Green Chef Review

[The goodies. I was amazed by all the food they sent]

So I haven't been much for standing on my feet these days, more on that next week. Cooking a whole meal of food is literally torturous. Doing dishes. Ohh my lord no. So when I saw that Green Chef was offering a vegan meal plan with 4 free meals on your first order, I had to try it. So for 3 nights we had dinner for 2 for only 26 dollars. And let me tell you, definitely worth it.

[cauliflower shawarma]

I have been tempted to try Blue Apron and the slew of other dinner kit meals, but alas, none offered vegan dinners, so when I saw Green Chef had added a vegan option, my mind was BLOWN. I ordered it 2 weeks ago and have to say I was monumentally impressed.

[seared tempeh with potato and green bean salad and slaw with red pepper aioli. This meal was BOMB]

We received our giant box of goodies on Friday, I picked Friday because I was unsure of how “easy” cooking these fancy meals would be without a guaranteed child wrangler. Well, we have since changed our delivery day to Wednesday because I’m happy to report each meal took less than 30 minutes and each one was super easy to make. Two using one pot or less. While you have to do some chopping, having everything portioned out and all of the yummy sauces prepared is an amazing time saver. I actually had more fun making dinner than I’ve had in a long time because I’m #LAZY. Both The Captain and I were throughly impressed by each meal. The first was a cauliflower shawarma with a salad, it was delicious and took no time at all to prepare. The second, pan seared tempeh with potato salad and slaw was so so so simple and while it wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea, was both of our favorite meal! Like I want to eat it again. Now. We ate every last bit of it. The third, a mushroom tostada with black beans and a salad, was definitely the most work, but again fairly simple and also delicious. We really enjoyed all 3 meals.

[mushroom tostadas with black beans and a cashew lime creama]

Breakdown:

Time: All meals were 30 minutes or less.

Taste: Seriously, impressed. I mean even the prepared sauces were fresh and delicious. Every time we sat down to dinner we were like, “DAMNNNNN, THAT'S FANCY.”

Serving Size: While they claim to be 2 servings, they are large portions. I would say they are more like 3 servings, but we are fat kids, so we had no problem polishing the extra serving...

Dishes: Having all the sauces and dressings prepared really cut down on dishes, with the exception of the tostadas we only had to use one pan to cook, plus a mixing bowl or two.

Price: The price varies per plan, these prices reflect the vegan option. At 26 bucks the first week was a steal, the regular price is 80.94 for 3 organic meals for 2[3] people. Now, that’s steep, yes, but honestly we will probably do Green Chef twice a month and the reason is 3 fold. 1. It’s easy 2. We actually cooked instead of going out for sushi saving us a TON of money 3. We wasted ZERO food, something I hate and something we do quite often in our house, see reason 2.

So you have nothing to lose, I would highly suggest a trial run with Green Chef!! Click here to get started! I’d love to hear your experiences with dinner kits? Which have you liked? Did you continue to order them!?

[Note: This is in NO WAY a sponsored post, just my own hungry, humble opinion.]

It's a WRAP!

And by wrap, I mean lettuce wraps, duh. I'm hungry all the time. Like all the time. Every damn thing I eat gives me some level of heart burn and acid reflux, but magically this meal gives me none of the painful affliction. Also, it tastes good as hell!! I'm a huge fan of all things Minimalist Baker and I love all of her spring roll recipes, but on this particular night I was too lazy to deal with rice wrappers. I thought, ya know what, this would taste delish in some yummy butter lettuce. And it was. It was delish. Here's whatcha gotta do to make these tasty suckers. Step one. Preheat oven to 450. Place sliced, pressed tofu on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Cook for 25-20 minutes. This is a Minimalist Baker technique and it turns out crispy and perfect. You would swear that it was deep fried.

Step two. Cook up thin rice noodles via package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool.

Step three. Thinly slice cucumbers, red peppers, mango, carrots, jalapeño, etc. Slice limes. Add a pile of bean sprouts, for the non-preggos. Coarsely chop peanuts or cashews.

Step four. Pull off lettuce leaves, wash, and dry.

Step five. Make THIS dipping sauce. I make a ton and use a tablespoon or so to toss the crispy tofu in just to coat.

Step six. Assemble and destroy many, many, many lettuce wraps. Mic drop. 

Feeding Rocco

Hello loves!! We are back with another installation of Feeding Rocco! Hooray!! I love sharing all the fun, and sometimes not so fun, things we feed our mostly vegan toddler. With the exception of organic eggs and some fish we are raising this boy as a mostly plant-based nugget. I know a lot of people wonder if I'm some crazy controlling food mom and I guess the answer is yes… to a certain extent… At this stage in the game I feel I'm allowed to be! My 18 month old doesn't have the control over what's being cooked and served in our household,  just the same as the toddler of a meat eating family! He only knows what Mommy and Babbo feed him. Now I know this will change eventually and he will possibly want to try non-vegan foods and all I can do is support him and help him make well informed choices about his food. But if you're asking if I'm gonna ever get him a happy meal the answer is a resounding hell no! But at some point, if he wants some birthday cake or to try meat I will do my best to keep my emotions out of it. On to the food, you will notice there was a theme going on this week: starch and peas. He likes what he likes.Jimbo's Macaroni Salad with added Peas. This pasta salad was meant for The Captain, Rocco ate all of it for lunch! I added some extra peas and he went to town.

Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Green Beans, and Corn. Shockingly he ate most of this! Towards the end the green beans were more fun to throw, but he loved the mashed potatoes and corn mixed together, just like his Nana! Note: I tried to give him leftovers the next day for lunch and he wanted nothing to do with it. Oy vey!

Daiya Mac n Cheese with Peas: My personal favorite boxed vegan mac n cheese. Tastes a bit like old school Velveeta without all the dairy and questionable ingredients. Loaded it up with frozen peas and boom. Dinner.

Fried Rice with Peas and Avocado: Rocco probably eats this a few times a week. Kid LOVES rice. So we fry it up with a touch of coconut oil and a splash of tamari, mix in frozen peas, and top with avocado. Sometimes I'll put in some onion chopped finely.

Annie's Mac n Cheese with Peas: This is my least favorite boxed mac n cheese, luckily Rocco could care less. It's a carb covered in a sauce. That's all he needs to know. Again, more peas. I usually alternate with broccoli, but right before the move I didn't want to buy more groceries, so using what I had!!

2 Eggs Over-Hard, Avocado, and Tortillas: At our favorite restaurant in SD, Coffee Cup! We both got the same order every time and our favorite waitress knew it by heart. Rocco kills this breakfast which is a common one at home too! Sometimes instead of tortillas, I will make him toast with a bit of coconut oil on it!! But he usually always starts the day with a banana as soon as he wakes up, I swear this kid is part monkey! We buy bananas by the case load!

Almond Butter Toast with TJ's Veggie Straws: Quick late lunch/afternoon snack! Simple, easy, and filling. I may have eaten one or 20 of the veggie straws myself. So tasty. So salty. Mmmmmm.

Well, there you have it folks another week of Feeding Rocco! Stay tuned for more posts as we really test what this kid will eat, it's amazing what, even in a few weeks, can develop in a child's palate and what they are willing to try!

#PinterestFail

So I write recipes, I rarely follow them. I feel cooking is an art, a little of this, some of that, etc. Which would explain why I'm a TERRIBLE baker, like seriously, the worst... Well, I found this yummy Forks Over Knives recipe for stuffed potatoes, supposedly a plant-based take on deviled eggs. Sounded like the perfect Easter snackie. So about that...

Fail #1. I forgot Dijon mustard and The Captain had to do a 9 o'clock grocery run. He got himself a boozy reward, so don't feel bad for him.

Fail #2. As I gathered ingredients on Easter Sunday I realized I had forgotten THE most major ingredient when making hummus. Chickpeas. I forgot the mother flippin garbanzo beans. What. The. Crap. I did, however, have a can of great northern beans, so I crossed my fingers that they would work.

Fail #3. I completely misread didn't read the instructions for the hummus at all... I threw everything in my vitamix and started blending. I wasn't supposed to add everything. The green onion were supposed to be mixed in after the hummus was smooth.

Fail #4. I added water too quickly after I got impatient adding a tablespoons at a time and I ended up with white bean hummus soup. COME. ON.

Sooooo I went and sat on the couch. Maybe I cried a little, so what?! I'm pregnant I cry 2-3 times an hour. Hormones. Am I right??? And I thought "okay how can I turn this around??" I had baby red potatoes and a delicious white bean green onion "Hummus" with a dressing-like consistency... And it came to me. Potato Salad. Boom.

So here's what I did oh-so-wrong, but tastes oh-so-right!

Hummus:

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added white beans, drained and rinsed

2 large cloves garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped green onions (4 to 5)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

6 tablespoons water

Throw it all in the blender until pretty and smooth.

Tatos:

12 small red potatoes, diced

Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish

1 green onion, finely sliced, for garnish

Boil potatoes until fork tender and drain. Once dry, mix with hummus and garnish with paprika and green onion!

Hope you enjoy my fail!!!!!

Feeding Rocco

As a mom, I'm amazed how obsessed I am with what I feed my kid. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise as I'm obsessed with what I feed myself! But when researching meals for a mostly vegan [with the exception of organic eggs and some fish] toddler the information out in the world isn't overwhelming. I've had to strip it back to what I know about food and what it's important nutrition for a child, or any human really, to eat! I know people have so many questions on the matter, but I assure you it is a healthy diet for a growing kiddo as well as doctor approved. If you ever have any questions I'd be happy to answer them for you!! But here's a list of some of the things we feed Rocco. Veggie Calzone. Filled with chopped spinach, onions, red bell peppers and mushrooms. We dip it it marinara sauce and he devours it!! Seriously, he ate the whole thing. **Tip: Leafy greens are not the easiest thing for a little to chew up, so we prefer organic frozen chopped spinach which we simply defrost in use in calzones, soups, chili, etc and it's loads easier for the kiddos to eat. I also dump frozen spinach into fruit smoothies**

Veggie Stir Fry with Sesame seeds: All of the veggies, with the exception of 2 or 3 zucchini, ended up on the floor. But Rocco's two favorites, rice and avocado were devoured, plus 3 more servings.

Whole Foods Sesame Tofu, Beet Salad, Back to Nature Wheat Crackers, and Trader Joes Edamame Hummus: This was a snack for me, that ended up being a snack for Rocco. I ate all the beet salad and he ate everything else.

Whole Wheat Elbow Macaroni in Marinara with Spinach and Veggie Meatballs and Nutritional Yeast. Rocco will eat anything if it's covered in red sauce! This is the most basic of meals. We add the nutritional yeast for a pop of b-12.

Veggie Patty with Organic Ketchup and Whole Wheat Pita with Hummus. The Patty was iffy, he ate about 1/3 of it and threw the rest on the ground. He is obsessed with hummus and pita and literally ate 2 pitas.

Native Foods Mac n Cheese Kids Meal with Steamed Zucchini. I'm missing Cali pretty fiercely because this was the easiest quick meal. I would cut up the steamed veggies and put them in the mac n cheese. He tears through this like a boss.

Rice, Beans, and Roasted Veggies. Another take out meal, yes, moving and cooking do not go hand in hand. We served this with a cut up avocado. He loves tortilla chips. Like momma, like son.

For those who are wondering, Roc drinks unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. I look for the cleanest option I can find, Silk brand is usually our go-to. Other than that he drinks water and on occasion raw coconut water cut with regular water. He absolutely loves it!!!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Again, if you have any questions please ask! I'm not a doctor or a food expert, but I do know a bit about being a healthy plant-based momma! I am passionate about raising a mostly vegan baby, stay tuned for more Feeding Rocco!

Buddha Teas

There is nothing I dig more than finding a new company to love. When Buddha Teas reached out to me, I was all like, "YES! Give me ALL the tea!" Yes, that's how I talk professional like... I'm a big tea drinker and while I love loose leaf, it's not always practical, especially whilst chasing a toddler! I've recently read a few articles that were quite scary about the nonsense that's put into many commercial tea and tea bags! It's shocking! Well, with Buddha Teas you don't have to worry about that! They are committed to a natural and organic product that is actually natural AND organic. Go figure!! And on top of all their awesomeness they are a San Diego company, located in Carlsbad!! #Winning I opted for the Divine Immunity Blend and it's light and delicious. Crisp with a hint of sweetness. When I had a killer sore throat, aka December, I mixed in a spoonful of raw, local honey to help soothe. DE-lish!!!!!

Lastly, can I get an AMEN for the brilliant quote on this particular cup of tea. "Worry seems necessary, but serves no purpose." Preach Buddha Teas!