Crunchy Veggie Medley with Fresh Lime

This fresh pop of flavor is great as a snack, on tacos, 

as part of a salad, or anything you can think of! 

Crunchy Veggie Medley with Fresh Lime:

1 organic cucumber

1 organic red yellow pepper

1 organic green pepper

2-3 organic celery stalks

1 organic lime

Optional: fresh spearmint and a variety of other crunchy veggies like red peppers!

Dice the veggies to the size of your liking (I think the smaller, the better), combine them in a bowl, and top with the juice from the lime to taste. That's it!

Healthy Life Tip: prep this at the beginning of your week and separate into several different grab-and-go servings for an easy snack! 

Pairs excellently with these BBQ Seitan Skewers 

and may also want to check out this Pepper & Lime Salsa:

         

Crispy Lemon Tofu

Crispy Lemon Tofu
Serves 4

2 packages organic extra firm tofu
3 organic lemons
1 teaspoon organic extra virgin olive oil


Drain the water from the tofu and cut each package into 6 filets. Add them and the juice of one and 1/2 lemons to ziplock bag. Save the other half of the lemon for later. For this recipe I usually start marinating the tofu in the morning when I make breakfast so that they have the opportunity to marinate all day.

Using a large sauté pan, (I like to use one with straight sides so that the liquids are contained), add the tofu to the pan one filet at a time. The more filets they are able to touch the bottom of the pan the better. Add the juice of the the third lemon to the pan and turn on heat to low-medium.

Gently coat and preheat oven to broiler setting.

Allow the tofu to simmer in the lemon juice until the juice is almost reduced completely while not allowing the tofu to stick to the pan. The key to this is the adjusting the temperature accordingly as the juice begins to reduce (less juice = lower temp) and gently moving the tofu occasionally to make sure it is not sticking.

Once the juice is reduced, add tofu to the broiler pan, top with the remaining 1/2 of a lemon, and broil until golden or desired crispiness is reached on one side, about 5-8 minutes, then flip and brown the second side if desired.

I love pairing this tofu with my Creamy Lemon Asparagus Pasta recipe:

Easy Balsamic Tofu Steaks

Balsamic Tofu Steaks save my life on a regular basis. They are so easy to make, so versatile, and they can be made in bulk and saved in the fridge for later use. Whenever I haven't planned for lunch or dinner, I always fall back on these because they are so quick to make, easy to take with you, great served hot or cold, and they pair well with all of my favorite things!

As pictured above, I love throwing them into a sandwich with lettuce and tomato (and some avocado too!). They also go well on top of a salad, in a wrap, over a pasta salad (this one especially), Mediterranean quinoa salad, as a snack by themselves, and anything you can think of!

Healthy Life Tip: Make a dish with these tofu steaks at the beginning of the week and make extra steaks to have with a variety of different lunch options throughout the week. This is a huge time saver, and an easy way to ensure your lunches are homemade and healthy!

Balsamic Tofu Steaks:

Package or more of organic firm or extra firm tofu

Your favorite balsamic dressing (I love OrganicVille's Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Organic Italian seasoning

Organic red pepper flakes (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

If you have time, or know you are going to make this in advance, have the steaks marinating in your balsamic vinaigrette ahead of time. If you don't, I find following the steps below helps to achieve the most flavor is the shortest amount of time. 

Slice the tofu into 6 steaks and press out the water pretty well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place slightly less then a tablespoon of vinaigrette where each tofu steak will go. Place steaks onto the the sheet making sure the vinaigrette is spread out beneath each. 

Next, using a fork, poke a generous amount of holes into the top of the steaks. Cover each steak with your balsamic vinaigrette, making sure it covers the sides as well. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of each as desired and for an extra kick, also sprinkle on some red pepper flakes. 

Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until edges become golden and crispy, then enjoy! 

Time Saver Tip: Prepare the steaks first and as they are cooking prepare your other ingredients. 

Cheesy Vegan Quinoa Taco Dip

Cheesy Vegan Quinoa Taco Dip

1/2 cup organic quinoa dry
4 tbsp organic vegan cream cheese
5 tbsp 365 Pepper Duo Hot Sauce
1/8 cup shredded organic vegan cheddar or pepper jack
1 tsp organic paprika
3/4 - 1 cup your favorite organic salsa
1/4 cup no salt added organic black beans
1/4 cup organic yellow corn


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook quinoa as directed and add to large bowl. While the quinoa is hot, add in the cream cheese and mix throughly until the cream cheese is melted and mixture is one texture.

Next, add the hot sauce, salsa, and paprika and and combine. Finally fold in the beans and corn and transfer to an oven safe serving dish. Top with shredded cheese and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sides are bubbling.

Serve with organic tortilla chips and garnish with freshly sliced organic avocado. Enjoy!

Healthy Green Smoothie!

This smoothie is a fast, easy, and VERY tasty way to add 1.5 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, and 8g fiber into your day! Perfect for getting kids to eat healthy!!

Find out how many vegetables and how much fruit you should be eating. 

Green Smoothie:

1/2 cup of water (or more, depending on your blender)
2 cups organic spinach
1/2 cup organic broccoli florets
1/2 cup organic green grapes
1/2 organic orange (peeled)
1/2 cup organic pineapple chunks
1/2 organic pear
5-6 ice cubes

If your blender is made to handle this amount of food, follow your normal instructions and if using a Vitamix, remember to build with the smallest items first (i.e. spinach on the bottom).

For other blenders, and for definitely for convenience, it helps to make spinach cubes or spinach and broccoli cubes (coming soon) ahead of time, and to also cut up the fruit into small pieces your blender can handle. It may help to blend 1/2 of the ingredients together first and then add the remaining half and finish blending.

Spinach Cube Instructions:

Nutrition Info:

168 cal, 0.5g fat, 0.1g sat fat, 0 cholesterol, 87mg sodium, 40.3g carbohydrates, 9g fiber, 32g sugar, 6g protein

Remember, the sugar is naturally occurring from fruit. It is important to meet your fruit requirements each day, and this smoothie will help do so, and for many, may meet the minimum requirements. This is where your sugar should be coming from, not artificial sources. 

Healthy Homemade Hot Sauce!

Homemade Buffalo Sauce Recipe:

10 organic Cayenne Peppers (176g for this recipe)

1 1/2 cups organic white vinegar 

3 organic garlic cloves, skin fully removed

1/2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon organic paprika

1/2 bay leaf

Rinse and remove the tops from the peppers and place into a medium, non-reactive sauce pan (i.e. ceramic or stainless steel). Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low/medium-low, cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the peppers are soft and tender. 

Once peppers are soft add to a food processor, blender, or Vitamix and blend until smooth. If end result does not end in a smooth puree, strain through a fine sieve and discard any sediment it catches.

Return to sauce pan and simmer on low for another 15 minutes. 

Place in an airtight glass container and refrigerate overnight. 

While mine never lasts this long, it can save for about 5-6 months when refrigerated in airtight container, but always check for mold or signs or spoil before using. 

Nutrition Info (3 tablespoons):

40 calories, 1.9g fat, 0.4g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 17.3mg sodium, 6.5g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 1.1g sugar, 1.1g protein

      Use this sauce to make these 

       Buffalo Chicken Wontons!

    

Crispy Parmesan Zucchini Strips!

Easy Vegan Version Coming Soon. 

Crispy Parmesan Zucchini Strips:

Makes 12 Strips:

2 organic zucchini 

6 tablespoons organic panko breadcrumbs

6 tablespoons organic Italian breadcrumbs

2 organic egg whites

4 tablespoons organic flour

5 tablespoons organic vegan parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Optional Seasonings: organic parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

Spread flour onto a dish and set aside. Scramble both egg whites with about 2 tablespoons of water, place onto a separate dish and set aside. Mix both types of breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together. Add any optional seasonings of your choice to breadcrumb/cheese mixture and place onto a separate dish and set aside.

Cut each zucchini into 6 strips by first cutting in half lengthwise, then cutting each half into 3 individual strips.

One strip at a time, first roll in flour, then egg whites, then into breadcrumb mixture covering it fully, and place onto parchment paper. 

Bake for 15-20 or until strips become crispy, checking occasionally. Serve with a side of maranara sauce and enjoy! 

For a quick and healthy maranara sauce you can make while your strips are cooking, check out my Quick, Clean, & Easy Marinara Sauce.

Helpful tips: To help four stick initially, I dab zucchini on all three sides with a very little amount of water. Also, make sure egg is covering all of the zucchini strip before dipping into breadcrumbs while also letting any excess egg fall off first.

Nutrition Info for a serving of 3 sticks:

161.3 calories, 2.5g fat, 1g sat fat, 4.4mg cholesterol, 231mg sodium, 26.5g carbs, 1.2g fiber, 2.6g sugar, 8.5g protein

5 Things You Need to Do Everyday.

1. Drink Plenty of Water: Everyone knows they are supposed to "drink plenty of water," but how much is enough? According to the Institute of Medicine, an adequate intake for a healthy adult male living in a temperate climate should consume 3 liters (about 13 cups) and females should consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups). Water is critical in ensuring that a wide variety of functions in the body perform properly such as lubricating your joints, helping the liver and kidney flush out toxins, cushioning vital organs, regulating body temperature, carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells, and many more. Make sure to carry a reusable water bottle around with you during the day and you'll be surprised how much more you'll drink just by having it with you.

2. Get Enough Sleep: The reasons why enough sleep is paramount to good health are endless. From brain function to physical and emotional health, it is crucial to get enough sleep each night to preform optimally each day. According to the National Institute of Health, the recommended amount of sleep for Newborns is 16-18 hours/day, Preschool-aged children is 11-12 hours/day, School-aged children is at least 10 hours/day, Teens is 9-10 hours/day, and Adults is 7-8 hours/day. Commit to creating a regular sleep schedule for yourself, and if you have trouble winding down at night, turn off electronics and media an hour before you plan to head to bed. Here are 16 Tips for Better Sleep. If this isn't enough, it would best to add some meditation in during this time. Here are some quick tips on how to start an easy mediation routine.

3. Eat Enough of the Right Things: We all know eating 3 healthy and balanced meals each day is easier said than done, and at times can feel like an unsurmountable task. You need to know that it's not, and it's much easier than you think. Here are just 2 things you'll need to make this an effortless part of everyday life. First, you'll need to know what your nutrient preferences are for a balanced daily diet, and you can get that info by checking out this easy chart. Second, you'll want to download the Loseit app to your smartphone and set up an account today. There are many tracking apps out there, and whether you're looking to lose weight or not, I suggest this one as I find it the most comprehensive, accessable, and easy to use. If you don't have a smartphone, you can always login on their website Loseit.com. From here, you'll be able to track the nutrients you eat each day, compare it to the nutrient preferences you need, and adjust accordingly. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comment section.

4. Eat Real Food: There is nothing that disrupts the healthy functioning of your body more than artificial ingredients, stimulants (caffeine), depressants (alcohol), and medication entering your system. Avoiding this 100% of the time and eating all organic, real, whole food, is of course ideal, but not always realistic. Even with all of the planning and prepping you can do, sometimes life gets ahead of us and we are stuck making choices we'd prefer not to make. In those times here are 5 Ingredients to Unconditionally Avoid and 8 Tips to Get You Through the Supermarket. Remember to limit the amount of alcohol you consume, and don't rely on caffein for energy. Sleep, the right food, and exercise should be exactly what your body needs for the energy you need everyday.

5. Exercise: Last but certainly not least, you need to exercise. From stress reduction to heart health, exercise is an undeniably important component in your everyday life. Whether it's an intense workout, or just figuring out how to add more movement to your day, it needs to be done, and you don't need to go to the gym to do it. Here are some previous posts that can help make sure exercise happens everyday: 5 Full Body Exercises You Can Do Anywhere, 6 Ways to Jump Rope, 6 Ab Exercises You Can Do Anywhere, and 40 Ideas for Outdoor Exercise. Everyone has an ideal exercise time that is unique to them, check out the post Find Your Peak Exercise Time to determine yours.

BBQ Tofu Sliders!

BBQ Tofu Sliders:

Organic extra firm tofu
Organic slider rolls

1/2 cup favorite organic vegan BBQ sauce 

Organic avocado
Organic vegan mozzarella 

First, slice tofu block from container into 9 sections, 3 lengthwise, 3 width-wise and place them on a paper towel leaving about an inch or two in between each slice. Cover and press lightly with another piece of paper towel to remove excess liquid.

Next, marinate the tofu in your favorite BBQ sauce, measuring the anount you use at the beginning to track nutritional information. I suggest beginning with 1/2 cup of sauce per package of tofu. My favorite marinating method for tofu is to use a reusable container with lid, add an initial layer BBQ sauce, and then place tofu into container in layers that alternate in direction, covering each layer with sauce until all tofu is in the container. Set aside and rotate container about every 5 minutes during remainder of prep.

Once tofu is marinating, place grill pan on stove over medium heat and coat with organic extra virgin olive oil (not more than 2 tablespoons), or prepare your panini press how you normally would for grilling. If you are not using a spray olive oil container, I suggest using a paper towel to very lightly coat the pan to prevent the excessive use of olive oil. Test the heat of the pan by dabbing a small amount of BBQ sauce in the middle, once it sizzles, the pan is ready.

Place each piece of tofu on the pan and cook until grill marks appear on one side. Check it for grill marks occasionally by gently lifting the end of the tofu slice. Each side should take about 5 minutes. Once gril marks appear, flip the slice and allow the other side to cook until grill marks appear as well. Feel free to add some extra BBQ sauce to each side as the tofu cooks. To determine nutrition information for the amount of sauce used, simply measure the amount you have left in the container after tofu is finished cooking and subtract it from the amount you started with. 

While tofu is cooking, prepare sliders by slicing bread in half and layering with thinly sliced avocado (1/4 of the avocado in each slider), spinach, and sliced mozzarella (use about 1/2 of the serving size  your container suggests for each slider). The slider tends to stay together best when layered in that order, or even if the avocado is kept on the side. Once the tofu is complete, layer about 2 slices per slider and enjoy!

Serving size - 2 sliders! These pair great with some fresh mixed greens and veggies!

Supermarket Survival - 8 Tips to Get You Through.

8 ways to ensure your trip to the supermarket helps you reach your goals 
instead of sabotages them.

1. Always make a list - Go with a purpose, plan you meals, lunches, and snacks and only grab what you need. This will help eliminate unnecessary impulse purchases of food that you don't need and are probably better without.

2. Always shop on a full stomach - Avoid being influenced by hunger and make sure to go to the food store on a full stomach so you can focus on buying the ingredients you need for the week, not the food you want at the moment.

3. Always read the ingredient label - What matters is what you're actually eating, not what the manufacturer is selling you. The only part of the packaging that should interest you is the information in the nutrition label. Read the ingredient list, the shorter the ingredient list the better, avoid foods with ingredients you are unfamiliar with or aren't food at all and always make sure you have this list in mind: 5 Ingredients You Should Unconditionally Avoid.

4. Always read the nutrition information - Pay attention to sodium, cholesterol, and sugar as things that should be as close to "0"as possible. Make sure to avoid trans fat in everything you eat and look for a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. For those amounts click here.

5. Pay attention to serving size - Manufacturers often slice the serving size of a package you would normally consider to have just one serving to make it appear as though there are less calories, fat, etc. in it than there actually is. So make sure to do the math, chances are if that is the case, it's probably better to leave it on the shelf anyway.

6. Shop the perimeter - The healthier, "real" food that you want to buy is always located along the outside perimeter of the store. Focusing on these items, not the pre-packaged, manufactured, processed foods located in the isles, will help you reach your goal.

7. Only buy things that are "real" - Make a commitment to never purchase anything with artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, in it. Some ingredients to never purchase: high fructose corn syrup, Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Acesulfame-K, neotame, Sorbitol, shortening, hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated oils, MSG, or "enriched" anything.

8. Know what "organic" means and switch to organic whenever possible if you haven't already. Your body knows the difference, even if you don't. - For fruits and vegetables to be USDA Certified Organic they must be grown without any of the following: genetically modified seeds, fertilizers made from chemicals or sewage sludge (yes, companies do that), chemical pesticides or herbicides, and irradiation. For meat, this certification means the animals were only fed organically certified food and no by-products of other animals (yes, farmers do that also), they were never given growth hormones or antibiotics and they must be allowed access to the outdoors and treated humanely.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Grilled Balsamic Tofu:

Makes 3 Servings:

1 1/2 servings of your favorite whole wheat organic pasta (365 organic rigatoni pictured above)
4 servings organic extra firm tofu
1/2 cup 365 Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
20 grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 organic cucumber, diced
1/2 organic yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 organic orange pepper, chopped

Cook pasta according to directions. While water is heating, drain and cube tofu and place into a bowl with dressing to marinate, then set aside. Begin to prepare vegetables until water begins to boil.

Once you place the pasta in the water, begin to heat grill pan on medium and place the tofu cubes onto the center of the pan using a pair of tongs. Once pan is heated, tofu should begin to sizzle. Keep the tofu on the same side moving occasionally and adding more dressing to prevent sticking, but do not flip. While tofu cooks, continue to prepare vegetables and place into a separate large bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoons of dressing from tofu bowl and toss into vegetables. You won't need more than this.

Once one side of the tofu is light-medium brown (2-5min), use the tongs to flip it to the opposite side. Add some of the extra dressing to the tofu and onto pan so that it sizzles around the tofu. Let sit for another 2-3 minutes allowing this side to brown also.

Once pasta is complete, drain and add to large bowl with vegetables and toss, allowing the dressing to spread over everything. Separate onto plates and once tofu is complete, add tofu and enjoy!

This dish works great cold also, just rinse and place pasta in refrigerator for several minutes and allow tofu to cool before serving.

Healthy Life Tip: Cook extra servings and save for an easy lunch or dinner later in the week.

Conveniently Healthy. Spinach Cubes.

Including a variety of nutrient-rich vegetables in an everyday diet can be challenging. Incorporating spinach into shakes and smoothies is an easy way to add an important green-leafy vegetable to your meals and snacks. 

To save time and make sure spinach, especially if purchased in large quantities, doesn't spoil, making spinach cubes is a convenient way to preserve and later utilize the uneaten spinach.

Spinach Cubes:

4 cups fresh baby spinach - tightly packed
3/4 cup filtered water

Combine both ingredients in blender and blend until spinach is very thoroughly blended. Pour mixture into BPA free ice cube trays, filling each evenly, and freeze. To determine how many spinach cubes equals 1 cup of spinach, divide the number of ice cubes made by the number of cups of spinach originally used. If needed, slowly add more water until your blender is able to make a pourable mixture.

For some Shake Recipes check out the Recipe Page!

A Favorite: Peanut Butter Banana AND Spinach Smoothie!

Healthy Life Tip: The Environmental Working Group reported that spinach is one of the 12 most heavily pesticide-contaminated produce products, so make sure to purchase USDA Organic spinach whenever possible to ensure your spinach is pesticide-free. You can also check out the whole list of the "Dirty Dozen."

If It Starts With 9, You're Fine.

Here's an easy and fast way to determine how safe your produce is just by looking at the sticker. 

Why Organic? Your body knows the difference, even if you don't. Buying organic food is the best way to ensure that you're getting the safest food possible.

For fruits and vegetables to be USDA Certified Organic they must be grown without any of the following: genetically modified seeds, fertilizers made from chemicals or sewage sludge (yes, you read that correctly, and yes, companies do that), chemical pesticides or herbicides, and irradiation.