minestrone soup with sesame parmesan (vegan, dairy free, soy free)
(This post contains affiliate links which helps fund this blog but at no cost to you.) With fall officially peeking around the corner and an early chill in the air – at least around here – I’m starting to crave warm, comforting foods. Especially big pots of them for plenty of leftovers which matches with our busier back-to-school schedule. Like this minestrone soup. I first came across this minestrone soup recipe in this cook book while I was trying to find more veggie-based recipes but before I went all in with a plant-based diet. It’s been a favorite of mine ever since. One of the things I love about it…
chocolate zucchini muffins (vegan, no added sugar, dairy free, soy free)
I know I’ve hit on a real winner of a recipe when my husband asks for me to make it again. He’s my gold standard. Not that my other recipes aren’t equally tasty, but rather, they might not be equally tasty to people who still love to eat meat, dairy and sugar. Like my husband. So I’m going to guess that these chocolate zucchini muffins will be safe to label as crowd-pleasers …for vegans and non-vegans, sugar addicts and sugar abstainers alike. I honestly wasn’t sure how these would turn out and it’s been awhile since I’ve attempted baked goods because most of my past efforts weren’t good enough…
O Canada cherry berry creamsicles (vegan, sugar free)
Every year I tell myself I will plan ahead and get my holiday-related posts up before the actual day. Ahem! But inevitably, I leave inspiration to strike at the last minute. (For those of you who don’t know me, I live in the US and am now a citizen but I was born in Canada.) I came across this idea on Pinterest, and had to try it while dreaming up my own recipe. I was so excited how these Cherry Berry Creamsicles turned out! They were easy to make and are packed with whole fruit and are dairy and sugar free. If you want a quick video tip that comes with making…
brown bag mondays: saving greens
I’ve lost track of the dollars I’ve wasted in throwing out fresh greens that ended up spoiling before I used them up. Frustrating especially when I need them for a recipe. So to save some green and some greens, here is today’s tip: Here’s how: Asparagus: store upright in a jar that has a little water in the bottom. Change the water every few days when it starts to get cloudy. Cilantro, Parsley: Can also be stored upright in a jar that has a little water in the bottom. Change the water every few days when it starts to get cloudy. You also can pesto the herbs with a little…
quinoa tabouli (vegan, gluten free, low carb, sugar free)
I love trying foods from other cultures which have a solid amount of veggies in their diets. Ever since I tried tabouli, a middle eastern salad that usually features bulgar, I was a fan. However, my enthusiasm for it waivered ever since I began cutting back on wheat products several years go. I also swapped out the oil for hummus for an interesting twist on the dressing. Thankfully, I discovered that quinoa is a perfect substitute and packs a superfood, plant protein punch into this refreshing salad. The key to great quinoa is thoroughly rinsing off the bitter saponin and using a ratio of water to quinoa that is just…
brown bag monday: morning motivation
Although I’m usually a morning person, there are some days when it’s hard to get out of bed at the crack of dawn. Or before it, during the winter months. The promise of a few extra winks of sleep or warm blankets on chilly mornings are awfully tempting to ignore. But for morning people, this often is our most productive time of day so lingering in bed can throw off our entire day. If this also is a struggle for you, here’s the tip to take with you this week: When I add things into my morning that I love and look forward to, it’s much more likely that I’ll…
anatomy of a power packed, gluten free breakfast
As May winds down, so does my anti-candida diet. Since May is Celiac Awareness Month and the anti-candida diet also is gluten free, I’m sharing the breakfast that has largely been a part of my mornings this past month. Have you ever had quinoa for breakfast instead of oatmeal? Love this protein-packed grain and often swapped it in over my usual gf standby of buckwheat and millet. I try to be mindful in eating a variety of foods that pack in the nutrients, so here’s the breakdown of what is included in this breakfast: Quinoa: is one of the few plants that is a complete protein and also has iron,…
brown bag monday: food focus tip
As I’ve made a major switch in my diet four years ago by choosing to eat a plant-based diet and then tweaking that to reduce my sugar intake a couple years later, I’ve come to appreciate just how closely food is tied to our emotions, memories and sense of community. Suddenly, many of our go-to foods are off the list and we may need to learn new cooking techniques or try new foods that are foreign to us. Depending on the dietary change, it can be a small or steep learning curve. And if you’re making these changes for health reasons, like discovering a gluten-intolerance or cancer or heart disease…
new series: brown bag mondays…tips you can take with you
New series: Brown Bag Mondays: I see Mondays as a fresh start, another opportunity to face the week head on and move forward living life. But as the week wears on, I recognize our ideals don’t always play out the way we think. My heart for this series to provide you with something you can use or chew on as you go about your hours and days in the week ahead. This is how my family calendar has looked for the first half of this month. Not that we had nothing to do…quite the opposite. But I hesitated to write down all the things that were filling it up,…
tutorial: soaking gluten-free grains
May is Celiac Awarness Month and today I’m sharing a video on one my favorite gluten-free breakfasts for on-the-road or when I’m following the anti-candida diet. As an encouragement to anyone who is making a significant change in their diet, this mix took me several weeks to enjoy the first time I did the anti-candida diet. Sometimes it takes our taste buds a little while to catch up with what we know is right for our bodies, so give it some time to adjust to new flavors or textures before you decide a certain food is just not for you. What are you favorite gluten-free breakfast options to take on…
