Recipe: Carrot Cake Smoothie

I love smoothies, but I normally put the same basic ingredients in every one that I make: banana, almond milk, spinach, and protein powder. Blah. I'm getting sick of these, so today for lunch I decided to try something new. There are many versions of a carrot cake smoothie out there, but I threw this together with what I had on hand and it's delicious!

You can't tell in this picture that it's a pretty peach color!

Carrot Cake Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 c. unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
1/2 c slightly cooked, cooled carrots (I microwaved sliced carrots in a bit of water for about a minute, then ran them under cold water to cool them off)
1 banana
1 Tbsp unsweetened coconut
1 serving vanilla protein powder
a few drops of vanilla extract
a few shakes of ginger and ground cloves
a healthy dusting of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (optional -- makes smoothies thick and fluffy)
1/4 tsp. guar gum (optional -- keeps smoothies from separating)
6 ice cubes

Blend. Pour. Slurp. Enjoy!

And since I'm back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon, this whole smoothie is only 5 points (it could be more or less depending upon protein powder brands. I used Trader Joe's whey protein).

Recipe: Cheesy Pumpkin Risotto

I made this risotto last night and it was delicious! Brad even ate his first serving without hot sauce, which means it was actually really good, not just good to me (I eat some strange things that other people do not enjoy, but that's a story for another time).

Cheesy Pumpkin Risotto
serves: 6-8?

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. arborio rice
1 c. dry vermouth
32 oz. container of chicken stock
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 Tbsp butter
1 c. grated fresh parmesan cheese
about 1/4 c chopped fresh basil
lots of kosher salt and pepper

-heat olive oil in a dutch oven or other large pan over medium heat.
-saute garlic for about 30 seconds, then add uncooked rice and stir to coat.
-cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, then slowly add vermouth.
-add chicken stock about a cup at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until the rice has absorbed the stock before adding more.
-this will take quite a while, but there is something very relaxing and soothing about stirring a risotto. Just zone out and slowly stir.
-once all of the stock has been absorbed, turn off heat and stir in the pumpkin, butter, cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Stir until cheese and butter are melted and everything is incorporated.
-mix in basil and serve.

Recipe: Lunchtime "Baked" Apples

I usually go home on my lunch break. I take the dog out, make a salad or sandwich or reheat leftovers, and watch What Not to Wear while I eat. Travel takes about 15 minutes total (home and back to work), and the dog gets about 10-15 minutes of outside time. That leaves me roughly 30 minutes for lunch. Today I really wanted a warm, sweet dessert -- even though it's 90 degrees today! -- so I came up with this recipe (if you can even call it that).

Lunchtime "Baked" Apples
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 apple (I used a honeycrisp)
cinnamon
water

-core and slice apple (I have an actual gadget for this. Don't judge, it was a gift).
-put apple slices in a microwave-safe bowl.
-add a splash of water to the bowl
-top with as much cinnamon as you wish. I used probably close to 1 Tbsp. I really like cinnamon.
-microwave for 2 minutes, stir, and microwave for another 2 minutes*

You could add a bit of brown sugar, but my apple was very sweet as it was. Plus, I'm trying to see how long I can go without eating sugar. So far, I'm on day three and it's been going better than I expected.



*The time may vary based on your particular microwave, and how soft you like your apples!

Recipe: Beans and Greens Calzones

I have only recently become confident enough in my cooking ability to invent my own recipes -- I used to be a hard-and-fast recipe follower. Now, I know enough about cooking and food that I know what flavors will work with one another and what won't. Of course, some of my inventions are better than others; I put this together for dinner last night and it was awesome!

Beans and Greens Calzones
Serves: 2-4*

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 large handfuls of baby spinach
about 1/2 a block of grated mozzarella
about 4 Tbsp grated parmesan
pizza dough ( I used the just-add-water packet, but I'll bet this
one from (never home)maker would be awesome)
1 egg, beaten

- heat olive oil in a large pan.
- add red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook for 30-ish seconds.
- add spinach and stir, coating with oil, until it is wilted.
- add cannellini beans and heat through.
- mash some of the beans right in the pan with the back of your spoon. The goal is somewhat paste-y but somewhat chunky.
- salt and pepper to taste.

- divide your prepared pizza dough in two halves.
- roll each half out to about a 10-inch circle
- sprinkle about 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella on each circle.
- top with a decent-sized scoop of beans and greens (you may have some left over)
- layer another 1/4 of the shredded mozzarella on top of that.
- sprinkle with a bit of parmesan.
- brush egg along the edge of the dough, then fold in half and fold the bottom edge over the top edge (does that make sense?)
- crimp edges with your fingers or a fork, and pierce the top of each calzone a few times with a fork.
- brush the tops with the egg wash, and sprinkle the remaining paremsan cheese on top.

- bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, I rotated the pan halfway through for even browning.

Enjoy!



*these are pretty big. I ate half of one, but totally could have eaten the whole thing.