Roasted Carrots

If you don’t like cooked carrots then it’s probably because you’ve never had them roasted. Maybe you’ve only had them boiled, mushy, and waterlogged. Roasting vegetables is one of the most delicious ways to get in more nutrients and fiber. Almost any vegetable you roast will caramelize into a soft and flavorful side dish. What’s the catch? There is no catch. The bottom line is that if you aren't eating a VARIETY of plant foods your body could suffer. Variety will insure that you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to thrive. Why not try different cooking methods to increase the variety of vegetables in your diet? Too much carrot juice will turn you orange. Too much of anything could be a bad thing, even kale or blueberries. So if there’s a vegetable you don’t like then try roasting it with a bit of oil, salt, and spices. You can roast broccoli, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, onions, garlic, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, eggplant and so many other kinds of vegetables. You should try making your own french fries or kale chips. Eat moderately, use as little oil as possible, and always change things up by eating a variety of raw or cooked fruits and vegetables. Roasted vegetables can be a beautiful and tasty part of a balanced and healthy life! Get out the grill this summer and roast a few vegetables and plant-based burgers for a change. You can do it!

Twice Baked Sweet Potato Rounds

...Cold sweet potatoes. I eat cold baked sweet potatoes out of the refrigerator at 5 o'clock in the morning as a pre workout snack or as a post workout breakfast. I'll throw them in a ziplock bag and drag them around in my purse for a quick snack. I love them with peanut butter, raisins, apple sauce, and cinnamon. I like them with beans, creole spice, and tahini sauce. I love them with tofu, broccoli, and quinoa. I love them in soups or loaded like a baked russet potato. I pretty much love any form of sweet potatoes. Baked, boiled, steamed, microwaved or however it is prepared...

Mushroom Cashew Lettuce Wraps

Whenever I invite people over for dinner I either make what I'm currently craving or I have a simple 3-step method that I use. 1. Look inside the fridge. 2. What do I have? 3. What can I turn this into? For dinner the other night I looked into the fridge and saw butter lettuce, leftover tahini mayo (recipe below), and a TON of mushrooms that needed to be used, like, TAaaaH-DAY! I thought about making mushroom lettuce wraps and went to google just that. I saw a Mushroom Cashew Lettuce Wrap recipe that sounded intriguing to me and I took it from there! The recipe itself used a lot of random ingredients that I don't usually use on this website (or buy). So I improvised to make an oil-free version using the ingredients I currently had in the house. The perfect starter for your mushroom-loving friends.

Simple Steamed Kale

Sometimes you just have to keep things simple. This recipe is SIMPLE. Sometimes it's the simple things that make the world go 'round... not that I'm implying that gravity (or more literally: Conservation of angular momentum) is simple. Please, don't try to explain it to me, I don't want to know!!! I'm just saying that I tend to OVER flavor foods at times and I LOVE that! I want so much garlic and ginger that the dish burns my throat. Jason wants noodles with earth balance spread and salt. What? So we compromise at times. Here's a steamed kale recipe that's so simple I stumbled upon it by accident. I was working with a patient at their home and they didn't own any spices. I was stuck with garlic powder and low sodium soy sauce. We ate this recipe with brown rice and we were very pleased. The simple things... like gravity or Conservation of angular momentum.

Roasted Balsamic Zucchini

Recipe Adopted: food.com Also make sure to try Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Baked Sweet Potato Fries Preheat oven to 450°F. Wash and slice zucchini (and/or summer squash) into spears. Combine zucchini spears, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a large mixing bowl, and toss until everything is evenly coated. Spread zucchini spears out onto a large baking …

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries are not only DELICIOUS but they're powerhouses of nutrition and longevity. According to the Blue Zone Study the Japanese centenarian's (people who live to be 100+) diet consists predominantly of orange and purple sweet potatoes (along with other vegetables, tofu, and minimal amounts of meat). The antioxidants, fiber, and cancer-fighting properties in sweet potatoes are only some of the reasons we should eat them...

Turmeric Latte (Golden Milk)

Most people know that ginger and turmeric are really good for you and it's recommended that you eat some everyday! Ginger is known to help with cramps, nausea, pain relief, IBS, migraines, viral infections, etc. Turmeric is known to be beneficial for things like inflammation, cancer, lupus, pre-diabetes, IBS, etc. Have you tried eating either spice plain? Not so good on their own, but they enhance foods in delicious ways! If you're wanting a hot drink but don't want that nasty sugar-coating left on your tongue (after drinking a Starbucks) or maybe you don't want to spend 37 dollars at the local cafe (Lego Movie?) or maybe you're not into the caffeine buzz well then, try out this Turmeric Latte and get your turmeric/ginger game on!

Whole Wheat Vegan Corn Bread

Who doesn't like cornbread? everybody loves corn bread. Especially with apple sauce and honey and almond milk (ok, maybe that's just me). Northerners like their cornbread sweet! This honey-sweetened-cornbread recipe is from the north.

Popcorn: Nutritional Yeast, Flax Seed, and Beyond!

Todays recipe is my tried and true combination for seasoning popcorn. It's the collection of toppings I've been using for years! I like to try out different combinations from time to time (like the za'atar popcorn I posted a few weeks ago--link on the blog) but this combination has stuck out as my favorite...

Simple Hummus

Everybody loves hummus. That tangy smooth concoction that exists in almost any grocery store in America. Hummus is very procurable and liking it no longer makes you exotic or cultured (unless, of course, you don't like it then you're just the opposite). I'm obsessed with hummus and I feel like I'm pretty good at making it. The only problem is that I make it so flavorful that you enjoy it for one meal and have zero desire to finish the leftovers. I decided I needed to find a plain recipe that was tasty but not so overpowering that you need to brush your teeth 6 times! So, like many people, I went to google. I found a recipes titled Better Then Store Bought Hummus. In my opinion store-bought hummus isn't that good but I figured it was worth a shot! I've made it 3 times in the last 6 days. Does that answer your question? Simple hummus FTW!

Za’atar (زَعْتَر) Popcorn

Za'atar is the name of a condiment made from several dried Middle Eastern herbs that include oregano, thyme, and marjoram mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac (a NON-poisonous red berry that is dried and ground and gives a tart lemony flavor to foods), and often salt, as well as other spices. The exact recipe really depends on which region of the Middle East you are currently in. I was given some as a gift but you can find it in your local middle eastern shop or the international section of a large grocery store.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

These brussels sprouts are crispy and delicious! Rich in nutrients and fiber. Cruciferous vegetables (the umbrella term for vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, etc.) have been shown to help fight cancer (check out the links in the post for more health information).

White Bean Alfredo

I made 4 slightly different variations of this recipe before falling in love with the right combination for us. I was telling my sister about this sauce and she said that she wanted to try it, but was going to keep experimenting until she found the recipe her family liked the best. That is the key. You have to find the recipe that works the best for you and your family (and your schedule). I love how fast this recipe is (throw it in the blender and boom you got Alfredo sauce). Blend it long enough and it is hot and ready (no dirty pot necessary) to pour over noodles or vegetables or toast or what have you. This recipe is full of fiber and fiber makes your gut happy. Watch the nutritionfacts.org video (linked in in the post) that talks about how AMAZING beans are for you. Basically one of the best things you could eat. If you want to live longer, eat beans. Ok, lets do it!

Black Bean Hummus

This dip has all the flavors of traditional hummus with tahini, lemon, garlic, etc. but instead of using a ton of oil use green olives to get extra extra EXTRA virgin olive oil flavor, without the oil!