Day 45

Wow, haven't blogged in a week and a half... Sorry readers!  Been so busy lately with just life in general, and also went on a youth retreat this past weekend, so there hasn't been much time left for blogging...

Life has been busy, somewhat stressful, but mostly good =)  My eating habits have been a bit up and down, especially on the youth retreat, but I think I did relatively well! =)  We went to Beaver Creek Camp, left Saturday morning at about 11, got back Sunday night at like 10:30.  I knew it'd be a long bus ride and I'd need to provide myself with some healthy snacks, so I brought some bananas, grapes, healthy pumpkin cookies, home-made trail mix, and 3 bottles of water.  I"m so glad I brought so much because I found that when I was able to eat my own stuff, I wasn't tempted by the cookies and chips and pop that were constantly offered to me. So that felt good =)  But it was difficult being unable to control what the camp staff cooked and how it was done, but I was very thankful that fruit was provided for breakfast, and I made sure to let the staff know it was much appreciated =)

So anyways, I have a couple recipes I have tried this past week and half, and I'd like to share them!  First comes the creamy quinoa primavera - which was really yummy - and dum aloo, which I made tonight and is also yummy! =)

A shout out to LA Butler, she told me she made the baked curried lentils and enjoyed them, and so I sent her the link to my blog here and let her know where she could find more delicious recipes! =)

Creamy Quinoa Primavera
1½ cups uncooked quinoa
3 cups chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
2 oz. cream cheese
1 tbsp. basil
2 tsp. butter
2 garlic cloves
5 cups thinly sliced vegetables
2 tbsp. grated cheese

Rinse quinoa thoroughly; drain. Heat quinoa and broth to boiling in saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until all broth is absorbed. Stir in cream cheese and basil; cover and remove from heat. Melt butter in skillet over med-high heat. Cook garlic and butter until golden. Stir in vegetables. Cook about 2 minutes stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Toss vegetables and quinoa together and top with cheese.

Dum Aloo
4 medium-sized potatoes cut and sliced into small edible chunks
6-7 tbsp. cooking oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. (or less if desired) of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. garam masala
1 cup canned tomatoes with juice
2/3 cup plain yogurt
4 tsp. sea salt

Place cut potatoes into water and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 4 mins. until they are tender but nowhere close to falling apart. They need to remain firm. Meanwhile, in a frying pan add all of the spices, oil, and onion up to and including the garam masala. Cook until onions are tender. Drain potatoes and add to the frying pan. Add tomatoes, yogurt and sea salt. Bring to a strong simmer and cook until potatoes are cooked through and edible. They should still be firm though. Once this is done, the recipe is complete!