Sweet Potato Gardener's Pie

I'm part of a book club, but I think it should really be called an eating club because it's the food more than the books that make our meetings memorable. Last month we read Gone Girl (I loved it!), and our food theme was pub fare. I knew there would be a lot of deliciously greasy food with a theme like that, so I thought that the ladies would appreciate something healthy to balance it out. I did a spin on the classic pub food, Shepherd's Pie, with this vegan version.

I figured my own family wouldn't like this at all, seeing as the boys hate yams/sweet potatoes, so I brought it to book club without giving them a taste of if. The book club women liked it a lot, but there was just so much food to enjoy (like nachos, quesadillas, poutine, chicken wings, baked brie, roasted nuts, bread pudding, slutty brownies, to name a few) that I ended up having a lot left over. I brought it home and heated it up for supper the next day. My boys didn't like it, which was no surprise, but Tony loved it. I think it surprised him! "Wow, this is actually good," he said. I thought so too.

Sweet Potato Gardener's Pie

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

Topping
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
¼ cup coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast, optional
salt and pepper

Filling
1½ tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 leek, white part thinly sliced
2 turnips, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
¼ cup white wine
1 15-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
salt and pepper
paprika

To make the topping, boil a large pot of water, then add the sweet potatoes and cover the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain the water, then mash the sweet potatoes and stir in coconut milk, coconut oil, spices and nutritional yeast (for cheesy flavour). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make the filling, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and leek until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add turnips, carrots, rosemary and thyme. Cook for 3 minutes. Add wine and cook for 30 seconds to deglaze the pan. Add kidney beans and broth, then cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the turnips have softened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour filling into a 3 quart baking dish. Pour topping evenly over the filling. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered at 375F for 30 minutes until bubbly.

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Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Cookies

If you've been browsing Pinterest lately, you've probably come across 2-Ingredient Cookies by The Burlap Bag. It seems too good to be true. Can you really turn mashed bananas and oats into cookies? Well it's true, you really can! It's a great way to use up old overripe bananas, and perfect if you're wanting to avoid processed sugar. The best part is you can add all sorts of things to them to suit your taste. As a chocolate-lover, I decided to add cocoa, chocolate chips, and Chocolate Chia Goodness. It's a mixture of chia seeds, buckwheat, hemp, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, dates, almonds and evaporated cane juice.

If you don't have Chia Goodness, I'm sure plain chia seeds would be good too.

I made these one afternoon when the boys got home from school. Bennett asked me for chocolate cookies, but I wanted to make something that was somewhat nutritious. These cookies satisfied Bennett's chocolate craving while still being a healthy snack.

You'll be happy to know that these cookies are Bennett-approved!

Actually, the whole family loved them. They're chewy, chocolatey and delicious. I hope you'll check out The Burlap Bag and come up with your own tasty concoctions using the basic recipe. There are so many possibilities!

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Cookies

2 large mashed bananas
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp Chocolate Chia Goodness (or plain chia seeds)
32 (approx) chocolate chips

Preheat over to 350F. Combine ingredients together in a mixing bowl. On a greased cookie sheet, drop about a tablespoon of the mixture for each cookie. Top with a couple chocolate chips on each cookie.  Bake for 15 minutes.
Makes about 16 cookies.

Thanks for your votes so far in the Circle of Moms Top Foodie contest. Remember, you can vote every day!

Crockpot Gyros

An authentic gyro is roasted in a vertical spit, but this crockpot version is a great homemade alternative to the real thing. I discovered this recipe through Pinterest at Rainy Day Gal. Her recipe is an adaptation of one by A Year of Slow Cooking. I couldn't find ground lamb, so I used beef instead. I'm not sure what lamb would have been like, but it tasted great with the beef and turkey combination.

I  used a Middle Eastern herb blend called Za'atar that my brother and his fiancee had given me for Christmas. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it. For those of you on Vancouver Island, you can find it at Hazelwood Herb Farm in Ladysmith BC. It's a blend of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, oregano, basil, summer savory, sweet marjoram, salt and lemon peel. It worked really well in the gyros, and it's delicious in hummus too. If you can't find Za'atar anywhere near you, here's a link to make your own homemade Za'atar. Or you could just use oregano, as the original recipe calls for.

I have to admit that blending the meat in a food processor was sort of gross, but once it was in the crockpot, the aroma that wafted through our house as it cooked was incredible. I couldn't wait to try it. You could eat it just like a meatloaf if you wanted.

I decided to serve it in warm pita bread with greek salad and tzatziki sauce. The boys found them a little hard to eat so they ended up pulling them apart and using a fork. They still really enjoyed the gyros, and so did Tony and I. We didn't use all the meat, so I chopped it up and used it in Greek pizza the next next. I don't have a photo of that because we ate it up so quickly!

Crockpot Gyros

Adapted from Rainy Day Gal
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 tsp Za'atar herb blend
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice from 1 lemon

Place ground beef and turkey, spices and salt in a food processor and blend well. Form it into a loaf with your hands. Place onion and garlic into the bottom of your crockpot. Lay the meat loaf on top. Squeeze lemon juice over top. Cover and cook for 4 hours on low (or 2 hours on high).
Slice the meat and serve in warmed pita with Greek salad and tzatziki sauce. Wrap them in foil to hold them together.

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Creamy Gnocchi Soup

My children seem to be more excited about Mother's Day this year than I am. They're so excited that they have trouble keeping their surprises for me a secret.

Bennett burst out of his preschool on Friday with a Mother's Day gift in his hot little hands. As soon as we got to the van, he frantically ripped off the wrapping paper and presented me with a cute plant pot with dirt and seeds for planting a flower. "Look what I got you for Mother's Day!" he exclaimed eagerly. He just couldn't wait to show it to me.

Cole showed slightly more restraint, but dropped some pretty heavy hints. He instructed me yesterday, "Don't wear your necklace tomorrow when I give you your present, okay Mom?" And when I got up this morning he told me, "Don't make any breakfast."

If your powers of deduction are as good as mine, you probably figured out that Cole gave me a necklace and made me breakfast. I had oatmeal topped with chocolate cheerios. It sounds gross but I actually liked it, mostly because it was made with love. And the necklace he made me was absolutely beautiful. I was impressed by the creativity of his design, as always.

Cole is determined to make this the best Mother's Day ever, and has the whole day dedicated to Mommy all planned out. He even wants to make whatever I want for dinner. Now I just have to decide what I want to have. I'm thinking this amazing gnocchi soup we had a few weeks ago would be perfect on this cold and rainy day. It's simple enough that Cole could make it (with Daddy's help), and I would be thrilled to eat it up because I have a weakness for gnocchi.

This recipe comes from Pass the Sushi, with a few minor changes such as using turkey bacon instead of chicken and a combination of evaporated milk and regular milk instead of half and half. I love the idea of grated carrots to give the soup more color and nutrition. I couldn't believe how fast it was to make too! It's seriously the perfect soup.

Creamy Gnocchi Soup

Adapted from Pass the Sushi
1 tbsp olive oil
5 slices of turkey bacon, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, grated
1/4 cup flour
2 cans (5 oz) evaporated milk
2 cups 1% milk
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 package (16 oz) gnocchi, cooked according to package directions
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add turkey bacon, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the bacon has browned slightly. Add carrots. Sprinkle flour over top, then add evaporated milk and regular milk. Whisk together and bring to a boil until it thickens. Add broth, spinach, basil, gnocchi. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the spinach has wilted. Add a little water or more milk if it seems to thick.
 

Chocolate Black Bean Cake

You won't believe it when you taste it, but this decadent chocolate cake is made with black beans! It has no flour or dairy in it, and if you make it with a sugar substitute it's amazingly low in carbs. Where was this when I had gestational diabetes? I was so intrigued when I saw this recipe at Healthy Indulgences. Luckily, I happened to have all the ingredients on hand so I made it right away. Cole helped me and was a little skeptical about the beans, as was I, but we were both pleasantly surprised by the results. I didn't deviate much from the original recipe, except that I used a combination of xylitol (left over from my diabetic days) and maple syrup for sweetness. Instead of making icing I topped with with raspberry sauce, which I made by heating up frozen raspberries in the microwave and sweetening them with maple syrup. The raspberry and chocolate together were divine, and I couldn't taste any beans at all. Even knowing that there were beans in it didn't stop my family from devouring this cake in record time. My mom, who is on a gluten-free diet for health reasons, sampled this cake and immediately asked for the recipe. Please head on over to Healthy Indulgences for the recipe to try this cleverly healthy cake.

Fried Rice with Baked Tofu

I don't know what it is about my mom's cooking, but my kids always prefer her food over mine. She made dinner for us every night for the first couple weeks after Ayla was born (I'm spoiled, I know) and every time my boys would gobble up Grandma's culinary creations. I have to admit I'm a little jealous, but my mom is a fabulous cook so I don't really blame them for liking her cooking more. The last time we went to visit my parents, my mom made a stir-fry with baked tofu, and of course my whole family loved it, myself included. Tony, who doesn't normally like tofu, raved about it. He liked that it had a meaty texture and lots of flavour.
My mom's meal inspired me to try it myself at home. I added it to this amazing fried rice recipe that I found at allrecipes.com. Here's the link: Fried Rice recipe. Instead of using chopped baby carrots, I just used frozen mixed vegetables to save time.
I didn't have my mom's recipe for the tofu, I just made up my own, so it's not exactly the same as hers but it was still good. My family approved!

First, mix soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger and oil for the marinade. Cut the tofu into small cubes and marinate it at least a few hours, preferably overnight.

When you're done marinating, place the cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle a little sesame oil over them.

Bake at  375F for about 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking time.

Just look at that beautiful golden brown tofu. You can eat a few right off the sheet, you know, for taste-testing purposes.

I added them into the prepared fried rice right before serving and gave it a toss to combine them. It was a perfect addition to the fried rice. I think everyone enjoyed them almost as much as Grandma's.

Baked Tofu
1 package extra firm tofu
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds
sesame oil

Cut tofu into bite-sized cubes. In a small bowl, combined soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger and olive oil. Marinate overnight if possible, or a minimum of 3 hours.
After marinating, place the tofu cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle a little sesame oil over them.
Bake at 375F for 30 minutes total, flipping the tofu over after 15 minutes.

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Easy and Nutritious After-School Snacks

As soon as the boys come through the door after school, they start looking for food. You would think they haven't eaten in a week from the way they desperately scavenge through the fridge and cabinets for something to fill their hollow legs. It's not like I don't pack them a good-sized lunch, I do, but apparently my growing boys need more than that to keep them satisfied. The dilemma is that I don't want to give them too much or they won't eat their dinner. If they're going to have a snack, I want it to be nutritious and worthwhile.  So here are some of the snacks I like to serve them. Even if you don't have ravenous children, these snacks are great for anyone looking for healthy snack ideas that aren't full of empty calories.

Are your kids tired of veggies and dip? Try marinating your vegetables. I used cucumbers here but you can try it with other veggies like carrots or celery.

Marinated Cucumbers
1 cup sliced cucumbers
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning (or any seasoning of your choice)

Place all the ingredients together in a jar, then cover it and shake it up to coat the cucumbers and dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (but preferably overnight), and shake the jar every so often to blend flavours.

Frozen Blueberries and Almond Milk
Simply put a handful of frozen blueberries in a small bowl and add a splash of vanilla almond milk. The coldness of the blueberries will cause a frosty layer of almond milk to form around the berries. This is a fun frozen treat that my kids love just as much as ice cream and yet it's much better for them.

Yogurt and Almond-Butter Dip
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 tbsp almond butter
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
1/8 tsp cinnamon

Combine above ingredients in a small bowl. Serve as a dip with apples or other fruit of your choice.

I also love this dip as a topping for pancakes. Leftover pancakes can be a great after-school snack. Just pop them in the toaster to heat them up. I took these leftover coconut banana pancakes and topped them with some of the yogurt dip and it really complimented them nicely.

 

Mashed Potato Patties

If you have leftover mashed potatoes in your fridge, try whipping up these bad boys for a snack. Just shape the mashed potatoes into patties and fry them in a skillet with a little oil until browned and crispy on the outside. Serve with ketchup for dipping.

Pineapple Banana Smoothies

1 small can (8 oz) pineapple tidbits with juice

1 banana, cut into chunks and frozen

1 cup ice cubes

Mix the above ingredients in a blender and serve.

Smoothies are such a good healthy snack. I especially love this tropical smoothie recipe because the pineapple makes it a little frothy, almost like an orange Julius. Cole drank it up and asked for more, but Bennett wouldn't touch it. He doesn't always like smoothies and even when he does he won't drink very much, so I sometimes serve them in shooter glasses for a smaller serving.

Paper Bag Popcorn
If you haven't tried the paper bag popcorn trick in your microwave, you should give in a try right now. It's so easy and cheap, and popcorn is a very sensible snack with it's not drenched in butter.  It's extremely high in fiber.

Put 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in a paper bag and close up the very top of the bag. I like to use a plastic clip like the ones from Ikea, but you could just fold the rim of the bag a few times too. Place the bag on it's side in the microwave and cook on high just until the popping slows down. It may take you a few attempts to find the perfect timing in your microwave, but for mine it takes 1 minute and 40 seconds.

If my kids want a savoury popcorn, I'll add a little melted butter and sprinkle with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour.

If they want a sweet popcorn, I melt about 1 tbsp of butter, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp almond butter and 1/8 tsp cinnamon together in the microwave and pour it over top. It makes the popcorn taste like cinnamon buns.

Now wash it all down with a refreshing glass of water. Kids don't always find plain water that appealing. My kids prefer juice but since juice has a lot of sugar I like to offer them naturally flavoured water instead. In this example I added cucumber, lemon and lime slices to a pitcher of water and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours so the flavours have a chance to infuse into the water. I drink a lot of this water as a natural detox drink, but the kids like it too.

You can experiment with different fruits, vegetables and/or herbs in your water. Try using frozen berries. You don't have to let that one sit too long, just serve it right away while the berries are still frozen. They act as ice cubes to keep the water cold with the added bonus of flavouring the water as they melt. The kids have fun scooping out the berries at the end too.

Click here for more snack ideas from Food and Whine.