Thandai Bundt Cake

Thandai Bundt Cake is a beautiful and fun fusion cake that highlights the traditional flavors of thandai in a moist and light cake.  Thandai is a popular beverage to have during Shivratri and Holi. This cake is egg-free, easy to make, and absolutely delicious, making it perfect to have during the festival times!
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Roasted Tomato Soup

A simple classic, this slow Roasted Tomato Soup is rich, creamy, and comforting.  Made with roasted fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and fresh basil, this tomato soup is full of flavor.  Get your grilled cheese ready because this recipe will have you praying for a rainy day and savoring every element of the season.
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Thandai Gujiya Pinwheels

A fun twist on the traditional gujiya with the same flavors in each decadent bite.  These Thandai Gujiya Pinwheels are made with the classic thandai powder used during Holi, the quintessential gujiya filling all rolled into puff pastry dough before they are baked.
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Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs

These Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs might just be the best deviled eggs you’ve ever eaten.  This recipe adds a fun Bloody Mary twist to this popular appetizer, garnished with gherkins and olives.  Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs are perfect for any holiday party, brunch, New Year’s Eve, or even brunch.
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Cranberry Balsamic Glazed Turkey Meatballs

Cranberry Balsamic Glazed Turkey Meatballs are sticky, sweet, and moist.  Lean ground turkey is seasoned with parmesan cheese, herbed breadcrumbs, garlic, fresh rosemary, and a little orange zest.  They are then coated with luscious glaze made with cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey, fresh rosemary, orange juice, and soy sauce.  Mini meatballs are the perfect appetizer for any dinner or holiday party.
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Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad

This Cranberry Apple Quinoa Salad is filled with bursts of sweetness, texture, and nutrients.  The quinoa soaks up a delicious Maple Dressing and the arugula gives just a hint of a peppery note.  What’s best is it’s great to eat for lunch, or have as a side dish.
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Autumn Squash Soup

Creamy and nourishing, this delicious Autumn Squash Soup is just perfect for a cozy dinner at home during these cold days.  This soup is a spin off of Panera’s Autumn Squash Soup without the extra calories.  But don’t worry!  It still tastes amazing and just like Panera’s.  The best part is that whilst you make this delicious soup, your home is going to smell like fall.  Can it get any better?
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Quinoa Fiesta Salad

Fresh and beautiful veggies from across the rainbow to make amazing salads are my favorite.  This Quinoa Fiesta Salad is one of my family’s favorites.  As a mom, it makes me happy that the girls are getting so much nutrition in one bowl.  The kids look at the colors and get excited to eat a rainbow and I love that they are enjoying fresh and healthy ingredients!

This salad does triple duty which I love.  A dish which becomes a meatless entree can also serve as a side dish or a salad depending on my mood.  The cherry on top of this recipe is that it takes less than 30 minutes to make and is very forgiving if you need to substitute or leave out ingredients.

HOW DO I MAKE A QUINOA FIESTA SALAD?

1.  Cook the quinoa.  While the quinoa is cooking, you can get the dressing and your other ingredients ready!
2.  Make the Cilantro Lime Dressing.  I love this dressing because it is so light.  If you choose to leave it out as I do for my girls, simply replace it with a drizzle of Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
3. Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to mix.
4.  Enjoy and get addicted to this salad as much as my family and I are!


Here are the tools I used for this recipe:

 

Secret Ingredient Brownie Bites

Back to school is all I can think of at the moment.  We’ve made it through the first week successfully so this week, we are adding a challenge – soccer practice.  I’ve got two schools in opposite directions of each other, different timings for both kids, and now practice days.  I’m definitely going to need as many snacks with me as possible.  Easy to eat snacks and as healthy-ish as I can make them for my picky eaters are what I’m looking for.

These secret ingredient brownies are the perfect solution because the girls can’t taste or guess the secret ingredient!  But the girls did approve of them and that is all I need to keep making deceptively delicious foods.  Well, what is the secret ingredient you ask?  BLACK BEANS!  So when I first told the husband about my idea, he was very skeptical.  He loved the black beans idea just wasn’t sure about adding it to a dessert.

But it works!  You can’t taste the black beans at all, courtesy of my blender.  And the addition of the beans gives the brownies a truffle-like consistency.  They also remove the necessity of using flour so these become gluten free!  My favorite part is that I can make these brownie bites in less than 15 minutes!  Yep, ever heard of a baked dessert ready to eat within 15 minutes?  It’s right here and it tastes delicious.

I wouldn’t count this as a healthy food but it is a good option to straight sweets.  I won’t be making them all the time but often enough to get the girls moving.  Make sure to pack one of these delicious brownie bites in your child’s lunch bag!

Here are the tools I used to make this recipe:

For more snack ideas, check out these recipes:
Popeye Muffins
Almond Cacao Energy Bites
Simple Homemade Crunchy Granola
Lemon Blueberry Mini Loaves

 

Back to School Breakfast on the Go!

Summer is practically over in less than a week for us.  I’m going to miss the lazy mornings, the relaxed schedules, and eating pancakes and french toast for breakfast.  I’m looking forward to having a regular schedule in the mornings but planning them out will take some effort.

If you are looking for easy and healthy breakfasts then you’re in the right place!  I’ve compiled some of our favorite breakfast recipes below.  There are several chia pudding recipes as that has become a family favorite lately.  Others, like the Apple Pie Oatmeal takes 3 minutes in the Instant Pot.  I also like to make Almond Butter Breakfast Bars and Breakfast Oat Muffins over the weekend for on the go days.

If you want to see certain recipes on the blog, leave a comment below.  I would love to create recipes for you!


Almond Coconut Porridge  


Breakfast Soufflé Bites


Breakfast Oat Muffins


Apple Pie Oatmeal


How to make a Nutty Granola


Almond Butter Breakfast Bars


Pomegranate Pistachio Chia Pudding


Fig and Chia Pudding Parfait


Avocado Banana Smoothie


Date Smoothie

Back to School Lunch Ideas

Last year, I had this beautiful plan of meal planning and prepping during the school week.  The goal – to provide as many nutritious and yummy meals as I possibly could for the family.  By May, I gave in to grilled cheese and mac and cheese being on the weekly rotation too often.  I did have a great run of healthy meals most of the year though which empowers me to write another Back to School blog post.  Continue reading “Back to School Lunch Ideas”

Citrus Herb Salmon with a Mango Pico and Cilantro Lime Rice

It doesn’t get any tastier (or easier) than this delicious Citrus Herb Salmon topped with a sweet and spicy Mango Pico on a bed of Cilantro Lime Brown Rice.  Ready in 30 minutes (yep, even the brown rice), this is the perfect healthy meal to serve your family.  Continue reading “Citrus Herb Salmon with a Mango Pico and Cilantro Lime Rice”

Zucchini Moong Dal

As I raise my girls, it has become very important to me that they keep connected to their roots and one of the ways I do this is through food.  Lucky for me, they both love the typical comfort food fare of “Dal Chawal” or Lentils and Rice.  A twist on the traditional Moong Dal Fry, this recipe adds zucchini and is low in calorie but nutrient dense.

Ready in just 15 minutes, this has become my latest go to recipe when I’m tight on time.  Because moong dal cooks very quickly, I don’t soak them for more than 20 minutes.

Nutrition is also very important when I’m serving this dish as a main meal to the girls, and this dish doesn’t disappoint.
1 cup of zucchini moong dal gives you:

  • 156 kcal
  • 8.7 gm protein
  • 7 gm fiber


As to cooking it over the stove versus the instant pot, traditionally, the dal was boiled first then added to the spices.  I love just using one pot to make the whole dish so I usually add the uncooked dal into the spices/gravy mix then cook it in the instant pot.

I hope you get a chance to try out this delicious recipe and enjoy it as much as my family does.

Looking for more lentil/dal recipes?  I’ve got you covered.  Check out some of these amazing dishes:
Sprouted Moong Beans Sabzi Gujarati Style
Spinach Dal 
Instant Pot Kali Dal 
Adai Waffles / Lentil Waffles

Here are the tools I used for this recipe: