Peanut Sauce Soba Noodles

Yummmm. I've always wanted to make peanut sauce noodles! I finally did and it is so easy! It contains things that I almost always have stocked in my kitchen at any time. And it is vegan! So if I need a break from the normal marinara sauce, I will definitely make this for a quick and easy healthy meal. Here is the recipe for the peanut sauce:

Recipe for Peanut Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of PB2 or 1 tablespoon of regular peanut butter 
• 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions:

• Mix together in a bowl all the ingredients until well blended
• Mix in with cooked soba noodles and whatever vegetables you prefer (I used bok choy and cucumber)
• Eat cold or hot, whichever you prefer (I prefer cold)

Enjoy :))

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Sooo now that I finally have some free time I have started updating my blog again. It was a hectic last few weeks with my final exams, my boyfriends graduation, and my getting ready to come to Madrid to study abroad for 6 weeks and do some traveling afterwards. Now I am in Spain and life is pretty good so far. I am living with a host mother, which is good for my spanish speaking skills but bad for my cooking healthy food and my own recipes. I eat what she gives me. But, I am grateful because unlike some other people in Spain she eats lots of healthy meals full of fruits and vegetables, which makes me confident I can remain healthy while living over here and not eating my normal types of food...For example, it is completely impossible to be vegetarian and gluten-free because they eat lots of bread and croissants and pastries and lots of ham and cheese, etc. Anyways, I am just getting around to updating my blog fully.

These chickpea chocolate chip cookie dough bites are called cookie "dough" bites even though they are cooked because even when cooked, they are still super soft and gooey, like cookie dough. These are absolutely delicious and I think they are the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookie I have ever made..maybe because I love "half-baked" or super soft gooey cookies. If you're looking for a healthy way to eat the most delicious cookie dough ever, this recipe is for you. I got the recipe from Texanerin Baking. Here is the recipe:

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups Canned Chickpeas, well rinsed and patted dry
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons Almond butter (at room temperature)
• 1/4 cup Honey
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (or more if you so desire)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Combine all ingredients, except for chocolate chips, in a food processor and blend until smooth
• Pour in the chocolate chips and mix around
• With wet hands (so it won't stick to your hands) form 1 1/2 inch balls
• Place onto parchment paper or a greased baking pan
• Bake for about 10 minutes
• When you take out they will still be very soft and do not set like normal cookies, hence cookie "dough" bites

Enjoy :)

Zucchini Spears

These are like a healthier version of those breadsticks you could get at pizza hut. These are basically zucchini spears topped with parmesan cheese and baked in the oven. It's a good appetizer or party food. I definitely like the zucchini fries better than these though because these are a lot thicker and don't get as crispy, they are more squash textured instead of fries. So do not think of these as crispy like fries, unless you bake them long enough. These are more like cooked zucchini and topped with some parmesan. I think next time I will try and cut them a little thinner so they get a little more crispy. Anyways, they're good if you like zucchini and parmesan, need something quick, and they are most certainly good for you. Here's the recipe:

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Zucchini (as many as you want)
• Parmesan cheese (as much as you want)
• Olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Wash zucchini and cut them in quarters- cut them in half lengthwise and cut the newly cut pieces in half lengthwise to make quarters
• Place on a greased baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top
• Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top of the olive oil coated zucchini spears
• Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes
• Broil them for the last two minutes until the cheese is golden
• Take out and let cool before eating

And there you have it, parmesan zucchini spears!

Garlic Parmesan Avocado Cauliflower Mash

Yummmm this was delicious. It is kind of like a healthier and, well I think, tastier, mashed potatoes. I made this with my boyfriend one night and I got full quickly, in which we had lots of leftovers. Luckily, my boyfriend and his friends took care of that and devoured the rest of the mash. It was just that good. I am definitely going to make this in the future instead of a side of mashed potatoes. Maybe even instead of mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving?...or is that too far...haha I guess we shall see in November.

Here's the recipe:

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Cauliflower
• 3 tablespoons of Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 Avocado, diced
• 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
• Garlic, salt, and pepper to taste (we made ours pretty garlicky, almost too much, but it was delicious anyways!)

Directions:

• Cut the florets of the whole cauliflower into small pieces
• Steam the florets by using a steam bag or a colander on the stove top
• Once you can pierce through a floret with a fork easily, drain the florets from the water and place them in a medium sized mixing bowl
• Add the greek yogurt, avocado, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper into the mixing bowl as well
• Mash all the ingredients together with a fork

And voilaaaaa you have your delicious cauliflower mash, it's as easy as that. Enjoy :)