Plant Strong Pasta * Vegan and Gluten Free

Hello Loves!

Who doesn't Love Pasta? I know I do, there was a time in my life that I wanted to marry an Italian man so that I could eat all the Italian food in the world  (true Story). But since it's not that waistline friendly I gave up on that dream. This alternative to Pasta is delicious and Filling. Seriously I was stuffed

You will need:
1 Zucchini
1/2 Cup Mixed Vegetables
1/2 Tomato
1 tsp Basil Paste
1 tsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4-6 Grilled Asparagus Spears
1/3 Cup Cooked Sweet Potato


I already had previously grilled my asparagus and baked my sweet potato. you can cook these prior to making this dish. Feel free to cook either how you like, whether it's grilled, baked or boiled. I then made the "noodles" using my Spirelli. Purchase yours at Amazon here

In a bowl add the zucchini, chopped tomatoes, and all the rest of your ingredients. Toss with basil, oil, salt and pepper. Viola! a Super easy and delicious alternative to a high carb meal.

Enjoy!

Pillosophy of the Day:Go Raw - Clean out the Gunk!

Photo: vegan.com

Sometimes we forget to realize all the stress we put our bodies through. Food, Exercise, work, Junk Food, Drugs, Alcohol, Lack of Sleep, and so on. I know I am not the only one that feels off or sluggish some days. Most of us tend to disregard these hopeless cries that our body sends out and we push ourselves to the extreme. You ever wonder why you get a cold in the summer time, or why your body is not recovering like it should. Are you feeling sore after a work-out for numerous days? Are you feeling like you are on a different planet looking down at everyone else go about their day?

Well guess what, you are overdoing what ever you are doing. I would like you to try this "detox" even if just for a day. Your Mind, body, and Spirit will thank you.

Now what you will do is, eliminate all processed foods, Caffeine, meats cooked foods, and dairy from your diet. I know it sounds harsh, but you are only going to do it for a short period of time. If you have any health issues please consult the advice of your primary care physician prior to doing this. I am going to share with you a sample day of what my intake looks like. I promise you will be full and feel lighter and rejuvenated after this.

Breakfast
Berry Spinach Smoothie
1 cup Raw Baby Spinach
1 Scoop Raw Protein ( I like Sun-Warrior)
1 handful of strawberries
1 Handful of Blue Berries
2/3 Cup Pineapple

	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sugar	Iron
	195	30	2	20	16	49

Morning Snack
2 carrots Chopped
2 tbsp Raw Almond Butter
herbal Tea

Lunch
Bodacious Salad
1 Cup Spinach
1 Cup Kale
1/2 avocado
1/2 Carrot Shredded
4 tbsp pumpkin Seeds
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 tbsp hemp Seeds
12 Grape Tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1/2 Green Apple
1 oz Shredded Cabbage
1/2 Lemon with 1 tsp Olive oil (for dressing, add salt and pepper)

Calories: 491

Carbs: 26

Fat:38(Don't be alarmed, just adjust for Dinner)

Protein: 20

Sugar: 11

Iron:50

Afternoon Snack
Green Apple with raw honey and Cinnamon
Or you can Have it with some Raw nuts of your choice
herbal tea (caffeine free)

Dinner
Another humongous Salad
Feel free to play with the ingredients from lunch
But get creative and remember keep it raw.
*Remember when consuming a lot of raw nuts watch your portions so that you don't go over 40-60g (depending on whether or not you are active)

Try this for a minimum of 1 day and a max of 5. After the detox you should slowly introduce things back into your diet slowly. First you will start with grains, starches and legumes for 2 days. Then light proteins like eggs, fish, Yogurt. Then you can incorporate dairy after 5 days. Heavy proteins like Chicken and red meat will be last. Remember your body will tell you how much you can handle. Introduce these foods back into your diet slowly in order to avoid any discomfort.

Please don't blow all your great work and crash on some processed garbage. You will only be doing a disservice to yourself.

And one more thing, DON'T FORGET TO DRINK WATER!

Mango ♥ Papaya Smoothie

The other day I was in my local market and say these beautiful Papaya's. So I decided to pick one up and make some delicious foods. Once being this tropical smoothie. This was a great post work-out smoothie. Mind you this was on the sweeter side, but I don't mind that at all. :-)

Did you know:

• Papaya seeds can be used as a black pepper alternative
• Papaya tastes great with curry!
• Papaya Has enzymes that aide in breaking down protein fibers, which means you can use it as a tenderizer.
• Papaya soothes Digestion
• Papaya also contains two powerful enzymes papain and chymopapain which help speed up healing.

 Now this is one great fruit!

Blend:
1 Cup Raw Chopped Papaya
3/4 Cup Frozen Mango
1 cup Almond Milk
1.5 Scoop Whey Protein
1 Tbsp Milled Flax Seeds
1 tsp Goji Powder

Blend until smooth, then pout and enjoy!

Tropi ♥ Fruit Salad

I love berries and I love a good fruit salad. I prefer to make them myself becaue this way they don't have all the added syrups and perservitaves. This recipe serves four at only 102 Calories. Keep the rest in the fridge or share with friends. It's so easy to make and taste refreshing too.

You will need:
1 Star Fruit
1 Medium Orange
1 Banana
2 Kiwis
2/3 Cup Blueberries
6 Medium Strawberries
1 tsp Ginger powder
1 tsp Light Agave

Chop your Starfruit and strawberries. Peel and chop your orange, kiwis and banana. In a Bowl add all ingredients with the ginger and agave. mix it around and serve. You can Chill prior to serving if you'd like. This will allow the agave to bring out the swrrtiness of the berries. YUM

1 Serving:
103 Calories
323mg Potassium
24.3g Carbs
4.1g Fiber
15.7g Sugar
1.7g Protein
130% Vitamin C!

Enjoy!

"Cheesy" Kale Chips!

I fell in love with these chips when my friend Megan introduced these to me. This is her recipe with a little twist.You won't believe that these Yummy Chips are strictly Vegan. Yes team Plant Strong. Now, these chips are so freaking GOOD. This recipe serves 6, but you may be tempted to have a double serving. They are that good, TRUST ME.
 
You will need
2 bunches of Kale(about 12 stalks)
1 Cup Cashews
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper(optional)

Tear the Kale leaves off the stalks into bite size pieces and place in a Large Bowl. In a food Processor or Blender add the Cashews, chopped Bell pepper(remove the seeds), agave, oil, water, and nutritional yeast. Blend until you have a Chunky sauce mixture.

Pour the mixture over the Kale and mix with clean hands. Arrange your Chips in a dehydrator at 115 degrees for 8-12 Hours.

You can also make these in the Oven at 300 Degrees for 20 minutes. Just watch them so that they don't burn.
Enjoy

Creamy Coconut Tempeh Curry

I know you are probably asking yourself, Does she only eat spicy food? The answer to that is yes, LOL. I was raised in a household where the flavor of food was emphasized by seasoning with fresh herbs and spices. I LOVE Curry. When I say Love, I mean Love. I put it on just about everything that I can put it on. And , No I don’t smell like curry, because I don’t eat it every day, LOL. Check out my Spice your life post for more information on the benefit of spices.

Ingredients:

4 oz. Three Grain Tempeh I use Light life

1 tbsp. Non-Fat plain Greek Yogurt

¼ cup coconut Milk

1 tsp. Curry powder

1tsp Cumin

1tbsp Chopped Garlic

1 tsp. Turmeric

1 tbsp. Parsley

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. Ginger Powder

1 tsp. Red Cayenne Powder

1/3 Cup Water

1/3 Tsp. coconut Oil

10 cherry Tomatoes

¼ tsp. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

 

Directions

Cut the Tempeh into slices or cut into cubes. Season with all spices. Set the Yogurt, Milk, and water aside. In a Medium sized Skillet warm up the coconut oil until hot. Place your tempeh and sauté until brown on both sides. Then add the coconut Milk, yogurt, water and cherry tomatoes. Allow the liquid to come to a slow boil then immediately turn down the heat and allow simmering. With a wooden spoon press down on the tomatoes so that they pop in the mixture. Cook down until you have a beautiful thick sauce.

 

Serve with rice or any one of your favorite grains.

Recipe serves 2 at: 178 calories, 9g Fat, 14g Carbs, 13g Protein. Yum!

Tempeh and Mango Lemongrass Curry w/ Quinoa and Kale Apple Salad

Have I ever told you that I love being a vegetarian. Since making the decision to be dedicated to this lifestyle I have been forced to be creative in the kitchen. Every sunday my mother has us over for Sunday Dinner, but this past sunday I arrived starving and to my surprise  she didn't cook. I had to think quick, so I ran to the market and Picked up some ingredients to make a Sunday Dinner for the Gang.

Tempeh Mango Curry:
5.3 oz Three Grain Tempeh
1 Medium Mango
1 Lemongrass Stalk
1 tbsp Tumeric
1 tbsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Cup Fresh Chopped Parsley
1 knob Fresh grated Ginger
1 tbsp Yellow Hot Pepper Sauce
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp White Vinegar

For Quinoa:

2 Cups Dry Quinao

1 tbsp Curry

For Salad:

4 Cups Chopped Kale

1/2 Green Appel

1/2 Haas Avocado

1 Shallot

3 tbsp White Vinegar

1tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Side: First rinse off your Quinoa and then put in a small boiling pot with water and Curry powder. Depending on the brand you use, it can be 1 quinoa 2 water or 1 quinoa 1.5 water. Set on stove top to cook on High until you get a Rolling boil and then cook the remainder of the time on medium-High. You will know it's ready when the tails show and the grain is tender.

Entree: Chop your parsley, ginger and Lemon grass and set aside. Mix all your spices together and set aside. Chop your Tempeh in 1/4 inch slices and put in medium bowl, then cut your Mango in cubes. Mix all the ingredients together and add a little (1-2 tbsp) water to help the ingredients bind.

In a medium sized saute pan warm up the tsp of Olive oil and wait for the pan to get hot. Add all your ingredients and cover on Medium heat for 10-15 minutes. The mixture should be browned and sticky from the mango. Taste and feel free to add a little more spice or salt depending on your liking.  After 25 Minutes your Curry will be ready to eat.

Salad: Chop the Kale in a Large bowl, slice your green apple, avocado, and shallots. Mix with olive oil, salt, and vinegar.

Serve to your family or guests, and Enjoy!

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

I absolutely Love Smoothies, and I love dragon fruit. Too bad it's so hard to find in my area.
This smoothie is packed with antioxidants, some of the main stars are:

Dragon Fruit: This beautiful fruit is a wonder fruit. It has healthy cholesterol, high in fiber, rich in Vitamin C, high varieties of antioxidants ( no supplements needed with this beauty), and the seeds have wonderful Monounsaturated fats. (Mono-Saturated fats prevent heart disease, reduce belly fat, reduced cholesterol levels, etc)


Maqui Powder:  This powder comes from the Chilean maqui berry which is one of the most anti-oxidant rich foods. It is packed full of vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, potassium, and anti-aging components.
Ingredients

Goji Powder: Also rich in antioxidants, know to fight free-radicals, improve overall wellness and health, and packed with beta carotene

Ingredients:
1 Medium  frozen Banana
1 scoop Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein
1tsp Maqui Powder
1tsp Goji powder
1.5 cups Almond Milk
1/2 Dragon fruit

Directions



Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and Enjoy!