Clean Eating Vegan Challenge

I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of  person that can eat the same thing for a couple days and never get tired of it.  So when I decided that I was going to do a clean eating challenge where all my meals or at least two meals would be clean I knew I wouldn’t get tired of the redundancy. So with a little bit of research and preparation I made a simple meal plan of  easy clean vegan type meals that i can  prepare or find if I decide to eat out.  With Starbucks  and Whole Foods it was  pretty much a cakewalk. Of course you don’t have to frequent those places to find vegan items , but it sure make life easier. Below I added a few examples of the type of meals I eat when on the challenge.

Breakfast

Hot Tea or Coffee  (unsweetened) with:

Green Smoothie(16 ounce)

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Morning Snack

Green Smoothie (8-16ounce)

or

Fresh Fruit or Trail-mix

 

Lunch

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Lentil Tabbouleh with Kale and  Hummus

or

Nut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with a banana

or

Super-Antioxidant Oatmeal/ Plain oatmeal with seeds and nuts

 

Dinner

Hot Tea or Kombucha with:

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Kale, and California Blend Vegetable (Cauliflower, Broccoli and Carrot)

or

Sauteed spinach and Kale with onions and peppers  with sweet potatoes fries

 

The meals can be interchangeable or tweaked to your liking.The products can be fresh or frozen but avoid canned foods, preservatives and additives as much as possible. Check the ingredients if buying frozen and dried fruits and veggies, and stick to products that have simple ingredients. Check out the recipe  for my Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal below:

 

Super-Antioxidant  Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup water or almond milk
• handful of organic raisins,organic goji berries and organic prunes for sweetness
• handful of organic pumpkin seeds and organic hemp seeds for nuttiness

Mix the oatmeal and almond milk and cook for 3-5 minutes, then top with the seeds and nuts of your liking. If  you want more of a sweetness add honey or maple syrup.

FYI: This can be made as overnight oats as well, just add the toppings in the morning.

Happy Cooking!

 

Banana Nog

It’s my favorite time of the year! Not just because its the holiday season, but because its the only time of the year where you can buy an unlimited supply of egg nog. Growing up egg nog was always a staple at all our family festivities, so I’ve grown accustom to looking forward to it.  So while grocery shopping for Thanksgiving this week, I went searching for some new egg nog to try out. I found plenty of  new brands to try but to my dismay all the brands contained carrageenan.  There’s been numerous talk about this additives being bad for your health and possibly carcinogenic so I personally stay away from products that contains it. So I decided this year I would make my own “egg nog”.

I’m personally not a fan of eggs so I chose to do an egg-less egg-nog with very simple ingredients. This recipe was so thick and creamy and easy to make that I will definitely be making this year round. I hope that you do too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Banana Nog

• 3 Frozen Ripe Bananas (diced)
• 1 Cup of Almond Milk (Unsweetened)
• Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Whipped Cream (optional)

Blend till you get a thick smooth consistency and top with whip cream for a festive look.

Tip: If you want it more thick add more bananas , more thinner add more milk. If your banana aren’t ripe add some of your favorite type of sweetener.

Leafy Vegetarian Chili

When I first begin to transitions to a whole foods life style, I used to try to substitute any meat type recipe with spinach or broccoli.  From rice to pasta if one of the ingredient consisted of meats  I would throw in spinach instead. It worked great for a while but I still lacked the daily amount of iron needed. So I decided I needed to switch things up  and add natural iron- rich  foods to my meals. The easiest food that came to mind after dark leafy greens were beans . I probably said it before on this blog but I really dislike beans.  So it was pretty hard for me to go along with the idea of making a meal around beans when i pretty much grew up eating around the beans on my plate , but with some research I decided to do vegetarian chili.  Its so easy and simple to make that i make it about every other week with a different special ingredient each time. This week was spinach and kale , check out the recipe below:

Leafy  Vegetarian Chili

• 1 can of No Salt Added Organic Black Beans drained and rinsed
• 1 can of  No Salt Added Organic Kidney Beans drained and rinsed
•  2 cans of No Salt Added  Organic diced tomatoes
• 1/2 a bag of  Organic Frozen Corn
• 1/2 a bag of Organic Frozen or Fresh Spinach
• 1/2 a bag of Organic Frozen or Fresh Kale
•  Organic Spicy Chili powder seasoning
• 1/2 of an onion
• 2 cloves of  garlic
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Dice the onions and garlic and put in a  hot pan with a little bit of olive oil, when softened add the beans and corn. Stir-fry the beans, corn and onions and garlic till they appear tender, than add the diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Spicy Chilli powder packet and stir evenly through the pot and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Mix in the spinach, kale and red pepper flakes and stir,  simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve alone or with tortilla chip, over rice or sprinkled with cheese.

FYI : Adding a small can of  tomato sauce will make this chili more of a soup type chili , you can also add vegetable broth for a richer taste if you don’t mind the sodium.

Happy Cooking!

Rustic Spinach Pie

Very often I get into these food obsession, where I practically find any or every way to consume a specific  food into my daily diet.. My last food obsession was coconut, I tried about every coconut flavored  food out there from coconut cake, macaroons, ice cream and gelato. I’m pretty sure I could have carry this obsession through the end of the year, but I eventually had to give it a break. So in come my latest food  obsession : Spinach ! I’ve always liked spinach but lately I catch myself  eating it in every meal from my green smoothies, sandwiches to lasagna. Spinach is high in vitamins and mineral so I always feel like I’m doing something good for my body every time i eat it. Except of course when I eat it drenched in  cheese (like this recipe for instance). Either way, raw, boiled, cooked, baked I love spinach! So why not make a pie out of it?

I really wanted  to make this pie easy as possible , because I hate recipes that have a million and one ingredients. Its just not realistic for me or my fridge. So I decided to cut corners and bought a frozen pie crust to make my life easier along with frozen spinach and shredded cheese. The ingredients I used were really simple and basic,the prep was barely 15 minutes and didn’t require any cooking. I’ve seen recipes where onions and such are cooked prior to baking but my logic is why cook something over the stove if its going to be baking for a long period of time. If you’re like me and really hate dicing up onions and peppers but want it in your pie, buy a frozen seasoning mix that come with diced onions  and bell pepper and throw that in with the spinach. I also seen recipes where egg is added to give you that picture perfect slice of pie ,but I hate eggs and I was afraid that the pie would end up tasting like a spinach omelette. So I scrapped the eggs and prayed for the best.  Nonetheless the pie came out great!  Check out the recipe below:

Rustic Spinach Pie

• 2 bags of frozen spinach
• 1 container of ricotta cheese
• 1 bag of shredded six cheese
• 2  9″ inch pie crusts (frozen or homemade)
• red pepper flakes(optional)
• 1/2 cup of water (can be substituted with milk)
• 1/2 stick of melted butter (optional)

In a large bowl mix the ricotta and shredded cheese with half a cup of water. Stir until  the cheese become liquify enough to mix in the spinach,  add more water to your liking. Gradually mix the spinach in along with some pepper flakes until everything is coated with the cheese mixture. Butter your pan and place the pie crust in your pie pan. Fill the pie crust with your spinach filling and spread it evenly through the pan. Sprinkle additional red pepper flakes and shredded cheese on top to your liking.  Take the second pie crust and slice them thin and decorate the pie. Take the melted butter and brush the top of the pie crust, drizzle the rest over the pie(optional). Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

P.S. : Warm marinara or an herb tomato sauce drizzled on top of the pie when plating  or on the side, takes this pie to a whole other level especially for the non-spinach lovers . Happy Baking!

 

Kale and lentil tabbouleh salad

 

Tis the season to catch the flu, and boy did it catch me. With a new semester beginning I really didn’t have the time to get sick. So I upped my vitamin C intake to battle the symptoms but my body just wasn’t having it. So I raised the white flag and gave my body some rest.  For days I had no appetite and longed for my green smoothies , but soup and tea was the only thing on the menu. When I finally had some relief  and an appetite I decided to make me a big salad mixed with kale and lentil tabbouleh. This was my first time using baby kale, which in my opinion is very bitter compared to whole leaf kale but it was nutritious nonetheless. This is definitely  going to be a staple salad  for me,its nutritious and tasty and only took five minutes to make. I’ve attached the recipe below:

3 handful of Kale

2 Hass avocados diced

2 Tomatoes diced

1/2 cup of any brand Lentil tabbouleh salad

Enjoy!

New year, New day!

Its a new year and a new day! I’ve been on a a little hiatus from updating you guys but with things changing up a bit I plan on having more time to blog with you guys.  Around this time of the year,  I usually do a fast for 40 days In preparation of that  I went to the  farmer’s market to purchase some produce.  From kiwis, pears, starfruits, clementines, bananas  and lemons, I was well equipped to make  tropical green smoothies for days for under 15 bucks. Though its great to buy green juices or smoothies on the go, the cost adds up. With a little bit of time and preparation 15 bucks of produce can stretch well into a week. I for one love the fresh taste of Kale in my smoothies because it gives it a fresh grass taste but Kale goes bad really quick. So in order to prevent that I wash my kale in vinegar and  water  and zip lock them, keeping one bag in the fridge and one in the freezer. Though the frozen batch never taste the same as the fresh batch its close compared to the frozen bagged Kale found in grocery stores. Check out my recipe below:

Tropical Oasis Green Smoothie

Fresh Kale

Fresh/ Frozen pineapple chunks

1 or  2 clemetines (peeled)

handful of frozen grapes

Coconut water or Water

Blend and enjoy!

FYI: I almost always use frozen pineapples so I rarely incorporate ice in my smoothies.

Half Day Cleanse -Blueberry Oats and Green Pineapple smoothie

The summer is made to have fun, unfortunately this summer my face has been stuck in the books. I’m realizing more and more each day that the life of a grad student is not so fun.  With the added stress of school along with work i really haven’t been eating the way I’ve like to. Fries, Pizzas, Cake, Lasagna  and anything fried has been on the menu for the past few weeks. So i decided i need to change things up and do a half day cleanse, where the first half of the day its smoothies and a light snack if need be with a  late lunch and dinner as usual. With plans in mind of doing this cleanse, i went to whole foods looking to find a new source of protein , and found hemp seeds. I usually buy hemp protein powder but i hate the chalky texture protein powder in general leaves so i was hoping that this would work.

So in replace of ordinary protein powder,I milled handfuls of  Raw Rolled Oats, Flax-seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds in my Nutri-Bullet and use it as protein powder.  I used it in my Blueberries Oats smoothies and Green Pineapple smoothie that’s picture below. I also  tried a new addition to my smoothies for a sweeter taste this time: 2 medjool  dates and one dried fig in each batch. They didn’t blend thoroughly but i didn’t mind the the sweet bits that they brought. Down below are the recipe for both smoothies.

Blueberry Oats

• Blueberries (Frozen)
• Protein Mixture
• Coconut water
• Water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig
• extra cup of oatmeal (for heartiness)

Green Pineapple

• Spinach(Frozen)
• Pineapple (Frozen)
• Protein mixture
• Coconut water
• water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig

I made three for the day, underestimating the power of my protein mixture and only drank one and a half  that morning. If you’re looking to do a full day cleanse, you can do six jars a day with water in between each. I for one prefer smoothies than juicing cleanse for the mere fact that they are more filling  to me. But what’s great about these recipes is that they are so  tasty that they can be made for cleanses or anytime of the day.

One year mark

It’s been a year!!! Never would have I Imagine that I’d get to the one year mark blogging and guzzling green smoothies daily. I’m not gonna lie, There’s been days where i slipped throughout the year and tried meat. Case in point: My sister birthday at an Argentinian buffet style restaurant.  Those days though few made me realized that you can train your body to do anything. Prior to transitioning i wasn’t the biggest meat eater but i held my own when it came to meat. But as these  months went by the littlest bit of meat would make me feel sick surprisingly even organic chicken. I didn’t stop at just meat… sweets ,snacks and soda did a whole 36o in my daily food intake. Coke is something I use to have almost daily , now I only drink probably once every 2 weeks maybe . Earlier in the transition I choose to eat closer to nature, so when i started trying to incorporate Little Debbie snacks and chocolate back in . The sweets just seem so artificially sweet that they made me feel sick. I now drink my tea and coffee black, no sugar, honey or syrup or hazelnut creamer that i use to love. When it comes to smoothies, i cant do fruit smoothies anymore… I need some type of vegetable in there or its unbearable. At times I feel like an old lady with my bitter teas and  green smoothies but i now know how my body works, back than i didn’t know. Trust me when i say I’m not perfect, i have those days when i binge on fries, veggie pizza and donuts. But once that is over and i feel like crap, I make me a green smoothie to counteract all that.  It’s all about putting more good in and less bad, eventually with time you’ll find yourself only wanting to put only the good in.

 

 

Drink to health

Hey loves, It’s been a crazy couple weeks and the next few weeks will be too but i wanted to stop everything and say hi. With assignments, projects and quizzes due simultaneously on top of being sick 3 types of ways with a full time job, Updating you guys had taken the back burner. But I’m back and better than ever!  With all that’s has been going on i hadn’t really been eating the healthiest but i make sure to get at least 2 if not 3 green smoothies a day. This has help me to recover from being sick quicker than usual without the need for medicine. When sick i like to make a super alkalizing  green smoothie, that basically flush out toxins out my body while giving me the provided nutrients my body need. What’s in my Super alkalizing green smoothie you ask?

• bunches of Kale and Spinach (fresh or/and frozen)
• Pineapple chunks (Frozen)
• Green Grapes
• Water
• Coconut water
• Unsweetened Green Tea (can be bought in store, i use whole foods bottled version)
• Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• Matcha Green Tea
• Spirulina Tablets
• Wheat Grass powder/ tablets
• Vibrant Health GreenVibrance powder
• Honey(Optional)
• Avocado(Optional)
• Hemp protein(optional)
• Flax-seeds and Chia seeds (optional)

I know you’re thinking i just gave you a laundry list of ingredients, but the cool things about green smoothies are that you can put whatever you want in them.These ingredients listed are high in antioxidants and/or alkalizing to the body, With a bit of research your food can cure your sickness with no need for medicine. Drink to health my friends.

Best part of waking up is a Green smoothie in your cup

Mix it up!

Since  incorporating  green smoothies to my daily food intake, I feel healthier than ever. I went from one smoothie a day to two,  to sometimes even three. But just like shampoo once you start using it, it doesn’t feel that effective any more. So I switch up my smoothies every week or so,so my body doesn’t get use to drinking the same thing. So one week I’ll have  collard greens instead of kale and other times I’ll put spinach. I’ll also incorporated anything green, because green foods especially super-foods  are good for your body. I like to put in Wheat grass tablets as well as spirulina tablets or green super food packets to my morning smoothies, these give me  such a boost that coffee isn’t really needed. I also like to add Matcha Green tea sometimes to my smoothies for added  antioxidants. I’ve also tried incorporating hemp protein, but i can never get passed the chalky taste of protein powders. My recent mix-in that i think I’ll be incorporating  more often in my green smoothie is raw rolled oats. The raw oats give a hearty taste to the smoothies and has a great amount of fiber. I also love to mix in chia seeds and flaxseed to my smoothie for the omega -3 and the extra fiber that they provide.  Avocados are great mix-ins as well since they give a creamy texture to your smoothie but is also filling because of the good fats found in them. The best part about making these smoothie is you can put anything in there to your liking. With a little bit of research you can be on your way to a healthier you. Mix-in my friends! 🙂