Food Blog FRIDAY!!!!

Food Blog friday is here




cake batter blondies
by girl meets life


ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/3 – 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
directions: Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk slowly – you want the batter to remain as dense as possible. Then mix in the rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate chips. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Carrot Cake French Toast

healthy exposures blog

serves 1

For the French toast:

• 2 slices cinnamon raisin bread, or other really good bread
• 2 T. milled flaxseed
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 small carrot, grated finely
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground clove
• pinch of ground ginger
• sweetener to taste: I added about 1/2 t. maple sugar
• oil/earth balance/butter/spray for greasing pan (I like using a bit of Earth Balance)

Mix the flaxseed, milk, grated carrot, extract, spices and sweetener in a small dish. Make sure your dish is large enough to fit your bread in, but not so big that the mixture will be too shallow! Set this mixture aside to thicken a bit, and start preheating your pan over medium-low heat.

Once the flax mixture had thickened, submerge the first slice of bread in it, poking it down with a fork. Flip it over and repeat. Make sure the flax mixture coats the bread well – spoon some over top if you need to, and then transfer to your greased pan. Repeat the procedure with the other slice. Cook until firm on both sides.

Fiesta Bowl

Serves 4 generously

Happy Vegan

4 cups cooked brown rice (about 2 cups dry)

1 cup prepared salsa, or more to taste

1 19-oz can black beans (or 2 and 1/2 cooked)

1 cup frozen corn

1-2 avocados (about 1/2 an avocado per person)

1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Pinch salt

For the veggies:

Romaine lettuce, shredded (about 1 cup)

2 tomatoes, chopped (I didn't have any this time, so I used cucumbers)

2 carrots, shredded

(Other vegetable options are shredded purple cabbage, red bell peppers, steamed broccoli, or whatever you've got in your fridge!)

Directions:

1. If you haven't already, cook the brown rice. Set aside.

2. Rinse and drain the black beans. Add them to a medium microwave-safe bowl and add the corn. Zap in the microwave for 3 minutes or so, until everything is nice and hot. Set aside.

3. Peel and pit the avocado(s). If there's only two of you eating, just use one avocado. Guacamole should always be prepared fresh, or else it goes brown! In a small bowl, mash the avocado with the lime juice (1 tbsp per avocado, or more to taste) and the salt. Set aside.

4. Chop, slice and dice the veggies so they're ready for mass assembly.

Taco Pizza

Around the veggie table

First up, gather your ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

1 whole wheat thin pizza crust

1 can refried black beans

1/2 cup taco sauce or salsa

1 cup broccoli slaw

shredded lettuce

chopped cilantro

1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional)

1/2 can diced jalapenos, drained

1 avocado, sliced into cubes and tossed with lime juice (to prevent browning)

Begin by preheating your oven to 450 degrees (I actually set mine to 425 because the oven runs hot).
Spread the pizza crust with refried beans. Use as much of the can as you like (I didn’t quite use the whole thing).
Evenly spread diced jalapenos over bean layer. I used about half the can and it was pretty spicy.
Feel free to adjust accordingly.The next layer is taco sauce or salsa.Now, sprinkle on the broccoli slaw and cheese if desired.Now you’re ready to bake! Throw it in the  oven for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle on shredded lettuce and chopped cilantro.Chop your avocado. Feel free to sprinkle it with a little sea salt.

Roasted Kale, Carrots and Chickpeas

marci gilbert

Ingredients:

• big bunch of kale
• lots of carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 can of chickpeas
• craisins or dried cherries
• parmesan cheese, grated
• olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne

Instructions:

Kale is a green vegetable that I used to be scared of. It looked too much like a plant growing in gardens and I just couldn’t imagine eating it. I also didn’t know what to do with it. I bought a large bunch of organic kale for $1.99. That is so affordable! Don’t say eating right costs a lot. Take your bunch and rip off the leaves from the stalk. I did it by hand, you can cut if you want. Soak it in water and slosh around. Just to get any dirt off that remains. Dry really well in paper towels. This can also be done in a salad spinner. Tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Again, make sure it’s dry.

Peel carrots and chop into little rounds.

On a foil-lined baking sheet (makes for easier cleanup), add carrots and kale. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 375* for 15 minutes. I did this on one baking sheet, but the carrots take longer. You could either start the carrots first and add the kale, use two baking sheets, or remove the kale after 15 minutes. The carrots needed about 40 minutes to get soft.