eat fresh

We have always been healthy eaters in our home. Lately though, we have began to eat a more plant based diet and it has really made me excited to come up with new ways to to feed my family.

We bought a Vitamix (i'll do a whole other post on it later!) and we have been enjoying morning smoothies filled with fresh fruit, vegetables,wheat grass, flax and chia seeds. It really has put a whole new meaning to Starting your day off right! (best part: alomae loves them)

I am not a vegetarian. I do not like being locked into any label and I have always been a believer of everything in moderation. But after much thought, research, and conversations with friends I have chosen to have the majority (we will still enjoy eating at Portland's finest and at friends houses) of my food be plant based with the occasional organic, kindly raised meat.

Poppy's dairy allergy has made this a really easy transition since I have been cutting out dairy for awhile now!

My refrigerator is filled with the color of the rainbow right now and i love it. It really is fun to open it up and see so much fresh foods available. 

Some of my recent meals have been:

 toast



daves killer bread, lentils, avocado, sprouts, fresh ground pepper

wrap

sprouted tortilla, sundried tomato or black bean hummus, cucumber, carrot, lentils, sprouts

Stir Fry

purple kale, bok choy, carrots, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, red bell pepper, organic tofu, and udon noodles

doesn't it all look so yummy?

I know many people think that eating this was is not filling and totally boring.

I promise you it's not!

If you have any good recipes to share with me, please do!

and if you want to know more about eating this way watching the documentary

forks over knives

is a great place to start!

food

Lots of meat lately for us!

I cannot do dairy right now so I feel meat dishes and veggies tend to be my go to's...

bbq root beer pulled pork sandwich

I got the inspiration from the above recipe though I did not use the prepared pack of soup seasoning and instead did my own rub the night before of a tablespoon of the following

chili powder

garlic powder

onion powder

cumin

turned out so good! I pulled half the meat out and am making tacos with it tonight!

(inspired by my dear friend summer)

chili rubbed chicken with a mango salsa

I served with steamed broccoli and a rice pilaf/orzo pasta mix

a close up of the beautiful mango salsa! I am putting it on the pulled pork tacos tonight

(leftover meat from our sandwiches!)

French Dip Sandwich with roasted vegetables

no recipe needed- just get a good cut of roast beef and heat it up and place

on toasted sandwich rolls- my au juice dip is bought- maybe I'll try and make it next time!

oh and horseradish is a must!

Later this week is Peanut noodles suggested by Becca!

the elimination diet

thats what I am doing...

and it's not to lose weight either! (though I would not mind)

I am currently on an elimination diet trying to figure out what is not agreeing with my sweet Poppy!

I have thought for awhile that she may have a food allergy(s) and now I am going to get to the bottom of it (hopefully!!)

instead of eliminating one thing at a time, I am going hardcore and on the fast track.

Basically all I eat is chicken and veggies....(and my oatmeal for breakfast- hoping I don't have to give that up too!)

The other night I made the

Lemon Honey Crock Pot Chicken

I mentioned here

this is the photo of my actual chicken- pretty huh!

it was So So good

I went ahead and made a fun and fancy chicken because the recipe did not have usual allergens so hopefully we are safe!

I made it with roasted veggies (minus the cheese)

really really great (and good for you too!)

make it for your family soon!

it's such a pretty meal and tastes so yummy too

hopefully I find out what my girl doesn't like soon...

food

while on vacation I did not cook a ton but I did make a couple yummy things!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I had found a recipe for these- bought all the ingredients and then when I went to find it, the recipe was gone!!! So I used this one and improvised with what I had...

they turned out GREAT!

I loved the peanut butter in them

(use butter lettuce though- I used normal because the store was out and the cups did not hold up very well...)

baked creamy chicken taquitos

these were great too!

though I do not think they are suppose to be a meal :)

more an appetizer

Super flavorful and delicious though!

I made Beef Stew too but do not have a link to it because it's a recipe my friend Britta gave me!

(she made it for me right after Poppy was born and it's soooooo good!)

I will have to take some photos of it and share the recipe another time!

this week I am making thai coconut curry chicken again and lemon honey crock pot chicken!

try anything new and yummy lately that is worth me making??

food

here are some of the yummy things I made this past week...

Spelt Crust Pizza with Fennel, Prosciutto, and Apples

this was really yummy!

I simplified it with trader joes wheat dough though :)

I had never used fennel before and really loved the flavor (so do not skimp out on it!)

Also, I failed to notice at first that the ingredients were for 2 pizzas! So if you just want to make 1 cut it all in half!

Avocado grilled cheese

this is great too!

it's made with mozzarella cheese, avocado and pepperoni (which sounded so weird to me but truly gives it the perfect kick and is delicious!) I made it with daves killer bread and served it with salad! Yum!

Potato Leek Soup

this was super easy and very good!

great flavor

I like a thicker soup though so would probably throw in some veggies to

add some substance next time (even though it would not be traditional potato leek anymore!)

All of these dishes were wonderful and easy!

make them

food

I have been on an ongoing quest to broaden my

culinary skills and thanks to pinterest and all the delicious recipes

floating around... I have been making some really yummy things!

last night I made a variation of this:

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp over rice

I used Chicken instead and it was so very good!

I also used brown rice and threw in some coconut milk to make coconut rice!

Seriously YUM!

then we have

Chicken Bacon Avocado Quesadillas

I made these for Andy while he watched the Oregon game this past weekend and

he claims they were the best quesadillas he has ever had- perfect amount of everything!

sweet potato bites

if you are at any holiday party with me this year I am sure you will get to try these

because I will be making them a lot!

they were beyond good!

this week I have a bunch of yummy recipes to try and I will be sure to share the ones that are worth making.

food (for fall!)

Here is some things I have been making...

Penne Pasta with sun dried tomato sauce

it was Delicious!

I used a little less cheese and evaporated milk which was a good call!

next time I will be making it with Chicken or Shrimp!

crock pot mac & cheese

this was good the next day! I did not love it right out of the pot because I

did the bread crumbs on top and they seemed too dry and absorbed too much cheese!

I also added some herbs: basil, red pepper flakes, garlic powder to give it a little kick

I only saved a little container for left overs and when I tried them the next day all the flavors had settled and it tasted really good! So then I was bummed I did not save more!

totally worth making- you just need to play around a bit!

next time I'll make spicy mac!

(secret aardvark sauce is the trick to that!)

oh and it makes a ton!

Stir Fry

this is a favorite and a staple in my house.

What I put in mine:

Udon noodles

Olive oil

baby bok choy

green beans

broccoli

crushed garlic

extra firm tofu

sweet onion

sweet chili sauce

some other good things are:

mushrooms (which Andy loves)

baby corn

bell peppers

I simply saute all my veggies together (in olive oil) until tender

saute my tofu until brown

boil my noodles (udon only takes about 4 min!)

then I throw it all in a giant pan together (the veggie pan)

and the flavors mix!

sometimes I'll put some soy sauce in at this time as well...

then you put some sweet chili sauce on top and there you have it!

baked acorn squash!

this I make a lot in fall & winter with a side of rice pilaf

for two people all you need is 1 acorn squash

halve it a scoop out the inside

put on a baking sheet

in each center put a little bit of butter

a bit of brown sugar

squeeze in a bit of maple syrup and sprinkle with pepper

bake for 50 min-1 hr at 375-400

A wonderfully tasty Fall treat!

super filling too (don't let it deceive you!)

and

for tonight...

apple cinnamon butternut squash soup!

i'll let you know how it goes...

food!

I have been trying lots of new recipes lately

that I found on pinterest and tastespotting!

Some have been great!

some just okay...

but I thought I would share some in case you are looking for a new recipe to try!

first up: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken!

this was SO easy...

and really yummy too!

I made some corn bread to go with it which compliments BBQ so well

next we have: Jalepeno Popper Dip

this dip is to die for! I took it to a potluck and really should

have doubled or tripled the recipe!

so so good

then we have: Coconut Chicken

this had potential... I would serve it as an appetizer not a main dish!

and the coconut was hard to taste (even with the flakes & milk)

I would also use a plum sauce like they use with coconut shrimp

instead of the sweet chili sauce!

and: chicken & artichoke angel hair pasta

this needed more flavor I felt...

not sure what improvements I would make but it lacked something!

has good potential though!

and for dessert... Poppyseed Cake with cream cheese frosting!

yum yum yum yum yum!

took this to a friends house for dinner last night!

so very delicious!

the frosting was heavenly and the cake not too sweet

so it was the perfect balance...

make it!

hope something sounds good for you to make soon...

good food

I have been on a quest to try all new recipes

for the dinners I make

(luckily, with andy as a pastor, this really only means like 3 times a week!)

tonight i made a remix of

manicotti

instead of stuffing pasta shells, i made crepes and put the filling in them!

they turned out great & very yummy!

the before

and the ready to eat!

you can get the recipe

here