Recipes I've tried lately and liked

 

This Grapefruit and Olive oil cake. 

These Masala lentils -- I increased the amount of lentils to almost a cup, and used a full can of both tomatoes (diced instead of stewed) and coconut milk. 

This Broccoli soup -- I increased the amount of broth to 4 cups, used a little over a pound of broccoli, and added a couple handfuls of fresh spinach. I didn't add parmesan, but definitely splurged on pine nuts this week! Next time I think I'll swap leeks for the onion.

Lactose-friendly Vodka Sauce

I'm just going to ignore the fact that I haven't posted since October.

THIS PASTA SAUCE IS DELICIOUS. I don't think I've had vodka sauce since college... this one is packed with healthy protein, and it's amazingly creamy. I should probably mention that it might not actually taste like vodka sauce [college was 5 years ago], but I seriously loved it.

What to do:

Whisk equal parts marinara sauce (I used TJ's pomodoro sauce) and plain Greek yogurt.
Toss in some red pepper flakes and salt.
Pour over cooked pasta (mine also had kale thrown in because I needed to use it up).
Devour.

Maybe I'll post again next week.

pumpkin carrot chocolate chip muffins

Okay so.... I am the worst blogger ever. I made these muffins when Meghan visited weeks ago, and am just now getting around to posting the recipe. To be fair, it took me a very long time to go back and search through all the recipes I looked at before making these to try and remember what I actually used in the final product. The good news is these are pretty much my own recipe! The bad news is I'm not positive that these measurements are exact. In any case, these muffins are AWESOME. Dense, and not too sweet. Perfect for breakfast or snack or dessert!

umm... I didn't take this photo, i found it online. #sryimnotsry

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oats
1 can pumpkin (14 oz)
1 cup finely shredded carrot
1 egg
3/4 cup almond milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sucanat (or white sugar)
1/2 chocolate chips



Combine dry ingredients. Mix oats, pumpkin, carrot, egg, and milk and add to dry ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour into muffin tins-- the batter is quite thick and doesn't really rise so it's fine to fill these close to the top. Bake at 375 for... I have no idea. Until they're done. I'm thinking 20 minutes? Test them with a fork. Eat them crumbled on top of banana soft-serve or yogurt, or plain, of course!

P.S. I don't care about this shizzz, but making them with sucanat lowers the calorie content and is better for you or something.  Sucanat is whole cane sugar instead of the refined and processed stuff we typically use. All the vegans are doing it. You could do it too, if you want.

Banana pancakes

I kind of want to eat these every day. Here's what's in 'em: 

6 eggs, beaten

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tbsp. chia seed

4 tbsp. oat bran

cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Melt some butter in a small fry pan (enough to coat the pan) over low to medium heat. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan-- cook until browned, covered. WATCH THAT PANCAKE CAREFULLY. Flip it. Repeat. Serve with peanut butter (my favorite), cookie butter, maple syrup, jam, pumpkin butter, or whipped cream. Or eat them plain, seriously. This recipe makes 6 pancakes. 

AND THEY'RE HEALTHY. 

SOMETHING FISHY

Confession - I'm not great at cooking fish. I'm not great at cooking meat, either, which could be one of the reasons why I rarely make it. However, I'm proud to announce that I seriously crushed this recipe (or my variation of it, at least); it was sooo good. Baking fish in foil at high heat will definitely be my go-to method from now on. I'm already brainstorming all the delicious variations I can create! The tilapia was flaky and perfect, the vegetables were colorful and filled with flavor, and the touch of balsamic vinegar added the perfect tangy-ness. I'm used to dousing fish in lemon, but this needed absolutely no extra embellishment. MAKE THIS FISH. 

Ingredients (serves 1)

1 tilapia filet (approx. 4 oz)

1/2 zucchini, cut into 3 inch matchsticks

1/2 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup loosely packed basil leaves, chopped

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 lemon, juiced

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt, pepper, oregano to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine zucchini, tomatoes, garlic and basil in a bowl with the lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and oregano. Toss to coat, and set aside. Place the tilapia on a large sheet of aluminum foil and pour the veggies on top and around it - finish off with a liberal sprinkling of balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper. Wrap the foil around the fish so it forms a tight packet - it's important that no steam escapes! Bake for 15 minutes and serve.

Quick Breakfast Shot

Clearly this picture is terrible, but omg how delicious does that melty peanut butter look as it spills out onto the chocolatiest oats of all time? One of these days I'll get around to posting an actual recipe, I swear.

Tired grad students eat...

Roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli drizzled with homemade vegan cheese sauce. This meal wasn't phenomenal, but I literally did not care at all.