Sneak Peak at Fast and Fantastic in the Kitchen

We had a blast at the Fast and Fantastic in the Kitchen cooking class this week! Thank you to all the lovely ladies who joined us at Whole Foods. If you missed the fun, don’t despair — we will give a sneak peak of what we made, and you have plenty of time to sign up for the next cooking class. It will be at Whole Foods on Wednesday, April 27th at noon. We will focus on recipes that are fun, fast, healthy and eliminate the most common food allergens. Register with Whole Foods to reserve your spot and let’s do lunch!

Okay, so for those of you who couldn’t join us on Monday, here is what we made:

Chicken, Asparagus and Quinoa Salad
Asian Chicken Noodle Salad
Almond Flour Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Chicken, Asparagus and Quinoa Salad (serves 4)

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
8 ounces asparagus, tips only
1 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
2 cups sliced rotisserie chicken meat
juice of 1 lemon (about 3-4 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons olive oil
mixed greens

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Allow to cool.
2. Steam asparagus for 3 minutes, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Slice red peppers into thin strips.
4. Combine quinoa, steamed asparagus, red pepper strips and chicken in a large bowl.
5. Whisk oil and lemon juice together and add to salad. Toss and chill.
6. Serve over mixed greens.

* We like to cook our quinoa in the rice cooker. It’s easier, cuts down on the amount of dishes you’ll have to do later and allows for more room on the stove top to cook other things. You can even add the asparagus tips to the rice cooker when the quinoa has a couple minutes left to cook and it will be perfectly steamed!

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad (serves 4-6)

4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat
1/4 cup creamy nut butter
1/4 cups soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 tablespoons chicken broth or water
12 ounces linguine or rice sticks
2 carrots, grated
4 scallions, chopped
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Place in a bowl. While pasta is cooking, blend or process the nut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, chili garlic sauce, ginger and broth until smooth.
2. Add chicken, carrots, scallions, pepper strips and chopped cilantro to the bowl of pasta and toss.
3. Pour sauce over the pasta mixture and toss well to coat. If sauce is too thick, thin it with extra broth or a little water.

Almond Flour Very Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 10 cupcakes or 1 layer cake)

2 large organic free range eggs, separated
1/4 c oil – grape seed
1/2 c agave or honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 10 muffin cups. You must use paper cup liners, or the cupcakes will stick to the pan.
2. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl until pale yellow. Whisk in the oil, agave, vanilla and lemon juice.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks with an electric mixer.
4. Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture.
5. Combine the dry ingredients. Gently fold into the wet ingredients.
6. Scoop batter into muffin cups.
7. Bake 20-30 minutes, until golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (mine took about 25 minutes).
8. Let cool in the pan for half an hour, then frost if desired, and/or serve.