Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Thank you thank you thank you SLO Veg (an awesome business in SLO County that deliveries fresh produce and veggies right to your door) for this delicious recipe. I replaced the normal butter for vegan butter, but to me it didn't change the flavor at all. It is SO good! I also made some little garlic toast crostini to go with it, you definitely don't have to do that though.

2 tablespoons vegan butter (original called for unsalted butter)

2 tablespoons good olive oil 

4 cups chopped yellow onions (2-3 large) 

2 tablespoons mild curry powder 

5 pounds butternut squash (2 large or 3 medium) 

1 1/2 pounds apples (4 apples) - I used Fuji

2 teaspoons kosher salt 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 cups water 

2 cups good apple cider or juice 

Directions

• Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. 
• Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot. 
• Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks. 
• Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. 
• Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. 
• Process the soup in a blender. Pour the soup back into the pot. I liked to leave some small chucks in mine.
• Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. 
• The original recipe says to drizzle a little bit of heavy cream over the top to make a pretty display- I would LOVE this- but did without :) 
• Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.
• To do the garlic toast crostini, you just drizzle olive oil on a good baguette and put under the broiler until the edges turn brown. Then rub it with a piece of garlic to get it nice and garlicy- then sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it. 

Mexican Lasagna

So this is a recipe, that like chicken enchiladas, I am sure everyone has their own. For this one, I am going to break some of my rules and use some ground turkey meat, but you can most definitely just leave that out and you have yourself a dairy free, sugar free and gluten free Mexican lasagna! If you do leave out the turkey, I would suggest adding an extra can of beans- and quite honestly, this dish doesn't even need the meat! It is delicious, give it a try!

1 lb lean ground turkey breast

1 can black beans

1 can vegetarian re-fried beans 

1 can corn
1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 bag soy cheese

8 blue corn (or regular corn) tortillas, cut in half

2 green onions, chopped

cilantro, chopped

1 medium jar of your fav enchilada sauce (or 1/2 a large can)

tomatillo sauce (optional)

1 orange pepper, chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons vegetable stock

Directions

• In a skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and add onion. Cook until tender.
• Then brown turkey meat in the same pot. Because the turkey breast is so incredibly lean, you likely will not have to drain it. 
• Then when it is browned, add your seasonings, beans, corn, veggie stock, and bell pepper. 
• Mix to incorporate. 
• Cut your tortillas in half so they are easier to assemble. 
• Spray your baking pan and layer 1 layer of tortillas
• Follow with 1/2 of the meat mixture
• Add 1/2 of the enchilada sauce
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Repeat the layers. 
• Bake, covered with aluminum foil, at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. The lasagna should be bubbling. 
• Remove the aluminum and let bake another 5-10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle with cilantro and green onions. 
• Serve!

Spicy Garlic Chow Mein

I have been so lame with posting recipes the past few days. I keep forgetting to take pictures, or do a dish that is relatively similar to others so I haven't been posting. Sunday I made this yummmoo chow mein (as I am calling it). It had some heat, garlic and some sweet. Was so good!

Sauce: 

1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce (uses mushrooms rather than oysters)

1/2 teaspoon Sriracha (optional- add more for more spice)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon thyme 

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chow Mein: 

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 8 oz package of asian rice noodles

1 onion, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1/2 cup green beans, chopped

1 cup swiss chard, cut in thin pieces

2 pieces of dried seaweed, for garnish

2 green onions, chopped for garnish

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients of the sauce in a small bowl and set aside. 
• Cook the noodles according to the packaging- drain and rinse with cold water. 
• In a pan, add the coconut oil and all the vegetables. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook about 3 minutes. 
• When the vegetables are starting to cook but are still firm, add the sauce and let it cook with the vegetables about 5-10 minutes. Until the veggies have soaked up some of the sauce, but they are still firm. 
• Then add the noodles and mix, making sure the noodles get covered in the sauce. 
• Plate it up and then sprinkle with green onions and seaweed pieces. 

Boxed Soup Night

I was on my own for dinner tonight, and I didn't want to dirty up my beautifully cleaned kitchen, so I grabbed a Trader Joe's soup I bought recently.

 It is gluten free and with the exception of honey (which isn't technically allowed on the cleanse- but hey, I am a rebel) it is sugar free and vegan. I am pretty picky with soups from the store, I usually stick with the "tomato basil bisque" type soups. But I mean who can go wrong with anything with cream? :)  Well, this soup from Traders is really really good! It is called "Creamy Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup."  I won't lie, it is not the most appetizing color coming out of the box, but it has great flavor. A good quick and easy (and pretty healthy) soup to incorporate into your diet on nights that you would typically want to grab something not so wonderful for you!

The soup has only 110 calories per serving. I added a can of corn to add some texture. I definitely recommend!

Green Packed Pasta

Tonight was a night I wish I could have just gone out to dinner. Stephen has been sick the whole week, I had to run a ton of errands after work and I just wanted to be lazy! Luckily I had a TON of greens from farmers' market I needed to use up. This was a dish I literally threw together in about 10 minutes. Was pretty darn good too!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon vegetable stock

1 cup Swiss chard, chopped

1 cup kale, chopped

1/2 cup spinach, chopped

5 tomatoes, diced very small

1 container of mushrooms, sliced

4 cloves garlic

corn & quinoa pasta

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dried minced onions

1 teaspoon oregano

Directions

• Boil and drain pasta according to the directions. 
• In a large saute pan, add your olive oil and garlic and let cook about 3 minutes. Then add tomatoes, seasonings, and vegetable stock and let the tomatoes cook about 5 minutes then add mushrooms. 
• Add all the greens and stir to get all of them mixed with the tomato garlic sauce. Then add cooked pasta right to the dish!
• Serve!

Coconut Bars

Ever have one of those days where you are craving gooey brownies? Well fortunately, I found an awesome website that had this recipe for coconut bars that are vegan, sugar free and gluten free! They take about an hour to set up, but making them literally took me 5 minutes! Best part- they are no- bake too!! I found the original recipe way too sweet, so I made some adjustments below.  Also- if you are OK with having a small amount of caffiene, these would be EXCELLENT with some chopped dark (at least 60%) chocolate mixed in or drizzled on top! If you are making these for more than 2-3 people I would double the recipe to make more.

1 cup unsweetened coconut (make sure it is not sweetened)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/4 cup agave

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon vanilla (I used my homemade vanilla!)

Directions

• Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until all incorporated and no large lumps
• Push into a small Tupperware or dish, mine was like 4 x 5 inches. 
• Put in the refrigerator and let set up 45 mins to an hour. 

Get Better Soup

Stephen was super sick this weekend and asked for me to make him some chicken soup. I had every intention of not eating it, but it smelled SO dang good, I had to :) I think it was worth it though. We are at day 20 of the cleanse and it was still gluten & sugar free. Chicken soup just isn't the same without the chicken! I added a bunch of veggies to make it extra yummy and good for you. I watched my mom for years make this recipe and it was one of my favorites she made. I just added a couple little twists to make it mine. This is a must make soup for someone that isn't feeling very well, thanks mom :)

1 whole chicken, washed and innards removed

large pot of water

2-3 onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tablespoon Natures Seasoning

4 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

3 red potatoes, diced

2 large leaves kale, chopped

2 baby bok choy, chopped

1 cup split red lentils (my mom always does barley but I was out & got creative)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons oregano or parsley

Directions

• Put washed chicken in a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Let it cook about 40 minutes. Sometimes there will be a foam that forms over the water, skim that off. 
• Add seasonings, onions and red lentils and let cook about 2 hours until chicken is cooked and stock is ready
• Remove chicken and separate the meat from the bones and add the chicken meat back into the broth
• Add the rest of the ingredients and let cook until vegetables are soft but still have a bite to them. 
• Sample the broth and see if it needs more seasonings
• Enjoy!! You can serve it with some noodles if desired. 

49er Spanish Rice

This rice is red, the 49er's won the NFC Championship today (actually yesterday by the time I am getting this post up) and we had left over bean dip so we decided to make some tacos with Spanish rice for dinner! This was super easy and tasted even better than any you would get at a restaurant or out of a box.

2 cups brown jasmine rice

4 cups vegetable stock

1 onion, chopped

5 onions, minced

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 tomato, diced

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons chili powder

Directions

• In a pan, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil and brown the rice. 
• Add the onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender
• In another sauce pan, bring vegetable stock to a simmer then add all the spices, tomato paste and tomato and stir to incorporate
• Add the brown rice to the simmering stock and let cook until tender. As it is cooking, continue to stir numerous times and add a little bit of water if the rice seems to not be getting cooked. 
• Enjoy!

49er's 9-layer dip (Vegan Style)

As you all know, we are big 49er's fans. Today (Sunday) they play the Falcons for the NFC Championship. My husband had one request- a 7 layer dip.  This was a little challenge because the 7-layer dips I love have some ground beef or turkey, sour cream, melted cheese, yum!  So I developed one that works for us, and of course is even BETTER than a 7 layer dip because it has 9 layers!

2 cans Trader Joe's re fried beans (vegan)

2 pasilla peppers, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cans black beans

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1 bag soy cheese

3-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

3 green onions, chopped

3 avocados, mashed

1 tub of your favorite salsa

1 can black olives, sliced

1 tablespoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1 cup homemade tomatillo sauce (or 1 can of green chili's)

Directions

• First, prepare your re-fried beans. Chop up the onion and pasilla pepper and add to a pan with 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Let saute until they are tender. 
• Add your beans to the pan and stir with the onions and peppers, then add the 1/4 cup vegetable stock. You want to add the stock slowly so you don't add to much and your beans end up watery. 
• Now prepare your guacamole. Mash up your avocados and season with salt and pepper and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder.
• Put all the re-fried beans at the bottom of the pan, then layer the black beans and cheese on top. 
• Then add the following ingredients:
• Tomatillo sauce
• lettuce
• salsa
• guacamole
• sprinkle a little more soy cheese
• black olives & green onions

Baked Artichokes

Day 17 of the cleanse. Stephen asked for artichokes tonight and I didn't really know how I wanted to make them. I usually just love them steamed dipped in a little garlic mayo. That, I obviously couldn't do, so I had to get a little creative. Artichokes definitely take some time, but they are worth it!

2 artichokes

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons basil, chopped

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons vegetable stock

1 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons soy mozzarella (optional)

Directions

• Prepare artichokes by cutting off top 1/2 inch and trimming the tips of the artichoke leaves to remove sharp points. Also cut off the stem
• Place in a large pot of water and steam until the outer leaves remove easily from the artichoke. This will take 30-45 minutes. 
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Drain the artichokes and cut in half
• Remove the chokes and place heart up in a sprayed baking dish
• Drizzle olive oil and vegetable stock on top
• Sprinkle garlic, basil, salt and pepper and oregano on the top and in between the leaves
• Cover baking dish with aluminum foil for 25 minutes
• Remove from oven and sprinkle soy cheese on the top and put back into the oven for 5 minutes. 
• Remove and eat!

Roasted Golden Beets & Swiss Chard with Brussel Sprouts

There are two camps when it comes to Brussels sprouts, the lovers and the haters. I find myself posted up in the lovers camp for sure. I love Brussels, so when I found these little gems at farmers' market on Saturday, I knew I had to have them.  This evening, I stood and looked in my fridge trying to contemplate what I was going to do with them. I ended up LOVING what I came up with. The beets were sweet, Brussels tender and Swiss chard perfect! This is definitely a dish you have to try.

3 large golden beets

1 pint of Brussels sprouts 

10 leaves of Swiss chard

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 1/2 cups qunioa

3 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon agave

salt and pepper

3 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried minced onions

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. 
• Wash, scrub and peel your beets and chop them into small cubes. Try to make them as uniform as possible and put them in a bowl.
• Mix beets with 1/2 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, minced onions and agave. Mix up so all the beets are covered in the oil mix. 
• Prepare your Brussels. Wash and remove stem and a few of the outer leaves. Chop in 1/2
• Now put your beets on a cookie sheet with sides, lined with aluminum and put in the 425 oven and cook for about 45 minutes. The beets will be soft all the way through and begin to brown on the edges when they are done. 
• I was able to do my quinoa and Brussels at the same time in my cooker. Put 1 1/2 cups qunioa and 3 cups of vegetable stock in a rice cooker. In the steamer attachment, put your Brussels sprouts. Season Brussels with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• Cook until the qunioa is done, the Brussels will also be done, set aside.
• Now spray a pan lightly with cooking spray and then toast your chopped almonds for 3-5 minutes. 
• Remove from the pan and set aside. 
• Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the pan and add chopped Swiss chard. 
• Let Swiss chard cook about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• Add almonds and cook another 2 minutes. 
• Add steamed Brussels to Swiss chard and mix. 
• Serve it all over your quinoa!

Super Filling Breakfast

Fortunately, Steel Cut Oats are allowed on this cleanse. This is another quick and easy meal to take with you to work or eat quickly in the morning on your way out the door. Every Sunday, I make a big batch of steel cut oats - the longer cooking ones. It is 1 cup oats to 4 cups water and it takes about 30 minutes to cook. I do 2 batches and it lasts Stephen and I the whole week. The best thing about this breakfast is that you can add almost anything you want to it. Sticking with our cleanse though, we wanted to add ingredients that helped us get more protein, omega-3's, fiber and antioxidants! Below is what I had for breakfast today!

1/2 cup cooked steel cut oats

1/4 cup blueberries

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon roasted flax seeds

about 10 almonds chopped up

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup unsweetened rice milk

Directions:

• Cook your steel cut oats (you can also do the quick cook oats which take about 8 minutes). 
• Mix all ingredients (minus the blueberries and almonds) and heat in the microwave about 2 minutes
• Stir and then add blueberries and almonds
• Enjoy!

Polenta with Vegetarian Ragu

We had some left over sauce from the quinoa pasta from last night, so I thought it would be good to add to it and kind of re-create the dish! It turned out really great. If you don't have leftover quinoa like I did, you can just add some of the same veggies and tomato paste like I used for it. Below are the ingredients I added.

1 tube of polenta, cut in rounds

1 tablespoon olive oil + more for drizzling on polenta

2 tablespoons soy mozzerella

1/2 head of cauliflower

1-2 carrots

1 pasilla pepper

4 leaves of swiss chard

1 cup kale, chopped

salt and pepper

oregano

 

Directions

• Cut the polenta into rounds and set aside
• Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute carrots and cauliflower for about 10 minutes until it starts to get tender
• Add the leftover quinoa pasta sauce
• Add swiss chard, kale and seasonings and cook about 10-15 minutes
• Put polenta on a foiled, then sprayed cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Broil on high for 5 minutes until they are cooked and slightly crispy on the edges
• I sprinkled a little soy mozzerella on the polenta when it came out of the oven!
• Serve!

Energy Booster Morning Smoothie

After about 12 days eating the same things for breakfast (rice cake scramble and steel cut oats), Stephen and I wanted something fruity for breakfast. Stephen made this smoothie, he is definitely the dedicated smoothie maker in the house! I love smoothies! Whenever we have berries that are on their way out, we always pop them in the freezer to save them for smoothies later, this is a good solution for bananas too!

1 mandarin

1 apple, chopped

1 1/2 cups favorite frozen berries

1/2 cup kale

1 swiss chard leaf, stem removed

1 carrot, chopped

10 almonds

1 cup ice

1/4 cup grape juice (no sugar added)

2 tablespoons almond juice

1 banana

Directions

• Put the ice in the blender and crush the ice
• Add all the other ingredients and whirl it up
• Modify the smoothie to make it the consistency you want- add more juice to make more liquid or more berries to be thicker.

Insanely Good Quinoa Pasta

This dish is so good, so easy and the veggies taste fresh- the perfect meal for watching a 49er's vs Packers playoff game!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 6oz can tomato paste

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 zucchini, cut in small dices

1-2 cans artichokes hearts, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1-2 boxes quinoa-corn pasta, cooked (I used shell shape)

Directions

• Cook pasta according to box directions
• In a large pan, heat olive oil. 
• Add onion and garlic and let cook about 3 minutes, until onions start to get tender. 
• Add tomato paste, vegetable stock, salt and pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes and chopped tomatoes and let cook about 8 minutes. 
• Add the rest of the vegetables and basil and cook about 10 more minutes. Until the zucchini just start to get soft (you want them to still have some firmness). 
• Serve over the quinoa pasta
• I sprinkled a little bit of soy mozzarella on top too!

Apple Cookies

I really couldn't go several weeks without something sweet, so I went in search of something I could actually eat. I got this recipe from a friend and made a few minor adjustments to make them vegan :) Just to let you know, because these cookies have applesauce in them and no real binder, they are not your normal cookies and are a little crumbly - maybe I should call them fork or spoon eatin' cookies?

2 large apples or 3 small-medium apples

2 cups almonds

1/2 cups applesauce (make sure no sugar or high-fructose corn syrup)

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

2 teaspoons coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons agave

5 dates, chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Put apples in blender or food processor to puree them, I just left the skin on
• Put almonds in the food processor and pulse a few times to make them chunky
• In a bowl add all the ingredients and mix well. 
• Spoon batter onto a baking sheet (use silpad or wax paper if you have it)
• Bake for about 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown. 
• Remove from the oven and let cool on the silpad for 15 minutes then careful place on a serving plate!

Tofu & Veggie Stir Fry

With a stir-fry, it is basically about incorporating your favorite veggies and ingredients to make something you love. This is just one of my recipes :) Basically, I make a stir-fry when we have a ton of veggies and need to eat a bunch before they go bad! Something that made a HUGE difference in flavor with this stir-fry was using the coconut oil. If you have not tried this in your cooking yet, you have to, it is great. Full of good fats and flavor. 

1 package extra firm tofu, cut into small squares

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 cup asparagus, chopped

3 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh spinach leaves or kale (or both!)
1/2 yellow onion
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 eggplant, chopped
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 tablespoon flax seeds
soy sauce, gluten free
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions: 

• Cut up tofu and put in a small bowl (or just cut and leave in the carton it comes in). Drizzle with about 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and some salt and pepper.
• In a pan, add your coconut oil and saute onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Make sure you don't burn the garlic. 
• Then add your tofu to brown it - this takes about 10-15 minutes. 
• Add the carrots and cauliflower (Because they take the longest to cook) and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Then add all your veggies and stir, 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, salt and pepper, and sesame seeds & flax seeds, 3/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Let cook until veggies are cooked to desired amount. We like ours to still be pretty fresh, have some crispness to them.
• Serve over quinoa or rice and then garnish with some green onions and sriracha! 

Pesto Pasta with Sauteed Mushrooms & Asparagus

I absolutely LOVE pesto and decided it was a pasta kind of night :) Stephen said this might be one of the best pesto dishes I have made, imagine if I could have used real Parmesan cheese! Here is my take on a vegan, gluten free pesto!

Update to original post: The second time I made this I did it with green beans instead of asparagus and it was delicious!! This is really a recipe that you can custom make to be whatever ingredients you want!

Pesto Ingredients

Roughly 3 cups basil

Vegan parmesan cheese

1/4 cup walnuts

about 1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

1 clove garlic
Brown rice, quinoa or corn pasta

Mushroom Ingredients

2 cups asparagus, chopped into small pieces
2 packages of baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons vegan butter

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions: 

• Put all of your pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor (minus the olive oil). 
• Pulse the ingredients until well mixed
• Slowly start to pour the olive oil into the blender or food processor until the pesto has the desired consistency. It should be somewhat liquid but still have some thickness to it. 
• Cook your favorite rice, quinoa or corn pasta & drain- set aside
• For the mushrooms, put the butter into a pan and begin to melt. 
• Put the garlic in and saute for approximately 2 minutes
• Add all the mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes. You will want them to be soft, but still have some bite to them
• Combine the mushrooms, pesto and cooked pasta and mix all together!

Roasted Butternut Squash

I needed some sort of side to go with the chili that would be "cooling" since the chili had some spice. Normally some cornbread and honey will accomplish this, but I had to think a little outside the box. I made some roasted butternut squash. Why don't I make this more often? I have no clue, it's so good!

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small pieces

salt and pepper

agave

Smart Balance buttery spread with flaxseed oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut up the butternut squash and put in a baking dish
• Drizzle approximately 1 tablespoon of agave over top, 1 tablespoon of the Smart Balance and generously season with salt and pepper
• Bake in the oven approximately 20 minutes
• For the last 5 minutes, broil on high
• Take a quick taste and if you desire a little more sweetness, drizzle a little bit more agave over the top when you serve!

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

We love chili, I only wish I could have some corn bread on this diet. I am sure there is a good recipe out there but I either didn't have all the ingredients or the recipes had other items that were not allowed. This chili was great with some warm blue corn tortillas though :)  You can also try the Roasted Butternut Squash dish :)

1 onion, diced

2 Pasilla peppers, diced

1 jalapeno, minced very small

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash
1 red potato, diced 

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock 

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

2 cups kale, chopped

Directions:

• Put all ingredients (except the kale) into a crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours (or high 4 hours). 
• Put kale in and stir, let it cook about 15 minutes, just to get a little soft. 
• Serve up with some warm blue corn tortillas!
• You could also do this meal on the stove. Just saute all the peppers, onion and garlic. Then add the remaining ingredients and let cook about 25 minutes. Then add the kale and let cook about 5 minutes. 

Ratatouille

I have always wanted to make this dish, and for some reason I was kind of intimidated by it, but it is SO easy! For this Ratatouille dish, I served it over quinoa to add a little more substance. Besides being tasty, is this dish beautiful or what?! I slightly adapted the recipe from one I got on this blog. Stephen LOVED this meal, I think it might be one of our new favorite dishes, on or off the cleanse!

1/2 onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce (no sugar added- I used Roasted garlic from Trader Joe's)
1 small can tomato paste

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small eggplant or 1/2 of a large eggplant

2 zucchinis

2 yellow squash

1 red bell pepper
1 yellow pepper

salt and pepper

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook your quinoa according to the box instructions. 
• Saute the garlic and onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until tender. 
• Pour the spaghetti sauce into a baking dish along with the garlic, onion, Italian seasoning,  red pepper flakes, add salt and pepper- mix all up. 
• Slice up all your veggies very thin- for this step I wish I had a mandoline, but my sharp (sort of) knife did the trick.
• Arrange all the slices of veggies in your pan. You could always just chop all the veggies up and mix everything together and bake- this is probably more traditional and just as yummy. I just wanted to do a cool presentation!
• Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some more italian seasoning over it. 
• Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper 
• Bake for 45-55 minutes until veggies are clearly cooked but still have some structure. You should see tomato sauce bubbling up around them.
• Serve over top your quinoa!

Bean Tacos

I always make these tacos, even when we aren't on this cleanse, because I really just don't want ground beef or turkey sometimes. These are SO good. If I had more time tonight I would have made my homemade tomatillo sauce, it is the perfect compliment to these tacos.

corn tortillas

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

soy cheese

cilantro, chopped

cabbage (or romaine lettuce for my dad :) )

any other favorite toppings (we like shredded carrots, microgreens, jalapenos, avocado and salsa)

Directions:

• In a pan, heat olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until tender
• Add the black beans and kidney beans and all spices, cook about 10 minutes
• Prep all your toppings and saute up your tortillas and serve!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas

I kind of made this up as I went, so the picture showing the ingredients doesn't really have them all in it, oops! I love my chicken enchiladas, so I wanted to try and make something that was just as satisfying. I think these came pretty darn close. They are filling, tasty and have a little heat to them! Enjoy :)

Corn tortillas

3 sweet potatoes,  cut into small cubes

1 can black beans

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves

1 can enchilada sauce

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup soy cheese

Directions:

• Peel and chop sweet potatoes into a small dice. Then boil them until they are just fork tender. You do want them to have a little "bite" to them.
• In another pan, saute your onion, garlic, black beans and spices for about 5 minutes until onions are just tender.
• Drain the sweet potatoes and then add the bean mixture to them. Mix until everything is coated. 
• Dip the corn tortillas in some of the enchilada sauce (helpful tip: put the tortillas in batches into the microwave for about 20 seconds at a time as you work, it helps make the corn tortillas more workable.
• Put a spoonful of the sweet potato mix into the tortilla and roll it up. 
• After all the tortillas are rolled, cover with the remaining enchilada sauce. 
• Top with soy cheese, cover and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. 
• Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes to let cheese melt
• Top with chopped cilantro!

Go-to Breakfast

My favorite breakfast on this cleanse is what I call a rice cake scramble :)  It is packed with great energy boosters. You can easily switch out ingredients too- for example- replace the banana with blackberries! Its all delicious.

Banana, sliced

1-2 brown rice cakes

1 tablespoons of peanut butter with flax seed and no sugar

15-20 raw almonds

1 teaspoon agave nectar

Directions:

• Spread each rice cake with 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter and put in a bowl on top of each other
• Sprinkle with the almonds (can be whole or sliced but need to be raw), banana, and agave nectar
• Using a fork, break up the rice cakes and mix everything up!

Day 1 - Dinner

Day 1! We had some leftover salad from last night, so we wanted to make the first day easy on ourselves and make a good salad. This one is complete with a homemade "Caesar" dressing. I looked around for several different recipes for a dressing that didn't have any of the taboo items and I didn't have all the ingredients for any of them, so I made up my own! I will tell you that Stephen looked at me, then the blender, and asked what the heck tofu was doing in the blender. I made him a believer though- this is definitely more satisfying than olive oil and vinegar! This recipe made about 3 1/2 cups and it should last about a week in the fridge.

12 oz container of tofu, drained

1/2 cup lemon juice

6 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce

4 tablespoons capers + a little juice

1 teaspoon dijon mustard (Trader Joes has a spicy mustard w/ no sugar)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup tablespoons fresh cilantro

Directions:

• In a blender, combine the tofu, lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce, capers, mustard and salt and pepper. 
• While blending, slowly add the olive oil and process until the mixture is smooth.
• Add cilantro and pulse a few times.