4.84 from 6 votes

Print

RED LENTIL AND BULGUR SOUP

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8

Author Rubyellen

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
• 2/3 cup bulgur wheat
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. In pot, cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring until softened about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the carrots and cook for another 3-5 minutes. 

3. Add the broth, lentils, bulgur, tomato paste, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. 

4. Cover and cook over low heat until the lentils and bulgur are very tender, about 25-30 minutes. Discard bay leaves after. 

5. Add salt and stir in lemon juice. Add pepper to taste. 

6. Serve with cilantro sprinkled on top.

This recipe was shared with us from one of Ben’s co-workers, who is a master at making delicious food. I changed up a few things to the recipe and I hope you give it a try. It’s quick and easy, and that’s all I can do these days. The meal is very healthy, so Ben adds some greek yogurt to a bowl of soup for some added bulk and calories. It makes it extra creamy and delicious.

Bulgur can be difficult to find. We drove to a few grocery stores looking for it, until we succumb to ordering it from here instead.

5 from 1 vote

Print

QUICK OATMEAL COOKIES

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

Servings 20 cookies

Author Rubyellen

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick oats oatmeal
• 1 cup sunflower putter (or peanut butter)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Combine all the ingredients together. Mix until fully combined. 
   

3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into a ball onto the baking sheet, and flatten ball with a fork. 

4. Bake in oven for about 8-10 minutes, until light golden brown. 

5. Cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes. 

Who can resist the simplicity of a 5 ingredients cookie?! Certainly not us! We made ours using sunflower butter, to accommodate for one nut allergy, but I’m sure this is especially delicious with peanut butter. I love any peanut butter and chocolate combo. It’s another take on the 3 ingredient peanut butter cookie (recipe here), but this time with oatmeal added in. If you’ve got 10 minutes to spare, gather your ingredients and try these cookies!

We have set meal times and the littlest one is always asking, “Is it lunch time yet? Middle to lunchtime? Is it snack time? Middle to snack time?” Lunch time is pretty much on the dot at noon everyday and snack time is always at 3:30pm, but I guess telling time isn’t her strongest suit. Lunch is pretty much the previous day’s dinner, but I’ve been stumped lately on what to serve for snack. It’s been pretty monotonous, so I’m trying to figure out other options for the girls. Therefore, I’m teaming up with So Delicious Dairy Free Organic Almondmilk to come up with something I know they’ll enjoy.

To pick up the So Delicious Dairy Free Organic Almondmilk, we headed to Target (check here to locate a Target near you that carries it) and found it waiting for us in the cooler of the market section. I’ve totally been impressed with the changes Target’s been making lately, feels very much like Tarjay. If you treat your grocery budget like a game, and try to save as much as you can, download the Cartwheel app and you can get 20% off Cartwheel offer on So Delicious Dairy Free from 2/18 to 3/17. I love how Target is a one stop shop, so we proceeded to pick up some frozen organic berries and other fresh fruit, and we had everything to make our smoothie bowls.

Print

Smoothie Bowl for Kids

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen strawberries set aside a few for decorating
• 2 cups frozen blackberries set aside a few for decorating
• 2 cups So Delicious Dairy Free Organic Almondmilk
• 1 banana slices for decorating
• 1/8 cup almonds for decorating

Instructions

1. Combine the frozen strawberries, blackberries, and So Delicious Dairy Free Organic Almondmilk in a blender until completely mixed. Pour into a small bowl for each child. 

2. Have children decorate their own smoothie bowl! They can create flowers, animals, and rainbows from various fruit & nut toppings. 

The girls had so much fun decorating the top of their smoothie bowls and they had even more fun devouring it. We stopped consuming dairy milk a few years ago in an attempt to be more plant-based. We aren’t full on vegetarian, our motto is everything in moderation, but we do limit our meat consumption and up our intake of fruits and vegetables. Being married to a dietitian ensures we are making good food choices and that certainly includes what we feed our kids for breakfast, lunch, snack time, and dinner. We definitely loved the So Delicious Dairy Free Organic Almondmilk, and as I attempt to be an ingredient conscious parent (moderation, right?), I appreciate that the number of ingredients in it doesn’t exceed my two hands, and that even the container is plant-based. Now, if you have a child with a nut allergy like I do (1 of 4 of my girls can’t consume nuts, so making this with So Delicious Diary Free Coconutmilk will work better for them). There will for sure be future experimentations with various versions of this smoothie bowl for snack time. Plus, you get extra points with the kids if you make something delicious and cute!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of So Delicious Dairy Free. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you so much for the support you give this space and the brands I partner with! 

Print

Hamachi Sushi with Spicy Cilantro Lime

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

Hamachi Sushi

• 1/2 lb hamachi, sliced
• 1/2 cup shaved white radish
• 1 bunch thinly sliced green onions
• 1 avocado thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp masago
• 1/4 cup radish sprouts
• 4 serranos
• 1/4 tsp black sesame seed

Spicy Cilantro Lime Sauce

• 2 limes, juiced squeezed
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 serranos
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• sprinkle salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Spicy cilantro lime sauce

1. In a food processor, blend limes, EVO, serranos, cilantro until completely blended. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Set aside. 
   

Arranging together

1. Lay out the radish, serranos, and green onions on the plate. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the sauce on top.

2. Place the avocado on top, then layer the hamachi over it, slightly overlapping each piece. Drizzle the top with another 2 tablespoons of the sauce.

3. Sprinkle with masago and radish sprouts on top. Lightly sprinkle with sesame seed. Add a very light sprinkle of coarse salt and black pepper to top it off. If desired, drizzle more sauce or serve on the side. 

We ate this with a side of brown rice and some small sheets of seasoned seaweed. This is definitely one dish we are adding to our Friday night date night repertoire, when we have the budget for hamachi. We got spoiled by my parents and they gave us this amazing filet. I’m certainly thankful for parents and sushi.

Lavender Lemon Cake
halfway homemade because used boxed mix as the base

Ingredients:
Vanilla box mix (my two favorites are Trader Joe’s vanilla mix and Miss Jones Baking Co.)
2 tbsp culinary lavender
2 large lemons
1 tbsp sugar
Whipped cream

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, add milk amount stated on box mix, with added 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tbsp culinary lavender. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn off and allow to cool completely. Pour milk mixture into a glass cup and allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to really absorb.

2. Strain the mixture to get the milk free from any lavender. Continue to follow box directions to make the cake and use the lavender milk in the batter.

Note: I boil more milk than the box directions call for because I find that some evaporate and get absorbed into the lavender. When it comes time to put together the batter, I only use the amount of milk needed in the ingredients.

3. While cake is baking, squeeze out the juice from two lemons, and mix with the 1 tbsp of sugar. Once cake is done baking and cooled, poke holes on the top of the cake with a fork, and drizzle with the lemon juice.

4. Put your cake together. We used whipped cream as the frosting between each layer and on top. Lightly sprinkle the top with lavender.

I love cinnamon rolls and I love pumpkin, so when you put it together, you have the best fall treat! Get the full recipe over here on the Velveteen blog.

madeline dress & eleanora tights, velveteen.