Hummus, Stuffed Mushrooms and Harvest Grain Salad

I'm off to an early beach day in a little bit, so I wanted to get my post in before I left. How is everyone's week going? 

Yesterday I had a nice and relaxing day. The most challenging part of my day was having to leave my apartment to move my car for alternate side parking. I can't park on certain sides of the street on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30-12. If I don't get a spot on the "right" side the day before then I have to find something to do by that time, which isn't usually a problem.  Yesterday I cleaned up around my apartment and took off, stopping by my mom's office and then going for a manicure and pedicure with a friend. I was waiting for Danny to get home to run, so when I got home I made a gigantic smoothie and then fell asleep. I don't think my stomach was very happy with me for filling me up so much and then not moving so I didn't feel so well when I woke up. When Danny got home he peeled me off the couch and we went for a walk/run. 

We warmed up with a 15 minute walk and then ran anywhere from 5-10 minutes and then walked a minute until we cooled down for 5 minutes. I felt SOOO much better after and was glad I went. By the time we got home it was 8:30 and we hadn't eaten dinner yet! I have to get used to working out at night and stop being such a grandma, which is hard considering I get up at 6 am every morning. Hopefully tonight I'll be used to it because I'm going to soulcycle for my first class! I'm so psyched.

Anyways, I have another recipe for you from my mom's little party. I didn't want to share everything at once because it's too overwhelming. All of these recipes are quick, easy and very healthy. They are pretty universal and will be liked my most. 

I made hummus, because I'm obsessed. 

Traditional Hummus

- 1 big can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tsp tahini (optional)

- handful of fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/2 of water.

- sea salt and black pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to food processor. Pulse until well mixed, scraping down sides as needed. Slowly stream in water slowly, 1/4 at a time. Only add water until you've reached consistency wanted. (Less water=more chunky.)

*To make olive and garlic hummus, just add in a total of 3 garlic cloves and about 10-12 pitted green and black olives.*

Those amazing chips in the picture are Food Should Taste Good sweet potato and olive chips. They have a very short ingredient list, all recognizable ingredients and gluten free. (*Note: I bought these with my own $$, they weren't sent to me, I just LOVE them!) You can even get a $1.00 off coupon on the website. 

I also made stuffed mushrooms. 

Don't they look like little soldiers all lined up?

You can find the recipe for these here. 

And lastly, today I wanted to share the grain salad. I used a base of Trader Joe's Harvest Grain mix. It's a mix of Israeli style couscous,, dried baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa.

Harvest Grains Salad
- 1 bag Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend
- 6-8 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/2 box frozen corn, defrosted 
- 1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 large handful parsley, chopped
- 5-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- * optional - add walnuts and/or feta cheese
- Your favorite balsamic vinaigrette to dress (I used 1/4 of a jar of Annie's and 1/4-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar. Add less and mix, then taste and see if you need more.)


Cook the harvest grains for about 10-12 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Let cool. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and dress with balsamic vinaigrette. 


Try one of these for your next party! I'm off to the beach, have a great day in this gorgeous weather!!