February Specials from Thrive are here!
I've created some amazing recipes for you to try using this month's specials. My teenage son loves that he can pick a dish and make it. I love that a healthy meal is prepared and I didn't have to cook it!
True to my Indian food
craze, I have another Indian inspired meal for you. I found this recipe
from Whole Foods, and I must say, it warms my soul on these cold Midwest winter
days. We made it twice in one day this week.
I love curry. It's earthy,
yet, it's versatile in what you can pair it with. Curry is different in every
dish. Did you know that curry is not a single spice? It's a combination of
turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, and ginger.
Each blend is different, so try out different blends. Curry pastes are what I
prefer when I cook from the refrigerator. If I use a dry curry, then I prefer
to make my own. This way I can control the flavor, heat and the salt. The curry
you choose is what makes the dish. Here is a good recipe for making your own
curry spice. Here is a good grocery
store curry. If you
prefer a milder curry, I recommend checking out a local Indian Grocery or you
can order one off amazon here.
With Thrive, you are
finished in 30 minutes! Did you check out the original recipe? Did you
calculate the time to make the dish? Almost 1 ½ hours!
Beef and Potato Curry with Spinach
½ c. Thrive onion, FD
1 tbsp. Thrive green
chilis, FD
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 c. Thrive beef slices
(alternative – mushrooms), FD
½ teaspoon fine sea salt,
plus more to taste
1 ½ tbsp. mild or spicy
curry
½ c. Thrive diced
tomatoes, FD
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ c. Thrive potato
chunks, D
½ c Thrive spinach, FD
1 tbsp. Thrive cilantro,
FD
Ingredients for cooking
day:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 (13.5-ounce) can light
coconut milk
½ of a lime
To Cook: Heat olive oil in
a deep skillet or medium pot on medium heat. Measure 4 cups water. Empty jar
into pot with hot oil and stir constantly for 10 seconds. Pour in 4 cups water
and coconut milk and stir. Bring to boil. Cover and reduce to low. Simmer for
20 minutes, stirring occasionally. For a thicker sauce, uncover and simmer for
10 more minutes, stirring often. Squeeze lime juice into dish. Salt to taste.
(Careful! The salt varies greatly on curries) Serve with rice and garnish with
fresh cilantro.
Spinach
Frittata
Breakfast for dinner. Or just have yourself a
fancy breakfast in half the time!
Layer in Jar:
1 c. Thrive Scrambled Egg mix, FD
Zipper Sandwich bag:
½ c. Thrive Chopped Onion, FD
½ c. Thrive Spinach, FD
½ c. Thrive Tomato dices, FD
½ c. Thrive Mushrooms, FD
½ tsp. Thrive Chef’s Choice Seasoning
½ tsp. Thrive Pepper Blend
Zipper Sandwich bag:
½ c. Monterey Jack Cheese, FD
Cooking Day Ingredients:
1 tbsp. Butter
1 tbsp. Olive oil
Layer ingredients in order in quart size jar.
Place cheese in sipper sandwich bag and place in jar. Close tight with lid.
To cook: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
In a small container with lid, toss cheese
with 2 tbsp. of water. Gently shake container several times during the cooking
process. Measure 2 ½ cups of water. Melt oil and butter on medium heat in
non-stick skillet. Add water and whisk in vegetables and spice bag. Simmer 2-3 minutes. Quickly whisk in egg and cheese and immediately transfer skillet to oven
and cook 5-6 minutes, watching closely until eggs set and begins to brown
slightly. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.
Applesauce Banana Muffins in a Jar
This makes a very moist muffin. The bananas
must be chopped well, to fit everything into the jar. My bananas are not
chopped enough in the picture. I had to use some tricks and a lot of patience
to get it to all fit.
Applesauce Banana Muffins in a Jar
Layer in jar:
3 c. Thrive banana
slices, chopped
1 c. vanilla
flavored sugar
¼ c. Thrive applesauce
¼ c. Thrive Scrambled
Egg mix
Zipper sandwich jar:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Day of cooking:
Mix-ins (Optional): ½ c. Chocolate chips, ½ c.
walnuts, 1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350.
Remove sandwich bag from jar. Pour 2 ½ c. water
into blender. Pour contents of jar into blender. Blend just until smooth. Add
flour mix and pulse just until combined. Remove blender from base and hand stir
in any mix-ins. Spoon into paper lined muffin tins.
Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pans and bake
another 5-10 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out
clean. Remove from oven and cool
on wire rack. Makes 24 muffins.
Creamy Mushroom
Rice with Spinach
This is a traditional dish in my family. I
grew up making this with good ol’ cream of mushroom soup. Now I prefer to have
this as a lighter, healthier dish. The Jack Cheese in the end gives it a nice creamy
texture. Of course, if you are craving comfort food like your mom used to make
it, add ½ cup sour cream powder and ½ c more water.
Creamy Mushroom Rice with Spinach
Layer in Jar:
2 c. Thrive Instant Brown Rice
¾ c. Thrive Spinach, FD
¾ c Thrive Mushrooms, FD
1 tbsp. Thrive Chicken Bouillon
2 c. Thrive Instant Brown Rice
1 tbsp. Thrive parsley, FD
Zipper sandwich bag:
½ c. Thrive Monterey Jack Cheese
To cook:
Remove bag of cheese from jar. Pour cheese
and 2 tbsp. water into container with lid. Gently shake to moisten cheese and
repeat throughout cooking process. Add
contents of jar to 2 2/3 c. water and 2 tbsp. butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce
heat to simmer. Cover and cook on medium low for 8 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes
covered. Stir in Cheese and serve. For vegetarian option, substitute mushrooms
for chicken. Serves 4-6
Tip: If using regular brown rice, increase
water to 5 c. and increase bouillon to 5 tsp. Cover and bring to a boil until steam releases from covered pot, about 15 minutes. Keeping lid on, turn to
low and cook another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes.
Strawberry Banana Butter Cream Frosting
The first time I made this, I had to restrain myself from eating it with a spoon. I am not a frosting person, but this is AMAZING! I put this frosting on a plain yellow cupcake and I had to look at the cupcake twice while I was eating it to make sure it wasn't a strawberry cupcake.
Thrive Bananas are very different in color and texture from dehydrated bananas. They taste like a real banana, because they are!
Strawberry Banana Butter Cream Frosting
½ lb. Butter
1 lb. Powdered Sugar, sifted
¼ - ½ c. milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ c. freeze dried banana powder
¼ c. freeze dried strawberry powder
Whip butter until almost white. Slowly mix in
fruit powders, ¼ c. milk and sugar, 1 cup at a time. If frosting is too stiff,
add more milk, 1 tbsp. at a time. Makes enough frosting for an 8 or 9 inch
two-layer cake.
Chocolate Frosting: Omit fruit powder and add
½ c. fine cocoa powder.
In a stand mixer, mix sugar, yeast, oil and water and let stand 15
minutes. Attach dough hook and add eggs, salt and flour. Once all flour is
incorporated, knead 5 minutes. Dough will be very wet. Roll out dough to a 12 x
18 rectangle. Spread melted butter over dough and then sprinkle cinnamon and
sugar. Roll as a jelly roll. Too loose and rolls will have gaps, too tight and
rolls will not rise and fluff. Cut with string and place on a large, parchment
lined baking sheet or two 9x13 pans. Let rolls rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375
degrees for 15 minutes. For conventional oven, bake 10 minutes, rotate pan and
bake for remaining 5 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Spread on icing with a pastry
brush while rolls are slightly warm.
