All posts by Lauren Bolanos

Pantry Pasta Salad

pantry-pasta-salad

This pantry pasta salad is a great way to use some of your canned goods. Plus, this recipe tastes delicious and is a budget friendly option if you are meal planning.

I kept this salad dairy free, but if you can tolerate cheese, mozzarella would taste delicious in here too. It would have been gluten free as well but my grocery stores were out of those options. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ll be eating as much pasta, which is my favorite comfort food, as much as I want during this stressful time.

Pantry Pasta Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
  • ½ lb fusilli pasta
  • 1 cup of grape tomatoes
  • 1 can of artichoke hearts
  • 1 cup pitted and sliced black olives
  • 1 cup of pitted and sliced green olives
  • ½ cup of chopped red onion (half an onion)
  • 2 cups of sliced salami
  • 2 cups of chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp salt for boiling water
Dressing
  • ¼ cup of red wine vinegar
  • ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp dried basil
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, pressed
  • 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot to a boil and add salt. Then boil pasta according to directions.
  2. Slice grape tomatoes in half. Slice olives in rings, rough chop artichoke hearts, then slice salami and chop fresh parsley, then add ingredients to a large bowl for pasta salad.
  3. Chop red onions and then soak them in red wine vinegar used for dressing.
  4. When pasta is done, drain and rinse under cold water to stop it from cooking further.
  5. Drain red wine vinegar from onions, which should be milder or slightly quick picked from their time in the vinegar. Add onions to large bowl for pasta salad.
  6. For dressing, combine olive oil and drained red wine vinegar, sea salt, maple syrup, dried basil, dried oregano, and two large cloves of pressed garlic in a bowl or jar.
  7. Stir or shake dressing vigorously, then add dressing before serving to prevent soggy pasta.

Yoga For Chronic Illness

Yoga for chronic illness-Thurs copy

I know this is a stressful time, so I thought the Healing and Eating family would love this yoga and meditation class that everyone can do while on lockdown. Carrie, the instructor, is a good friend of mine and a talented dancer and yoga instructor, who knows firsthand about struggling with health issues.

Here are the details about the class and how to participate in her words:

In light of our current events, I have decided to bring my Yoga For Chronic Illness class to the digital world.

Yoga For Chronic Illness is a gentle yoga class with focus on breath work, meditation and special consideration for those with chronic conditions. This class is also for anyone who is in need of a little stress relief.

This is a donation based yoga class with a $10 suggested donation. Please join me and give what you can. Whether its $1 or $20 anything is accepted and gratefully received.

Please send donations-
Venmo:
@Carrie-Mikuls

Please join me:

Carrie M is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Yoga For Chronic Illness
Time: Mar 26, 2020 01:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/610202225

Meeting ID: 610 202 225

One tap mobile
+17207072699,,610202225# US (Denver)
+13462487799,,610202225# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 610 202 225
Find your local number: https://us04web.zoom.us/u/fiMBIMFO4

If this is your first time using Zoom, I recommend going to the website before hand and creating a free account. This way you can familiarize yourself with it. There is a little bit of a learning curve and it can take a few minutes to figure it out. You can share your screen or keep your camera off. The choice is yours.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see you there!

carrie-code

Beet Quinoa and Carrot Salad

carrot-quinoa-beet-salad

This beet quinoa and carrot salad is made with ingredients that will last a long time in your pantry or fridge. Awhile ago, I bought some precooked beets from Trader Joes that still haven’t expired. So, I decided to add them to some leftover quinoa, which for me, is a pantry stable.

trader-joes-beets

Then, to give the salad a bit more color and texture, I used a vegetable peeler to make carrot ribbons from one large carrot and I added chopped fresh parsley for some green pops of color. The salad dressing is really simple just red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. I used about four to five tablespoons of the dressing, and saved the rest, but feel free to add or more or less. If you are making this for later, add the dressing just before serving.

Beet Quinoa and Carrot Salad
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of chopped cooked beets
  • 2 cup of cooked quinoa
  • 1 carrot, shredding into ribbons
  • ½ cup of chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ½ cu of extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Combine beets, quinoa, carrot ribbons, and parsley in a large bowl.
  2. For dressing combine red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and mix in a separate bowl or jar.
  3. Add dressing to salad ingredients to taste.

Instant Pot Pork Verde

instant pot pork verde

Instant Pot pork verde can be used for a bunch of different dishes. It makes great tacos, but I also combined it with beans and onions to make pork chili verde. This pork recipe will also taste great over instant pot quinoa. Some ideas I haven’t tried yet are scrambling it with eggs, eating it in a sandwich or burrito, making enchiladas, or adding it to a soup. Since this recipe makes plenty of leftovers, there is still time.

I used Mild Herdez Salsa Verde because it was conveniently on sale and makes a great pantry ingredient for cooking. I wasn’t a fan of it for eating with chips, but it was very helpful for flavoring the pork and little bit over tacos was delicious. Just add some fresh chopped cilantro and diced onions and you have your taco toppings.

Instant Pot Pork Verde
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 pork loins
  • 1 cup of salsa verde
  • ½ sweet onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • ½ tsp of sea salt or to taste
Instructions
  1. Add pork, salsa, onion and garlic to instant pot and seal lid.
  2. Set on high pressure for 45 minutes. Quick release when done.
  3. Remove pork from instant pot, shred pork, then add pork to large pan or pot on stove.
  4. Add remaining liquid in instant pot to a blender. (If you don't have a blender, skip this step and add it directly to the pork).
  5. Once liquid is blended, pour over pork, and saute pork on medium to low heat for maximum juiciness and flavor.
  6. Then add sea salt to taste and you are read to serve.

Instant Pot Quinoa

instant-pot-quinoa-high-res

I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe during this difficult time. Now that California is in lockdown, I’m going to try to post more pantry oriented recipes while I’m home. This is one of my favorite and easiest recipes for meal planning.

Quinoa is gluten free and considered a whole grain, even if it’s technically a seed that’s prepared as a grain. I love how it soaks up the sauce, so we make it often with stir-fry and vegetable curry. I’ve also used it to make tabbouleh, but it can easily be added to any bowl, soup, or salad. Taco bowls with quinoa are also a big favorite at our home.

I’m lazy so I don’t rinse it beforehand, besides most of the commercially sold quinoa today has been processed to remove the bitter coating. I also usually cook it in chicken broth or stock in the instant pot to give it a ton of flavor. Feel free to use vegetable stock or water if you are on budget or to make it vegan.

Instant Pot Quinoa
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 cup of quinoa
  • 3 cups of water
Instructions
  1. Add 2 cups of quinoa to the instant pot.
  2. Then add 3 cups of water. Make sure all the seeds are submerged with a spoon.
  3. Secure lid and valve so it is locked.
  4. Press the rice button, which is set to 12 minutes on low pressure.
  5. When it is finished, use quick release with an oven mitt to protect your hand.
  6. Fluff with a fork and you are ready to serve.
Notes
Substitute water with chicken or vegetable stock for maximum flavor.

Freezable Favorite Soups

For those of you who are home and need to meal plan during this crazy time here are my favorite freezable soups that make a ton of food. Some of these aren’t completely paleo, and do contain beans. Feel free to omit ingredients that don’t make you feel good or add ingredients from your pantry such as rice or pasta. When it comes to meal planning and this pandemic, I’m not being completely strict about my diet. Cooking from whole foods and freezing your leftovers will always be more healthy than processed food.

Roasted Butternut and Apple Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

 

Spicy Italian Sausage and Lentil Soup

Sausage and Lentil Soup

 

Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

split pea and ham soup

 

Nonni’s Cauliflower Soup

Nonni's Cauliflower Soup

 

Kimchi Soup

Kimchi Soup

 

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

 

Italian Cabbage and Carrot Soup

Italian Cabbage and Carrot Soup