Recipes Archives - Becoming Elli

Beyond the Basic Bowl: Creative Ways to Use Quinoa

June 30, 2025

So you've jumped on the quinoa bandwagon (welcome to the club!), but you're getting tired of the same old quinoa-and-vegetables routine. I get it. Even superfoods can get boring when you're eating them the exact same way every single day. The good news? Quinoa is way more versatile than most people realize. There are some creative ways to use quinoa in your cooking. Chris and I have written about quinoa before and came up with some good ideas but you can always use more. Quinoa is a good source of vegetarian protein so it's worth trying to figure out ways to use it creatively. First up, let's talk breakfast. Quinoa porridge is a game-changer for anyone looking to switch up their morning routine. Cook quinoa in milk...

Protein Quinoa

Buddha Bowl

November 14, 2024

Recipes, Veggie Challenge

What is a Buddha Bowl? It usually includes a combination of both cooked and raw vegetables, whole grains, a source of protein and a sauce. Buddha Bowls were originally a vegan dish but if you're not a purist, you can add some animal protein. I usually end up with chicken or some shrimp on mine. The beauty of Buddha bowls lies in their flexibility—you can tailor them to fit your taste preferences, dietary needs, and what you have on hand. Whether you’re aiming for plant-based, low-carb, or just looking to increase your vegetable intake, there's a Buddha bowl for you. To build your own, start with a base like quinoa, brown rice, or leafy greens. Add colorful vegetables like roasted sweet potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, or cucumbers...

#Buddha Bowl #grains #roasted vegetables

Vegetable Soup for a Cold Weekend

January 15, 2024

Fit and Strong, Recipes, Veggie Challenge

Vegetable soup for a cold weekend seems like a natural for me. It's been very cold here in Northeast Ohio this weekend. So making various soups has been my go to response for eating. Here are some snapshots and recipes. Super Quick Salsa Soup Ingredients: 1 jar of mild or medium salsa 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/2 teaspoon cilantro2 cans black beans (rinse)1 bag of frozen vegetables (thawed)1 can corn undrained3 cups chicken broth 2 cups shredded cooked chicken Instructions: Dump everything into a pot. Bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Top with shredded cheese, if you like. This is an easy way to get lots of vegetables and especially good if you have "put up" a lot of homemade salsa in the fall. The beans and chicken...

#EatTheRainbow #veggiechallenge

Lunch of Veggies with Protein

September 18, 2023

Fit and Strong, Food and Drink, Recipes, Veggie Challenge

I had an awesome lunch over the weekend of veggies with protein. It was delicious. It seems like all the vegetables are becoming ripe and are really tasting especially good to me right now. Maybe it is just that time of year! By this photo you might think I didn't get enough protein ,but I added a couple of ingredients at the end of cooking and after I took this photo that really boosted the protein levels in my meal. Here's my recipe for these delicious veggies. No surprise, I sautéed them on the stove. To prepare this meal, first I pulled out the cutting board and a sharp knife. Heated up the pan with some extra virgin olive oil. Chopped and sliced the following veggies: Onions Peppers: red,...

Protein tofu Veggie Challenge 2023

Eat and Flourish with Mary Beth Albright

March 28, 2023

Fit and Strong, Mental Health, Podcast, Recipes

Episode 127- Eat & Flourish with Mary Beth Albright Download | Play in New Window Please Subscribe: Apple Podcasts (iTunes) | Google Podcasts | Android-Google Play | Stitcher | Player FM | Castbox | Tunein | Spotify | RSS | Amazon Podcasts In episode 127, Jill and Chris talk with Mary Beth Albright, the author of Eat & Flourish, How Food Supports Emotional Well Being. She is a food expert with broad experience, from food attorney to being a finalist on Food Network Star, where she competed on Iron Chef America. Her passion for good food grew from her mentor, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop who she worked with for 15 years. Afterwards, Mary Beth advised on food systems and managed a White House initiative. She completed L'Academie de Cuisine's two-semester culinary course in Bethesda, MD. Mary Beth is a writer and editor at the Washington Post. She...

#food #HealthyEating author emotional well-being Mary Beth Albright

Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Spinach

February 9, 2023

Food and Drink, Recipes

I thought I'd share my recipe for lentil soup with potatoes and spinach made in the instant pot. Chris shared with you a picture of her soup that she had when we went out for lunch. She always gets the v9 soup. I always get their lentil soup. I rarely make lentil soup but I really enjoy it. So since it's a cold wintry day today and I had the lentils in my pantry, I thought I need to make some soup. This recipe is fast to make and is easy. Ingredients 1 Tbsp olive oil One onion diced Two cloves garlic minced 1 carrot, diced 1 celery stalk diced 2 White potatoes, diced 1 16-oz package of green lentils One bay leaf Four cups of chicken stock Two cups of water 2 to 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach Salt...

#InstantPot #lentils #recipe

Making Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

December 1, 2022

Fit and Strong, Recipes

My new favorite thing is making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot. I like hard boiled eggs because they're good for a snack and can be added to a salad. I also make deviled eggs once in a while. Why do I keep posting things about using my Instant Pot? I like using it because I can walk away from it and not have to worry about something boiling over on the stove or basically paying attention to what's cooking. If you do a search on this website for Instant Pot, you'll find a number of different recipes. We also discussed this on the Fit Strong Women over 50 Podcast, Episode 112 FAQ – Ask Us Anything with Chris and Jill It's not hard to make...

#eggs #hardboiledeggs #InstantPot

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer

October 27, 2022

Fit and Strong, Food and Drink, Recipes

It’s that time of year again when we grab some pumpkins and carve them into jack o’lanterns. We had a little pumpkin carving party at my house recently. You can see the results of our handiwork in the photos above and below. We carved four pumpkins and I took all of the seeds to roast. I basically followed the recipe I posted a few years ago about roasting squash seeds but decided to try using the Air Fryer instead of the oven. I will say that making roasted pumpkin seeds in the air fryer worked well. The seeds turned out well. First, I washed the seeds to get the goopy pumpkin strings off of them and then I boiled them for a few minutes. I then poured the seeds...

#pumpkin #pumpkinseeds

Curry Popcorn Recipe

September 29, 2022

Fit and Strong, Recipes

A friend made me this curry popcorn one year for my birthday. I thought it was the best snack food I’d had in a long time so I asked her for the recipe. She made a copy for me and I made it several times. Then, as life happens, I moved and boxed everything up and didn’t unpack things as well as I packed. I was looking for this recipe and couldn’t find it. Recently I opened a box I’d stored in the closet in my office and there was the recipe for curry popcorn. I got the munchies just thinking about this popcorn. The funny thing is that I wrote a lengthy list of healthy snacks in an earlier blog post but I didn't mention popcorn...

#popcorn

Zucchini Casserole Recipe from Marcia Allen

July 27, 2022

Fit and Strong, Recipes

Looking for a delicious zucchini casserole recipe? A few weeks ago I mentioned that my zucchini plants were doing well. Wow, the zukes are coming in strong now. A special thank you to Marcia Allen who posted a couple of great recipes in the comment sections of that post yesterday. I tried the casserole and am posting my step by step photos here. Immediately I realized I don't have the right cheese (Shredded Parmesan or Asiago Cheese), but I did have just a bit of a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to add to it. When I make it again, I'm going to use the right cheese because I know it'd be even better! First I cut the zucchini into round slices, The sprayed some olive oil onto the...

baked zucchini casserole recipe

Recipes

Beyond the Basic Bowl: Creative Ways to Use Quinoa

Buddha Bowl

Vegetable Soup for a Cold Weekend

Lunch of Veggies with Protein

Eat and Flourish with Mary Beth Albright

Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Spinach

Making Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds in the Air Fryer

Curry Popcorn Recipe

Zucchini Casserole Recipe from Marcia Allen

Zucchini Casserole Recipe from Marcia Allen

Yummy Sauteed Keto Cabbage

Watercress Salad for Veggie Challenge

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