A bounteous life

 We ordered a basket from Bountiful Baskets last week, and my fridge is full to overflowing with glorious vegetables! Besides condiments, the only thing left that isn't a vegetable is my wheat germ and flax meal. It's amazing. I'm so excited to make dinners this week. If you have any sort of produce co-op near you, join in the fun! I'm so excited I discovered that we have one close by here.

 

Salad a day

My goal lately has been a salad a day. It has been remarkably fun. Sometimes I don't get to it until it's time for a bedtime snack, but if I'm going to eat before bed, what better option than some leafy greens? So I'm going to document it here. I may or may not remember photos, but I will try to be good about getting them. Didn't get a picture today, but here's what I ate:

1 cup kale
2 cups romaine
1/4 cup yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup black beans
1 Tbsp homemade date-sweetened vinaigrette (recipe HERE), I like mine thinner than what she does so I thin it out with water, plus it coats the greens more evenly that way and you get just as much flavor with fewer carbs from the dates.

$1000 Weight Loss Challenge

I know, two posts in as many days! I don't know what's come over me. Actually, I just had to get the word out about the fun contest I'm hosting with some other health coaches on my team. See the image below for some details, and if you are interested in getting on board, let me know!

Neglected but not forgotten...and unveiling of my new favorite

I am an inconsistent blogger. Kind of like how I'm inconsistent with my dish washing. But that's a story for another day. I wanted to share my family's absolute favorite veggie burger to date (and trust me, I've tried many a recipe!). I introduce the Crispy Quinoa Cake:

Super delish, not too complicated, I love it. I don't add feta, I do a flax "egg" (1 TB flax 3 TB water), and I use fresh greens chopped instead of wringing the goodness out of frozen spinach...it's so tasty and the whole family loves it, even baby girl.

Healthy snacking

 Off to a football party and worried about what you can eat without the guilt? Try this tasty alternative to a popular dip.


Asparagus Guacomole

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds asparagus, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced (opt)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

 Directions

1. Place the asparagus into a steamer insert and set into a pot over one inch of water; bring the water to a boil. Place a cover on the pot and steam the asparagus for 5 minutes. (or you can just boil it in a pot of water). Transfer the asparagus to the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Combine the asparagus puree with the lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno pepper, garlic, tomato, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce in a large bowl; gently stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Chill in refrigerator until completely cooled. 

Yum

My son ate veggies. Lots of them. Uncooked. It was AMAZING. Homemade pitas (THIS recipe but using whole-grain flour). Low fat homemade cucumber hummus (THIS recipe but using all-natural peanut butter because who has tahini?) and diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and lotso spinach. We've also done this using carb balance Mission whole-grain tortillas, but I think Noah liked the pita bread more.

Tried and true

This is how we're doing our veggie "burgers" these days. Like I said before, we don't really worry about buns, and now it's transformed to this lovely item. Black bean veggie burger (recipe found HERE), topped with tomato, salsa, and avocado. Yum! I think next time I will nestle it on a bed of spring greens.

We had this the other night with my improvised cauliflower side that was delish and healthy to boot. Eric said it tasted like chicken nuggets. I can see where he might get that. Here's a picture (that doesn't really do them justice) and the recipe!

1 head fresh cauliflower
3 Tbsp milled flax
9 Tbsp water
1/2 c corn meal
Seasoning salt to taste (I think I did about 1 Tbsp)
OR seasonings of choice

Preheat oven to 375. Mix flax and water in a shallow bowl and allow to sit while you cut up your cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. Mix corn meal and seasoning salt in a separate shallow bowl. Dip cauliflower in flax mixture, then dip in cornmeal mixture to coat. Place on cookie sheet (mine is non-stick, so I didn't grease it, but you might want to lightly grease the pan). Cook for 30 minutes. Enjoy!