Holy (Turkey-Cheese) Meatball

• 3 pounds ground turkey
  1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup homemade bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F 
2. Place the ground turkey, onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, seasoning, pesto, and salt in a bowl. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 3/4-inch meatballs. Make a hole in the meatball with your finger and place a cheese cube in the hole. Seal the meatball around the cheese and place on a nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the meatballs.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes. 

Enjoy

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mozzarella-stuffed-pesto-turkey-meatballs/?scale=12&ismetric=0

Lactation Cookies!

http://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies-by-noel-trujillo-192346

Brown Rice Salad

I make a large amount of this to keep in the fridge for a complete protien leftover. Serves about 8 (or more). Also, I soak the rice because it renders the nutrients more digestible and more easily assimilated by the body. All ingredients are *organic* Enjoy!

2 cups Brown Rice, rinse and soak for 30 min
2 Large Carrots, chopped
3 Celery Sticks, chopped
1/2 med red onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Garlic salt to taste (about 1-2 T)

Cook rice until soft (about 40 min with 4 cups of water) and set aside to cool off. Mix all other ingredients in a very large bowl. Add rice when cool, and adjust seasoning to taste. Cool in fridge for about an hour. This dish is intended to eat straight from the fridge.

Bluberry Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ground flax
2 cups frozen blueberries

Directions
Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix in milk, egg, flax and oil; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blueberries. Place muffin cups in baking dish, filling each cup 2/3 full with batter.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Edamame Dip

A staple in my house, we eat this dip as a hearty snack on crackers.

2 bags of shelled edamame, cooked

1/4 cup of Tahini

3-4 T Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 T garlic powder

1/2 T salt

1/4-1/2 cup filtered water

Okay, so I never measure anything. These are all estimates, but puree all of this in a food processor, and taste as you go, adding what you think the dip needs to balance the flavor and make a good consistency.

This is what I'm cooking right now...

From: http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/43-cookies/80-healthy-peanut-butter-cookies.html

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

Dry Stuff

• 3/4 c whole wheat flour ( I used a little less, adjust depending on the moisture of the batter)
• 3/4 c oats
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• optional: 1 tsp cinnamon

Moist Stuff

• 1 c smooth natural peanut butter ( I used 1 ¼ cups)
• 1/2 c honey (easier with liquid honey)
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla
• optional: 1/3-1/2 c chocolate or carob chips

Preparation:

1. Combine dry ingredients
2. Combine moist ingredients
3. Mix dry and moist ingredients together.
4. Cool in the fridge for 20 minutes.
5. Drop teaspoons of batter on a parchment-lined cookie sheet or baking sheet for cookies.
6. Flatten with a fork if you like.
7. Bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes - edges will be slightly browned - be careful not to burn as honey browns fast.

Stuffed Acorn Squash (and a soap box)

I was just pondering "Health Food." Since it keeps you healthy, it's a good term. However, maybe we should call it "Real Food" or "Pure Food." I guess sometimes it's just "Lightly Processed Food" as opposed to the conventional "Highly Processed Food."

With how many dishes I have to clean in order to eat my "Real Food," I totally understand people eating out or purchasing lightly to highly processed foods. Really, though, if you're going to go to the trouble of cooking, buy Pure, Organic, Health Food. It really does nurture your body, your family, and your Earth.

I made this the other day. It took a long time to prepare and the clean-up was a pain, but the food was pure and delicious.

Recipe:

1 acorn squash, sliced in half

1 1/2 cups Quinoa

1 T olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 package of Tempeh, crumbled (or ground turkey if you prefer)

5 mushrooms, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1-2 cups of broccoli heads, but to bite size pieces

1 T dried Sage

1 T dried Thyme

1 T garlic

salt to taste

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

4 oz feta, crumbled or chopped

First, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place both sides of acorn squash face down in baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water. Tent with tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a med-sized pot cook the Quinoa in 3 cups of boiling water for about 15-20 min.

Then in a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions and cook for about 6 min, stirring occasionally. Then stir in Tempeh and mushrooms and cook for about 5 min. Then add the carrots, broccoli, sage, thyme, garlic and salt, stirring occasionally for about 2 min. You can add about 1/4 cup of water and place a lid on the pot to steam the broccoli for a few min if your veggies don't look over cooked.

Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, cranberries, feta, and Quinoa. Set aside.

Remove squash from the oven and turn over, testing the flesh with a fork to see if there almost completely cooked. When your squash is nearing completion of being cooked, stuff some of your mixture in the squash cavity. Then place the rest of the mixture in a separate baking dish. Bake both stuffed squash and mixture for about 15 min. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Whoa, I cannot believe how delicious and time consuming this dish was. But we're still enjoying the hearty left-overs.