Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Archives for January 2014

Slow Cooker Ribollita (Italian vegetable soup).

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Party Foods, Soups, Vegetarian, Vitamix 2 Comments

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I grew up eating a very similar soup from my grandmother and aunt.  It was known as a peasant Italian soup.  Very inexpensive to make and uses up a lot of veggies that you have on hand.  Perfect!  My family is starting to show signs of colds and stuffy heads and I thought it was the perfect soup for dinner.  I load it up with a lot of veggies and garlic to help them feel better and clean out congestion, at least for a little while.  You can puree this soup, as I have or you can leave the veggies whole.  My purpose in pureeing is simply because my youngest daughter will sit and pick out the things she deems not edible.  Once blended, I can avert questions of ingredients and be sneaky.  You choose.  If I was making this for adults or even my older daughter, I would’ve left them intact because visually it’s more appetizing.

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— Knead to Cook

Flourless Peanut Butter Protein Muffins.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Product Review., Quick Bread, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 28 Comments

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It’s the new year and many people have made resolutions to eat healthier.  Have you?  I started removing a lot of flour/sugar and processed foods from my diet last year.  As a result I feel so much better, dropped 32 lbs and feel like my body operates more efficiently.  This year my family and I started to do yoga and signed up for a 40 day revolution – mind/body/spirit transformation.  Helping to mediate and clear your head.  Create pause before reacting to something and the food portion for the first week was removing refined sugar and white flour from your diet.  With that in mind, I created these muffins because after all… we still  have to eat.  These are so good and I added a new protein powder that a company asked me to review.  You can add or not add the protein in this recipe – it’s up to you.  Vegetarian. 
Yields 12 mini muffins.

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— Knead to Cook

Jalapeño Green Monster Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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I’m the girl that gravitates towards anything spicy.  I had a drink a few years ago at The Standard hotel in the Meatpacking District in NYC that revolutionized my thinking of the jalapeño.  I’ll admit, they are my weakness.  If you aren’t a fan of heat – trust me, pass this recipe by and look at my other smoothie recipes because this one isn’t for you.  I whipped this up today (Saturday) post early morning yoga, farmer’s market trip on my “rest” day from training.  I was craving something spicy to kick up my metabolism and ignite a fire in me.  I’ll admit, this smoothie did just that!

Funny story~ I made this just as my husband and older daughter were coming home from the yoga class they took and my husband took a big gulp of it, not knowing my ring of fire plan, and almost died!  Ha.  So it comes with a warning.  You can obviously control the heat by the amount of jalapeño you put in and if you seed it or not.  I went BIG and whole – all seeds in tact.  Again… think of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire playing in the background {insert evil laugh here}.  I’m addicted.  I’m a big fan of BluePrint juices.  This reminds me of my favorite one.  Get ready to jump aboard – if you’re a spice fan… you’ll never look back – I know I’m not!

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— Knead to Cook

Easiest Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Chili, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Party Foods, Wheat Free 2 Comments

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My husband made this dish on Saturday prior to our swim meet.  We recently got a new slow cooker that allows you to sauté in the insert and it makes life so much easier.  This recipe came about from what we had on hand and whipped up in under ten minutes before we were out the door.  Perfect for busy mornings and using up leftovers!  You can add or subtract what you have on hand to make this work in your kitchen.  This would be a great dish if you’re hosting a super bowl party of playoff game get-together.  Insanely easy!

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— Knead to Cook

Whole Wheat Coconut Carrot Muffins.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Gift ideas, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Pasta, Vegetarian 12 Comments

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If you follow my blog, you know I’m always pursuing new recipe creations that are healthy and good for my family.  Fabulously tasty muffins – a win!  Muffins that add to muffin tops – a loss!

I don’t use or gravitate towards ingredients that aren’t smart or healthy especially after losing 32 lbs myself in the last year.  I love products that don’t have trans fats, hydrogenated oils or cholesterol. 100% Taste.  0% Artificial Preservatives.

We have a very active family and I love to fuel that in the best way possible.  As I tell my kids, good in and good out.  Good foods fuel you efforts!

I created this recipe knowing I wanted to use coconut and carrots.  They are both packed with greats vitamins, fiber and minerals your body needs.  If you have decided to eat healthier in the new year or are continuing your dedication to being smarter about the food you make and consume, this recipe is for you.  These muffins are moist, delicious and packed with flavor – which will have your family coming back for more.  Plus make a great snacking option or breakfast on the go, brunch idea or a basket of these for a special gift for someone special.  I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® Deliciously Simple is not only the perfect topper for these muffins but works beautifully in cooking or baking equally.  You can use this product just as you would use regular butter eliminating a lot of the calories and fat.  Packed with 100% flavor with ZERO artificial preservatives!  A win-win in my book!  I was very excited to test this recipe out using this product.

Within 30 minutes of making a dozen of these muffins half are gone.  Snacks for school, breakfast en-route to work/school and a snack with coffee have already claimed 6.  I better go and grab one for myself before they’re gone!  Enjoy the recipe.  It yields 12 regular sized muffins.

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— Knead to Cook

Coconut Cookies.

by Filed Under: Cookies, Desserts, Snacks, Vegetarian 12 Comments

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I’m always working in the kitchen on a low sugar, healthier cookie for my family.  I find most cookies overly sweet and as a family, we try to reduce the consumption of refined sugar where possible.  On my countertop I always have my covered cake stand that is filled with muffins, bread, cookies or scones for snacking.  My dad has them with coffee, my kids grab them on the way out for a quick snack – so my goal is to make it as healthy as possible.  These turned out great and my kids don’t even miss the sugar.  These have more of a shortbread texture. A cold glass of coconut milk and a cookie for an afternoon snack… perfect together.

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— Knead to Cook

Oatmeal Apple Muffins.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Muffins, Snacks, Vegetarian 2 Comments

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Finally back to school/work last week and we get hit with yet another snowstorm and the school delay becomes a day off.  I knew I had to get myself back into the kitchen and start cooking again (it’s been a nice long holiday break) and I wanted to make something healthy to replace all of the Christmas cookies that have been stockpiled in my cake stand where I keep my treats for the family.  Now that the cookies have been removed, they were replaced with these healthy muffins and as I sit here 3 days later… I need to make more.  They are gone!  A favorite without even knowing they’re healthy.  Perfect snack for your new, healthier eating for 2014!

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— Knead to Cook

Chicken, Ham and Kale Soup.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Italian-inspired, Pork, Soups, Stocks/Broths, Wheat Free 2 Comments

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First before I get into the recipe at hand, I wanted to let you know that I have since deleted (it takes 14 days) my Knead to Cook Facebook page because they continually make it difficult for my posts (and other bloggers) to share recipes and photos.  Despite having over 70k fans only 1-2k were ever getting to see a post a time and managing my efforts and time – that wasn’t working.  I will continue to post on my website along with my Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest feeds so fear not.  Happy 2014!

I whipped this soup/stew or stoup (ha ha) up right after Christmas with the leftover ham that we had on hand.  You can always tell when you family tires of leftovers and it’s time to reinvent.  This recipe came to me on the elliptical at the gym.  Braising meat always brings out the best flavors and it is the easiest dinner ever.  I added some nutritionally packed kale and this dinner was out of this world.  I left my chicken pieces (I used cut up breasts) in large pieces but you can choose to either shred or cut smaller for more a soup feel.

Perfect for cold and chilly days like today when the kids are home from school and you need something to warm your bones.  Enjoy!

 

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— Knead to Cook