A Day from Scratch

Concierge cooking - Tailored nutrition

Homemade Granola Bars

by Filed Under: Home, Sweets, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

I love a good granola bar, they are perfect for a grab and go snack, and in my crazy life right now that is perfect. The only problem with store bought granola bars is that they are full of chemical crud and ingredients that our bodies don’t need. Aside from that there are the expensive-organic bars, but who wants to shell out money on that; I’d much prefer to spend mine on a bottle of vino. So, I thought, why wouldn’t I try and make homemade granola bars. There are so many different variations you could choose but I decided on a “superfood” granola bar.

What you’ll need: 2 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats, 3/4 cup whole raw almonds, 3/4 cup dried cherries (not pictured,) 3/4 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut, 1/2 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds, 2 Tbsp. Flaxseeds, 1/2 cup of honey, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and coconut oil.

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix the oats and almonds on a large baking sheet and bake, stirring once, until they are golden brown.

 

When they are just about done, add the sunflower seeds to the pan to allow them to slightly roast.

 

Once everything is golden brown, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Turn your oven down to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, brush a large bowl generously with coconut oil. Place coconut, cherries, and flaxseeds (I used ground because it’s what I had, but if you have whole those would work great too.)

 

 

 

Once the oat/almond mixture is cool add them to the bowl as well.

 

In a medium saucepan bring 1/4 cup coconut oil, honey, sugar and salt to a boil.

 

Only let it boil for about 1 minute and then immediately pour over the oat mixture.

 

Using a heat proof spatula, stir the mixture until everything is evenly coated.

 

With coconut oil, grease down a baking pan 13×9 and carefully pour the mixture and spread evenly. Make sure there aren’t any gaps.

 

Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees, after 10 minutes rotate the pan and bake for another 10-15 minutes. When they are done your kitchen is going to smell deliciously sweet from all of the coconut. Mmmm Mmmm

 

Let it cool COMPLETELY, you want to make sure that everything holds together. Once they are completely cooled take a sharp knife and slice down into bars. I swear these are better than any store bought granola bar I have ever made. You could also crumble it up and just have plain ole granola to top over some yogurt. Just store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

 

Happy eating!

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

by Filed Under: Home, Vegetarian 3 Comments

For the past three and a half weeks my days have revolved around learning about meat: how to select it, how to care for it, how to make it appealing and satisfying. Isn’t there a class like this for dating? No? Damn.

When I get home from school and begin thinking about what I’m going to cook for dinner the last thing I want is more meat. So I brought back into the kitchen rotation these yummy enchiladas. I have been making these enchiladas for many many years and they seem to be my go to meal when I want something easy and also healthy.

What you’ll need: 1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed; 1 15 oz can of black beans rinsed and drained, 1 package of taco seasoning mix, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sour cream (I used greek yogurt as a sub) 8 tortillas, 1 can of enchilada sauce, 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green scallions.

 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Then in a skillet heat the spinach, black beans, taco seasoning, and water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it lightly simmer for 8-10 minutes.

 

 

After about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat and add in 1/2 cup of the sour cream, or in this case greek yogurt.

 

Now with the remaining ingredients we shall “ensamblar” or assemble the enchiladas.

 

On each tortilla, spread 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce, about 1/3 cup of the spinach mixture, and 1 heaping tablespoon of cheese.

 

Roll up each tortilla placing the seam-side down in a baking dish coated with some Pam.

 

Spread about 1/2 cup of remaining enchilada sauce over the top

 

Cover these bad boys up with foil and bake them for about 15 minutes.

 

Then, uncover and garnish with the remaining cheese and back for about 5 more minutes.

 

Sprinkle the green onion on top and serve with the remaining yogurt.

 

I hope you enjoy ’em as much as I did and the leftovers are great!

How to: Spaghetti Squash

by Filed Under: Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

I have been a fan of spaghetti squash for quite some time, it is really easy to make and perfect to sub in for pasta noodles when looking for a healthy meal. My mom keeps asking me to show her how to make spaghetti squash, so I figure why not show her here!

In the store you will find spaghetti squash in the produce section, duh right? They are yellow in color and are about the shape of a football.

What you’ll need: one spaghetti squash and a touch of butter (you can also use olive oil)

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, start by cutting the butts of the squash.

Then with a sharp knife slice right down the middle. Be careful as they are tough.

Then just like a pumpkin, remove the seeds from the inside. I’ve never tried toasting the squash seeds like a pumpkin, but maybe I should experiment with that. hmm…..

Then smear a touch of butter on the insides of the squash. After he’s all buttered up place the squash face down on a baking sheet. Again, I cover mine with foil just for the easy clean up.

Now put the squash into the oven for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Be careful, it’s going to be might hot.

Once it’s ready the fun can begin. With a fork simply scrape from the top to bottom and little spaghetti like strands will pull away.

Keep going until all you have left is the shell.

Then serve it up! You can top it with marinara sauce, or serve it with some butter and herbs, the possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

 “I’ll Fly Away” Vern Gosdin

“The Way It Goes” Gillian Welch

“Stars” Grace Potter

Portobello pizza goodness

by Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Let’s have a conversation about Pizza. I feel like I was an Italian in another life, I love pizza, I love it so much and in all forms! Now I know that pizza is far from healthy and should be an indulgence so I have started getting creative with the way I satisfy my pizza cravings…

Enter the portobello mushroom pizza.

These mini pizzas are delicious and healthy and perfect for Sunday night pizza cravings.

What you’ll need: 2 portobello mushrooms, bunch of parsley, Juice of 1 lemon, half an onion, half a shallot, 2 garlic cloves, 2 roma tomatoes, bunch basil, and unpictured parmesan cheese.

First start by getting your mise en place set. Pronounced (Mees ahn place) Mise en Place is a french culinary term for “everything in it’s place.” To have everything ready to go before you start cooking. So mince up your garlic, shallot, onion and tomatoes and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a saute pan, add in a touch of olive oil

Suet (to sweat) your onions in the pan until they start to look translucent.

Once they start to cook down, add in your tomatoes.

Let the onion/ tomato mixture go on medium heat for a few minutes.

Then add in the garlic, shallot and lemon juice.

and a touch of salt

While that cooks down we can prep the basil. I like to either pick the basil bits with my fingers or chiffonade the basil.

To chiffonade basil start by stacking up a few leaves.

Roll the leaves into each other.

And slice them thinly.

Cutting your basil this way, rather than just a rough chop, helps to prevent bruising. Once, the basil is all sliced up, add it to the pan.

Now we are going to stuff the mushrooms…

Start by pulling the stems off and scooping out the membrane. Do not rinse the mushrooms, if you have dirty mushrooms just take a paper towel and rub them down.

You’ll see me line my baking sheets with foil alot. I like to do this for the simple fact that it makes for easier cleanup.

Now, fill the mushrooms with the tomato/ onion mixture

Here’s where they start the pizza transformation… top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Pop these bad boys into the oven for about 12 minutes. While they are baking mince up some parsley to top ’em off when they come out.

After about 12 minutes, remove the pan of yummies, top with the minced parsley and enjoy! I chose to enjoy with a glass of sauvignon blanc, but to each his own.

One of my favorite things about cooking at home is turning on some music and getting lost in the motions. So occasionally I’ll include a few songs that were on my cooking playlist…

“Merry Go Round” by Kacey Musgraves

“What’s Been Going On” by Amos Lee

“Dream” by Priscilla Ahn

and of course… “You Can Call Me Al” Paul Simon