Hummus-Spinach Dip

This is so good, it's dangerous. Like, I almost feel sorry for posting it. How easy and how delicious, it just shouldn't be allowed! I apologize in advance. The original recipe made the hummus from scratch, but until I get a food processor, I won't be doing that.

Ingredients:
Hummus (16 oz container)
Spinach (about 2 big handfuls, roughly chopped)
3/4 cup Cheese (I used mixed Mexican, but you can use your favorite)
.......That's seriously it. I told you, I'm bad!

I am eating this with middle eastern-whole-wheat flatbread but you can use chips or lavosh or pita or veggies, the sky is the limit here. Let's get started!

Hummus in the bowl, check!

Spinach in the bowl, check!

CHEESE in the bowl, CHECK! (oops sorry, I get so excited when cheese in involved!) Only put 1/2 cup in now. The rest goes on later.

Now mix it all up like your life depends on it. While singing Tegan and Sara. Oops, nope that's just me again :)

Press in a casserole or baking dish. Use the rest of the cheese sprinkled on top.  Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

I'm sorry.

I really am...

Potlucks will never be the same again! Muahahaha. And in the grand scheme, this DOES have less fat then the typical artichoke-spinach dip made with cream cheese. Right? Forgivable?

Yea, forgivable. :) Eat up!



From my heart to yours, enjoy!

End of the world Latkes! (Baked)

So today, the world was supposed to end, or something. It was actually a beautiful day here in Long Beach, but alas, no Apocalypse. 

Truth be told, if it WAS the end of the world, I'd deep fry these like there was no tomorrow! (Ha, excuse my geeky humor) But I baked these, to make it healthier.

Also I want to dedicate this post to my Daddy, who taught me about Latkes, and Challah, let me light a Menorah next to the Christmas tree when I was kid. I had an interesting, mixed childhood. 

So here goes!

Ingredients: (this recipe makes a muffin tin with 12, you can double or triple it if you have more hungry people!)
1 large potato
1/2 Onion
1 TBS Flour
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Applesauce to garnish
Plain Greek Yogurt for garnish (typically sour cream, but this is a HEALTHY.....ish blog)

Peel the potato and grate it up along with the onion Drain the water out best you can. Then add flour, egg, salt and pepper. 

 Olive oil up a muffin tin and distribute evenly.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Then let them cool for about 5 minutes before taking them out. I couldn't decide between Apple Sauce and the Yogurt.....so I picked both!

YUMM.

Ready for another close up?

And that's it. Thanks Mom and Dad for feeding me delicious things from your backgrounds, and exposing me to all kinds of delicious foods.

Happy Holidays everyone, from my heart to yours, take care!!

<3

Alex's Pre-Spartan Race Lasagna

I know I've made lasagna before, but this one is better. So I don't care :) I'd blog lasagna everyday if I could!

Tomorrow the boyfriend is running in the Spartan race. Is he crazy? Probably. Am I going to watch? YES!

So to help him carboload before the big event, I made lasagna (his fave). Only whole wheat. With veggies. Mmmmm.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat, no boil lasagna noodles
Grated Mozzarella cheese
Skim-Ricotta
About 2 cups veggies (I used mushrooms and yellow squash. Why? They were in the fridge)
About 2 cups spinach (optional)
About 1 cup Morningstar veggie crumbles
Marinara Sauce (whatever kind you'd like)
1/2 onion
Garlic
Olive Oil (surprise, surprise)
Butter, dairy or vegan, doesn't matter because this recipe isn't vegan, but I prefer vegan butter. 
About a tablespoon of pesto (I threw this in last minute so it isn't pictured, sorry!)

Preheat oven to 450. Then gather your ingredients.

Heat up the butter and Olive Oil

Chop up onion and garlic...

Throw in to heat up, this is always my favorite part because it smells sooooooo good.

Chop up veggies..quick! You can do this earlier, but I like the suspense..

When super fragrant, throw these in too. And the morningstar crumbles. Stir for a few minutes, then put in spinach. And Pesto.

Maybe I'm a cheater because this makes everything delicious, shhhh.

Back to the cooking!

Warm until barely wilted. Barely.

Take off heat. Start layering up! Little bit of Olive Oil at the bottom and then noodles, then sauce.

Veggies.

Cheeseyyyyy

Continue until out of veggies, I don't want to say how many times because maybe your pan is wider than mine. I don't know. Finish up with cheese on top!

See you later, gorgeous! Bake for 40 minutes, covered, then uncover and bake for another 20. Oh boy.

The lighting isn't that great, but here it is plated, with a glass of sparkling apple cider (can't drink before running a race!)

This is my way of wishing the very best of luck to my crazy love in the Spartan Race tomorrow!
(By the way, I got the Spartan stamp of approval!)


From my heart, to yours!

-Sharon Jeanette

Gratitude, and Lemon-Rosemary Water

I know Thanksgiving is done and fading into a distant memory already. I know that in our society, we tend to quickly forget our bountiful living in pursuit of the best deals for Christmas presents. 

But this year, I'm trying to pause, breathe, and enjoy the winter. No easy task, especially for me right now. I am no longer enjoying school, I am not pulling in much money and my job is on a time limit, and my immediate future is extremely unclear.

But then I remember all the information I have gathered through my years. All the Yoga Sutras, 4 Agreements, Ancient Toltec Philosophy, Law of attraction, positive thinking, everything comes flooding in until I'm drowning in Zen. And yet I am still nervous, anxious, and dissatisfied.

Then a few simple words from Dr. Usui come into my awareness, almost as if whispered into my ears that I am clutching in useless attempt to block out the outside world. (Dr. Usui founded modern day Reiki).

Just for today, I will not worry.

Just for today, I will not anger.

Just for today, I will be grateful.

I will earn my living honestly, and treat everyone with kindness.

(*Note: There are so many versions of Dr. Usui's words, I kind of just gathered what spoke to me. Google search for more!)

And no, the skies didn't open up and shower me with gold and rainbows. 

But I did start thinking of what I DO have. I have a bed to sleep in. I have healthy food to eat and the knowledge to feed my body well. I have a loving family. I am loved by an amazing man. I have a passion and a purpose and I am slowly but surely treading the path towards expanding it into my own business. I have an education and the opportunity for more education. I have my senses and my mind and my body and my breath. 

In short, I am extremely fortunate. 

Things aren't always stable, and things that we have may come and go and it may seem as if the world is ending sometimes. I can't offer solutions, all I can do on this day is urge my dear friends and family to stop and smell the candy canes and pumpkin spice this holiday season, give your loose change to the people standing outside stores ringing bells and telling you to have a happy holiday, and if you find yourself caught up in all the price tags and gaudy glitter garlands, take a moment for yourself and take a big giant breath and think of what you're grateful for.

And if, just for today, you want a break from Pumpkin Tea and Pumpkin coffee and pumpkin lattes and need something refreshing, try some lemon rosemary water. Just lemon, a sprig of rosemary, and filtered water. No recipe needed, just a few moments!

So much love from my heart to yours!

-Sharon Jeanette

Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I love the idea "less is more", and it could not be more accurate in this super simple recipe. You could add a million more ingredients or slabs of butter to your sprouts, but it truly isn't necessary :)

Ingredients:
1 Stalk Brussels Sprouts
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (mine had thyme, basil, parsley, etc)
1/2 Lemon
4 Veggie Bacon strips (I used morningstar brand)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Grab your stalk! You could, of course, just buy them single but where's the fun in that?

Take them off the stalk, cut off the bottom of the sprouts and slice them in half. Rinse well!

Lay on a towel to dry and mix the Olive Oil, S&P, and spices up in a bowl. Once the Brussels are dry put them on a baking sheet and toss in the oil until they all have a thin coat.

Place in oven for 5 minutes! After 5 minutes, take them out and squeeze the lemon juice over the Brussels, and cut up some slices if you'd like to throw in the pan.

Put back in oven for 5 more minutes. In the meantime, crumble up the veggie bacon and cook until slightly crisp.

Take out Brussels and toss in the "bacon" bits. Put back in oven for 5 more minutes.

Super simple, delicious, seasonal. Nothing better :)

This recipe is perfect because it's cheap, seasonal, and full of veggies. I made a lot so I might put the leftovers into a pasta dish later. These would be so perfect for a potluck.

Yummmm :)

Enjoy friends! From my heart, to yours <3

Leek and Chickpea Soup

This is so simple and so yummy! Figures that I've been wanting to make it all week, with the nights getting chillier, and I go to make it tonight and it's 90 outside! But, the evening was still crisp enough to enjoy some soup :)

Ingredients:

1 Leek

1 can Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 Carton Veggie broth

Some freshly chopped garlic

Olive Oil

Vegan butter spread, I used Earth Balance

Black pepper and a pinch of salt

Bread, for dipping!

Soooooooo easy. 

Chop up the white parts of the leek, put into a colander and rinse thoroughly, sometimes dirt gets stuck in between the layers. Dry on a paper towel. 

Warm the pot and melt some of the veg butter with some olive oil, no more than a tablespoon of each, and when melty through in the garlic and leeks

When they start smelling amaaaazing, throw in the chickpeas. Drain the water from the can first ;)

Mix until toasty!

Add Veggie broth and maybe a little water

Heat over medium flame, then cut up some bread, spread some butter on it, pour yourself a bowl and enjoy!

Much love, from my kitchen to yours!

Namaste!

-Sharon Jeanette :)

Tofu/veggie/thai curry with coconut brown rice

So I haven't been feeling great lately, between a toothache and no sleep and miscellaneous other problems. The weather has been nice though, finally there's a chill in the air and I brought out my boots :)

So, this blog seems more food than yoga based, maybe I'll make some changes, after this post. And then after a nap.

ANYWAY! I came home on my lunch today and made this super easy, amazing comfort food. Happy :)

I'll call this....Oh I don't know! Tofu/veggie/thai curry with coconut brown rice. Not super catchy, but at least you know what you signed up for!

Ingredients:
A block of Tofu, firm
Green peas, about 3/4 cup, I used frozen from TJ's
Any other veggies, I used some leftover bell pepper scraps
Olive oil and Garlic (duh)
Soy Sauce (just a splash)
Brown Rice
Coconut Cream
Any sauce you please, I used Thai Curry from TJ's (pictured below)

Start with the rice, I used half water and half coconut cream, so one cup of each and one cup of rice. Bring to boil then lower heat and simmer.

Then saute up some garlic and olive oil until it smells amazing. Add tofu and brown for about 5 minutes, then add chopped veggies and peas. Yum.

I added about a Tablespoon of soy sauce and about 1/3 a cup of this sauce:

 When the rice is done, spoon some veggies over and enjoy!

This is just what I needed today.

Take care everyone, I'm doing level 2 Reiki Training this weekend, expect to hear about that!

Love,
-Sharon