Tag Archives: diet

Mushroom Kale Masala {Vegan, Gluten & Dairy Free}

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Mushroom Kale Masala

1My beloved readers! It’s been 2+ whole months since I have posted anything! So sad. The reason for my absence, for those of you who don’t know, I got married! June 27th! And then went on a honeymoon and before the wedding was very stressed and busy with wedding details. We I did most of the wedding planning and SO many DIY projects that it left very little time (or brain power 🙂 ) to post here.

But I’m back! 🙂
The wedding was all we hoped for and more. It was perfect. To us. So perfect. We loved it all. Check out a few pictures on our *amazing* photographers site. It’s just a little sneak peak our current struggle is deciding which pictures to print out of the 700+ beautiful options.
And the honeymoon– ahhhhhhhh don’t get me started on how amazing that was. We spent 12 days in Italy (half our time in Tuscany and half our time on the Amalfi Coast) and we literally had to drag ourselves to the airport when it was time to leave. We fell in love and are already planning our next trip back. (More to come on this later 🙂 )
BUT the first thing I have to share with you is this KILLER/BOMB DIGGITY recipe. Prepare to drool. Like go get a napkin.
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 This vegan, gluten, and dairy free recipe is one of those few clean eating meals I feel spoiled eating. How can something so healthy taste so good!? I actually made this a while ago and now looking at the pictures again and seeing how easy it is, I need to make it again soon!! I hope that you guys enjoy this as much as we did.
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So here it is:ALWAYSSUMMER (3)*NOTES*
You could add more almond or coconut milk to make this creamier.
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Thanks for checking out the blog! I’m so happy to be back and sharing with you!!
If you give this a try come back and tell me if you liked it! Hope you have a great weekend!!
xoxo
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Lentil & Black Bean Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing

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Lentil & Black Bean Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing

Ah- Who still feels full after Thanksgiving?! Oh just me? There’s just always such delicious food and I over indulge every.single.time. No shame.

But I always run into the issue the week afterwards of obviously needing to eat, but not hungry, or nothing sounds good, or only the stuffing and mashed potatoes sound good but I ate them all… ugh, the struggles. I need something lighter.

Enter delicious veggies:

DSC_9240Yum. These plus protein rich beans and lentils= me eating without feeling guilty!

Plus it helps keep me full longer- ultra bonus.

Plus look how pretty it is! ultra ULTRA bonus

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Lentil & Black Bean Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing

Ingredients
1 cup dry lentils (green or brown or both!)
2 cups cooked black beans or 1 15oz can, rinsed and drained
1 bell pepper of your choice, chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
3  roma tomatoes, chopped
½ cup cilantro, stems removed and chopped

-Dressing-
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. chipotle powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions
Put lentils into a small sauce pan with plenty of water to cover, bring to a boil then lower the heat to simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are tender; which is about 30-40 minutes, but check your package for specific instructions! Drain lentils and let cool slightly

While lentils are cooking, make the dressing: place all ingredients in a small bowl or cup* and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Combine the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, beans, and lentils in a large glass* bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Add cilantro, and lightly toss once more.
You can serve it immediately or chill covered in the fridge to let the flavors combine and enjoy later!

This was really really really tasty and would be something awesome to make to bring for lunches at work throughout the week! It was just what I needed, light and refreshing.

*I suggest using a glass bowl because the dressing contains lime juice. The acidity in lime juice often reacts with metal in metals bowls and can give your food a metallic taste- yuk!

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Pourrrrr over

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Action shot 🙂

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ta da!

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now EAT!

This was perfect. Light and delicious. I preferred it chilled a little bit but it was great room temp too!

I hope everyone had a great holiday week/weekend and that you enjoy this dish too!

Ps- less than 3 weeks until Christmas!!! wooohooo! I’m so excited to share some of my crafts and homemade gifts I’m doing this year with you guys! But of course I have to wait until after the gifts are given so I don’t spoil the surprise 🙂

xoxo

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Veggie Quinoa “Fried Rice”

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Veggie Quinoa “Fried Rice”

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Happy Friday!

Fall is really setting in here. It’s beautiful although I’m hoping that the leaves cling on a little bit longer. We have engagement pictures in two weekends and I’m hoping there will be a little bit of color left!!! I’m super excited for those- our photographer site is here. Every single picture she ever takes is stunning and I can’t wait to share ours! ❤

So I’m sure you’re all dying to know who won the giveaway from last week……….I have picked a winner and stay tuned, I will announce the winner on Sunday! yay! I’m so excited and thank everyone who entered from the bottom of my heart!

Now- onto this healthy beautiful food! I love quinoa. It’s nutty and sort of crunchy and delicious, not to mention full of protein and extremely filling!  As avid readers of my blog I’m sure you know I’m obsessed with Sriracha- like looking at the picture above, you’re probably thinking- um what, that’s not a lot. But what you don’t know is that after I was done taking these “pretty” pictures, I added an embarrassingly large amount to this 🙂

Anyway- this is super healthy and fresh and delicious. Again this is a super versatile recipe, you can add or remove anything! (ps- I fee like I say that all the time. And truth be told, I think of every recipe as versatile, rarely do I follow word for word. Cooking is about having fun! People need to remember that 🙂 )

Hope you enjoy, HAVE FUN!!!!
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Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided (or oil of your choice)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 2 carrots, peeled and grated
  • 3 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • Sriracha, for serving

Instructions: 

  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over low heat. Add eggs and fry until cooked, about 2-3 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into small pieces.
  • Heat remaining oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, until onions have become translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add corn, peas, carrots and quinoa. Cook until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add ginger and soy sauce, and gently toss to combine.
  • Stir in green onions and eggs

TA DA! That’s it! Now serve and top with Siracha!  🙂

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Isn’t it pretty?!? It was so delicious.

Thank you for checking out the blog- I love each and every one of my readers!!

xoxo

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Asian Cobb Salad

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Asian Cobb Salad

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Happy Friday!! I am currently, as we speak, on vacation!! I’ll be back Sunday and will reply to comments and messages then as well as hopefully share some of my trip! 🙂 Now about this salad…

First of all- a disclaimer for all my photography friends. I’m aware these photo’s are grainy as *bleep!* . My ISO was cranked WAYYYY up since these pictures were taken basically by moonlight.really though…

I desperately need an artificial lighting solution. I can’t just be waiting around for the absolute perfect natural light every time I make something I want to blog. I live in Wisconsin. C’mon. In the winter that would mean I had about 20 seconds of a shooting window. Soooooo if any angel investors want to buy me one of these……that’d be cool. joking.

But main point of this story is that I don’t want to hear one comment about blurry, grainy, ISO pumped up, photos. Thanks.

Now back to the fooood!

Super healthy, beautiful, delicious, quick,  and satisfying, salad. You could add or remove anything your heart desires. Thats the beauty of salads. Soooo versatile.

Ingredients: 

Salad:
5 cups chopped romaine lettuce ( or your favorite kind of lettuce)
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained
1/3 cup shredded chicken
1/3 cup grated carrots
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
1/4 cup sliced green onions

Sesame Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 small clove garlic, tiny minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Instructions: 

  • To make the vinaigrette, mix together rice wine vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, and lime juice in a small bowl; set aside.(you can adjust the amount of garlic depending on your preference)
  • To assemble the salad, place your greens in a large bowl; top with arranged rows of mandarin oranges, chicken, carrots, avocado, eggs and green onions.
  • Serve with sesame vinaigrette and eat it up!

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Does any one know what could be causing that red line in the bottom right of this picture on all of my photographs?

Isn’t it pretty! This would look great on a tablescape for a party of some kind. And the sesame dressing is deeeelcious and could be used for so many other things!

Thanks so much for checking out the blog!

 

xoxo

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Goat Cheese, Sausage, and Arugula Stuffed Peppers

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Goat Cheese, Sausage, and Arugula Stuffed Peppers

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Wowza you guys. This recipe is sooooo freaking good. simple. delicious. fresh. healthy. did I already say delicious? Because it is.

It probably doesn’t hurt that I am OBSESSED with Arugula. Something about that taste just gets my every time. Spicy. Nutty. A tiny bit bitter. Loveeee it.

This dish does a great job highlighting those flavors. And it has goat cheese. So, what’s not to like?

Ingredients:

3 medium bell peppers of any color, halved lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 links sausage of your choice, casings removed (I used spicy italian)
1 onion, diced
4 ounces goat cheese, softened or just buy the pre-crumbled stuff
2 large handfuls of arugula (about 1½ ounces) *Rocket for all you non USA folks 🙂
Salt, pepper and/or red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup  freshly grated Parmesan (or mozzarella)

Instructions:

Turn on oven to 400º. Place the prepped peppers in a baking dish and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until it browns, crumbling with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain the sausage and return to heat. Add the onion and cook until softened. Reduce heat to low and stir in the arugula and goat cheese until the cheese has melted and the arugula is wilted. Taste and add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Spoon the filling into the peppers and sprinkle each half with Parmesan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the peppers have softened slightly. Hit with the broiler for about a minute to get the golden cheese on top and serve!

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I tried some with and without cheese on top

So I tried baking both with cheese on top and without. Honestly, the cheese sort of helped hold everything together but it’s one million percent possible to make this without the extra cheese on top. Just as delicious, just slightly messier.

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so pretty too!

Hmmmmmmm seriously sooo delicious. This meal was so quick to make and the flavors were aaaaaammmazing. I could have eaten the pepper “stuffing” by the spoonful out of the bowl.

Ok, I did that.

Don’t judge. It was soooooo good. You could serve this as a side or meal by itself! You need to make this pronto!

Also I just wanted to share that I’ve created some social media pages dedicated to the blog, check us out on Twitter and Facebook!

Thanks!

xoxo

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