Sweet Potato Roti

I've been meaning to share this simple, delicious, versatile recipe with you all for a while. If you are looking for a wheat free or gluten free alternative to bread, tortillas, naan, or what have you, look no further!

What is roti, you ask? Roti is an Indian flat bread, usually made with a wheat flour.

Due to a wheat allergy, I have welcomed any and all bread alternatives and this one is my favorite!

I first heard of using sweet potatoes from my wonderful friend, Melissa. This is a super simple recipe, literally two ingredients.

What you will need:

1. Baked or boiled sweet potatoes, peeled. (I boiled mine and then the peel slips right off. You can always bake if you prefer.) If I bake, I bake at 400 for about 30 minutes. If you boil, just rinse them and boil for about 20 minutes and check to see if they are soft enough by piercing them with a fork. 

2. Equal parts flour to sweet potato.
(I prefer a wheat free blend I found at Costco by Namaste.).

Let your sweet potatoes cool.

Once cooled, mash your potatoes in a large mixing bowl.

Slowly add your flour and mix together, I ended up using my hands.

Form mixed dough into a log and cut into inch wide slices (or bigger if you prefer).

Scatter your surface with flour to avoid sticking and roll out your round slices.

Simply heat a few minutes on each side in a pan. I use a flat cast iron pan. You have roti!!

My favorite part is that it is freezable! I had took my round slices and froze them on a cookie sheet and then sealed them in a freezer baggie. Months later I thawed them in my refrigerator and had roti dough ready to go for a week! You may need dust with flour when you roll the thawed dough.

Heat and eat!

I have enjoyed them with savory meals, like crack slaw or chicken. I have used them as a sandwich wrap for tuna as well as peanut butter and jam. It's also a nice dessert when dusted with cinnamon and butter. My favorite so far, inspired by an apple and brie toast I had at a coffee shop, was sweet potato roti with apples, brie cheese, sliced almonds, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. There is so much you can do with this roti!

Let me know what you think if you give it a try or if you add anything special and make it even better!

All the love,

Caffeine and Freckles

Matcha Protein Shake

For me and matcha, it was love at first taste. About 13 years ago I used to commute into work with my friend Donna (I love you Donna!). I have to say that the commute never felt like a "commute" with Donna. It was a beautiful, therapeutic, loving gab session on the way to work and on the way home. Our morning ritual consisted of stopping at a local coffee shop for a hot drink and a smoke before we hit the road. (Yes, I used to smoke) Anyway, back to matcha! I was in love with the Green Tea Latte with soy milk. Slowly but surely I noticed matcha popping up all over the place.

The last few years I've made some green tea lattes at home which is a great treat. I recently had a matcha smoothie at a coffee shop. DELICIOUS!! I never ordered one before because I tend to prefer hot drinks over icy cold. I went home and tried to recreate it, but it pretty much tasted like grass. I added some honey to sweeten it up which worked a little but it was nothing like the heavenly beverage I had at the shop. I froze it into popsicles for the kids. They could get about halfway through them before they got grossed out. 

The next day I went in and asked the lady what they use. It looks like the secret was a white chocolate powder. I was bummed because I get it with soy milk to make it dairy free and with the powder it for sure has dairy in it. I made another batch at home with some white hot chocolate powder. It was a hit, but I really didn't want that dairy, sugar, and other off the wall ingredients in my smoothie!

Ah ha!! I have that big tub of organic vanilla protein powder with greens! I had bought it from Costco and no one in the house liked it. I didn't even like it much but I was determined to find a way to enjoy it.

I love the vanilla protein powder and matcha together. I had about a 20 ounce shake this morning and I am not craving my morning coffee. I'm not saying I'm giving up coffee, I'm just saying lets see what happens. So here is the shake recipe that I'm digging hard core!

Matcha powder

Vanilla protein powder

Organic soy milk

Ice

All organic, all delicious.

Benson sat patiently waiting to see if I could come up with a decent matcha shake. Look at the faith in his face, he's on the edge of his seat! 

I know there are dangers with soy. I typically only have it when I order drinks from a shop, which isn't often. I'm feeling OK about organic and preferably non-gmo soy milk in moderation. I'm sure this smoothie would be just as yummy with a cashew milk or coconut milk.

I used a handful of ice cubes, about 12 oz of vanilla soy milk, a Tbsp of match powder, and not quite a full scoop of protein powder. Blend and enjoy! That's it!

A frothy, green, healthy drink...

You can always add your supplements into the drink as well. I plan on emptying capsules of ashwagandha, pine bark powder, and triphala now that I know I will be enjoying this drink on a regular basis.

This is more of a shake consistency than a smoothie, but adding more ice can create more of a smoothie texture.

I have some moringa powder that needs to be used. I've had a hard time finding ways to consume that as well, I don't mind the flavor, but it tends to take over. Maybe adding just a little to the drink will go well with the matcha. I'll let you know my thoughts.

All the love,

Caffeine and Freckles

More Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

I thought I would share with you some of the healthy lunches I whipped up for the rest of this week. I never regret meal prepping. It ALWAYS comes in handy. Next week I start a new chapter, I will be going back to work part time at the elementary school that my two youngest children attend. I will also have delicious, healthy lunches without a lot of effort :)

I made a cup of quinoa (which goes a long way) that I cooked in vegetable broth with a touch of curry powder. I added zucchini and yellow squash that I had sautéed in olive oil and garlic, plus some peas, cilantro, and a little Parmesan cheese. I might add avocado when it's time to grub. I made two servings of this particular mix.

If you are afraid you will get bored of the same meal over and over, mix it up a little. I used the rest of the quinoa and added chili beans, salsa, cilantro, hot sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Avocado would be a tasty addition to this version as well. I made two servings of this version and STILL had quinoa to spare!

I took the rest of the quinoa and added the left over squash, chili beans, and cilantro, kind of a mix of the two together. I can always have it for dinner one night.

Filling, nutrient-rich, wheat-free, dairy free if you omit the Parmesan, lunches with no on going effort during the week.

You could try adding corn, black beans, pinto beans, mushrooms, water chestnuts, or even dried cranberries.

Let me know if you try it!

All the love,

Caffeine and Freckles

Almond Butter and Dark Chocolate Granola Bites

I've tried making similar "protein bites" in the past and they didn't turn out very well. They were thick and bland. These turned out great! They definitely made the A list since my husband and the kids. They are packed full of healthy protein and tasted great with my coffee.

I was planning on making granola bars and at the the last minute, decided to roll them into balls. I'm guessing these would work well in the freezer and then thaw before baking if you decided to make a huge batch.

I like to add as much healthy goodies to food as I can. I almost always add chia seeds, flax seed, and hemp seeds to my granola bars and oatmeal. I left the hemp out this time around as I was saving what I had left for my oatmeal. These are super versatile, you can omit or add a huge range of ingredients to your liking. I usually add coconut as well, but passed this time around.

Here is how it went down!

Here is how it went down:

3 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup apple sauce
drizzle of honey
1/3 package of dark chocolate chips (more if desired)
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2-3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup milk of choice to moisten (give or take) I used almond milk creamer

Combined the oats, chia seed, and flax in a large mixing bowl and mix together.

Add gobs of apple sauce for some sweetness and fluffiness (I'm guessing about a half a cup) and drizzle your desired amount of honey.

Stir your chips in and liberally dash the cinnamon! Next time I may try using more chocolate chips, I used about a third of the bag so there seems to be about 1-3 chips in each ball.

Next I put in many gobs of almond butter, guessing to be about 3/4 of a cup and mixed it in.

At this point it was a little too dry and I was out of my staple milk, cashew milk. I really didn't want to add dairy, so I splashed in some of my almond milk creamer and mixed it all together.

With wet hands, roll your mixture into 1- 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on a greased dish. I used a 13x9 glass baking dish smeared with coconut oil.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Move each ball to a dish of your choice and enjoy!

This recipe made almost two batches.

There you have it. Yummy, healthy, protein-packed, simple bites that you can enjoy at home or on the go.

All the love,

Caffeine and Freckles

Polenta Snacks

Polenta! I love me some polenta. It's gluten free, it's vegetarian and vegan, it's easy and it's delicious.

I've been playing around with it a bit lately. It's not homemade (stay tuned for that), I've been buying pre-made, organic polenta and slicing it into rounds. Today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite toppings. These are great for a snack and perfect as an h'orderve when you have guests. You can dress up the rounds as sweet or savory to touch on all those lovely parts of your pallet.

Another idea is to get the kids involved. Let them each pick out a topping or two and have them top a few rounds. If you make enough, it can easily be a creative dinner that they took part in making, which typically means they are more likely to eat it. Not always the case at my house but it's worth a try.

I've used polenta I bought at Trader Joe's and today I'm using Freida's, which I found at Albertsons. Both are organic. This is so simple and cheater-like, you will want to make them regularly.

You can plan out what toppings you like. Last time around I topped a few with pesto and a few with some cheese (for the husband). Next time around I'd like to add some mushroom and olive, yum!

Here was today's polenta adventure.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Start by slicing up your polenta roll. My slices are probably a little over 1/4 inch thick, but it really doesn't matter.

You will want to start by coating them with an oil of your choice. I chose olive oil today. I literally poured some olive oil on my hands and gave each round a little rub down. My dry hands could use the olive oil love anyway.

Lay your rounds out on your baking sheet and get ready to top those babies with your yummy additions.

My first tried and true topping was artichoke antipasto with a little black pepper. Some of you may not like artichoke, I feel bad for you.

Next topping, also tried and true was salsa. Salsa and corn seem to take on a natural love affair. What I tried this time that I hadn't before, was green chili salsa. I can't wait to taste it!

Now that we have some savory and some spice, let's move on to the sweet! I really enjoyed these last time around so I'm including them again. I used organic apricot jam with a sprinkle of cinnamon. They come out like an easy going, mellow dessert.

Do you see that little guy there? I just poured some honey on him and called it a day.

Time to bake these little pretties. They take about 15 minutes, but I tend to bake mine longer for two reasons. One is because I refrigerate my polenta to leave more room in my fridge so they start off cold. Second is because I like my polenta rounds a tiny bit crispy on the edges. I'd rather save the soft polenta for a creamy dish.

You can do just about anything with these. I'm dairy free, but if I wasn't, I would be dabbing on the goat cheese with rosemary or ricotta with basil. The combinations are limitless!

If you're a meat eater you can easily add meat the the show. How about some seasoned beef or ground turkey with cheese and lettuce? Little polenta tacos!

Let me know if you try your own polenta round snacks and which one's were your favorite.

Tons of love,

Caffeine and Freckles

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lunch - Red Quinoa and Rice with Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions

This one is a bit of a cheat. Not a cheat as in a greasy or sweet sugar loaded meal, but a cheat as in not homemade. Still, in it's cheater fashion, it is healthy, so who cares?

I used two items. Costco sells packets of Rice and Red Quinoa and I had Trader Joe's frozen Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions.

Microwave the rice and quinoa and saute the peppers and onions in a pan. I added some garlic powder, Himalayan salt, black pepper, and red pepper.

Quinoa is very high in protein and is considered a complete protein packed full of amino acids (more information here), so there is really no nutritional need to add meat, but throw some in if it floats your boat! Water chestnuts would be a nice added crunch to this lunch.

Filling, healthy, and satisfying in a bout two minutes.