Zesty Vegan Crunch Salad

As I have tried to reduce meat and dairy in my diet due to inflammation, I just feel better when I am more plant-based but I have eaten meats and cheese all my life so this transition is not an easy one or a quick one. I LOVE C H E E S E and I find that has been one of the hardest things for me to change. I realize that my body may not like all the things that my tastebuds do. So I have started testing some new recipes and OH MY is this a winner!

This Vegan salad is not your average salad, it’s one you will CRAVE, I ate 4 times last week for lunch!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups spinach chopped

• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

• 1/4 cup chopped cucumber

• 5-6 cherry tomatoes chopped

• any kind of sprouts ( totally optional, I had them in the fridge)

• 1/4 bell pepper

• 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

• salt and pepper and oregano to taste

• 1/2 cup white beans

• Juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon

• 2 tablespoons roasted salted nuts of any kind, I used sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

• 1/4 cup crunched veggie crisps or tortilla chips. I personally used Off The Eaten Path Veggie Crisps from Costco

• 1/2 avocado

Directions

1. Combine lettuce and veggies add avocado, salt pepper, yeast and lemon, lime juices and toss well until the avocado and juices are coating all veggies well.

2. Add in nuts and crunches, mix and taste

3. Adjust seasoning and enjoy

   You can adjust any veggies you have in the house these were the veggies I had in the fridge and pantry items! This particular salad was SO good was because of the creamy tart “dressing” from the avocado and citrus juices along with the salty crunchy nuts and veggie crisps.

Blueberry Bread Pudding

As I have tried to reduce gluten and dairy in my diet due to a PCOS diagnosis I rolled my eyes hard because well I LOVE both of those things. Like C H E E S E come on! But I realize that my body may not like all the things that my tastebuds do. So I have started testing some new recipes and OH MY is this a winner!

Dairy-free, gluten-free, and no refined sugar and you could NEVER tell the whole family loved it so much it was requested for a warm breakfast again this week, I was happy to make it since it comes together in about 8 minutes. This casserole takes an hour to bake but since that is the hands-off time it’s very easy!

Perfect for fall/winter mornings and meal prep because it reheats like a DREAM!

I have this as a plate it breakfast adding protein on the side like some nice chicken sausage or my Superfoods on the go!

Ingredients

• Ingredients 8 large eggs lightly beaten

• 2½ cups unsweetened almond milk

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)

• 8 slices low-sodium sprouted whole-grain bread cut into 1-inch cubes

• 3 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries

• Nonstick cooking spray and Hot water

Directions

1. Combine eggs, almond milk, maple syrup, extract, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk to blend. Set aside.

2. Place bread and blueberries in a 13 x 19-inch baking dish that is lightly covered in spray. Top with egg mixture; mix well to blend.

3. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place baking dish in roasting pan. Add water to roasting pan to come an inch up the side of the baking dish. (Baking dish will be sitting in water.) Tent aluminum foil over roasting pan so that foil does not touch bread pudding. Cut two slashes in foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil. Bake an additional 35 to 45 minutes, or until bread pudding is puffy and custard is set. Cut into eight pieces. (be very careful removing from the oven as the water in the roasting pan will be VERY HOT)

Healthy Pad Thai

I began a new nutrtion program last week and I was really nervous because the plan I was using was working so well for me historically but after seeing that it not only helped people lose weight happily and was based off a lifestyle and a few principals I decided to give it a try! 

To my surprise I lost 3 lbs in 3 days even while fully participating in Cinco de mayo party I threw at my house! 

One of her suggestions was to not have carbs at dinner, I truly thought this would be a NO GO for me, I mean I LOVE carbs and specifically saved them for dinner. She explained that you should use your carbs for energy though the day. 

Think about it... what do you do after dinner, watch tv, get the kids to bed, wind down? YEP doesn't require much energy right. My favorite part of this program is the accessories! All the yummy things you get to put on your food to make it taste amazing. That is where I was won over. not to mention it is totally working! 

This healthy Pad Thai is not made with noodles, I used spaghetti squash. I HATE when people tell me " It tastes like pasta, you won't know the difference" wanna bet! Pasta is pasta and nothing is like it. 

What I can tell you is that this hit the spot and I did not miss the pasta. I don't wanna be that girl that says it is exactly the same it's not but this was fantastic so give it a try!  If you would like more info on the Food Freedom nutrition plan I have been loving just grab it here -> www.btyafitnessjourney.com/getfit

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 spaghetti squash about 3 pounds

• 1 pound of boneless skinless thin chicken breasts ( Or if you are in a hurry rotisserie chicken)

• 2 carrots sliced thin with a peeler

• 1 red onion sliced thin

• 1 red bell pepper diced into small pieces

• 2 eggs

• Olive oil

• scant 1/4 tsp of garlic powder

• scant 1/4 tsp of onion powder

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce ( low sodium or liquid Braggs)

• salt to taste

• 1.5 tablespoons of Peanut butter or nut butter of choice

• 1 -2 tsp of coconut sugar

• 2 limes, Juice of 1 and save the others for squeezing over the top

• Chopped salted nuts

DIRECTIONS

1.  First let's make the peanut sauce! place nut butter, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce a pinch of garlic powder and onion powder, lime juice, and coconut sugar, whisk till smooth set aside. ( if you like things a but spicy try adding a little squirt of siracha here yum!)

2. Season chicken to your liking and grill ( I like to use onion powder, garlic powder, salt, a bit of soy sauce and olive oil to season it up sometimes a bit of honey in the marinade before grilling. even if you just used salt pepper and olive oil it would be ok because of the peanut sauce! Grill till no longer pink and allow to rest on the counter slicing into thin slices when it is cooled

3. Poke a few holes in the spaghetti squash for venting and place in the microwave for 4-5 min set aside for to cool

4. While the chicken is cooking and the squash is cooling, warm a saute pan on medium heat add 2 tsp of olive oil to the pan cooking the veggies for about 3-4 min then add in garlic powder, onion powder 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce allow to cook another 3 minutes. 

5. Push the veggies to the side, use the extra space in the pan to scramble the 2 eggs. As the eggs cook open the squash and scrape the seed out of the middle scraping the squash noodles into the pan, stir to incorporate it all. Test seasoning and adjust as needed.

6. Add veggie mixture to a bowl, top with chicken, peanut sauce as desired and chopped peanuts. Serve with a lime to squeeze over before eating! 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did! 

Sneaky Pancakes

OK as you all know I have taken on timed nutrition and it has presented me with some challenges but in the face of them, I have developed some new recipes to help me make the most of it! When I found out that I needed to have a Veggie, protein and a fruit with a teaspoon of fat all as my pre-workout meal at 5:30 am I was instantly worried and then I got to work on what I like to call Sneaky Pancakes.

Yep they are green, nope you don't taste any veggies thanks to baby spinach. I have adored having these each morning. They fill the need in my meal plan and I look forward to them. One of my biggest concerns was feeling too full and not having a great workout because of it. These FIT the bill leaving me energized for my workout not weighed down! 

Please check out my tips at the end of the recipe :) I hope you love them as much as I do and PS if you are wanting to try these for your kids maybe calling them the hulk pancakes might help.. xo 

Makes 4 servings- about 4-5 pancakes per serving depending on the size. If you use portion fix I count 1 serving as 1 Green, 1 red, 1 purple, 1 teaspoon for the butter

INGREDIENTS 

• 4 cups of fresh baby spinach
• 2 ripe bananas
• 8 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 packets stevia or 1 Tablespoon of Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 
• Olive oil spray for the griddle or pan
• Butter for serving on top 

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor EXCEPT the blueberries and blend until smooth
2. Heat pan or skillet on medium-low heat. I do about 325 on my griddle ( you may have to play with the heat a bit. Cook them too fast and hot and you will have a mushy burnt mess) Slow and steady ok. No walking away from these. The batter is thin so expect that an pour slowly. Wait until they are set up before flipping.
3. Spray with no stick spray and pour batter into a fairly small pancake about 3-4 inches drop on a few blueberries while the batter is still liquid.
4. Flip pancake once after it is bubbled up a bit and slightly firm. They should be lightly browned when you flip. ( picture below)
5. Store leftovers in a tight container in the fridge for up to a week. These reheat amazingly! 
6. Serve with teaspoon of butter over top and ENJOY! 

I love adding the berries because as they heat up they burst and it is almost like a warm jam! YUMMMM! 

No Carb Banana Pancakes

I LOVE pancakes if you guys can not tell, I also love carbs. The meal plan I follow allows carbs amen! I tried for too many years to give up carbs all together and it worked for a bit and I lost weight but then I eventually caved eating all the carbs gaining all the weight back! 

This was something I saw floating around Pinterest and thought I should try it but I disliked all the things they put in them so I made my own! My husband LOVES these and is always happy when I make them! 

I have also made a blueberry sauce to pour over the top which is just frozen blueberries and some maple syrup to taste warmed in a small sauce pan and blended up. Easy peasy! 

15 min total Containers 4 pancakes- 1 Red, 2 Purple, 1/2 blueservings 2 makes 8 pancakes ( if you choose to have 2 pancakes it would be .5 red, 1 Purple 1/4 blue 

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 large ripe bananas smashed 
• 4 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 packet stevia
• 2-3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts or pecans 
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 

DIRECTIONS

1. Place Mashed banana and all the other ingredients into a bowls and stir to combine.

2. Use 1/3 cup measuring cup to place on a medium griddle, allow the pancakes to cook a bit before flipping so they do not fall apart. 

3. add butter if desired and Enjoy, serve warm. 

These also re heat very nicely!