Avocado Caprese Salad | Recipe

I am not kidding when I say this but my husband and I literally eat this salad every single day. This salad has become part of our norm for about 3 years now. Our friends and family always make fun of us about it but we don't care! It is so easy to make and we never get sick of eating it. I have made this salad so much that I can now do it with my eyes closed! Everything about it is extremely healthy and requires no effort. 

This is our variation of the caprese salad. If you prefer to serve the salad in a bowl instead of a platter then dice your avocado and tomatoes instead of slicing. We hope you enjoy our daily favourite salad as much as us! 

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Avocado Caprese Salad Recipe 

Author: Sweet Rustic Love

Recipe Type: Salad

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 Avocado, cut into slices

1 fresh Bocconcini Mozzarella, cut into 1/4 inch slices 

4-5 Fresh Basil Leaves

3 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

1. Arrange alternate slices of tomatoes, avocados, and mozzarella decoratively on a platter. Spread fresh basil leaves over the salad and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

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Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding | Recipe

Lately, I've been adding chia seeds to my diet and I have to admit that I am absolutely obsessed with this superfood. Hard to believe that such a small seed has so many powerful nutritional health benefits! Chia seeds are loaded with antioxidants and contains a large amount of nutrients. I love how they are so easy to incorporate in your diet. When chia seeds are mixed in with a liquid, they turn into a gel texture.

This Chia Seed Pudding contains very simple ingredients. Surprisingly, this pudding satisfies my sweet tooth and it is not even bad for you! Instead of using Cocoa, I used Cacao (yes, spelling looks very similar) Powder. What's the difference between Cocoa and Cacao? Cacao is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. This process keeps the living enzymes intact and removes the fat. Whereas Cocoa is raw cacao that has been roasted at high temperatures. This method lowers the enzyme content and the overall nutritional value. Regardless, you can use either powders!

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Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Author: Sweet Rustic Love

Recipe Type: Desert

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 Cup Milk 

1/3 Cup Chia Seeds 

2 Tbs Cacao or Cocoa Powder 

3 Tbs Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

Toppings:

Grated Chocolate (optional)

Greek Yogurt Chips (optional)

Shredded Coconut (optional)

Mixed seeds/nuts/raisins (optional)

Whip Cream (optional) 

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl until well blended. Place bowl in the refrigerator overnight or until the texture of the pudding is thick. Garnish with toppings of your choice (optional) and serve. 

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Homemade Pop Tarts | Recipe

This is a take on a childhood favorite, but not so healthy breakfast treat. My husband has a Pop-Tart addiction and I didn't like the idea of all that processed stuff in him daily so I thought why not bake some healthier and homemade fare?

For the jam, I used Crofter's Strawberry and Raspberry Organic Jam. This recipe will taste good with any flavor or brand of jam that you wish to use. I have also added Whole Wheat Flour to the recipe to increase the fibre content. Fibre is always good!

My husband absolutely loved it and you will too!

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Homemade Pop Tarts

Author: Slightly adapted from Cooking Classy 

Recipe Type: Breakfast / Snack

Yield: 8 Tarts

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

4 - 5 Tbsp water

3/4 cup jam of your choice

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk or cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a food processor pulse together one cup of all purpose and one cup of whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter and pulse mixture until resembles coarse meal. Add 4 Tbsp water and pulse several times. If it doesn't come together, add remaining 1 Tbsp of water. Drop mixture onto a clean surface, gather dough into a ball then divide into two portions. Shape each portion into about a 5 inch disk. Cover each with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll dough out onto floured surface to a rectangle. You will need to trim the edges to get it into a large rectangle shape. Then cut into smaller rectangles. You can determine how wide and long you would like to have each pop tart to be. Continue the process until you no longer have any dough left. 

Arrange the rectangles, spaced evenly apart on prepared baking sheet. Spread 1 1/2 Tbsp of jam evenly down the center of each rectangle. Top each with another rectangle, then seal edges with a fork or your fingertips. Poke the top center of each tart about 4 times with a toothpick. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake tarts until golden for about 25 - 40 minutes. Allow pop tarts to cool.

For the icing:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all icing ingredients and then add milk or cream about 1/2 tsp at a time to reach desired consistency. Spread over tops of cooled pop tarts, leaving a small rim uncoated around all sides. 

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Fresh Basil Pesto | Recipe

I've always wanted to make homemade pesto instead of always buying the store-bought. I remember making homemade pesto in my foods class in Junior High and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, it has took me 10 years to rediscover it again! 

I must say that I will never go back to buying it at the store after this recipe! It is so easy to make and is a great sauce for pasta and chicken. If you happen to have any leftovers, add it in a jar and put it in your fridge for other dinners.

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Fresh Basil Pesto

Author: Slightly adapted from Food Network Kitchen

Recipe Type: Dinner

Yield: 1 Cup

Ingredients:                                                                          

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1) Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the oil and lemon juice. Process until fully incorporated and smooth.

2) Transfer the pesto to a bowl and mix in the cheese.

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Guilt Free Shamrock Shake | St.Patrick's Day

It's that time of year again! It is definitely very difficult to drive by my local McDonald's at this time of year and to not stop for their delicious Shamrock Shake. Unfortunately, after knowing that McDonald's Shamrock Shake contains 54 ingredients, it suddenly started to sound very unappetizing. These ingredients includes artificial flavoring and preservatives which contains carrageen and high fructose corn syrup - which is not particularly good for you!  

This homemade Shamrock Shake only has 6 ingredients (not including the ice) and is deliciously healthy! The spinach adds a natural green coloring to the shake and plus it's absolutely tasteless (bonus!). Surprisingly, my husband even loved this healthy version and thought it was a really great beverage for the spring time. 

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GUILT FREE SHAMROCK SHAKE

Author: Slightly adapted from Health Starts in The Kitchen Blog

Recipe Type: Beverage

Serves: 2

Ingredients:                                                                          

1 Cup Baby Spinach
                                                          

1/2 Frozen Banana  
                                                            

1 Cup Coconut Milk (or other milk of your choice)
      

1 Cup Ice

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 Tsp Peppermint Extract

2 Tbs Agave Syrup

Whipped Cream (Optional)

Directions:

1) Combine baby spinach, banana, vanilla, peppermint, agave, coconut milk, and ice in the blender, and blend until smooth.

2) Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

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