Why Yes I did put a butternut squash in my smoothie!

I tend to do juice cleanses two times a year. I was looking through various juices and saw one that had butternut squash in it. Having some cooked and left over butternut squash in my fridge at the moment and it being almost October, I immediately thought of PUMPKIN.. and so the following smoothie was born:

1/4 of a small to medium butternut squash. I would equate this to about 1 cup cooked (packed down to measure).
1 complete apple (peeled)
2 ounces of almond milk
1 cup water
two shakes of the cinnamon
I also added one serving of my unflavored protein/vegan nutrition powder. (I use naturade soy free vegan protein powder)
If you have pumpkin pie spice, I would suggest also adding a pinch of that to it.

Tasted like pumpkin pie = D
Feel free to add frozen bananas to give it a more frozen texture.

If you like pumpkin season as much as I do, then be prepared to say yum!

Quick Spicy Veggie Soup

Last night I made a new twist on an old favorite. I took a can of diced tomatoes, a can of rotel, and added assorted veggies (zucchini, bell peppers, potatoes, cilantro, and beans). Squeezed in half a lemon and bam 15 min later I had soup.

Saute potatoes and garlic for about 5 min.
add veggies and cans (do not drain).  - Cook 10 more minutes.

Now I like to serve this with a cheese quesadilla --one tortilla with 1/3 cup of cheese. (I use the Trader Joe's brown rice tortilla) and grill stove top. Each side grill for about 2-3mins.

Say Yum!

Banana Ice Cream

I am one of those, "I'll believe it when I see it," (or in this case taste it) type people. There seems to be a craze right now of banana ice cream. So I froze about 5 bananas (pre chopped), put them in my vitamix (do small amounts at a time because the banana gets stuck under the blades), scooped it out and mixed it with some caramel (Coldstone style), and bam - banana ice cream that totally hit the ice cream spot without a bunch of fat and calories. I will totally make this again. I will say that the bananas that I used were super soft/ripe. I would think you need them to be for a natural sweetness.

Mixed Veggies - Indian inspired

So I am a fan of the whatever is in the fridge type recipe. You come home tired, you open the fridge, and you see what veggies you have and magically turn that into a quick meal.

What I used: Turnips (I didnt have potatoes and this is a lower carb alternative anyways), carrots, swiss chard, and cauliflower.

Take garlic to taste, and sautee the turnips and carrots with olive oil (I used a jalepeno pepper olive oil. You can just add the pepper instead).

After they soften add the cauliflower, sautee about 2 min,
In a bowl mix - 1/4 tspn turmeric, 1 tspn cumin, 1 tspn coriander, 1/2 cup water
Then add to the sizzling veggies. Also add the swiss chard - mix, and steam about another 5 min.

Indian inspired, healthy, all veggie, satisfying mixed veggie meal. Say Yum!

Vegan Paella (kinda)

• 
  

I saw a vegetarian recipe for paella and decided to give it my own twist. It was wonderful! 

Take olive oil, green onions (I used two, including the green and white parts), 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, a tblspn of garlic, and one box of veggie broth. Bring to boil then add 2/3 a cup of lentils and 2/3 a cup of quinoa. At same time add 1 tsp of saffron threads. Cook for about 10 min then bring down to a simmer. Add broccoli (I used two large heads), and 1 bunch of kale. Cook until the lentils and quinoa are tender (about another 10-15 min). 

Say yum! 

Vegan Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

I tried about four different versions of this, which all tasted great, but fell apart. Finally I found an egg replacement that worked!

1 cup of peanut butter (I use the organic, no sugar - just peanuts stuff. Trader Joe's has a great one)
1/3 cup of raw agave nectar dark
1 tablespoon flax seed mill (I just used the scoop that comes with my flax seed protein powder).

Mix all ingredients together until there is no flax seed mill powder lumps and it all looks like wet peanut butter. Use a tablespoon measuring aid to scoop out 1 tablespoon cookies (should make about a dozen) onto a cookie sheet (I use olive oil to make them not stick), and then flatten the cookies with a fork and bake on 300 for about 10 minutes (I started with 5, then checked them at 8, then checked them and took them out at 10). Let them cool for about 20 minutes and you should be able to scoop them off and eat them like a regular cookie without them falling apart.

Tacos

So I am back to doing the grain free (although it is debatable that corn is a fruit, a veggie, or a grain), dairy free, vegan, sugar free diet (actual sugar not stuff like agave and honey). It is way easier than you would think. I do this for a few months a couple times a year. It makes me feel great and helps me lose a few after the holiday pounds.

Today for lunch: veggie tacos. These are some of the purest ingredients and some of the best tacos you'll find.

1 zucchini, 1/4 of a bell pepper, 1 handful of spinach, 2 carrots
to taste: garlic, pepper, olive oil, and jalapeno pepper (if you have a jalapeno flavored olive oil a drop of that will work best).
1/2 cup cooked of pinto beans.
3 corn tortillas (I used the Mission tortilla thins so I get a better calorie bang for my buck).

Saute the veggies, beans, and to-taste items for about 7 min.
Cook your tortillas separately. I get them almost burnt
Add a slice of avocado or guacamole to each taco ... and say yum!