Sunday, August 12, 2012

This food will CHANGE your life

I have been taking pictures of the food I have been making. I know its one thing to hear "eat salad, drink smoothies".. yada yada no thanks, just give me a burger. Seeing is believing! Since I started preparing food this way I have dropped 14 pounds in 2 months. I was working out and eating "healthy" to normal standards, but my weight was stuck. I changed up the amount and type of food and viola! The fat melted off. Worry about health and the weight loss will happen.Here is a sample of SOME of the meals .............This doesn't include all the desserts and popsicles and energy balls.... I have more pictures and lots more food to make! SO this is just the beginning! Lets EAT and be HEALTHY!!!!!!!! The side effect will be weight loss, but our goal is health, FOR THE REST OF OUR LIFE!!!!!!

 My Asian Dish. Kale, Bok Choy, Green beans, celery, peas, mushrooms, onions, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, broccoli, tofu, brown rice, sunflower seeds, .......... anything else I have laying around. A lot of my food is a little different every time. It keeps it interesting and fun. I always forget to write down every ingredient or how much of what, but a picture can say all that. I used a low sodium soy sauce and lime juice, lemon juice (fresh squeezed) and salt free Mrs dash. Very low calorie so you can eat a ton of it! But still loose weight
Old fashioned rolled oats, banana, blueberries, raw walnuts, sprinkled flax on top.......
 BIG salad.. My salads are not your typical salad. They are a complete meal. The salads are also a little different every time. This one has Bok Choy, Asian cabbage, Romaine, Carrots, red, green, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, garlic, green onion, cucumber, broccoli, Fresh soaked and cooked beans, flax seeds (milled), chia seeds, hemp hearts, nutritional yeast and for the dressing I used fresh squeezed lemon.
 2 times a week I make a huge salad with the basics (all the non soggy vegetables, carrots, onions, broccoli.. ect..) then when its time to eat lunch or dinner All I have to do is scoop out a HUGE portion and doll it up with the goodies. You can make it taste however you want! For dressings you can use vinegars, lemon juice, orange juice, honey, salsa, hummus.... make your own dressing! 
Here's a sample of a kids plate. Kids have real simple palate and they love simple food! Its instinct to eat simple food, take advantage of this instinct!!
 Below is fresh caught salmon my husband caught. Acorn squash sprinkled with Pepper and honey... Green beans in Braggs liquid Aminos (available in the hippie section at Fred Meyer.) Soy sauce alternative.. very tasty.
We love snacking on popcorn! We have a movie night a few times a month and the kids love it! SO does the dog! Air popped, no oil, no butter. I top it with Braggs Liquid Aminos and Nutritional Yeast (has a buttery, cheesy flavor..) High in B vitamins. This is a great snack! High in fiber too!
 The smoothies... Every day my smoothies are a little different. Every day my kids drink one and then My husband and I drink one. It is mostly vegetables with fruit. No sweetener added, I use water to give it liquid. I use my high power blender and liquify it into juice and there you have it! Liquid nutrition! Kids have no idea they are drinking spinach, Kale, carrots, bok choy, flax,  .... you name it, you can blend it. Smoothies have allowed me to keep my kids healthy without the fuss of making sure they eat their spinach, eat their carrots! Eat your broccoli! Having a high power blender is amazing! I tried the low power ones, but they cant blend up the coarser vegetables too well. My favorite one is Blendtech. I haven't had any problems with it and i have over 400 blends on it (it keeps track) and I haven't even had it a year yet!

Soaking beans overnight reduces gas and allows for easier digestibility and nutrient absorption.Its not difficult, it just takes forethought and practice. Every bean has a different cooking time. From 1-3 hours. I can go over all that later.
What do you use all those beans for? Bean burgers! Salads! Just eat them plain! Make bean dip! Bean hummus, bean salad.... Get creative!
These bean burgers are so simple to make!  Raw sunflower seeds, Beans, onions, mushrooms, old fashioned rolled oats, water.. so simple, no added oils or salt.... Gluten free and dairy free! Get creative, add jalapenos...
Tabbouli!  One of my favorite dishes! My Grandmother got me hooked on this dish! Fred Meyers sells the Bulgar wheat in the Bulk section or the hippie section! Just add water, lemon, parsley and tomatoes! SO easy, so good! Eat in a whole wheat pita pocket or just eat with spoon!
Kids Love burgers and they love beans. Here is a smoothie (Spinach, Kale, carrot, banana, blueberries, water), PB&J, WHole GRAIN bread,  veggie burger and homemade bean burger. 
Prepping for Spring rolls, mmmmmmmmmmmm Portebello mushrooms, jalepenos, red onion, avacado, cilantro, and romaine. Getting ready to roll into a spring roll...
Spaghetti squash! Pasta free! Bake the Squash, when it's done it strings out like spaghetti!
 Spaghetti sauce! I added red pepper, onions, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, Mrs Dash Salt free, Bell peppers, Purple cabbage, broccoli, Kale, and I'm sure there's more.. I will get better at writing everything down, I promise.
Spaghetti! Pasta free, meat free, dairy free, oil free, gluten free, salt free...... Are you noticing a pattern here?
My favorite food has always been Mexican food. I love to make tacos, burrito bowels, enchiladas, fajitas.... I never get sick of them. I prefer corn tortillas, less calories, and its not processed white flour... 
Water sauteed veggies, soaked and cooked black beans. The meat looking stuff is Veggie grounds. It's soy based, I don't use it a to, but its good every once in a while. Adds some texture. Meat substitutes are good if your trying to transition.

Spring rolls! Full of Avocado, mushrooms, onions, romaine, cilantro, carrots, tofu and cilantro... get creative
Always need fresh fruit snacks! 
Homemade pickles. Apple cider vinegar, sliced cucumber, sprinkled cayenne on top.  Salt free, no preservatives....
Handy Lemon juicer, stick it in and squeeze!
 My one down fall has always been chips. Just plain salted tortilla chips... I really miss them when I make dips and guacomole and salsa... Make your own! Bake corn tortillas in the oven till the desired crunch is attained! TA DA!!!!!!!!! Oil free!

Artichoke is soooo good. Cut in half BEFORE steaming, scrape out the fuzzy stuff in the middle, steam and enjoy! You can eat the whole stem!


I love casseroles. You can make a lot of food and have left overs. Less work for you the next day!  This is a filling for 2 lasagnas. Broccoli, peppers, onion, garlic, tofu, polenta, beans, lots of veggies.... mix it all up.

Bake your "noodles" to get some moisture out. Zucchini and yellow squash. You can also use eggplant! Just bake enough to toughen up a little. 
Layer just as you would lasagna!


The BIG soup ... I like making this soup because you don't have to cut up a bunch of stuff. You put the veggies all in whole! I use water and vegetable broth. whole onions, lentils, .......... Turn on to start the steaming process to soften the vegetables.
Add whole asparagus, carrots, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, .... get creative! 
Greens! Swiss chard, Kale, ........... Stuff the pan FULL. Cover and let soften........... Doesnt take long! Don't cook too long, don't want to kill too many nutrients!
I buy a lot in bulk, it's cheaper and easier to store if you have storage tubs. Beans, nuts, seeds... 
I stumbled across these at Costco, they have resealable packages... Brilliant
Back to the soup, take batches out at a time and blend. I add garlic, basil, seasoning, cashews (makes it creamy)..etc at this point. I transfer to a bowl while I get all the batches out of the pan. I make sure its all blended before I put it in the pan...
Once its all back in the pan, add mushrooms for chewy texture. 
I store in portion size tubs and theres a week or so worth of lunch or dinner. Quick grab and go! I like it cold, hot, spicy, plain, you can doll it up or let it be. Get creative!!!
Another one of my favorite is Indian food. I make this one a little different every time too. This one is a wild rice, tofu, yams... they are patiently waiting to be topped with my vegetable curry sauce!
There she is..... Isn't that beautiful! Kale, spinach, peas, onions, garlic, mushrooms, onions, ... I'm sure there's more, but you get the general idea.. I use the Trader Joes Red curry sauce, just the right amount of spice!
Kid version! 
Burrito Bowl! Beans, Kale, spinach, avocado, tomato, jalapeno,onions, garlic, mushrooms, cilantro, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and homemade tofu sourcream (tofu, lemon juice, garlic, onion, cilantro) all blended up and slathered over the burrito bowl..... Oh ya.. my Mexican favorite... I know I have a lot of favorites... I love eating!
Kid version!!!!!!!!

1 comment:

  1. I'm definitely going to try some of these ideas!

    ReplyDelete

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