A Week in Food

I've spent this beautiful week cooking, cleaning, teaching, and spending time with wonderful friends!  I finally feel like I am back on track after my Vegas trip last weekend!  Dang, you NEED a vacay after Vegas... that's for sure!  I just finished up writing a guest post for my friend's blog Pepperoni Is Not a Vegetable about converting my favorite childhood comfort food into vegetarian friendly masterpieces :)  I'll let you know when it's up!

Yesterday I hit up my favorite Farmer's Market here in Phoenix on Saturday to see what I could find.  I was happy to see that they still have beets in season and I was incredibly happy to find asparagus overflowing everywhere!  SCORE!  But what made me the most happy was buying this BEAUTIFUL  Yellow Pear Heirloom Tomato plant for a whopping 8 bucks!  Go ME!

Friday Night, my husband and I were both feeling lazy.  We scrapped our plans to go the the drive-in for the comforts of our couch and take-and-bake pizza.  He bought a plain cheese pizza, so I spiced it up a bit.  He had pepperoni and mushrooms.  I had sliced tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil from my plant, and mushrooms.  Not bad, not bad at all!

Earlier this week, I found Seitan at Sunflower Market.  I was excited because I can never seem to find it when I shop at Sprouts.  I have been told that Seitan is an excellent meat "replacer".  All it is is wheat gluten, not suitable for people with gluten intolerances.  I decided to whip up a stir-fry with onions, broccoli, shitake mushrooms, baby corn, red pepper, carrots, and kale over top of buckwheat noodles.    The Seitan wasn't bad, but I also wasn't a total fan.  I think it will take me time to get used to, just as tofu did.  I can't get enough of that stuff!

Then for breakfast this morning, I used some of my finds from the farmers market.  I was exhausted from cleaning my house this morning and this breakfast was delicious and flavorful.

Ingredients

1 handful pressed and cubed extra firm tofu

Another handful cubed zucchini

1 small red potato, softened in the microwave for 1 minute then cubed

Chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup prepared black beans

Kale, chopped

Fresh parsley, chopped

A sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes, and of course s&p

Coconut oil for sauteing

Green tabasco for a finish

Start by sautéing the tofu and onions with some coconut oil.  Add the potato, garlic, and zucchini until softened.  Next, add the kale, parsley, black beans, and red pepper flakes.  Finish with the green tabasco and ENJOY! 

Mmmmmm... I LOVE breakfasts like these!!!

Here's to a great week ahead my fellow food lovers!

Peace, Love, & Veggies

A Vegas Detox

I spent my weekend celebrating a wonderful friend's birthday in none other than LAS VEGAS!  While there, I was fortunate enough to spend time with 6 other wonderful girls that I didn't even know too well, but by the time we landed in Vegas, you would have never known that!  I even learned that many of these awesome girls read my blog on a regular basis, which I never new either!  After 2 days of eating, drinking, and lack of sleep, I was looking forward to getting back into my routine.  So that's what I did today.  I slept, and I cooked, and I ate, then I cooked and ate again!  I knew I needed some clean and healthy foods to counter-act what I put into my body so I had a day full day of Vegas cleansing foods! 


First up: BREAKFAST!


As I stated, I was a bit tired from my trip, so leaving the house was absolutely out-of-the-question.  As usual, I used what I had lying around!

Brunchy Quinoa Hash

Sautee up a large handful of torn kale, 1 peeled and sliced carrot, and a small handful of chopped leeks with 2 cloves of sliced garlic and a drizzle of EVOO.  Meanwhile clean a small potato (mine was a beautiful purple potato) and wrap it in a wet paper towel and cook in the microwave until soft.  Remove and cut into chunks and add to the pan.  While softening, dice half a yellow squash and add to the pan as well.  Add salt and pepper here.  Always better to add salt while cooking and not after.  Add some spoonfuls of pre-made and leftover Quinoa or whatever you may have in the house.  Stir to coat and until warmed through.


TA-DA!  I was already feeling dirty Vegas emptying out of my pores!


Then came a late lunch/early dinner...

I don't have a name for this yet, but it's pretty much a beet salad.  I roasted some golden beets and 3 large brussels sprouts while I was making breakfast this morning and knew I was planning on making a salad out of them.  So here ya go:


Peel and dice pre-roasted beets and place in a large bowl.  Add roasted & quartered brussels sprouts.  Drain and rinse a can of corn or grill 2 corn cobs.  I didn't have any fresh corn so I heated up some EVOO and browned/toasted it with some crushed red pepper flakes, sliced garlic, and a little sea salt.  Add to the bowl.  I also added a can of rinsed black beans, diced artichokes, halved grape tomatoes, finely chopped red onion, chopped kale, parsley, and cilantro.  Drizzle with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, then sprinkle with S&P.


The Hubby loved this salad as did I!


Nothing makes my body feel better than fresh, healthy, flavorful food.  Although, I did eat pretty well in Vegas.  I will share some of the yummy things I ate off a Vegetarian Brunch Menu at Tableau at The Wynn and lunch at The Cheesecake Factory:

White Bean Stew

Vegan "Eggs" Benedict and potatoes

Have a happy week my fellow food lovers!

Peace, Love, & Veggies

Meatless Monday- Vegan Tofu & Citrus Tacos with Quinoa!

Happy Meatless Monday Friends!

I write this as I sit outside on a beautiful Monday evening, after just enjoying a fantastic and flavorful meal.  I found my inspiration off Pinterest, where I find many of my meal ideas after a long day of work when I really don't feel like being 100% creative.  

So tonight, I made some vegan Tofu & Citrus Tacos w/ Quinoa.  After just polishing off my plate and contemplating seconds and thirds, I decided to write about it instead.  However, instead of wasting all my time typing the recipe, I'll just say you can find it here from Healthy Happy Life.  I made a few changes which I will note in just a moment, but I just want to say how freakishly delicious these tacos are.  They are so fresh, light, and flavorful that you won't want to stop eating them!  So for Meatless Monday or just any old day of the week, give 'em a whirl...  You'll be glad you did!

Revisions

1-  I added a little extra kale, parsley, and cilantro to the quinoa because I love them all so!

2- When I cooked the quinoa, I fist mixed the quinoa in a spice mixture for extra flavor.  I used 2   tsp. salt, 1 tsp. each: chili powder, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and a small pinch of cayenne powder.

3-I omitted the hemp seeds b/c I didn't have them and used 1 T. whole flaxseeds instead of the ground ones.

Other than that, I pretty much kept the recipe the same.  It's really great just the way it is!  So without further-ado...  Here are my photos!

Spiced Quinoa with Kale, Parsley, and Cilantro

Mango & Avocado Salsa with Goji Berries

Chipotle Tofu Triangles

All plated up with smashed Vegetarian Black Beans and Vegan Sour Cream

Beautiful Deliciousness!

Have a happy day my friends!  Remember to feed yourself food that makes you feel good, whatever it may be!

Peace, Love, & Veggies

Lighten Up!

Want something light, tasty, flavorful, and healthy to boot?  Then make this delicious grilled corn salad.  It would be a great side dish to an early summer meal, or as a meal on its own!  I decided to make this today to use the corn that has been being neglected in my refrigerator.

So here it is... Grilled Corn Summer Salad!

Ingredients:

4 ears, husked and cleaned grilled corn (I lightly brushed my with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper)

1/4-1/2 diced red onion

2 large carrots, peeled, drizzled with evoo, s&p and grilled (dice after grilling)

1 cup quartered mini heirloom or grape tomatoes

1 avocado, diced

1-2 cups spinach, chopped

Dressing:  

The juice of 1/2 a large lemon

1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar

1/4 cup EVOO

S&P.

Method (so easy):

Grill corn and carrots, being sure to turn and check often so not to burn.

Chop and prepare the remaining ingredients and place in a medium sized bowl.

Check your corn & carrots!

Make dressing.

Using a wide bowl, cut corn kernels from the cob and place with the rest of the salad.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad.

Serve warm or refrigerate.

Enjoy!

You will LOVE this salad!  It was amazing!

Peace, Love, & Veggies

Lentil & Rice Stew

I made this amazing dinner last weekend and I'm just getting around to posting it.... bad Lindsay!  This is a great one pot meal, especially on a chilly evening or after a long day.  I made it however, on a warm Phoenix evening and it still tasted wonderfully!

Lentil & Rice Stew


Ingredients


1C red lentils, rinsed
1/4C rice (I used a brown rice medley)
5C veggie broth or vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in water
2C broccoli florets and stems, chopped
1 handful fresh green beans, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/2C frozen or fresh peas
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1C diced onion (red, yellow, or even leeks)
1/2C peeled and cubed eggplant
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tsp. each- ground cumin, chili powder, garam masala.
2T Sour Cream (I used a vegan brand called Tofutti
S&P

Method


-Heat liquid in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  
Add lentils and rice and simmer for about 20 minutes.
-While the lentils and rice are cooking, prepare the vegetables.
-After the 20 minutes is up, add all the vegetables, tomatoes and spices (including some s&p) to the pot.
-Cover and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
-When cooked through, remove from heat and add your sour cream or your Tofutti if you're making a vegan version like me!
-Ladle Stew into bowls.  Garnish with some basil leaves.  Serve with some crusty bread!

Enjoy!

Let me just say, this stew turned out awesome!  My husband loved it as well which made me really happy!  You really can't help but feel great while you eat it.  Try it... you wont regret it!


Peace, Love, & Veggies