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Super Healthy & Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans and Nachos

I’ve been on a nachos kick lately . . .it is our go-to “we’re starving” after 1:00 church meal.  It takes some planning to make it this way, but it’s just 10-15 min here and 10-15 min there and a great way to get all kinds of healthy stuff into an easy meal.

The beans take some planning, but it’s a piece of cake to make a large batch and keep them in the freezer.  I whip up the cheese sauce the day before and the guacamole the morning of.  Then I just make the salsa in the blender and we have a  really tasty meal and leftovers.  But it’s also the kind of meal you can take a lot of short cuts on, as in a can of beans and jar of salsa and diced avocado.  So it works for what you need.

Adapted from: www.kitchentreaty.com  She blends hers up with the cooking liquid, but I like to cook the beans first then drain off most of the cooking liquid to keep the gas as minimal as possible.

1 pound dry pinto beans
3 cups vegetable broth + a little more for thinning, if desired
4-5 medium cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 whole onion cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 fresh lime (optional)

Cover beans in water and soak overnight, discarding any odd beans

Rinse beans and cook in water for several hours with 1 tsp salt and half of the onion cut into large chunks until mostly soft  (this can be done both on the stove top or in a crock pot).

Rinse beans again and return to pot/crockpot.  Add remaining ingredients (including the other half of the onion) except salt.  If needed, add additional water to cover beans.

Simmer for several more hours until beans are very soft and beans are flavorful.

Blend in batches, or use an immersion blender or bean masher to reach desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

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The BEST whole-food/plant-based chocolate treat

I have experimented with a lot of things — there are a lot of whole foods treats out there but since finding this I have stopped looking.  A lot of “healthy” treats use a lot of coconut oil and natural sweeteners like maple syrup.  And while I am not opposed to these I do believe there are even better options.  These brownie bites/chocolate totally satisfy the craving for a chocolate treat but have a lot more nutrition than most things!

We love this recipe as written:

Detoxinista’s Raw Brownie Bites

But we also discovered that you can add additional water to make more of a thick chocolate mousse.  We serve this in small bowls and top with berries, toasted slivered almonds & coconut and cashew cream.  It makes for a decadent yet nutrient-dense treat.

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Fried Rice

I told a friend about to have her fourth about this one this morning–comes together super fast and my kids really like it!   We don’t eat many animal products anymore but do enjoy a few high quality eggs here.

All amounts are approximate, this recipe is very forgiving to preferences and whatever you happen to have in your house at the moment!

2-3 cups uncooked brown rice or quinoa – cooked in rice cooker

1 egg/person

2 lbs stir fry vegetables (I use the ones from Costco)

1 cup teriyaki sauce (I make my own to make sure it doesn’t have any mystery ingredients hiding out:  1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup honey, 1 garlic clove minced, squirt of sriacha and sesame oil and occasionally some ginger blended well)

Start your rice or quinoa in the rice cooker according to package directions (I do quinoa on the white rice setting, with slightly less water than the 1:2 ratio called for on the package).  If I can remember to do this early in the day then everything comes together quickly.  Although if I forget I just use quinoa, which is usually done by the time everything else has cooked.

With a small amount of oil if needed, scramble eggs in the pan and set aside.  Stir fry veggies in pan.  While veggies cook, blend sauce if making.  When veggies reach desired tenderness, add sauce to pan and heat through for a moment.  Add rice/quinoa and eggs, mix well and serve.

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Our Smoothie Method

We started the green smoothie habit 10+ years ago when we were first married.  We’ve come a long way, but only in the past few years have I developed a system that ensures it happens pretty much every single day.  I feel strongly about the benefits of starting our day with those nutrients and hate to have days when we don’t get them.

Because of our massive consumption of Adam’s peanut butter, I’ve collected a lot of glass jars –they are perfect, roughly quart-size with straight sides.  I will fill these roughly three quarters full with a variety of Costco frozen fruit.  Here are some of our favorites:

All tropical blend (this is the mix of pineapple, mango, strawberry and papaya I think)

Half Mixed berries or strawberries and Half pineapple or mango (a lot of combinations here, they are all good!)

I will fill up to eight jars roughly 3/4 full of frozen fruit and keep them in the freezer.  Then each night before bed, I will stick one in the refrigerator.  This way the fruit has thawed and blends up quickly.  If your greens, bananas and fruit are frozen it’s hard to get everything to blend, even with a high-powered blender.

I like to keep my greens and bananas in the freezer so they are always fresh.  It can be hard to have bananas perfectly ripe, leafy greens that haven’t turned to mush, etc.  So I buy about 6 bags of bananas when I make my big monthly Costco trip. I leave them on the counter until they are starting to get black spots, then peel them, break them into 1-2 inch pieces and freeze them in gallon freezer bags.  I also buy about 4 bags of the organic power greens mix and transfer this to freezer bags as well.  I have a big freezer in my garage so this keeps me from going to Costco all the time which we all know gets way too expensive.

So, I dump the contents of the jar in the blender and fill the jar about halfway full with filtered water (this is about 2 Cups water), then I add approximately 1 1/2 frozen banana, 2 TBSP flax, chia or hemp seeds and greens to the top of my Blendtec Wildside jar .  Blend and enjoy! Add more banana if more sweetness is needed.  This makes around 5 cups of smoothie which we divide up between the 6 of us.

 

 

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Black Bean Taco Salad

This salad has become my summer go-to meal the last two years.  Works great as a quick and easy meal for the family or as a feed a crowd.  Sometimes, depending on the crowd I will make it as a build your own, but I prefer to mix everything together and serve the dressing on the side.  You can also serve tortillas and/or chips if desired. Do not let the lengthy ingredient list fool you, this comes together quickly with a little advance prep in the morning.

 

2 cans 15 oz can black beans   rinsed and drained
1 head green leaf lettuce   chopped (romaine would be great too)
1-2 chopped tomatoes
1 red bell pepper   diced
1 avocado   diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 mango   diced
Lime Cumin Quinoa
1 cup quinoa   cooked
2 cups water or chicken or vegetable broth
4 limes   juiced
2 tsp salt
4 tsp cumin
1-2 TBSP olive oil   optional
dash chipotle tabasco sauce
Creamy Cumin Ranch Dressing
3⁄4 cup raw cashews   soaked
1⁄2 cup water
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1⁄2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp snipped chives
1⁄2 tsp dried oregano
1⁄2 tsp salt   to taste
1 tsp cumin
1⁄2 tsp smoked paprika

 

If possible, make the following preparations several hours in advance:

1. Cook quinoa in broth. Can do this in rice cooker on white rice setting. Cool. Can speed cooling by spreading on a cookie sheet. After quinoa has cooled, mix lime juice, cumin salt and oil if using then mix into quinoa and refrigerate.

2. Soak cashews in enough water to cover (if you have less than 2 hours, microwave 1 cup water for a minute, then add cashews and soak while you prep other ingredients)

3. Wash lettuce and allow to dry

4. After cashews have soaked, make dressing and refrigerate: drain and rinse soaked cashews and blend with water, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion powder, chives, oregano, salt, cumin and paprika until smooth. Dressing is usually warm and needs a few hours in the fridge to cool off.

5. Drain and rinse black beans. Rinse frozen corn to thaw (can do these together in the same colander).

6. Chop lettuce, tomato, bell pepper and mango.

7. When ready to serve, mix everything together or create a salad bar and serve dressing on the side. If needed, thin dressing with a little water.

 

Adapted from veggieinspiredjourney.com

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Our Best Bites Cantina-Style Salsa

I’ve made this quick and easy salsa many times–it often tasted great right after I made it but took on a funny taste after a few hours, which is not supposed to happen!  I have found that this combination of Hunt’s brand tomatoes tends to have the best long-lasting flavor.

 

1 14.5-ounce cans HUNTS stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can HUNTS fire roasted tomatoes
1⁄2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lime   Juice of
1 handful cilantro   (about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce   (amount varies depending on heat preference)

 

www.ourbestbites.com

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Overnight Oatmeal

This is a fantastic method for a quick, healthy and even on-the-go breakfast–we often have this when we have an early-morning swim meet or race.  Chia is known for improving speed, so I love having that in as well.

I don’t always measure, but here is roughly what I start with:

4 cup rolled oats
6 cup unsweetened plant-based milk
1⁄2 cup chia seeds
4 cup frozen berries   or fresh
1 cup nut butter
8 teaspoon honey   (optional)
4 teaspoon cinnamon   (optional)

Since using almost an entire container of almond milk can get expensive, I have started blended equivalent amounts of water with the nut butter, cinnamon, honey and vanilla and using that in place of the almond milk.

Simply mix all ingredients together in a large container and refrigerate overnight.  The liquid will soften the oats and chia.  Stir and add additional liquid or sweetener as desired before serving.

Spoon into small jars or containers for an easy on-the-go breakfast!

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Pineapple Whip

Pineapple Whip

adapted from plantpoweredkitchen.com

Blender Method:

2 C Frozen pineapple chunks
1 C frozen sliced overripe banana (highly recommend overripe for adequate sweetness)
1/3 C coconut or other non-dairy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt (optional)

Blend all ingredients in high-powered blender until smooth, ice cream consistency is reached. May need to scrape down sides and/or additional milk in small amounts to get blender moving.

Ice Cream Maker Method (recommended for larger batches)
1 large ripe pineapple
2 ripe bananas
1/2 can coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 pinch salt

Blend all ingredients in high speed blender. Process in ice cream maker until thick.

**Keep in mind that the colder the ingredients, the faster they will thicken in the ice cream maker. If you have difficulty getting your ice creams to thicken (or if you need to make two batches in your maker for a large group) it’s wise to begin with cold or even partially frozen ingredients.