New Recipes: October

It is no longer October, which means I have officially passed the two month mark in my new apartment and at my new job!  Whatever feeling of being settled I alluded to in the last post was a lie, or at the very least, fleeting.  I am definitely still adjusting to life in a new place--which has its fun parts, like a bike ride to sample beer throughout DC with friends a few weeks ago--but it has been hard for me to get a routine established that includes important things like exercising regularly and pursuing hobbies that aren't Netflix centered.

One routine that I have been able to establish fairly well is weekly meal planning and grocery shopping.  I have used my Sundays the past few weeks to pick out some new recipes, procure ingredients, and make enough food for several meals throughout the week.  Read on for some of the new things I tried this month!

Recipe 1: Bone Builder Smoothie

I'm not sure how I came across this recipe, but Nutella and raspberries in a smoothie?!?  I even went out and bought raspberries just for this purpose.  I also added a banana when I made it and a little bit of almond milk to help things blend.  My one problem with this recipe is that 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese and a dollop of Nutella aren't exactly low-cal.  I never in a million years thought I would be someone who counts calories, but I started using the My Fitness Pal app earlier in the summer, and guess what?  When you burn more calories than you take in, you look/feel better in your clothes/skin ;-)  

This is especially important for me to remember in lieu of my confession above at how hard its been to re-establish an exercise routine.  My hilly 20 minute bike ride to work in Charlottesville has been replaced by a 10 minute-if-I-add-a-few-blocks walk to work in Silver Spring, so exercising in addition to my commute is key!

Recipe 2: Chipotle Roasted Kabocha Squash and Kale Salad

This is another superb recipe from An Avocado A Day.  A few months ago, I tried a recipe for lentil "meatballs" and with a lemon-pesto, which was well worth a bit of extra effort in the kitchen.  This recipe was easier (once I tracked down the canned chipotle chiles) and contains one of my very favorite vegetables--kabocha--aka Japanese pumpkin.  If you follow the link above, you can read about all of kabocha and kale's super food properties, but I think all any fellow squash lover really needs to know is you can eat the skin!  No more almost losing a finger trying to peel a stubborn butternut or scraping out the insides of a spaghetti squash (although I will still do those things on occasion).  I had chiles left over, so I made another batch of kabocha this past weekend.


Recipe 3: Garden Minestrone

I made several substitutions in this recipe based on what I had on hand, but I don't think that subbing kale for spinach or spiral pasta for "very short tube-shaped macaroni" had any ill effects on the final product or preclude me from pronouncing this a good basic soup recipe.  I may have forgotten the salt and pepper, so it sorely needed some cheese to help bring out the flavors, but let's be honest, I would be adding cheese anyway so no harm, no foul.


Recipe 4: Roasted Broccoli Enchiladas

This recipe came about because I bought some overpriced enchilada sauce when I went into Whole Foods looking for the chipotle chiles called for in Recipe #2.  I was looking for adobo sauce, and didn't realize until I opened the can that the chiles are packed in it.  Live and learn.  I also follow the Relay Foods recipe blog, and they happened to have a recipe for enchiladas last week.  I liked the filling, but perhaps there was not quite enough sauce to cover and cook everything as the end product was a tad dry.  Like the soup and cheese combo above, this recipe was made better with a simple addition--creamy avocado.

Recipe 5: Salmon Waldorf Salad (similar recipe here)

I don't have too much to say about this recipe, but that doesn't mean it wasn't quick and tasty.  I did most of the prep between work and meeting up with my apartment building's newly formed "running group" and only had to mix everything together and put it on a bed of greens when I got back.  One drawback is that I am hesitant to take the leftovers in for lunch due to the aroma, but after sitting in the fridge the salmon does not seem as "fishy" as tuna.

Recipe 6: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

And lastly, another smoothie.  I've made something similar before, but this is a new recipe which does not call for protein powder.  When looking up the link to share here, I just noticed it says it serves two, or more accurately, one of me for breakfast.  Although this version is looking sadly plain, I look forward to making this again and adding some Reddi-whip and cinnamon on top.


As soon as I hit publish, I will have one blog post in the books for November!  And with all the foods of the holiday season on the horizon, let's hope it won't be the only one.  Thanks for stopping by!