Tag: clean eating

Try This—Spiced Chickpeas With Harissa and Tamarind

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I’ve found my new favorite condiment. Can we talk about harissa?! If you haven’t heard of it yet, just know that this spicy, North African sauce is totally helping me kick my sriracha habit.

I can literally smear sriracha on just about anything. From halloumi sandwiches to vegetarian BLTs, to spicy honey glazed cauliflower, sriracha has always been my secret weapon. Now harissa is quickly becoming my go-to ingredient for everything. And when I say everything, I do mean errrrrthing. If you’re new to the harissa game, pick up a jar of this versatile deliciousness immediately. And for those of us that have gone beyond the classic harissa and couscous combo, this spiced chickpea recipe from One Green Planet does not disappoint! You must try this!

Spiced Chickpeas With Harissa and Tamarind

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 4 teaspoons harissa paste
  • 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, optional
  • 2-3 teaspoons tamarind paste
  • 2-2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 15-oz canned chickpeas, drained)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Salt to taste

Preparation

  1. Heat olive oil in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Add mustard seeds when oil is hot, stir and cook for about a minute until seeds start popping.
  3. Add cumin, onions and tomato paste and cook for a minute or two until onions start to soften.
  4. Add garlic, harissa, and cook for another minute or so.
  5. Stir in tamarind, and paprika, Aleppo pepper and chickpeas and water, mix well to coat.
  6. Lower heat and cook for three to five minutes or until chickpeas are warmed through.
  7. Season with salt to taste.

The Meal Planning App That Will Replace Your Takeout Addiction

So you’re not hallucinating and this certainly isn’t an April Fool’s joke. I’m officially over the worst of my seasonal Winter blues, out of hibernation, and super excited to share my latest obsession with you! Let’s just get right to it, shall we?! Mealime is changing the game for me right now, and I just have to let you in on the secret.

I’m always on the hunt for the perfect solution for my meal planning woes. To be honest, I’d rather have a personal chef that just magically knows what I want to eat, does all the grocery shopping, organizes my pantry and fridge, prepares my dinner, packs the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch (so I’m wasting virtually no food), tells me the nutritional facts of every meal, and of course does all of this for free.

Until now, the closest I’ve come to this dream is my short-lived love of meal kit services. Companies like Blue Apron take most of the guess work out of meal planning. Fresh ingredients, portioned out, and delivered directly to your door, all with easy to follow recipes. What’s not to love? The price, y’all. The price. There’s no denying that meal kits are a great solution for busy, indecisive folks like myself, but the price makes them totally unjustifiable for my wallet… and I still have to cook?!  Sigh. *immediately opens Seamless app to get takeout* There’s gotta be a better way, right?

Meal Planning Made Simple

Enter Mealime! Mealime is a free (yes, free) meal planning app that makes meal planning easy, efficient, and dare I say, fun. All you have to do is:

  • create a profile
  • specify any dietary restrictions/food allergies (vegetarian or nah?, peanuts or life?)
  • scratch off ingredients you don’t like (I’m looking at you, eggplant)
  • choose some meals from an automatically generated list of delicious meals
  • import that grocery list to Instacart or Amazon Fresh.

Of course you still have to cook, but meal planning seriously does not get any easier. Ready to change your life? Download it for android or ios. And for the commitment-phobic, test out the entire Mealime process with this recipe (my new favorite)… And for the gravely commitment-phobic, just check out the pics below!

You're not locked into a set number of meals — you can choose as many or as few as you want.

 

Refuel, Repair, Rehydrate: Post-Workout Eats For Each Exercise

Confession: I didn’t really like working out much… that is until I got my hands on some sports bras that actually got the twins under control. Now I’m really digging my workouts… that is until I’m post-workout hangry and reaching for the most convenient, yet least satisfying crap I can find. I’ll spare you the long backstory and just get to the plant-based protein of the matter. You gotta eat after you workout. More than that, you gotta eat the right stuff in order to refuel, repair, and rehydrate.

Refuel

  • Refuel your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores to avoid muscle tissue breakdown and low energy.
  • Lack of glucose to fuel the brain can lead to decreased alertness and concentration, and low mood.
  • Aim for high quality carbohydrates sources (think wholegrain breads and cereals).

Repair

  • Repair damaged muscles with protein.
  • Consuming protein post-workout will provide amino acids for the building and repair of muscle tissue. This will help you to recover more quickly.
  • Aim for lean protein sources (think eggs, nuts, legumes, tofu and dairy).

Rehydrate

Post-Workout Foods

Here’s a breakdown of what you should be eating after your workout according to your preferred exercise.

Cardio

Cardio includes running, spin class, and any endurance training. It’s important to replenish your carbohydrate stores after any cardio routine. Think foods that are high in quality carbs, protein, and healthy fats.

  • Whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana slices
  • a banana and a handful of nuts
  • 1-2 slices of whole grain toast with either ricotta and fruit or cottage cheese and tomato (try this delicious recipe)

Yoga and Pilates

It’s important to repair tired muscles after any yoga or pilates routine. Protein and low GI carbs are key here. Think foods like tofu, hard boiled eggs, roasted vegetables, or trail mix.

  • Yogurt and muesli that contains fruit and nuts
  • chopped veggies and hummus
  • two hard boiled eggs with a slice of multigrain toast

Resistance, Strength Training, Crossfit

These are the most intense workouts of the bunch. Nutrient dense foods are essential. Think foods that are high in protein and other nutrients, but low in fat (especially if muscle gain is your goal). Smoothies are an excellent choice, but if you need something more think eggs, oats, yogurt, and pineapple. Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that may help reduce inflammation brought on by exercise.

  • omelet with red or green bell peppers and spinach
  • fruit salad (remember to include pineapple!)
  • overnight oats- simply combine oats, yogurt or non dairy milk, mashed banana and chia seeds and place in the fridge overnight. It’ll be ready for tomorrow’s workout

Source: HuffPost

Try This—Vegetarian Pancit (Filipino Rice Noodles)

“when the waitress asked if I wanted my pizza cut into four or eight slices, I said, four. I don’t think I can eat eight.” —Yogi Berra

Now that’s the kind of portion control I can get on board with, especially when it comes to pizza or rice noodles. I went to the Asian supermarket on Saturday and picked up 12 bundles of rice noodles. Rice noodles are a pantry staple in my house. I literally can eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Super quick to prepare and the possibilities are endless. I’ve been ODing on Pancit lately, and I just have to share my favorite recipe with you. Pancit (pronounced PUN-SIT) is a Filipino dish that I’ve loved since I was in high school.

When my older sister was at Cornell University, her dorm mate was Filipina and she used to cook the most amazing food. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old, so her dorm mate made all of these traditional Filipino dishes for me with no meat. Did I mention she was super sweet?! Anyway, my absolute favorite has always been Pancit, but up until recently, I’d never tried to make it on my own. Then I found this recipe courtesy of the Veggie Chick, and it’s about as close as you can get to the Pancit I remember. You must try this!!!

Vegetarian Pancit (Filipino Rice Noodles)

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces rice noodles
  • 3 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
  • 1 package (15 ounce) extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch pieces and pressed with paper towel to remove all moisture
  • 1 white onion, peeled and diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 large carrots, grated (about 1 cup)
  • 3-4 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1/2 head)
  • 2 cups baby broccoli florets
  • 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon dried ground ginger)
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube
  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt

Directions

  1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl; cover with warm water and let sit. When the noodles are soft, after about 20 minutes, drain and set noodles aside.
  2. Heat 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and sauté until browned, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the tofu from the wok. Reduce heat to medium.
  3. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the wok. Sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the carrots, cabbage and broccoli. Stir fry until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the tamari, ginger, veggie bouillon cube, vegetable broth and sea salt. Stir until the bouillon cube is dissolved. Add the cooked tofu, rice noodles and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Serves 8. Best served immediately. Stays fresh in the fridge for 1 day.

Recipe: the Veggie Chick for more plant-based cooking inspiration go here.

Food Trends to Watch For in 2018

Happy New Year, everyone!!! Fact: The closest I came to dieting in 2017 was when I deleted some of the food photos from my phone gallery. I’ll admit, when I’m talking about dieting here, I’m almost never talking about weight loss. What I am talking about is the way diet totally effects how we feel.  I’m here to tell you that skinny vegetarians can feel like crap too. Take it from me. I’m also here to tell you that big girls can be amazingly fit. Case in point: this fierce yogi. So, with less of an emphasis on weight, nutrition and health take center stage. This year, we can expect to see some super nutritious additions to last year’s growing list of healthy food trends. I don’t know about you, but I’m totally ready! Seriously, after a steady diet of cake, sweet, sugar, pastry, and cocktail since Halloween, I’m determined to start this new year off right. Let’s take a look!

2018 Food Trends

Whole Foods Predicts…

Whole Foods just released their annual report on food trends, giving us a clue as to what we’ll be seeing a lot of this year. Plant based products, floral flavors, mushrooms (anyone ready for a mushroom coffee?!), airy snacks like jicama crisps, root to stem recipes (zero food waste, hello!), and both Middle Eastern (mmm, Halloumi Burgers) and Filipino cuisine are all set to have a huge impact on 2018.

the dairy aisle gets some help from Sweden

Last year, while I was in Stockholm, I had one of the best lattes ever, y’all. I went to this coffee shop called Snickarbacken7 in the Norrmalm neighborhood. Anybody that knows me knows that me ordering a latte is always a production. Vanilla soy latte, one pump of vanilla and light on the foam. I’m trying to buy coffee, not air bubbles and simple syrup. Does that make me picky? Anyway, Snickarbacken7 didn’t have any soy milk, and I was so over almond milk and coconut milk lattes the second I tried them. The barista offered me an oat milk latte instead. YOOOOOOO!!! Oat milk is absolutely amazing. Creamy, subtly sweet, and easily my new favorite dairy alternative milk. Look for the Swedish company Oatly to hit US shelves in February.

Move over, matcha, Make Room for Moringa.

While matcha has made it’s rounds in everything from lattes to must-have beauty products over the last few years and while it doesn’t show signs of stopping, get ready to see a lot more moringa. Moringa is made from the leaves of the moringa tree, a plant native to Southeast Asia and parts of Africa. The leaves are dried and ground into a powder that has a deliciously earthy flavor, not so different from matcha, but with comparable anti-inflammatory properties to turmeric. This year, you’ll see moringa in smoothies, nourishment bowls, health bars, and even lattes. Moringa powder is readily available on amazon making it easy for a home cook to experiment with it’s unique flavor.

The next big thing after Instant Pot

In 2017, our Instagram feeds were flooded with delicious Instant Pot creations. That versatile little kitchen appliance combined the capabilities of a pressure cooker, steamer, slow cooker, and skillet into one convenient device. The Instant Pot gave us healthy meals in a fraction of the time, using a fraction of the energy. What it didn’t give us was fried food. Um. We need fried food. Enter the air fryer. What sets fried food apart is that familiar crunchy texture we all love. What makes it unhealthy is the loads of oil we have to use to get that tasty crunch. The air fryer remedies all of that by evenly circulating air around your temptation of choice, giving you that fried food comfort without all the guilt. These gadgets aren’t exactly new, but more and more companies are joining the trend and offering more affordable options. If you wanna go for broke because fried food is your happy place, you can opt for the pricier, latest version of the Phillips Air Fryer. A more frugal version is yours for under $100 here.

I’m so excited for this year! You guys! 2018! Can you believe it?