Tag Archives: pepitas

  1. Kale Salad with Balsamic Roasted Beets, Horseradish Tahini Dressing and Spicy Maple Pepitas

    DOLE® Fresh Vegetables is a sponsor of Tasty Yummies. DOLE® provided me with Organic Salad samples for the purpose of this post, as well as compensation for my time. All content, ideas, and words are my own. 

    Kale Salad with Balsamic Roasted Beets, Horseradish Tahini Dressing and Spicy Maple Pepitas

    Kale Salad with Balsamic Roasted Beets, Horseradish Tahini Dressing and Spicy Maple Pepitas

    You guys know how I feel about my daily greens and more importantly about the quality of all the foods that we eat in our household. Sourcing organic is of top priority to me so when I received word that DOLE® was expanding their organic product line to include new salad mixes, I was beyond excited to get into the kitchen and start creating with them.

    It is an absolute given that at all times I have organic baby spinach and/or kale in the fridge. Whether it’s wilted down in my morning eggs, tossed into a blended smoothie or the base of an epic, seasonal salad I find these to be the most versatile veggies to always have on hand.

    If I am being fully honest with you, I have been known to just save a fistful of baby spinach or baby kale into my mouth mid-day if I have been slacking on my greens consumption. Hey – you do what you gotta go sometimes.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  2. How-To Make Grain-free Granola {Paleo-friendly}

    How-to Make Grain-free Granola

    How-to Make Grain-free Granola

    For my granola loving friends, I am super excited about this how-to and recipe. Most commercial granolas, even when gluten-free, are loaded with gut-upsetting grains, and worse yet – vegetable oils and loads of sugar. After lots of experimenting and playing around, I created the perfect base recipe for this paleo grain-free granola, with two variations. Sweet and Savory.

    Using the formula for the base on this paleo recipe, you can get creative there with your favorite nuts and seeds and then when it comes to flavor combinations, the sky is the limit – so get creative and make it your own.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  3. Salsa Macha

    Salsa Macha

    Salsa Macha
    We returned home last Monday after spending over a week Loreto, Mexico, in the Baja California Sur,  celebrating the nuptials of our very good friends, Debbie and Dan. Since I was coming off a full month + of exceptionally strict eating, since I did Whole30, I was feeling really, really great, but on top of it, I was also several weeks in on experimenting with the ketogenic diet, as an attempt to get my autoimmune kidney disease into remission (more on this soon as I continue to experiment).

    I had some slight trepidations in spending a week at a resort, both in how hard it would be for me to keep up my preferred way of eating, but also from the standpoint of my actual health and well-being, if 1 week away would ruin 1 month of hard work.

    The answer is it wasn’t hard and no it didn’t.

    Read the rest of this entry »

  4. Massaged Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Noodles, Persimmon and a Smoky Orange Vinaigrette

    Massaged Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Noodles, Persimmon and a Smoky Orange Vinaigrette

    It’s that time of year again, the web is a buzz with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pie and all the sides, so here we go!! This salad celebrates the best of the season and not only is it beautiful, but it packs a punch in the flavor department. It is sure to impress anyone you serve it to and I can promise this salad will be the Knight in shining green armor at any carb-heavy holiday meal.

    Massaged Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Noodles, Persimmon and a Smoky Orange Vinaigrette

    Amongst this crazy busy time of year, I would bet we could all use a massage or two, so let’s treat our kale, too. Seriously though, all joking aside, if you haven’t yet experienced the magic of massaged kale, you need to get on this train. I find many people think that they don’t love raw kale, I agree, it’s not super palatable in it’s raw form. It’s rough, fibrous, strong and often times bitter, but you would be shocked what a 5 minute rub down can do for this popular superfood. The flavor mellows, the texture becomes more silky and it’s infused with the soft flavors of the olive oil and citrus.

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  5. Autumn Harvest Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette – Gluten-free + Vegan

    Autumn Harvest Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette - Gluten-free + Vegan

    I just cannot seem to get enough veggies lately. Even after the 5-day Fall Cleanse where I literally only ate fruits and vegetables, I have just been craving them like crazy. I find, as someone who eats intuitively, that when my body is craving tons of vegetables it is usually for good reason. I enjoy knowing my body well enough to be able to listen to what it needs and to enough to catch the cues that make me aware. It is so easy to misread cravings and to give in to the foods that don’t nourish us. Recognizing you have a craving and it’s for something like Brussels sprouts, that takes some time to get used to and some serious practice in self awareness.

    This past Sunday we had a fall potluck dinner at our place with friends and we had lots of different fun fall foods. Of course, with cooler weather comes the comfort food, so we had hearty helpings like gluten-free mac and cheese, gluten-free stuffing (I did a quick lesson on making gluten-free stuffing for a newly gluten-free friend, Debbie, who wants to make it for Thanksgiving this year. Hence the randomness of this dish), deviled eggs, Mark put chicken wings on the grill for folks (sent all the way from Buffalo), I made my pumpkin hummus, a delicious sweet potato appetizer (that I can’t wait to share with you guys) and lots more. Although it wasn’t all heavy, I did want to make sure we had a delicious healthy and light Autumn-inspired vegetable salad to balance everything out. Consequently, personally this salad, it was also my favorite part of the meal. Read the rest of this entry »

  6. Spicy Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt – Gluten-free + Vegan

    Spicy Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt

    I know I mention not being one of those people that is overly obsessed with sweets, and while that is true, one thing I can never walk away from is really good dark chocolate. That bitter bite with the subtle sweetness is the perfect combination, add some spice, crunch and salt and then you’ve really got me hooked.

    I started making bark a year or two ago, as the perfect treat to make for a dinner party, or you can wrap it up in some really nice handmade packaging and even give it as a gift. I always buy the highest percentage of cocoa containing dark chocolate I can find since that darker and more bitter, the better. Lately I have been loving Endangered Species 88% Dark Chocolate, and the bonus is that instead of refined white sugar, the sweetness in their bars comes from unbleached beet sugar. How cool is that?

    Spicy Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt

    One of my favorite things about making my own chocolate bark is all of the fun combinations you can create with different ingredients. You can use dried fruits, different nuts and seeds, spices, herbs, etc. You can really make something special every time. Since I was creating another healthy Halloween treat for my ongoing series this month with Free People, I thought that adding toasted pumpkin seeds was the perfect seasonal twist on this, and the addition of the spices bring a nice unexpected heat, and the chipotle powder has a nice subtle smokey flavor.

    Feel free to play around with your own favorite add-ins, and make this your own. Here is another dark chocolate bark recipe that I made a while back, that I love.

    This recipe was originally shared on the Free People Blog BLDG 25.

    Spicy Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt

     

    [print_this]Spicy Dark Chocolate Bark with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sea Salt

    • 12 ounces of gluten-free, vegan dark chocolate (I used this)
    • 1/2 cup of hulled, unsalted pumpkin seeds
    • 1/4 teaspoon of smoked chipotle powder, plus a bit extra
    • 1/4 teaspoon of chile powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
    • 1/4 teaspoon coarse grey sea salt (Fleur de sel)

    Place the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over a medium heat. Toast the pumpkin seeds for about 3-5 minutes, until they jump around a bit in the pan. Set aside to cool.

    Line the bottom of baking sheet with parchment paper leaving a small overhang. (I drizzle a small amount of oil on the pan first so the parchment paper will stay put and not wrinkle).

    Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water, or in a microwave on low in 30-second bursts. Stir often with a rubber spatula so it melts evenly. Stir in the spices and half of the pumpkin seeds.

    Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet and smooth with a spatula into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining pumpkin seeds and a pinch or two of additional smoked chipotle powder and the sea salt. Chill in the refrigerator until completely set, about 20-30 minutes, or in the freezer for 5 minutes.

    Peel the bark off the parchment paper and break into irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it is best in the first a couple of days but can be stored up to two weeks.

    [/print_this]

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