We all know how delicious polenta is. I tried it sauteed this time and it was awesome! I bought the pre cooked kind in a tube, threw olive oil on the skillet and sauteed it with some minced garlic. Added a pinch of sea salt and pepper and served with my cauliflower potatoes and itallian flavored tofu and mushrooms. Another simple delicious vegan meal!
I have always loved tacos. Especially taco bell. Gross I know. So going vegan, I needed to find a way to still have my tacos and eat them too. I used to use taco seasoning till I read the ingredients. Maltodextrin, no thanks. So now I use cumin and chili powder to flavor my smart life veggie crumbles. I put them on whole wheat organic wraps or blue corn organic shells. Just add vegan sour cream and whatever veggies you choose and you've got a delicious meal without all the cholesterol of meat!
This is my favorite thing I make. I say that about a lot but this really is. Here's how to make it
Drain firm tofu
Sautee smart life veggie sausage and veggies of choice. I did spinach, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes
Put tofu on warm skillet w olive oil
Add turmeric, Dijon mustard, garlic powder,sea salt, pepper
Add sausage and veggies and you're done!
This is a protein nutrient packed breakfast! I make this for family holidays and it was a big hit at the lake this past weekend for non vegans as well! Great egg replacement!
My kids aren't vegan but they are very close! Vegetarian but not fully vegan...yet. I hope they will make this decision for themselves one day but for now, they have eggs once a week (local eggs from friendly farmers) and minimal cheese.
Lets face it. Kids are picky. They want chicken nuggets, pizza, pretty much any junk food they can get their hands on. They're kids so they deserve to be able to do this to an extent. We as parents just need to make the best choices we can. Reading labels is detrimental. Everything had high fructose corn syrup and other genetically modified ingredients. Anythi.g that isn't organic and contains corn and soy is more than.likely modified. The safety of these GMOs isn't known. Hmm. Sounds like something I should feed my kids. Not! Disease proof your child is an amazing book. Please read it! I beg of you. I have seen the results.
So what do my kids eat? Mainly fruit, veggies, nuts, whole grains, tons of beans mainly garbanzo but they love all types and can make a meal out of them, eggs, some fish, very minimal cheese then a few junky but healthier kid foods. Here are a few of our fave brands and some pictures of the meals they like. The fish sticks contain no dairy or eggs or other crap ingredients. Also, no artificial colors. Eggplant sticks are vegan. The nuggets are soy free and gmo free as well. Broccoli bites come in fun shapes. The waffles are very low in sugar and don't have the crap ingredients like in eggos.
I do make sure to give them a fruit milkshake with flax or chia seeds for their omega 3s daily. I also sneak some spinach in there ;) they taste great with coconut milk. They think it's dessert but it's packed with phyto nutrient goodness!
Kids nutrition now determines their health in later life. As parents we are responsible for this. We need to make good decisions but at the same time, let them.be kids. Just be smarter about it. I do most all organic for my kids. Is it more expensive? Hell yes it is. But you can't put a price tag on their health. That's the most important thing I. The world to me. I'm hoping teaching them now to make good decisions will help them later in life when they are making their own decisions. Oh, and they still eat cheetos. Just the natural, dye free kind with organic cheese and no ingredients you can't read. Kids gotta have their cheetos right?
My kids don't eat perfectly, but I feel good about what they eat for the most part.
Fat free, low fat, full of fat? What's the answer? Simple. Good fats such as avocado and nuts/seeds. This is a simple salad with avocado, sunflower seeds and I threw a few organic sesame sticks on top to add some crunch. No dressing. It doesn't even need it! These good fats keep you full and satisfied and actually help your body burn fat. Fabulous!
Fount this on pinterest. Don't remember the exact recipe but basically it's sauteed eggplant, onions olives and capers added to homemade spaghetti sauce... or if you're lazy like me, a can of organic already made sauce. Let it sit in the fridge a day or two to absorb the flavors. I served it over raw zucchini noodles and added a little chicken on top. Look at the fun shape my spiralizer makes that I just now discovered! The kids love to eat these raw as well.
Let face it. There's certain times where you just need comfort food. Ladies especially;) I found this smart life pulled pork at whole foods and boy is it good! Tastes just like pork but doesn't involve killing a poor innocent pig who did you know is actually smarter than dogs? Would you eat your dog? No way! :) I love pigs!!! Anyway, this was great and surprisingly low cal and packed w protein (20 per serving) for those worried about vegan protein intake ;) for the wings, it's cauliflower dipped in unbleached organic whole wheat flower and water, baked in the over then drizzled with hot sauce with a little bit of vegan butter. These will make ya sweat! I made some vegan ranch for dipping and it was delicious! This pork is a great option for Summer bbqs when you don't want to eat babe or Wilbur.
After binge eating all week, I steamed some spinach and mushrooms and threw some tofu on top. I.couldn't even finish this whole plate. Very filling!
This is a very filling dinner. Quinoa rice combo and lots of filling veggies!
This was simple and yummy! Steam spinach and artichokes, sautee chicken and blend tomatoes, garlic, artichokes, almonds. You can do pasta or spaghetti squash. Add whatever spices or herbs you want. I was in a plain mood.
So eggs are really pretty gross if you really think about it. They even smell gross. Think about what you're eating. Another creatures eggs. When my sister had invitro and had some leftover eggs, I didn't want to boil scramble or do anything with them so why do we with hens?
But every once in awhile I crave some kind of salady type food, chicken, egg, tuna whatever so I used tofu to create the perfect egg salad! I made a big batch to eat on through the week. EST part, the egg won't go bad in a day!
Tofu crumbled
Vegan mayo
Dijon mustard
Tumeric
Lots of celery
Garlic powder
A friend suggested additional.g pickle. Will for do that next week! This is simple and CHEAP!
I know the picture looks like some throw up but it tastes good, swear....Who says vegans can't enjoy the olive garden? We can, just at home... and not having to have binge eaters remorse right after. My husband and I used to be huge fans of the soup salad and breadsticks. We would go on Sundays and ruin the rest of our days by stuffing ourselves till we were sick. Sometimes I miss that SO I was determined to financial a healthy vegan version. Trus me this is just as good, well close. As good as a healthy version can be. Here's what you need for your crockpot
Smart life veggie crumbles
Organic spaghetti sauce
4 cups of veggie broth
Kidney beans
White kidney beans
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Parsley
Lots of hot sauce
And pasta of your choice. I tried quinoa pasta and loved it!
To substitute breadsticks, I used vegan flax seed rolls. They are tasty!
Just throw all of this in the crock pot, cook your noodles and serve. So so good!
So these days there's far too many plus some new ones I've recently learned of including the keto diet. That one sounds awesome. Eat all fats and proteins all week then carb load and eat minimal fruit every weekend. That sounds healthy. Probably great for your heart too. Not.
When it comes to fad diets, I know all about them. I've done Atkins, Jenny Craig and have even taken phentermine to make me not eat. The one thing they all have in common is failure. Sure they may work for short term but you can't do these forever. Jenny Craig has a good main point of cutting portion size which I totally agree with however, everything they have is processed and full of crap! Not healthy! And weight watchers, I can eat potato chips and save all my points for the day for beer. Fun, but not healthy.
Everyone is always wanting to lose weight looking for the quick fix. We should be focusing more on being healthy. When you eat healthy your body will repay you by shedding the weight and you will feel great! What's the answer to how do do that? Simple. Vegetables and fruits. Vegan or not, we can all stand to eat more veggies and fruits. I myself don't eat meat but if that isn't for you, try smaller portions of meat and more veggies and whole grains. I'm a huge quinoa and rice girl. They're great for you and give you that full feeling. I know what some of you are thinking... rice has carbs! Yes but brown rice is a good carb! Not a bad carb like white rice or mashed potatoes. I love carbs. I always get so pissed when people are saying they're cutting carbs then chow down on some bacon. I mean really, you think that's healthy? If you do, you're cray. Bottom line, eat vegetables! Eat fruit! Eat nuts and seeds! Eat dark chocolate! Just make small choices and they will lead to big differences.
I'm not saying I'm right and everyone else is wrong. I'm just sharing my experiences. AND mist importantly, I am by all means not in perfect shape obviously. I have plenty of fat parts including my jelly tummy. I'm not trying to be perfect at all. I just want to be healthy and happy! When you stop obsessing over your weight and focus more on treating your body right and being healthy, you really will see results. And it's so easy! So stop counting carbs and points and go eat an apple! And most importantly, enjoy it!!!
This looks disgusting but this is my favorite comfort vegan food. And omg so simple. Throw organic brown rice, a can of vegan mushroom soup, vegan sour cream and some fresh mushrooms, top with crackers and poppyseed. Yum!!!!!! I ate 3 bowls
I'm going to try to start making jimmy more lunches to take to work bc he's cheap and doesn't want to go out to eat so this week I made this Mexican themed dish to put on wraps. Its black beans, northern beans, avacado, can of rotel, lots of cumin and fresh lime juice. I added tons of fresh cilantro, a great detoxer for the body! He loved it! This will be great served chilled on the boat this summer!!!
Blend 2 tomatoes, 2 red peppers, 2 garlic cloves, some sun dried tomatoes, basil, a little olive oil and water and top over raw zucchini noodles. Add pepper and sea salt. This was good!!
So it looks down right nasty in the second picture (bc I added a little vegan sour cream which made it super amazing) but this was one tasty soup! It has veggie broth, potatoes, carrots, onion, kale, bell pepper, corn and garlic. I added a little seitan. Its not really needed but good if you want that meaty taste. I threw it all in the crackpot. Yet another simple, cruelty free dish! And healthy of course! Next time I'm adding tomatoes and mushrooms. Omg.
I used to love my crockpot and felt sad about not using it as much when I went vegan until I started looking up some yummy vegan versions of my favorite crockpot meals. So see, you can still make really anything you made before in the crockpot vegan. And you don't have to touch nasty flesh. I was always a little creeped out that raw chicken was touching the other items in my crockpot. I know it all cooked but still. Ew. Whip out the crockpot and try this!
A great Saturday lunch! Jimmy was hungry so I whipped this up in no time! I heated a bag of organic whole grain rice even though you can't see it, used a can or organic black beans and added cumin, chili powder and cilantro leaves. Next I diced a tomato and threw some corn in it and mixed it all up! Done! Simple, cruelty free and delicious!
So I'm loving this line from Kroger! It makes going organic much easier and cheaper. One item I am obsessed with is their salsa. I just ate half the jar actually. Omg its so good and packed full of metabolism boosting foods. I eat it with the natural blue chips containing nothing but organic blue corn and sunflower oil. That's it. No sugars, no preservatives, no crap. I don't eat chips and packaged stuff often but sometimes you need a good chip, ya know? These are way better than the processed brands and in my opinion, better than the baked versions. Yes they contain more fat but look at the ingredient lists of both. How many can you not pronounce on your bag? We live in a busy world so we are going to eat things like chips. Just make smart choices!
It's a tradition for me to make jimmy poppyseed chicken every Valentine's day. Last year I used free range chicken. Ha. So this year I had to figure something out bc we love it and its a tradition! So I mixed a box of vegan mushroom soup, vegan sour cream and some fake chicken cutlets together with some cracker bites (to give it more texture) and threw some crushed crackers and poppyseed on top. Baked on 350 for 30 minutes. You couldn't tell a bit of difference!! Although next time I will use seitan or tofu. The best part about this, I didn't have to boil a dead chicken and shread it's body! I always HATED doing that! So by simply choosing the vegan option, you cut out 30 minutes worth of work from the process!!! Oh, and you save some poor chickens who are treated worse than any animal by the way. It took literally 5 minutes. I'm going to start making this more often! Oh, and we also had vegan muddys cupcakes. Did you know vegans can still enjoy muddys? Hell yes! I didn't have time to take a pic of it bc I was too busy scarfing it down. Oh I love Valentine's day splurges!
I can't even look at this without wanting to throw up right now. That's how good and filling this is. And as you can see, its not a ridiculously huge portion. That's the thing about polenta. Its hearty! Just sautee the veggies and tofu and serve over polenta. So simple.
So I went random tonight and made some cauliflower potatoes, sauteed tofu and veggies and threw it together. I used Italian seasoning but you can spice it up with whatever you like. I'm so so full. Blah
Pizza with daiya cheese! Available at whole foods. They're like seven bucks but totally worth it. Mellow mushroom has this cheese there too. My kids are being satanic today so we opted to stay home tonight. You're welcome anyone who is at mellow mushroom tonight :)
Cheese. So good, yet so bad for you. Cheese is truly addicting, no lie! So when people say they're addicted to cheese, its the truth! Did you know that that yummy cheese also has puss and blood in it? Not so yummy right? If you really stop to think about the fact that it cones from a cow boon, it's not so appetizing. A lot.of people are grossed out by human breast milk. This makes no sense to me. So human milk is disgusting but you drink milk from a cows boob? Personally, I think I'd rather drink a humans milk if I had to choose. For now I will stick to almond milk. Ok so back to cheese. Vegans sometimes miss cheese so for those cravings and to get a cheesy taste in a dish, we use nutritional yeast. Perfect name for it bc its very nutritional packed full of b vitamins and amino acids. We need those! I've used it in pasta sauces, cheese grits sprinkled over popcorn, the possibilities are endless! Go grab some at whole foods. Its worth the price!
Another cheese substitiute I love is daiya cheese. I melt it on my Ezekiel bread when I need a cheese fix. So when you think you can't live without cheese, try these options! And BTW, that's BS. Everyone can live without cheese and happily at that!
I love seitan! No, not the devil, seitan! Its a fake and delicious meat great for stir frys. I threw it in the skillet along w some veggies using shoyu (or soy) sauce. This was our superbowl meal. It was over the raw zucchini noodles so it was extra crisp and crunchy. I was ridiculously full after eating this!
This comes in a bag in the organic section at Kroger. Its quinoa and brown rice combined. Throw it in the microwave for 90 secs. I sauteed tofu and mushrooms and mixed it all together. Delicious and easy!!!
