Tag: kale

Kale & red berry smoothie
It’s Monday, and if you’re anything like me, then you need a little boost of energy after the weekend. Enter: the kale & red berry smoothie! ☀️

You might remember that I’ve recently changed my mind about kale and I’ve got a bunch of the stuff just begging to be used in some delicious recipe, sitting right in my fridge.

I’ve been on a health kick lately. Okay, confession: I’m always on a health kick of some sort! I love trying out new healthy recipes, and trying to turn my favorite dishes vegetarian. I’m not a big sweets lover, and would live off of just fresh veggies (and fruits, if you’re counting tomatoes) if I could. But I can’t because I also have a big strong husband to feed, and he needs a lot of protein and carbs to get through his day. And truth be told, so do I! It takes work to eat a fully veggie-only diet and still get all of the nutrients you need, and I certainly don’t have enough discipline for that. When I was single, I lived off of foods with a marina sauce base. Lots of pastas and salads, and more salads and pastas, and from time to time fish or meat if I had dinner guests or went out to eat. One of the reasons that I’ve really been wanting to start this blog is to archive my recipes for inspiration on those days when I’m just not quite sure what to make for dinner. Because lack of inspiration always leads to one meal: spaghetti! But I can’t always have pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner… ! When I need to change it up with a more conventional way to start off my day, I’ve gone a bit crazy for smoothies.

They’re super fresh, mega flavorful, and pack a big punch of energy. All of this, with just a few ingredients and ready in about 5 minutes – what’s not to love?

My first smoothie attempt was a huge success so that motivated me to work on a second fruitier masterpiece. I tweaked it a bit to get the right proportions, so this was the perfect mix of sweet and sour that I was going for. Go ahead and give it a try – don’t be afraid of playing around with the ingredients until it’s just like you like it!

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of greek yogurt
- 1 cup of kale
- 1 cup of frozen mixed red berries
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon of honey
Instructions:
1. Blend all ingredients until uniform in color and smooth (about 1 minute, depending on your blender). Drink this awesome kale smoothie immediately 🙂
Notes: If seeds in your drinks gross you out like they do for me, then just pour your mixture through a sieve to filter out the seeds!
June 22, 2015
Black bean kale quesadillas
Happy Friday, y’all!

This recipe was meant to be “Black bean quesadillas” but then I thought… what if I had something other than beans & cheese for dinner, you know, to healthify this recipe a little bit? Then I looked over to the two uneaten bags of kale sitting in my fridge and I realized that I should stop avoiding them and see if I could sneak them into this recipe. The only reason I even bought them is because they were on sale, and I thought I should finally give Kale a try.

See, I have had a bit of a hang up with Le Kale, until only very recently. I know it’s supposed to be a super food, and be super good for you, but something about just how fashionable it became turned me off. When I was living in Paris, Kale was pretty much the coolest thing ever! Parisians were obsessed with le Kale, and were putting it in everything. Everything! People are even out here walking around in t-shirts with “Kale” printed on them! So naturally given all the hype, I thought this was another food fad that would come and go. You see, I’m a spinach lover, and I’ve resisted this food trend for a while thinking that Kale and Spinach offer essentially the same benefits and nutrients (which is more or less true). Then, I tasted a kale Mac ‘n cheese recipe. And everything changed. The stuff’s delicious, y’all!

For a pretty good breakdown on the Kale vs Spinach debate, check out what Huffington Post has to say about it:http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/02/kale-vs-spinach_n_3534191.html

So here’s how I transformed my classic black bean quesadillas to a nutrient-packed (and trendy 😉) vegetarian meal, perfect for getting dinner on the table in under 20 minutes and still keeping it totally healthy. You guys — these black bean kale quesadillas are legit!! Easy, filling and healthy – make these now…! 🙂

In other blogging news, I’m super excited to announce that I’ve started building a Yummly recipe catalog (which you can check out here) and have also become a Yummly publisher! It’s super convenient to have all of my recipes in one place, and I can also look up other amazing recipes from other sources — win win!

All you need to do is browse the picture index on my Yummy publisher page, and when you see a recipe you like just click it and yummly will bring you back to the recipe here on seefoodplay.com.

If you want to add one of my recipes then just click the “Yum” button to share 😉

Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1 cup of Kale, sautéed in olive oil & a dash of garlic powder until tender
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1 cup of homemade salsa (or jarred salsa if you are in a hurry!)
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions:
1. Mix together your kale, beans, salsa and cheese in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Add some olive oil to a large frying pan and heat on medium for about 30 seconds.
3. Place your tortilla in the pan, then add a few ablespoons of the bean mixture to half of the tortilla, then fold over the other half to create a half-moon shape.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until nice and golden.
5. Repeat steps with the remaining tortillas and bean mixture.
6. Serve with a few cherry tomatoes and some fresh chopped cilantro.
June 19, 2015

Tag: kale

Kale & red berry smoothie

Black bean kale quesadillas