Tag: weight loss

Green Goddess Dressing

I’m going to start enjoying my salads more, which leads me to find better-for-you dressings that aren’t full of oil… This is one of them. I feel like it can really go with anything, even make it a pasta topper, but so far I’ve only had it on my veggie bowl and that was bomb af. Shout out to Nora for the great recipe from Nora Cooks.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 c raw cashews
  • 3/4 c water
  • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 c cilantro, lightly packed
  • 1/2 c parsley, lightly packed
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Instructions:

  • You will need a high powered blender such as a Vitamix for best results. First, soak the cashews in very hot water for at least 5 minutes, longer if desired. I do this by boiling water in my tea kettle and pouring it over the cashews in a bowl or measuring cup.
  • Drain and rinse the soaked cashews, then add them to your blender, along with the water, lime juice, maple syrup and salt. Blend until very smooth.
  • Add the fresh herbs and onions to the blender and pulse or blend to combine. I prefer to pulse it so you can still see some tiny flakes of the herbs, but you could blend it until very smooth as well.
  • You can serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. It may thicken a bit in the refrigerator, so thin it with water if desired. Enjoy that sh*t.

Healthy, Weight-Loss Veggie Bowl w Oil-Free Goddess Dressing

Make some noise if you like filling your body with some delicious a** good food, that will keep you healthy & happy?! This recipe will give you all the energy you need, while also stuffing you with veggies. It’s oil-free, full of essential nutrients, and tastes damn good.

Shout out to Nora for the amazing goddess dressing, from Nora Cooks.

Ingredients:

  • 1 c quinoa, cooked according to package
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 c brussel sprouts, halved
  • dash of salt and pepper
  • dash of cumin
  • dash of paprika
  • dash of garlic powder
  • 1 large sweet potato, diced
  • dash of salt and pepper
  • 1 cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • dash of pepper
  • dash of curry powder
  • handful of spinach

    Goddess Dressing
  • 1 1/2 c raw cashews
  • 3/4 c water
  • 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 c cilantro, lightly packed
  • 1/2 c parsley, lightly packed
  • 2 green onions, chopped

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with tinfoil. When I cooked this I did brussel sprouts on one, cauliflower and sweet potato on the other.
  2. For the brussel sprouts, lay them out on the first baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, and top with salt and pepper, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder.
  3. The sweet potatoes will be laid out on half of the other baking sheet, drizzled with 1 tbsp olive oil, and topped with salt and pepper.
  4. Cauliflower will go on the other half of the second baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and sprinkle on curry powder.
  5. Place both baking sheets in the oven for 15 minutes, remove flipping everything with a spatula, and returning to the oven cook for another 15 minutes.
  6. While the veggies are roast you can make the Green Goddess dressing.

    Goddess Dressing
  7. You will need a high powered blender such as a Vitamix for best results. First, soak the cashews in very hot water for at least 5 minutes, longer if desired. I do this by boiling water in my tea kettle and pouring it over the cashews in a bowl or measuring cup.
  8. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews, then add them to your blender, along with the water, lime juice, maple syrup and salt. Blend until very smooth.
  9. Add the fresh herbs and onions to the blender and pulse or blend to combine. I prefer to pulse it so you can still see some tiny flakes of the herbs, but you could blend it until very smooth as well.
  10. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 5 days. It may thicken a bit in the refrigerator, so thin it with water if desired.
  11. Plate your spinach, top with quinoa, veggies, and dressing. Enjoy that sh*t.

Clean Eating: Rice & Beans w/ Avocado Lime Sauce

This b*tch is oil free, less than 10 ingredients, and has that protein and fiber combo going for it. I think simple dishes should be more commonly sought after… not spice wise but for the sake of clean eating and weight control, it seems simpler recipes go a long way.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown or white rice, cooked according to package
  • 1 14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • cilantro
  • 1/4 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

    Avocado Lime Sauce
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • extra water as needed

Instructions:

  1. Prepare avocado lime sauce, in a food processor combine avocado, lime, spices, and start with 1/4 c water, run the processor. See if it’s the consistency you want, if not add water as needed.
  2. Plate the rice, add beans, add spices and mix it all together. Then top with avocado lime sauce! Super easy.

Low Cost Vegan Meal Prep and Recipes

Although it takes extra time to get it all done, it’ll be out of the way for the next week, and helps you to eat healthy without the “I’m too tired to prep and cook anything” after work thoughts that lead to Chinese take-out.

Start with picking a day! For me, it’s Sunday, I’ll hit the gym and on my way home stop and get groceries with the plan of prepping already set in my mind when I get home… no excuses!

I’ll start with my typical grocery list (for one):

Veggies:

  • 1 head broccoli
  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 container spinach (organic)
  • 2 red onions
  • 1 lb bag of carrots
  • 1 lb bag of sweet potatoes
  • 3 avocados
  • 4 tomatoes on a vine

Fruit:

  • 1 bag of grapes
  • 3 bananas
  • 1 bag of frozen blueberries
  • 2 apples

Grains:

  • brown rice
  • whole wheat bread (low sugar)
  • cereal (8 grams of sugar or less)

Refrigerated/Cold:

  • almond milk (original/unsweetened)
  • 1 container hummus (I love red pepper hummus!!)
  • 1 container salsa

Canned:

  • 2 14oz can black beans
  • 2 14oz can chickpeas

Misc:

  • peanut butter

Total: $39.65

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*not pictured is the bread, soy milk, and cereal, I already had those!
** added cost would be $6.89

Meal Prep:

  1. Prepare 2 cups of dried rice according to package, store in a Tupperware.
  2. Cut the bell pepper into strips, store in a Ziploc or Tupperware.
  3. Rinse and peel half the bag of carrots, cut them into strips (cut in half long-ways, and cut those in half) and store in Z or T.
  4. Rinse half the bag of sweet potatoes, and dice into dime-sized pieces, store in a Z or T.
  5. Cut the broccoli into florets and store in Z or T.
  6. Cut the cauliflower into florets and store in Z or T.
  7. Rinse off grapes and put in a bowl.
  8. Rinse off apples (slice if you are going to eat one the next day)
  9. Grab two tomatoes and dice, store. Grab another two and cut into slices, store.
  10. Peanut sauce
  11. Chickpea mash

*onion is chopped right before cooking because the onion pulls in toxins after being cut open and isn’t as great compared to fresh!

You’re prepped!! Now you can just throw together easy meals when you get home, and there isn’t much prep needed.

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Some of my favorite recipes using these ingredients:

Banana, Blueberry, Spinach Smoothie

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Avocado Toast with Black Beans Mash

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Spiced Veggie and Rice Bowl

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Buddha Bowl

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Chickpea “Tuna” Sandwich

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Banana, Blueberry & Spinach Smoothie

This recipe is super simple and quick. It’s sooo good, all my friends love it so why not share the bomb-ness… hopefully you like peanut butter, if not you can omit it and it’ll still taste great, just a slightly different taste.

IMG_2771

Ingredients

  • 1 c blueberries, frozen
  • 1 c spinach
  • 1/2 c almond milk
  • 1 banana, frozen
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter

*if the blueberries and banana aren’t frozen, just add a half cup of ice

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 369
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14 g 22 %
Saturated Fat 2 g 10 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
Sodium 115 mg 5 %
Potassium 910 mg 26 %
Total Carbohydrate 56 g 19 %
Dietary Fiber 11 g 45 %
Sugars 31 g
Protein 12 g 24 %
Vitamin A 66 %
Vitamin C 55 %
Calcium 21 %
Iron 17 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do, after a hard day at the gym you can throw in some protein powder also!