Posts

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

3 Comments

I haven’t had lentils in a looooooong time, mainly because I usually reach for chickpeas or other beans. Lentils take a little bit longer to cook, so that’s probably why. I guess I could buy the canned variety, but they’re just not the same. Yesterday I was kind of craving them, which is something I thought I’d never say. Honestly though, I wanted a good lentil salad where the lentils still had a bit of bite and there was a good freaking dressing! So I got in the kitchen because when I’m craving something, I get to work.

We didn’t have a lot of veg in our fridge, but we had everything you need for a good lentil salad. Quinoa, red onion, parsley, hummus, balsamic, olive oil, and of course, lentils. Yes, I included hummus in the dressing. Hummus makes EVERYTHING better, and in this case it adds flavour and some volume to the dressing. The parsley and red onion add some great colour to this salad. Oh, and I used red quinoa, which is fun! As far as I can tell it tastes the same as regular quinoa, it just has a nice colour. Try it out!

The lentils only took about 25 minutes to get tender. I took them off as soon as they were soft, because I didn’t want them to get too mushy. Then I mixed them up with the quinoa, parsley, onion, and that awesome hummus and balsamic dressing! So simple and so yum and so fresh. On the side of my salad I had some more hummus (duh) and sweet potato, which went really well. If you want your salad a bit heartier you could try tossing the sweet potato right in there.

Hope you enjoy this light salad that’s perfect for a quick lunch or side dish!!

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

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

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup dry green lentils
  • 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp hummus
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Give your lentils a little rinse, then toss them in a small pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down a bit and let the lentils simmer for about 25-30 minutes, until they’re tender but still have some bite, and most of the water has been absorbed.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the hummus, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper.
  3. Toss together the quinoa, cooked lentils, parsley, and red onion with the dressing. Serve with more hummus, and some roasted sweet potatoes.
  4. Enjoy!

This is one of my favourite simple salads to make, and I’ll definitely be making it again sometime soon. See ya later!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

Chocolate Date Puffed Wheat Squares

4 Comments

How’s it going guys? Oh, you’re asking what you should do today? Well I have a great answer because you NEED to make these Chocolate Date Puffed Wheat Squares!

I don’t buy dates very often because they’re a tad expensive, but someone gave me a bunch a little while ago so I knew I had to do something special with them. I’ve been eating them by themselves (which is amazing), and I’ve also heard that they’re spectacular with peanut butter, but there are so many awesome desserty things you can do with dates. I decided to make these CHOCOLATE DATE PUFFED WHEAT SQUARES. Sweet, gooey, and a little crunchy, they’re the perfect treat!

These squares are pretty easy to make, too. You just soften up some dates in warm water, them blend them up to make a kind of paste. Then you mix that with cocoa, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla, heat it up a bit, and mix it in with puffed wheat. I let mine harden in the fridge overnight after I pressed them into a greased pan, but you should be good to go in a few hours. That simplicity mixed with the fact that these squares taste AMAZING and have no refined sugar makes them a winner in my book.

So yeah, go make these squares and you WILL NOT regret it:)

Chocolate Date Puffed Wheat Squares

Serves: Makes 9 squares

Total Time: 30 minutes, plus at least 3 hours cooling time.

Ingredients:

  • 10 large Medjool Dates
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3 cups puffed wheat

Directions:

  1. Heat some water in a small pot over the stove until it just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and add in the dates. Let them sit for about 10 minutes to soften them up.
  2. Remove the pits from the dates and add them into a blender or food processor. Blend until a kind of paste forms, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be completely smooth.
  3. Transfer the date paste back into the small pot and add the cocoa powder, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. Place over low heat on the stove for about 2 minutes as you stir to combine.
  4. Remove the date mixture from the heat. Dump the puffed wheat into a large bowl and mix in the chocolatey dates. Press the soon-to-be puffed wheat squares into an 8×8 pan greased with coconut oil.
  5. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm enough to eat; around 3 hours. You can try and speed up this process by throwing the squares into the freezer.
  6. Once the puffed wheat mixture has cooled, cut it into 9 squares and enjoy!
  7. Store in the fridge.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Yours Truly,

Olivia;))

Summer 2020 Reading List

2 Comments

Hey guys! It’s a tad late to be posting my summer reading list, but better late than never, right? Lately I’ve been trying to read more books that fit in to my 2020 Reading Challenge. I read some Anne of Green Gables books (which were so cute and good and will always have a little place in the corner of my heart that I reserve for books), because the author L.M Montgomery has written more than 20 books, I read the Handmaid’s Tale because Margaret Atwood is Canadian, and right now I’m reading A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami, because it was translated into English from Japanese.

So I’m making progress, but I still have a long way to go. Some of the challenge prompts are kind of hard! Like, a book under 200 pages, and one above 500 pages?!??! I should’ve saved Animal Farm and The Lord of The Rings to read this year. I did do some more research for this list though, and found books that help me with my challenge. I actually managed to find a couple of YA fantasy books that fill up some spots, so that’s a real bonus!

I’m really grateful to this challenge for expanding my book horizons, though. Like, I probably never would’ve found out about A Wild Sheep Chase without it! Even if you’re not doing a reading challenge for 2020, I challenge you to pick up a book that you wouldn’t normally read sometime soon! It can be a really transforming experience. Here’s my Summer 2020 Reading List!

A Wild Sheep Chase

This is what I’m currently reading, although I’m only about 30 pages in. It’s about a man in Japan who receives a postcard with a mutant sheep on it, and then gets warned that he must find the sheep, or else faces some serious consequences. His journey takes him all around Tokyo and into the mountain ranges of Japan, and he kind of discovers himself along the way. When looking at books that are translated from another language, this one stood out to me because of its interesting plot line. I’m excited to see where this novel goes! If your looking for some other good books that have been translated, I highly suggest The Alchemist or The Winner Stands Alone by Pablo Coelho.

The Guinevere Deception

It was HARD finding a book with more than 20 letters in the title, but I did it and guess what- it’s a YA fantasy novel! This book is about Princess Guinevere, who travels to Camelot to marry King Arthur. But Guinevere is NOT actually Guinevere- her name and identity is a secret. The wizard Merlin sent her to protect Camelot and threats both within and outside of the court. This book looks like it’s full of magic and I’m so excited to read it!

Sorcery of Thorns

This is the other YA book I found, and it was written by an author in their twenties. A girl named Elisabeth, who has grown up in the Great Libraries of Austermeer, wants to one day become a guardian of the magical grimoires that reside there. But she becomes tangled up in a crime that lets one of the most dangerous grimoires free, and must go to the capital to face her punishment. Although she grew up believing that sorcerers were evil, she strikes up a friendship with one and begins to learn things about magic and herself that she never thought possible. This book has magic AND libraries, so sign me up!

The Great Gatsby

This is kind of a classic and I would’ve liked to read it at some point anyway, but now’s the perfect time because I have to read a book written in the 1920’s! It’s about Jay Gatsby and his new love for Daisy Buchanan. Although it takes place in fictional towns, it gives insight into the lives of wealthy Americans in the 1920’s. It’s considered one of the best books ever written (by some people), so hopefully it’ll be a good read!

Those are my book picks for the summer! Let me know if you’ve read any before and what you thought of them. Can’t wait to get reading;))

Yours Truly,

Olivia;)))

Tuna and Sweet Potato Cakes

2 Comments

Hey guys! I’m like REALLY excited about this recipe- it’s a good one. I had the idea to make these Tuna and Sweet Potato Cakes a while ago and got all psyched up about it, but then I realized we didn’t have tuna! But now we have some so it’s all good, and I was able to whip up these super tasty cakes.

This recipe takes a little while to make, but I promise you it’s worth it. You’ve got the sweetness from the sweet potato and red onion, some garlic powder, and fresh herbs, which all totally transform that canned tuna into an AMAZING fish cake. I used an egg as a binder which I don’t normally do, but it helped these beauties bake up and get some nice colour on the outside.

I served up these cakes in a nice salad bowl, but they’re honestly SO versatile. Throw them in a wrap or sandwich, or just eat them by themselves for a quick protein-filled snack. That’s another great thing about these tuna cakes; they have lots of protein from both the tuna and the egg, plus some good complex carbs from the sweet potato. Healthy and delicious all in one! Hope you enjoy;))

Tuna and Sweet Potato Cakes

Serves: Makes about 9 cakes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a large sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes
  • 1 can of light chunk tuna, well drained
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  • 1/4 of a red onion, diced
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp oats
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 egg

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized pot, bring a little bit of water to a simmer and place a veggie steamer inside. Dump the chopped up sweet potatoes in there, cover, and steam for about 20-25 minutes, until they’re very soft and mashable.
  2. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  3. Mash the cooked sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add in the tuna, parsley, red onion, garlic powder, and oats, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the egg to the sweet potato and tuna mixture and mix until combined. Scoop out heaping tablespoons, form into about 9 patties, and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  5. Bake the cakes for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a spatula to flip them over. Proceed to bake for another 10 minutes.
  6. Remove the cakes from the oven and use the spatula to flatten them even further. This will help to cook the insides. Place back into the oven to cook for 5 minutes, then remove, flip, and cook for a final five minutes. (total baking time: 30 minutes)
  7. Take the cakes out of the oven (finally) and let them cool before enjoying in bowls, salads, wraps, sandwiches, or just by themselves!

I love this recipe so much and I hope you love it too! These cakes have such a beautiful flavour, colour and texture. See you Wednesday!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

Vanilla Protein Oats

2 Comments

Before you ask, Karen, I know I’ve done breakfast bowl posts lately, but they’re just so good. If I keep making freaking awesome breakfasts, am I not supposed to share them?!!?? Didn’t think so. Yes, these protein oats fall into the awesome category, and yes, you get to see the recipe.

I’ve just been really into the protein powder recently, as you can tell by my recipe for Mini Berry Protein Muffins, which you should DEFINITELY check out. It makes stuff super creamy and adds a nice flavour. And adds protein😂 Usually I’ll add a scoop to my morning smoothie bowl, but today I didn’t have any frozen bananas at the ready, so I tried these Vanilla Protein Oats!

They’re super simple and taste AMAZING (like most of my recipes, tbh). These oats will definitely fill you up and fuel you through your day! (I need this because of this pesky little thing called summer school😂) Don’t forget to throw lots toppings on there- toppings MAKE the bowl. Am I right or am I right? I used cherries, bananas, and lots of crunchy peanut butter, which is my new obsession. Any other fruits or nuts or other good stuff also works though, because the base of these oats is vanilla.

In a nutshell: THESE OATS ARE DELISH AND THEY’RE FULL OF PROTEIN AND CARBS AND GOOD STUFF AND YOU SHOULD MAKE THEM EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK AND TOP THEM WITH MORE DIFFERENT AWESOME STUFF EACH DAY. Sign me up!! Enjoy your oats☺️😋😉😉

Vanilla Protein Oats

Serves: 1

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Some cherries for topping
  • Lots of peanut butter for topping;)

Directions:

  1. Mash half of the banana in a small pot, then stir in the oats, protein powder, cinnamon, and water.
  2. Bring the mixture to a simmer on the stove, then let cook for about 7-8 minutes, until the oats are cooked through. Add more water if needed, because the protein powder sure soaked up a lot!
  3. Remove the oats from the heat, scoop into a bowl, and top with the rest of the banana, some cherries, and some peanut butter. Yum!!

See you tomorrow with a new post!!:)

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))