Spicy Black Bean Dip

February 3, 2012 by 6 Comments

Hey everyone!!  One of the appliances I love most in my kitchen is my food processor.  Hands down.  But really great food processors are pretty expensive.  We were very blessed to receive ours as a wedding gift.  Also it’s sometimes too big to do the job I need it for, like making small batches of dips and chopping small quantities of veggies.  Enter my new toy…

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The mini food chopper!  This bad boy was on sale at Target this past weekend- I think I paid $30 for it.  I had been thinking about getting one and as I saw this one on sale I knew it was the one!  I’ve had a super cheapy one before but it didn’t work well and I ended up throwing it away.  Spend a little money if you’re going to get something like this.  It’s worth it, I promise! 

This little food chopper is absolutely PERFECT to make the dip recipe I’m sharing with you today!  Also I hear there’s some kind of football game this weekend, and that it’s kind of a big deal.  So maybe you should make this to snack on during said game!

 

Spicy Black Bean Dip

(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 10 min

Keywords: food processor appetizer dip vegan vegetarian black beans Super Bowl

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1/4 small onion
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/4 t ground black pepper
  • 1 T nutritional yeast (optional but it adds a lovely flavor!)
  • 1/2 t chili powder
  • 1/4 t ground cumin
  • 1 T cilantro
  • big squirt of lime juice
  • 1-2 T water

Instructions

Place onion, jalapeno, and garlic in a food processor and pulse it until finely chopped.

Add black beans, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and squirt of lime juice and process until the dip starts to come together.

Stream in water until the dip meets desired consistency (I used 1 T).

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Sooooooo good!!

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And not too shabby in the caloric department either!

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Delish!  Enjoy!

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Southwestern Salad

January 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

This salad may be low calories but it is no slouch when it comes to filling you up!  Using salsa verde instead of an oil laden dressing will keep it light and all the natural flavors of the food can shine through!  Adding beans packs it with protein and the avocado gives us  some nice healthy fat (why not get your fats straight from the whole food, right?!). Plus all the amazing colors are oh so pretty!!!

 

Southwestern Salad

(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Keywords: salad vegan vegetarian salsa black beans Mexican Southwest

 

 

Ingredients (2 big salads)

  • 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped and rinsed
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh, canned or defrosted frozen corn will all work fine)
  • 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 avocado, diced
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup salsa verde (or more to taste)
  • squirt of lime juice
  • tortilla strips(or crushed tortilla chips) and cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Layer lettuce, beans, corn, tomatoes avocado, and onion in a very large bowl or into two large individual salad bowls.

Top salads with salsa verde, a squirt of lime juice, some tortilla strips and a little cilantro.

Serve immediately

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This is one that we’ll definitely be making again and again!!

Enjoy!

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Welcome to 2012!

January 1, 2012 by 3 Comments

Adios 2011- make room for 2012!!

2011 was an awesome year!  I got to go lots of places- Jamaica and Cozumel on a cruise, Austin(here, here and here), Philly(here, here, and here), New York(here and here), and San Francisco(here, here and here) and had a blast in all those destinations!  I got to make lots of new blogger friends (now real life friends!) at HLS and Foodbuzz fest!  I got really good grades in school (hello 4.0!), and I also got to quit my job working in retail to focus on school.  I also ran a 10K AND a half marathon!!  And I only got sick once this year (Bronchitis- I get it every year!)- shout out to all the fresh fruits and veggies(and vegetarian living) for giving me an amazing immune system!  All in all I have to say that 2011 was a pretty great year!!!!

But 2012…. it’s going to be even better!!!  I’m not going to get to travel as much (hubby is about to start a new job. It’s a promotion in title, but the money will be a lot less. Yikes.).  But traveling is not the end all to be all.  Getting to travel a lot does not determine my happiness even though it is fun.  So I’m okay with it! 

I’ve decided that I’m pretty much going to kick ass in 2012!  I’m not really into resolutions(they’re kind of lame honestly).  I’m not really much into goals and numbers either(I feel like some people spend their whole lives making all these goals for themselves that have all these specific numbers and deadlines that they don’t spend any time actually living their lives!!) 

But I do have a few things that I would love to do this year…

  • Learn to juggle (I know it sounds silly, but I’ve always wanted to learn!)
  • Get to my goal weight (I’m not really that far from my goal weight, but I honestly didn’t lose ANY weight this year.  I would lose a couple of pounds and then gain them back.  Up and down all year.  So. Freaking. Frustrating!  This is the year that I’m going to get it done!!)
  • Go skydiving (another thing I’ve always wanted to do- which will probably be my present to myself when I finally get to my goal weight!)
  • Keep being awesome in school (keep getting good grades and focus on doing some volunteering for some RDs)
  • Do better at balancing life (I was so focused on school this semester that I literally did laundry maybe twice all semester and my house constantly looked like a tornado blew through it.  I need to work on balancing my work better so that I don’t have to go through this again!  It’s really stressful!!)
  • Save more money (things are going to be really tight this year. I need to make priorities on my spending and we need to start doing a better job of saving.  If you ask me to go out with you I will probably have to say no unless I’m able to plan far in advance.  Please don’t be insulted.  I need to start doing what’s best for our future and not so much having fun in the moment. It would also do me well to remember when I spend money that I don’t have a job and I’m technically spending my husband’s money)

Hmmm… I think that’s all!!  Bring it on 2012!!!  Hope everyone has a great New Year- don’t forget to eat your black eyed peas (and maybe listen to them too for a little extra good luck- ya never know! Winking smile )

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Blueberry Glazed Donuts

December 1, 2011 by 5 Comments

There’s not much that’s better than a delicious donut.  Especially one that’s… healthy?  Wait, what’s that?  Donut?  Healthy?

Of course- and it’s all thanks to this!

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Now you can BAKE a donut.  You get to control the ingredients in your donuts.  And they’re baked, not fried so it won’t leave your tummy hurting (I have a pretty sensitive stomach and too much fat really does a number on my tummy!).

I got my donut pan on Amazon.  I originally got the regular sized 6-count donut pan.  Then I was browsing around Hobby Lobby one day and I noticed that they had donut pans too.  So I got one of the 12-count mini donut pans.  I’m having so much fun experimenting with different recipes for donuts!

First up is a blueberry glazed donut that will knock your socks off!  These donuts are low fat and vegan but don’t let that fool you because they’re amazing!!

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Blueberry Glazed Donuts
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:

For the donuts:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup Whole Wheat pastry flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup blueberries

For the glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 T non-dairy milk (depending on the thickness that you prefer for your glaze)

 

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

In a small bowl combine wet ingredients.

Add wet to dry and stir until just combined.

Carefully fold in blueberries.

Spoon mixture into a donut pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 12-13 minutes until donuts are firm and slightly brown.

Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.

For glaze mix together the confectioners sugar and milk and dip each donut into glaze.  Let donuts sit until glaze hardens. (NOTE: if you store these in an airtight container the glaze will melt so plan accordingly!)

 

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NOM!!

Enjoy!

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Weekly Weigh In: Week 11

September 3, 2011 by 11 Comments

Hey guys!!  I’m taking a break from the computer this weekend, but I did want to check in real quick and do my weekly weigh in.  Mostly because I had a really good weigh in and I’m super pumped about it!

Last week’s weight: 174.6
This week’s weight: 173.4

Change this week: –1.2
Total weight lost:  36.6 lbs

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Yipee!!!  I didn’t really have a stellar week or anything but I guess my body was just being nice to me.  Whatever- I’ll take it!!

This week’s weight watchers meeting was about being successful at the grocery store, which of course, I’m pretty great at!  I was able to throw lots of tips in for other members.  I couldn’t believe how many people went to the grocery store without a plan and then complained about how expensive groceries were! 

I thought I’d share a couple of the tips I shared in the meeting for a successful grocery shopping trip with you!

  • ALWAYS go in with a plan.  Do not go in without a list.  This is when you come out with a gazillion items and nothing to actually make for dinner. 
  • Stick to the basics.  Grocery shopping doesn’t have to be expensive!  We’re on a pretty tight budget- sometimes I’m able to leave the store for $40-$50 with a weeks worth of groceries.  Sometimes it’s a little more. (I don’t use coupons- they’re a pain in the butt to me, but if you can find some good ones utilize them.  Otherwise scour your circulars that you get in the mail and build your meals around what’s on sale that week!) The basics are fruits, veggies, beans, grains, nuts.  Most processed foods do NOT fall into the basics category and you don’t NEED them! 
  • Set a routine. This makes a grocery shopping trip easier.  Here’s my routine… on Saturday mornings I go to my weight watchers meeting, then I go to Barnes and Noble (I usually have an hour and a half to kill between my meeting and kickboxing and B&N is right by my gym) and sit in the café and have some coffee and do a meal plan and my grocery list for the week.  Then I go to kickboxing.  I hit up the grocery store on my way home.  This makes my life so much easier because it’s become part of my Saturday morning routine!

These are just a few tips. I’m sure you guys have plenty you can share with me too- let’s hear them!  I’m always looking for good tips for grocery shopping!!

Hope you guys have a great weekend- I’ll be back on Monday with another great Meatless Monday recipe!

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Filed Under: healthy living, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , ,
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