Robust Recipes

Healthy, Flavorful Food

Chocolate Coconut Cream Cups (V + GF)

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The idea for this recipe was first born around Easter time. I was at Walgreens, which is only 2-blocks away from our house. Convenience at its finest. I was perusing the candy isle when I noticed a bag of chocolate Easter eggs filled with coconut cream. They sounded scrumptious. I was about to purchase a bag until I looked at the ingredient list. The only ingredient with the word coconut in it was coconut flavoring. Umm, no thank you! I refuse to buy chocolates that claim they are filled with … [Read more...]

Cashew Ranch Dip (V + GF)

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  Who doesn’t love dipping a sweet orange carrot into some creamy, garlic-y, herby ranch dressing?  Ranch is the ultimate way to enjoy your fresh cut veggies. Ranch and raw veggies go together like peanut butter and jelly, like strawberries and chocolate. As a kid I wouldn’t touch raw veggies without dipping them into some ranch dressing. I used to drown my salads in the stuff. My poor mom, she wasn’t a fan of the stuff. She knew ranch was packed full of preservatives, a ton of sodium, … [Read more...]

Warm Lentil and Sweet Potato Kale Salad (V +GF)

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You guys, I have a new obsession: Lentils! Aside from having lentils in a stew or soup I haven’t experienced them very much until I recently began playing around with them.  Let me tell you, there is so much more to lentils than just soup.   One of the reasons I am really enjoying lentils is because they are the perfect way to incorporate a vegetarian or a vegan meal into your diet. Just 1 cup of cooked lentils contains 18 grams of protein, 16 grams of dietary fiber, along … [Read more...]

Chocolate Coffee Avocado Pudding (V + GF)

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There are no words to describe how wonderful this dessert is. Seriously, for once I am speechless. I mean, this is food we’re talking about; I always have something to say about food. But not this time. I ask you, what do I say about a dessert that is made from something savory, such as avocados, and is turned into something indulgent, dreamy, and that looks or tastes nothing like its original form?   You have to, HAVE TO promise me that you will try this dessert! That is truly the … [Read more...]

Creamy Sundried Tomato and Chipotle Dip

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You know those moments in life when things don’t go as you’d planned them, not even a little? This recipe was exactly one of those moments. During Christmas I was in Texas visiting family and we went out to eat at this amazing Mexican restaurant. It was a huge treat for us to enjoy a really good Tex-Mex restaurant. Remember, I discuss how Midwestern Mexican food doesn’t even compare to Mexican/Tex-Mex in Texas? This wonderful restaurant in Texas served us chips and salsa of course, but it … [Read more...]

Refried Black Beans

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With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner I have Mexican food on the brain. I love, love, love Mexican food. Really what we get up here in Iowa is more like Americanized Mexican food. Actually it’s Midwestern-ized Mexican food. I have enjoyed my fair share of Mexican food in Texas and it is a whole new world compared to our Mexican food here. Yes, maybe some of it is considered to be more Tex-Mex, but it is probably way closer to the real deal than our food is here. Let’s just say, Texas is … [Read more...]

Quinoa & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms with Caramelized Shallots (GF)

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Have you ever eaten a stuffed mushroom cap and found the mushroom to be watery and almost mushy? I am obsessed with mushrooms in just about every form. They are amazing when raw in salads, and I love them sautéed in some butter until brown, as well as pureed into a creamy mushroom soup . There was always one particular way of eating mushrooms that I did not enjoy: stuffed mushroom caps. I have ordered them at restaurants as an appetizer, excited to try their mushroom caps stuffed with crab, … [Read more...]

Creamy Asparagus Soup

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Hey, friends, hopefully by this point in April you are starting to enjoy some warmer weather where you live. Trees are starting to bud; grass is getting greener. And the produce in your stores is beginning to expand with colors and flavors. Fresh fruit is returning! One of my favorite vegetables that I look forward to in the spring is asparagus. My mom is going to flip bananas when she reads that statement. The thing is, until a few years ago I absolutely hated asparagus. I loathed the … [Read more...]

Gluten-free Banana Bread

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Banana bread was one of my all-time favorite treats growing up. My mom would squirrel away over-ripe bananas in the freezer until blackened bananas covered in frost would fall out of the freezer every time we opened it. Then my mom would get to work baking up a loaf or two of banana bread. I remember standing by the oven sniffing the sweet smell of bananas baking. Finally, after what seemed like a year the oven timer would ding and my mom would pull the bread out of the oven. I would bug … [Read more...]

Creamy Mushroom Soup (GF)

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As I am writing this blog two weeks ahead of its post date (because, I am a blog writing machine) our weather is abnormally warm for this time of year in Iowa. This past weekend we had highs of 8 degrees, and then the temperature leaped into highs in the 50s and 60s. Mother Nature is being extra generous this week. The snow is melting, the sun is shining, and the promise of spring has arrived. I am absolutely loving the spring-like weather! My mind has turned to spring-time recipes bursting … [Read more...]