Sunday Afternoon Cooking

This past Sunday afternoon I turned myself into "Miss Betty Crocker" the vegetarian version. Ever since becoming a vegetarian just over 2 years ago, I am always on the lookout for some awesome yummy veggie recipes. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon an awesome healthy living blog which led me to a couple other blogs that are also all about fitness and healthy eating.

During the past couple of weeks I have been scouring these blogs for some new recipes, especially ones that don't take a lot of time to prepare/cook. The one blog that I found that contains a wealth of yummy recipes is from fANNEtastic food. The author of this blog is studying to be a Registered Dietitian and the recipes she has created offer a vast amount of vegetarian/vegan choices.

On Saturday I armed myself with an extensive grocery shopping list of items to make 4 recipes and hit up the local health food store. On Sunday, I declared myself to be on a cooking mission after my long run was complete. I had the apartment to myself that afternoon and was ready for action.

The first item on my agenda was to make some healthy granola bars to have as a mid-morning snack while at work.

5 Minute No Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Don't they look delicious?

All packaged up for easy portion control.

The granola bars didn't take any amount of time to make. I honestly think it took me longer to clean the bowls than it did to make them. In my version I used Almond Butter, Roasted/Salted Pumpkin Seeds, Hulled Sunflower Seeds, Goji Berries, Chia Seeds and Flaxseeds in addition to the other main ingredients. The only thing I left out was the Coconut. Not a big huge fan of it even though I cook with Coconut Oil and drink Coconut Milk.

The taste verdict? Absolutely freaking delicious! Manny has texted me at least twice this week telling me how much he loves these bars! A co-worker tried a little bit of one the other day and she immediately replied she had to go home and make them! I think I'll be making another batch of these this weekend. They are full of nutrition and make awesome energy snacks.

The next item on my agenda was to make a couple different meals to have as lunches this week.

#1 Lunch: Tuna Salad with a Healthy Twist

Wouldn't this be great in a wrap?

Again this creation took a matter of minutes to make. I wanted to increase the portion size  from individual so I used (2) cans of Sockeye Tuna (drained), (1) 6oz container of Chiobani Plain Greek Yogurt, (3) healthy squirts of Dijon Mustard, (3) Celery stalks and half a bag of Broccoli Slaw. I also included the Balsamic Vinaigrette. I ended up placing the tuna inside of Spelt Tortilla Wraps. I ended up getting 4 wraps out of this dish.

#2 Lunch: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Eat this warm or cold.

The only cooking involved in this recipe is the Quinoa and that takes only 15 minutes. I must have been having a brain meltdown from my long run that morning because I had a hard time trying to figure out the amount of dry Quinoa needed to yield 2 cups cooked Quinoa. I know, I know it should have been real easy to figure out from reading the portion size, etc. on the back of the package, but I truly think my brain was tired and what I thought was right actually yielded me at least double of what I needed. Not a big deal though. The extra was eaten by my very hungry boyfriend over a couple of meals.

I used all ingredients listed on the recipe except for the olives. As many times as I have tried olives, I have never liked them so they were booted from the recipe. I used a yellow pepper out of all the color choices in the market. In the past my tummy has never agreed with uncooked green or red peppers. So I chose yellow because to me they tend to be sweeter than the other two. Well let me tell you, this dish is delicious, warm or cold, but next time I will have to leave the pepper out of it. I just have to accept that my body cannot eat uncooked peppers. Next time I will substitute it with something more tummy friendly for me.

When all was said and done, everything I made took me only 2 hours, and that included clean-up time. I still have granola bars in the refrigerator, the Tuna salad was all eaten up by Wednesday and the Quinoa dish was gone by Tuesday evening. I think someone else in my house really enjoyed my Sunday cooking for the week.

Oh wait, didn't I say earlier that I was armed with 4 recipes when I went shopping? Well I ended up making Vegetarian Sloppy Joes for dinner on Sunday evening. This meal took just over 30 minutes to cook and super easy to make. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it all. Next time!

I think my Sunday afternoon/evening of cooking was a success. I am definitely going to try and make a better effort to allocate some time on Sunday's to prepare healthy meals for the week. In the past I always say I will, but now I am going to be putting it into action.

What's your favorite healthy recipe?