4th of July/Patriotic

Overnight Pickled Jalapeño Radishes. Vegan.

September 4, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Appetizers, Breakfast, Brunch, Condiments, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Party Foods, Side dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Overnight Jalapeño Radishes by Knead to Cook.

Overnight Pickled Jalapeño Radishes.

If you know me, you know I’m a spicy freak. I also love pickles so after buying a bunch of lovely radishes at the farmer’s market- my brain went right to this favorited recipe that I’ve had for years. Pink radishes as my youngest calls them are a favorite. These are great in martinis, on meat or veggie burgers, on salads or straight out of the jar (how I eat them). You can control the heat with the addition or subtraction of the jalapeños. I hope you LOVE this recipe!

UPDATE: We used these on our tacos last night and they were soooooo good! The crunch, the heat – it was perfection. Just wanted to share another fun idea for these with you.
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— Knead to Cook

Watermelon Juice.

July 1, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Beverages, Brunch, Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix 2 Comments

The one thing I simply cannot control myself around is watermelon. My friends laugh hysterically at me because I often eat an entire watermelon in under 1 day. I keep picking at it and just can’t stop. My drug of choice. Could be worse! Due to it’s extremely high water content, it’s a low cal food packed with nutrients. It is also a great post workout beverage to help prevent sore muscles after they’ve been torn up. During working out, muscle cells rely heavily on glycogen, the storage form of carbohydrates in your muscles and liver. Consuming watermelon shortly after your workout can help replenish glycogen storage, refueling your muscles for your next workout. Watermelon helps prevent the formation of free radicals, known to cause cancer. And the lovely watermelon also contains vitamin A which helps skin and hair. You just can’t go wrong! Pair this up with the power- packed coconut water, which helps replenish electrolytes and packs in more potassium than bananas —- why would you drink anything other than this after your next workout?! Refreshing on a hot afternoon by the pool too or for your next party! Although perfect, you can always transform this into an adult beverage by adding vodka as option.

As the hot weather lingers, my appetite drops but my thirst goes through the roof. This is the perfect beverage to refuel and refresh.

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— Knead to Cook

Peach and Cucumber Salsa.

June 27, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Appetizers, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Dips, Fitness., Gluten Free, Mexican, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Raw, Salsas & Guacamole, Side dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 6 Comments

I love LOVE love salsa. Even better… summer fruit salsa! I don’t even need chips for this salsa and admittedly, I can down the entire bowl of it on my own. The mix of sweet, crunchy, spicy… and mix that with balsamic vinegar ~ a slice of summery heaven.

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— Knead to Cook

Garlic Basil Three Bean Salad. {vegan} {gluten free}

June 11, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Running/Races, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Happy Summer! Are your kids out of school yet? I had my youngest finish last week – with all A’s and one B+ (happy mom) and my high schooler finish her exams on Monday morning. Summer has arrived and I always have this weird apprehension having everyone home and the barrage of weird schedules take over. I’m an admitted control freak and when they’re in school, I have said schedule down pat. Now, we need to re-adjust and figure it all out. And my oldest is working now and my youngest has decided to take on two other sports and not swim. My only static schedule is my 5 am workouts. My sane time. It allows me some time for myself and to come home and refuel before the craziness ensues. My summer confession!
I feel neglectful of my blog adjusting to our new schedule. Prepping for my new fridge to arrive (which for some reason made me nest and clean my kitchen incessantly for hours) and then restocking that. My youngest is away this week. Time just seems to be flying by. Okay so I’m reigning it in today… new tasty summer recipe on board.

Okay so you’re at a summer picnic and the buffet of salads are laid out before you. What do you gravitate towards? I admit, I’ve never been into creamy salads (I never liked mayonnaise). I love bean salads! I recently had one at a swim meet that was so shockingly good I thought I would whip up my own version. Beans are an awesome way to get protein v. traditional sources. This recipe is so easy to make and only gets better when it marinades in the fridge for a day or two. My husband and I would eat this for dinner and for the rest of my family, I would serve it as a side dish. Easy and perfect summer dish. And use fresh herbs from your garden for extra summer freshness. You can sub out the basil for parsley or cilantro.

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— Knead to Cook

Cinnamon Rosemary Sweet Potato Baked Fries.

May 29, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Appetizers, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Potatoes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 2 Comments

We grilled on Memorial Day – it was sunny and absolutely perfect weather. Mid 80’s. We hit up the pool for a few hours while our daughter was lifeguarding (proud parents) and then came home to make a nice holiday feast. I had several sweet potatoes on hand that I wanted to use up along with some blossoming Rosemary in the garden. I thought that paired up with a dusting of cinnamon would be perfect. They turned out great and I wanted to share this super easy recipe with you all. Hope you enjoyed the holiday with family, friends and good food too!
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— Knead to Cook

Raw almond flax burger.

April 7, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Gluten Free, Nuts, Raw, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix 1 Comment

I received Brendan Frazier’s Thrive vegan nutrition guide and then his Thrive cookbook and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the recipes. Many I’ve shared on my blog. They aren’t necessarily just for the vegans or vegetarians but incredibly tasty options for those people trying to incorporate a few meatless menu ideas into their repertoire. I’ve made these burgers several times now – cooking them and leaving them raw and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how good they are and the in my humble opinion, the raw version is so much better than cooking. They whip up in seconds. In the cookbook they suggest that this recipe makes 2 burgers but I make about 5 sliders from this. They are incredibly protein packed and filling. Even my most staunch carnivore enjoyed them.

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— Knead to Cook

Muffin Pan Mini Apple Pies.

September 20, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Brunch, Desserts, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Pies, Snacks, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian 15 Comments

Get your fork ready…

Yesterday made me stop and really examine the last two weeks of my life. I’m unsure if I’ve been really blessed (I’m leaning towards this) or someone is out there gunning for me. Two weeks ago I had a fairly routine operation on my finger resulting in a case of staph infection that landed me in the hospital with IV antibiotics and another surgery to flush out any remaining staph bacteria. The worse case scenario, the docs told me was that I would have a pic line installed and have to go to the hospital every single day for IV antibiotics for 30 days. Thank heavens this wasn’t the case. I walked out of the hospital with oral antibiotics and have been healing up, dealing with the pain of the surgery. This, the docs said was because I was in great shape and I’m very healthy. Okay great. Plus, I have been granted permission upon discharge to continue training, something very important to me and my mental health. I gain great enjoyment from working out and it is a simple way of keeping the endorphins flowing and me happy. Win! Win! So yesterday I headed out about 5:20 am for a ten mile run. I’m training for a half marathon that I have yet to determine (yes, I need to get on this). As I just hit the 9 mile mark, very close to my home, a car that didn’t see me (because the driver wasn’t looking in my direction) hit me. I was fortunate to act fast and catapult myself over his hood and land on the other side of the car. It all happened in slow motion. I landed on my feet and was partially in shock that this happened and that he was driving away! He then must’ve got a glimpse of me running towards the car and stopped. His comment “I never even saw you.” Are you kidding me? I turned and ran home finishing my ten miles in record time and a bit in shock. Long story short, I walked away from a car hitting me. I remember my hands on the hood of the car and thinking is this for real? The engine roaring underneath my palms, I was blessed with the thought of jumping on the hood an getting legs out of the way. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried. So I’m going with blessed! I escaped two situations that could’ve left me very injured or even dead. So what did I do… I shook it off, relished my ten mile run and made mini pies for my family. One-handed I might add.

I really prefer to live under the radar but lately that’s been quite difficult!

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— Knead to Cook

Cherry Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. {clean eating}

July 29, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Desserts, Frozen Pops, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Vegetarian, Vitamix 5 Comments

Okay the dog days of summer are here and that calls for ice cream, right? Of course!

My clean eating journey continues but that doesn’t mean I can’t have ice cream (or at least a healthier version of it). PLUS no ice cream maker required! I love that this creamy “ice cream” hits the sweet spot plus bananas are filled with fiber and potassium, cherries are a natural anti-inflammatory fruit (we can all use that) and the creaminess… oh you had me at the first spoonful. Great treat for the kids too! Also a perfect way (without making banana bread) to use up ripe bananas. Go grab your bananas and get them into your freezer~ you’ll be so happy you did!

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— Knead to Cook

Triple berry pie.

June 24, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Desserts, Featured, Fruit, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Pies, Vegetarian 20 Comments

It’s berry season!!! This, in my mind, is a BIG reason to celebrate. Everyone in my family can seriously just eat and eat berries without ceasing. Today, on our way home from swim practice I thought we would swing by our favorite berry farm to see what goodies they had to sell. My youngest and I were quite pleased to find black, red and blue berries. I have to admit, we started eating them on the way home… lack of restraint for certain. So then my mind started racing… a berry buckle, cobbler, tart… no let’s make a pie! Triple berry sounded lovely. I rushed off to the store and bought my very special Irish butter and organic cream (needed for whipping later) and I got to work. Now I have to admit, I have been eating and preparing cleaner dishes for my family however there are just some recipes that I cannot “healthify” (yes I know, not a real word) but there are just some recipes that you don’t tinker with, plain and simple. This recipe for crust is very old and I cherish it. It is certainly indulgent but not something you eat everyday – it’s just that…. a summer treat. Perfect for the 4th of July too!

I love the rustic looking crust. Not perfect but unique to itself. It smells heavenly and now I better go and whip up some fresh whipped cream for topping this beauty.

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— Knead to Cook

Strawberry Peanut Butter Popsicles.

June 5, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Desserts, Frozen Pops, Gluten Free, Ice cream, Smoothies, Vitamix, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Okay, I had to do it. I took the leftover smoothies I had from yesterday and froze them with tons of fresh strawberry slices inside for the extra bonus. The kids are gobbling them up and they are packed with vitamins and protein! Love that! These are super easy to do and you can find pop molds just about anywhere really inexpensively! Great for parties too! Last day of school and I really think I would be happy eating watermelon for dinner all summer long. But I guess I better head off and figure that out because my family wouldn’t share my watermelon dinner passion. The weather is lovely -so grilling it is!

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— Knead to Cook