Simply Instant Pot: (Un)Stuffed Cabbage [Instant Pot Pressure Cooker]

Simply Instant Pot: (Un)Stuffed Cabbage [Instant Pot Pressure Cooker]: Un(Stuffed) Cabbage If you’ve ever made stuffed cabbage, God Bless ya ! I have only eaten stuffed cabbage made by others, but I have alw...

Italian Farro Salad

I love Farro! 

Pronounced Fahr-Oh, it is one of the oldest cultivated grains on the planet.

It is such a delicious grain, somewhere between barley and rice in texture, and it soaks up any flavor you give it! If you haven’t tried it, I totally encourage it! When I buy it, I buy more than one - it can be somewhat hard to find at my local grocery store, so sometimes I opt to buy it online. My favorite brand is Nature’s Earthly Choice Organic Farro, and I usually opt for the 6-pack!

This is my second recipe including Farro - the first being my Scarlett Farro Salad. Both are cold salads, and both equally delish.

Truthfully, you could throw in anything you like, toss with a little vinaigrette and it’s sure to be delicious. It’s so great to have something scrumptious and healthy to grab and eat in the fridge, too!

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

This Italian Farro Salad can be a meal or a great side item. It can be a snack, or a great dish to bring to a pot luck. You can eat it warm right after mixing, or my preference, after it has sat in the fridge at least 2 hours so the Farro soaks up all the yummy flavors you give it.

One of my favorite things about this Italian Farro salad - I cooked the Farro using my shiny new Instant Pot! If you haven’t heard of them, check it out here! It’s a pressure cooker, but a modern day, freaking amazing pressure cooker. There’s lots of great recipes using the Instant Pot on Simply Instant Pot (can be “translated” to any pressure cooker), including how to cook Farro in the Instant Pot.

Without further ado…

Italian Farro Salad

Farro

1 cup Farro

3 cups water

1/2 t salt (or garlic salt if you want to kick it up a flavor-notch!)

Salad Ingredients

Cooked Farro

1/2 cup cannellini beans

1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes or dried cranberries, chopped (I use whichever I have on-hand. Today it was dried cranberries — you want that sweet, chewy bite)

3 T walnuts, chopped

3 T Italian vinaigrette (your fave or my Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette)

pinch garlic salt

1/4 t black pepper

pinch to 1/4 t crushed red pepper, optional for spice

Garnish

Fresh basil, chiffonnade (aka cut into strips), optional

Directions

Cook Farro according to package instructions - Add water, farro and salt to pot. Bring to boil and boil for 15 minutes. Drain remaining water (it cooks in between pasta and rice… some water will be absorbed but not all, so drain like you do pasta).

Add Farro and salad ingredients to mixing bowl. Mix together.

Transfer to storage dish(es) (tupperware or a lidded bowl). I love using these 6 ounce Anchor custard bowls with lids for portion control! I also love these Sagler mixing bowls (set of 3 in 1.5, 3 & 5 quart) because they have lids!

Chill for at least 2 hours, then ENJOY (can also be eaten warm, but chilling it helps develop more flavor - everybody got time for flavor!)

Something that is extra AWESOME about this Farro Salad is the combination of textures and flavors - crunchy, nutty walnuts - sweet, chewy cranberries/sun-dried toms - slightly chewy, satisfying farro - tangy dressing - sharpness from the onion - creamy cannelloni beans.

I mean, seriously… so freaking DELISH!

And, Healthy: YUM-E!

Italian Farro Salad

Check out Simply Instant Pot for simple, Instant Pot pressure cooker recipes!

Protein & Oat Pancakes - no sugar or oil/butter added!

I love good ole breakfast food - and by the way, breakfast food is not only good in the morning. If you’ve never had breakfast for dinner, you don’t know how to live.

Unfortunately, most yummy breakfast foods are not so good for your waist line (insert whiney sad face).

I am always happy when a breakfast re-make recipe turns out delish! This one was just that. Enjoy!

Protein & Oat Pancakes

THIS is why you add your baking soda and baking powder to the batter - BUBBLES galore while cooking my ‘cake! These create a fluffy pancake which is definitely what anyone WANTS in a pancake!

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup protein powder (I used vanilla Shakeology)

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 t vanilla

2 T. unsweetened applesauce

1 egg

1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk*

1/84t cinnamon, optional (yummy)

2 t. cacao nibs, optional (SUCH a YUMMY add!)

Add all ingredients to mixing bowl and mix until combined. Let batter sit for 5 minutes — you should see tiny bubbles in the batter. 

Heat pan to medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Pour 1 T batter into pan and allow to cook 1 minute on each side. Let’s be honest — the first pancake never comes out great… even Bobby Flay admits to that when he cooks pancakes. Don’t fret about it or think you such at pancake flipping — just get it out of the way without wasting batter! :)

Cook pancakes using 1/4 batter at a time, cooking pancakes for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

This should make 4 large, yummy and fulfilling pancakes which serves 2.  Top with fruit, honey, maple syrup… whatever floats your pancake boat.

Pancakes don’t HAVE to be bad for your waistline — you’re welcome :)

*The amount of milk needed for this recipe may vary based on type of oats and protein powder you use, add until consistency of pancake batter

Nutrition Facts**

coming soon

**nutrition facts may vary based on type of protein powder used

Follow us on IG: @eatspinsoul

Banana Protein mini muffins - no sugar added!

I love banana bread, and if you follow my blog you would know I always try to make a healthier version. This recipe is AWESOME, easy and guilt-free - PERFECT for breakfast or a snack on the go!

2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 T vanilla
3 T almond milk
3 over ripe bananas mashed
5 pitted medjool dates, diced
2 T cacao nibs
1 t cinnamon
1 1/2 cups protein powder*
3 T whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder


Heat oven to 350 F. Prepare mini muffin tin with muffin liners and lightly spray muffin liners with Pam spray.

Blend eggs, applesauce, vanilla and milk until well blended. Add bananas, dates, and cacao nibs and mix just until combined.  In separate bowl, whisk cinnamon, protein powder, whole wheat flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients in 3 parts, mixing each part just until combined.

Add batter evenly to muffin liners. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

ENJOY, guilt-free!

Nutrition Facts per muffin** - recipe makes 24 mini muffins

Calories: 62.5
Fat: 1g
Sat Fat: .3g
Cholesterol: 19mg
Sodium: 28mg
Potassium: 71mg
Carbs: 10.5g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar:  5g
Protein: 4.5g

*I used Visalus sweet cream flavor  protein — I simply have extra on hand, I don’t recommend or not recommend this brand.

**Use any vanilla or neutral flavor protein powder — nutrition facts will vary slightly based on protein used [Visalus has 12 g protein per portion which is lower than most]

Hearty & Healthy (HH) Banana Bread

I beyond love banana bread - anyone with me?

I make a semi-traditional recipe adding chocolate chips fairly often as my hunny loves banana bread, too.

I’ve been wanting to make a recipe I could feel better about eating - and today’s healthier version is a homerun. It is HEARTY, SWEET, RICH, SATISFYING… so DELISH. Definitely GOOD for the SOUL!

HH Banana Bread

Wet ingredients:

1/4 cup organic coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup stevia

2 T. dark brown sugar

1 T. vanilla

2 large organic cage-free eggs

3 extra ripe bananas*

Dry ingredients:

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 T. cocoa nibs (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and lightly flour bread loaf pan.

Mix melted, but cooled coconut oil, applesauce, stevia, brown sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl until well combined. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Add mushed bananas* - hint: mush the bananas while still in the peel and mush em out right into the mix, as pictured above! In separate bowl, whisk all dry ingredients. Add 1/2 of dry ingredients into wet; mix lightly. Add remaining; mix just until combined - you do not want to over mix! Pour batter into previously prepared bread loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Slice, serve and ENJOY — if you are anything like me, it will speak directly to your SOUL!

Next, I will try substituting berries - we’ll let you know how that goes!

Nutrition Facts

coming soon!

Connect with us on IG! @TheSoulWorx

New blog coming soon: www.thesoulworx.com

Scarlet Farro Salad

I love beets. Seriously, my closest friends know this about me. I love that this recipe has BEETS!

Farro - ever heard of or tasted farro before? If not, literally run to the store right now to buy some. It is so, so good. The texture is somewhere between rice and barley. It cooks in 15 minutes and you can’t mess it up like you can (like I always do) rice.

An essential tool to cooking farro: a wire strainer — the little morsels may fall right through your average plastic strainer.

This grain is not only healthy, but it is delicious, filling and satisfying — and, what I like most about it, it is DIFFERENT! Most people don’t use it, therefore most people are seriously missing OUT! When I cook and eat something like farro, I swear it just speaks to and fills my soul (and my belly!) Beets also speak to my soul - you should allow this recipe to speak to yours!

The varieties can really be endless — You could make a cold salad out of farro just like you can pasta. Today, allow me to introduce the stunningly delicious Scarlet Farro Salad.

Scarlet Farro Salad

Farro

1 cup farro

3 cups water

1/2 t salt

Salad ingredients

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup cut beets

1/2 cup quartered artichoke hearts

2 T lower sugar dried cranberries

Dressing

Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Cook Farro according to package instructions - super easy: Add water, farro and salt to small stock pan and bring to medium boil for 15 minutes then drain residual water (make sure to use wire strainer!). Let cool and add to mixing bowl.
Add red pepper, onion, artichoke, beets, cranberries and 1/3 cup Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette - fold lightly to combine. Chill in fridge at least 30 minutes before serving.
Then, FEED. YOUR. SOUL... because this is just wholesomely, soulfully GREAT eats!

Makes about 4 generously heaping and delicious 1 cup servings.

Nutrition Facts per serving

Calories: 300

Fat: 9g

Sat Fat: 1g

Sodium: 300mg

Carbs: 46g

Fiber: 8g

Sugar: 6g

Protein: 8.5g

www.thesoulworx.com

IG: @TheSoulWorx

Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette (Whole30 approved!)

I am historically a pre-made dressing kinda gal. They are quick and easy and tempting.

Sure, you can find premade’s with low calorie counts and even fat free. It has always been super tempting to purchase the lowest calorie dressing and then use 2-3 times the serving amount of 2 T.  I felt no guilt using them. HOWEVER, I started to think: What could they possibly put in here to make it seemingly a vinaigrette if it only has 20 calories per 2 T??? It can’t be oil, but it looks like oil… what the heck is in there?

Have YOU ever thought about what they are putting in those mixes to make them taste good WITHOUT those calories and fat (et cetera)?

Have you ever looked at the labels of some of those bottles?

Plenty of sodium, soybean oils, high fructose corn syrup, other sugar, sometimes a TON of BAD fat, preservatives and words I can’t pronounce nor understand.

Nutritionist Keri Glassman cautions that what "light" dressings save on calories and fat they often more than make up for in sodium and sugar. So true.

Personally, I am a vinaigrette gal almost always. I love the tang of vinegar in my salad! If you are with me and want an easy, quick homemade version that is delicious but also healthy without a bunch of junk, allow me to introduce you to my Simply tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette!

Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette

3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 T good balsamic vinegar (I used Publix Organic - it is affordable!)

2 t spicy brown or dijon mustard

1 T water

1/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t basil

1/4 t oregano

1/8 t onion powder

1/8 t garlic powder

pinch (or 3) of crushed red pepper (option - but I love spice!)

Add all ingredients to small tupperware - put on the cap (tightly!) and shake, shake, shake. There you have enough for 4 generous 2 T servings.

Nutrition Facts per recipe

Calories: 460

Fat: 42g

Sat Fat: 6g

Sodium: 700mg

Carbs: 15g

Sugar: 6g (no added sugar - from Balsamic vinegar)

Protein: 0g

Nutrition Facts per serving (4 total)

Calories: 115

Fat: 10.5 g

Sat Fat: 1.5 g

Sodium: 175mg

Carbs: 4g

Sugar: 1.5g

Protein: 0g

www.thesoulworx.com

IG: @TheSoulWorx