What’s in my belly!

I don’t have a recipe for you today (oops, I do have a recipe for you, just kidding!!)   but I DO have some good eats as of lately!!

There has been some pizza – which has a hummus base, and VEGGIES galore!

I even sprinkled some daiya cheese on top! (I’m totally not used to the cheese flavor on pizza, it was kind of weird)

*drools*

And then there was some OVER NIGHT OATS – I finally jumped on the band wagon.

drizzled with maple syrup and cashew butter!

IT tasted like a runny cookie… in a good way!!

 

Just for the record, I’ve TOTALLY been keeping up with the 31 at 31 post!

LOTS of fresh juice and green smoothies have been drank!

And I’ve been eating TONS of salad, because I am currently obsessed with a new homemade salad dressing.

At the bottom of my salad bowl (without the salad in it) I mix together;

REALY YUMMY SALAD DRESSING

Either 1 tsp tahini or cashew butter

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar or balsamic

1 tsp lemon juice

Splash of soya sauce

A wee bit of either fresh garlic or garlic powder

Italian Spices about a tsp!!!

MIX it all together and then put all the salad ingredients on top… Mix until all coated!

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Oh and what else?

How cute is my puppy?!!?

He doesn’t like having his picture taken at all…

To bad I couldn’t get him to “smize” aka – smile with his eyes!

 

Anywhoo… Those are the highlights of what’s on my plate lately!! 

What has been the best thing you’ve been eating lately?

Foooooooooodie!

So even though I haven’t been blogging up a storm… I have been cooking!!

All this time in school has made me realize something.   Cooking is my Zen!! 

Here are some things I’ve been whipping up in the kitchen lately… No recipes, just winging it!

 

*Que Jack Johnson*   First there were some banana pancakes whipped up for a yummy breaky!

So awesome!!

Then there was the homemade Mexican feast!!  

Mexican beans, rice, pico de gallo, fresh corn tortillas!! YUM!!

I wrote down the recipe for this stuff, so will post soon!!

This was a yummy meal!! Dave didn’t even complain about the lack of meat!

 

With our adventures to Salsa and Salsa’s in Mazatlan, I’ve been inspired and I made some fresh red salsa!   (full recap of this excursion coming soon!)

And then there was the… Pho Noodle Soup..

This was a meal inspired by a friend at school.  She cooks up the broth, and cuts up the veggies on the weekend, to be ready for the week!! Brilliant.  This one included a broth full of lemongrass & red curry!  SO GOOD and a new staple in our kitchen, especially for those rushed nights!

And yet another bowl of my “mac and cheese” the sauce includes; red pepper, carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, nooch, cashews, garlic, apple cider vinegar and salt!!

And of course my favourite meal of the week (that I have eaten about 5x since)

Sushi Salad!  I AM SO IN LOVE!!!!! It’s fantastic for school lunches too!! YUM!

Well there is my roundup!! Hope you enjoyed it!

I can’t wait for school to be all over so I can cook up a storm ALL weekend long, every weekend!!  haha

I literally have over 200 recipes I can’t wait to test out and about 5 cookbooks I haven’t even peaked in!! 

Sushi Salad!

Oh wow…

I just had one of the yummiest lunches ever!  I literally just put down my chopstick because I HAD to tell you about it!!

I accidently burned the sushi rice, so it was a wee bit too crunchy to make real sushi, so I adapted it and make a SUSHI SALAD!!

Ohhhhhhhh my gosh…. it was sooo good!!

SUSHI SALAD

Sushi rice

Cucumbers

Avocado

Red Peppers

Sliced up RAW nori

Sesame Seeds

For the sauce – I used some Japanese Mayo, Sirrachi and Soya Sauce

The possibilities for this are endless… (and delicious!)

 

I hope you give it a try!!

Dairy Free Goodies (Guest Post)!

Well guys, 

It’s official… I’m a married women!!   Now I am writing this post 2 weeks early, so I have no details for you (yet)!!  Our wedding was yesterday, and I’m sure it was perfect!! 

Thanks to Christin for this guest post!! I love her blog and she just seems like such an awesome positive person!!   (Plus she has GORGEOUs tattoos!)   This is a great post all about dairy free alternatives!!  Enjoy!

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Hello lovely DFB readers!  I'm Christin from Purple Bird Blog

I'm thrilled to be guest posting for Jessica!  I am so happy I discovered her blog as I have a sensitivity to cow's milk and try to remain mostly dairy-free (with some goat cheese on occasion), and I am especially trying to stay true to this for the new year as I vow to honour my body better.  I would like to talk about a few of my favorite dairy substitutes.

Earth Balance is a vegan margarine that is an excellent replacement for butter.  I use it on toast, in baking... really in any situation that calls for butter and have always been pleased with the results.  The flavor really is very rich and buttery.  I did all of my holiday baking with Earth Balance and everyone loved all my cookies! 

Almond Breeze is by far my favourite non-dairy milk out there.  I love all three of the unsweetened varieties (plain, vanilla, and chocolate) and use them for anything and everything that calls for milk, from recipes to a big bowl of cereal.  The flavour and creaminess just can't be beat!

The So Delicious coconut milk line of products is just outstanding.  I use the kefir in smoothies and overnight oats, and I use the creamer in my coffee or to add a thick creamy texture to rice, soups, etc.  They have a ridiculously tasty line of ice creams as well, and their yogurt is outstanding. I can't say enough good things about these awesome products.

Nutritional yeast, besides being a nutritional powerhouse, imparts a lovely cheesy flavor that I can't get enough of.  I use it in sauces, to make kale chips, and sprinkle it on pretty much anything.  A favorite snack of mine is nutritional yeast and peanut butter on a sweet potato!  Another cheese substitute I love but don't have a picture for is the Daiya line of shredded cheeze.  It actually MELTS, which is a huge deal to me sometimes when I'm really craving cheesy flavor AND texture.
Being dairy-free is so much easier with all these wonderful products on the market! 
I don't feel deprived when I can eat mashed potatoes made with Earth Balance and Almond Breeze,

lasagna made with Daiya cheese,

or overnight oats made with Almond Breeze and So Delicious kefir.

And a dairy-free post wouldn't be complete without mentioning my favorite pizza, Amy's no-cheese pizza (which I sometimes eat with added goat cheese, but lately I've just been loving it the way it is!). 

Thanks for letting me ramble, and please feel free to check out the shenanigans on my blog including my adventures in cooking, being a massage therapy student (while working full-time as a medical transcriptionist!), and showcasing plenty of ridiculous photos of my two dog fur-children! 

Have a great day, everyone!
*********************************************************************************************************************Christin
http://purplebirdblog.wordpress.com/

Some crazy blogger recipes!

Hey guys!!

So I don’t know how many blogs you read a day, but my average is around 45ish, while I don’t FULLY read all of them, I do scope out recipes and I’ve found some good sounding ones for you guys!!

CINNAMON SUGAR BACON – not that I am a big bacon eater, but hey it sounds interesting!?

Creamy (dairy free) Avocado Pasta – this one sounds amazing!  What could be better than avocado and pasta?

This doesn’t have so many recipes – but a whole bunch of vegan food from a backpacking trip to Egypt! Very interesting stuff!

I’m not just picking one recipe off this blog because there are too many amazing ones,  come check out my new favorite recipe inspiration blog!

Chocolate Swirl Raw Vegan Cheesecake Bars – HOLY YUM! Perfect for Valentines Day! 

Roasted Parsnip Soup (CREAMY with no dairy) with Mushrooms – the picture of this soup makes me drool!

Spicy Vietnamese Lemongrass Tofu – YES PLEASE! This sounds like a fantastic recipe!!

 

And lastly, for a little pick me up today… watch this video, it will be your highlight! 

Thank you to one of my classmates for posting!!

How many blogs do you read every day?!

Do you think you’ll test out any of these recipes?

Mushroom & Kale Quinoa Risotto

Ok ok,

I’ve been promising this recipe for awhile!!  It’s SO tasty!! Enjoy

Ingredients  *everything is approximate I just threw everything together.

3/4 cup dry quinoa (rinsed)

1 – 2 cups sliced mushrooms (I just used white ones)

as much kale as you like

1/4 cup walnuts – chopped

1/4 white onion chopped

1 tsp dried savoury or herb of choice

2+ cups broth (I used chicken)

 

Sauté onions and mushrooms until onions are translucent.

Add in quinoa and 1/2 cup broth

Simmer on medium until all broth is sucked up (yes that’s a technical term)

Add another 1/2 cup of broth stirring until broth is gone again… continue in 1/2 cup

Add in kale, walnuts and savoury  - stir until combined and kale is slightly steamed

Add in salt and pepper to taste!

Serve warm or also is great as a cold left over!

So creamy and delicious!!

This was such a fantastic meal!!! Hearty and filling!!

 

I think next time I might use these…

And use the water from soaking them as the broth!! (YUM! and so nutritious!)

 

As I have mentioned a few times, this recipe came as an inspiration from someone elses blog, so if this was yours, please let me know, so I can give you kudos!!

 

Have a great day today – are you up to anything fun??

I’m doing homework, a few wedding things and then hopefully ZUMBA!

Easy Burrito/Fajitas!

Are you guys excited about the game today? 

I have NEVER EVER been a hockey fan, or an Olympics fan (*gasp) but I am SO excited about the game!!  

I know Canada will kick butt (sorry to all my US readers!)… 

Ok! Super easy dinner to make – We couldn’t decide between burritos or fajitas – so we decided to mix them together… 

We could call them Farritos? Burjitas?  haha.. never mind….

Cook your ground meat of choice (I choose ground turkey)

Add a package of Fajita mix – this is my new favorite (it’s cheaper than the one filled with crappy chemicals)

Follow the directions on the back – usually add some water into the mix and then add the peppers!

While it’s cooking, take your fav tortillas or make your own with this great recipe!


These are our favorite,  most tortillas have milk products in them, these one’s don’t!! YAY  Plus they are sprouted, so they are that much better for you!


Take out all the tortillas (this recipe makes 8 big burritos) and lay them on the counter.

Then take some re-fried beans (or squish up a can of beans)

Don’t buy this one – it’s full of salt and other stuff… it tasted ok, but I prefer the just beans ones!

Cover a side of the tortillas with beans

Then cover with the turkey/peppers mixture

Dave likes his with salsa on the inside, I like to dip mine!

 

Roll and bake in a 350 degree oven until tortilla gets crispy!

I like mine with some homemade…

A delicious avocado mashed with green onions, ground coriander, lime juice (and should have been cilantro, but mine was done)!

This meal is fabulous, quick and makes tons of leftovers – 4 meals for me and 2 for Dave!  They freeze fabulously as well!

Lots of great variations too – black beans instead of refried – zucchini + onions in with the mix.

Give them a try and let me know what you think!!
 
Also on the plate this weekend, I was SUPER inspired by Jesse at Vegan Minded… she was whipping up some grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches!  YUM!

I mashed 1/2 a banana on bread with chocolate dreams peanut butter!  Spread both sides with Earth Balance and VOLIA… comfort food!

We also cooked up some potatoes, more roasted broccoli and some yummy local lamb!

I love lamb… but lamb does not love me…
We are officially not friends… I had 2 of the above pieces and had a sick stomach for 2 days… no more lamb for this girly!  Or red meat for that matter… I just can’t “stomach” it!!

Also lots and lots of juice!
This one was my zing my face off juice – WAY to much ginger… but I was a trouper and drank it down anyways… Bye bye cold that is trying to kick my butt!

Zing my face off juice – 1/2 grapefruit, WAY to much ginger, 2 large kale leaves, 1 orange, 1 carrot and an apple!

Anywhoo… I am off to go make some juice for the hockey game… and see if I can find Dave’s EH! Lululemon shirt to be a trouper today… hope you don’t mind honey!!

GO CANADA GO!!!!!!!!!

6 Lies and a Truth?

Hey guys!!  Happy Thursday!! It’s almost the weekend… Wiiiiiiii

Jolene @ Everyday Foodie – passed this blog award onto me, it’s super cute and fun!!

To accept this award I have to come up with 6 outrageous LIES about myself, and 1 TRUTH, and you need to guess what the truth is.  - awwwwwwh this is so hard!
Here goes:
1) I was born with bright red hair
2) I can touch my tongue to my nose
3) I went to a private school and our uniforms were bright green.
4) I have been to Disneyland 2 times
5) I was a wrestler in middle school
6) I love cooked carrots
7) I was born in Alberta

ONLY one is true. Which is it?

I would like to pass this award on to: ALL OF YOU!!  I think this is really fun and everyone should get a chance to do it!!


Last night’s dinner was SO good!

I have been seeing tons of roasted broccoli around blog land lately, and now I know why!  It’s sooo good! 

I roasted it in the oven at 350 for about 20 mins, with the asparagus.   I sprinkled it with olive oil and fresh garlic…  it turned out amazing!

I also marinated the pork in fresh juice (orange/grapefruit), soya sauce, hosin sauce and garlic- then D BBQed it!!

Rice was boring – Brown basmati… steamed! 

Lunch yesterday was also a huge hit!  I was super hungry after my 2.5km small hilly run – YAY!!! Getting back to it.  And I did about 25 mins of Arms and this fun Zumba video

I now understand why the world is so obsessed with Zumba, it’s so fun!! I got some of the DVD’s and did about 45 mins today, I felt silly doing it, but had lots of fun!


Oh right, we were talking about lunch – talk about sidetracked!

a nice big salad with kale!  I’ve never put kale in a salad but it’s really fabulous!  I can’t wait to grow it in my garden this year!

and I had some leftovers – we went for Thai food the other night, but I got the regular old same thing, so figured you didn’t want to see pictures!

And some 3 Korn Bread – if you haven’t tried this stuff, it’s awesome – super jam packed full of grains and seeds – we just get it in the bakery isle, it’s usually fresh!

Don’t forget to vote for what you think is my truth from above!

Must run – I am reading a really interesting chapter in my Psychology book about eating disorders and motivation!  I have exam #2 next Thursday, and have lots of reading left!!
xo Jess