quinoa vegetable and fruit medley

my new favorite meal for lunch is a giant bowl of rainbow goodness. you can use any grain that has a high amount of protein and fiber such as bulgur  or quiona, farro, amaranth, couscous etc. I also find it tastes better eating everything mixed together. 

ENJOY, your body will thank you.

ingredients:

• precooked grain- quiona etc
• spices- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, sriracha if you like!
• your favorite green such as spinach or kale- chopped
• raw veggies chopped - anything you like / have at hand
• fruit is great too!

how to:

1. cook your grain, add a little salt for more flavor if you like
2. chop your favorite green well and mix into your bowl with the cooked grain
3. pile your bowl with raw veggies and fruit you like
4. add your spices
5. check flavor, top with sriracha etc if you like
6. enjoy! sharing is optional ; )

oatmeal banana pecan berry pancakes

I loveee oatmeal and today I decided to see if I could successfully make pancakes using oats instead of flour. I also had a super ripe banana I wanted to use so pancakes it was! These turned out wonderful and most importantly they were actually a healthy version of pancakes, cuz lets be real...pancakes are a great comfort food but they're not exactly "healthy" especially if you just use white flour.

ingredients:

dry

2 cups whole oats

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup pecans (or walnuts)

wet

1 1/4 cup almond milk

1 ripe banana mushed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup berries (optional of course and fresh or frozen works)

how to:

1. combine all the dry ingredients in your food processor/blender or the like for few seconds. you want it to be more coarse than super fine. place mixture into big bowl
2. in a smaller bowl combine all your wet ingredients
3. slowly add the wet ingredients to your dry "flour" mixture and stir until just combined
4. make sure your pan is heated well before adding batter, I also use coconut oil spray on my pan.
5. for thinner pancakes use more almond milk, especially towards the end when your batter has been sitting it gets thicker.
6. top with whatever you like! - more cinnamon, pecans, fresh fruit, maple syrup, coconut flakes etc

ecopolitan lunch date

i lovee to cook food at home but sometimes it's really nice to go out for a lunch & dessert date with j : )

it was the most gorgeous morning and i didn't have to make a single thing but simply enjoy delicious vegan food in my new favorite dress.

the restaurant was a "surprise" and i was super stoked that he chose ecopolitan which is all organic, raw and vegan food. this was both of ours first time going and i must say definitely not the last! the weather was so nice and sunny that sitting outside waiting a little longer for our lunch due to short staffing was totally cool with us. nothing could ruin this splendid morning.

 

 

^^^ sorry j - had to ; )

i love the lighting on my dress through the trees & hello favorite thrifted wedges.

we ended up ordering and splitting a mac and cheese- which had no macaroni and no cheese and it was quite good! the "macaroni" was thinly sliced zucchini with a tasty yellow "cheese" sauce. i could definitely see myself eating a little more raw foods...but not entirely; i love my warm comfort food too much! but i do think a little raw food here and there is incredibly beneficial for you and eco-friendly.

lastly we ended up hopping over to the french meadow cafe for some dessert. sadly, the vegan options were not that crazy good by any means but kinda just meh as you can expect from bars. we ordered the raspberry chocolate bar and rice krispy chocolate bar.

at least we had a decent view! overall i'm not sure i am in love with french meadow as some people seem to be but that's mostly because the atmosphere is very chaotic and noisy...nothing like ecopolitan was. so i would say ecopolitan was much more enjoyable.

garlic mushrooms on toast

i made this for recipe for a quick lunch but was intended for a breakfast and it also comes from my vegan cooking book by tony and yvonne bishop-weston. you clearly must enjoy mushrooms to try this so of course i loved it. although i was deceived by the recipe in how much lemon juice to add, so it came out way too lemony for anyone's taste but i still ate every last bit (just added more salt!).

i made four slices with this recipe so 2 people i would say it serves.

ingredients:

• 3 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
• package of portabello or chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced (10 oz baby bella mushrooms is what i used)
• 2 tsp of squeezed lemon juice (be careful! try very little at a time and taste test before pouring all in)
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 4 slices whole wheat bread for toasting (ezekiel bread is my favorite)
• salt and ground black pepper
• optional: i also mashed up half an avocado and spread that on my toast before adding the mushrooms

 *note: i always wash, cut, and add the mushrooms into a saucepan separately until boiling. then drain the water and add the mushrooms into the recipe. it cleans them a little more and gets them softer before using. you may not need to do this but just a note on what i usually do.

how to:

1. heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the finely chopped shallots and garlic for 5 minutes until golden
2. add the thickly sliced mushrooms and toss them well with the shallots and garlic to coat them in the oil. fry for 1 minute.
3. pour in the lemon juice and season with salt and ground black pepper. cook until the mushrooms are tender. add the parsley, taste test! and finally serve on wholemeal toast (again optional to spread avocado on toast beforehand)