Category: Meal Prep

Balsamic Roasted Veggie and Quinoa Salad

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‘Sup people! One of my favourite things to do is come up with new recipes; I just love being creative and experimenting with different ingredients. Today my experiments paid off, because this salad turned out great! Chickpeas, sweet potato and cauliflower are the main components, with a few fresh cucumbers in there as well. I’m usually not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar, but together with rosemary, quinoa and roasted veggies, it’s waaaay better. Plus, there’s no greens in this salad, which is a nice change! I kept my salad vegetarian, but you could totally add some grilled chicken on top to make it a heartier meal. Here’s the recipe for my Balsamic Roasted Veggie and Quinoa Salad:

Ingredients:

Makes 4 servings

For the Roasted Veggies:

  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup cauliflower florets, washed
  • 1 tbsp avocado or olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • A bit of pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp rosemary leaves

For the Quinoa:

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 cup cucumber, diced
  • 2 sprigs of green onion, chopped

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Mix all of the roasted veggie ingredients in a large bowl, until the veggies are covered in oil and vinegar.
  3. Spread out the veggies on a sheet pan covered with parchment and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.
  4. While the veggies are baking, cook the quinoa and cut up the onion and cucumber. Mix it all in the bowl the you want to serve the salad in.
  5. Prepare the vinaigrette, mixing the oil and vinegar until combined.
  6. Once the veggies are ready, mix them in with the quinoa mixture. Pour in the vinaigrette and toss the salad.
  7. Enjoy!!

 

I hope that you like this quick recipe. the sweet potato and balsamic work really well together, and the fresh cucumber sort of brightens everything up. Thanks for checking out this post, and stay tuned for a crafty tutorial coming soon!!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;))

3 Overnight Oatmeal Recipes to Try This Summer

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Hi there! For me, summer is a great time to try new recipes and make a mental note to implement them in my routine for the rest of the year. So I thought that I would try out a few new overnight oatmeal recipes. Overnight Oatmeal is just what it sounds like- oatmeal made overnight by soaking the oats in milk. This means that it’s the perfect make-ahead option for busy mornings. If you have something against oatmeal, don’t worry. The texture of these oats is almost completely different than that of regular oatmeal, and there’s a lot more flavour. I used to have peanut butter banana overnight oatmeal for breakfast every morning- and honestly, I don’t know why I stopped. When something is this delicious and easy to make, how can you go wrong? Here are three of my favourite overnight oatmeal recipes.

  1. Peanut Butter Banana

Yes, PB and Banana strikes again! This is probably my favourite overnight oatmeal recipe of all time. However, if you’re not into the whole peanut butter thing, you can always use Homemade Almond Butter as a replacement, or just leave the nut butter out altogether. Anyway you make it, this recipe is a winner. Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1/2 a banana, mashed
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbs peanut (or any nut) butter, plus additional for garnish

Directions:

  1. Mash the Banana in a small bowl.
  2. Mix in the nut butter until combined.
  3. Stir in all of the other ingredients.
  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  5. Uncover in the morning, top with additional nut butter, and enjoy!

2. Stone Fruit Crumble

A stone fruit is a fruit that has a pit in it, so cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums all count. I used plums in my oatmeal, but feel free to use any stone fruit you like.

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 a stone fruit, sliced thinly

Directions:

  1. Mix all of the ingredients above in a small bowl except for the stone fruit until combined.
  2. Place the sliced stone fruit on top of the mixture.
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
  4. Remove the wrap in the morning and enjoy!

3. Double Chocolate

This is for all you chocolate lovers out there! Which I’m pretty sure is all of us. This recipe has chocolate in the actual oatmeal itself, and if you want you can top it with some chocolate chips for extra chocolateyness (which should be a word so I’m making it one).

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup milk of your choice
  • 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 a banana, mashed
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Chocolate chips or nut butter for topping

Directions:

  1. Mash the banana in a small bowl.
  2. Mix in all of the other ingredients except for the garnish.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
  4. Uncover, top with your choice of garnish, and enjoy.

So there you go, three overnight oatmeal recipes to try this summer! Let me know what you think of the recipes in the comment space below or on Twitter @mydayisbooked. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked😄

Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowls

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‘Sup guys! Today I’m posting a simple solution to hectic mornings- Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowls! They’re delicious, healthy and easy to make the night before so you can catch a few more minutes of sleep;) Plus, there’s so many different combos of veggies that you can make them your own.

Ingredients:

  • Different kinds of veggies of your choice; ex. Cauliflower, chickpeas (I know that chickpeas are legumes but whatever, they work and I’m addicted to them), peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, etc.
  • Olive/Avocado oil (1 1/2 tsp per cup of veggies)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Cut your veggies into manageably sized pieces, like the picture above. Place them on  a parchment lined baking sheet.
  3. Put the appropriate amount of oil on the veggies and toss until coated. I used too much oil when I did this and ended up having to wipe a bunch off, so make sure you use a measuring spoon! I would’ve used about 2 teaspoons for the cauliflower, 1 1/2 for the peppers and 1 for everything else based on the photo above.
  4. Once your veggies are tossed in oil, sprinkle with a bit of salt, pepper and garlic powder if you’re using it. I wouldn’t go too crazy with spices, because this recipe is supposed to be very versatile so you can pair it with different sauces.
  5. Put the sheet in the 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, but keep an eye on the veggies. You want them to be soft, but still have a bit of bite to them.
  6. Once the veggies are done, cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Serve over quinoa by itself or with one of the following sauces:

 

Soy, garlic and honey:

Mix together 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 clove of garlic, and 1/2 tsp honey.

 

Tzatziki:

Mix 1/4 cup greek yogurt, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbs lemon juice, and 1 tsp dill.

 

There you go:) Meal prep made healthy, easy, and delicious! Comment if you’ve found a delicious veggie combo or another sauce that works great with these bowls.

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;)

 

 

Roasted Chickpea Salad

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Hey guys! I’m super sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile. I hope that this recipe makes up for it! I was kind of experimenting with different ideas until I came out with the final product. In the end, though, it turned out really good! Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Chickpeas: (3 servings)

  • 1 can (19 oz) of chickpeas
  • 2 teaspoons olive or avocado oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the Salad: (1serving)

  • 1 small tomato
  • 2 cups spring mix
  • 1 sprig of chives
  • 1/2 a bell pepper
  • 1/2 a cucumber

For the Dressing: (1 serving)

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Greek Yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then put into a bowl and pat dry with a paper towel. Add the oil, salt, pepper and garlic and onion powder and stir to combine.
  2. Dump the peas onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until they’re crunchy.
  3. Chop the tomato, cucumber, chives and peppers and place into a bowl with the spring mix.
  4. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
  5. Finally, put some chickpeas in top of the salad and top it off with the dressing.

I hope you enjoy this salad! The chickpeas can also be enjoyed alone for a healthy snack. See you Wednesday!;)

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

Quinoa Salad

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This Quinoa Salad is great for school lunches if you make it the night before! It’s bright, flavourful,  and bursting with veggies. For protein, you can add in any kind of meat that you want! best of all, it’s super easy. So, before you start drooling all over your screen, let me get into the recipe.;))

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 cup diced cucumber
  • 1/2 cup diced peppers
  • 1 sprig of green onion
  • 1 teaspoon dill
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1 teaspoon cilantro
  • The juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • Protein of your choice

 

Directions:

Follow the cooking instructions on the package of your quinoa. Once you’re done, it should look something like this:

IMG_8272

Looks super appetizing, right? Don’t worry, once you add all of the veggies and herbs, it looks way better. While the quinoa is cooling down, dice your pepper, cucumber and green onion into mid-sized pieces and cut your lemon in half, like this:

IMG_8270

Now take your quinoa and add the cilantro, dill, and parsley to it, followed by the veggies. Finally, squeeze the lemon juice into the salad. Store this in a container in the fridge and enjoy it for lunch the next day!

IMG_8274

As for protein, you can really add anything you want. I usually put hemp seeds in mine, but chicken would go great as well.

I hope that you like this recipe! Make sure that you let me know what you think of it in the comments section! See you tomorrow for Day 10 of 12 Days of Awesome Ways to Be Healthier.;))

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked