Shrimp vermicelli bowl

Tonight we made an interesting dish that was quite yummy! It was a Cooksmarts recipe that was good but left me a little hungry unfortunately.

The sweet and sour sauce recipe was not the best so I won't post it, but I would recommend just using a store-bought sweet and sour sauce or even a teriyaki sauce.

The best part of this meal was all the organic veggies! I chopped romaine, shredded carrots, sliced mint, and julienned cucumbers. 

While I chopped the veggies, I boiled the vermicelli rice noodles.

Then I sautéed the shrimp in grape seed oil (which I prefer over olive oil).

And finally, I threw it all in a bowl, and poured some of the sweet and sour sauce (as well as teriyaki sauce) on top. Like I said, though this meal was good, it was just not as filling as I'd hoped. Next time I would make it with some focaccia bread or rolls or something. Happy Monday!

Kale broccoli stir-fry: My go-to

Lately I have had a bit of an addiction. Luckily, it's a healthy one! For the last month and a half I have been eating copious amounts of kale, broccoli, onion and garlic, usually in the form of a stir-fry. Every week, usually on a Wednesday, I make this dish. I'd probably make it even more but I don't think my husband would appreciate that. He's not the biggest kale fan.

Kale Broccoli Stir-fry

1 bunch organic kale, chopped

1-2 heads organic broccoli, chopped 

1 medium onion

4 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

*With kale, I usually discard about 3 inches of the stalk because those stem parts are a little too thick and hard to chew in my opinion.

I simply heat olive oil in a pan, then sauté onion and garlic. I personally like to burn the onions a bit (it makes them taste sweet and caramelized). Then I add the broccoli and sauté it for about 4 minutes, and then I add the kale and sauté all of it for about 5-7 more minutes on medium heat. This is such a healthy, nutrient-packed dinner!

I usually serve the veggies over organic brown rice or quinoa. Tonight I chose to serve it over organic royal red quinoa. Royal red quinoa is so amazing! If you haven't tried it, you're missing out!

The wine is a Trader Joe's Merlot. It was decent considering it was only about $5 but I probably won't buy it again. Looking forward to next Wednesday already!

Salad, etc.

Sometimes you just have to take whatever you have in the fridge, throw it over some greens, and call it a salad. 

I used a random assortment of greens including spinach, romaine, cilantro, arugula and chard as the base. Then I added cucumber, royal red quinoa, Mediterranean hummus, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Though it was random, it sure was delicious!

A fresh baked loaf of organic sourdough bread is always a nice addition to a salad.

Dinner is served.

And since my baby is asleep and my husband is at work this evening, I get to relax, eat my dinner on the couch, and watch a few episodes of Chuck. Ahhhh....

Veggie sandwich

Sometimes you just feel like eating a sandwich. Most people think of a sandwich as a bread, meat, cheese, mayo and mustard meal but not me. My perfect refreshing, crisp sandwich is vegetarian of course, and consists of all organic veggies with a slice of organic cheese, all between two pieces of stone ground whole wheat bread.

Instead of mayo and mustard, I spread a thick layer of Mediterranean hummus from Trader Joes on both slices of bread. Then I add romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, cucumber, and last but not least, a slice of organic sharp cheddar cheese. You can really use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Sometimes I add bell pepper or spinach as well. A simple, yet perfect lunch :)

All this talk of veggies makes me excited to plant my vegetable garden in a few weeks! I'll make sure to share those posts! 

Vanilla banana espresso "ice cream"

I am desperately trying to stay away from sugar. It has always given me a headache but for some reason I continue to eat it. Eliminating sugar from your diet is quite the challenge but I have to say that I feel a million times more energized and healthy when I leave it out of my diet. Plus, after not eating sugar for about 3 weeks or so, it gets much easier. The cravings get less and less significant. Now my taste buds think fruit is the sweetest thing ever!

So, one night I decided to make vanilla espresso banana "ice cream," without all the nasty sugar and junk.

My recipe was so simple and DELICIOUS!

Vanilla Espresso Banana "Ice Cream"

4 Frozen organic bananas

1 c. Almond milk (you can add more depending on your preferred consistency)

2 T. Vanilla espresso almond butter

1/4 t. Vanilla extract

This Wild Friends almond butter is incredible! I chose the vanilla espresso almond butter because it sounded amazing (me being the coffee lover that I am), and it proved to be wonderful.

I puréed all the ingredients in our Ninja blender on high for about 1minute. The ice cream turned out so smooth and way better than "normal" ice cream. Plus it's such a healthy alternative.

Now I can't imagine having ice cream any other way...

Artichoke pesto fish en Papillote

One of my favorite foods is an artichoke, so when I saw a recipe on Cooksmarts for Tilapia en Papillote with artichoke pesto, I was all over it. We used Wild Caught Hake for our fish because my husband and I are not big fans of tilapia.

The artichoke pesto was made with 4 cups organic spinach, 1 can artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 5 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup olive oil. Plus salt and pepper to taste. All blended in the handy food processor.

I lathered the artichoke pesto on the fish, topped it with sliced lemons, and put them on parchment paper. Notice the parchment paper is cut into a heart shape.

The heart shape allows the fish to easily be pinched and folded, to keep all the goodness inside with the fish.

I made three pieces of fish because we had a guest. These went in the oven at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I decided to make a garlic herb quinoa/ brown rice on the side. I also made steamed cauliflower and mixed some leftover artichoke pesto in with it. It turned out so yummy!

The fish was perfectly moist and the artichoke pesto on top was incredible! This dinner was definitely a hit!

Vegetable lentil soup with a side of guitar

I love lentils and therefore I'm a big fan of lentil soup. This recipe was super easy and yummy.

Lentil soup
3/4 c. dried lentils
4 organic single celery stocks, chopped
3/4 lb. organic carrots, chopped
1 white onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
2 T. olive oil
1tsp. thyme
3 c. organic veggie broth

Make sure to soak the lentils in water over night so you won't have to cook the soup as long.

In a medium pot, sauté the garlic in olive oil for about 1 minute, then add the onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes. 

Then add lentils, thyme, and broth. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. 

This soup was surprisingly extremely flavorful and much better than most lentil soups I have had.

Our one-year old helped daddy sing and play the guitar while mommy made dinner :)