Category: Gluten Free

Greek Pasta Salad

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Hi there! When I think of summer I think of barbecues and potlucks, and at these gatherings there’s often a pasta salad. But it’s usually covered in a heavier mayo based dressing, and contains little to no veggies. This Greek Pasta Salad is full of different textures and flavours, while being super healthy at the same time. Crispy chickpeas, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, and pasta all get tossed together with a delicious greek dressing. You can even toss in some feta and red onion if you’d like. This is the perfect recipe to bring to a barbecue, or to enjoy as a light lunch;)

Greek Pasta Salad

Serves: 4 as a meal, 6-8 as a side

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Chickpeas:

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 two allspice
  • 1/2 the garlic powder

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 tbs dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked rotini ( I used pasta made from chickpea flour)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 a cucumber, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 a can of black olives, sliced

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and spices. Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
  2. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients with the roasted chickpeas. Add in the dressing and toss until everything is coated.
  4. Enjoy!

I hope you like this summer recipe! I’ve posted a video of myself making it on Instagram if you need extra directions. See you Wednesday!

Your Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Neapolitan Nice Cream

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Hello everyone! Summer is here and I’m craving some sweet treats! So I brought out my blender and made some delicious Neapolitan Nice Cream😋. Nice Cream has a texture and taste similar to ice cream, but it’s generally made with frozen bananas. It’s light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day! This Nice Cream is super easy to make, and only requires 4 ingredients (not including water) to make all three flavours; vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. Make sure you give yourself time before serving to freeze your ingredients, as well as the final product. Here’s the recipe!

Neapolitan Nice Cream

Serves: 3-4

Total Time: 4 hours

Ingredients:

  • 6 medium bananas
  • 6 strawberries, washed
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract
  • 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Water

Directions:

  1. Chop up the bananas into round slices, keeping each banana separate. Split them evenly into three ziploc bags; two chopped bananas per bag. This is so that you can make each flavour of Nice Cream separately.
  2. Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut them into small slices. Put them in with one of the bags of bananas. This bag will be for the strawberry Nice Cream.
  3. Place all of the bags in the freezer, and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until all of the fruit is completely frozen.
  4. Once the strawberries and bananas are frozen, remove the bags from the freezer.
  5. Empty one bag of just bananas into your blender, along with the 1 tbs of vanilla and one tbs of water. This is for the vanilla Nice Cream. Blend until a smooth texture forms. It should look something like this:
  6. Scoop out the Nice Cream from the blender and use it to fill up one third of a lined loaf pan. Put the loaf pan in the freezer while blending up the other flavours.
  7. For the strawberry flavour, empty the bag with the bananas and strawberries into the blender and blend until you reach the same consistency as the vanilla. Scoop it into the loaf pan to fill another third of it, then put it back into the freezer.
  8. Now it’s time for chocolate! Put the last bag full of bananas into the blender with the 2 tbs of cocoa powder and 1 tbs of water, and again blend until you reach that perfect consistency. Fill up the last third of the loaf pan with the chocolate Nice Cream.
  9. Place the loaf pan in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes before serving, to get the perfect texture. If your Nice Cream gets to hard, let it thaw on the counter for a bit before digging in. Enjoy!
  • I hope you like this healthy summer treat! To be honest, I think chocolate was my favourite flavour, but the other ones were great too:) I gave my dog a little scoop of the strawberry and he loved it! Have an awesome week😊😊🍦🍦

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)

 

Basil Week: Kale and Arugula Pesto

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Bad news!! MY BASIL PLANT IS DEAD! I went to check it this morning and it only had about 10 shrivelled leaves on it. All of my other herbs are growing like crazy, and I don’t think that it got enough sun. I salvaged as much as I can, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to make a full on basil pesto like I’d planned. So, I used some kale and arugula instead! The colour, texture and flavour of this pesto is still amazing though. I can’t wait to eat it on pasta, fish, veggies, and in wraps! I used sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts or almonds, because they’re cheaper and still have a really good taste. Other than that, the ingredients you’ll need are super simple; lemon, garlic, olive oil, kale, arugula, and of course, a little bit of basil. Here’s the recipe!

Kale and Arugula Pesto

Serves: 4 (this recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto)

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup basil leaves
  • 3 cups kale and arugula mix, packed
  • 1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds, hulled
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 6 tbs olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a blender or food processor, blend the basil, kale and arugula, lemon, garlic, and sunflower seeds until combined but chunky.
  2. With the blender on low speed, stream in the olive oil. Continue to blend until you’ve reached a fairly smooth texture.
  3. Enjoy with pasta, fish, veggies, salads and wraps!

And with that, Herb month has come to an end! I’ve enjoyed coming up with new recipes for all of the different herbs that I’ve grown, and love having my own little garden! Hopefully my other plants don’t die off😬😬. Thanks for reading my posts throughout the month;) I cant wait for summer- I have some awesome ideas! See you then☺️😊

PS. I’m planning to show you guys my July Bullet Journal today as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Basil Week: Tomato, Basil and Avocado Salad

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Hello:) I think that basil is my favourite herb out of the ones that I’ve posted about- the smell of it when you pick it off the plant is just amazing! This salad really showcases fresh basil, along with plump Roma tomatoes and perfectly ripe avocados. The simple balsamic dressing ties everything together. For this recipe, you’ll need to Chiffonade your basil, which basically means to cut it into thin strips. I’ll show you how to do this before giving you the recipe to this tasty salad. Enjoy!

How to Chiffonade

You can use this technique on any other flat leafed vegetable that you want to cut into strips. To chiffonade your basil, lay the leaves on top of each other, then roll them lengthwise.

Proceed to cut the rolled basil the opposite way that you rolled it. Does that make sense? When you unravel the leaves they should be cut into long strips that look like this:

There you go! Use this technique to chop the basil for your salad;)

Tomato, Basil, and Avocado Salad

Serves: 1-2

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 Roma tomatoes cut into eighths
  • 1 ripe avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 10-12 leaves of basil, chiffonaded (I just made up that word)

For the dressing:

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss all of the ingredients for the salad and dressing together in a bowl, and season to taste.

Super simple, but also very fresh tasting and delicious;))) Hope you like it! I’ll see you later this week for the last post of Basil Week, and of Herb Month!

 

Yours Truly,

 

MyDayIsBooked

Basil Week: Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

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Whew! I can’t believe that it’s already the last week of herb month already! I have to say, I’m probably the most excited for basil week, mainly because of this pasta recipe. It’s creamy, flavourful and just super delicious. The sauce is a great alternative to the usual marinara, and healthier than Alfredo. I used my favourite chickpea pasta, but you can use any variety that you’d like. Here’s some tips on growing basil before I give you the recipe;)

Basil plants like lots of sun, so make sure that they get 6-8 hours of sunlight a day. Keep the soil that they are planted in moist. When the basil plant has produced fairly big leaves, you can pick them off and leave the smaller ones to grow. I pick leaves as I need them, but if you want to store your basil the best method is freezing. Let’s get into the first recipe of Basil Week: Roasted Red Pepper Pasta!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Serves: 2

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • 2 tbs olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Cut the red peppers into square pieces and toss them with the extra olive oil, some salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until soft and slightly charred.
  3. While the peppers are roasting, cook 2 servings of pasta according to the package directions.
  4. In a blender or food processor, combine the roasted peppers, 2 tbs olive oil, garlic, basil, and a bit more salt and pepper. Blend until a smooth sauce forms. Taste and season accordingly.
  5. Drain the pasta and add the sauce to the pot, coating the noodles.
  6. Scoop into two bowls and top with chopped basil. Enjoy!

Mmmmmm! Does it get any better than that? Enjoy this recipe, and don’t forget to check in on Wednesday for another great basil post;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked