Roasted Veggie Pasta, Red Wine & Parmesan

I love these kind of weeks. The ones where all of the sudden you realize it's Wednesday and you're halfway to a wonderful and beautiful weekend. Then all of a sudden, it's Friday night... the week has ended, you find yourself in the kitchen cooking up a delicious, fresh pasta for dinner - complete with a hefty glass of red wine and a little parmesan to top it all off.

Lovely. 

Is this how my week went? You could say that ;-)

I had been planning this dinner all week long... not that this type of meal requires a great deal of planning. But I find that when you set yourself up with something to look forward to, the days go by smoother, you smile more, and well... you can take a little more time to breathe.

A night at home with my love, a great meal enjoyed coffee table-style in front of the TV... I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to kick off my weekend.

And because I love you so much, I'll happily share this simple and pleasure-filled recipe. But first...

Like I said... Lovely.


Roasted Veggie Pasta
Fresh broccoli
1/2 white onion
1/4 - 1/2c frozen peas
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Garlic powder
Butter
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley(roughly chopped)
2 Garlic cloves
Good quality Parmesan
GF Pasta of choice (though I strongly recommend spaghetti noodles)

Preheat oven to 425. Begin to boil water for pasta. Chop broccoli and onion into fairly large pieces, place onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Drizzle veggies with olive oil, add salt, pepper & garlic powder. Use your hands and mix it all together to ensure all veggies are coated with olive oil. Place veggies in oven and roast 20 - 30 minutes (they will be soft after 20 but if you're looking for the roasted flavor let them cook for the full 30, this allows the broccoli to get a little "char" adding wonderful flavor to the dish). Your water should now be boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Once the pasta is done, drain and rinse (leave in the colander). Finely chop the garlic cloves, add a small amount of butter (or olive oil) to your pasta pan, add garlic and saute until fragrant. Lower temp, add frozen peas and half of your fresh parsley. Once the peas have fully thawed add the pasta back to the pan. By now, the veggies should be roasted to perfection. Add these to the pasta mixture along with a touch more olive oil. Grate parmesan cheese into mixture and stir (the amount of cheese is truly up to you, and, if you cannot tolerate dairy feel free to add a meltable dairy free cheese or simply enjoy without). Add additional salt & pepper to taste. Plate the pasta, add a touch more grated parmesan and microwave for 30 seconds and top it off with the remaining fresh parsley. Lastly, pour yourself a fine glass of red wine, take a deep breath and enjoy.

Oat Free Quinoa Apricot Granola

I've come to a realization lately. Well, really more of a re-realization.

Granola, some sort of fruit be it fresh or dried, and yogurt, is a breakfast that I'm sort of... obsessed with. I guess it's really not that bad seeing as how granola can be made in a variety of ways, showcasing a multitude of flavors and textures all depending on the ingredients chosen. It's a healthy snack, a filling breakfast, something that may just become my everyday fall-back.

Anyway... during this re-realization I thought about the many people who are intolerant to oats... *gasp!* How sad it must be to go to your local grocer and not be able to pick up your weekly batch of granola, simply because, the sweet little oats don't act so sweet when settled in your belly. Naturally, I was just not okay with this fact. And thus... the oat free granola was born!

This recipe still follows closely to my many others, packed with nutrition and protein, a hint of sweetness and the perfect crunch to accompany your smooth and creamy yogurt of choice. The best part? It takes about 15 minutes to make, start to finish. I'm sensing you're ready for the recipe, am I right?

Oat Free Quinoa Apricot Granola
3/4 c quinoa flakes
1oz raw pumpkin seeds (just under 1/4c)
8 dried apricots (cut into small pieces)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c Perky's Crunchy Flax Cereal

2 tbsp cashew butter (I used Artisana)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Combine quinoa flakes through cinnamon in a medium bowl. Slowly heat cashew butter, maple syrup and vanilla in a small saucepan until stirred to a smooth consistency. Add wet ingredients to the quinoa flake mixture, start the mixing with a spoon but you'll need to get dirty for this yummy granola, using your hands to finish off the mixing process. Place mixture in the oven for 6 minutes, remove and stir. Place back into the oven for 2-3 more minutes (at this point the granola should be golden and slightly brown at the edges). Remove from oven and add in the Crunchy Flax Cereal. Let granola cool, place into a mason jar and store on the counter.

Enjoy this oat free granola over yogurt, with a banana and almond milk for a delicious non-traditional cereal treat, or munch for a portable snack any time of day. It's delicious, it's oat free, and it's packed with good for you nutrients!

Let's take a look at the nutrition facts, shall we?

Per 1/2 cup serving

217cal

34g carbs

4g fiber

6g protein

10g sugar

Eat up and enjoy, and maybe keep a secret stash away from the public eye of your kitchen... it just may disappear faster than you'd like!

Healthy Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today was a big day.

I cut off 10 inches of my hair to donate to Pantene Bautiful Lengths hair donation in which Pantene partners with the American Cancer Society to create wigs for women with breast cancer.

Yea... it's kind of a big deal. This actually is the second time I've donated. Wanna know how long it took me to grow it back to the length it was this morning? Just about 3 years. Told ya (but I'll tell you again...) - kind of a big deal!

Tonight, however, was a time to relax and fully enjoy several hours in front of the TV to watch the Olympics! But of course, I couldn't sit on the couch for all these hours while watching such athleticism and talent.

So...

I got up. Walked into the kitchen. And baked some cookies. 

(Ahhh... the life of a self-proclaimed foodie and food blogger, 'aint it grand?)

I've been meaning to make chocolate chip cookies for quite some time now but just hadn't found a recipe that really impressed me. They all seemed basically the same. Until I found these Soft Macadamia Nut Chocolate Cookies from Chocolate Covered Katie. 

I love using oat flour in baking but I wanted something a little different so I used her recipe as a starting point and came up with these babies... (thanks for the inspiration!)

Healthy Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c white buckwheat flour*
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp + 1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp white sugar
1/4 c chopped macadamia nuts
4 tbsp vanilla hemp milk
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp enjoy life mini chocolate chips 

Grind buckwheat groats in a coffee/spice grinder to make 1/2c buckwheat flour. Combine all dry ingredients and whisk together. Combine wet ingredients and add to the dry mix. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with canola oil or cover with parchment paper. Create 13 cookie balls (12 if you just have to have an even number but I highly recommend 13.. for tasting purposes of course!) Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for another two minutes. Move cookies to a cooling rack and there you have it, delicious, healthy chocolate chip cookies at your finger tips. 
*Grinding whole buckwheat groats provides a much softer and subtle taste. Traditional buckwheat flour will provide a different texture and an entirely different flavor. 

Like Katie, I thought I'd include the nutrition facts for these cookies to really make you see that they are in fact, healthy. 

Per serving [1 cookie]

83 calories

4g fat (healthy fats!)

11g carbohydrates

1g fiber

1g protein

4g sugar (that's the real kicker!)

 Yum. Yum. Yum. These cookies are sweet enough that one cookie will satisfy your sweet tooth (though I do advise stepping away from the kitchen, you'll be extremely tempted to "test" the remaining cookies - you want to make sure they are all this good, right?) There is a slight grittiness from the buckwheat flour but the macadmia nuts cover up that minor side point. These cookies are soft and melt in your mouth. If you prefer a crunchier cookie I'd suggest flattening out the balls before baking and also cooking a tad longer. You could also try adding a little more fat.. perhaps butter ;-)


You'll love them. You'll eat them up. I sure did.

See that sad little cookie off to the corner... the lonely #13...

Don't worry... I took care of it :)

Update on life, food and happiness

My oh my... it has been FAR too long that I have written to you! The last few, well actually the last several months of my life have been busy, overwhelming at times, so much fun and filled with new challenges and adventures.

While today's post is a little out-of-the ordinary for me, being that it doesn't contain any recipes, I feel that you should get a little explanation as to why I've been apparently...missing!

Let's rewind a bit... scroll through your mind back to March...

Through networking (yes, people really do that) I was able to meet a wonderful woman at school who allowed me the opportunity to attend the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California.

It was phenomenal.

Never in my life have I been surrounded by so many different natural and organic products, all most of which I could actually eat! The event held over 5,000 vendors from across the U.S. - it was a short trip but one that I will never forget.

Next on the list... Well, I graduated!

I earned my Bachelors in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Marketing from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado.

How amazing it is to be able to come home and not scurry around trying to get a workout in, dinner made and homework completed all before going to bed at 10:30pm to get my 8 hours of precious sleep (I told you I wasn't a traditional college girl haa).

My boyfriend, Tony, also graduated from CU with a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering -- yea, I'm a lucky gal ;-)

We spent about a week soaking up this new graduate life before heading to the British Virgin Islands for a wonderful vacation with my family. Yes I know, lucky again :) We spent one week living on a sailboat, cooking nightly meals on the water and enjoying plenty of rum punches, snorkeling, tanning and well, you guessed it... truly relaxing.

Ooops... I skipped something. The day before we left for our much-earned vacation, I paid a visit to my doctor to go over the test results of my GI Panel test. You see, the last few months of school my stomach returned to the feelings I experienced about 2 years ago when the heart of my "stomach issues" occurred. Everything I ate was upsetting my stomach, shooting pains here and there, headaches, serious fatigue, low appetite.. you get it -- not good. Anyway, back to the test results.

Turns out... I tested positive for a parasite (not exactly sure what kind, the "positive" result was enough to signal I need some treatment). The bacteria levels in my gut, the good bacteria that everyone has, well, mine are all out of whack. One is extremely low while the other is much too high. I also have some sort of colitis -- a.k.a intestinal inflammation. Oh an don't forget about this one, my body is basically rejecting the fat from foods. My doc actually said I have "malabsorption of fats" - hence, the reason I can't gain wait no matter how hard I try. Whew! What a whirlwind!

The good news is, I am being treated for all of the above with natural remedies - no antibiotics for me! Hopefully, I'll see a change in the coming months and finally get some of these issues cleared up.

Okay, now that I've brought you down a bit let me bring you back up!

I have not only one but TWO internships! I am a digital marketing intern at Rudi's Organic Bakery and am also the client services intern at a Denver marketing agency, Red Door Interactive.

It's awesome! I love the difference between the two and am certainly getting a ton of experience and really figuring out what I love to do :)

So now I've caught you up a bit on the life of Melaina. But you may be wondering.. what about food??? The recipes.. the pictures.. Well, it just so happens that I have a few pictures of successes and one or two failures regarding my time spent in the kitchen over the last few months. Take a look...

 You've heard all the rage about "mug brownies" right? 

I've been trying my hand at it and while all of my attempts have been delicious, I have yet to get it just right.

And.... failure #1: Garbanzo crackers. Not enough oil on the pan leaves for a very tough clean up. I'll let you know when this one works out...

Foodie Pen Pals!!!

It is the most fun thing I've been a part of in a while and I highly recommend that you join! Check out what I had to say about last month's goodie box and keep an eye out for my description of this month's delicious delivery...

It even came with a recipe map using the ingredients I was sent! How amazing is that!?







My boyfriend and I also recently celebrated our 4 year anniversary! I'm such a lucky girl to have such a wonderful man :) We went to a restaurant called Root Down in Denver. Such a cool place! I enjoyed the oh so creative "Beetdown" cocktail alongside house-made Lamb Sliders on gluten free buns, plus some of the best sweet potato fries I've ever laid my hands on.

Hmm what else... 

animal crackers! 

I bought the cutest animal cutouts from amazon and was finally able to make this recipe from Healthful Pursuit that I had stashed away for quite some time. They are so good! (The only change I made was subbing protein powder for the coconut flour) Now go on.. make some for yourself.. I know you want to ;-)

We also must not forget the yeast free sandwich bread from The Essential Baking Guide Part II by Brittany Angel and Iris Higgins. *Sidenote: these cookbooks are truly amazing! The price is a steal for the amount of information you get and the amazing variety of recipes that are included.* I halved the recipe and made my own version of ciabatta bread and it turned out perfectly! Crispy crust but a soft chewy center, the slightest hint of sweetness and a whole grain taste. MMMmm mmm mmm!

Since the weather has been heating up... over night oats have been my best friend. I pack these babies full whenever I make them and and up splitting it to I have two breakfasts.. the first right when I get up and then I finish my delicious creation once I'm at work. Lovely idea isn't it? You can steal it if you want :)

Last but not least... homemade dark chocolate filled mini cups. Yup, you heard that right. What are they filled with you ask? Some have sunbutter, some have fresh raspberries, a few have dried blueberries and cherries and the last few have the strawberry lavender jam that was given to me in the first foodie pen pal box. I know you're already jealous, so here's a little taste...

I know it's not very nice of me to post all of these pictures without recipes so I promise that soon my friends you will see these recipes and you can try them out on your very own. Until then, enjoy the pictures :)