Thursday, April 28, 2011

Recent eats and tasty treats.

Good morning beauties! I hope you all enjoyed getting a glimpse of my back yard and gardens yesterday. It truly is a little paradise for me. When my mom was alive, she was always out in her garden. It was a part of her. I never really took any interest in gardening with her, but now I would give anything to be able to dig in the dirt and plant some flowers with my mama. At least I can honor her and feel close to her when I garden now. I've learned to never take anything for granted and to always appreciate what you have, because you never know when it will be gone. 

Continuing the topic of happiness from yesterday, here some of my recent meals that have made me VERY happy!



Half of a black bean tamale with a drippy egg on top with greens, olives, avocado, tomatoes, goat cheese and hot sauce. 



Frittata and kale salad! As you know, I LOVE frittatas. This was a good one! 


Onion, garlic, olives, mushrooms, asparagus and goat cheese. 


Right before going into the oven.


Fresh out of the oven.


Delicious kale salad massaged with lemon, avocado, coconut aminos and agave. Topped with red cabbage, cilantro, black pepper and garlic gold.

Such goodness:-)

Now I have a couple sweet recipes to share with you. Both contain chocolate. And peanut butter :-) And an element of crunchiness. As you may know from reading my blog, I like to make balls (otherwise known as "nuggets") for snacks. Some examples: 





















My newest recipe is adapted from my No-Bake Crispy Peanut Butter Oat Nuggets

I added some new ingredients so they're actually a bit healthier. They're higher in protein and fiber.
  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 1/4 cup brown rice crispy cereal (I used gluten-free, although you don't have to)
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp brown rice syrup
The directions are simple! Just throw all the ingredients together in a bowl, mix it up and then roll into balls. Store in the refrigerator. 





 My next recipe is for Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola. I actually have made this before, but this time I changed the recipe a bit.

  • 1 1/4 cup oats (gluten-free)
  • 1 1/4 cup crispy brown rice cereal (gluten-free) 
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp brown rice syrup
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all your dry ingredients in a bowl. In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the coconut oil, peanut butter, brown rice syrup and maple syrup. Once it is melted, pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread out on an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until it is slightly toasted and crispy. 



So yummy! I think I enjoyed this batch even more than the last one. I ate it this morning on top of my peanut butter, banana, chocolate, berry smoothie in a bowl. 



Life is good, my friends! 

I hope you all have a gorgeous day, sweet loves. 

Oh! And speaking of granola, Emilia at Namaste Gurl is hosting an awesome giveaway for Love Grown Foods granola! Check it out! 

Oh, and also be sure to check out the awesome giveaway that Ari at The Diva-Dish is hosting! There's some good stuff going on! :-)