Nourishing Zen

Nourishing YOU. Adventures to Healthy, Happy, and a Fulfilling Life! Food is our medicine.


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Homemade Chinese dumplings, Bao, and “fried” not so fried rice!


 

It’s a cooking day with my mom! We are making dumplings, Bao, and “fried” not so fried rice 🙂

Recipes to come! 

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Oven-Roasted Chickpeas: A Crunchy… Salty.. HEALTHY snack!


If you’re like me, and LOVE salty, crunchy delicious snacks, then this is the snack for you. Often times I have difficulty finding the right snack that doesn’t overload your body with salt, fat, grease, or carbohydrates.

This recipe is for Oven Roasted Chickpeas.
Carbohydrates: 18 per 1/2 uncooked beans
Calories: 120

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It is easy, and addicting once you make it!

Here’s what ingredients you’ll need:

-2 Cans of Garbanzo Beans. I usually use the Whole Foods 365 Organic, no salt added ones.
-2 Tablespoons of Olive/Avocado/Coconut Oil (Or whatever kind you prefer)
-Sea Salt (to taste)
-Any additional seasonings you love such as seasoned salt, ground herbs, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper etc.

Here’s what kitchen tools you’ll need:

-Cookie Sheet
-Strainer
-Paper towels
-Bowl large enough to fit the beans
-Spoon

Here’s how to make it:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
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2. Open your cans of beans and put directly into strainer.

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3. Rinse those bad boys thoroughly with some warm water.

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4. Line the cookie sheet with paper towels.

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5. Empty beans from strainer to the lined cookie sheet.

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6. Take a paper towel or two and cover the beans. Gently press and roll your hand over the beans making sure to press lightly.

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7. You’ll then see the skin of the beans come off which is what we want! Keep rolling the papertowel over the beans so that more of the skins come loose. Remove any skins that come off.

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8. Take those beans and transfer them into a bowl. Discard the paper towels.

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9. Add the oil of your choice to the beans and stir gently with the spoon.

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10. Place back onto cookie sheet. Make sure that they are spread out across the cookie sheet.

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11. Bake for 40 minutes or until desired crunchiness. We like ours crunchy so we usually put it in for about 40-45 minutes. Once while the beans are baking, take the cookie sheet and shake it slightly to make sure they aren’t sticking to the sheet.

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Sh-sh-sh-shake it!

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12. Once they are crispy to your liking, remove the beans and put them into a bowl. Add sea salt or any other seasonings. Let them sit for about 5-8 minutes if you can and enjoy!

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Simple & Refreshing Lunch!


Sometimes, life just doesn’t warrant preparing meals. Many times, I will go into a grocery store thinking with my stomach and then paying for it afterwards! I’ve personally come to the conclusion that it is just not worth it.

I have noticed recently that my stomach is SO much more sensitive to various foods – specifically anything fried, with dairy or too much sodium. Unfortunately I am not one of those people anymore with a stomach of steel. I guess this is what getting older partially means! In any event, I’m usually starving by the time it is 11:30am and that feeling of “I will eat anything” kicks in. There is a grocery store right down the street from my work and I have found that my “go-to” lunch is really quite simple yet fulfilling, delicious, inexpensive, protein-packed and healthy (for the most part). I can easily make this at home also and here is what it is…

Ingredients:
One cucumber – sliced thinly (this is in place of a slice of bread)
Chicken salad (store bought)

Or if you choose to make it yourself:
Shredded chicken breast
1T vegan mayo, or olive oil mayo
1/2t yellow curry spice
1T raisins
5-6 pieces of diced pineapple
1/4 stalk of celery diced
Dash of turmeric
Dash of cumin
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients together (except for cucumber) in a bowl and mix until the right consistency. If you want more moisture, add a teaspoon of chicken broth. If you’re a mayo person, add more to your liking.

Apply a spoonful of the chicken curry mixture into a slice of cucumber!

Yum!

Keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days and it is one of those recipes that is even better the day after!

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Smoked Salmon Hors d’oeuvre


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Ingredients

Water crackers
Olive oil mayonnaise
2 boiled eggs (whites only) chopped
Smoked salmon
Capers (optional)

Directions

1. Spread a thin layer of olive oil mayo on the water cracker
2. Apply a thin layer of egg whites on top
3. Place a generous piece of smoked salmon over the egg whites
4. A few capers to top it off.

Cucumber Cups

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healthier-habits:

Cucumber cups – fill with healthy chicken, egg, or tuna salad hummus, cottage cheese (low-fat), etc.

Click here for full directions!

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Love this! I will be trying this.