Sandwich ideas

Good afternoon! I write to you today with a full belly... not just from the lunch I ate (pic 1) but I have baby news! Adam and I are 4 months pregnant and super excited about this next chapter in our lives. Baby Glick will be making his appearance in September.

So my blog has taken a new direction! I look forward to sharing what I'm eating throughout my pregnancy (the first 3 months weren't so pretty) and one day soon enough I'll be making my own baby food too. I hope to be able to give you a little inspiration along the way whether you're pregnant, have a family, or are just feeding yourself.

When people find out I don't eat meat (and yes this means no chicken) they often ask, 'what do you eat?' Or, 'where do you get your protein?' Today I wanted to showcase a couple of the lunches I have made this week.

The first is what I would call a Mediterranean sandwich... open faced so you can see :)  It's quite simple, very quick, and most importantly delicious! It's hummus, cucumber, avocado, red bell pepper, and feta cheese served with an orange and some seaweed chips. I do admit to eating my fair share of potato chips and tortilla chips this pregnancy and so I decided to branch out and try some new chips to quench my crunchy salty craving. These are high in protein, low in fat, and worth a try. Check out ocean's halo seaweed chips. They have all different flavors.
*This sandwich would be excellent wrapped up in butter lettuce, a pita pocket, or a tortilla as well.

The second sandwich is one of my favorite go-tos. Here we have a mashed avocado spread (just add a little lime or lemon and some salt) with chopped hard boiled egg (two) and some cucumber slices served with an apple and salt and vinegar pop chips. Pop chips make a great alternative to a lot of other chips on the market and I buy the individual packs on amazon to keep my portions in check.
*This sandwich is also awesome on rice cakes if you have a gluten allergy or want a low-carb option.

Hope you enjoy these satisfying sandwiches as much and BG and I do ;)

Oatmeal-walnut-prune cookies

Last night we had Adam's parents over for dinner to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary which was 9/17. Adam has become the head chef our house and I'm mostly in charge of appetizers and dessert. This is what I decided to make for the sweet treat of the night :)

Dry ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup spelt flour (or whole wheat flour, barley flour, brown rice flour, unbleached all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup date sugar (or maple sugar or any sugar of your liking)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup safflower oil*

1/3 cup maple syrup 

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp molasses

about 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
about 1/4 cup prunes chopped
I didn't measure the walnuts or plums so do what you think is the right amount...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix.
3. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and mix.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix. Then add the chopped walnuts and prunes.
5. Form into cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes.

*I found the dough to be a bit oily but the cookies turned out perfectly. I do recommend using parchment paper because it makes for an easy clean up!

Juicing

I often get asked the question: 'which is better, juicing or blending?' My answer is I like them both, I think variety is the key, and long as you don't think of juicing as a replacement for veggies and fruit then you are golden! I mean tell me a better way to use your wilted kale?! My new favorite juice is kale + lime + celery + apple.

Pumpkin muffins

I'm currently on day four of a dairy-free diet because of some recent test results. So, I pulled out a good ol' cookbook, The Kind Diet, and made pumpkin muffins-- tis the season! The author of the book, Alicia Silverstone, is vegan and I've really been enjoying re-reading her book. I changed the recipe slightly so here it is:

Makes 12 muffins

Dry ingredients
2 cups spelt flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (no coco butter is not dairy)

Wet ingredients
2.5 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup date sugar (or sugar of your choice)
1 'egg' (1TBSP flax mill + 3 TBSP boiling water)
1/2 cup flax milk (or milk of your choice)
1/3 cup safflower oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with coconut oil (or oil of your choice). I recommend spraying your tins instead of using muffin liners.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix.
3. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl and mix.
4. Combine wet & dry ingredients & mix.
5. Fill muffins and bake for 25 minutes.
6. Taste the batter just to be sure :)
7. Set a timer and see how fast you can clean up.
8. No really do it-- Ready.Set.Go.

Vegetarian Chili Rellenos

This is a spin off the recipe from last October! Adam made these last week before we went to Santa Fe-- a little something to get us in the New Mexican spirit apparently. I thought it looked so pretty and he deserved a shout out! 

Eating our way through Santa Fe

Last weekend Adam and I went to Santa Fe for a belated birthday celebration with my parents. We enjoyed a lot of yummy food from Geronimos, Bouche, Vinaigrette (pictured) as well as Counter Culture and Café Pasquals. Mom made me my favorite chocolate chip coffee cake... are you drooping like I am looking back at these pictures? Can't wait to return in two months and have my siblings and nephews there too! 

Crab cakes

Well it's taken some time but we have finally found our crab cakes recipe. Not a lot of filler, just a heart crab patty-- seasoned and cooked to perfection.

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon mayo

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 large egg                               

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1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

2 cans fancy lump crab                               

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

 

-To prepare crab cakes, combine first 8 ingredients. Add panko and crab, tossing gently to combine. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
-Form 3 cakes
- Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil (preferably grapeseed or canola) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. -Add crab cakes to pan, cook 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden.