Chocolate Mousse Smoothie

A few weeks ago, we had some friends over for dinner and so our two-year old kids could run around and wear each other down. I made my new favorite, spaghetti squash pad Thai and our friends brought dessert. A chocolate mousse made with avocados. It was amazing. Since then, I've been eating a similar smoothie version of this decadent, good-for-you dessert!

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado 
• 1/2-1 banana 
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 C plain almond milk
• 2-3 ice cubes
• 1 T creamy peanut butter
• 1 T raw honey

Directions

1. Combine in a blender and blend until smooth. Obviously. (Sometimes I feel like an idiot when I blog. Example: Of course readers know that you're going to blend in a blender. And of course they know to blend until smooth since it's called a smoothie. Jeesh, Chels).

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

I wrote a post a little over a year ago about the health benefits of chia seeds. In short, the have tons of fiber, calcium, and protein and they give you energy. I try to incorporate them into my lunch as often as possible so I can avoid the feeling of exhaustion that comes along with the 2pm hour. And in case you're wondering, it always helps with my energy in the afternoon.

The other day, I was reading a post on Mind Body Green (love this site!) and it mentioned that eating chia seeds before bed can lead to lucid dreaming! Which translates to REM sleep, which means you're going to wake up feeling amazing the next day. And the older I get, the more I believe that a good night's sleep can make everything else fall into place. The website also mentioned making a chia seed pudding and replacing your evening snack with it.

Ingredients

• 1/4 C dry chia seeds
• 1 C vanilla almond milk
• 1-2 T brown sugar (you can omit brown sugar entirely if you don't have much of a sweet tooth)
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1-2 T honey

Directions

1. Mix together chia seeds, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.
2. Mix in almond milk and make sure to mix thoroughly, so all ingredients are well blended.
3. Put mixture into fridge and stir every now and then to make sure seeds absorb the moisture.
4. Leave in fridge for at least two hours (or overnight to eat for breakfast!) and before serving, drizzle with honey to taste.
5. Enjoy!

Vegan Tofu Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 3-4 C cooked spaghetti squash (or 1 large squash, 2 small squash)
• 1 container extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1 T teriyaki sauce
• 2 T rice vinegar
• 1/4 C vegetable broth
• 2 T peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, either works great!)
• 2 T canola oil (or olive oil or peanut oil or coconut oil, they all will do)
• 1 T Sriracha 
• 1 T garlic chili sauce (omit if you don't like too much heat and replace with 1/2 more T Sriracha)
• Juice from one lime
• 4-8 cloves garlic, minced, depending on how garlicky you like things
• 1/2  container silken tofu
• 1 C shredded carrots
• 2-4 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 C fresh cilantro
• Slices of lime
• 1/4 C chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Cook your spaghetti squash (you can do this hours or even a couple days in advance). If you haven't ever cooked spaghetti squash, here are some really great instructions from Whole Foods!
2. Combine half of minced garlic, juice from lime, 1 T soy sauce, and 1 T teriyaki sauce in a plastic bag to make marinade. 15-30 minutes (NO LONGER! I've learned that marinading tofu isn't at all like marinading meat) before you're ready to prepare your meal, put the extra firm tofu into the bag with the marinade.
3. Mix together 1 T rice vinegar, vegetable broth, peanut butter, Sriracha, and garlic chili sauce and set aside.
4. Put canola oil into a large frying pan or wok on medium heat. Add carrots and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. 
5. Remove extra firm tofu from marinade and put into pan. Cook until at least heated through.
6. Turn up heat to medium high and make an empty spot in the middle of the pan. Add silken tofu and scramble for 4-6 minutes.
7. Add cilantro and green onions (save some to use as garnish), spaghetti squash, and peanut butter mixture. Cook until simmering. 
8. Serve and garnish with peanuts, green onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.
9. Drink with a nice fruity white wine!

Stuffed Butternut Squash Recipe (vegan!)

We planted a garden last summer. It yielded more than we would have imagined. Especially the squash, which is good, because I live in a family that is addicted to squash. We still have oodles of squash in our basement from months ago. Spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, and a few Turk's turbans. So I decided I'd cook some for dinner tonight.

Here's one of the many amazing things about squash. When you cook it, it makes your house reek of summer. A few other amazing things about it? It's loaded with beta carotene, vitamin C, and fiber. Plus, it's cheap when you buy it and it's so freaking delicious.

So anyway, I made my house reek of summer tonight, I fried up some vegan breakfast sausage, and I put together what has become one of my favorite (vegan) winter comfort foods! Here's the recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 Butternut squash, cut in half and seeds removed
• 1 C water
• 2 T coconut oil (olive oil will work as well)
• 1 package Gimme Lean Breakfast Sausage
• A few pieces of cut up, stale bread or some croutons
• 2 T Maple syrup
• 1 T dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place flesh side down in 9x13 casserole dishes (you'll likely need two of them). Add 1/2 C water to each baking dish.
3. Cook squash for one hour. You may need to cook it for longer. Check the squash by poking it with a fork. If it's soft and easily punctured, it's done.
4. Meanwhile, heat coconut (or olive) oil in a pan. When oil is hot, cook the Gimme Lean sausage according to package directions, making sure to crumble it as it cooks. (You can also use regular breakfast sausage here, if you'd like!)
5. Remove squash from oven and flip (BE CAREFUL, IT IS HOT!). Layer sausage and bread into the "cup" parts of the squash until they are heaping. 
6. Drizzle the syrup over each squash half equally, followed by oregano, salt, and pepper. If you like spice, throw in some crushed red pepper! We did and it was awesome!
7. Put squash back into the oven, still heated at 375º, and cook for another 10 minutes. 
8. Remove from oven and let cool for at least ten minutes. Serve in skin and enjoy with a nice white wine!

Sore Muscle Mender Smoothie Recipe!

My husband and I have been a smoothie kick lately. Usually, once a day (most often for breakfast or lunch), we make ourselves a smoothie as a meal. We fill it with fruits, veggies, proteins (found in tofu and yogurt and almond milk), and antioxidants.

A few days ago, I was feeling particularly sore after a new, particularly tough workout the day before. I did a little research before lunch and decided to try to make a "sore muscle fixer smoothie". I sipped on it for nearly 30 minutes (some of the ingredients were frozen so admittedly, it was a bit too thick to begin with...) and maybe it was a placebo effect, I don't know, but it actually seemed to ease the soreness.

Ingredients

• 1/2 C blueberries (frozen or fresh) -- Full of antioxidants. (P.S. Coffee and red wine have a good share of antioxidants, too!)
• 1 medium banana (frozen or fresh) -- Bananas=go-to for potassium. We've all heard the old wives tale, encouraging us to eat a banana when we have a leg cramp or a charley horse. It's actually logic and fact-driven. Potassium helps muscles.
• 1 T chia seeds -- I've been going crazy for chia seeds for awhile now. Basically, they give you "Energy. Protein. Omega 3 fatty acids. Fiber. Iron. Calcium." as written in my blog from a few months ago. Read it here.
• 1/4 C silken tofu or Greek yogurt -- Here's where you get some more protein. We don't use Greek yogurt, we use Mountain High and it's amazing. If you can find it at your grocery store, pick some up. You won't be disappointed.
• 1 C almond milk -- More potassium, calcium, and iron and low in calories. Plus it puts a bit more sweetness in your smoothie!
• 2-4 Cubes of ice (optional)
• 1 C fresh spinach -- Think Popeye. We all know that this stuff is full of vitamins and minerals and antioxidants.

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Drink it up and feel all kinds of great!

Here's another exciting thing about this super-food smoothie. It's low in calories. Between 275 and 295 (depending on whether you use tofu or yogurt. The tofu is less, in case you're wondering). If you add five of the Kashi 7 Grain Sea Salt Crackers and some neufchatel cheese (1 oz., which sounds like not a lot, but it's 1/8th of a package) you are still way under 500 calories and I promise you, you will not have hunger pangs for hours. Plus, it's scrumptious. All of it.

Sources:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=43
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09355.html
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-healthier-choice-almond-milk-vs-milk.html
and, as always, http://caloriecount.about.com/

Banana Watermelon Smoothie

We've been eating a lot of smoothies lately. Simply put, they are easy, healthy, and filling. To me, that adds up to a perfect lunch option.

Today, I made myself a pumpkin spice smoothie (I'm pretending, since it's September, that fall weather is upon us. It's not. It's super hot outside...) and my husband came up with a really refreshing concoction... Banana and watermelon! It's so yummy and since we often have watermelon to spare, it was the perfect excuse to use some of it up.

Watermelon is rich in so many good things. It's packed full of vitamin C and lycopene. Which means it not only protects your immune system, but it strengthens your bones as well. It's also a good diuretic. Meaning it helps you pee (let's just call a spade a spade) BUT it isn't as rough on your kidneys as alcohol or coffee (which are, I suppose, by comparison, bad diuretics. I hate admitting that since coffee is one of my great loves...). And, of course, watermelon tastes great. It's a great fix for a sweet tooth and filled with water (obviously), keeping you hydrated. Oh. And as usual, I threw some chia seeds in there to give me a little energy boost.

Ingredients

• 1 C watermelon
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 C silken tofu
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1/2 almond milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.
2. Serve over ice (or you can blend it up with some ice too!)

Not pictured is the silken tofu. Because we used
it all.

(Source: Live Love Fruit)

Kale Chips Will Surprise and Delight You! (recipe)

We planted a big garden this year. We planted lots of broccoli and tomatoes. Onions, peppers, zucchini, melons, cucumbers... Pretty much all the regular stuff. And then I went on a kale-purchasing binge at one of our local (and quirky, chemical-free, and amazing) greenhouses. I bought like, nine or more plants. I had NO IDEA of the yield of kale this would give us. I get two grocery bags stuffed full of kale twice a week. That's me being overly careful about it, too. Who needs that much kale? We juice a lot and that's still way more than we need. I plan on saving some of the juice by freezing it, but for now, I'll make some shockingly hearty kale chips.

Doesn't it seem like there's this odd stigma with kale? It's up there with other "EW!" veggies like brussels sprouts and radishes. Weird. But like I've said in so many past posts, veggies and fruits have so many health benefits. Kale is outrageously high in vitamin K. It's also got a ton of vitamins A and C. This may be obvious, as it's a leafy green, but kale is full of fiber. Less obvious, it has a ton of iron. (Sources here and here.) So the next time you hear someone accuse a vegetarian of not getting enough iron from veggies? Um. Well... Probably incorrect. Kale is good. Kale is healthy. Make yourself some kale chips.

Ingredients

• 2-3 C Kale, cut or ripped into 1"-2" pieces, roughly.
• 2-3 T Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/2 T Garlic Powder (optional)
• 1-2 T Parmesan Cheese (optional)

The pieces should kinda look like this.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Remove the stem/vein that runs down the middle of the kale leave and tear into chunks. (They don't have to be pretty.)
3. Rinse and towel dry kale pieces.
4. Spread onto cookie sheet (or sheets).
5. Drizzle with olive oil.
6. Add salt and pepper. (You don't need much, but it's totally your call as to how much you'd like to add).
7. Add garlic powder and/or Paremesan cheese, if desired.
8. Cook for 10-15 minutes until edges look brown and crispy.
9. Remove and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

This is before I put them in the oven. (I'm a horrible
photographer and the after picture was fuzzy and
awful. )

Guacamole is SO TASTY! (Recipe!)

My favorite thing to bring to parties is guacamole. Everyone loves guacamole. And if by some fluke chance people don't eat all of it (which very rarely happens), you have an incredibly healthy snack to take home with you.

I know, I know. A medium sized avocado is nearly 300 calories. One avocado has a huge chunk of your daily recommended fat intake. I've found myself arguing in defense of avocados many times in the past. Here's the facts. Avocados are good for your heart. Avocados are good for your skin. Avocados have proven time and time again to lower cholesterol levels. Avocados contain lutein, which is super-good for your eyes. Oh. And they taste INCREDIBLE.

Guacamole is so rich in good-for-you foods. Onions also help lower cholesterol levels. My mom always talks about how "onions and garlic are blood cleaners" which is basically what they do, but if you want more specifics, click here. The guacamole I make has cilantro in it, which I've been told by numerous friends and acquaintances tastes like soap. I've even been warned by servers in restaurants about ordering cilantro-heavy dishes. Apparently the cilantro=soap taste thing is genetic. BUT, if you're like me and you love the cool, clean (not soapy!) taste of cilantro, know that it (along with parsley) is like a magnet to heavy metals like mercury in your blood. So does it clean your blood too? I guess you could say that.

I could ramble on and on about how you should make room for more guacamole in your life simply based on the healthiness of its ingredients, but I'm done boring you with those details. Onto the recipe!

Ingredients

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (omit if it tastes like soap to you)
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1-2 wedges of lime
• 1/2 t garlic powder (more or less to taste)
• salt to taste

I was making guacamole for a crowd yesterday
so that's why the ingredient numbers don't match
up to this picture at all.

Directions

1. Mash the avocado with a potato masher or any other kitchen utensil, really. Don't mash it too much initially though, unless you want a really smooth consistency. I really like chunky guacamole, personally.
   
2. Chop all the other veggies and add to the avocados. Mix them together, keeping in mind the chunkiness level that you're wanting to achieve. Add salt and garlic powder and softly combine.
3. Squeeze lime slices over the top and stir softly into the guacamole. I'm not sure about this, but I've always put lime in my guacamole for two reasons. One-taste of course. And two-apparently it keeps it from turning brown as quickly.
4. Find something to dip with and EAT.
5. Watch your skin start glowing from all of the good-for-your-health foods you just put into your body!

And here's the finished product. Not my best
photography work, but hey.

And just for fun, here's a picture of me and my little avocado-lover at the potluck
yesterday. I have to show him off.





(Other sources: UndergroundHealth.com, Southern Living, NY Times, SFGate)



Healthy Veggies and (soy) Chorizo!

We have a new three-night-a-week dinner staple. And sometimes breakfast and lunch.

Ingredients

• one container raw, sliced mushrooms
• one medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
• 1-2 bell peppers (any color, but I like the red, yellow, and orange for color)
• 3 medium red potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium red online, sliced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 package Trader Joe's soy chorizo (you can use real chorizo if you want! I have fallen head over heels for TJ's soy chorizo, though. It tastes like the REAL THING except it's healthier, so why not?!)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except chorizo in a container with a lid.
2. Pour olive oil over ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and cover. Let sit until just before you're ready to cook it.
3. Add chorizo and mix well.
4. Put into skillet (this works really well in a cast iron skillet) and cook on grill or stove top, stirring occasionally, on medium-high heat until potatoes are soft, usually between 10-15 minutes.

This is seriously easy and so delicious. It's a really good as a full meal or as a side for guests. We've tried different variations that have been equally as tasty. Our favorite is when we replaced the potatoes with one cubed butternut squash. We also had some leftover this morning, so we cooked it up and added some scrambled eggs

Enjoy!

Hoagie Buns! Not Low-Cal, but Yes, They're Vegan!

Good afternoon! I had a "day off" today... Meaning that my mother-in-law watched my son and I was able to get everything done without any interruptions. It was nice.

So what did I do on my day off besides the cleaning and laundry and housework? I made hoagie buns. Why? So I can always make a killer sandwich from beginning to end, even if I can't get to the store. Yes. I admit it. I'm madly, passionately in love with sandwiches. I've said it before and I'll never stop it. Sandwiches are my favorite thing to eat. Of course. The biggest problem with this (aside from my absolute love of carbohydrates) is that I have always had a fear of baking. Not like brownies or cookies or anything like that. I'm good there. I have a fear of baking with yeast. I feel like I'm going to ruin all bread for myself forever if I mess up one loaf. I'm not kidding. I have a phobia of ruining baked goods. So conquering bread-baking is a huge deal for me.

So here's a little picture run-down of my hoagie roll experience.



Me with my prize-winning sandwich. Oh, so good. So good.

Peeking as it's rising... I'm impatient.

The bread has risen! This is a good sign, right?



I love punching the dough. Favorite part.

Finished! They're almost square, but delish!

So there ya have it! Successful hoagie rolls! If you want the recipe, here it is! And like I mentioned in the title of the post, these are vegan! Yes! I finally have a vegan recipe post!