Quinoa & Chick Pea Stir Fry

So earlier today I discovered a delicious alternative to fried rice...by accident. 

I was in the kitchen preparing a bunch of meals for the next few days when my stomach started grumbling for lunch. I had some quinoa leftover so I decided to heat it up with some veggies in a pan. I sprayed a little of my favorite Trader Joe's Coconut Oil cooking spray in the pan along with the quinoa and set the heat on medium-high. Then I heard the distinctive gnawing sound of a bunny rabbit and ran over to find my pet rabbit, Luna chewing on a baseboard. I chased her down, picked her up, and secured her back in her cage with a chew toy. That whole time my quinoa was sizzling away on the stove.  When I came back I stirred it around to find that the bottom layer was now darker brown and a little crunchy. At first I thought I had completely ruined it but after a quick taste test I decided to let the whole mixture "burn" a little. I kept stirring it periodically and added in some chick peas with a little garlic salt. After about 8 more minutes I determined it was sufficiently crispy. I was pleasantly surprised by my little accident and it ended up tasting just like fried rice.  As for the veggies...they ended up being eaten with hummus. :) 

Sorry this photo is a little blurry. It wasn't well planned.

Hope you all have a great day!

Courtney

Video: Oil Pulling Update!

Good Morning, all!

As promised I made a short video with my update from my oil pulling experiment.

Check it out here: My Experience With Oil Pulling



Let me know if you have any questions and I'd be happy to help or point you in the right direction.
 I'd also love to hear about your experience with oil pulling so you can comment on this post, in the comments section on the video, or tweet me @imperfectperla.

Have a great day!

Courtney

Homemade Healthy Nutella

Oh, Nutella. Whoever decided to combine hazelnuts and chocolate into a creamy spread was a genius.  

I was in the experimental mood last night and noticed a small bag of hazelnuts in my cabinet that I bought in the bulk section of Whole Foods. So I decided to try to re-create that delicious hazelnut spread with a healthy twist.  Then, like I do with all my at-home experiments, I used my husband as a guinea pig. Consensus: he loved it.  My husband loves Nutella more than anyone else I know so I think we have a winner! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of raw hazelnuts
• 1 Tbsp of chocolate protein powder. I'm using brown rice protein. 
• 2 Tbsp of raw cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp of chocolate almond milk*
• 5 Tbsp of coconut milk creamer*
• 1 1/2 packets of stevia
• 2 Tbsp of raw sugar. 

Steps:

1. Add just the hazelnuts to a food processor and blend until it turns into a meal/flour texture. 

2. In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix together using a fork. 

3. Once the chocolate, milk, and sugar mixture is well blended add it to the food processor. 

4. Blend in the food processor in 1 minute increments, stirring the mixture well each time. You can stop blending once you have reached your desired thickness. If your mixture is too thick then add a little more milk and continue blending. 

5. Transfer your spread into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge overnight. 

6.Spread it on toast, mix into pancakes, or eat it by itself on a spoon for a little treat. ;) 

*You can substitute for any type of milk you like. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and get a chance to try this yummy recipe. Let me know how it works for you and I'd love to hear about any of your cooking experiments. You can leave a comment below or tweet me @imperfectperla. 

Have a lovely day! 

St. Patrick's Green Piña Colada Smoothie (No Alcohol)

Happy (almost) St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not really into corned beef and cabbage so I'll be mixing up a different St. Patty's treat. The weather has been so nice I thought I would put a summer spin on my smoothie and make it a piña colada minus the rum. 

Recipe:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (as always you could use any kind of milk you like)
• 3/4 cup of water
• 2-4 handfuls of spinach. Spinach blends down very easily so you really can add as much as you want. 
• 4 pineapple slices
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tbsp of chia seeds
• About 1/4 cup of coconut flakes
• 1 packet of stevia
• A few drops of green food coloring for extra green color

Blend it all together and enjoy!

Are you making any other treats for St. Patrick's Day? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great day!

Courtney

TGIF!

Happy Friday!

My brother in law sent me this today and it just cracked me up so I had to share it. If you watch my YouTube videos then you'll know how obsessed I am with my new bunny. If you haven't seen my YouTube channel featuring our little rabbit you can check it out here

Have a great weekend!

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap

Welcome back!

I just posted a new video on my YouTube channel here reviewing the Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. This stuff is really amazing. I bought mine at Whole Foods but I have seen it in basically every health food store I've ever been to so I can't believe it has taken me this long to try it. The price is not bad at $9 for a 16 oz bottle. or $10 for a 32 oz bottle. It is concentrated so a very little goes a long way. It's certified fair trade, certified organic, cruelty-free, and vegan.

The best thing about this product is its ability to multi-task. This soap can be used to clean just about anything. Just as the bottle states it is an "all-in-one" cleaner. I have used this as a face wash, body wash, floor cleaner, and shaving soap. It can also be used as a shampoo (both human and pet). If you are going to use it as a floor or household cleaner you need to dilute it. Use 1/2 cup of soap per gallon of water. I am not sure if I will use it as a shampoo since I color my hair and I think it might strip the color. As a face wash I found it really unclogged my pores and left my skin feeling very fresh. It did leave my skin a tiny bit dry but I always follow cleansing with a moisturizer so it's not a big deal.

Have you tried this magic soap? I'd love to hear your thoughts about this product.

Let's Talk!
Twitter: @imperfectperla
YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheImperfectpearl

Tips For Oil Pulling

Good Afternoon!

I just wanted to share a few tip on successful oil pulling that I forgot to include in my last post.

1. It is best to do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. If you are like me and need a cup of coffee to get things going in the morning then just drink 8-16oz of water and do the oil pulling. Then brush your teeth and try not to drink anything other than water (hot or cold) for 1 hour after oil pulling.

2. If you don't have time to do it in the morning then do it at night! The same rules applies. Before bed, drink your water, do the oil pulling, brush your teeth, and hop into bed.

3. Always use cold-pressed organic oil.

4. Don't feel bad if you can't swish for the full 20 minutes. Start out doing it 5 minutes and work your way up to 20.

5. Always brush your teeth after oil pulling. For extra whitening I like brush with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.



I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions or advice regarding oil pulling.

Tweet me:@Imperfectperla
YouTube: www.youtube.com/TheImperfectpearl or search Blush&Bunnies
email: cwlinguistics@gmail.com
Instagram: liveloveandtiu

Have a great day!

Courtney