5 Ways to Add More Vegetables to Your Meal Plan

I am lucky to have a family that LOVES vegetables. 

But if you are looking for ways to get some more veggies in your families tummies, here are a few easy switches! 

Best thing about all of these is that they are 'whatever' recipes. 'Whatever' recipes are my favorite, because you just use whatever vegetables you have on hand! This is perfect for the summer months when you have a plethora of fresh produce in your garden or from the farmer's market. You can never have to much, just chop those veggies up and make these easy dishes!

1. Lasagna

Lasagna is a dish that is just begging to be loaded with vegetables. 

Basic lasagna=boring. 

Veggie lasagna=awesome!

I like to go for a skillet lasagna, as layering fragile noodles is not my jam. I take the basics from Annie's Eats Skillet Lasagna and twist it a bit to make it vegaliscious. Just take out the pound of sausage and add 2 cups of diced vegetables, whatever you have on hand! Alternately, do 1/2 a pound of meat and 1 cup veggies. That'll trick 'em:)

 If you wanna squeeze even more vegetables into a pan of lasagna, you really MUST try Pinch of Yum's 'Veggie Alfredo Lasagna.' She gets sneaky by making Alfredo sauce from cauliflower.
Shut the front door.

I made mine with zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and onion.

2. Chili

Chili thats not loaded with veggies just feels blah to me. Meat and beans and tomatoes? That's it??

Not around here! I use this recipe from 2 Peas and their Pod for the base, and then toss in whatever other veggies I have on hand. If your not ready to go meatless quite yet, just sub out half the meat in your normal recipe for an equal amount of chopped veggies. Peppers, zucchini, squash, celery, carrots, and eggplant all work well.

3. Spaghetti Squash

I have never meet someone who didn't like pasta. Pasta+marinara sauce+cheese is comfort food at it's finest. 
But I have meet lots of people who don't like to have a huge ass, and that, unfortunately, is what eating pasta does to you. But swap those carb loaded noodles for spaghetti squash, and you can eat to your hearts content, guilt free. My favorite way to fix it is a spaghetti squash bake. 

Cut your spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, then bake, cut side down on a baking sheet for 40 minutes at 375. Meanwhile, dice up whatever veggies you have (I usually go for onions, lots of zucchini, squash {squash on squash on squash? I know, I'm crazy}, spinach, bell peppers). Saute your veggies with a little olive oil over medium heat until tender. In a large bowl, mix veggies, about half a jar of marinara sauce, and about a 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Once the squash is done, let it cool for a few minutes, then use a fork to scrape the flesh (i.e. noodle) from the inside and add to the bowl. Mix it all up, put it in a greased baking dish, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

SO good.

4. Veggie Fried Rice

Chinese food is usually pretty heavy on the veggies, fairly easy to fix, and full of flavor. Fried rice is a great way to use up any vegetables you have that are about to go bad.
My easy peasy recipe:
Start with 4 cups precooked rice (it works best to use cold rice, so make it early in the day, or refrigerate it before adding to your stir fry0. Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 3 beaten eggs and cook until they are just starting to scramble, and set aside. Add a little more olive oil to the plan, and sauté your veggies until tender. Try it with bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, green onions, or green beans. And don't forget to season with garlic and ginger! Once veggies are fork tender, add your cold rice and cook until its heated, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce with 2 teaspoons sugar. Pour sauce over veggies and rice, the add your cooked eggs. Stir fry for couple more minutes, then drizzle with a little sesame oil just before serving.

5. Veggie-ful Grilled Cheese

Because why not put a ton of sautéed vegetables in the middle of your grilled cheese?

For this one, I pan fried some sliced red and green bell peppers, red onion, and zucchini in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I used sliced Colby Jack cheese, and made a grilled cheese as usual, with a healthy heaping of vegetables added to the middle. It's not subtle, but it is delicious. Lincoln like his with just cheese and sliced zucchini, and I'm ok with that too.


What are the ways you use up your summer vegetables?

Cheesy Portobello Taquitos

I recently checked out the too cute Weelicious cookbook from the library. It is full of fresh and easy recipes that the whole family will enjoy. 

This is a big idea for me: 1 meal that EVERYONE will not only eat, but actually like. I made several recipes from the book, but our favorite was my modified version of her 

Cheesy Chicken Taquitos 

(click here for the original recipe)

The only change I made to the taquitos was to use sliced portobello mushrooms instead of the chicken breast. So to make my Cheesy Portobello Taquitos, you need:

 4 portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix

12 corn tortillas

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with foil.

Toss sliced mushrooms with seasonings and cheese in a large bowl.

Microwave 2 tortillas at a time between damp paper towels for about 20 seconds.

Lay a tortilla flat in front of you, and place about 2 tablespoons of the mushroom filling on the edge closest to you. 

Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down on the baking sheet.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Spray taquitos lightly with cooking spray and bake for 25 minutes, or until they are crisp.

I served them with refried beans and an avocado sauce for dipping, and the whole meal was a hit with everyone!

To make the sauce I put the meat of 1 avocado, 2 tablespoons greek yogurt, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tsp crushed red pepper, and 1 tsp taco seasoning in the food processor and pulsed until smooth.

I like to dress up a can of organic refried pinto beans by stirring in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable stock, some taco seasoning, and a little Mexican cheese as they cook. 

So good, so easy, so perfect for the whole family.

I am a sandwich artist.

I am a sandwich connoisseur. I declare my love for sandwiches on a regular basis, maybe more than I tell my family I love them. And don't even think about getting in line behind me at a sandwich shop. Order some predesigned sandwich off the menu?? Please. I WILL create my own, thankyouverymuch. And it will be EPIC.

And I don't neglect my passion for sandwiches at breakfast. Sometimes that's when I do my best work.

For example:

Left over from some zucchini strombolis we had

Just spread it ALL over

Cheese and hot sauce let's you know I'm serious

Because why not?

And that is all.

Happy Wednesday!

Sushi Salad Recipe

I came across a recipe for a "Sushi Salad" in the Superfood Kitchen cookbook, and was VERY interested in putting it in my mouth. I love sushi, and while I have never tried to roll my own, I can't imagine I would be very good at it. So sushi unrolled is right up my alley. I wasn't crazy about the "ginger dressing" they recomended in the book, and with a quick interwebs search, saw that others had made similiar dishes with a mayonaise based dressing. 

That's kinda what I'm all about.

So I tweaked. And tweaked. And twerked. Just kidding. 

And this is what I finished with.

To make 1 salad you need :

1/4 cup brown rice

1/2 cup water
1/4 cucumber
1/2 avocado
1/2 small carrot 
1/4 - 1/2 nori sheet
1/4 cup sprouts (I used alfalfa sprouts)
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2-1 teaspoon Wasabi paste 
1/2-1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon mayonaise (I used Veganaise)

I guess it's technically more of a sushi bowl than salad, since it doesn't have the greens usually required to deem something a salad. But whatevs. 

Start by combining the rice and water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, then cover and let cook on low for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, dice cucumber into small cubes. Peel, pit, and slice the avocado. Cut the carrot into thin matchsticks. "Toast" nori sheet, if needed. The nori I use needs to be toasted, so I just used a regular lighter and ran the sheet over the flame until it changed from brown to a bright green color.

Once the rice is cooked and cooled (place in the freezer for a few minutes to sped up the process), put it in the bottom of your bowl. Next stir in the cucumber, carrot, and avocado. 


Then top with nori strips, sprouts, and sesame seeds.

Make the dressing by mixing together the mayonaise, wasabi, sriracha, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix until the sugar is disolved and everything is combined. Taste, and add more wasabi or srircha as needed (I like it with some bite!) Drizzle over salad and dig in!.

 Click here for the printable recipe

Keeping Brooks fat: Making bulk {organic} baby food

In trying to keep Brooks on our family's clean eating path, I have made all his baby food. At around 6 months he started eating solids, usually simple, watery purees of one fruit or vegetable. He loved broccoli, and sweet potato anything remains his favorite flavor. He is now 9.5 months, so we have moved to more complex flavor combinations with more texture. To make his food, I'll use an afternoon to peel, dice, steam and mix everything. Then I can freeze it for about a months worth of meals. 

My grocery list for this batch included the following:

3/4 cup quinoa

1 cup kale

1 cup spinach

8 carrots

12 oz bag of frozen blueberries

10 oz bag of frozen peas

1/2 lb broccoli

3 medium zucchini

2 medium yellow squash

1 mango

2 pears

3 apples

2 sweet potatoes

3 bananas

Total cost: $24.67

Notes: 

*I purchased all organic produce, and local grown whenever possible.

*If you have no other use for kale, and can only buy it by larger amounts, just use spinach in its place. Or vice versa.

*Babies will seriously eat anything. Can't find a mango? Use a peach. Hate peas? Use asparagus. Brown rice can be substituted for quinoa.

*But DO pay attention to not use any hi-risk foods, such as honey, peanut butter, citrus, corn, raspberries.

 To make and store the baby food, I use the Baby Bullet system. Or just use your regular blender. I like the storage that comes with the Baby Bullet, which has a freezer tray to freeze 6 servings, as well as 6 serving containers. There are lots of other storage options available, and ice cube trays work well too. All the extra purees get stored in BPA free Ziploc bags until I'm ready to use them.

Start by prepping all your ingredients. Here is how each needs to be prepared:

Quinoa: Add quinoa and 1 cup water to small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Kale and/or spinach: toss in a large skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until wilted

Carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash, pears, apples, sweet potatoes: Peel the sweet potatoes, & peel and core the apples and pears. Chop everything into 1-2" pieces. These all need to be steamed or boiled. I don't have a steamer, so I just throw it in a pan with enough water to cover it and let it cook until soft. I did the apples and pears together, and the carrots, zucchini, and squash together. 

Peas: defrost according to package directions.

Mango and bananas: Peel and dice.

Once everything is ready to go, it's time to start creating some interesting mixes. You can adjust flavors to your babies preferences. If he favors sweeter taste, always include a fruit with your veggie mixes. Apple works well to sweeten up any green mixes.

Here are the flavor combinations I did:

Quinoa+Banana+Pear

1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1/2 banana, 1/2 pear

Sweet Potato+Zucchini+Squash+Quinoa

1/3 sweet potato, 1/3 zucchini, 1/2 squash, 1/2 cup quinoa

Broccoli+Apple+Kale

all broccoli, 1/3 apple, all kale

Blueberry+Quinoa

1/2 blueberries, 1/2 cup quinoa

Carrot+Blueberry

1/2 carrot, 1/2 blueberry

Zucchini+Banana

1/3 zucchini, 1/2 banana

Zucchini+Squash+Pear

1/3 zucchini, 1/2 squash, 1/3 pear

Apple+Carrot

1/3 apple, 1/2 carrot

Spinach+Pea+Mango

all spinach, 1/2 pea, all mango

Sweet Potato+Apple

1/2 sweet potato, 1/3 apple

Quinoa+Pea+Pear+Sweet Potato

1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 pea, 1/3 pear, 1/3 sweet potato

Measurements are by cooked and diced ingredient, so 1/2 pear equals half of my cooked chopped pears, not half of a pear. I hope that makes sense...

I blend everything as is first, then add small amounts of water as necessary until it gets to a good consistency. Depending on your child's age and how good they have gotten at mashing food with their gums, you can have a smooth yogurty consistency, or a mix with a little chunkiness.

Put your mixes in your storage containers, or in Ziploc bags. Lay the bags flat until frozen for easier storage. When I'm ready to use them, I just let them defrost in the fridge, cut off a corner, and squeeze the contents into my baby bullet containers.

And that's how I make a months worth of organic baby food in about an hour, for less than $25

Baby approved.

YUM- Vegetarian Italian Hoagie

Bold statement: This is my FAVORITE sandwich. 

I don't think it could get more delicious if it tried. 

I haven't tried, because there is no point. It's there.

Vegetarian Italian Hoagie

What you need for 4 sandwiches:

4 hoagie rolls. I like the ones that Fresh Market carries in their bakery, and the Sarah Lee ones are so friggin soft I want to make a pillow out of them.

4 slices pepper jack cheese, torn in half

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings

1 14-oz jar artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

Dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine artichoke, tomato, vinegar, oil, oregano and salt & pepper in a bowl.

If necessary, split your hoagie rolls  horizontally and pull out some of the soft bread from each side.

To assemble sandwiches, lay 2 halves of cheese on 1 side. 

Spread on the artichoke mixture and top with the onion, lettuce and pepperoncini's.

Press sandwiches together, and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Place in oven until bread is browned and cheese is melted, about 8-10 minutes.

On the left is the Fresh Market hoagie rolls, and the right is the Sarah Lee soft sandwich rolls

Recipe adapted from LaaLosh

YUM-Veggie & Noodle Stir Fry and Crab Rangoon

I LOVE Chinese food. And I think it's really easy to eat healthy (or healthier) version of Chinese food. With That being said, here's my recipes for Veggie Stir Fry and Crab Rangoon.

Veggie & Noodle Stir Fry

What you need for 2 servings:

6 oz. of whole wheat spaghetti noodles (I use Bionature organic whole wheat. And I'm totally guessing on the 6 ounces...I usually just grab a handful.)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Grated fresh ginger, or dry, whatever's cleaver.

About a cup of whatever chopped vegetables you like/have handy. Good choices are: Red, yellow, green peppers. Red or yellow onion. Carrots. Zucchini. Yellow squash. Celery. Broccoli. 

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp Sesame oil

3 tbsp Organic Soy sauce

1 tbsp Creamy natural peanut butter

1 tbsp Honey

1-3 tsp Sriracha-Chinese hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Start by bringing water to boil in a large pot. 

Add pasta and cook till al dente. Drain and toss with sesame oil.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook 3 minutes. Add other vegetables, and saute until tender.

Add soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, sriracha, rice vinegar, and pepper. Mix it all up till everything is coated, the add noodles to skillet.

Stir it all up so everything is good and saucy, and your done!

Crab Rangoon

This recipe makes about 25, but adjust to how many you need. Wonton's can be frozen, and so can leftover crab meat.

What you need:

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 oz crab meat. You can use imitation if you want. I got a lb of actual crab meat from the Fresh Market for like $13, and just used what I needed and froze the rest. I'll get so many crab rangoon out of that!!

1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped

25 wonton wrappers- We got the large size egg roll wrappers, and cut them in quarters.

canola oil for frying

Combine cream cheese, crab meat, and onion in a mixing bowl until well combined. You could use a food processor if you wanted. 

Place about 2 tsp of the crab mixture into the center of each wonton.

Wet your finger, and dampen the edges of the wonton wrapper to help it seal shut.

You can either just fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle, or bunch it up and lightly twist at the top to seal. We did the bunch a twist method, 

and it was like tiny little crab rangoon presents, just waiting to be opened.

Heat about 2 inches of oil to medium high heat in a large pot. 

Add a few crab rangoon at a time, and fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Let cool slightly, and start popping them in your mouth! 

YUM!

Recipe adapted from I Breath...I'm Hungry

YUM- Crock Pot Apple Butter

This is one of those things that at soon as I put in in my mouth, I felt like my life before that point was void of meaning because no apple butter had been in it.

I mean seriously. It's that good.

Unfortunately, I have an irrational fear that if I leave the crock pot on all day, my house will burn to the ground. And no amount of apple butter is worth that. So I will have to save making this dish for days when I don't plan to leave the house. Like Sunday.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

What you need:

about a dozen apples, peeled, cored, and cubed. I say about, because I used organic apples, which tend to be a little smaller, so I used more. Use the equivalent to a dozen average size apples...I just made that confusing, didn't I? Moving on...

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon All Spice

1/4-1/2 Cup Honey

Now just put everything but the honey into your crock pot and set it for high (6-8 hours) or low (10-12 hours). Depends on how bad you want the butter, I guess. 

I started mine on high, then turned it down to low once things started getting good and cooked in there.

Every few hours, give it a stir. Once the apples have disintegrated and it seems like an appropriate consistency, add a 1/4 cup of the honey. Stir. Taste. 

Sweet enough? If not, add some more honey.

Totally not necessary, but I blended about half of the mixture until smooth, then added it back to the rest. It gave it more spreadable texture.

This recipe made about a pint of butter, which lasted no time in my house. Next time I will double the amount, cause once you go for the butter, you'll never go back.

Recipe adapted from Cake Student

YUM-Apple Pie Oatmeal

I love oatmeal. Most days I just pour some oats in a jar, add a dash of salt and brown sugar, and pour in some Almond Milk. Then I put a lid on it, let it soak on my way to work, and by time I'm sitting at my desk I have a easy, filling breakfast.

But, on days when I have more time, this 

Apple Pie Oatmeal 

is like my special treat.

And easy. All you need is:

1 apple, cut from the core and chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup  of water
1/2 cup organic rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the oats, apple, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Adjusted the heat to low and simmer the oatmeal until apples are a little soft and liquid is all absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Top it off with a little milk (I use Sugar Free Vanilla Almond Milk) and a sprinkle of brown sugar. 

So. Good.

Recipe adapted from Family Feedbag

YUM-I think I might have created the most amazing thing to enter my mouth...ever.

Every week I create a 7 day meal plan for the following week, and then make my grocery list accordingly. This is great because we only buy the groceries we will need, so therefore we save money and waste a lot less food.

But it's hard! I spend what seems like HOURS scouring the Internet for recipes that:

A. Are meatless

B. My family will eat

C. Aren't boring salads, pasta's, or any other bland stereotypical vegetarian meal.

Hard. Core.

All I have to say is thank the sweet baby jesus for Pinterest. It has come to my rescue on many occasions!

I recently stumbled upon this little gem, and thought YUM!



Open-Faced Ratatouille Sandwich



And then thought, "I can do better."

And I did.

Presenting "The best sandwich I've ever put in my mouth"

...or something like that. Clearly needs a better name...

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 small zucchini slices, then quartered
1/2 medium red pepper, cut in strips

1/2 of a small red onion, cut in slices
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

2 slices of mozzarella cheese

salt & pepper

Oregano

2 eggs

Loaf of French bread...or any other good crusty bread. I used this Rosemary French bread that I found at The Fresh Market, and it was awesome.

1/2 cup Veganaise (or whatever you use, Miracle Whip or mayonnaise would be fine)

1 chipotle pepper, minced (from a can of Chipotle Chili's in Adobo Sauce)

1/2 teaspoon-1 teaspoon of Adobo sauce

squirt of lemon juice

How To: (Makes 2 VERY FILLING portions)

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add garlic, onion, eggplant, zucchini, & red peppers. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.

Add cherry tomatoes, salt & pepper, and oregano. Cook for about 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook eggs in separate skillet to desired doneness, and toast 4 slices of bread until lightly browned. I did this in our toaster oven, but you could just as easily place them under the broiler for a few minutes.

For chipotle mayo: Mix together mayo of your choice with minced chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and lemon juice. Chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce are crazy spicy, so I recommend adding a little, tasting, and adjusting as necessary!

Place 2 slices of bread together on each plate. Spread a nice thick layer of chipotle mayo over top.

Top with a heaping serving of the sauteed vegetables. (I had about a 1/2 cup of veggies left over after assembling both sandwiches)

Top each with a slice of mozzarella cheese

And put an egg on it! Grab a fork and knife and dig in.

I'm not at all joking when I say how amazing this is. Richard and I were talking about it HOURS after dinner was over.

The only thing missing is a super bad ass name to represent this super bad ass sandwich.

My pal Erin has appropriately called it the "OMG"

and Lincoln dubbed it the "Eggy Face"

Any other suggestions??

Tia