Monday, August 6, 2012

Summer Food Pin-Wins!

Lately I'd say at least 75% of the meals I make are new finds from pinterest.  We love trying new things!  And whether it's luck or whether I'm just more picky in what I pin, most turn out really good.  But I know some people haven't been as happy with the things they try, so I'm giving you a couple of our favorite pinterest meals that are great for summer cooking and keeping the oven off!

Hawaiian Haystacks (without cream of chicken soup)- I can't say it's any more healthy with all that butter, but it tastes much better than its soup counterpart!  I didn't add the ranch packet seasoning.
Chili Lime Chicken Burgers- I did two major changes, first, I used ground pork instead of chicken (mix up in the store- something about chasing three young children while I'm trying to grab groceries).  Second, we mixed the guacamole with mayo.
Buffalo Chicken Tacos- Shut the door, this was good.  We added a lot of lettuce and cilantro to ours as well.
Korean BBQ Beef- No changes.  This was good!
Homemade Refried Beans- I would add more jalepeno and more onion next time.
Pina Colada Pops- I added a lot of coconut extract because we love ours coconutty!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Jamba Juice Recipes


My favorite site with jamba juice recipes disappeared off the internet a few months ago.  With a little prowling, I was able to find a cached copy and put it here for safekeeping.  1 scoop is an overflowing 1/2 cup.  Enlightened base can supposedly be found as a low calorie dairy base at health food stores (I'm not seeing it, so please tell me if you find this because it's in my favorite one!).

ALOHA PINEAPPLE 
10 oz. pineapple juice 
1 scoop plain yogurt 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops pineapple sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

BANANA BERRY 
12 oz. apple juice 
2 scoops bananas 
1 scoop blueberries 
1 scoop frozen yogurt 
1 scoop raspberry sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

BERRY FULLFILLING 
4 oz. raspberry juice 
8 oz. enlightened base 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop raspberries 
1 scoop blueberries 
1 scoop ice 

BERRY LIME SUBLIME 
12 oz. raspberry juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop raspberries 
2 scoops lime sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

BRIGHT EYED AND BLUEBERRY 
12 oz. soymilk 
2 scoops yogurt 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop blueberries 

CARIBBEAN PASSION 
12 oz. Mango-passion juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop peaches 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

CITRUS SQUEEZE 
6 oz. pineapple juice 
6 oz. orange juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

COLD BUSTER 
12 oz orange juice 
2 scoops peaches 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

KIWI BERRY BURNER 
12 oz. Kiwi juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop raspberries 
2 scoops raspberry sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

MANGO-A-GO-GO 
12 oz. Mango-passion juice 
3 scoops mangos 
2 scoops pineapple sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

MANGO MANTRA 
4 oz. orange juice 
8 oz. enlightened base 
2 scoops mangos 
2 scoops peaches 
1 scoop ice 

MIGHTY CHERRY CHARGER 
4 oz. raspberry juice 
6 oz. soymilk 
2 scoops cherries 
1 scoop strawberries 
2 scoops frozen yogurt 
1 scoop ice 

ORANCE-A-PEEL 
12 oz. orange juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops frozen yogurt 
1 scoop ice 

ORANGE BERRY BLITZ 
12 oz. orange juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop blueberries 
2 scoops pineapple sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

ORANGE CHERRY CHEER 
6 oz. orange juice 
6 oz. soymilk 
3 scoops cherries 
1 scoop frozen yogurt 
1 scoop orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice

ORANGE DREAM MACHINE 
6 oz. orange juice 
6 oz. soymilk 
2 scoops frozen yogurt 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
2 scoops ice 

PEACH PLEASURE 
12 oz. peach juice 
2 scoops peaches 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

PINA COLADA 
12 oz. pineapple juice 
1 Tbls coconut 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoop frozen yogurt 
2 scoops pineapple sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

PUMPKIN SMASH 
8 oz soymilk 
1 scoop pumpkin mix (from can) 
4 scoops frozen yogurt 
2 scoops ice 

RAZAMATAZ 
12 oz raspberry juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

STRAWBERRIES WILD 
12 oz. apple juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
2 scoops frozen yogurt 
1 scoop ice 

STRAWBERRY NIRVANA 
4 oz. apple juice 
8 oz. enlightened base 
4 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 
1 scoop ice 

STRAWBERRY SURF RIDER 
12 oz. lemonade 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop peaches 
2 scoops lime sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

SUNRISE STRAWBERRY 
12 oz. soymilk 
2 scoops yogurt 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop bananas 

GUMMIE BEAR 
12 oz. peach juice 
1 scoop peaches 
1 scoop of each: orange, lime, pineapple, and raspberry sherbet and frozen yogurt 
1 scoop ice 

TANGO TROPIC 
12 oz. peach juice 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop peaches 
1 scoop raspberry sherbet 
1 scoop orange sherbet 
1 scoop ice 

TROPICAL AWAKENING 
4 oz. pineapple juice 
8 oz. enlightened base 
2 scoops strawberries 
1 scoop blueberries 
1 scoop bananas 
1 scoop ice

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Fresh's Black Bean Burrito Wrap

Another vegan meal brought to you by the Refresh cookbook.  This was seriously delish!  My favorite thing about it is, unlike other meatless meals, this one doesn't feel like it's missing something or lacking in flavor.  This isn't the exact recipe, but includes changes I made (or would make in the future).

picture from Oh She Glows

Fresh's Black Bean Burrito Wrap
Black Bean Filling:
6 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
4 c. canned or cooked black beans

Heat oil over med heat.  Add onions and cook for 5 min or until soft.  Add remaining ingredients except for black beans.  Simmer for five minutes.  Lightly mash black beans so some are still intact.  Add beans to mixture.

Wrap:
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2 c. shredded green lettuce
2 avocados, sliced

Heat tortillas on a grill or in the oven (I did mine in the microwave).  Spread a thick layer of warm black bean filling on the center of a tortilla.  Spoon a portion of all of the above garnishes on top.   Roll and eat!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Curried Garbanzo Wraps

picture by Oh She Glows

This recipe is a take on the Kathmandu Wrap featured at Fresh restaurant in Toronto.  I checked out a cookbook (I love the interlibrary loan system!) the creator had written for another recipe and decided to try this one, BUT I didn't have some of the ingredients.  Instead of buying stuff I would never use again, I used her recipe as a base, then made up my own!  Oh, and then I ate it too fast to get a picture of it.  YUM!

Curried Garbanzo Bean Wrap
adapted from the Kahtmandu Wrap in Refresh by Ruth Tal

1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 large carrot, grated
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
2 pepperocinins, chopped (or something hotter if you like it super spicy)
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp curry
1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 c. tomato sauce
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 pack alfalfa sprouts
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced

Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, onions, carrot, peppers, and spices.  Cook until veggies are soft.  In the meantime, use a food processor to smash garbanzo beans into a chunky paste.  Add bean paste and tomato sauce to skillet, and cook until heated through.  Serve on tortilla with sprouts, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

I had my wrap without any of the garnishes (because I didn't have any on hand, must be time to go shopping) and it was still delish!