My First Green Smoothie!

Okay. I'll admit it. I have been dying to try a green smoothie. I'll also admit that I love to create food out of whatever I can find in the fridge. This morning, these two parts of my personality came together!

We had over-bought apples at the farmers market and under-ate some cucumbers and salad grees and were left with this. Cut up in the blender with some water.....


3 Apples, a head of slightly wilted Romaine hearts, a cucumber, some flaxseed meal, and a cup of water became my first green smoothie!

Okay, so it's brown. And a bit too thick for my liking. I'm not sure if that is because it was blended instead of juiced, because I didn't put much water, or... something else. But all in all, not bad!

>

Greens and Gnocchi

Hello!
I had planned on making this on Tuesday, but life changed that plan! We got around to making it today.

First, we baked some potatoes, scooped out the insides, and mixed it with whole wheat flour, and an egg. After you roll it out...
You slice it into little gnocchi sized pieces. I also sauteed some bitter leafy greens we bought at the farmers' market last weekend with garlic, oil, breadcrumbs, and onions. Tell me, is there ANYTHING that doesn't taste better sauteed with garlic, oil, and onion? I don't think so.

Anyway, the finished product was nothing short of beautiful!

>

Farmers' Market + Homemade Tortilla=Hummus Wrap

We are lucky enough to have an awesome farmers' market near our house. This isn't a "massively overpriced" farmers' market, it is a "farmers bring their produce to sell it at incredible prices" farmer's market. In addition to the farmers there are little stores that also have great prices. Last time we went, I picked up a box of organic spring mix salad for...... $1!!! The big box, too! I was so excited!

Last week I was inspired to make homemade whole wheat tortillas. When you combine one of those with John's hummus and cheap spring mix salad you get.....

>

Hummus

So I know that hummus is available everywhere now, but I am lucky enough to be engaged to an amazing Lebanese guy with an amazing Lebanese mother who has taught him how to make UNBELIEVABLY amazing Lebanese hummus. I can't describe to you how much more delicious this is than the store-bought kind. It is also millions of times better than any type I have made. I don't know WHAT it is that they do, but I feel so spoiled!

(Just so you know, John overcooked the chick peas a little. That's what the dark specs are. But it was still REALLY good. That actually added extra flavor!)

>

Muffin Madness!

Since last night I have been dreaming about fruity muffins so.....

As soon as I woke up I got mixing!

I found a recipe with a muffin base here and tweaked it...

• 3.5 cups flour
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
  
• 1/2 cup dry milk
• A few spoonfuls of ground flaxseed (i didn't measure)
  
• 1 tablespoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon (I reduce cinnamon to 2 Tbsp.)
• 1 cup egg replacer
• 3 tbsp vanilla
• 2 cups water

This was the base. I then put the batter into small bowls and filled each individually with different delicious-ness

Clockwise from Top Left:

• Plain
• Cinnamon Apple
• Strawberry
• Blackberry
• Cinnamon Coconut
• Pineapple
  

I baked it for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand.........

The pineapple one was WAAAAY to soggy, but the rest were a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

YAY MUFFINS!

>

Breakfasts of Champions!

MMmmMMmmMMmm Breakfast!

I love pancakes. L.O.V.E. them. I will put anything I can into them and I enjoy them to no end. Unfortunately, I rarely make them. Since today was a lazy Saturday, I decided to make them. We only have a premixed batter that is NOT whole wheat :( so I had to think of some way to up the nutritional value.




LUCKLY I bought ground flax seed yesterday! I mixed that with the batter, unsweetened coconut, and blackberries I had frozen a few weeks ago after I over-bought at the farmers' market!

Check out that gooey goodness!!

>

John Cooks!

Since I work later than my fiance some days, he is sweet enough to cook for us on those days. Recently I have been more and more interested in healthy cooking (not necessarily low-fat or low-calorie, I am concerned with chemicals and processed foods) and John has hopped on board for the ride. This week, he came up with this for us!

We had some fresh corn in the fridge that wasn't going to be lasting much longer, so i asked him to make that with whatever else.

He made a YUMMY mix of brown rice, beans, and green beans to go with it!



Thanks John!!!

>

1st Few Days

Hello!

I am just now uploading a few pictures from last week's meals... Here's Wednesday!
This delicious combination is what I lovingly refer to as "leftover cooking" because the ingredients are just about anything left over in the fridge and cabinets.
In this concoction you will find:

• Quinoa
• Corn
• Onions (from the farmers market nearby)
• Kale
• Corn
• Green Beans (canned, though)
• Dried beans (soaked and cooked)

I wanted a teriyaki type sauce, but I checked the one in my fridge and the 1st ingredient was high fructose corn syrup and too many after that were chemicals so I decided to use the non-chemical ingredients as a base recipe for my own sauce. Soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and garlic later..... YUM!!!!!!

>

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to MUNCHING MADNESS!

I am constantly inspired by various recipes, photos, and food stories and use them as springboards for my own forays into food. While I am definitely not a "chef," or even "expert cook," I enjoy playing with food and devouring the result. This blog will be the scrapbook of what comes from my kitchen!

Enjoy!

>