So this is a take on one of my favorite recipes by my dietitian hero, Kimberly Snyder. I definitely put my spin on it, added some more veggies and some delish brown rice noodles, but it's still healthy and totally filling, warm, and comforting. Who wants to make me some, like, right now!?
Serves 2 hungry-hungry hippos
4 cups veggie stock
1 can organic, full fat coconut milk, [helpful tip: Always shake the can before opening]
3 tablespoons green curry paste
3 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon of coconut oil
3-5 baby bok choy, chopped and cleaned well
1 japanese eggplant, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sting beans, trimmed and chopped into inch pieces
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 packed of thin brown rice noodles
1 lime juice/zest
Optional: Garnish jalapeño, bean sprouts, thai basil, sambal oelek, or whatever your heart desires.
Saute eggplant and mushrooms with coconut oil. Cook until soft. Mix coconut milk, tamari, and curry paste and add to eggplant and mushrooms. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook noodles via package instructions while soup simmers. I like to keep the noodles separate because I HATE soggy noodles.
Add beans and bok choy for the last 5 minutes or earlier if you like softer veggies. Finish with lime juice/zest, and green onions. Then just ladle soup over a pile of delish noodles.
Stuff your face.
Third trimester pregnancy has had me craving pretty much the same things over and over again. Avocado rolls and veggie tempura, but I have been trying my darnedest to keep my diet varied and healthy. After eating at a fancy restaurant and seeing their classic niçoise on the menu I haven't able to get it out of my head… I kept seeing them everywhere and any salad with potatoes in it is pretty much ace in my book. So this is my not so specific recipe for a delish and vegan niçoise! Enjoy!!!!
Whatcha Need:
Butter Lettuce
Red potatoes, chopped and steamed until soft
String beans, trimmed and steamed [try to keep them a bit crunchy]
Niçoise or Kalamata olives, chopped [niçoise are actually not my fave]
Red onion, sliced very thin
Roasted red peppers, sliced super thin
Artichoke hearts, quartered [canned is fine, but in a perfect world I would've steamed my own]
White beans, strained and rinsed
Avocado sliced
Dressing:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/3 cup of Olive oil
a few splashes of warm water to loosen it up
A healthy pinch of salt
A few turns of the pepper mill
Chives, chopped [I didn't have any, but it would've made the dressing
perfect]
You can make enough for 1 or for 10 very easily. There aren't any rules on how you compile this salad!!! Seriously, enjoy putting it together. I'm a fan of the deconstructed plate. I like to lightly dress each component before plating it. You don't need much. There's nothing I hate more than a soggy over dressed salad. Well, maybe ugly shoes… and ugly handbags… and ugly wedding dresses… I think you get the point. Anywho, I plan of eating this salad for like a week. Enjoy!!!
So I've wanted to make these "wings" for a while now and at a recent wifey event I decided to try it out. I based my recipe off of A Simply Raw Life's recipe found on Pinterest. I kept pretty much everything the same, but I did switch up the dipping sauce. Let me tell you, this was a MASSIVE hit. Veggies and non-veggies alike were stuffing their faces with these things!! I mean the outside was spicy and crunchy and inside was soft and delicious. I really seriously can't say enough amazing things about these things!! I think football season is getting ready to start soon [right!?] and these would be perfect even for the manliest crowd! I can't wait to make them for The Captain. Awesome for any get together or even a quick and yummy dinner.
Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 cup buffalo sauce, I used the Trader Joe's
2 tablespoons of earth balance, melted
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix milk, flour, garlic powder in a bowl and then add the cauliflower and coat all of the pieces. Place evenly on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven for 25ish minutes until good and crunchy. Mix hot sauce and melted earth balance and pour all over cauliflower. Pop back into the oven for 5 minutes. They taste amazing right out of the oven. Proceed to stuff face.
Dipping Sauce
1 box of silken tofu
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
Juice of 1-2 lemons [I like it with more lemon]
Toss all ingredients in a blender and pop into the fridge for at least an hour.
As promised, here's my most absolute favorite way to eat the yummy pesto recipe I posted a few weeks ago!!! This is my go-to dish when I need to serve an army and I want to sneak feed them healthy, plant based goodness!!! What they don't know won't hurt them… Is that how that saying goes?! Dude, that's awful. But in the case of this delish pasta, the fact that there is not a stitch of cheese or oil should and will quite literally blow your mind. Ha, people use the term literally too much… but again, with this pasta it's so healthy and yummy, be warned, your head could explode. Okay, here's how easy this shiz is.
Step 1. Cut a hole in the box Follow and make this Pesto Recipe
Step 2. Boil Water
Step 3. Add your favorite pasta [I'm obsessed with Trader Joe's brown rice fusilli, so good and totes gluten free] to boiling water
Step 4. Add chopped green beans and asparagus to the boiling water party for the last 5 minutes of the pasta's cooking time
Step 5. DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR PASTA
Step 6. Drain pasta and veggies, leaving just a tablespoon or so of cooking liquid with the pasta
Step 7. Stir in pesto
Step 8. Enjoy like a Boss!!!
I've made this curry approximately 3,384 times since I found it on Pinterest. It is so easy and delicious that it will have you coming back for more and more and then some more. Seriously, it's that good!! It's from Julia's Album and damnnnn does this chick know her garbanzos! The only thing that I change is omitting the brown sugar and adding a TON of cayenne pepper, like 2-3 teaspoons depending on my mood. It is a meal that is sure to please even the most meaty of meat eaters. Swearsies.
During our vacation in the mountains over Christmas, I felt so left out whilst everyone devoured a super yummy looking, super not vegan breakfast casserole and I thought to myself, there has to be a way. Growing up my mom made the most delicious breakfast casserole ever Christmas morning, so I couldn't get this idea out of my head. The Captain and I were determined and our attempt was a MAJOR success. It's so freaking tasty. The recipe is not difficult at all, but there are a few steps involved. Luckily, it feeds an army so you will have breakfast for many mornings after!! This would be perfect for any special morning. It makes me want a bloody mary. Someone get on that stat.
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 cups of frozen breakfast potatoes
6 oz of veggie sausage, browned [cooked to package instructions]
2 boxes of extra firm silken tofu
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon of turmeric
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon of arrowroot or cornstarch
Juice from a quarter of a lemon
optional 1 cup of daiya
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start cooking onions [I used veggie stock] once they are translucent add and cook potatoes via package instructions. You should be browning up the "sausage" too. In a blender, mix tofu, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, nutritional yeast, almond milk, lemon juice, and arrowroot. Blend until smooth. Once everything is finished, layer the ingredients in a 9x13 pan. I put the potatoes down first then added a layer of daiya cheese followed by the tofu mixture and finally the sausage sprinkled on top. Bake for 45 minutes and let sit for 15 minutes before enjoying.
It's crazy good. Creamy and hearty. Feel free to enjoy with avocado, corn tortillas, and your desire hot sauce.
I'm Italian. I'm vegan. Many Italians would say that this is a physical impossibility. 5 years ago I would have probably agreed, but now here I sit a real live Italian girl who hasn't had milk, cheese, or eggs for over 4 years. I haven't gone mad or evaporated into thin air, I've managed quite nicely! I'm so much healthier and clearer, but I still love Italian food… like, a lot. Luckily, Italians aren't all meatballs and bolognese! I have adapted many of my mom, Sandy's, recipes, but the hardest was her eggplant parmigiana. I thought it would be impossible, but alas it wasn't!! Here is my healthy, vegan eggplant parm. You're welcome!!
Serves 4-6
2 large eggplant, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 1/2 cup of veggie broth
1 package of Daiya vegan mozzarella*
4 cups of marinara sauce, recipe below or a really, really good jarred sauce
2 3/4 cups Trader Joes plain breadcrumbs (you could easily sub Gluten Free crumbs)
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I like to mix up my own flavored bread crumbs, so in a mini-prep I blend up the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, parsley, and basil. Mix then pour into a bowl. In a separate bowl mix veggie stock and ground flax seeds until they form a gloppy egg like mixture. Start coating the eggplant in the flax egg, then the breadcrumbs and place on a sheet tray. It's a painstaking process, but soooo worth it. Place trays in oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Resist the urge to eat them all.
Then in a 8x8 baking dish, with a spoon spread a thin layer of sauce across the bottom. Layer in the baked eggplant. Top with another thin layer of sauce and 1/3 cup(or up to 1/2 cup if you like it gooey) of the daiya cheese. Continue like this. I like 4 layers. I top with sauce and no cheese because vegan cheese tends to back funny when it's exposed directly to heat. You can keep this in the fridge for 2-3 days or even freeze. When you are ready to bake heat the oven to 350 and cook covered for 25 minutes, then uncovered for another 20. Serve with more sauce!!
Start by using 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil or if you are a weirdo like me and trying to cut out oil, use 1-2 tablespoons of water. Add all of the garlic until fragrant. Be careful not to burn!!! Watch closely! Once it’s going, add onions and cook until translucent. Then add a big ole handful of salt, a few turns of the pepper mill, and 2 teaspoons each of dried oregano and dried basil. Stir for quick second and then add the tomato sauce. Mix throughly. Add another generous handful of salt. Once it’s nice and bubbly, reduce the heat to low and cover for 1-4 hours. Make sure and check on it regularly, burnt sauce SUCKS!!! At the very end, add the fresh basil until wilted. Use for your eggplant or with your favorite pasta!! I’m a big fan of eggplant parm with a side of rigatoni and red sauce. I’m starving now. Dammit. Someone make me some sauce!!
*Note: I'm not a huge fan of vegan cheese at all. Ever. Even the best quality vegan shreds are processed and they rarely taste great, but Daiya is far and away the best melting cheese and it really tastes yummy in this recipe which is meant as a special treat! That being said it would taste super delicious without the cheese too!! Then you could truly enjoy this meal guilt free!!! YUM!
**Yet another note: You can go old school and buy whole San Marzano tomatoes and blend them until smooth and start with that as your base. I use quite a bit more sea salt when I make it this way. We don’t do a super sweet sauce in my family! Bring on the sodium!!
Today I am just over the moon because I LOVE December's woman who rocks!!!! Estela from Weekly Bite is a genius dietician, successful blogger, fabulous mommy, and I'm so delighted to call her my friend. She effortlessly (or so it seems) balances kiddos, work, and life while always keeping a balanced diet with an emphasis on healthy whole foods and moderation! She is the real deal when it comes to expert nutrition advice, plus she's a total babe! Hope you enjoy her interview!
Hey superwoman, how do you balance work, kids, husband, exercise and stay sane? Balance is something I work at every day (some days are way easier then others). What keeps me sane is exercise. I make it a priority to schedule exercise somewhere in my day, whether it be running, yoga, or an exercise DVD. If I can't find "me" time to exercise, I load the kids up in the jogging stroller (which is often) and pound my stress away on the pavement.
As for work, since I work from home I feel like I am working all day. Having two kids makes it a little challenging, but now that they are in school I am able to focus more on work before their pick-up time. When it comes to making time for my husband, I make it a personal rule to shut off the computer at 8pm. Since the kid's are in bed by that time, it gives us a chance to catch up on our day and keep that line of communication open which is super important for couples. We also try to schedule date nights every couple of weeks :)
What’s your personal food philosophy? Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied! Try to make healthy choices most of the time, but never deprive yourself of foods you love. One of the hardest things to do is tune into our bodies and listen when it tell us it needs food. Try to avoid the emotional eating rut. When we start eating consistently for reasons other than hunger (like boredom, loneliness, or stress), that's when the excess weight arrives.
Is there a common mistake you notice when people are trying to loose weight or eat healthier? Losing weight & becoming healthier is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. In order to keep weight off permanently, focusing on a healthy lifestyle change, rather than a diet is key. Take a mini assessment of your life and find little things you can change one at a time. Slow and steady should be the motto when it comes to weight loss. We can still enjoy the foods we love, but in moderation.
Is there a secret to getting kids to love healthy food? I get this question all the time from parents. There really is no secret. As parents, we serve as role models for our kids. We need to be the eater we want our kids be. As parents, it's our job to decide when and what our kids eat. It is up to the kids to decide how much they will eat. The key is to never give up. It can take up to five introductions of a food before the child actually tastes it. I never force my kids to eat everything on their plate. I do encourage them to taste it, and I always make sure to have at least one food on their plate I know they like. We also do a lot of "tummy talk" when we are eating. It's a way of getting kids to learn about listen to their hunger (tummy) cues.
Spill it, what’s your fave junk food? This is embarrassing, but I'm going to have to say 'Flaming Hot Cheetos'. I know they are super unhealthy (some might even say they're gross), but I think they are yummy! I don't eat them often, but if they are around I enjoy them in moderation :)