Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

I'm going to do my best to guess-timate my measuring for this recipe, since you might know that I rarely measure my ingredients when cooking. (Baking is another story).

I made this for dinner again the other night, and it comes out a little better each time I make it. (Practice makes perfect?)

It's definitely cheaper and healthier than getting take-out, but has a similar flavor. I obviously like it way more than take-out now too.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
-1lb. organic chicken breast or tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
-1 bag of frozen organic broccoli 
-1 1/2 cups cooked rice

-Secret Sauce: (here's where the measurement guessing comes in)
  - about 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  - 1/4 cup warm water mixed with a 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch
  - about a tablespoon of ginger (I buy a jar to keep in the fridge)
  - a teaspoon of sugar
  - a teaspoon of ketchup
  - 1/2 tsp. mustard
  - 1 large clove of garlic (minced)
  - a dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Cook the chicken in sesame or coconut oil. Add the broccoli to the pan once the chicken is browned. 
Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. 
When chicken and broccoli is done cooking, turn heat to low and add the sauce. Let it mingle for a few minutes before removing from heat and serving with rice. 
Top with sesame seeds if you're feeling fancy, and definitely use chopsticks. 

Enjoy!

Vegan Pumpkin Breakfast Bars

Yes, yes, I know...but the important part is that I update at all, right? Even if it's twice a year...

Anyway, now that we're living in a state where autumn exists, the kitchen seems like a cozier place and I've been spending more time there.

I also got tired of paying $5 for a box of 6 granola bars, so I decided to make my own. This recipe is similar to my cinnamon raisin granola bar recipe, except pumpkin flavored and accidentally vegan!

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
7.5 oz. organic pumpkin (1/2 a can)
1/3 cup organic sugar
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup  all-purpose flour
2-1/4 cups organic rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. chia seeds

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 13x9 (or similar size) pan with cooking spray.
Combine the wet ingredients and sugar by hand or with a hand mixer.
Add the dry ingredients. Mix again.
Stir in the raisins.
Pour mixture into the pan and spread evenly with the  wooden spoon.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are brown and top is golden. 

I'm considering printing these recipes (since they're mostly for myself anyway) after reading one of those articles about old websites everyone used to use like Xanga and Webshots that are now gone forever with along with all our photos and journal entries. Maybe I'll make a little book out of them some day.

For now, if anyone tries this recipe, I hope you enjoy it! 

Mallory :) 

Veggie Wrap Delight

Sometimes I open the fridge and groan that there's nothing to eat. However, when we remember to stock the fridge with fresh organic veggies (usually whatever's on sale), I don't get a chance to groan. 

Veggies + tortilla = delicious healthy lunch, every time. 

I made this one today with:

Organic Carrots

Organic Kale

Organic White Onion

Organic Fresh Cilantro and

Leftover homemade steak sauce. 

Of course you can use any veggies and sauce that you like, the point is, a yummy, quick, healthy lunch is easy to make with the right ingredients. And if you buy too many veggies, just freeze extra to use later in soups or stir fry. 

Side note: we just recently realized how awesome buying fresh organic herbs is! The cilantro was about $2 for a huge bunch that we will probably end up freezing part of, and makes everything we cook just a little more special. 

I hope this post reminds a few people that it's not too hard to eat healthy, inexpensively, organically, and quickly. 

Bon appetite! 😊🍴

Super Summer Salad Dressing

 I CANNOT wait for summer to be here. So many good things to look forward to - including more time to blog! :) 

I made this salad dressing last weekend and have been meaning to post about it. 

Here are the ingredients: 

1/3 C. rice vinegar

2/3 C. extra virgin olive oil

a pinch of pink Himalayan salt

a pinch freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder

1 t. honey

1 tsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. sesame seeds

juice from 1/2 an orange

                                                      Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake well. 

The day I made it, I poured it over this salad: 

 

The ingredients for the salad were these (but you can use whatever you'd like). I also added pan-seared shrimp on top, and more sesame and chia seeds (which are uber-good for you). The shrimp was seared in a little butter, salt, pepper, and a little chili powder. 

 

I also used this dressing on top of my veggie wrap today for lunch. The wrap had homemade hummus, organic cucumbers, organic tomatoes, and organic arugula in it. It was too big to wrap, so I ate it like a giant taco (I looked ridiculous but was still delicious). 

I ALSO made some fresh squeezed organic orange juice today! It only took me maybe 10 minutes (squeezed by hand - old school style) and it was a 10 minutes well spent! 

Please comment below! Thank you for stopping by! :)

Ginger Lemon Detox Water

Happy June! 

I cannot believe it's June already! Being a teacher, June is pretty happy month - the end is near my friends! It's an especially happy June for us this year since we will be moving to the Sunshine State at the end of this month! 

It's safe to say I'm feeling pretty upbeat this morning and when I'm feeling good, I tend to eat, drink and be healthier. (Gotta keep the good times rolling, right?) So I made some "detox" water this morning - a term I use loosely, because really if you think about it, all healthy foods detox your body in one way or another. In any case, this water is good for you. 

Here are the ingredients:

- cold water

-1 organic lemon

-1/2 tsp. ground ginger (or fresh if you have it!) 

Directions:

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into a jar or large glass. Then go ahead and throw the lemons in there. Put in the ginger. Fill the jar/glass with cold (filtered) water. Put the lid on and shake to incorporate. 

What's so great about this water? Well I like the way it tastes, but of course the water is hydrating (more so than let's say, having just coffee in the morning...), and I'm not a huge fan of drinking plain water. It just seems so boring. 

And what about the ginger? You can read all about how awesome ginger is here. 

And the lemon? Again, they taste good, but lemons are also really good for you, and you can read all about them here. 

You can also read about how good lemon water is for you here. 

Please leave a comment if you try this or are already a lemon water drinker!   :) 

Chocolate Coconut Crinkle Cookies

Hello again!
I know I said I'd be posting mostly "healthy" recipes and DIY things, but turns out most of my recipes are dessert related...
I like to think these cookies are fairly healthy as far as cookies go, since they are made with coconut oil instead of butter, and cocoa powder which I keep telling myself is in the health-food category. They also happen to be vegan! I didn't intend for them to be, there just happens to be no dairy in them. Don't get me wrong, I like dairy as much as the next 'Merican (most notably cheese), but it really is not good for you, like at all, so it's nice to unintentionally eat vegan once in a while.
So here's the recipe!

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups sugar (I used organic)

1 cup cocoa powder

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup coconut oil (I used organic)

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

powdered sugar for rolling

Directions:

Mix sugar, cocoa, applesauce, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and blend with a hand mixer. Put the mixture in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. (This allows the coconut oil to harden enough to make dough balls).

Preheat oven to 350℉. Pour powdered sugar in a bowl. Take dough out of fridge. Roll dough into small meatball-sized balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on cooling rack. 

On the cookie sheet ready to be put in the oven!

I brought some of these to work around Christmas time and everyone loved them! The coconut flavor is subtle to me, but if you absolutely hate coconut, then use another kind of oil. Also, you probably won't like this blog because I'm kind of obsessed with coconut things. My boyfriend is still undecided about the whole coconuts taking over the grocery story thing, but he really loved these cookies. Like I said, the coconut flavor is subtle. 

I hope you try them! :) 

Fresh out of the oven! They smell amazing!

My most popular juice recipe

I posted this on Pinterest a few months ago and it's been repinned 50 times! I don't know whether to call it a smoothie or juice since technically I didn't use a juicer, but whatever you call it, it's easy to make and delicious! 

I used my Nutribullet to make it, but I'm sure any other super speed smooshing device will do. 

Note: there's like A LOT of pulp in this since I didn't use a juicer. I like some drinks better that way. I know I'm getting all the nutrients and fiber too. 

Ingredients:

2 organic carrots, scrubbed with a veggie brush or peeled. 

1 peeled orange

1 banana

Directions:

Put everything in the Nutribullet, blend it up real good. Drink. :) 

This makes the two small glasses shown in the picture. 

I hope you like it! 

Why I eat organic produce

Why I eat organic produce

Click the link to watch a video about a third grader and her unintentional organic science experiment. She basically explains why I try to eat organic whenever possible. Sorry I couldn't post the video right in the blog :( But here's a picture of potatoes for you to look at!