Chickpeas in a dessert? I know, weird. I was skeptical too until I tried them. You would have NO IDEA that there are beans in this. I made these for a friends birthday yesterday, and seriously no one could tell that these were not made…
Well hello again! I know it has been a while since I have put up a recipe–The past few weeks have been crazy with traveling, both Cameron and my sister’s graduations, job hunting, and getting all set to move in 10 days! I swear I…
I love me a good pasta, but red sauce just doesn’t do it for me most of the time. There’s just something about a creamy sauce that is so much more satisfying. Now I know creamy sauces have their stigma of being fatty and high in calories (which I also love), but not this sauce! This creamy and savory sauce instead gives you a hearty serving of vegetables–aka lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
I used this sauce with the Banza pasta. I know I have raved about this pasta before, but it is so good. The only way you might disagree is if you hate chickpeas, since that is what they are made of. I love this pasta because it is so high in protein, so I don’t have to worry about adding any meat or other sources of protein to make it a satisfying meal. Cameron actually went up for seconds a little too quickly before realizing his eyes were too big for his stomach and that just one portion is super satisfying.
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!
Ingredients:
1 box Banza pasta
1 medium size butternut squash
5 cloves garlic, sliced
8-10 fresh sage leaves
2 T olive oil
¼ white onion, diced
2 cups vegetable stock
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup whole milk
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¾ cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups spinach
Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Directions:
Cookies (and candy) are pretty much my weakness. Especially chocolate chip cookies. I think it all started because my Nana makes the absolute best chocolate chip cookies in the world, and one of my favorite memories was baking them with her. I especially loved getting…
I cannot believe that when I landed home from Mexico it was still snowing here in Ohio. It is April! This is not supposed to still be happening. Talk about getting slapped in the face with reality. My trip to Mexico was nothing short of…
Our countdown in Columbus has officially begun, and it feels like we have zero time. We will actually be heading to Mexico for the week this Sunday, which will be a perfect way to decompress and sort out our brains a little bit. Except that we still have a million and one things to do so knowing we will not be here next week is slightly stressful. Not to mention the pipes for my kitchen, shower, and laundry machines backed up–and actually are pretty much corroded thanks to 65+ years of wear and tear–so my usually Sunday chores and meal prep have been put on hold.
Thankfully I made this meal mid-Sunday and it was the only thing I was able to prepare before leaving for a run and coming home to a large, gross puddle on my kitchen and bathroom floor. Hooray for at least having some delicious leftovers for dinner tonight! But really, this hits the spot and I am pumped to have it again. Plus it only takes around 30 minutes to put together!
1 lb chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 T sesame seeds
**For a meatless meal, substitute edamame
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup red cabbage, sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
½ red onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
3 T green onion, diced
1/3 cup cashew pieces
Cilantro for garnish
3 T all natural peanut butter
3 T soy sauce
1 T olive oil
1 T lime juice
1 T honey
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp ginger (grated)
1 pinch red pepper flakes (more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package. While quinoa is cooking, make the sauce. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until well combined and set aside. Heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat in a large sauce pan. Add sesame seeds and turn heat down to medium, cook ~2 minutes. Add the chicken breast and season with salt and pepper (and a little chili powder if you want it more spicy!). Cook meat all the way through (until no longer pink in the middle). Combine the quinoa, chicken, cabbage, onions, peppers, carrots, and cashews in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add sauce and mix well. Divide into bowls and garnish with cilantro.
Wow, what a weekend. Do you ever build up so much excitement and nerves surrounding an event and then it comes and goes and you kind of just sit there like ok, now what? That’s kind of where I am at the start of this…
After such an emotional week and weekend, I found myself needing some cooking therapy to distract myself from any anxious thoughts about all of the change coming up–more to come tomorrow on the results of match for Cameron and I and what it means for…
Happy Monday everyone!
I know I posted to my instagram yesterday (@dietlessdietitian if you don’t already follow!), but I wanted to provide a few more details today!
So this week is HUGE for Cameron and I–it’s officially MATCH WEEK! We actually just found out about an hour ago that he has officially matched SOMEWHERE for ENT (ear, nose, throat) Residency! We will find out on Friday where that place will be. Goodness my heart has been racing all morning. Anywho, what this means is that on Friday the entire medical school class will meet and at noon they all open their envelopes revealing where they will be spending the next x years of their lives! Talk about tension.
Cameron’s whole family as well as mine plus some close friends are coming into town for this occasion. Cue my already elevated stress levels approaching maximum. Knowing that this week will be a tad anxiety filled, I have scheduled myself lots of things to do after work each night to prevent dwelling over finding out where I am going to be for the next 5 years. That being said, I needed this meal prep this week to make sure that not only will making meals be easier, but also to make sure we are still getting plenty of good nutrients despite a high stress situation.
This week I made some peanut butter energy balls (Cameron’s favorite) as well as some chocolate chip muffins made with almond flour and oat flour (recipe by Ambitious Kitchen) for easy snacking.
These energy balls are extremely easy to make: 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup ground flax, 1/2-1/3 cup chocolate chips, and a splash of vanilla. Mix all the ingredients together and roll into small balls and keep in an air tight container in the fridge! Yes, that’s all it takes and they are great for satisfying that sweet tooth without any guilt!
I also did my usual washing and cutting of fruits and vegetables for snacking or to be added to meals. Pre-cutting and massaging my kale with a little olive oil and lemon juice is great for a salad or bowl base–same with the Eat Banza pasta shells. And lastly, I roasted some acorn squash.
Minus the actual roasting/baking time all this took me ~1 hour… actually I lied, 1.5 hours because Cameron and I spent about 30 minutes chopping the acorn squash and shaving off the skin only to find out the skin is quite edible… oops. So…. learn from my mistakes! You can eat acorn squash with its peel and it is apparently very tasty and nutritious!
Today for lunch I am munching on a bowl of eat banza salad with kale and lots of other veggies and have a muffin calling my name when that afternoon hunger hits!
I hope you all have a great week!!
So I am not a vegetarian by any means, however majority of my meals tend to be plant based and meatless. This isn’t for any health reasons actually, I have just found it much more cost efficient and less wasteful for my boyfriend and I.…