Spaghetti Squash noodles with a Tomato-pesto sauce

I made an absolutely delicious healthy meal the other day that I HAVE to share!
I began by cutting the squash in half (I used two whole squash) , removed the seeds, covered with tin foil, and baked in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
I lightly sauteed onions, red potatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms in a skillet with light salt and pepper. Once the squash was cooled, I took a fork to the squash and pulled it across to form "noodles". Once this was done I mixed in the sauteed veggies.
Next, I pulled out the Vitamix and made the sauce. I placed the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and garlic in and turned it on high for about 15 seconds and it was done! I didn't want to mix the sauce into the noodles for fear of the leftovers getting soggy, so I poured it on each plate individually.

Here is a picture of the "noodles" with the sauce on top before it was mixed in. The flavor of the sauce was so perfect, and the squash noodles were so easy and a great carbohydrate substitute-- I will definitely be making this and other squash noodle recipes again!!

Tomato-Pesto Sauce
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1/2 oz fresh basil
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

New Green Smoothie and Panang Curry

I took a week's vacation in the Florida Keys this past week and regrettably fell off the band wagon with my diet and exercise regimen I have been so good about the past few months. It was beautiful and so much fun- but it's definitely time to kick my diet and exercise into high gear again!!

I made a green smoothie this morning with a few new ingredients and it was SO GOOD!! I used spinach as always, banana, fresh mango, fresh unsweetened coconut shavings, and coconut water. The mango added a perfect amount of sweetness and the coconut shavings added a unique texture and flavor. (I purposely did not blend the coconut to pulverize it- such a good decision!) This will definitely be a new favorite!!
Here are all the yummy ingredients in my vitamix!!

This evening I made a dish I have been CRAVING weekly since I first had it a few months ago. This was my first attempt at this dish, but I would say I knocked it out of the park! The ONE thing I would change would be to thicken the sauce a but more with either flour or cornstarch. The flavor was perfect though, and I will be having this again soon!!
I began by making some brown rice, then I created the sauce by slicing the peppers and cooked for about 8 minutes, then added the cubed tofu and simmered for an additional 5. It was surprisingly simple and delicious! (for my non vegan friends/family...instead of tofu you can add chicken or whatever!) Here's a pic of the sauce n veggies over brown rice.

***Edit: I made this again this past week and added 1 tbsp flour to thicken the sauce and it was PERFECT*****

Coconut Green Smoothie
2 large handfuls of spinach
half of a fresh mango
half a banana
2 tbsp shaved coconut
1 1/2 c coconut water

Panang Curry Tofu
brown rice
1 package extra firm tofu
1 large red pepper
1 large green pepper
1 13 oz can Tahitian coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
***1 tbsp flour

Stuffed Mushrooms & Spinach Pasta Pie

While I have taken a break from posting I have still been in the kitchen experimenting with many recipes and have come across two that I want to share. The first is the stuffed mushrooms from the SB cookbook.
I began by de-stemming 28 medium mushrooms and placing them stem-side down on a cookie sheet, and placed them into a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. While they were in the oven I finely diced and sauteed the mushroom stems, one small shallot, and one red bell pepper with one tbsp coconut oil, and salt and pepper. Once they were sauteed, I removed from the heat and set aside to cool a bit. I took the panko bread crumbs and added the parsley. I mixed this together then added the sauteed veggies. Once the mixture was combined I placed a rounded tsp in each mushroom cap and baked for an additional 20 minutes. Next time I would be heavier with the seasoning, but other than that these mushrooms were delicious!! They would make a GREAT addition to a potluck, or a great appetizer for a small group.

The next recipe I want to share is derived from "Sandra's Money Saving Meals", but I had to add some things to fit my veggie taste! I began by cooking half a box of angel hair pasta (spaghetti would work too). I then cut a bunch of asparagus into 2 inch pieces and sauteed them with salt and pepper with a pot lid over to help steam. I added the garlic then the artichoke hearts. Once these were combined and the asparagus was cooked I added the spinach and sauteed for a few minutes then removed from the heat. I then mixed the pasta with the olive oil and egg substitute. I placed into a pie dish and formed into a pie-crust shape. Once the spinach mixture had cooled I added the almond milk and 2 servings of the egg substitute and combined thoroughly. I then put the spinach mixture in the "pie" and rimmed it with a thinly sliced a roma tomato. The last step was to place it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Next time I make this I don't think I would add the artichoke because there was something not quite cohesive with the flavors, although it was still tasty-I would recommend keeping them out entirely. Other than that, this dish was easy, flavorful, and hearty!


Stuffed Mushrooms
one large container of mushrooms
one small-medium shallot
one red bell pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
6 tbsp panko bread crumbs
one tbsp coconut oil

Spinach Pasta Pie
1/2 box angel hair
1 bunch thin asparagus
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1lb bag of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
3 "eggs" of an egg substitute
1/4 cup almond milk
1 roma tomato
1 tbsp chopped garlic

"Sausage" and Peppers over Polenta

After a five day vacation in New Orleans, LA and falling off the bandwagon on eating well (It was New Orleans, after all!), I needed to dive back into some healthy but tasty recipes STAT. I'm not sure I ever wrote about this, but the book 'Skinny Bitch' by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnoun is what changed my entire viewpoint on eating. They give realistic accounts of the meat/dairy industry, as well as provide multiple research studies to back up why the vegan lifestyle is so healthy. I recently picked up the accompanying cookbook, 'Skinny Bitch in the Kitch' which is filled with a mixture of easy/quick meals as well as some innovative recipes, all vegan of course.
I first tried the 'Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Garlic over Soft Polenta' which is a different flavor from what I'm used to cooking. That being said, I thought it was so simple, and so delicious! I have been eating off it for three days now, so definitely worth it!
I began by preheating the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and chopping the onions and peppers. I placed the chopped veggies into a 9x13"pan and added the garlic, salt, and pepper. I placed in the oven and cooked for 20 minutes.
Next I diagonally cut the sausage and stirred them into the peppers/onion mixture and cooked for an additional 15-20 minutes. While the sausage/peppers mixture was cooking I made some quick polenta with vegetable stock, and then stirred in the vegan Parmesan cheese.  I spooned the Polenta onto a plate and placed a good serving of the sausage/pepper/onion mixture on top (and sprinkled a little more parmesean on top!) The result was this wonderful dish:

The brand/flavor of 'sausage' I used was a bit spicy, but the flavors (especially the polenta!!) were incredible. I would highly recommend this dish as it is SIMPLE (I folded laundry while the oven did the work!) and and surprisingly TASTY!

Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Garlic over Soft Polenta (from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch)
4 teaspoons garlic (I chopped mine)
4 peppers any color (I used two green, one red, and one orange)
2 onions
4 italian vegan sausage (I used Tofurkey brand, flavor: Sweet Italian with Tomato and Basil)
4 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup dry polenta
1/3 cup vegan parmesean cheese (I used galaxy brand)
salt and pepper to taste

Eggplant Rolls

I am definitely on an eggplant kick, and just have to share this recipe because I honestly can't believe I just made this myself. It's a light dish but left me feeling pleasantly full, and the taste is lingering in my mouth and I am fighting the urge to get a third serving.
I began by preheating the oven at 350 and cutting the eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 inch slices, salted them and put them on a cookie sheet. I put in the oven for 10 minutes, turned the eggplant over and cooked for 5 more minutes.
While the eggplant was cooking I diced the onion and sauteed with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and an Italian seasoning blend. Once the onions were translucent I diced the celery and added it to the saute pan and cooked for 5 minutes before adding the tomatoes and butter substitute. I left the sauce to simmer while I made the filling.
I used my Vitamix to cream together the silken tofu, mayonnaise substitute, cream cheese substitute, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and heavily added the Italian seasoning blend.
Once the filling was blended, I began the assembly. I took a slice of eggplant and covered the entire slice with the filling, then added some spinach and rolled it up. I placed the rolls in a 9x13 in baking pan, and poured the marinara sauce over the top. I put the pan back in the oven for ten minutes for the flavors to meld and then let cool. (OK, I didn't actually wait until it was cool, it smelled way too good to wait!)

This is the eggplant slice with the sauce and spinach ready to be rolled up.

Here are all the rolls in the 9x13 pan.

And the rolls with the sauce on top.  YUMMY!!

There was a lot of extra filling which would be PERFECT for a lasagna "ricotta cheese" layer, and extra sauce which was great to spoon on the rolls and save for some quick spaghetti later this week.


Filling
1lb silken tofu
6 tbsp cream cheese substitute (I used Tofutti)
3 tbsp mayonnaise substitute (I used Vegannaise)
6 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt, pepper
3 tbsp italian seasoning blend

Marinara
1 yellow onion
2 celery stalks
1 24 oz crushed tomato
12 oz diced tomato
1 tbsp butter substitute (I like Earth Balance)
2 tsp garlic
salt and pepper

A New Feature

My friend Mansi (hey girl!) suggested that I post pictures of the recipes and process of cooking, and sweetly helped me figure out how to put pictures on each of my blog posts! So for today all I have for you is a green smoothie (simple spinach/banana/frozen peach/almond milk). You can see all the yummy goodness that goes into the smoothie and the vibrant green color the smoothie turns out to be.

I know they can look intimidating, but green smoothies taste so fantastic and are packed with so much goodness that I think everyone can benefit from!

Lentils over Curry Rice

After a hard workout and realizing I had very little to pick from my refrigerator, last night I decided to try to make a curry sauce to mix into some rice and top with some lentils for a quick, high protein and high fiber meal. (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4338/2)

I began by making a large batch of lentils since they take a while to make, and it would help me have some quick meals this week. I put 2 cups of lentils in a big pot and added 4 cups of organic vegetable broth, stirring every 20 minutes for about two hours over low heat until the lentils were soft and had absorbed the liquid.  (this does take some time, but fortunately I used this long process to take breaks from the 3 loads of laundry I had to do! oops!)
I made the rice as indicated and fluffed with a fork when done. (I used 1 cup of uncooked jasmine rice)
After the rice and lentils were cooked, I made a very quick and quite tasty curry sauce in a small sauce pan. I began by adding the coconut milk along with the curry, turmeric, and paprika (I am very sensitive to heat, so feel free to add more if you can handle more!). After the sauce was whisked and began to simmer, I added the flour and continued to stir until it thickened slightly. I immediately poured the sauce over the rice and stirred to combine.
I served with the lentils over the curry rice and was surprised by the quality of flavor in the sauce. I bought some Seitan today and was thinking of making some sort of curry 'chicken' this week with this same sauce, should be good!!

Curry Sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tsp mild curry
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1tsp flour