Simply Eat // Cheesy Seven-Layer Quinoa Dip

*DISCLOSURE: This post is sponsored by Collective Bias Inc. and its advertiser, but all opinions and words are my own. #NatuallyCheesy #CollectiveBias * 

Have you ever invited people over to your house for dinner only to realize later that you have absolutely no idea what to make? Yeah, me too. Every single time. Last week was no exception. AJ wanted to have some friends over from work- and while I love having company- when the day arrived, I was stressed trying to decide what to make. So I headed to Walmart to look for inspiration. 

I needed something fast, healthy(ish) and simple to make- enter this quinoa dip. Not only is it extremely easy, it can be made with things you most likely have sitting in your pantry right now. It was a success with our guests (though I think AJ and I ate most of it....) and is definitely going in my recipe book of things to make when I'm in a pinch. 

I thought I'd share it with you all so that if/when you're entertaining you can have a quick, go-to appetizer as well!

Here's what you'll need:

-2 cups Kraft Cheese Natural Shreds or Big Slice- I used both because, cheese. (Side note: If you're looking to try some of the cheese for your next recipe or game day snack, be sure to stop by your local Walmart for the demos they're having on the 26th!)
-2 cups cooked quinoa
-1/4 cup sour cream
-3/4 cup black beans
-1/4 cup green onions
-1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes
-1/4 black olives
-cilantro for garnish
-tortilla chips for dipping

1 // Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine quinoa and sour cream and cheese (reserving some for the top).  

2 // Spread mixture in the bottom of a baking dish or pie plate.

3 // Next, layer the rest of the ingredients on top of the quinoa mixture. It doesn't matter what order you do this in, unless you're super OCD about your dip toppings. Here's what I did:

4 // Top with the rest of the cheese.

5 // Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

6 // Allow to cool and enjoy!

See how ridiculously simple it is? Next time you're in a hurry, try this recipe out using lots of cheesy goodness, I promise it won't disappoint.

*Tip: If you'll really be in a hurry, make the quinoa beforehand, that way you can grab it and go!

What are some of your go-to recipes? I'm all about finding ways to make dinnertime prep easier!

Simply Eat // (Our Favorite) Banana Oat Pancakes

It's no secret that I'm a little bit pancake obsessed. While I was pregnant, I craved pancakes for all three meals. The downside of pancakes, however, is that they can be a bit time consuming. Or maybe that should read- I can be a bit lazy and hate measuring out a thousand different ingredients just to make my breakfast. Pancakes are especially tricky when you're trying to avoid gluten...

Enter the all time favorite breakfast at our house! These pancakes not only taste like the breakfast of your dreams, but they are made with only THREE ingredients to boot. Yep- three. Both AJ and Evie will eat these any time of the day, which makes my ridiculous pancake cravings a little bit more manageable.

I wanted to share these with you all, banking on the hope that you're as pancake crazed (and lazy) as I am. Here's to making our mornings simple and delicious!

Lets get to it:

Ingredients:
-1 ripe banana
-2 eggs
-2 packets of oatmeal (I used to make these with regular oats- which you totally can- but for convenience's sake discovered that these little guys make THE perfect flavor. You can go whichever route floats your boat.)

Step 1 // Put all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. You can adjust the texture as needed. If its too thick either add another egg or a little bit of almond milk. If its too runny add more oats.

Step 2 // Pour batter onto greased griddle and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.

That's it! See? Easiest breakfast ever. Enjoy with some fresh fruit and a mug of your favorite coffee.

What's your go-to breakfast for busy days?

Fluffy Gluten Free Pancakes

Another Friday- another week almost under our belts. What are your fun weekend plans?

I plan on being not nearly as productive as I was last weekend. I've been sick this week and so my motivation levels are a little bit on the low side. I think I'm over the worst of it though, but in all honesty I'll probably just work on my blanket (which is coming along well!) and cuddle with my baby all weekend. Sounds productive enough to me.

Today I want to share a recipe that has quickly become a favorite at our house. I LOVE pancakes, and lately I've been craving breakfast for all three meals of the day. Since making the switch to eating gluten free, however, I've struggled to find a recipe on Pinterest or in cookbooks that actually lives up to the glutenfull-fluffy-melt-in-your-mouth-pancakes that I was used to. Kind of a let down. But I would never let a small road block like that get in the way of my undying pancake love- or my pregnancy cravings for breakfast food.

I started to experiment with recipes and tweak things that I didn't like about them. There were some inedible failures, trust me. But in the end I think I came up with something that we all love and I hope you will too! AJ says he likes them better than my normal, "glutenfull" pancakes we used to make, so that should tell you something ;) My man likes his pancakes too.

Give them a try this weekend!

Ingredients: (makes about 4 servings)

- 2 cups almond flour (or regular wheat flour)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (or any kind of milk you prefer- we use coconut so Evie can eat them too)
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar or honey
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (optional)
- Fresh berries or chocolate chips

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk.
3. Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture.
4. Drop about 1/4 cup of the batter onto a hot, greased skillet and add the fillings of your choice. We love blueberries and chocolate chips.
5. Allow to cook for a few minutes- flip- repeat :) You know the drill.


There you have it! Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Happy weekend, friends.

Three Weekend-y Things

It's Friday! Time for most of you to do a happy dance. Our weeks are a little backwards- since AJ works Saturday-Monday the middle of the week feels more like the weekend to us. I do try to get excited about the weekends by having a little DIY project for myself every weekend while AJ is at work. Sometimes that just means cleaning the bathroom really well...since technically that is a "do it yourself" project, right? Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share a little of what is inspiring me to create lately- hopefully it inspires you too!

This weekend I want to experiment with making gluten-free sandwich bread, since all of the store bought versions we've tried have been not great. I'm planning on starting with the Against All Grain recipe- I'm in LOVE with all of her recipes I've tried so far, so I have high hopes for this one. Do any of you have experience with good gluten-free bread? I'd love to hear tips!



I've also been dying for a huge, chunky throw blanket for either our living room or bedroom and since they're generally wayyyyy out of my price range, my mom and I decided to make a few! This crochet pattern for the blanket below looks really do-able and like something you could find in a store, so we are going to give it a shot! Wish us luck- this definitely won't be a one-weekend project.

I also saw this coffee mug DIY on Oh the Lovely Things, a blog I've found a lot of inspiration from, and thought it would be a fun way to spice up one of my plain travel mugs. Also, its hilarious and accurate.

 

Those are my little projects for myself this weekend- simple and fun. I'm adding cleaning the bathroom to the list too, of course. But I'll probably need a little bit more inspiration first before I tackle that. 

What do you all have planned for the weekend? Any fun projects to add to the list? 

And just for kicks, and because it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, here's a little quote to start off your weekend.

 

Foodie Files-- Gluten-Free Banana Oat Cookies (that also maybe have a little nutella in them too...)

I love eating healthy. I really do. But I also have this problem that seems to rear its head every time I eat anything healthy. Its called I love sugar. I also have the I love dessert and pastries and ice cream problem. Just not frosting, but that's beside the point. The point is that I crave super unhealthy things about 75% of the time, which makes my clean eating goals a little bit tricky.

I have a feeling I'm not alone in this.

So in light of this problem, I'm always on the lookout for creative ways to trick myself into thinking that I'm eating dessert when I'm actually not. Enter my newest concoction: banana oat cookies. The trick is having super ripe bananas. You wont even notice the lack of sugar. Tricky, tricky- right? I've also made a version of this recipe as muffins (or one giant single serve muffin...) but I'll save that for another day.

This little helper makes baking a lot more fun too ^^^


So the next time you need to lie to yourself about dessert, or if you have nothing else to do with the next 20 minutes- make these cookies.

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (make sure they're gluten free, if you're into that...)
• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp raw honey (optional)
• 1 tbsp chocolate chips (I was out of chocolate chips so I substituted nutella, and I'm not mad about it.) 

- Preheat oven to 350 

- Blend oats in your blender/food processor till it has a flour-like consistency. I like mine a little bit more coarse, so I blended it less. 

- In a small bowl (or just throw them in the blender too), mash up the banana with a fork.

- Mix in the honey and cinnamon and fold in the chocolate chips/weakness of choice. 

- Drop in spoonfuls onto a baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes or until firm. 

There you have it! The dessert to end all desserts. I've made this recipe two or three times now and I LOVE them. They're quick and a heck of a lot healthier than a bowl of ice cream.

 Give them a try and let me know what you think!

To Wheat, or Not to Wheat- That is the Question.

My most recent hair-brained idea has been to give up eating gluten. Hearing those words still make my carb loving self shiver a little bit.

I'm about two weeks in and I've already noticed a huge increase in my energy (because I'm not stuffing my face with a bagel first thing in the morning), as well as improvement in my skin and the infamous "belly bloat" I would feel, but not necessarily see after eating some kind of wheat. While these are definitely awesome bonuses, cosmetic changes and weight loss weren't really my goal in embarking on this wheat-free journey, but rather overall health. 

My mom (who has been gluten free for several years and has experienced many of the health benefits since), recommended the book "Wheat Belly" to me. I barely got past the first three chapters when I knew I had to at least try giving it up. In it, Davis talks about how our "healthy grains" today aren't at all what they were even 50 years ago. He explains that many well meaning diets often have the reverse effect because no matter how many "healthy grains" a person eats with his well balanced diet and rigorous exercise, he still isn't keeping the extra weight off. His book is engaging, science based, and has countless stories of changed lives. 

While weight loss isn't my goal, self control and health is. I realized that, when it came to things like pastries, bread, and pasta I had the self control of a 9 month old child- which let me tell you, is nonexistent. If it was in my house, I would eat it. A blueberry scone at work? Sure, I'll have three. If Aj asked me to make cookies, I'd eat half the batter before the first batch went in the oven. 

Overindulgence in any area of life isn't healthy, and I really felt that I couldn't just "cut back"- I had to quit cold turkey. So far, I haven't even been tempted to cheat. It has been far easier to completely remove wheat from my diet than it would have been to cut back. I've been forced to experiment with food and learn to cook things in new ways. Lettuce wraps have become my best friend. And AJ is thrilled because he can buy oreos without the fear that I'll eat them all before he gets home from work. Seriously. 

I've made this recipe before and LOVE it. Click here for link. 

Do any of you have experience with gluten free life? I'd love to hear your experience/tips/favorite recipes. 

I'm excited to share this journey with you all- keep checking back for updates, recipes and my latest shenanigans.