Thank you all for your incredible support from my big news on my last post. Again, I can’t tell you how excited I am about this endeavor, but as thrilling as it all is, it’s still very unreal. I’m happy but scared out of my mind at the same time.
Like I said yesterday, I’m making a conscious effort to spend as much of my time left here in PA with my friends and family. I anticipate many coffee/lunch/dinner and drink dates in the next month, so that being said, I better share whatever recipes I have with you now.
For the past week, I’ve been seeing carrots everywhere. In recipes, on menus, on blogs….I had no idea carrots were all the rage these days but apparently, they are the underrated root vegetable.
I recently bought a bag of carrots for a soup recipe I made last week, but found myself with a surplus. Since I normally don’t eat raw carrots, I kept pushing them aside in my vegetable drawer until they were forgotten altogether. That is until last night.
I’m not shy about roasting vegetables, especially root vegetables, so I decided to give the carrots a second chance with the same roasting method I use for my squash. The result was delicious! Roasted maple carrots with ginger and rosemary are quite possibly my new favorite thing, ever!
The entire salad was a beautiful pairing of flavors. Beets, quinoa, walnuts and goat cheese, oh my! But these carrots…..heavenly!
Roasted Maple Ginger Carrot and Squash Quinoa Salad
- ½ cup cooked red quinoa
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 cup butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp dried ginger
- ¼ tsp dried rosemary
- salt and pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup canned beets
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- For the Dressing:
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place cut squash and carrots in a large bowl. Add maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Place the carrots and squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
- In the last 5 minutes, remove the carrots and squash from the oven. Lay walnuts on the baking sheet and return to oven to roast for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
- In a large bowl or plate, place the spinach. Top with cooked quinoa, beets, roasted vegetables, walnuts, and goat cheese.
- In a small dish, combine all ingredients for the dressing. Pour over salad.
This would make an excellent dish for those holiday meals you are all probably starting to think about.
I served this for dinner last night, along with roasted lemon garlic fish and simple green beans.
Dinner was served, eaten, and throughly enjoyed!
GIVEAWAY
More giveaways! Tis’ the season right?
Today, I’m excited to share with you a great product that I’ve been seeing all over the health food stores.
Sambazon is the producer of healthy Acai and superfood juices. Acai is truly a superfood and known for its incredible antioxidants and healthy omegas. Sambazon uses the finest organic superfoods on the planet that provides premium, high quality, whole food fruits and botanicals that delivers the highest level of bio-available nutrition.
photo taken from the Sambazon website
I had the chance to try their Acai original juice this past weekend and must admit, not only is the nutritional stats beyond impressive (with over 140 + acai berries, omega 3, 6, and 9, and only a little more than 140 calories per bottle), the taste is delightful.
I haven’t had a chance to try the other flavors, but I image they will be equally delicious.
photos taken from the Sambazon website
On top of a few free coupons, Sambazon also sent me a beautiful handcrafted wooden bowl and wooden spoon to add to my growing collection.
And now for you….
Sambazon has offered to give away 5 FREE product coupon vouchers and the bowl and spoon to one SWYNTS reader.
To Enter:
- Visit the Sambazon website and mention which product you would like to try in a comment on this post.
Extra entries: (leave a separate comment for each)
- Become a fan of the Sambazon Facebook Page
- Follow Sambazon on Twitter
Contest will be open until Friday, December 21st when 1 winner will be selected.
Winner
The winner of the Oakley Sunglasses Giveaway is…….
Brittany @ GOtheXtraMile December 13, 2012 at 1:45 pm [edit]
Greatist Pinterest Contest
My friends over at Greatist are throwing a pretty fun and exciting Pinterst contest and I wanted to share:
From Becky ( social media director at Greatist)
Hey greatists! We want to give you lots of cool stuff, so we’re starting a contest on Pinterest all about fitness, health, and happiness. Pinterest is a great place to pin the things that are most important to us, and we want to know what gets you up in the morning, what makes you want to make better choices, and what makes you want to be a greatist.
Here at Greatist, we’re pinning what’s inspiring us to be healthy in the New Year, and we want to know what inspires you! Simply create a board on Pinterest called “#imagreatist Healthy New Year” and fill it with recipes, workouts, news, inspirations, kittens, and whatever will be a part of your healthier 2013. The top boards, as picked by the Greatist team, could win a special, Healthy New Year package!
How to Enter
- Join Pinterest and click “Follow All” at the top of our Greatist boards.
- Create a new Pinterest board, and name it “#imagreatist Healthy New Year.”
- Fill it with pictures and pins of what your healthier 2013 will be (Pro Tip: Super bonus points if at least five are from Greatist.com).
- Make sure to caption photos from Greatist with #imagreatist.
- When you’re done, comment on this pin with a link to your “imagreatist Healthy New Year” board!
- Go you!
Remember, you must be a member of Pinterest to enter (remember to “Follow All” Greatist’s Pinterest boards). If you don’t have a Pinterest account yet, you can sign up for one here.
This contest begins on Monday, December 17, 2012, at 9:00 am (EST) and ends on Tuesday, January 1, 2013, at 11:59 pm (EST).
Good luck, and Happy 2013!
I like the overtime glasses!
Congrats Brittany! Email me ASAP to claim your prize!![:)]()