Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dishes: Mushroom Marsala Wild Rice

In honor of Thanksgiving coming up, I have decided to post a side dish a week that is a healthier take on what you might normally have on Thanksgiving!

Why am I doing this? After the holiday season is over, I always here everyone complaining about how they have gained so much weight. How much they have eaten out, all the cookies, candy, glutinous feasts they've partaken in, etc. so instead of setting yourself up for the same cycle of pain that you go through every year, why not try to make it better on yourself and keep it healthier? 

Also, there are a lot of gluten free and dairy free eaters nowadays, so to be respectful to them, it's always nice to incorporate something they can eat into the feast as well. 

So today's feature is Mushroom Marsala Wild Rice. I bought the Marsala wine at Trader Joes, but you can buy it at any grocery store. You can also by presliced mushrooms to cut down the prep time. What is nice about this dish is you can make it ahead of time and reheat it easily. One less thing to cook that day! Alright, so here it goes!

Mushroom Marsala Wild Rice

(Makes 6-8 Servings)

Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice 

3 cups water or stock

1 package sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup diced onion 

1 TBLSP minced garlic

2 TBLSP cornstarch 

1/2 cup Marsala

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a pot, combine rice and water/stock and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 40-45 minutes.

2. Fluff the rice with the fork and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes. Drain any excess water. Cover to keep the rice warm.

3. In a large pan, heat 2 TBLSP of olive oil, and add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms until tender. 

4. Add the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir until it's combined.

5. Deglaze the pan by adding the Marsala wine, and stir, getting everything off the pan.

6. Next add the chicken or vegetable stock, and cook until the mixture thickens to a gravy looking sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Stir the sauce into the rice and serve. 

To reheat, put the rice in a covered pot and cook on low, stirring frequently. 

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice... Pumpkin Spice Donuts!

Fall is here, Halloween is tomorrow, and pumpkin spice is in the air! 

Why not surprise your loved ones with fresh pumpkin spice donuts tomorrow morning to set the holiday cheer?

Pumpkin Spice Donuts

(Makes 8 Donuts)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (I used white spelt flour)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin spice + 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin

1/3 cup brown sugar or maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg or 3 TBLSP egg whites

1/3 cup almond milk (or other milk) + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp coconut oil 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the almond milk and ACV and let it sit for 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl combine the flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients including the almond milk mixture and stir well.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all is combined.

6. Pour into donut molds, muffin tins would work too! 

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

8. Let them cool on a cooling rack or plate for a few minutes, then drizzle with honey.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Tea time anyone?! Remember that amazing raspberry chia seed jam I posted the other day? Well say hello to its best friend; the cookie to its jam, the raspberry jam thumbprint cookie!

With oats, almond extract, coconut, and of course jam, these cookies are the perfect little (okay, they're kind of big) treat! Tea time has never been better!

Raspberry Chia Seed  Jam Thumprint Cookies

(Makes 12 rather large cookies)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour (I used spelt flour)

1 cup quick oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 TBLSP egg whites or 1 egg

1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract  

1/2 cup natural applesauce

2 TBLSP coconut oil

Unsweetened shredded coconut for rolling

Raspberry chia seed jam for topping*

Method:

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the oats a few times.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt together.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and eggs together until creamed. Next add in the rest of the wet ingredients besides the jam, and stir well.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until they are fully combined. 

5. Cover the bowl with foil or cling wrap, and place in the fridge to harden for 45 minutes to an hour. 

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. In a bowl, pour about 1/3 of coconut shreds into it.

8. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll the dough into balls the size of a ping pong ball.

9. Roll the balls in the coconut shreds and place on an undressed cookie sheet.

10. With your thumb, make an imprint in the middle of the cookie.

11. Using a small spoon, spoon some of the chia jam into the imprint in the cookie.

12. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until they become golden brown. 

Store these in the refrigerator in an air tight container as there are no preservatives in the jam! 

Enjoy!

*Note - You can use any jam you want! Strawberry or blackberry would be fantastic as well!

Raspberry Chia Seed Jam

Have you heard of chia seeds before? I am sure you have as they have become a health craze and been classified a superfood. Let me tell you some reasons why chia seeds are superfood and catching so much buzz in the health and fitness world.

Chia seeds (ounce per ounce) have:

• 100% more potassium than bananas
• 200% more iron than spinach
• 100% more fiber than bran flakes 
• 500% more calcium than milk
• 700% more omega 3 than salmon
• 1400% more magnesium than broccoli 
• 500% more protein than kidney beans
• 800% more phosphorus than whole milk
• more folate than asparagus
• more antioxidants than blueberries

If those facts don't scream superfood qualities, I don't know what does! 

The best part of this little seed is everything you can do with it! Some of them include:

• Chia Eggs
• Adding them to smoothies
• Chia pudding (recipe coming later this week!)
• Homemade energy gel
• Use them for a thickener...

...Which leads me to today's recipe, Raspberry Chia Seed Jam! It is refined sugar free, easy to make, and the best part... DELICIOUS! If you aren't fond of raspberries, you can use any berry or grape you would prefer. 

Raspberry Chia Seed Jam

(makes about 1 cup of jam)

Ingredients:

2 cups of frozen or non-frozen raspberries (preferably organic) 

1/4 cup water

2 tbslp honey or maple syrup (3 tblsp if you want a sweeter jam)

2 tbslp chia seeds

Method:

1. If you are using frozen raspberries, allow them to defrost in the refrigerator first.

2. Add raspberries, water, and honey/maple syrup to a pot and bring to a boil.
3. While waiting for it to come to a boil, use a potato masher or fork to mash up the raspberries.

4. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken.

5. Once it starts to thicken, turn off the heat and stir in the chia seeds.

6. Allow the mixture to cool down for 10-15 minutes, pour into a mason or canning jar, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The jam will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Will last a shorter amount of time if using organic ingredients!

Enjoy! xo

Euro Trip - Prague

Ohhh Prague, how I love you! Such an amazing city! Below is a picture of of a little town on our train ride. That's how all the train rides have been, little towns everywhere, lots of green open land, a lot of beautiful amazingness.

We got a little lost finding our hostel in Prague, but eventually we found it. It was sooo busy in Prague. The celebration of the reunification of Berlin was Friday, so it was a holiday for everyone in Germany, which naturally meant they all went to Prague for the long weekend. The streets were packed, so we're the restaurants, bars, hotels, etc.

Once we checked in, we went to the old city of Prague. It was different than Dresden, but still so cool! There were performers in Old Town Square, and all of the restaurants had outside eating where you could drink, eat, watch the performers, and be merry. We ate at a Czech restaurant for dinner, Tyler got goulash, and I got baked duck. This was the best baked duck I have ever had, it came with dumplings and green and red cabbage; I ate it all. Tyler's phone died so I couldn't take a picture. :( 

At dinner was decided to go on a pub crawl that ended in a 5 story club. It was a great time. We met some people from New Zealand and South America, and partied with them all night.

But first let me take a selfie came on..

The next day we got up and headed to the Prague Castle. It looked like a castle out of a movie, up high on a hill, overlooking the rest of the city. It was absolutely gorgeous. We went to the cathedral there and the old castle as well. We also crossed the beautiful Charles Bridge to get there. 

When we got back, we ended up taking a nap, then going to dinner. We went to dinner at an old monastery that brews different beers, including IPAs. I got duck again, Tyler got rabbit, and we both got IPAs. This place was really far away, so we had quite a trek there and back, but the view was spectacular. I wish the camera would've captured it better. 

Prague is the most Americanized city we've been in so far. It's crazy how much you felt like you were in the Time Square of Prague when you were downtown. Everyone speaks English too. We have been lucky with that, but Prague was still the most Americanized. 

Every city is so different so it's hard to choose a favorite, but Prague certainly holds a special place in my heart.

Until the next city...

Peace & Love :)

Euro Trip - Dresden

We made it to Dresden... barely. So happy we made our train. The trains in Dresden were super confusing and no one spoke English, so it took us awhile to figure out where we were going. While we were on the platform waiting for our train, I saw the first gym I've seen in Europe. (Of course I had to take a picture!) 

Once we got off our commuter train, it was easy peasy. We stayed in the Kangaroo Stop Hostel, which was very centrally located to the area of Dresden we were looking to explore. Dresden is beyond beautiful. It wasn't a major city which was different from Amsterdam or Berlin. Instead, it was very quaint, with the river running through, and the old city near. 

We were only there for a night, so that's why we took an early train out so it was a full day there.  We were fortunate because the day we arrived, Friday, they were setting up a huge street fair with food booths, drink booths, music, etc. 

We were able to try some amazing different types of food we probably wouldn't have been able to try otherwise. I had cabbage pasta, it was out of this world amazing! (I am going to try and recreate it!) Tyler of course had sausage, lol. Later we split this cheesy bread with pancetta. Yeah, I think that's the day my food soul went to heaven! It was amazing! 

At the street fair, they didn't use any paper cups and plates or throw away cups and plates, instead they charged you a 1 euro deposit and you had to return the cup or plate you were using in order to get the euro back. It was really different. The people here don't believe in water, we have been trying to drink water whenever we can get our hands on it.

After we hung out at the street fair, we walked over to the old city. It was beautiful. I think it's my favorite city so far in terms of architecture. It was so cool to feel like you were in a whole city that was so not transformed. They really have preserved the grounds and feel of the old city. 

We went to the Zwinger, which is where royalty used to hold parties of all sorts, and the Frauenkirche Cathedral. I personally liked the inside of the Berliner Dom more, but this one was beautiful too. We went on a tour of the royal jewels. There was a whole room of diamonds that I pretty much drooled over. The diamond crusted blinged out sword was one of my favorite pieces. 

We took a break between exploring in the old city to go back to the street fair and grab our snack (the pancetta cheesy bread) and beer. Clearly we are eating super healthy, duh! 

After the royal jewels tour, we head to the Biergarten that was right on the river. We had a few beers, played rummy, enjoyed the sights and soaked up our surroundings as much as possible. 

After we walked back to the hostel and got ready to go to dinner. We went to a Turkish restaurant where we ordered a kabob platter to share. It was really good. Not our best meal, but it was good. 

We were exhausted so we went back to the hostel, watched a couple episodes of the final season of How I Met Your Mother. (It's been a good one so far!) 

The next day we walked back to the street fair in the morning, and walked back to the river before we had to catch our train to Prague. Dresden is beautiful, I highly recommend it.

:)