Supper-Time Sunday

Hello friends! I hope your eats were delicious and nutritious this week. We had a crazy sort of week and so I don't have a ton of new eats for you but I have a couple. So here we go! 

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10-MINUTE STOVETOP GRANOLA

Recipe courtesy of Yes, I Want Cake

I love granola but it is expensive and a lot of time it has a ton of added ingredients that I would prefer my family not consume. However, making it at home can take several hours and I would definitely prefer spending those hours on something other than granola.

When I saw this recipe for 10-minute stovetop granola I new that I had to try it! My cute hubster LOVES granola and I was pretty sure my babies would enjoy it on their Activia yogurt as well. I was happy that it called for clean ingredients. The only added sugar is in the Craisins - I will probably use Deluxe Raisins next time so that I can enjoy the granola as well without any digestive repercussions. Unless someone knows where to buy unsweetened dried cranberries at a good price?

But back to the recipe! It really came together sooo quickly and was positively delicious! I don't think I will ever be able to make granola the long way again.

I made a few changes to the recipe. I used coconut oil instead of butter and I only had ground flaxseed on hand so I used about 1/4 cup. I used pure maple syrup instead of the honey and my unsweetened coconut is in ribbons but it worked just fine.

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NAUGHTY NUTTY "NOODLES"

Recipe courtesy of Delightful Taste Buds

This is a recipe that you may have noticed has been on my meal plan for a long time. In all honesty, when it came time to make it it just didn't sound good to me so I never actually made it until today. I whipped up a batch and the kids and I sat on the floor with 3 forks and we munched away while watching Wreck it Ralph.

It turned out really good although I felt like the lemon was a bit overbearing. I love lemon, don't get me wrong, but next time I think that I will only use 1/2 a lemon to let some of the other flavors shine.

One of the best things about this recipe is its versatility. I, for once, didn't have carrots on hand so instead I grated up a fuji apple. The sweetness of the apple was a great compliment to the other flavors of the dish. I also used 1/2 green cabbage and 1/2 purple cabbage.

Some of the other changes that I made: I used reduced sodium Tamari instead of coconut aminos. You can use whatever soy sauce you have on hand. Be careful about the oil you use in the beginning. 1 tbsp of oil is too much to cook 2 eggs in a skillet. I would start with nonstick oil and then add 1 tbsp of oil when you are ready to add the onions to your pan. 

This dish tasted a lot like similar Asian noodle dishes that I have had at various restaurants and it is definitely worth a try for an easy and healthy meal!

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QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS:  Have you ever made homemade granola? What is your favorite meatless meal?

Loves...Shayla

Slow Cooker Turkey Sloppy Joes

I have been craving sloppy joes like NO ONE'S BUSINESS! (Where did that expression come from anyways?) However... that is a very unfortunate craving to have when one cannot have gluten or sugar. I have been looking around the web at a bunch of different recipes and I really wanted to try the Tempeh Sloppy Joes that are on our menu this week but when it came time that I needed to get dinner ready I realized that I was out of Tamari and had no time to run to the store. I scanned through a few other recipes but didn't have all of the ingredients for any one of them so I decided I had to just come up with something.

And oh wow! It turned out AMAZING! Cute hubster LOVED it and so did I. It was the perfect flavor - rich and savory with just a touch of spiciness to it. I made the sauce out of two recipes that I adapted together. I used Worcestershire sauce this time (since that is what I had on hand) but next time I will use the Tamari when I actually have it!

Really, this is a very simple recipe if you can have store bought ketchup and barbecue sauce. I can't because of the things they usually add to it. All the sauce ingredients are are the ingredients for a homemade bbq sauce + homemade ketchup. This way I get to control the ingredients.

SLOW COOKER TURKEY SLOPPY JOES
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Sauce adapted from this recipe and this recipe

SAUCE
6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or honey, or agave)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
--------> You can replace all of the above ingredients with 1 1/3 cup ketchup.
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp brown sugar (I used date sugar)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or soy, or tamari)
3/4 tbsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp paprika (preferably smoked)
1/8 tsp cayenne
Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and mix until completely blended. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn heat to low. Let simmer while you prepare the other ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, or beef)
1 small yellow onion
2 large carrots, shredded
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup water

Brown the turkey with the onion until no longer pink. (You can use a bit of oil in your pan if you need to. 1 tbsp should be plenty or just spray with nonstick cooking spray.) Once the turkey is cooked through add it to your slow cooker.

Add carrots and celery to the same pan you cooked your turkey in. Add in water and cook until carrots are partially soft. Add veggies to the slow cooker, pour sauce on top, and mix all ingredients together thoroughly.

Cook on low for at least 1 1/2 hours. Add more water at the end if you need to to thin it out.

Serve on buns or do what I do and make a deconstructed sloppy joe salad! Yummy!

Supper-Time Sunday!

I gotta say... of all of the posts that I do these ones are probably my favorite. I really love sharing all of the delicious eats that we have been able to enjoy lately with my lovely family and friends - and all of you that I don't know but would love to! We had another great week of eats this week!

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FRUIT SWEETENING PASTE (PURE FRUIT SWEETENER)

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of Primally Inspired

I have to talk about this one first because it is the one that I am most excited about. When you are sugar intolerant it is easy to feel that your options are very limited - because they are. When I saw this all natural fruit sweetening paste on Primally Inspired I knew that I wanted to try it out!

Our local Winco Foods has a large section of bulk bins and I was able to get all of the ingredients for this paste from there. The recipe says that you can use any amounts of any combination of dried fruits so, really, the sky is the limit. I got the recommended fruits and made sure none of them were listed with added sugar. (Another great benefit to Winco Foods bulk section - they list the ingredients and nutritional information on all of their bins). I got 0.47 lbs Deluxe Raisins for $0.36, 0.36 lbs Dried Apricots for $1.23, 0.57 lbs Dried Adriatic Figs for $1.18, and 2.94 lbs Dried Whole Pitted Dates for $1.46. Total weight = 4.34 lbs for $4.23. Pretty awesome, right? 

What is even more awesome is that it tastes DELICIOUS! My husband had some spread on a piece of toast and I had some spread on my Tone It Up Protein Pancake at breakfast IMMEDIATELY after I finished making it.

And if that weren't awesome enough... We ended up with about 40 ounces of the finished product ~ 40 ounces for $4.23. If you buy honey at Sam's Club it costs $12.80 for 80 ounces. And pure maple syrup (grade A) at Costco is over $13 for 33.8 ounces. This is a delicious and very cost effective alternative!

You can see that we have already dug into the smaller jar

I am so happy to have this all natural product to sweeten my eats with and to finally have something that resembles jam again! 

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SUPER THICK SHAMROCK SMOOTHIE

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of Lauren at Oatmeal After Spinning

There have been a lot of St. Patrick's Day eats going around right now. Since today is St. Patrick's day it seems to make sense, right? Well it is no fun to be left out of favorite traditions when you are trying to eat healthy so there have been a lot of copycat shamrock shakes going around as well. I even blogged about one last week that we enjoyed.

However, this one takes the cake for me. I loved this recipe and made it twice this week. One time I hoarded it for myself as my lunch and hid away from the kids so I wouldn't have to share. The second time I was feeling more generous so I made the same amount but distributed the goods throughout my little family so everyone could enjoy it. Cute hubster is not a fan of peppermint but even he enjoyed it!

I made a couple of changes to this recipe. The first time that I made it I didn't have a frozen banana or peppermint extract.... so instead I used 1 whole small banana and pure mint extract. I used 1/2 tsp mint extract (*DISCLAIMER! Only use this much if you like STRONG mint flavor!) and I used frozen kale instead of the spinach. It got incredibly thick and I ate it in a bowl just like mint ice cream - DIVINE!

When I made it for the family I actually had peppermint extract. I kept my other changes the same but used 1/2 tsp peppermint extract. It was pretty good still but I liked the strength of the mint extract and will probably continue to use it for my own hoarding smoothie purposes.

Overall this is, by far, my favorite copycat Shamrock Smoothie!

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CROCKPOT JAMBALAYA

Photo + Recipe Courtesy of With Just a Bit of Magic

This is a recipe that my wonderful sister-in-law posted about and I knew that I wanted to try it. I love Jambalaya but usually can't eat the ones that you get at restaurants around here because they are made with noodles. (No gluten for me!)

I had a bit of a hectic day and didn't get the ingredients for this one in the crockpot until there were only about 4 hours left to dinner time. I placed the ingredients in my "depths of Mordor" crockpot and set it to high hoping that it would be ready in time. 

Well, it was and it wasn't. The brown rice is extremely finicky about when it will cook right and it was still a little crunchy by the time it was time to eat dinner. We didn't mind it and we ate the jambalaya anyway. Cute hubster took the leftovers to work and didn't mention any bad crunchiness so I assume it was fine.

What we particularly enjoyed about this recipe was the delicious flavor. I used all natural Sweet Apple Chicken sausage and the contrast of the sweetness with the hot sauce we added to our bowls was divine. 

I didn't want to buy fresh thyme so I used 2 tsp dried thyme instead of the 2 tbsp fresh that it calls for. I also didn't want to spend the money for the shrimp so we just left it out completely. If you have a food processor the chopping of the veggies for this dish is a cinch, otherwise it would be a bit time consuming. 

*Side Note: I have found the PERFECT method for cooking even the most finnicky and stubborn of brown rice:

COOK THE PERFECT BROWN RICE

Photo + recipe courtesy of Pinch My Salt

Seriously. This technique has NEVER failed us. We love it!

Overall, this jambalaya recipe was very good and if I am in the mood for jambalaya again I will probably pull this recipe out of the archives; however, there are so many other recipes out there that I want to try that unless I am specifically craving jambalaya I will probably not revisit this recipe.

PIN IT! (Jambalaya)

PIN IT! (Brown Rice)

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CARROT CAKE OATMEAL

Recipe courtesy of Life After Bagels

I love my morning oatmeal greatly and I am always interested in finding new ways to switch things up. I used to love carrot cake greatly when I was still eating sugar and gluten and so this recipe particularly caught my eye. Especially since this is a great way to add some veggies to the most important meal of the day!

And it was delicious! Very hearty, flavorful and filling. However.... I did change several things about the recipe.

I didn't want to bother cooking steel cut oats so I just used my normal 1/2 cup of gluten free old fashioned oats. To that I added all of the gratings of 1 medium carrot, 1 small banana (sliced), 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (optional), and a large sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. I cooked it on high in the microwave for 3 minutes and then added 2 tbsp of unsalted almonds to the finished product. Like I said, it was delicious and it was quite sweet enough for me with the carrot and the banana to not need the additional maple syrup.

I am sure the original recipe is just as delicious - this is just what worked for me!

*Note: If you would like to see a picture of this recipe, the recipe itself, or pin this recipe please click on the "Life After Bagels" link under the title above. This link will take you directly to this particular recipe on Life After Bagels site.

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QUESTIONS FOR MY DEAR READERS: What was the best thing you ate this week? Are you doing anything special with your food for St. Patrick's Day?

Loves...Shayla

Supper-Time Sunday!

I have a wide assortment of different recipes for you this week - all delicious! Definitely a great week of delicious eats.

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MOM'S STOVETOP PORK RIBS

Recipe + Photo Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Oh man oh man! These were sooooo good! I was extremely skeptical about the cooking technique but these ribs turned out super tender and flavorful. I only had 7 country style pork ribs (meaning that they were boneless) and I used tamari instead of soy sauce to keep it gluten free. 

A lot of the reviews talked about the saltiness of the dish. Truth be told, the more of the sauce that ends up on your actual rib the more salty it will taste. Next time I make this (because there WILL be a next time) I will probably cut back on the tamari. Probably try 1/4 - 1/3 cup instead of 1/2. 

Also, the cooking time is way off. I think my water took at least an hour to boil down and I was conservative about it. Plan ahead and give it the time to boil down - you won't regret it. 

Even with 10 cloves of garlic it didn't taste overly garlicky to us. The whole family loved them. Try this one out! You won't be disappointed!

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OVEN ROASTED SWEET POTATO WEDGES

Recipe + Photo Courtesy of Food.com

I served these on the side with the pork ribs and they were delicious. I would've liked them to be a bit more crispy than they turned out but I think that could be achieved by letting them sit on broil for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time.

Sweet potatoes can be incredibly frustrating to cut. I didn't want to fight with them this time so I peeled my potatoes, pricked them a few times and microwaved them for 3 minutes. It was only a short time and the potatoes were not cooked through but they softened so that they were MUCH easier to cut!

The only thing that I changed about the recipe was that I used date sugar instead of the brown sugar. My boy {N} GOBBLED these down! My girl [A] is still very skeptical of sweet potatoes but at least she tried these. 

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COPYCAT SHAMROCK SHAKE - HEALTHY, PALEO VERSION

Recipe + Photo Courtesy of Primally Inspired

We had these shakes for breakfast this very morning and they were delicious and filling. Very thick and creamy. Cute hubster said they tasted fresh and green. 

I didn't use the honey in the recipe and instead used 1 banana and a little over 1 Tbsp stevia. Since I was sharing it with cute hubster I knew he would want it to be more sweet than I usually make things. I also didn't have peppermint extract - just mint extract. It still worked but I think that it would be even better with peppermint extract. Yes, they are different. 

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LIGHT 100% WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS

Recipe Revisit from here

Obviously, I can't eat these anymore because I have to eat gluten free; however, my extended family loves them so much that I am still asked to make them from time to time. 

My mom and I discovered something amazing about these this past Sunday... you can completely skip the first 2 risings! All you have to do is to make up the dough, form the rolls and let them rise for 40 minutes before you put them in the oven. They turned out perfectly and I think that some of the rolls were even bigger than when I let them rise for the extra 1 1/2 hours! 

So without those risings these take just over an hour to make from start to finish - awesome!

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QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: I still haven't gotten any recipe recommendations! Surely you have tried something lately that you loved? Share the love with me!

Loves...Shayla

Spicy Vegan Peanut Butter Tofu Rice Bowls

I have made this recipe several times and every single time it gets rave reviews. Cute hubster loves it and my boy {N} always eats his entire bowl. My girl [A] is skeptical of sweet potatoes and so she kind of picks through her bowl - mostly eating all of the tofu pieces she can find. Am I a mean mom for insisting she keep trying sweet potatoes each time we have them? I don't force them down her but I always insist that she try everything once!

This recipe is based off of the sauce and technique of Kalyn over at Kalyn's Kitchen. You can view her recipe here. The picture right below here belongs to her as well. I have to use alternative pictures wherever possible because I don't have my own camera - I only have my Android smartphone. Sorry for my sloppy pictures but at least you can get the idea!

SPICY VEGAN PEANUT BUTTER TOFU RICE BOWLS
Original idea by Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen
Arranged by Shayla Bentley
Makes a VERY large amount (at least 8 servings)
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14-16 oz. extra firm tofu (you can also used cooked, shredded chicken if you don't like tofu)
1 T sesame oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2-3 T diagonally sliced green onions (for garnish, optional... I never remember)

2 cups uncooked brown rice (for the perfect technique on cooking brown rice that has NEVER failed us check out this site here)

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded

2 cups green or red cabbage, sliced

1 - 2 cups eggplant or mushrooms

Sauce Ingredients:
6 T reduced sodium soy sauce (or Tamari if you need to keep it gluten free)
6 T rice vinegar (not seasoned rice vinegar, can substitute white vinegar)
4 T smooth natural peanut butter (or 6 T crunchy)
2 T pure maple syrup (or agave)
4 T vegetable stock or water (I always use water)
Sriracha to taste (only if you like things spicy!)

Make sure to get your brown rice started first if you aren't using leftover rice. The rice takes at least 40 minutes to cook! 

Once rice is cooking and about 10 minutes into cooking time heat sesame oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Prep your tofu by removing from package and squeezing as much moisture as you can out between a thick layer of paper towels. Chop tofu into small pieces. 

Add garlic to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tofu to skillet, sprinkle with ground ginger, and cook until nicely browned. Turn skillet to low.

Mix all sauce ingredients together and add to skillet. Your peanut butter will most likely start out a little chunky still but as it heats everything will blend together nicely. 

Turn your oven on to high broil. When the rice has about 8 minutes left spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and place sweet potatoes, cabbage, and eggplant (or mushrooms) on the sheet. Toss together and heat in the oven for 5-7 minutes. You do NOT want it to burn and you do not want the veggies to get totally soft. A little bit of crunchiness does WONDERS for this dish.

Once the rice is finished toss it in the skillet with the sauce and tofu. Fold together well trying not to destroy your tofu until the rice has a nice even layer of the sauce. Serve by putting a few scoops of veggies in the bottom of a bowl and add the rice/tofu mixture on top. *Note: if you let the hot rice mix sit atop the veggies for a few minutes they will soften even more. You can also add green onions and add the Sriracha to individual portions for those that like things spicy. 

Enjoy!

This is my I-am-about-to-shovel-this-deliciousness-in-my-mouth picture. Notice how the Sriracha bottle is sitting by my bowl? Yeah... I like spicy!

QUESTION FOR MY DEAR READERS: Do you like tofu? Have you ever tried it? 

Loves...Shayla

Chicken Tacos with Thick Black Bean Salsa

I am definitely the kind of cook who wants to eat something that tastes fabulous but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen to get there. Of course I will put in the time if it is absolutely necessary... [insert Raspberry Ribbon Pie here] but it is absolutely not my personal preference.

Insert Tacos! Who doesn't love a good taco? I certainly love tacos and I don't mind getting quite messy to eat them up. My cute hubster is more conservative in the packing of his tacos but I love mine busting at the guts.

I have made this recipe SEVERAL times and, once again, I will apologize for my complete lack of photography skills. There is really only so much that you can do with a camera phone at night. So... it is what it is!

CHICKEN TACOS WITH THICK BLACK BEANS SALSA
A Shayla Original
Serves 2-4 (depending on the hunger level of those you are serving!)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional, but amazing)

1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 (14.5 oz) can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups salsa (whatever kind is your favorite)
1 tsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch if you aren't worried about gluten free)

Leafy topping of choice! I am very preferential to purple cabbage
Cheese topping of choice! Love love love the pepperjack
8 small corn tortillas

Turn on the broil option on your oven. I do high broil but you gotta keep a close eye on your tortillas if you do!

In a nonstick skillet mix together your chicken and seasonings. Cook thoroughly until no longer pink. I don't use any nonstick spray or oil to cook my chicken but you can if you must.

In the meantime, heat another nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add your onion slices and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in your black beans and heat just briefly before adding in your salsa. You can cook it for a few minutes and leave it more runny or you can do what I do and add in a bit of arrowroot powder to thicken it up. It sticks together wonderfully and stays in the tortilla shell better. If you add in the arrowroot, turn your heat to medium and cook until salsa reaches your desired amount of thickness. (About 5 minutes for me).

Place your tortillas on a cookie sheet. Place in the preheated oven and just heat the things until you reach your level of desired crispness. You can let them go longer and eat these tostada style or just warm them so they are flexible.

Serve by topping a tortilla with the thick salsa, chicken, leafy topping of choice and cheese of choice.

YUMMMMMMM delicious!

Chocolate Spinach Protein Smoothie

I have a reason for not having a picture of this most decadent and delicious of smoothie recipes. I was thinking about photographing it and looked at it and thought, "Wow... this is kind of a sickly pea green color." I felt like Linguini on Ratatouille, "Why do they call it that? If you're going to name a food it should sound delicious! Ratatouille doesn't sound delicious. It sounds like rat, and patootie. Ratpatootie! Which does NOT sound delicious!"

I don't want to turn you guys away with a picture of sickly pea green substance in an awful orange colored cup. Yeah... not a good idea.

This color. In a cup. Not kidding.

But, seriously, this is my favorite smoothie of all time. It is smooth, delicious and VERY filling.

I buy organic spinach in the tubs at Sam's Club. ($4.39/lb for the organic baby spinach). It is cheaper if you can get it at Costco but only slightly ($3.99). The tub is pretty big and lasts quite a while. I also get my almonds at Sam's club. At $10.89 for a 3 lb bag you just can't find them cheaper ANYWHERE.

The xanthan and guar gums are optional. The smoothie works without them but they lend a creaminess that you can't beat. It makes the smoothie take on more of a soft serve ice cream texture. You can find them online or at a local store that carries spices in bulk. (Like Winco).

CHOCOLATE SPINACH PROTEIN SMOOTHIE

A Shayla Original

Serves 2 (or 1 if you are really hungry)

See bottom of recipe for substitution options

12 ounces unsweetened almond milk 

1/4 tsp Saigon cinnamon

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 large banana (very ripe)

1 huge handful baby spinach

1/8 tsp each xanthan and guar gum

2-3 cups ice

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

If you have a BLENDTEC or other high powered blender you can make your own almond milk very easily. Just put 12 ounces cold water in the jar, add 1/3 cup whole, nonsalted, nonroasted almonds, cinnamon, protein powder and the cocoa powder. Blend on WHOLE JUICE. Add the remaining ingredients and blend on SMOOTHIE.

I, personally, LOVE saigon cinnamon. You can get it at Costco or other bulk food places. If you are using normal cinnamon you might want to use a bit more since saigon cinnamon is a little bit stronger.

You can also make this without protein powder. Since I can't do sugar it is hard for me to find a protein powder that fits my needs. The only one I have found so far is Jillian Michael's Vanilla Cream Whey Protein Powder:

It is naturally sweetened with fructose and a little bit with stevia. I don't have problems with either of those so this is the ideal protein powder for me. However, they recently stopped carrying it at Sam's Club so until I can find it for a good price elsewhere or find a suitable replacement I have been making my smoothie without it. Since the protein powder lends an amount of sweetness to the smoothie on its own when I eliminate it I add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 heaping Tbsp stevia powder to my smoothie mix. If my banana isn't very ripe I add a little bit more stevia. It is wonderful either way.

This is the stevia that I use. If you use it be careful... the more you add the more of a bitter aftertaste it will have. A little bit goes a long way!

I made this smoothie this morning and gave some to my babies. My girl [A] said to me, "Mom, thank you for making this oh so delicious smoothie!" 

Happy blending!

All opinions on products listed this post are my own based on personal experience. I was not contacted by any of these companies to provide these opinions or compensated in any way. All pictures were obtained via Google Image Search on the web and Shayla's Kitchen makes no personal claim to them. 

QUESTION FOR MY READERS: Do you have a favorite protein powder? Send me a link to your favorite smoothie recipe or just send me the recipe itself!

Loves... Shayla