I love Moroccan food and flavors. It is also a favorite cuisine of mine even though I don’t get to cook Moroccan food as much as I would like. Today I figured I try to incorporate ingredients and spices that resemble that type of cuisine and see how it works. To my surprise, rather well for salads.

By adding cumin to the dressing, as well as using dates and chickpeas was enough for me to give the salad the Moroccan flavor I was looking for. I truly love cumin so this salad was totally up my alley. A very simple yet delicious salad.

So today is mother’s day and to be honest I have nothing especial planned. Probably go to the gym, bake a cake and prepare a few blog posts since I will be going to school next week and I have to get all my posts scheduled prior to starting.

To be honest the only thing I want in this world is to keep healthy and grow old to be able to see my kids develop into good human beings. I would like to travel more, have more flexibility with money by having a healthier bank account and perhaps have a a bigger home, however, to be honest, these are things that I don’t strive for or concentrate on because there are far more important things.

Being nice and compasionate, putting positive things out onto the universe and so forth is what I strive for.

Anyhow, I hope all the mother’s out there have a wonderful especial day. Perhaps I should have baked a cake or made something more indicative of the day but I think this salad is fine with me so I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Moroccan buckwheat salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buckwheat
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 oz fresh spinach, chopped
• 6 oz cooked chickpeas
• 6 pitted dates, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 oz fresh cilantro, chopped
• pepper flakes, optional

Dressing

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp celtic salt

 

Directions:

Cook buckwheat according to package instructions and let it cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl add the salad ingredients together with the buckwheat and set aside.

In a glass jar mix the dressing ingredients and pour over the veggies. Combine and serve immediately.

NOTE: You can quinoa, farro or pearl couscous for this recipe.

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I really didn’t know what to call this dessert. The bottom part is kind of soft, just like fudge, and the top part, well hard since it is melted chocolate that has been added for the top layer to harden. Either way I though these little square things to be just great.

I must worned you, theis fudge contains chickpeas, however, you will not be able to tell or taste them at all. I used them for added protein and fiber and I think they make the fudge even better.

For my first time around making these I made a slight mistake. My chocolate top layer was so think that I couldn’t chop the darn fudge easily at all. Make no mistake, they were a bit messy to cut through, but worth every bite. I have adjusted the recipe accordingly so that you don’t come to the same mistake I made, so you are safe!

I added a few hazelnuts and shredded coconut over the top for the sake of taking pictures. They looked much more attractive that way however you can omit that step if you like.

My European holidays are coming to an end. We will be going back to the US on Wednesday. I am sad and happy at the same time, mostly because I have a few great things waiting for me. Goodies that I have ordered, new floors that were replaced while I was away, but most importantly, to get back to my kitchen.

I have a long list of goodies to make so stay tuned for the next weeks to come :-)

Enjoy!

Here you can see the bottom layer. Just make sure you press it down before placing the melted chocolate over it. Also make sure you use foil paper for easy release when its time to cutting the fudge.

I used a 6×6 square baking pan. You may also noticed hat my chocolate layer was rather thick. Mine was literally a mistake. I should have used a lot less because when I took the fudge out of the fridge it was really hard to cut through. The recipe has been adjusted so that you don’t encounter this problem though :-)

Peanut butter and chocolate fudge - Gluten free

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 12-14 pieces

Total Time: 20 minutes max!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic peanut butter
• 20 pitted dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats, gluten free
• 1 cup drained cooked chick peas
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1-2 Tbsp unrefined sugar, optional
• 6 oz dark chocolate chips

 

Directions:

Line a 6x6 square pan with foil paper and set aside.

In your food processor add the dates and pulse until they are paste like and smooth. Place them in a bowl or a plate and set aside. Add the chick peas with the milk and pulse until smooth. Add the peanut butter and dates to the food processor and pulse for another 10 seconds or so. You will have a paste like consistency batter. Add the oats and pulse until they are well incorporated and they have reduced in size some what.

Place this mixture in the prepared pan. Flatten with a spatula. On a double boiler, or microwave, melt the chocolate. Spread melted chocolate over the fudge mixture. At this point you can leave it as is or add some chopped nuts, shredded coconut or any other topping of your choice.

Refrigerate until mixture has harden. Remove fudge from pan and unpeeled the foil paper. Cut into squares and store in the refrigerator.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 12 pieces

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Who doesn’t like humus? I don’t know any one who doesn’t.

This past thanksgiving, thanks to my sister in law who bought it, I tried basil humus for the first time. It was from my favorite store, Trader Joes’.  Although it was made with white beans it tasted superb so I figured, I have to make it.

I have made humus many times before, so I thought making this version should not be hard. On this version I did use Tahini, which gave the humus a deep toasty flavor.

You can also check my other version of humus, sun dried tomato humus, which is under appetizers. Now, I do use water to make the humus consistency better. You can use olive oil instead but by using water you decrease the calories, plus the cost :-)

On any event, I thought this was pretty good, so I used it on some salmon sandwiches I made today. I will post the recipe on the sandwiches soon.

Enjoy!

Basil Hummus

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients:

2 1lb can of chick peas, drained, do not get organic the consistency it is not the same at all
2- 3 cups of fresh basil leaves.
2/4 to 3/4 cups of water, If it is to dry then add the remainder 1/4 cup, I always do
1/4 cup olive oil.
1/3 cup Tahini
Juice of one lemon
6 - 8 cloves of garlic,  I use even more, we love it spicy and we love garlic
Salt to taste, I used 1/2 teaspoon

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in the food processor and transfer mixture to a bowl. Your are done :-)

The post Basil humus appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I used to make this chick pea salad tons of times but for some reason I stopped making it. I just recently went food shopping and saw it at the supermarket in the salad section. I thought to myself, I am putting this on the menu this week, so here it is.

I always tend to make different versions of it simply because I put different types of vegetables in the salad. The dressing, I pretty much keep it simple, olive oil and our favorite rice wine vinegar, without the high fructose corn syrup though.

Sometimes I add canned tuna, corn, peas anything goes really so be creative, even couscous is great with it. This is cooking not baking, so you have much more flexibility to do your own thing. Either way, this is easy, simple to put together and super healthy.

Chick Pea Salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 15.5 oz can of chick peas
1 small red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
4-6 tablespoons of olive oil
Oregano
Salt to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except oregano in a large bowl. Sprinkle with oregano and serve.

The post Chick Pea Salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I have been asked to give this recipe away many times at parties and gatherings. It is always a big hit. At the supermarket humus tends to be pretty expensive and since at our household we tend to eat it by the tons I had to make it at home. Now I know that humus uses Tahini as one of the ingredients but in this case I don’t use it at all. You would think there is a big different in taste but actually there isn’t.

I must tell you that this is the best humus you are going to ever make. If you like sun dried tomatoes this is for you. Also, people are amazed at how easy it is to make. If you have a food processor you have to try it. You are never going to go back to the supermarket and buy humus ever again, I promise. And most important, you can make your own variations. I have also made it with roasted peppers and that works phenomenally.

These are the ingredients in the food processor prior to pressing the start bottom :-)

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 1lb can of chick peas, drained
1 - 2 cups of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained.
2/4 to 3/4 cups of water, If it is to dry then add the remainder 1/4 cup, I always do
1/4 cup olive oil.
6-10 cloves of garlic,  I use even more, we love it spicy and we love garlic
4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, You can use lemon which is what it is used traditionally
pinch of salt.
Smoked paprika to decorate.

 

Directions:

In a food processor add half of the ingredients, 1 can of chickpeas, half the tomatoes, oil, water, vinegar and garlic. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a big bowl. Do the same with the remainder of the ingredients and add the salt to this batch. Transfer to the bowl and combine with the first batch. Sprinkle the paprika on top. Enjoy

Tip: You can half the ingredients. Because we like it so much I have to make tons of it. Also, if you are using Tahini try to blend it first with the water, oil and lemon until smooth, then add the chick peas, tomatoes, garlic and salt.

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Depending on the recipe, you can find yourself spending a long time cooking in the kitchen but my recipe versions, what ever type of food it may be, will never keep you in there for too long, to much to do with 2 little kids, a house to take care of, studying, working out and so on….

For this recipe I added the spinach to give it a little bit more nutrition, I thought it was a clever addition, I think it complemented the chickpeas very well.

On any event, at best this recipe took me about 20-25 minutes since I used canned chickpeas and my rice cooker so for sure you can be done in under 30 minutes :-)

Enjoy!!

Easy Chick Pea and Spinach Indian Curry

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 1lb can of chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans, drained.
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 oz fresh ginger, chopped
1 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 oz tomato puree
2 teaspoons of turmeric
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon coriander powder
10 dried cloves
15 peppercorns
Salt to taste
1 1/2 cup of water, if the sauce is too thick add more water
6 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish, optional
2 cups of brown rice.

Directions:

Cook rice on a rice cooker or stove top, set aside.

In a large sauce pan, at medium heat, add the olive oil  followed by the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add the spices over low heat and stir. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Increase the temperature to medium-high heat and add the chickpeas, tomato puree and water. Mix through and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes until the flavors are combined. Add the frozen spinach, salt to taste and cook further for 3-5 minutes.

Serve over the brown rice and sprinkle with the chopped coriander if desired.

Nutrition facts calculated based on the recipe giving 4 servings. This is high in Vit B6, manganese, fiber, Vit C, Vit A

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