Robust Recipes

Healthy, Flavorful Food

Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan

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Eggplant Parmesan used to be one of those meals that I would order at an Italian restaurant and savor each crispy, meaty, saucy bite because I always figured it would be way too complicated for me to make at home. I have news, my friends; making a satisfying eggplant Parmesan at home isn’t all that scary. Yes, it’s slightly more time consuming and labor intensive than most recipes I make here on Robust Recipes, but it isn’t as hard to make as you might think. It is well worth the effort, trust … [Read more...]

Black & White Black Bean Brownies (GF)

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Remember my vegan and gluten-free black bean brownies and my chocolate and strawberry gluten-free black bean brownies? Remember how those were out-of-this-world scrumptiously good? Well I’ve got news for you. These Black & White Black Bean Brownies may trump the previous two versions. And I am not just saying that. Then again, I may be biased about these little guys because they bring up quite a bit of nostalgia for me. My aunt introduced us to these wonderful cupcakes that we would … [Read more...]

Salmon with Coconut Sauce

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  This recipe is so incredibly simple, yet delicious that I almost don’t know what to say about it. It is so good that you just HAVE to try it for yourself. The End. Just kidding! Salmon is by far my favorite type of fish, which is funny because I hated it when I was a kid. But as an adult salmon is at the top of my favorite foods list. Coconut is quite possibly also on the top of my favorite foods list. I love coconut milk, coconut water, coconut chips, shredded coconut; you name … [Read more...]

Dairy-Free Chai Tea Latte

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I may have mentioned before that I am not a coffee drinker unless it is filled with sugar and flavorings and made by a fancy barista at a fancy coffee shop. Tea is my drink of choice; it’s my jam. I enjoy a cup of hot tea in varying flavors of green tea, herbal tea, white tea, red tea, and good ol’ black tea. I guess you could say that I drink every color of the tea rainbow. I never mess with my teas. No sweeteners or milk, just plain, simple tea. However, there is one type of tea that I do … [Read more...]

Cashew Milk

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  You may know by now that I absolutely despise cow’s milk. I love all other things dairy but I cannot stand cow’s milk. I have tried all forms and it still makes me want to gag. So, I started making my own almond milk, and instantly fell in love with its creamy consistency and its almond flavor. I have recently started to read about making other kinds of nut milks, such as pecan and cashew milk. "Must-try-all-nut-milks," says my greedy stomach. First on the list is cashew … [Read more...]

Vietnamese Pork Chops with Spicy Carrot Salad

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When I was a kid I always found pork chops to be rather boring and bland. I mostly experienced them plain with a little barbecue sauce brushed on top or some cheese melted on top. Not bad in a quick pinch. But it gets old pretty fast. Let’s spice things up-literally-with our pork chops, shall we? Vietnamese Pork Chops with Spicy Carrot Salad is everything I had dreamed it would be.  It is: Full of flavor Spicy Sweet Asian-esque Hearty yet light Tender Simple to make A few months ago … [Read more...]

Roasted Butternut Squash and Fennel Soup

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Hi friends, how has winter been treating you?  Good, I hope. Last week we had temperatures at a high of negative 13 with wind chills of negative 20 degrees! That’s right; I said N-E-G-A-T-V-E 20 degrees! I am pretty sure that my ears got frost bite just from sticking my head out the door to grab the mail. Not fun! So, I hunkered down underneath blankets and sweatshirts for at least 3 days. I drank a cup of hot tea at least once an hour and refused to eat any food that was at room … [Read more...]

Eggplant Pizzas (GF)

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  Paul and I both love pizza, Paul especially. He worked at a local pizza place for 8 years and received free or discounted pizza almost every day that he worked. As you can imagine, Paul requests pizza quite often and most of the time I am happy to join him in enjoying a good quality Take-N-Bake pizza. It is a treat for me to not cook that evening. When I am trying to eat healthy, such as right after the holidays, I have to deny Paul his pizza requests. I know, I am such a mean … [Read more...]

Beet and Raspberry Smoothie

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Hello 2015! How did you sneak up on me like that? Last I knew it was still Christmas. Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s?  I sure hope so. We had a fun time visiting with family and playing with kids, and we overindulged in lots of food and yummy sweets. I come from a long line of exceptionally great cooks; it’s kind of our thing. Naturally people who love to cook delicious food love to eat delicious food, and we sure did eat. A lot. Which is what the holidays are for, am … [Read more...]

Raw Gingerbread Cookie Bites (V + GF)

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One of my favorite Christmas-time activities as a kid was making homemade gingerbread and sugar cookies with my mom. We would spend hours decorating cookies that we had shaped or cut into gingerbread men, Santa, reindeer, snowmen, and Christmas trees. At the end of the day we would have frosted cookies that were dazzled with sprinkles and sugar. I was a sugar-crazed kid who thoroughly enjoyed scarfing down both the sugar cookies and the gingerbread cookies. Even as a kid my favorite of the … [Read more...]