Chocolate Raspberry Overnight Oats

I love overnight oats, and I love raspberries. But search as I might, I couldn't find a recipe combining the two that appealed to me... they all seemed to lack a little something.

Well, I finally had an epiphany yesterday, and realized the only thing better than raspberries is chocolate + raspberries. So I decided to let my hair down, and throw some cocoa powder in the mix! The verdict this morning? AMAZING. I should have known you can never go wrong by adding chocolate to anything 😉

Chocolate Raspberry Overnight Oats

Serves 1-2

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp flax seeds

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I use 0% Fage)

1/2 cup milk of your choice (almond, coconut milk, regular cow's milk, etc)

1-2 tbsp honey, to sweeten as desired (you can also substitute a packet or two of Truvia - that's what Ray prefers)

1/4 cup raspberries

In a mason jar or other container with a tight-fitting lid, stir together first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients except for the raspberries, close the lid, and shake well to combine. Let sit in refrigerator overnight, and add fresh raspberries before eating. 

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No Sugar Added Sweet Potato Muffins

 

I am not a morning person. "Cave troll" would probably be the most accurate description of what I'm like in the morning. But now, with having to make all our food from scratch, it took me about 2 days to discover I didn't want to wake up early enough to make breakfast for the family every.single.morning.

The answer? Making muffins and overnight oats the evening before. They have been my savior. Not only that, but my picky toddler will actually eat muffins because she thinks they're "cake cake". This recipe was  born out of my desire to make muffins that are actually healthy, but have *just enough* sweetness to continue tricking my toddler. I know you feel me moms of toddlers ((fist bump)) 

These aren't overly sweet, but I promise they don't taste like your typical "healthy cardboard" muffins. They're really dense and moist, and I imagine if a sweet potato pie and a muffin got together and had a baby, this is what would happen. 

And if blueberries aren't your thing, I think toasted pecans would be an amazing substitute! 

No Sugar Added Sweet Potato Muffins

Makes roughly 1 1/2 dozen

About 2 1/2 cups boiled and mashed sweet potatoes 

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a medium bowl, combine mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, honey, and vanilla. Stir in baking powder and baking soda (I know it's weird to add them to the wet ingredients, but it actually distributes the levening agents better than mixing them with the dry, which is important because these muffins are dense and need all the help they can get).

Add the flour and cinnamon, and stir until just combined. Right before spooning into the muffin pan, gently fold in blueberries. 

Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling almost to the top (these won't rise much). Bake for 25-30 minutes, erring on the lower end because baked goods make with honey instead of sugar tend to brown faster (but it all depends on your oven). 

Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

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Honey Vinaigrette Spring Pea Salad

 

adapted from this recipe by Food on Fifth

We have a great local produce market not too far from us called the Hollygrove Market, and twice a week they offer a flat rate $25 box of seasonal produce from local farms. This week's box included a pound of pink-eye beans, which frankly I'd never heard of before. After scouring the internet, I ended up doing another one of my hodgepodge recipes where I mix and match recipes depending on what we like, and which ingredients we have on hand. I ended up substituting in the pink-eye beans and keeping the cooking time at 5 minutes, which gave this salad a nice crunch!

Also, I realize pea shoots might be a little hard to find if you don't live in the city, but I think you could easily substitute some baby spinach leaves and turn this into more of a traditional salad.

Spring Pea Salad
Serves 6-8

3 cups each pink-eye beans, and fresh or frozen green peas (if frozen, make sure they are No Sodium Added)
6-8 leaves of fresh mint
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest from rind
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
2 cups loosely packed green pea shoots (I used sunflower plant shoots because that's all I could find at Whole Foods)

Honey Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive or avocado oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and toss in the pink-eye beans and green peas. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour beans and peas into a colander to drain. Rinse with cool running water, and leave to drain and cool down for about 10-15 minutes. Place in a large serving bowl.

Pour the olive oil, vinegar, honey, and mustard into a mason jar (or other container with a tight-fitting lid) and shake to emulsify. Season with fresh black pepper to taste, and set aside.

Roughly chop the mint leaves and add to the bowl of beans and peas, along with the lemon juice and zest. Cover and chill until read to serve.

When ready to serve, add in the pistachios, pea shoots, and vinaigrette, and gently toss.

Note: You can substitute frozen or fresh edamame or lima beans for the pink-eye beans - I was just using what I had on hand!

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Grilled Salmon with Sautéed Garlic Patty Pan Squash

 

One of the perks of switching to a low-sodium diet, is the ingredients you have to work with are generally much simpler, and meals come together more quickly. There aren't dozens of packaged ingredients to schlep from the fridge and pantry (and then back again). Just you, some fresh meat and produce, and whatever herbs and seasonings your heart desires ❤️

Grilled Salmon

Serves 4

1 Garlic clove, minced

2-3 tbsp olive oil (we use avocado oil we buy at Costco)

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Four 6 oz salmon fillets

Pepper, to taste

Mix first three ingredients together. Place salmon in a small pan, and pour marinade over top. Let sit for about 10 minutes while you heat up the grill to Medium-High. Place fish on oiled aluminum foil and grill 3-4 minutes per side. (Note: it's easy to flip if you loosen the fillet a bit with your spatula first, and then flip it by lifting up the edge of the foil)

Sautéed Garlic Patty Pan Squash

Serves 4

2 Patty Pan yellow squash (or regular yellow squash), roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

Pepper (or salt-free Tony's 😉), to taste

Pour oil in skillet and heat to Medium. Once oil is hot, toss in squash, minced garlic, and pepper (or other seasonings). Cook 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Top with fresh chopped basil once it's in the serving bowl, or on plates.

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Whole Wheat Chicken & Veggie Pasta Salad

Pasta coated with just a drizzle of oil doesn't cut it for me. I need a full-bodied *sauce* that has a flannel shirt and a beard. Problem is, all the delicious sauces out there have oodles of sodium...and after spending about an hour searching the internet for a low-sodium pasta salad that had more than just a wimpy oil/vinaigrette dressing, I gave up, and came up with my own. 

Whole Wheat Chicken & Veggie Pasta Salad

Serves 6-8

16 oz bag whole wheat bowtie pasta

2-3 chicken breasts

1 medium garlic clove, minced 

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

2 medium yellow squash, roughly chopped into 1/2' pieces

1-2 tbsp olive/avocado oil 

1/4 cup 5 Minute Avocado Oil Mayo 

Pepper, to taste

Sodium-free Tony's (optional)

While water is boiling for the pasta, grill chicken breasts and cut into strips or cubes once fully cooked.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions (usually 10-11 minutes). While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a pan and toss in garlic, onion, pepper and squash. Cook about 8 minutes, or until veggies are soft. 

Drain pasta, add veggies, grilled chicken, and toss with mayo to coat. Season with pepper and Tony's as desired. Can be served hot or cold - if serving cold, you might want to "refresh" the pasta with a tablespoon or two of mayo before serving, because the pasta will absorb it overnight in the fridge (and it might be a little dry). 

Tip: If your pasta finishes cooking before your vegetables, you can toss it with a tiny bit of olive oil to keep if from sticking together before you add the remaining ingredients 

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5 Minute Avocado Oil Mayonnaise

 

Back before I'd ever tried it, hearing people talk about making mayonnaise from scratch conjured up images of Julia Child and my Navy-wife grandmother who was the hostess with the mostess. I imagined lots of fussy ingredients, cracking a million eggs, and hours of whisking (not to mention a pile of dirty dishes).

But then I read the most beautiful thing a few years ago - you can make it in a food processor, or with an immersion blender. So I tried it. And it was AMAZING. But then I had 2 kids, and I had to choose between making condiments from scratch, or washing my hair for the first time in days. The shower won. 

Fast forward a few years, and now that we have to eliminate as much sodium as possible from my husband's diet, we've come full circle. In an attempt to control his sodium as much as possible, and be 100% certain of what's going in his body, I'm making mayo again. And it's not so bad - my incredibly picky toddler, surprise of all surprises,  loves it and dips her fries in it. Mom win!

5 Minute Avocado Oil Mayo 

2/3 cup avocado oil

1 egg

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp honey

Pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in your food processor except for the avocado oil. Pulse a few times to mix, then leave running and gradually drizzle in the avocado oil. It might take a minute or two, but it will eventually emulsify and thicken. You can use immediately, or make ahead and refrigerate so it has a firmer texture. 

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Meet the Telschows

This is us last Christmas - can't wait to see the "after" picture!

I'm currently fighting to keep the laptop in my actual lap right now, because I have a bulldozer of a 9 month old frantically swatting at the keys, while my 2 1/2 year old attempts to climb in my lap so she's closer to me than the baby (and thereby gets more attention, according to her logic).

And that's my life in a nutshell! This is going to be a no-frills (well, more like "rarely frills) blog, because I'm a stay-at-home-mom being pulled in about 1,000 different directions on any given day. The reason I'm starting this is to share yummy low-sodium recipes with our friends and family, and also to help document my family's adventure from grossly out of shape Louisiana eaters, to fit and healthy parents! My 32 year old husband was recently diagnosed with a heart condition in a very unexpected and terrifying fashion, and we still don't have a lot of answers about his diagnosis or long-term outlook, so we're trying to control the variables we're capable of controlling. The day he got out of the hospital, we started following his dietary and exercise recommendations to the letter, so here we are! We've completely overhauled our pantry and refrigerator, and a few million dollars and 30 kinds of dried beans and grains later, we're embarking on a whole new lifestyle. Come join us!

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