Lindsay's List Recipe - Lindsay's List

by lindsaymwright

blue diamond blueberry-coconut almond butter

July 1, 2014 in Blog, Blue Diamond, Food, Recipe, Review by lindsaymwright

As part of my ambassadorship with Blue Diamond Almonds*, I was sent some of their Blueberry and Toasted Coconut almonds to test out. First let me tell you that we’ve been buying BD almonds for …forever. I’m a big fan of the Low Sodium Roasted Salted and Travis loves the natural ones. I’d never tried either of these new flavored ones and wanted to do something special with them. Think, Lindsay, think!

A muffin?? <-baking required. plus it’s summer and you have to heat up the oven. bleck.

Some sort of protein ball?? <-I’d eat the whole batch before the camera made its way into the kitchen.

Arrange the almonds in some sort of cool pattern on a plate (maybe like an American flag??) and call it a kid’s snack?? <-tempting…really tempting..but too lazy even for me.

What about…..

Almond butter!

We eat nut butters every day. Why not try my hand at a homemade version (something I’d never done before).

Apparently you need three things for homemade nut butter: A high speed blender (or food processor), almonds and patience.

I have a Blendtec that rarely gets used.

I have these delightful almonds.

I have no patience.

Crap.

Reason #57 why I could never be a food blogger. You have to have patience. (Reason #1 would be that I suck at cooking….)

I searched and searched but couldn’t find a recipe that included prepackaged, dry roasted almonds like the ones I’d been sent. I wanted to see a recipe where you just open a canister of almonds, dump them in, grind and VOILA – nut butter!! Every single one required RAW almonds and sometimes you had to soak them before grinding. What if my Blendtec caught on fire?!?! I even texted my foodie friend Tina and asked. She didn’t know if it could be done.

Turns out it can!

And with no soaking required!

This blueberry-coconut almond butter is crunchy, not drippy – just the way I like it!

The add-ins of coconut oil and fresh blueberries pair nicely with the flavored almonds and also provide “liquid” so your blender can handle the mixing. You can spoon this onto crackers, pancakes, yogurt …or in our case, dunk your Teddy Grahams. Feet first. (it’s a little nicer that way)

Blueberry-Coconut Almond Butter

Yields 1 cup

1 canister (6oz) Blue Diamond Almond Toasted Coconut flavor
1 canister (6oz) Blue Diamond Almond Blueberry flavor
1-2 T organic coconut oil
1/4 cup fresh blueberries

Combine almonds and coconut oil in a high speed blender or food processor. Blend for 10-12 minutes, stopping often to scrape the sides and bottom. When the almonds turn into butter, pulse in blueberries. Store in a glass jar. Enjoy often!

QUESTION: Ever tried your hand at homemade nut butter?

splendid…lindsay

*This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond. All opinions expressed are my own.

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by lindsaymwright

NO-junk chocolate pudding (vegan/paleo)

January 10, 2014 in Blog, Dessert, Food, Pinterest, Recipe, Snack by lindsaymwright

Ya’ll. Please, oh please, don’t judge me for the ONE photo I took for this recipe. With my iPhone. Unstaged. And in not-so-great lighting. With a kid yanking on my arm.

Hey! I never claimed to be a food blogger.

(I’m actually not sure WHAT kind of blogger I’m claiming to be. A lazy one? Pssst….I even had the audacity to add a “Pin It” option to that hideous picture.)

The only real reason I’m sharing this recipe is because I’ve NEEDED access to it for the past four Januarys. And I suspect that there are a few of you out there that are in need of something sweet right now.

You see, the past few years, my church family and I have participated in the Daniel Fast. It’s basically 21 days of VEGAN, NO SUGAR. The only sweetener that’s allowed is honey (and even then, some people think that’s “cheating.” <-hate that word, especially when it seems legalistic in the religious-fasting sense.) I’m not participating in the fast this year because, well, I’m with child and I didn’t think it wise. BUT, I know that there are some readers that might be fasting (or dieting refined sugars – this recipe will suit you too!) and so I thought I’d share.

It *might* just get you through the next 21 days!

Or you might try it and hate it.

Hey! I never claimed to be a food blogger.

NO-JUNK Chocolate Pudding (Vegan & Paleo)

Adapted from this recipe

INGREDIENTS
10 dates, pitted and cut into quarters
10 dried figs, cut into quarters (stems removed)
2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
3-4 tablespoons raw nut butter (almond, cashew, or peanut)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 1 1/2 cups water

In a blender or food processor, place the dates, figs, cocoa, nut butter, vanilla, and 1 cup of water and pulse until just beginning to blend. Slowly add water as you continue to pulse, until the mixture is creamy, smooth, and the desired consistency. Store in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 5 days.

————

QUESTION: Are you watching your refined sugars this month? Made any goals that involve limiting unwanted sugars??

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

what i ate wednesday….the dairy free edition

January 30, 2013 in Blog, Body, Breakfast, Diet, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Recipe, Snack, WIAW by lindsaymwright

As I discussed in this previous poop post, I’m exploring a low sugar, dairy free diet right now. Today marks Day 30 with this diet change that I’m trying out and I must say, it has VASTLY improved my digestion problems. I really think taking out a lot of the excess DAIRY has been good for not only my poo problems, but it’s helped clear up my skin and I just feel less bloated. I should tell you – I’m not reading every single label to see if it contains dairy, but I am focusing on eating REAL FOODS and not PRODUCTS so that I don’t have to read any label. The foods that I’ve been eating don’t have labels (they have stickers and I very nearly ate one on an apple the other day – you hear that the average person consumes like 10 spiders in their lifetime – I wonder how many fruit stickers we eat??? Hmm..)

I’m eating less sugar because, well, it’s really not healthy for you. Like at all. My acupuncturist said to cut out white starches to help heal my gut – so by eliminating “white foods”, I’ve drastically reduced my sugar intake. Drastically because I used to eat sugar with nearly every meal. (I’ve also been known to have open bags of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips in my pantry just for snacking. Anybody else?!?) I’ll share a recipe below for one of the ways I’m dealing with my sweet tooth. I’m still eating NATURALLY occurring sugars (such as fruits, agave nectar and honey), but cutting out the refined stuff.

The difference in how I feel now versus back in December is HUGE. I’m not sure how long I’ll be dairy free (it could be a couple of months or it could be forever), but I know I’ll do whatever works. This works for me!

Without further ado, here’s everything I ate yesterday!

Breakfast (Pre-Workout)

Two whole eggs + two extra egg whites + diced sweet potato + salsa

Snack (Post-Workout)

Trail Mix, minus the M&M’s. Ok…I had 2.

Lunch

Broiled Tofu Squares + Brussels Sprouts + Broccoli + Carrots + Hummus + Annie’s Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

Snack

Whole Juice = 1 Beet, 1 Carrot, 1 Apple, 2 cups Spinach, Ginger & Lemon

Dinner (Post-Rehearsal)

Stuffed Red Pepper = Red Pepper + Quinoa + Black Beans + Mushrooms

Snack (Dessert!)

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients = 1 cup water + 10 diced dates + 8 diced figs + 2 tbsp. natural peanut butter + 2 tbsp. dark cocoa

Place ingredients in a Blendtec (or other high speed blender or food processor). Blend until smooth.

Oh man! This stuff is good! You can also sub out the peanut butter for any other nut butter. I like to freeze it just a bit so that it resembles soft serve.

Let me know if you try it!

—————

QUESTION: Tell me the BEST THING you ate yesterday (or today)! Have you experimented with a dairy free diet before?

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

my “GO TO” meal

December 20, 2012 in Blog, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Recipe, Review by lindsaymwright

Water is my “go to” beverage.

Dove is my “go to” deodorant. (Clinical Strength….because who am I kidding.)

Travis is my “go to” guy.

Toyota is my “go to” car company. (Even though all I’ve ever owned is Honda.)

And this is my “go to” meal.

I don’t know what you’d call it. Vegetable mish mash?? Hummus-flavored vegetable “spaghetti”??

I have no clue.

I just call it GOOD! And it’s so easy that I couldn’t NOT share it. Five ingredients, 20 minutes from start to finish.

Easy peazy.

…Because who am I kidding.

Actually, The Laughing Cow made it even easier for me this time around. The company sent me a Mystery Box with a package of their Mini Babybel cheese and asked me to come up with a healthy, holiday dish**!

You’ll see below how I incorporated it, but it was the perfect (easy) addition to this dish. Plus, adding the cheese also provided some extra protein (6 grams for only 50 calories), which I know from experience FILLS ME UP. Thank you, Laughing Cow!

LINDSAY’S GO-TO MEAL THAT HAS NO NAME

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash
1 cup brussel sprouts
2-3 cups spinach
1 container of hummus (I used Sabra’s Spinach & Artichoke)
1 LC Mini Babybel Cheese

Step-by-step Directions (highlighting my laziness):

Halve spaghetti squash and scoop out all the junk (Lazy Lindsay doesn’t save the seeds.) Place the spaghetti squash face down in a large microwaveable dish – add about an inch of water. Cover in plastic wrap. Microwave squash for approximately 10 minutes (Lazy Lindsay calls microwaving “cooking”.)

Lazy Lindsay does not remove stickers.

While spaghetti squash is baking cooking microwaving, cap and quarter brussel sprouts (Lazy Lindsay uses the baking sheet as a cutting board to avoid doing more dishes). Spray sprouts with olive oil and season with salt.

BROIL (Lazy Lindsay has no time for slow roasting) brussel sprouts for 7-10 minutes, flipping once or twice.

Once the spaghetti squash has cooked, drain water from dish. Use a fork to get out the squash “meat”. Once you’ve done this to half of the spaghetti squash, add spinach and fork out remaining squash on top (Lazy Lindsay uses steam to her advantage, wilting the spinach for free.)

Lazy Lindsay is so freaking lazy that she burns her hands every single time using the “free steam” method.

Add one tub of your favorite hummus and stir everything together. Plate each serving and top with one Mini Babybel cheese.

Voila!

So easy, a caveman Lazy Lindsay can do it.

QUESTION: What’s your “GO-TO” meal??

splendid…lindsay

**The Laughing Cow® provided me with product for this review. All opinions are my own.

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by lindsaymwright

chocolate peanut butter “EIAJ”

December 6, 2012 in Blog, Food, Lists, Recipe, Snack by lindsaymwright

You know those days where you REALLY want to be lazy and take a nap instead of do any housework or blogging or talking or thinking?

Or you want to lay on the couch and flip through all of the channels until you find that perfect show on Bravo or E? A show your husband would NEVER watch with you and a show that you shouldn’t LET your kids watch. I don’t want to love those shows but Million Dollar Listing pulls me in every.single.time. That and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. LOVE that show.

I rarely let myself have these moments of complete relaxation. Because honestly, I feel selfish when I do. I sit down, start to unwind and then something happens. I get sucked into a project or an email or deep cleaning under the fridge (which by the way, is one of the most disgustingly gratifying jobs ever. It also turns into a game of “Who-Knew-We-Had-THAT-Under-Our-Fridge! A mystifying What’s What of the forgotten toy world.” If you guessed 24 magnetic alphabet letters, one half-eaten tootsie roll, three guitar picks and a teeny-tiny-miniature gun, you win the game.)

But I’m discoverinng that it’s ridiculous to feel selfish for little moments of downtime. Because everybody needs a little something in their life that makes them happy.

My HAPPY List:

Exercise.
Love.
Coffee.
Trashy TV.
Chocolate.

If my day contains these five ingredients, I’m good to go.

Yesterday afternoon, I combined THREE of those happy things (the coffee, the chocolate and a Sex and the City rerun) and had myself a grand ol’ time. Like for at least 10 minutes….before Mr. Fat Feet, who was supposed to be napping, pitter-pattered his way out of his room and asked for a bite.

I would have felt selfish for not sharing. Plus, sharing is an act of “LOVE,” which, of COURSE, is on my happy things list.

Never mind that Number Six on that Happy List would read, “Being Alone.” I kind of gave up on that one a LONG time ago.

Chocolate Peanut Butter “Eggs In A Jar”

Also known as my new favorite thing. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup liquid egg whites
Nearly empty natural peanut butter jar
Handful of milk chocolate chips (I only buy Ghirardelli.)

Scramble egg whites in a nonstick pan. Transfer egg whites into the nearly empty peanut butter jar. Add chocolate chips. Eat with a long, special spoon and a side of coffee.

———–

QUESTION: What other combos can you think of to put in a jar?? Are you loyal to a specific brand of chocolate?

splendid…lindsay

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