Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

This is the salad that I have been eating all summer long. Well, ever since I discovered it at my Sister-In-Law's house back in June.

My Sister-In-Law always serves at least two amazing salads at her dinner parties. The list of salads on her menu rotate as she experiments with different recipes. This leads me to constantly asking her for recipes and helping myself to countless servings shamelessly as a dinner guest. My worst offense has been with this particular salad, where I was responsible for eating most if not all of it. If I recall correctly, other people wanted a second serving as well. Well, first come first served.

Since I couldn't get enough of this salad at my Sister-In-Law's, I had to make it for myself many times to satiate those pesky cravings.

This salad taste best when you use fresh, in season corn and tomatoes. Serve this salad as a side or a main entree, as it's guaranteed to please even the fussiest eaters. I hope your guests will be a little more considerate than I was at sharing.

Ingredients
2 corn off the cob (check out how to cook corn in 3 minutes) or 12 oz (360 ml) can of peaches and cream corn, rinsed and drained
3 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced into small pieces
12 oz (360 ml) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup finely minced red onion
1/8 cup chopped cilantro (optional)

1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped into bite sized pieces

Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cumin*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. Combine corn kernels, tomatoes, black beans, red onion and cilantro in a bowl.

2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Pour the dressing into the vegetables and mix. Allow the salad to marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator for best flavor. Stir in the avocado right before serving.

*For those with peanut and/or tree nut allergies, Clubhouse/McCormick sells spices free of peanuts and tree nuts. This may change without notice, please check with company for up to date information and always read all labels carefully before consuming.

Source: Lola via Frugal Allergy Mom

Weekday Banana Pancakes

On my blog, you will notice that there is a lack of breakfast recipes, for good reason. That's mainly because I am not a morning person. Paying attention in the morning is a challenging task for me, at least until I have had a cup or two of caffeine.

I made this recipe a few months ago and never got around to posting it. It all came about when my little man wanted pancakes on a weekday morning. Had this been on a weekend, I would have happily pawned him off to my husband. But since it was a weekday, I had to suck it up and cook up some pancakes, at 7 am. Explaining to a hungry toddler why I don't like mornings seemed like more work to me than making the pancakes.

Luckily for me, this recipe is fairly straightforward and did not require too many steps. As I was nursing my mug of tea, I mused to myself, "Hey, this is a pretty simple recipe. I could pull this off on a weekday morning."

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vanilla, vegetable oil and bananas.

3. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry mixture until the flour is just mixed in. Do not over mix.

4. Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

5. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and cook the pancake until the pancake is bubbly on top.

6. Flip the pancake and cook for another minute or two until the pancake is golden brown.

Freeze/Make Ahead: Allow the banana pancakes to cool to room temperature before wrapping each stack of 5 pancakes in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped stacks of pancakes into a ziploc bag, date and freeze for up to a month.

Source: Allrecipes

4 Ingredient Microwaved Gluten-Free Bread (Ready in 3 Minutes)

Baking bread in the oven is the last thing I want to do in the summer when it is hot and sunny outside. When I came across this microwaved bread recipe on Pinterest, I was delighted. The best part about this recipe is that it is ready in 3 minutes.

This recipe was incredibly easy to whip up and required only 4 ingredients: melted butter, coconut flour, egg and baking powder. After allowing the bread to cool down a little, I sliced the bread in half and spread a little raspberry jam on each slice of bread. My little man and I both loved this quick and easy microwaved bread as it was soft and fluffy. This bread reminded me of a dense and unsweetened sponge cake both in taste and texture.

For those with gluten allergies, this recipe is effortless, made to order and a delicious alternative to expensive store-bought specialty bread.

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 large egg
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions
1. Place 1 tablespoon of butter in a small microwavable bowl measuring 4.5 inches across (I used a small Pyrex glass container). Microwave for 10 to 20 seconds until melted. Swirl the melted butter around so that it coats the bowl.

2. To that same bowl, add the egg, coconut flour and baking powder. Mix thoroughly until the batter is smooth and no lumps remain.

3. Microwave on high for 90 seconds until the bread has puffed up and is firm to the touch. The bread will pull away from the bowl once it is cooked. Repeat in 15 second increments if the bread feels soft to the touch or sticks to the bowl.

4. Allow the bread to cool for a minute before loosening it with a knife. Invert the bowl and slice the bread in half. Serve with jam, honey, butter or your favorite seed butter!

Source: Slightly adapted from Healthy Recipes

Jamba Juice Strawberries Wild Smoothie Copycat Recipe

Summer used to be my favorite season of the year. At the end of each school year, I would happily draw up a list of "Must Do Activities" and check them off as I accomplished them.

I mean, what's not to like about Summer? Warm days, no school, later bedtime, and endless playing around outside (unchaperoned) with the only mandate to return home before it got dark. I rode my trusty bike everywhere, read all of my favorite books and met up with friends to play. I basked in the warm Summer sun for hours on end.

Since I have transitioned to the role of being a Stay At Home Mom, my days are filled with activities for the little man. While I may not enjoy Summers as much since I have become a heat wimp with a never-ending to do list, I experience sheer joy watching my son playing at the water park, riding his bike, kicking a soccer ball or blowing bubbles. Most of these things are a daily Summer time ritual for us since the little man loves playing outside.

To cope with the intense heat wave we had lately, we would cool off with this delicious Jamba Juice strawberries wild smoothie copycat recipe. I love this strawberry smoothie so much that I have been making it on a daily basis since my discovery 3 weeks ago.

For us, this is the perfect Summer time drink: cold, refreshing and full of nutrients. The best part about this recipe is that it is takes no time to prepare, so you can take this smoothie with you to the park. It is a great way to hydrate and energize your little ones and yourself as you bask in the summer sun (or hide in the shade like I do these days!). This is one recipe that is definitely on my "Must Do" list for the Summer.

Ingredients
3/4 cup pure apple juice (I like Sunrype 100% Pure Apple Juice)
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 cup plain yogurt
1 frozen banana, peeled
3/4 cup ice cubes
2 tbsp honey

Directions
1. In a blender, add the ingredients in the following order: apple juice, strawberries, yogurt, frozen banana, ice cubes and honey. Blend on high for 10 seconds or longer until the ingredients are fully blended and no ice chunks remain. Serve immediately.

Source: Slightly adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (Free of Top Allergens)

I am not a morning person. Never have been, and likely never will be.

My little man on the other hand, loves getting up early.

With an early riser in the family, nowadays I get up as early as 5 am. I have found that since I get up much earlier now, I like to have a light breakfast to tide me over until lunchtime.

I discovered this Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookie recipe back in April and have made it countless times. This recipe is quick and easy to make, and can be kept in the fridge for up to a week (if it lasts that long).

For those with food allergies, this recipe is free of all the top allergens. I made my own apple sauce from scratch using this recipe and substituted honey in place of sugar to make these cookies even healthier. Did you know you can freeze homemade apple sauce?

These Healthy Banana Oatmeal cookies are a huge hit and a winner in our household as they are delicious, sugar free and good for you.

It makes me feel like a rebel when I tell my little man he can have a cookie at 5 am. Just don't tell him these cookies are healthy! ;)

Makes: 20 to 24 cookies

Ingredients
3 large ripe bananas
2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free or regular)
3/4 to 1 cup sugar free dried fruit (homemade or store bought; I used dried cranberries)
1/3 cup apple sauce (homemade or store bought)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add in dried fruit, apple sauce and vanilla.

2. Mix well and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Please do not skip this step as the oatmeal needs to soak up all the moisture to bind the ingredients together.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Drop cookies by the teaspoonful onto a parchment lined baking sheet. With the back of a large teaspoon, flatten the cookie flat into a round shape.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

6. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before eating. Store in a tight lidded container for up to a week in the fridge.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes