Category: Food

Almond Flour Pumpkin Banana Bread

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In all honesty, baking is not my strong suit. I much prefer cooking. I usually get good results with baking if I follow recipes to a T, but I like to experiment and make healthy modifications. Sometimes this leads to success but, more often than not, I’m left disappointed. This happened a couple of weeks ago when I attempted to make a healthified pumpkin bread with Jackson and it was a total flop. I ate a piece but wound up trashing the rest because it just wasn’t good at all. This past weekend, though, I discovered a winner! I decided to modify a banana bread recipe from Detoxinista (whose recipes I love!) and was pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out. The original recipe is already healthy so my modifications were mainly due to the ingredients I had on hand (or didn’t have, like arrowroot starch) and my desire to use up some leftover pumpkin. I didn’t have high hopes after my last baking fiasco, but the end result was a moist, flavorful banana bread (free of dairy and gluten!) that I couldn’t stop eating. David gave it two thumbs up too!

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

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With Thanksgiving coming up in just a few weeks, I felt inspired this past weekend to whip up a batch of mashed sweet potatoes. I have no problem with white potatoes, although they often get a bad rap, but sweet potatoes pack a better nutritional punch and I find them equally delicious. They also tend to cook faster, which is always a plus in my book!

This recipe only calls for six basic ingredients: sweet potatoes, butter (I used a plant-based one), salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cayenne pepper. Because of the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the flavor of the spices, you can get away with using a small amount of butter without sacrificing taste. I find that while the dish is super healthy, it doesn’t taste like it. Something about the texture of the whipped potatoes and the combination of flavors makes them taste decadent and almost dessert-like. 

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Summer Bean Salad

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I live for fresh, flavorful salads in the summer. This bean-based salad is insanely easy to throw together and doesn’t require any heat or cooking. My mom made it for Emmy’s birthday party and I loved it, so I knew I had to share it here on the blog. It makes a perfect side dish to a BBQ or picnic, especially for those who don’t eat meat, and is great on top of greens or even by itself. Don’t let the short list of ingredients fool you. This is anything but bland! Although not necessary, I recommend making this salad the day before you plan to eat it because the longer the flavors marinate, the better it tastes, in my opinion.

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Lightened Up Spanish-Style Rice (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

Published on by Gina2 Comments

I have a new recipe to share today, and it’s a good one! This is one of those meals that I just threw together on a whim one night, with few expectations, but both David and I liked it so much that I’ve been making it on the regular ever since. I struggled with what to call this because it’s half cauliflower rice, half brown rice, with sort of a hodgepodge of ingredients. At the end of the day though, it reminds me of Spanish rice, with a few extras (like beans and kale) thrown in. So that’s what I’m calling it! Continue reading “Lightened Up Spanish-Style Rice (Vegan & Gluten-Free)” →

Sautéed Kale with White Beans (Vegan)

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Eating healthfully in the winter can be tough. When it’s dark and cold out, I often crave rich, heavy foods (or plain old junk food), not salads and other lighter options. It can be a struggle. That’s why I’m really excited to share this recipe today. It’s warm, flavorful, and satisfying, but also extremely healthy! And like most recipes I post, it’s easy to make. It’s so easy, in fact, that I have been making it almost every week for the past few months. The only ingredients are olive oil, garlic, kale, diced tomatoes, white beans, garlic powder, and dried onion. It doesn’t get much simpler than that! Continue reading “Sautéed Kale with White Beans (Vegan)” →

Curried Lentil Soup

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We are in serious soup weather right now. As I write this, it feels like negative 15 degrees outside (no that’s not a typo). Fortunately this cold spell isn’t supposed to last more than 24 hours, but yikes that’s cold! It’s safe to say I will not be venturing out today. Days like this call for hot tea, a cozy fire, and homemade soup. Lots and lots of soup.

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Current Whole Foods Favorites

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As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I regularly shop at a few different grocery stores to get the products I want. I usually alternate between Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Costco on a given week depending on what I need to pick up. Between these three stores, I’m able to buy the kinds of foods I like while also keeping costs at a reasonable level. I already shared my current favorites from Costco and Trader Joe’s, so today I thought I’d round up the products I’m currently loving from Whole Foods. As with my other lists, I didn’t include much in the way of produce here because I’m focusing on items that are unique to Whole Foods (where I live, at least). That said, I do buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables from Whole Foods on a regular basis. Anyway, without further ado, here are the Whole Foods products I’m loving right now: Continue reading “Current Whole Foods Favorites” →

Fudgy Chocolate Hummus Dip (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

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A few months ago my sister introduced me to the hummus brand, Delighted By. Have you heard of it? Delighted By makes dessert hummus flavors like Brownie Batter and Snickerdoodle that are absolutely delicious and made with clean ingredients. Dessert hummus? Now why didn’t I think of that?! You probably don’t associate chickpeas with chocolate or anything else sweet for that matter, and it may strike you as gross, but trust me when I tell you that you’d never know chickpeas are the main ingredient in this dip. Seriously, my mind was blown when I first tasted it. Continue reading “Fudgy Chocolate Hummus Dip (Vegan & Gluten-Free)” →

Creamy Chickpea Salad (Vegan)

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I do eat fish on occasion but I haven’t had canned tuna in years. I actually can’t remember the last time I had it and I don’t usually miss it, to be honest. There have been times during this pregnancy that I’ve craved a tuna sandwich though, this week in particular, and I wanted to find a satisfying alternative. Enter chickpea salad! For me, the appeal of tuna salad is less about the tuna and more about the creamy, crunchy, salty combination. Chickpeas can have this consistency too, if combined with the right mix of ingredients.

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Veggie Tortilla Soup (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

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Spring is technically a week from now but it snowed here yesterday so soup is still very much in the regular rotation. Rather than make a tried and true soup this week, I decided to try something a little different and I’m so glad I did! I think I’ve found my new favorite soup recipe. If you’re a fan of Mexican tortilla soup, you have to try this one! Most traditional recipes call for chicken, but this version is insanely flavorful and delicious sans meat. It consists simply of black beans, tomatoes, veggies, and spices. I was honestly surprised at how good it was, but I guess I shouldn’t have been because it has lots of fresh cilantro, which I adore. I think the key to the flavor is the cilantro and lime juice. I was in heaven from the aroma of cilantro and lime in my kitchen and I could almost feel summer. There’s just something about that combination that makes me think of fresh guac, margaritas, and sunshine! Continue reading “Veggie Tortilla Soup (Vegan & Gluten-Free)” →