Itailan Infused Olive Oil

This oil is easy to do and ready in 5 minutes. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days after you make it. This recipe makes a great dipping sauce or dressing and is great to take as a hostess gift!

Ingredients

• 6 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Oregano
• 1 1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Garlic Fans: Add 1 clove minced Garlic. It's great without it, but if you love garlic this is an added treat!

Directions

1. Place all herbs in a glass jar or cup that can hold 8 ounces (best to have something with a lid)
2. Add garlic if using it.
3. Slowly pour the oil over the herbs. If you're clumsy like me, use a funnel!
4. Cover and shake back and forth a few times (or stir gently if you have no lid)
5. Use and Enjoy!

Refrigerate any remaining oil (but odds are you'll use it all, it's that good!)

In-A-Pinch Pizza Dough

This is a fast pizza dough recipe with no rising required. Great when you're in a pinch!

Ingredients

• 3 C of the Flour of your choosing
• 1 Package of Active Dry Yeast
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar (or white sugar if you prefer)
• 1 C Warm Water
• Italian Seasoning if you'd like to spice it up a bit

Directions

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the olive oil and water.
Knead slightly to mix.
Spread out the dough by hand onto a pizza pan.
Top with anything you like (or just a little olive oil and garlic for garlic bread)
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

Detox All-Veggie Soup

If you are doing a fruit and veg detox (which is a great idea 2-3 times a year), this recipe can pull you through. It's mostly prep work but worth the chopping.

Ingredients:

• 2 cartons vegetable broth
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 pieces of celery, chopped
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 large cans of diced tomatoes OR 6 medium fresh tomatoes diced
• 1 container of mushrooms, sliced
• 1 zucchini, cubed
• 1 yellow squash, cubed
• 1 Tbsp basil
• Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place broth in a large pot with garlic, carrots, celery, and onion. Bring to boil and let cook for 10 minutes until vegetables soften.  
2.  Lower the temperature to simmer.  Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini and squash. 
3.  Season with basil, sea salt, and pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy!

And if you aren't detoxing and want to add chicken or beef, that's still a great healthy option!
 
 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

This is a great way to enjoy a starchy side without actually eating that much potato!

Ingredients

• 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, Peeled and Cubed
• 4 Medium Carrots, Peeled and Cubed
• 1 Tbsp Oil Olive
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2.  Put Sweet Potatoes and Carrots in glass or metal baking dish.
3. Coat with Olive Oil.
4. Sprinkle with spices.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check on them occasionally and just cook until soft at poke with fork.

No Guilt Cookie Dough

You're going to be skeptical until you try this one. Try it. Then give it to someone and try to make
them guess what it's made out of. They won't. Delicious and a fun party trick!

Ingredients

• 16 oz Chickpeas
• 4 Tbsp Almond Butter 
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1/8 Tsp Baking Soda
• 2 Tsp Coconut Sugar (Fine this at Whole Foods or the organic section of Giant Eagle)
• 3 Tbsp Raw Honey
• 2 Tsp Vanilla
• ¾ Bag Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Recipe can be vegan if you use vegan choco-chips)

Directions

1. Put everything but chocolate chips in blender and blend for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by tablespoons on wax-papered cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour.

Seriously - it's that easy. Freezing is essential to getting the texture right (because the cold will activate the baking soda-salt combo the way baking does) but you don't have to eat them frozen.

Easy Homemade Hummus

Toss it in the Blender!

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) – typically in the bean aisle.

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon) – if you use pre-squeezed juice, it typically isn’t as strong so add more to taste.

¼ cup tahini – this is in the ethnic aisle of most large grocery stores. I found a good deal at Whole Foods but have gotten it at Giant Eagle as well.

½ of a large garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

½  to 1 tsp sea salt, depending on taste

½  tsp ground cumin

2 to 3 Tbsp water

Directions

The trick for this recipe is the order you add the ingredients. Not kidding and I don’t know why.

1.  Get out your food processor.
2. Add Tahini and Lemon Juice. Process for 1 minute, scrape the sides of the bowl, then process for another 30 seconds. This will “whip” the tahini.
3. Add garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and cumin. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl, then process for another 30 seconds.
4. Open the chick peas and rinse them well in a colander under water.
5. Add half the chick peas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the remaining chickpeas. Process for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
6. Add water 1 Tbsp at a time and process for 30 seconds until you reach the consistency you like.
7. Refrigerate.

NOTE: The longer this sits, the better it tastes. Make it a day or two before you want it and it’s perfect.

Additional Ingredients

This is a base recipe and will make a tasty hummus on its own. If you like other flavors, you can work from here. Add these ingredients during step 3. You may have to vary the amount of water you add too.

Roasted Red Pepper: Add ½ cup roasted red peppers (You can make roasted red peppers: deseed and cute peppers into quarters. Place in shallow baking dish with water to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until soft.)

Garlic Lovers: Add 1 whole clove instead of only a ½.