vegetarian pasta piselli

Ingredients

Sauce
olive oil
1 c frozen peas thawed
2 T tomato paste
1 small tomato diced
1/2 c hot water
1 T sugar
salt, pepper, to taste

Veggie Meatballs
1/2 c dry textured soy protein
1/8 c minced celery & carrots
spices: salt, pepper, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, basil, thyme, cumin, bay leaf
1 T ketchup
1 T mustard
3-4 T flax meal
T soy sauce
1/2 c boiling water
1/2 slice of whole grain bread (ground)
muffin tin (12 count)

6 oz dry whole grain penne pasta
Italian cheese blend

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush tin with oil. Mix ingredients for meatballs. Add more flax if necessary. The goal is to go from crumbles to what presents as clumped together meat. With a 1/4 cup scoop, form into balls and drop into muffin tin. This mix should form between 4-6 balls.

Bake covered with foil for 15 minutes. Brush tops with oil and bake uncovered for 15-20 additional minutes.

While meatballs are baking, prepare marinara sauce by mixing paste with hot water to form soup. Oil pot or skillet with 1 T of olive oil. Add diced tomato's and stir in soup. Reduce. Add meatballs and break into pieces. Before sauce is served, boil pasta. Rinse pasta in cold water and strain. Toss pasta with meat sauce. Garnish final dish with peas and cheese. Serve with Caesar salad.

vegetable stir fry

Fresh Vegetable Stir Fry:
red pepper, banana squash, broccoli, green beans, red onion, eggplant, minced garlic (fried in olive oil).
My special sweet 'n sour sauce. Served over whole grain brown rice with a vegetable egg roll.

Inspired by Queen Dee of Queen Dee Fitness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_udrpFtEHE

smoothie update

Raw-Vegan Smoothies

It is about three weeks since I returned to regularly including raw smoothies to my nutritional values. I started with one every other day for about two weeks.

Currently I am transitioning to everyday with greens, specifically Kale and Celery. By the end of the week I am hoping to have transitioned to one a day for breakfast/lunch and then one every other day for supper/dinner.

The ultimate goal is x2 a day. We’ll see. The objective is to increase my raw food intake. I am unsure if becoming a raw vegan is in my future. However if half of my meals are raw, I am in a good standing nutrition-wise.

Chocolate Berry Kale Smoothie

--*--

1 T Vega One Chocolate protein powder
1 T Hemp Pro
1 T oat meal
1 stalk of celery
1/2 c mixed berries

½ c frozen bananas

1 bunch of kale

Roasted Sweet Potato & Black-eyed Pea hash

Method

Wash peas in cold water and soak overnight or for 5-6 hours. Drain. Fill with water about 2 inches above pea level. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low. Cover. Allow to cook 5-6 hours or until tender. 

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. While Peas are cooking. Peel 1 large Sweet Potato. Slice and dice into 1/2 inch to 1 inch cubes. Rinse in cold water. Drain. Toss with 3 T of olive oil, black pepper, salt, 1-2 T brown sugar, 1-2 T white sugar. Slice and dice medium onion. Toss onions into potato mixture. Pour into a skillet (with covered lid). Cover. Heat for 15 minutes covered. Remove lid and allow to roast to tender. Toss every 10 minutes while roasting. Remove from oven. 

Toss 1/2 cup of sweet potatoes with 1/2 cup peas. Serve with eggs or alone! Enjoy!

peanut butter cookies

Ingredients 

1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups oat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp fine table salt)

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes on a lined cookie sheet (parchment or silpat).

vegetarian swedish meatballs

Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs over
Garlic Mashed Potatoes w/ Roasted Brussels Sprouts
& Light Life Vegetarian Bacon

Ingredients

for gravy:
9-12 vegetarian meatballs (see recipe)
1/4 c sour cream
salt, pepper, dry parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger, ground cloves (to desired taste)
1 T soy sauce
3 T flour
16 oz water (more/less, as necessary)
2 T butter or margarine
1 T vegetable oil
3 mushrooms sliced
1 small onion chopped
vegetable oil for saute

Process

Saute onions and mushrooms in a medium to large skillet. Remove and drain. Without wiping the skillet (save the yums!) add butter and 1 T vegetable oil. On high heat allow the skillet to lightly smoke but without burning while mixing 8 oz of water with flour. Stir into skillet with whisk and add more water as needed. Add soy sauce. Add sour cream. Season and taste to your desired flavor. Add sauteed mushrooms and onions. Stir. Add meatballs. Simmer for 10-15 minutes on low heat, covered.

Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. I preferred mash potatoes because I do not eat enough whole grain egg noodles to make it worth stocking. Three meatballs makes a serving. This recipe will make 3-4 servings, depending on the size of your meatballs.

to make meatless meatballs:

Ingredients

2 celery ribs diced

2 green onions diced

½ cup chopped carrots diced

¼ cup diced green pepper

8 oz. pkg. mushrooms optional

3 garlic cloves or 3 T of minced garlic

1 c quick oats or oat flour

3 T cornstarch

1-2 slices of ground wheat bread

2-3 cups of dry TSP

1-2 cups cooked brown rice

2 T Vegetable Broth (powder)

2-3 cups hot water

3 T soy sauce

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T ketchup

Salt, pepper, basil, etc. and whatever herbs you want to add.

Vegan eggs (or the equivalent in egg replacement) dry flax option

[ to make vegan egg, mix 3 T of ground flax to ¼ cup hot water]

Process

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dissolve bouillon in water set aside to cool. Dehydrate TSP in bouillon broth.  Chop veggies and sauté in veg. oil. Allow to cool. Combine all other ingredients until well incorporated. Brush lightly with olive or veg. oil. To form meatballs use a melon ball scoop or a tablespoon to form round balls into lightly oiled miniature cupcake tin. The mini tin makes 24 at a time. Brush each meatball with oil. Place in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Check to see if balls have solidified. Turn each and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Meatballs will be brown and firm. Oven temperatures vary so monitor your cooking time. Recipe will make 3-4 dozen.

Enjoy!

product review: shred emulsifier

I call it the budget friendly Vitamaster. It’s a product endorsed by Dr. Ian Smith and Kimberley Locke. For those that do not know him, he’s a health and wellness psychologist who was the featured nutritionist from the show Celebrity Fit Club. He’s an author and is often a guest on many shows: Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Rachel Ray, etc. If you do not know Kim, she is a former contestant of American Idol "Band of Gold" notoriety and of course Celebrity Fit Club.

Enough plug-ins, here we go!

After a week of struggle with UPS and the delivery, it finally arrived. Opening the box was an adventure. This bad boy is huge! The base is enormous. The contents include: owner’s manual, quick start guide to ‘slim down’, and a recipe book.

If it can make a smoothie, fine and delicate it’s a winner for me! Let’s go! It has a powerful motor housed in the base. It's as loud as a Mack Truck, but it's a beast. I love it so far. I will post more recipes as I continue to learn more about my latest product purchase.

Berry Blast Smoothie

8-10 oz almond milk

2 T Vega One All-in-One Nutrition Shake

2 T ground oats

½ c mixed berries (strawberries/blueberries)

½ c frozen banana

½ t vanilla extract

***

 Green Blast Smoothie

½ banana

½ pear

2 T ground oats
2 T Vega One All-in-One Nutrition Shake

1-2 celery stalks

¼ t ground cloves

8-10 oz almond milk

1 bunch of greens (kale or spinach)