quinoa pesto + zucchini noodles

Working with raw foods for Mana Health Foods deli I was introduced to the pesto zucchini noodle dish. It is so simple, raw, and refreshing. Adding cherry or grape tomatoes adds a fresh zing while the avocado smooths it out and fattens it up. It was always just a raw dish to me until I found this blog post by Simply Quinoa. Adding quinoa to the mix was a serious game changer for me. It isn't a raw pasta dish anymore but I feel like it is much more complete and filling, something I can make at home for my hungry man of a husband.

This dish is great for a quick dinner (after a late surf maybe or a summer picnic?) or to pack for lunch! As with anything raw though, it is best if eaten right away!

quinoa pesto + zoodles

 the pesto:

•  2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro 
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup spinach or kale
• 1/3 cup walnuts

You can play with the amounts of herbs and greens in this recipe, this is my go-to ratio but it also depends on what I have on hand! 5 big cups of any kind of herbs and greens should do the trick! Blend all ingredients except the walnuts in a food processor until finely (I mean finely) chopped. Add the walnuts and process one minute until smooth.

the rest:

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup green onion

I have a julienne peeler to noodle my zucchinis but a spiralizer will work too. After noodling both zucchinis add the quinoa and all of the pesto, combine completely (I like to use my hands to massage everything together, damaging the zoodles as little as possible).

Chop the tomatoes, avocado, and green onions. You can toss these right in or just serve them on top, either way it's a winner! A bigger bang than the raw version but still fresh, light, and delicious!

This pesto recipe is extremely versatile. Try it with real pasta, a potato salad, or the sauce for a pizza.

pumpkin spiced muffins

Next week is finals week! Ahhh! I have all of my tests on Monday, which is a good and a bad thing. A good thing because I get them all done in one day, the first day of finals week, but a bad thing because I have three big tests all back to back! So, I have been studying my brain out. Fortunately I found time to take a baking break :)

These vegan pumpkin spice muffins are really more like cupcakes: sweet, soft, moist, and spongy. A treat well deserved when hours upon grueling hours are being spent over the books. I ate two immediately. And I don't feel bad about it. I also ran six and a half miles this morning, so I was in need of a sweet treat to fuel my body and my brain.

This recipe is only slightly adapted from Apple of My Eye. I just substituted some of the sugar for maple syrup and cut down on the oil. They turned out amazing, the perfect pairing with a nog coffee (coffee with soy nog- one of the best things about this time of year- nog season).

pumpkin spiced muffins

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup plain almond milk
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl whisk together all wet ingredients, spices, and sugar. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly with coconut oil. Fill wells to 3/4 full. Sprinkle with desired toppings -- pumpkin seeds, coconut, pecans, walnuts, etc.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, poke with a toothpick or knife to check. If it comes out clean they are done! Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

five ingredient peanut butter cookies

I had a crazy craving for peanut butter cookies the other day! It was so weird because I haven't had a peanut butter cookie in years. Actually, that's probably why, once I got them into my head, I couldn't get them out. So, naturally, the first thing I did when I got home was make peanut butter cookies. I don't bake that often so I didn't have much for baking supplies. It ended up working out miraculously with the ingredients that I had on hand and that crazy craving was satisfied. These are so simple and quick that I have already made them again! The second time was to accompany some blackberry chia seed jam, a pb&j dream.

five ingredient peanut butter cookies

1.  1 cup oats (or oat flour)
2.  1 tsp baking soda
3.  1/4 tsp salt
4.  1 cup peanut butter
5.  1/4 cup maple syrup

Grind oats in a food processor or blender into a flour. This was my solution for not having any flour, but if you have oat flour, or any other flour you want to try, do it! Let me know how it works! I love using oats and oat flour because they have such a mild flavor. Add the baking soda to the flour and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the salt, peanut butter, and maple syrup. Whisk together until completely combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time. By the last bit the dough will be very crumbly but I just used my hands, I love using my hands.

Roll dough into 1" balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten balls with a fork, criss-cross style. They won't expand so don't worry about the cookies being too close together.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 8 minutes. Let cookies cool completely before transferring from baking sheet. Trust me on this one or you'll have cookie carnage.

These cookies are crumbly and melt in your mouth, just as a peanut butter cookie should be.

As for this brilliant pb&j combo going on here, you can find a recipe for strawberry chia seed jam here, but use whatever berries you want!