Portabello Mushroom Steak

This is going to be a new favorite of mine—I can already tell. The portabello mushroom holds flavor really well. Very juicy and delicious! And it was so easy to make, too.

Portabello Mushroom Steak
2–4 portabello mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP green onion, thinly sliced
1 TBSP fresh basil, minced

Mix ingredients together and marinade the mushrooms for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Then grill for 15–20 minutes until slightly brown.

That's it! Enjoy!

Breakfast Smoothie

Banana, Strawberry, Spinach Smoothie

I don't know about you, but my stomach can be a little picky first thing in the morning. Cereal gives me a stomach ache, toast makes my stomach acidic, pancakes are way too sugary, and traditional breakfast foods like bacon and eggs are too rich (and not plant-based :). So for me, the best breakfast is large smoothie.

I know, I know—breakfast it supposed to be your biggest meal, a big breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism, a big breakfast gives you energy for the rest of your day. But my body is definitely telling me that a nutritious smoothie is the right breakfast for me, and I'm done trying to argue with it. Especially since smoothies are so delicious, gentle on the stomach, and easy to make! 

Here is a very basic, and very open-ended, smoothie recipe to get you started, and then I want to tell you why I don't use protein powder.

Breakfast Smoothie

1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)

1 cup almond milk 

1–2 big handful of raw spinach or other greens

1 TBSP flax seeds or chia seeds 

1–2 TBSP natural peanut butter (optional)

1–2 cups frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, melons—whatever you want)

My blender works better if I layer the ingredients in the this order: milk, flax or chia seeds, peanut butter, banana, spinach, and then frozen fruit on top. Pulse the blender until the frozen fruit is mostly broken up, and then blend it until smooth. (I think that it's easier on the motor if I do it this way.) And don't feel like you have to measure the ingredients. I never do.

The Protein Myth

So I don't use protein powder in my smoothies, and if you're wondering why, it's because some research is saying that it is actually a myth that extra protein equals extra health. Yes, your body needs protein, but it doesn't need very much. And the typical American is actually getting way too much protein. 

It's funny, because I've read or heard about the protein myth several times since I started eating healthier, and the research seems pretty solid to me, but I still occasionally panic about not having enough protein in my diet. It is so engrained in us to obsess over protein when really you can meet all of your protein needs by eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and legumes (beans).

Anyway, that's all I want to say, because I'm no expert, and I don't want come across as preachy either. :) But if you want to know more, here is a website to get you started. I also recommend The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman.

What healthy breakfasts do you guys like to eat? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Vegan Pizza

On flat bread with tomato pesto sauce

On homemade crust with vegan white sauce

Here is the promised pizza recipe! I'm going to give you a list of the toppings I use and a couple of ways I have made it, and you can figure out how you like it! 

This is another recipe that my husband says tastes delicious as long as you aren't expecting it to taste like a "real" pizza. So keep that in mind. :)

Vegan Pizza

1) Choose your toppings
sweet onion, sliced
zucchini, sliced
red bell pepper, sliced
mushrooms, sliced
tomato, sliced
artichoke hearts, chopped
spinach, chopped

2) Choose your sauce
Tomato Pesto (posted earlier)
1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup fresh basil (packed tightly)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Pulse tomato sauce and garlic in a food processor until the garlic is chopped and incorporated. Add cashews, basil, and nutritional yeast and combine very thoroughly. Scrap down the sides of the food processor bowl as needed.

If your food processor has a hard time chopping up nuts, you can presoak the cashews in water for an hour or even over night. Just drain them before you use them.

Yields 1 heaping cup.

Vegan White Sauce (also posted earlier)
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1–2 TBSP sweet onion, minced
3 TBSP whole wheat flour (or other whole grain flour)
1 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 TBSP fresh basil, minced (optional, but really recommended)

Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic in oil for a few minutes. Add flour to oil mixture and combine thoroughly. Whisk in almond milk, a little at a time. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add remaining ingredients. Simmer for about five minutes, or until thickened. Sauce will thicken even more upon cooling.

3.) Choose your crust
whole wheat flat bread (pictured in photo)
whole wheat pita pocket
homemade pizza crust (here is a link to one that I have used)

4.) Put it all together
Cover your crust with a thick layer of sauce. Layer on all the toppings. Press them firmly into the sauce. Bake crust according to recipe instructions, or if you are using a pita or flat bread, 10–15 minutes in a 350° oven should do it!

The brand of flat bread I used was really, really thin, which I didn't like as much as the homemade pizza dough. But, it did have the advantage of taking a fraction of the time and labor to prepare!

Tomato Pesto

I made this tomato pesto to go on a pizza (recipe coming soon!), but you can use it for sandwiches, wraps, a vegetable dip, or whatever you want! I think it would work well as a pasta sauce as well (especially with some extra tomato sauce). In fact, I think I'll try it out tonight. :)

If you haven't discovered nutritional yeast yet, you might want to try it out. It's a non-active strain of yeast that comes in yellow flakes, and it has a "cheesy" taste to it. Besides being a complete protein, nutritional yeast is often fortified with B12. I buy it in bulk at Winco Foods.

That being said, if you don't want to use nutritional yeast, you can probably leave it out of this recipe.

Tomato Pesto
1 8-oz. can of tomato sauce
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup fresh basil (packed tightly)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Pulse tomato sauce and garlic in a food processor until the garlic is chopped and incorporated. Add cashews, basil, and nutritional yeast and combine very thoroughly. Scrap down the sides of the food processor bowl as needed.

If your food processor has a hard time chopping up nuts, you can presoak the cashews in water for an hour or even over night. Just drain them before you use them.

Yields 1 heaping cup.
Inspired by Oh She Glows

15-Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

One of my favorite recipe blogs is Oh She Glows. I've been impressed with everything I've tried from that blog. But this recipe is a favorite among favorites. It has very few ingredients, it's easy, and it's delicious. My husband and I probably eat this every other week! But don't forget to eat a salad or vegetable dish with it. :)

Click on the link below to get the recipe. And just one note, leftovers won't keep well, so eat it up!

15-Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Veggie Wrap

When I started eating healthier, one of the challenges I faced (and let's be honest, I'm still facing it!) was finding quick meals that I could eat away from home. At first, I cooked ridiculously elaborate meals—and not just once a day, but every meal of every day. I don't recommend that. :)

Now I'm trying out some easier and more portable recipes. This veggie wrap is one of them. It's nothing brilliant, but I know that I struggled to figure out how to make a healthy lifestyle actually doable, and an easy recipe like this would have been helpful. So if you're in the same boat, try this!

Veggie Wrap
1 whole-grain tortilla
slices of tomato
roasted red peppers (from a jar)
avocado slices
artichoke hearts (from a can)
handful of spinach or other greens
1 TBSP pesto (from a jar)

Roll everything up in the tortilla!

This recipe is just to give you some ideas. You can leave out any of these ingredients or add more, of course. And you can make this meal even faster if you leave some sliced tomato in the fridge. Then all you have to do is slice your avocado and slap the whole thing together.

Like I said, it's nothing brilliant, but I hope it helps!
Adapted from Eating for Pregnancy

Mom's Spinach Salad

Credit for this salad goes to my mom. I've made a few adjustments to the salad ingredients, but the dressing is all hers. This salad is so fresh and tangy—everyone seems to like it. I get compliments every time I make it.

Not kidding.

Mom's Spinach Salad
Salad:
6 oz. fresh spinach
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 orange, peeled and sliced
1 avocado, chopped
handful of dried cranberries
handful of sunflower seeds
about 1/2–3/4 cup salad dressing (don't overdo it!!!)

Dressing:
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup Italian dressing (or 1 tsp Italian dressing mix)
1/2 tsp dry mustard (or 1 TBSP mustard)
1/2 cup oil (I leave this out completely)

Combine salad ingredients, then combine dressing ingredients, then combine the salad and the dressing. As easy as that!

You only need a little bit of dressing, but the leftover dressing saves well in the refrigerator. And it is good on almost any kind of salad.

Just a note, the salad doesn't hold up very well once the dressing has been added. So if you think you are going to have leftover salad, you might want to consider leaving the dressing separate.