What's the best way to eat while pregnant? Do the best you can.
Plant-based Pregnancy
Reversing Diabetes With Beans
If you don’t start to make changes your diabetes can and will get worse. Untreated (and sometimes treated) diabetes can lead to terrifying complications like limb amputations, blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, etc. This is far scarier then changing your lifestyle! Many physicians and dietitians agree, we can stop this! We can change our society, change our habits, and change our health!
Plant-Based 101
It's not about quick fixes or what works for the next 2 weeks. Think about your entire life! Think about what is sustainable. You can easily lose weight on any diet program, but odds are not usually in your favor for keeping the weight off...
How to be Plant-Based
Do the best you can. Some of us will be 100% all of the time. Some of us won't. Some of us shouldn't be 100% all of the time because that could lead to eating disorders or familial issues. Each person is different. Each story is different. Remember that life happens and life is meant to be lived.
Simple 3-day Meal Plan
Why only 3 days? Because while your already in the kitchen cooking one meal why not double the recipe and have a second meal ready to go for another day? This means less time buying groceries, less time cooking, less time cleaning...
Oil-Free Bruchetta Spaghetti Squash
...For this recipe use a crockpot so that you can turn it on and forget about it for a few hours. Mix up a quick salad with beans, seeds, and a tahini dressing and together you have a meal full of complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, and a happy belly.
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!
Copycat Cafe Gratitude’s Decadent Milkshake
There is this fancy little hippy vegan chain here in southern California called Cafe Gratitude. I'm told that if you go to the Santa Monica location you will most likely run into some celebrities...
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...
Tempeh Bacon Avocado Arugula Sauerkraut Sandwich
I love a good old sandwich. Ezekiel 4:9 bread, vegetarian protein (oat burgers, tempeh, or hummus), veggies, sauce, done. I also love sauerkraut and it made an extra pickle-y addition to a sandwich that already had pickles in it. Double the pickles double the fun.
Disney Dole Whip
It's been really hot lately (California Dreaming was NOT written about the Inland Empire)! Recently the temperature clocked 105 degrees outside and my house was a nice and cool 89 degrees inside (I'm being sarcastic about the nice and cool part, it was a literal white-middle-class kind of hell). We had friends coming over for dinner and I had planned to make roasted peaches with cinnamon and nuts but turning on the oven wasn't an option. Sorry guys! Instead we had something else for dessert. Something lovely, smooth, cold, and creamy. Have you been to Disneyland? Have you tried Disney Dole Whip? Ok, here's a better question. Have you asked Dr. Google what Dole Whip actually is (or is that just little old nerdy me)? I falsely assumed it was actually fruit. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. So instead of waiting at the longest line in Adventure Land, try out this simple Disney Dole Whip. I promise your husband and kids will approve!
Red, White, and Blueberry Maple Syrup Cake + Chocolate Frosting + Coconut Cream
Happy 4th! Celebrate with this maple syrup sweetened whole wheat cake covered in almond butter date frosting, coconut cream, and fresh juicy berries!
Carrot Dogs On The Grill
Celebrate the 4th of July this year grilling a hot dog that won't lead to colon cancer! Instead these carrot dogs could help PREVENT cancer, heart disease, infection, stroke, all the while improving your vision, skin, and teeth! I'm talking about Carrot dogs! To be clear, these do not taste like meat or veggie meat. These carrot dogs are their own thing and I love it! I feel like I'm eating a hot dog and I get that hot dog fix but instead of chewing down processed meat or processed fake meat I get more fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Eat more plants. Crap like a champ!
Lentil Haystacks
I was first introduced to Lentil Haystacks while living in Michigan. There is this terrific woman named Betty who made this meal for her family every Friday evening while her kids were growing up. I thought the concept was a bit weird at first, but after one bite I immediately loved it. My version is a bit different then hers. Instead of ranch dressing you use hummus on your toasted bread. Instead of cheese you sprinkle sunflower seeds over the top. You will also enjoy the extra crunch of added cabbage to get some cruciferous vegetables in your meal! Overall it is a delightful meal full of crunchy, creamy, tangy, and meaty (from the lentils) textures in your mouth! What are you waiting for?
Potato Zoodle Bean Salad
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.
White Bean Alfredo Zoodle Bowl
Like I said in my last Zoodle post, my friend Arnetta gave me a spirilizer and I have to say that it's just so much fun! With it I've made Pad Thai (recipe below), Potato-Zoodle Salad (recipe coming soon), Hummus Zoodles, and the Alfredo recipe for today. I'm planning on eating zoodles with marinara sauce and cashew parmesan, throwing them in soups, and maybe even a zoodle casserole in the future! I'm not sure why I didn't buy myself this little device years ago, but I'm so glad my friend gave me one. So either get yourself a spirilizer or just get yourself an Arnetta! 😉 Zoodles forever!
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (Vegan)
Banana Smoothie recipes: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Peach Ice Cream Wendy’s Copycat Vegan Frosty Chocolate Chip Milk Shake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar Recipe Adopted From: Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Bars Other similar recipes: King-Sized Vegan Snicker Bars Healthy Scotcheroos
Vegan Peanut-Tofu Zoodle Pad Thai
Peanut sauce drizzled over zucchini noodles with cilantro, tofu, and peanuts, is fresh and delicious.
Mushroom Risotto Stuffed Butternut Squash (vegan)
This is a super easy and fast recipe. Well, that is, if you have the 3 separate recipes done ahead of time. So, for example, I made the mushroom risotto on Tuesday and we ate some of it for dinner, I always have a batch of cashew parmesan made and in the fridge, and then I baked the squash Wednesday morning (you can also cook in a crockpot). That evening I had the idea to stuff the butternut squash pieces with leftover risotto... it worked out! Delicious.
Mushroom Risotto (Vegan)
Mushrooms are nutrient powerhouses! Just eating half a mushroom a day (or 15 a month) can help lower your risk of breast cancer by 64%!!!!! Seriously? That's absolutely insane! It's too bad so many people dislike mushrooms! Mushrooms have antioxidants, selenium, folate, vitamin D, vitamin C, potassium, and a good amount of protein and fiber! Research shows that consuming mushrooms can help to lower your risks of...
Fiesta Potato Stacks
Potatoes, Beans, Vegetables, and a really good sauce.
Crunchy Vegan Yogurt Fruit Salad
Do you like crunchy creamy sweet things? I do. And I sure love eating this salad!
2-Ingredient Maple Syrup Chocolate Chips
Dark chocolate chips sweetened with maple syrup? Now there's a special treat!
Tahini Miso Kimchi Bowl
This Miso-Tahini Kimchi bowl is my favorite type of meal, because you can make a big batch at the beginning of the week and then every day after you can have dinner on the table in less then 5 minutes. If you're the sort of person who doesn't like to eat the same thing everyday then a simple solution is to...
Tahini Miso Sauce
Cashew Cream of Tomato Soup
Creamy vegan soup that takes less then 5 minutes to make. Let's do this...
King-Sized Vegan Snicker Bars
Do you like chocolate? Do you like peanut butter? Do you like snickers bars? Yes...
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.
Chili-Hummus Baked Potato
I am SO grateful that complex carbohydrates are REALLY REALLY REALLY good for us! Don't be scared of carbs! The reason there's so much confusion is that there's more then one type of carbohydrate! Simple carbohydrates (cookies, cakes, breads, crackers, candy, etc.) have a lot of calories and fat but little to no fiber to help us stay full which means we get hungrier faster even though we may have eaten a lot of calories already. Complex carbohydrates (beans, oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, corn, quinoa, etc.)...