squash it up

Helloooooo! So I've been eating a lot more squash lately, and I think it's because I've discovered how easy it is to prepare and how versatile it is! You could literally eat it with anything- sweet or salty! Personally, I've been getting a lot of butternut squash, but I'm always open to other types; sometimes it's depending on how expensive it is, any sales, etc. The other day, I cooked some butternut squash up and stuffed it with kale and wildrice, which was PHENOMENAL! Yummmmm! I also thought about putting zucchini, onions, and sesame seeds to this recipe the next time- I was just running kind of late, so I didn't have time to be too creative then. Here's how you do it!

Squash:
1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Cut butternut (or any kind) of squash in half
(length-wise), scoop out the seeds

3. spray a little oil on a cooking sheet and flip over the squash halves so that their inside parts are facing down

4. throw in the oven for 20 minutes (note: could take up to probably 35 minutes depending on how big it is! You know by sticking a knife into the top, and if it feels soft, it's done cooking!)

5. take the sheet out and fill the inner parts of the squash with wildrice and whatever you decide sounds good! It will turn out great!

I think I'm obsessed...

So, I've just been, you know, sitting around thinking about kale.... just another normal day... but today, I came upon this cool little chart/picture on pinterest, and HAD TO post it to my blog! Kale is amazing you guys, and it's super easy to get a good serving of it each day. Take a handful and put it in your morning smoothie, cut some up and throw it in your salad, make wraps with it.... anything will suffice. I swear, kale makes me feel like a superhero- just call me Super Kale Girl, my cape would be a giant kale leaf! Okay... well clearly I'm still a little tired ha ha, but just remember that kale is most certainly one of the best foods you could put in your body! Love your body and eat some kale :) Oh.. and happy Friday! Whoo-hoo!

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Try not to cry while you eat

Good (late) morning!!! I'm writing today to give you a brief overview of a food that most normal people don't eat pounds and pounds of; but many people add this food to different dishes and foods as an addition to taste. I'll give you one hint: I only know TWO people (or species) that eat this food by itself, and one of them is Shrek...
Okay, the special food that I'm referring to is ONIONS!!!

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Let me just peel away some of these hidden health benefits for you all to educate yourselves about:
Fun Facts:
1. Phytochemicals in onions increase the function of Vitamin C in one's body; which is needed for growth and repair of the body's cells!
2. They are actually known to not only reduce inflammation, but also fight against cancer! Onions are heroic!
3. They increase the High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterol, which many people call "good" cholesterol (another myth I might expand on in another posting), which also helps fight against heart disease!
4. Chromium in onions help regulate blood sugar, so that's pretty awesome too!

I know there are more affects onions have on one's body, other than making people cry while chopping, but here are a few that stood out to me I found from Healthy Living so you all can check out that website more if you're interested in learning more! Eat onions, guys! Eat them in salads, soups, casseroles, by the pound (I wouldn't), however you want! But make sure you're getting your onion fix ;)

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holy potato!

Hello to anyone who, by a miracle, is reading this after many months of straight up neglect from me. I'm sorry I have left you all hungry- but hopefully you were all able to cope by making up your own recipes and browsing the internet (using ideas from my blog, of course ;) heehee) Anyway, I feel as if with school and work- I've had barely a minute or two just to do anything off topic- but I made a promise to post tonight- even if it IS brief. Last night, I made this masterpiece and thought I'd share :) It was VERY simple to make, delicious, and healthy- duhhh! Here you go!

Potato Pizza

To make this all you need to do is bake a potato and mash it up as the pizza "crust", Then, I sauteed kale, garlic, onions, and red bell pepper with balsamic to go on top of a layer of tomatoes and a layer of wild rice. The end result: a delicious, whole food, healthy pizza :) top with whatever strikes your fancy- I just worked with what I had but if you have more ingredients and veggies available- pile them on- because "the more the better" definitely works with veggies!!!!! PS: if you eat it on a cute bear plate, I SWEAR it tastes even better ;)

Icecream Sunday

Hello lovelies! Happy Sunday! My family left me this weekend to go on a camping trip so naturally, what did I do? THREW A PARTY!!! The guest of honor was my friend, the green spoon; and the theme of the party was "Eating as much icecream as you can". So me, myself, and I decided to test out my blender and make RAW, sugarfree, nutritious icecream- because hey, why can't one's dessert be good for you too? All of the different flavors I made follows the same "How-To" so I shall explain how to make it and then give you guys a few of the recipes for the ones I tried out!




What you'll need (for the "milk" of the icecream)?

• frozen bananas!
• (maybe) almond or coconut milk (if your blender is having trouble blending)
• (optional) coconut sugar, agave syrup, or stevia

What to do?

1. Freeze two bananas (or more/less depending on how much you want to make- two will make enough icecream for two people)
2. After frozen, thaw the bananas out just for a little bit- for probably 5-8minutes 
3. add any other "flavor" ingredients to the blender with the partially-thawed bananas
4. blend! (here's where you add milk-substitute if your bananas are having trouble being blended)
5. pour (you'll have to scoop it too because it's thick) into a tupperware and put in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour (if you do it longer, it might be too frozen! If that's the case, take out and let it thaw for like 10 minutes)
6. eat!!

It's THAT simple! It's so easy and so FREAKING DELICIOUS!!! Okay, here are some different kinds of icecream I made (all of these recipes have the frozen bananas, so these include what I added to the blender after the bananas):

Peanut Butter Cup Icecream:

Ingredients:

• few spoonfuls of peanut butter
• a few scoops of raw cacao powder
• a possible tbsp or so of almond milk to help blend

 

 Pumpkin Pie Icecream:


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
•  1 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Mousse Icecream:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado (very ripe)
•  few spoonfuls of raw cacao powder
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  
  
  
  
  

Coconut-Mint Chip Icecream:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
• 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs
• 1 peppermint tea bag (I'll explain how to incorporate this down below)
• 1/3cup or so of coconut milk

 How to incorporate peppermint?
Pour 1/3 of coconut milk into a cup and heat in the microwave to right-before-boiling point. Steep the peppermint tea bag in it for five minutes (longer for extra strength), let it cool in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes and then add to the blender to blend with all of the other ingredients.

Well, host icecream parties for yourselves and try these out! It will probably be the first time you guys will actually feel GOOD about eating a  bowl (or multiple bowls) of icecream!!!! I hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as I did this weekend...maybe I'll make this a tradition, icecream on Sundays is always nice. Heck, icecream ANY DAY really! xoxo!

Year Twenty

Hello all my readers out there! So today marks the 20th anniversary of my birth! Whoo! I've had an incredible day so far! I woke up early to be showered with presents from my wonderful family (I got new vegan recipe books... good news for me AND you!!!), went on a run, made myself a delicious coconut cream smoothie, went on a long hike, and now I'm getting ready for dinner with the family! It's so trippy  not being a teenager... I mean, I know twenty sounds young to a lot of people- but it feels BIG to me, BIGGER than my sixteenth and eighteenth! Anyway, I made a list of twenty pieces of advice I know now that I would have given my younger self ;) Here they are:

1. eat clean (duhhhhh- my blog. Need I say more?) Don't try to "diet" or count your calories or worry about numbers on a scale... if you eat well and get enough nutrition, you'll be good to go!
2. make yourself happy. Don't let your happiness depend on someone who could change it at any moment. 
3. don't have expectations- disappointment is the worst feeling in the world and sometimes you do it to yourself just by expecting from certain people and occasions. 
4. meditate. 
5. drink lots and lots of tea- there's a remedy tea for anything!
6. smile, it might make someone's day
7. forgive. Forgiveness has always been the hardest thing to do, especially when someone has cut you so deep that it's made a scar. People change, situations change, learn to grow through forgiving those who did you wrong.
8. it isn't about LOOKING good, it's all about FEELING good... and NOBODY can judge you on the way you feel because they don't know :)
9. there's absolutely NO problem a spoonful (or a few) of peanut butter cannot fix. Try it out next time you're feeling sad... miracles will happen!
10. be inspired by the people you meet- listen to their stories and learn from them
11. rest! You run around like crazy, your body needs rest days!
12. wear sunscreen- the tan won't be worth cancer twenty years later 
13. if it hurts, don't do it! I learned this when getting back into running after my hip injury!
14. spend time with your family and friends- they will be there with you when times get tough no matter what
15. write, read, and listen/play music- all of these will lighten your mood by a tenfold
16. be confident! 
17. don't compare yourself to others- every person is different, everybody one of a kind
18. go on hikes more often- being surrounded by nature is restoring
19. it's okay to not know where you are going or what you are going to do- you can't plan out your entire life. Travel, meet new people, learn, grow, and be the person you want to be because nobody else can be that person but you!
20. love yourself! You are the best you that the universe has, don't ever ever forget that!

I hope that this inspires you all too; and that you are having as wonderful of a day as me!
xoxo

my mom must love me

Mondays are super long days for me... I get up at 5:30 to get dressed for my 6am strength training, go to class at 9am, get out of classes at 4:20pm, and sometimes go on a run after that. So when I get home I'm tired and starving! Well, last Monday, I walked into my house and the sudden most amazing smell (at the time) hit my senses full force! I hurried up putting my backpack and books in my room and ran to the kitchen to find myself falling in love with the beautiful arrangement in front of me! (Let me remind you- I was so hungry I probably could have eaten a small forest!) I bet you all want to know what this delicious dinner was.... Okay, okay, here's the recipe:

Stuffed Delicata Squash Central:

Ingredients (this will be enough for two or three people depending on how hungry you are):

• three cooked delicata squash (cut in half and seeds scooped out)
• greek olives (which I picked out of mine because I only will eat black olives- I'm difficult!)
• sliced sauteed onions and garlic
• two or three medium to large shredded carrots

To do:

Just cook up the squash to where it's soft throughout, and then scoop the fillings (the other ingredients) into them. Then put in the oven (at 350 degrees) for 10-20 minutes! Take them out and top them with sliced avocado! Yummy!!!!!
These are wonderful! I think I ate three!!!! Anyway, enjoy!

Bell Quinoa Bowl

Last year, my favorite thing to pack for a snack or part of my lunch was bell peppers! I'd sit in the cafeteria and whip out my bag of bell peppers (of any color but green) and start eating them like apples! Mmmmmmm- best thing EVER!... until I started stuffing them with deliciousness! Here was my fabulous lunch today! (amazing how something so small could be so filling!!!)

Bell Quinoa Bowl:

All you do is hollow out a bell pepper (color of choice, besides the green bleck!), and then fill it with quinoa and veggies of choice! What I did was mix up some quinoa, black beans, broccoli, spinach, and onions, and added a little salt and sesame oil. Then, I stuffed the concoction inside of my bell, topped it with some sesame seeds, and voila! This is actually a really good lunch idea for school because it won't take up a lot of precious purple camo lunch-box space, and it's super nutrient dense with all of the protein, iron, and calcium! I saw this picture actually, and it said one cup of black sesame seeds has an equivalent amount of calcium as I think it was seven glasses of cow milk! Take THAT all you non-believers of vegan nutrition! One of the most irritating things that people attack me about is protein and calcium! Well- they can look up the facts! Anyway, digressing a little there haha, enjoy this simple snack or lunch and vary it up whenever you want!!!!

Lunch break!

The college life of running to and from class, studying for hours upon hours in the library, and getting up early/going to bed late, is fighting my nutrition capabilities. I haven't given up yet and have been spending so much money and food!!! So, this week, I had planned on trying to make this new life a little cheaper and it's been tough. I've been packing a lot of salads and eating veggies with hummus (kept in my little sister's camo lunchbox with an ice pack!) Anyway, I've also tried out some different protein bars! Oh... and I've been drinking tea like NO OTHER! So that's why I haven't posted a lot of pictures of yummy food lately because they would all turn out to be pictures like this one-- which is totally unexciting! Tea, a bar, and studying for my Calc Midterm! Whoo-hoo!

save the sweets for me

Why hello world. I've a new creation for you guys that might sound a
little strange- but trust me- it's DELICIOUS! My little sister turned 18 years old yesterday and since I couldn't eat her non-vegan cake, I HAD TO have something sweet to indulge in. Next weekend will be my 20th birthday (EEK! No more teenage years for me ever again... kind of weird!) so I'll be sure to post recipes of the sweets I make for that because I am eating all of the sweets I can create on my birthday!!!! (Oh and ps: you can eat the brownie batter too- I won't tell!)
Anyway, here's the scoop:




Sweet Potato BROWNIES:

Ingredients:

• one cooked sweet potato
• 1tbsp cinnamon
• handful of raw cacao nibs (unsweetened)
• .5cup coconut sugar (my brownies weren't super duper sweet at all- they were fairly moderate on the sweet-tooth scale, so I would suggest using some agave or more coconut sugar for most people)
• .25cup olive oil (might need a little more)
• *optional: little bit of almond milk (explained reasoning in directions)
• 3 flax eggs (3 tbsp ground flax, 6 tbsp water)
• 1tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsweetened cacao powder
• .25 tbsp sea salt
• .5cup oat flour
• .5cup almond flour

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl
3. blend all of the "wet stuff" (potato, (agave if used), olive oil, flax eggs) in a food processor or blender *I added almond milk because this mix is a little too doughy and I needed a little more "wet" to mix in with the dry stuff! It will taste great :)
4. mix up the wet and dry stuff
5. add to a shallow pan and cook for 15-25 mins (check on them a few times!)

If you want something chocolaty, rich, and the PERFECT, gooey and thick consistency (due to the sweet potato), try these out! They are completely guilt-free and taste like magic- ahhhh I want more but I think I've a food baby in my tummy from eating too much as it is. I saved my batch in the fridge and then

heated them up in the microwave for a few seconds with peanut butter on top and it HITS THE SPOT! Okay.... I need to stop talking about these... I want to run to my kitchen again and then I'll for sure have a tummy ache from eating too much haha- you guys will just have to try making them for yourself!

 REMEMBER: Two hearts are better than one :) eat em both!

Whoooooo lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Okay, I don't know why I titled my post with a quote from the Spongebob Squarepants theme song since I really can't stand that show! It was always one of those shows that I didn't necessarily like....at all... but I tended to always watch it! What the heck? Anyway, I'm sincerely sorry I haven't posted all week- I'm having an affair with school! Okay, so I've been wanting to do a fun facts about pineapple post since it's a beautiful, bright, delicious, and extremely healthy fruit!

Pineapples are

• EXTREMELY high in Vitamin C, thus antioxidants
• high in Manganese, which maintains strong bones!!!!
• contains Bromelain (which has special enzymes)
• the enzymes in Bromelain aid as anti-inflammatories
• may help prevent vision problems with aging
• healthy gums- SAY CHEESE! 
• improves digestion

So I don't know about YOU guys, but if I lived in a pineapple under the sea, I'd definitely end up eating it.. and then I guess that would leave me no other option but to live under that rock with Patrick... eek! 

spread the joy

Dessert is SERVED!

Almond Joy Smoothie:

Ingredients:

• one frozen banana
• 1.5tbsp raw cacao powder
• handful of sliced almonds (or almond butter)
• .5cup almond milk
• .15cup coconut milk
• handful of shredded coconuts
• handful of raw cacao chunks

Directions:

1. blend everything together in a blender (note: save some sliced almonds, coconut shreds, and cacao chunks to sprinkle on top)
2. pour and gobble up!

This is one of my favorite smoothies thus far!  It's incredible... and healthy! Which means that you can make more and more and not feel guilty about late night snack cravings! I know, I know, I'm on the banana-nut-coconut-chocolate kick... but seriously guys, it's a fantastic combo that you need to enlighten your taste buds with me! They will sing to you in delight!!!! :)

tea treats!!!

I made something INCREDIBLE yesterday!!!! I combined my two favorite things together- tea, and baked treats! You guys will LOVE these! I'm going to give you the recipe I followed and modified- which is NOT gluten free; however, you can modify it how you want because I used coconut flour for mine and they turned out a very odd consistency. So I'll give you the actual recipe, and you can change whatever part of it you need to- trust me, they will TASTE amazing no matter what!!!!

Earl Grey Lavender Cupcakes:

                                                                                  Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 4 bags (or more depending on how much Earl Grey flavor you want) of Earl Grey
• .25cups canola oil 
• .5 cups plain or vanilla coconut milk yogurt
• .25cup agave 
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1.33 cup whole wheat flour (or coconut flour, oat flour, almond flour, whatever your heart desires-- warning: I'd look to up which would be the best substitute to make it a good consistency)
• .25 tsp baking soda
• .5 tsp baking powder
• .25 sea salt
• .-1.5 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steep all four Earl Grey Tea bags in a cup of hot almond milk (microwave- don't heat too much or almond milk could easily burn). Let the tea steep for ten minutes then remove bags and add liquid to a bowl. Mix all of the powders and dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all of the wet stuff/ liquids together the bowl with the Earl Grey- steeped almond milk! Then, mix all of the dry ingredients with the wet and add to oil-sprayed cupcake trays and put into the oven for around 20 minutes! 


Lavender-Poppy Seed Frosting:

As the cupcakes are cooking mix all these ingredients up in a food processor (or a blender works too!)

Ingredients:

• .25cup non-hydrogenated shortening
  
• .25 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (or another butter substitute)
• .5 cup agave
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• .25 tsp lavender extract ( I didn't have any so I made super-strength lavender tea barely using any hot water with two tea bags-- may throw off consistency so might have to adjust to make sure it's not too "watery")
• 1-3tsp lavender buds
• 1/8cup coconut milk creamer (or coconut milk, or in my case, coconut milk yogurt)
• 1-3tsp poppyseeds

Remove the cupcakes from the oven when they are all cooked and making your mouth water! When cool, frost them and sprinkle a few poppyseeds on top of each one and voila, all finished and ready to dig in!!!