Category: Recipes

Lentil Turmeric Quinoa with Spinach and Mushrooms

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Hi!! Hope everyone’s having a great week so far;) In this post I’ll be sharing a recipe that is kind of big skillet of whatever I had I my fridge; it’s a great way to use up left overs. So if you want to switch out the ingredients in this recipe for ones that you have on hand and need to use up, go for it. Peppers, chickpeas, beans, and other kinds of greens would definitely work well in place of mushrooms, lentils and spinach. Anything that’s left over from a week of eating can be tossed in here. This recipe makes enough for two full servings, so if you make it for dinner one night it’s great for lunch the next day. Here’s how to make my Lentil Turmeric Quinoa with Spinach and Mushrooms!

Lentil Turmeric Quinoa with Spinach and Mushrooms

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup dry green lentils
  • 1/2 tbs coconut oil
  • 1/2 a medium onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Water, as needed

Directions:

  1. Rinse the lentils and pick out any shrivelled up ones. Put them in a small pot with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and let the lentils cook in the simmering water for about 30 minutes, or until tender.
  2. While the lentils are cooking, heat the coconut oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, onions and celery and cook until the opinions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Feel free to add a little bit of water to the pan to prevent the veggies from sticking.
  3. Add in the mushrooms and cook until soft.
  4. Next, put the cooked quinoa and all of the spices into the pan. Mix everything together and then add the spinach, cooking until it’s just wilted.
  5. Remove from the heat and add in the cooked lentils.
  6. Enjoy!

I hope that you enjoy this dish and have fun playing around with different combinations of vegetables. This is going to be my new go-to quinoa recipe;) Bye for now!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

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Hey peoples! As you may have noticed, I created an instagram account last week, and I’m loving it because it’s very picture-focused. There’s also a great community of healthy-eaters on there, which means there are tons of awesome recipes for me to discover! Anyways, you can follow me on instagram at mydayisbooked_24. I post bullet journal spreads and mini-recipes that you won’t find on my blog.

Back to the topic of today’s post: Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup! This is a creamy, Thai-inspired soup that is easy to make and full of flavour. The sweetness of the carrot and sweet potatoes pairs with all of the spices in it. The way that I made it was pretty spicy, but you can add more or less spice, according to your taste. You’ll also need a blender to make the soup smooth, but you don’t need a fancy one. I used a twenty dollar one, and it worked just fine. Plus, you can totally freeze this in a ziploc and reheat it for a quick meal. Here’s the recipe!

Spicy Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Total Time: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3 large carrots cut into small pieces

  • 2 sweet potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbs olive or avocado oil
  • 1/2 tbs dried Basil
  • 1/2 tbs dried Oregano
  • 1/2 tbs Cumin
  • 1/2 tbs Curry Powder
  • 1/2 tbs Chile Powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne (or more or less to taste)
  • 4 cups organic chicken or veggie broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • Lime wedges and roasted chickpeas (for optional garnish)

Directions:

  1. Cook the onions over medium heat with the oil in a large pot. Once they are translucent (5-7 minutes) add in the minced garlic and all of the spices and cook for about two more minutes.
  2. Next, add the broth, carrots and sweet potatoes into the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and then simmer until the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft, about 40 minutes or so.
  3. Once the vegetables are done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and let the soup cool down a little bit. Then, using a ladle, scoop the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. You probably won’t be able to blend all of the soup at once, so transferring the smooth soup into a different pot than the unblended soup might be a good idea, so that you don’t miss any chunks of veggies.
  4. When the soup is smooth, mix in the coconut milk, and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and roasted chickpeas;)

How simple is that? I hope you enjoy making and eating this recipe! See you next week;)

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

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Hey peoples! I hope you’re having a great weekend;) To help you prepare for the coming week, this recipe falls under the “freezable” category, and I’m so excited about it because it is absolutely delicious! I would eat this curry for lunch every day if I could, but I force myself to ration it for days when I don’t have time to make anything else. That’s another great thing about this recipe; if you mix in about a cup of grains such as quinoa or barley (my personal favourite), you can freeze it and have a full meal that heats up real easy in the microwave, no cooking required. Also, this recipe is super easy, despite the long cook time. If you’re in a rush, you can cut the sweet potato into smaller chunks so that they cook faster. Finally, when the curry is finished cooking I use a potato masher to mash it up a little bit. This creates a thicker texture. Scroll down for the recipe.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

Serves: 4-6

Total Time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbs avocado or olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 large sweet potato, cubed into 1 inch pieces
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tbs curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp chile powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne (or more, if you like your curry nice and spicy)
  • 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup water (optional)
  • juice of 1/2 a lime
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup cooked grains, for serving/freezing

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes.
  2. Add in the garlic, cumin, curry powder, chile powder and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is very aromatic.
  3. Pour in the tomatoes and chickpeas and sir. If the sweet potatoes are all covered by the tomato mixture, then you do not need to add water. If they aren’t, I suggest adding the water so that they cook faster. You can also add the water if you want to thin out your curry.
  4. Let the curry simmer for about 40-60 minutes. You want the sweet potatoes to be soft, but not mushy.
  5. Once the curry is done simmering, squeeze in the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then mash it a little with a potato masher until desired thickness is reached. This step is optional.
  6. Add in the cooked grains, then cool completely before scooping into sealable plastic bags and freezing. It should keep for about 3-5 months in the freezer.
  7. Microwave and enjoy!

 

I hope that you enjoy this recipe! It’s not going to be the last curry recipe that I post- I absolutely love curry! Have a great week;)))))

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

All-Purpose Shawarma Spice

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Hello, you amazing people! I’m hoping that you’ve tried shawarma before, because it’s delicious, but if you haven’t, it’s basically meat roasted with middle eastern spices, usually served with pita, rice and pickled veggies. I could eat this stuff all day, and so I created a spice mix that almost perfectly recreates the real thing. I say that it’s “all-purpose” because that’s totally what it is. You can use this blend of spices on chickpeas, in soups and stews, or on chicken (my personal favourite).  This recipe is simple and you probably have all of the spices that you need right in your pantry. Here it is!

All Purpose Shawarma Spice

Makes: About 1/4 cup of spice

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs paprika

Directions:

  1. Mix all of the seasonings in a bowl. Store in a sealable plastic bag.
  2. Enjoy on chickpeas (see a roasted chickpea recipe here), chicken, or in mediterranean cooking.

 

So yeah, today I had kind of a quicker recipe to share with you guys, but it’s delicious nonetheless;) Let me know what cool recipes you guys use this spice mix in!

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked:))))))

 

 

 

Healthier Thanksgiving Dinner

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I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Thanksgiving dinner! Stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, the whole shebang. But what I don’t love is the heavy feeling you get after eating all of that stuff. So, just in time for Thanksgiving, I’ve created three side dishes that are DELICIOUS while still being healthier than their traditional counterparts. My recipes for Sprouted Grain Bread Stuffing, Garlic Mashed Sweet potatoes, and Simple Roasted Veggies are easy to make, and serve as great accompaniments to turkey breast. Let’s get into this Thanksgiving feast!

 

Sprouted Grain Bread Stuffing

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Makes 2 Servings

 Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

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  • 2 slices of sprouted grain bread
  • 1 stalk of celery, diced
  • 1/4 of an onion (white or yellow), diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbs avocado oil
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup organic veggie broth
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Toast the grain bread until it’s golden brown on either side. Cut it into cubes and set aside.
  2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a small pot and cook the celery, garlic and onion for about 6-8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
  3. Add the broth, oregano, salt and pepper into the pot and bring to a boil. Dump in the cubed grain bread and stir.
  4. Continue to cook the mixture until the liquid has evaporated, but the bread is still soft. Serve immediately, or cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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Serves 2

Total Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Wash and peel the sweet potato.
  2. Take a few sheets of paper towel and wet them under the tap. Wring them out so that they’re just damp, and wrap the sweet potato in them. img_9545.jpg
  3. On a small plate, microwave the sweet potato for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Then flip it over and microwave it for another 3 minutes and thirty seconds. Remove the potato from the microwave and cut it in half. If it’s soft all the way through, then it’s ready. If not, microwave it in 30 second increments until it is. This will all depend on  the size of your sweet potato.
  4. Place the sweet potato in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. You will notice that the outside of the potato is still hard and won’t mash well. Remove these parts from the mash.
  5. Add in the minced garlic, salt and pepper, and keep mashing until the potatoes are smooth. Serve immediately or cool completely store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  6. Enjoy!

 

Simple Roasted Veggies

Serves: 2

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of your favourite veggies (mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots)
  • 1/2 tbs avocado oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Wash and dry your veggies. Cut them into bite-sized pieces. I used mushrooms, and cut them into quarters.
  3. Place your veggies on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Toss them in the oil with your hands. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
  4. Bake the veggies for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately, or cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Now all you need is some turkey, and you’re off to the races! I hope that these sides give you the homey flavours of Thanksgiving, but still leave you feeling like you could run a few laps around the pumpkin patch! Anyways, I hope you all have an awesome long weekend. Thanks for checking out this post;).

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked