POWER JUICER!!!

As a kid, we abhorred the juicer.  My mom would make us various concoctions of carrot and celery juice or some other dreaded vegetable in liquid form.  Honestly, my mom was pretty good at creating palatable combination's, it was more the thought that vegetables could become green juice that really freaked us out.  Needless to say, I have grown up and thus absolved my fear of drinking my veggies.  Especially when Matcha tea is my among my favorite things! 
When I was out in CA last month, I was staying with one of my closest friends, Matt and his girlfriend, Cristina.  Cristina and I think quite a bit alike.  She recently got a juicer and has since gotten in the habit of juicing daily.  A ritual Matt has become accustom to and dare I say looks forward to despite how quickly he chugs his daily juice!  Point being, all of this juicing inspired me to get back in the habit so the number one item on my Christmas wish list was- you guessed it, a juicer.  My far too generous brother got it for me and as you can see above I was slightly psyched about it!
I have some ideas for new juice recipes, but clearly have some testing to do!!  I am thinking apple, carrot and ginger might be a fun one... hopefully over the next month I will start to get some juice recipes up on Nourish This for you all to try out yourselves.  For now, hook yourself up with a post-holiday present if you don't already have one!

Quinoa Stuffing!

I was on Frankly Speaking yesterday, a blog-talk radio broadcast in Chicago talking about eating well over the holidays and I shared this recipe!  The full recipe will be posted on Nourish This by next week :)  Enjoy!  

Ingredients:
   •    3/4 cup quinoa
   •    1 1/2 cups water
   •    1 cup finely diced carrots
   •    1 cup finely diced celery
   •    1 cup finely diced white onions
   •    2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
   •    2 cups diced chestnuts
   •    1/2 cup dried, unsweetened cranberries
   •    1 cup finely diced granny smith apples
   •    2 cloves minced garlic
   •    2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
   •    1 TBS poultry seasoning
   •    2 TBS finely chopped fresh sage
   •    2 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley
   •    1 tsp. Sea salt
   •    2 whole eggs
   •    2 1/2 cups almond milk
   •    3 slices gluten-free bread

How To Prepare:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Start by rinsing your quinoa in a fine strainer to help remove some of the bitter taste after cooking.  Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Once the mixture has reach a boil, reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water.
Next, wash and finely dice carrots, celery and onions and saute in a large skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  You want the veggies to sweat (meaning cook without browning) until they are fork tender. 
Add your diced chestnuts, cranberries, apples and garlic, saute another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour the stock over the veggies and stir to remove bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Toss in herbs and salt and let sit over medium-low heat while you finish the last part.
Toast your gluten-free bread until slightly brown and cut into 1/2” cubes, set aside. 
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and almond milk. 
Brush the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil just to help the stuffing not stick when serving.
Pour in the sauteed veggies, quinoa and gluten-free bread.  Combine with a large spoon to evenly distribute the mixtures.  Finally, slowly pour the milk and egg mixture evenly over the top of the stuffing.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and uncovered on broil 3-4 minutes (for a crispy top).