Almond Date Breakfast Smoothie

So, I've literally had this breakfast smoothie almost every morning since the new year began.  It's amazingly delicious and healthy!  You get protein, calcium, vitamins, and a little sweetness too!

Almond Date Breakfast Smoothie
(makes 1 large glass)

1 cup skim milk or vanilla soy milk
1 tablespoon smooth almond butter
1 banana
5-6 pitted dates
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (optional)
6-8 ice cubes
*For added protein I sometimes add a scoop of protein powder, usually vanilla flavored.

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth!  Pour into your glass and enjoy for breakfast or anytime of the day!!

I can't get enough!

It's like a drug, I just can't get enough of it! All day yesterday I was thinking to myself that I couldn't wait to get home so I can make more quinoa salads...today I made a copycat version of a quinoa dish I get at this restuarant called Hummus Kitchen, on the Upper East Side. They call it the "Super-Healthy Salad." And they aren't lying either. I wouldn't call it quite a salad because there's no variety of lettuce in it.

It might be hard to tell what's in this salad based on my photo, sorry I'm not the photographer in the family. I probably should have used the white quinoa so it's a more pretty "salad" in the end, but since I had leftover red quinoa I used up what I had. If you want to go for the pretty effect I'd use white quinoa as opposed to the red variety. If you don't care about that sort of stuff, then GO BIG RED!

Super-Healthy Non-Salad

(serves about 4 as a side dish)

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried apricots chopped

1 cup roasted sweet potato* (about 2 yams or sweet potatoes cubed)

1/2 cup walnuts or slivered almonds (I used a mixture)

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a pot bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and then cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Pour cooked quinoa in a sieve and then rinse quinoa with cold water to cool off. Drain and place in serving bowl.

2. Add cranberries, chopped apricots, roasted sweet potatoes*, and walnuts to the bowl.

3. In a small bowl combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over salad just before serving.

*If you don't know how to roast a sweet potato read on to get step by step directions.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Pour about 1/4 cup olive oil on the cubed potatoes and mix to coat then lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Roast for 30-40 minutes in oven or until tender.

Mandel Broit with Almonds

Mandel Broit with Almonds

1 1/2 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 cup cake meal (you will need extra cake meal for dusting)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange and lemon zest (can be omitted if you'd like)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

egg wash (1 egg and water)

Mix together cake meal, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs with sugar until pale yellow. Add oil and vanilla into the egg mixture and then add slowly into the dry ingredients. Fold all together. Dough will be very sticky, so add more cake meal until you are able to manage the dough with your hands. Sprinkle more cake meal on marble surface and form dough into 4 logs about 2 inches wide. Brush logs with egg wash and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until golden brown. Cut logs into 1 inch slices when warm, let cool completely and enjoy!!

**If you want your mandel broit to be more crunchy you can bake the cookies again, after they are sliced, for another 20-30 minutes until edges are crisp. Then you will have more of a biscotti-like cookie.