quinoa

On the 7th Day…There were Nuts and more

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Nuts Online was kind enough to send us (and one lucky reader!) their Vegetarian Sampler. This sampler gives you a taste of what Nuts Online has to offer from snacks to tea to proteins and minerals.

The veggie chips were a great mix. They had a sweet sort of flavor and made a great snack, especially the green beans! The anti-oxidant mix gave us the little kick we needed making our way around DC in between meals and were full of great nutrients!

The Hubz ate all but one  of the Turkish Figs- he was in love at first bite! He also devoured the Organic Raw Cacao Goji Energy Squares which he said tasted like a fudgey brownie- guess I can be glad he was eating these filled with super foods instead of brownies filled with oil and sugar!

We used the chia seeds and flax seeds in smoothies and on our cereal. And the quinoa was cooked up and eaten with beans and greens- my favorite!

This is sampler is a great way to see what Nuts Online has to offer and it’s yours to win!

TO ENTER: This giveaway is open until December 8th at 6am. This giveaway is open to U.S.  and Canadian Residents.

The Winner is:

1. Visit the Nutsonline.com site and tell me what you would most like to try. (required)

Additional Chances to win (PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY; also if you already do any of these ie. follow me on twitter/facebook, ect it counts so leave a comment).

  1. Subscribe to the NutsOnline.com Newsletter
  2. Follow NutsOnline.com on Twitter.
  3. Like NutsOnline.com on Facebook.
  4. Follow me on Twitter.
  5. Tweet about this giveaway “I want to win @cookveganlover @Nuts_Online Giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-1m5”
  6. Like Cook.Vegan.Lover. on Facebook.

Quinoa Stuffed Squash

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Over the last few weeks we have received a number of small carnival squash in our CSA and I have been attempting to find a delicious and creative way to use them  One of my girlfriends was in town and came over for dinner so I decided that I would make stuffed squash with sauteed kale and dijon balsamic roasted beets.

Quinoa Stuffed Squash

  • 4 small squash, Carnival or Acorn would work well
  • 1T olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper, small dice
  • 1 Small onion, small dice
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1t Italian Seasoning
  • 1t Salt
  • 1/2t pepper
  • 1/2t garlic powder
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth +2T AP flour, whisked together

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut the tops off the squash about 1 inch down. Scoop the seeds out of the squash and drizzle each with 1/4T of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Reserve the tops to the side. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes.

While the squash is baking- in a large skillet heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.  Toss in the onions and peppers in the oil for 3-5 minutes until soft.  Stir in the garlic and black eyed peas for a minute. Add in the spices, salt, pepper and vegetable broth mixture.  Heat until the sauce has thickened, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked quinoa.

Remove the squash from the oven and stuff until just slightly overfilled.  Place the tops back on and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes until the squash is soft, test with a tip of a knife.

A Yummy Day of Eating

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I know I have been pretty absent from my blog lately but I am working on getting back in the swing of things and the posts should start to flow again.  Hubby and I spent the day trying to be productive and yet relaxing and fun as well.  We started out with a trip to Plato’s Closet so that we could see how much dinero they would give us for our old clothes.  We made out pretty well so we treated ourselves to a huge veggie sandwich at Martone’s that was filled with veggies, hummus and tabouli it was massive so we got one to share, I wish I had taken a photo of it.  After a wonderful lunch we decided to go to a matinee and we saw Date Night which was absolutely hilarious!

After our relaxing lunch and movie it as time to get down to business and by business I mean shopping.  Grocery shopping that is! We picked up some great finds at Costco (greens, broccoli, mushrooms and Organicville no sugar added BBQ sauce). Then we were off to pick up a few more veggies and such for lunches.  We picked up this yummy treat to share, a little one serving container of Ciao Bella Sicilian Blood Orange Sorbeto:

For dinner I made a yummy dinner of baked BBQ tofu, roasted broccoli, green salad and garlic-saffron quinoa:

Baked BBQ Tofu

  • 80z of pressed tofu cut into 4 thin slices
  • 1/3 cup BBQ sauce of your choice (I used Organicville no sugar added)
  • 1T soy sauce
  • 3T water
  • 1t sirracha

Preheat oven to 425F. Mix the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, water and sirracha together and pour into a small baking dish. Place the tofu in the sauce and flip over a few times to coat.  Bake for 40 minutes, flipping half way.

Roasted Broccoli

  • 4 cups of broccoli
  • 1T olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to 425F.  Toss the broccoli with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place the broccoli in aluminum foil and create a closed packet. Place in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes.

Garlic-Saffron Quiona

  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2T olive oil
  • 10 strands of saffron
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 vegan chik’n bouillon cube
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2T nutritional yeast

In a small pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes.  Add the water, bouillon and saffron to the onion and garlic and bring to a boil.  Stir in the quinoa and return to a boil.  Cover and turn the heat down to medium, and cook 12-15 minutes until the water has been absorbed.  Take off the heat and fluff with a fork.  Add the nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste.  Let sit covered for 15 minutes before serving.

For dessert we were cravings something sweet and banana like:

Chocolate Banana Soft Serve

Ingredients

  • 2 frozen bananas broken into pieces
  • 1 T nutbutter (today I used Sunbutter)
  • 1/3-1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk

Directions

Place everything in a food processor (a blender really won’t work not even a Blendtec or Vita-Mix) and processes until fluffy smooth and softserve like.