fun. It was funny to see all of the combinations people came up with.

Then we played Baby Pictionary with cards I created that had words on them related to baby. I think the funniest one was epidural. :)


I wanted to personalize the cake so instead of the traditional cake I had the bakery make it look like wooden blocks with letters, pictures & symbols that were meaningful to the mom & dad.

One of the dishes I made was "Blueberry Stuffed French Toast" which seemed to be a big hit. It was such a beautiful day & a beautiful party.

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients:
12 slices of French bread or sourdough bread thin sliced (6 slices cut up into cubes)
2 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
1 cup of blueberries
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg For the sauce
1 cup of sugar
2 Tbsps of cornstarch
1 cup of water
1 cup of blueberries
1 Tbsp butter
Arrange the bread in a buttered 13" x 9" pan
cut the cream cheese into squares and place over bread
sprinkle the blueberries over the cheese
arrange the bread cubes over the top of the blueberries
In a large bowl mix the eggs, syrup, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg whisk well
pour the mixture over the bread mixture
chill the mixture overnight
Bake the mixture at 350 degrees for about an hour or till it is puffed and golden brown
Sauce
In a small sauce pan mix the water, sugar, cornstarch over moderately high heat until it is thickened, then add the blueberries. Simmer for about ten minutes or till blueberries burst then pour over French toast.
Serves 6 - 8

Bean & Black Quinoa Salad

Thank you to my friend L for introducing this to me!  I was a little hesitant at first with the black quinoa, but I like to try new things, so I gave it a shot. This is so yummy! I modified her recipe a little, this is how I made it:

1 cup of dried lentils
1 cup of dried black beans
1 cup of dried garbanzo beans

Put all dried beans in a crockpot. Fill with water & cook on high for about 3 hours. You can also do this the night before.


1/2 of chopped red onion
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/3 cup of grapeseed oil
salt & pepper to taste
Wisk together & pour over cooked beans & veggies. Set in fridge so that flavors absorb together.

Meanwhile cook 1 cup of black quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water uncovered until all liquid absorbs. Serve bean salad on top of cooked quinoa with tortilla chips-so healthy & so yummy!

Fresh Shrimp & Vegetable Spring Rolls with Thai style dipping sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup finely sliced green onion
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 package thin rice paper wrappers
• shrimp

Cook shrimp (I used coconut oil to cook mine in & it gave it a really great flavor).
After chopping all veggies, make Thai sauce.


Thai Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soyaki
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp agave nectar
• dash of red pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Wisk together. Then, wet rice paper wrapper with water, fill with desired veggies & wrap. Dip in sauce & eat! Yum!:)

Asparagus Soup

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced lengthwise
• Coarse salt
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, chopped, tips reserved
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp of fresh or dehydrated thyme

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are tender and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
   
2. Add chopped asparagus, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; continue cooking until asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Add Thyme.
   
3. Remove from heat; Using a blender, puree soup while drizzling in remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Return to heat and cook until heated through; season with salt. Divide soup evenly between 4 bowls, garnish with asparagus tips, and serve immediately.
   
   
   Note: Recipe may need to be doubled for 4 people
   

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

1 bunch of fresh kale
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp of salt
1- 1 1/2 tsp oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash & tear kale into large chip sizes. Lay on cookie sheet & drizzle oil, sprinkle salt & garlic on kale.
Put in oven & bake until crisp.
Eat & enjoy:)