Salad recipes are one of my favorite things to make over the summer. I normally refrain from using the oven and cook top when hot weather arrives. Today I decided to have a fun outing with my kids so I figured I would make something light like this Cauliflower Quinoa Salad and have it ready upon our return.

We love to hang out in the backyard after coming home from bike riding. Today, because it was raining on and off we decided to just stay in the yard and have some fun on the trampoline instead.  No matter how the weather turns out we always find a way to have fun.

For days like this, I always make sure that I have some light, healthy and refreshing to have later on when the kids get hungry and tired. I served the Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Santa Cruz Organic beverages, which was perfect for my thirsty kids.

There are actually different flavors to choose from so make sure you pick a favorite of yours. You can find a store near you where Santa Cruz Organic Beverages are sold at this link.

• From the iconic Lemonades to the lightly sweetened Agua Frescas and the new Carbonated Tea Lemonades, Santa Cruz Organic offers the perfect way to refresh your summer with unique flavors.
• Whether you’re spending the day by the pool, or prepping for a family picnic, Santa Cruz Organic’s line of organic, non-GMO lemonades and fruit juices are an easy way to beat the summer heat.
• Made with 100% organic fruit juice, Santa Cruz Organic lemonades are a summertime favorite we can all feel good about drinking.

Staying busy when there is no school and finding fun activities for the kids to enjoy is sometimes a challenge. My trick is to always try to keep it simple. Bike riding, exploring the neighborhood and having fun on the trampoline are always activities that are a success. I always try to emphasize this for my friends that are busy working out of the home and still want to spend quality time with their kids.

Keeping activities simple and getting the kids moving, even if it is just a simple game of basketball they will enjoy for sure. Whatever it is just, finding ways to spend quality time with the kids is always important.

Well, I hope you like this cauliflower Quinoa Salad. Santa Cruz Organic beverages were the perfect combo to keep the kids hydrated and happy. One of our favorites was the Cherry Lemonade – I hope you will like it too.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower quinoa salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked red quinoa
• 12 oz of cauliflower florets
• 9 oz shredded cabbage
• 7 oz fresh arugula
• 2 large cucumbers, cut into small chunks
• 10 oz cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbs sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp celtic salt

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to package instructions and set aside.

Microwave the cauliflower florets until they are tender but not super soft and mushy. I do about 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl add the arugula followed by the chopped vegetables, sunflower seeds and cauliflower. Add the vinegar, oil and salt and combine.

Serve.

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This time, my trip to Spain had a specific purpose. I actually went there to solidify a dream that I have had for quite some time. I actually purchased a piece of land to eventually be able to built a home and retire to my beloved Spain.

I am really proud and extremely thankful to have been able to do this. I have been working really hard for a long time and to be able to do something like this really brings me and my family joy since we all love Spain so much.

Soon I am going to post the beautiful area where I always when I visit Spain. It is an area extremely popular for its wine, food and culture so if you go to Spain I really recommend visiting this region.

Anyways, onto the recipe.

This caramelized tofu arugula salad with tahini dressing was really refreshing and unique. I have had these two huge jars of tahini that I have been wanting to use for ever. Yesterday I was able to make the most simple, tasty dressing with the tahini and in my opinion it was sensational.

I have heard many times how people hate tofu. For me, the trick is to buy extra firm tofu where the consistency is not soft and mushy at all. This allows me to caramelized or saute the tofu prior to adding any other veggies or protein to make it crispy. This my friends makes a huge difference.

For this caramelized tofu arugula salad with tahini dressing you can add any veggies you may like. I love the combo I provided but if you would like to add shredded carrots, onions etc anything goes.

I am excited to get back to my kitchen and keep providing wholesome recipes to you all. I am hoping my second year of PA school is not as hectic.

Anyways, I hope you try this caramelized tofu arugula salad with tahini dressing, if not, the dressing can be used for any other salad recipe of your choice so I hope you get to make it.

Until my next recipe…

Enjoy!

Caramelized tofu arugula salad with tahini dressing

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 16 oz extra-firm tofu, cubed
• 7 oz fresh arugula
• 15 oz chickpeas
• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 2 large avocados, chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, optional
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

Dressing

• 1 cup tahini
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbs sesame oil
• 1 inch cube fresh ginger, or garlic

 

Directions:

In a non-stick pan, over medium to high heat, add the oil and cubed tofu. Cook for about 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally until it begins to brown.

Add the soy sauce and cook further for about 1-2 minutes until the tofu begins to caramelized a bit. Place in glass jars and set aside.

For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

To assemble the salad, in 4 plates divide the arugula. Topped each plate with cucumbers, chickpeas, sliced avocado and cooked tofu. Add 3-4 tbsp of the tahini dressing and sprinkle some sesame seeds.

NOTE: If the dressing is still too thick for your liking you can add more water. You will also have left over dressing. It will last for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator. 

The post Caramelized tofu arugula salad with tahini dressing appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

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.

The post Moroccan buckwheat salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I am not much of a football fan myself but once in a while I will watch a game. I mean, don’t ask me about any of the rules or anything but I will watch and enjoy myself watching with the boys. As a matter of fact, about 3 weeks ago, I actually went to my first tailgating party. It was a lot of fun but of course what I enjoyed the most was the food!

These healthy cookie dough footballs would have been perfect for that, as no one brought dessert. Not only these are gluten and dairy-free but these are actually good for you.

For these healthy cookie dough footballs I used unsweetened almond milk mostly because it is very neutral in flavor, has no added sugar, it is Non-GMO, and has no artificial colors, or flavors.

If you are a regular visitor of Eat Good 4 Life you pretty much know that most of my recipes are vegetarian, gluten-free and some vegan. These little things almost resemble that. Not bad at all!

If you would like to see more recipes that are meatless and dairy-free, especially for Monday football nights, visit Silk’s page. There is also a giveaway so make sure you check that out too.

For this particular recipe, while you can use regular chocolate, I opted for using a vegan brand for those concerned with dairy. Also, the base of these healthy cookie dough footballs are made from chickpeas. I must say, these taste nothing like chickpeas, and no one will ever know there are chickpeas in here so trust me on this and give them a go. They are just plain delicious!

I hope you like this little creation. The perfect healthy dessert for Monday night football that it is gluten and dairy-free.

Enjoy!

Healthy cookie dough footballs

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 30-36 footballs

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 13 oz canned chickpeas, drained
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cacao nibs
• 1 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Coating

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate, vegan
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 4 oz white chocolate, vegan

 

Directions:

In your food processor place all the ingredients except the shredded coconut. Pulse until the mixture comes together.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and add the shredded coconut. Mix with a spatula. If the mixture is to wet to form into oval shaped balls add an extra 1/2 cup of almond flour.

With your hands, form oval shape footballs and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes. On the meantime, melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave save bowl at 30 second intervals until completely melted.

Place one cookie dough football at a time into the melted chocolate and coat completely ( I do this step with a couple of forks) Transfer footballs to the prepared cookie sheet. Once all the cookie dough pieces are coated with chocolate place them back in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate and pipe onto the footballs to create a string. Keep footballs refrigerated.

This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Healthy cookie dough footballs appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Have you tried to make broccoli rice before? It is extremely easy, delicious and healthy. If you like broccoli this is a different way to prepare it, a great way by the way. Since making this broccoli quinoa salad I have made this recipe already three times. I love preparing broccoli this way now.

I have incorporated it into a rice dish and it was great. My kids loved it. With the quinoa it was actually perfect.

For this broccoli quinoa salad you can add any veggies and nuts of  your choice. Next time I will add some legumes. I used pumpkin seeds but even sunflower seeds and pistachios would be good in this salad.

As far as herbs, next time I will add some mint as well. I love mint mixed in in salads. It gives it a very refreshing taste and you will be surprised as to how good it goes with fresh veggies and salad recipes.

For the broccoli quinoa salad recipe you can visit nuts.com Be sure to browse their site, as they have many of the products you will need for your healthy baking and cooking. I love their large selection of products.

More amazing easy and healthy recipes to come you way soon.

Enjoy!

The post Broccoli quinoa salad appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

Brenda’s cookbook, Sugar-free Mom: Naturally Sweet and Sugar-free Recipes for the Whole Family, just came out Dec 17th. It is currently on sale, not for long so take advantage of this discounted price. My friend also blogs at Sugar Freemom including plenty of recipes that are sugar-free, gluten free, low-carb, allergy free and much more, so make sure you stop by. I am sure you will find recipes that you will like!

The cookbook contains a total of 106 recipes. All recipes are gluten free with substitutions if you aren’t allergic to gluten. There’s a good mix of recipes using sugar-free alternatives like stevia and erythrtiol and others using natural sugars like coconut sugar. Some recipes include:

• Breakfast Recipes include: Grain Free Chocolate Glazed Donuts, Cinnamon Coconut Flour Pancakes, Blueberry Lemon Scones and many more!
• Lighter Bites, Salads, Soups & More: Bacon  Chicken Quinoa Bites, Italian Sausage & Pepper Quesadilla’s, Sweet Potato Pancakes, Smoked Salmon Salad and more!
• Condiments & Beverages: Soy Free Soy sauce substitute, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Homemade Dry Cocoa Mix and Vanilla Coffee Creamer just to name a few!
• Entrees & Sides: Crock Pot Pulled Pork, BBQ sauce and Creamy Coleslaw, Oat Flour pizza dough, Classic Pasta Fagiloi, Mock Tater Tots with Ketchup and many more!
• 30 dessert recipes: Chocolate Fudge Cake, Homemade Marshmallows, Graham Crackers and a Superfood Chocolate bar to make a S’more, Chocolate Macaroons, and Grain Free Magic Bars!

Giveaway

Brenda has been kind enough to offer one of her cookbooks.

• The giveaway is open to USA readers, sorry.
• I will pick one winner 12/28. Just comment in the section below and let me know what recipe would you look forward to making most. Good luck!

This cookbook is ideal for those on a low-sugar diet, like those suffering from diabetes, so go on and check it out. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

These garlic parmesan roasted chickpeas are extremely simple and a great recipe to have as a snack. I doubled the batch because I knew I would be snacking on these all week long. My kids will be eating them for school as well since they are extremely healthy and high on fiber which will keep them full longer.

Well I hope you get to make this recipe. If you like legumes this is a fabulous different way to add chickpeas into your diet.

Enjoy!

When you make these roasted chickpeas you can add some cayenne and curry powder if you like. I added some extra parmesan. I love any type of cheese and so do my kids so I was very generous with it!

Garlic parmesan roasted chickpeas

Yield: 10 servings

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 15.5 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

Lay chickpeas to dry for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a mixing bowl, and the chickpeas, salt, garlic and parmesan and toss to coat the chickpeas. Add cayenne and curry powder if desired. Stir to coat.

Spread the chickpeas on a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the extra tbsp of melted coconut oil and bake chickpeas for 20 minutes. Stir, and continue to bake and stir for up to an hour until crispy.

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