RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Have Been Eating: Enchiladas, Spinach & Artichoke Pie, Carrot Cashew Salad & MORE!!!

Well it been surprisingly harder than I thought to get back into the routine of blogging!  For the past few months I've been commuting 3-5 hours round trip daily to work at a special hospital and between baby preparations, work, studying and driving--well, lets just say it has been very hectic.  Blogging on a consistent routine was challenging pre-pregnancy but not nearly as complicated as it is now!  Anyways, I'll just do the best I can!  

Today, I'd like to share some of the foods the Happy Nurse and I have been eating over the last few weeks.  In early August we decided to get some help with cooking from a friend who does personal chef work. Our friend, the chef, cooked some awesome meals for us.  Her rates were really reasonable for the two weeks we got help and even though its several weeks later, we still have some yummy leftovers in the freezer from her efforts.

Having yummy vegan meals on hand was just the boost we needed for me to become energized about returning to the kitchen again!  So now I'm doing a little bit of cooking each week--nothing near the bulk cooking that my husband and I did pre-pregnancy (I just don't have 4 hours in a row to team cook--WAY too much to do turning our home into a kid-friendly space when I get a block of time off!) and I'll share some of the dishes I'm making myself in a later post.

For now, here are some of the dishes our chef friend made for us--she made her own lentil chili (amazzzing--I'll need to ask if she is willing to guest post on that recipe!) and her own Indonesian salad for us, but the rest were from vegan blogger's recipes I'd been wanting to try but never had the chance...until now.  YUM!!!!  Here is what we ate:  

HGK Enchiladas!

1)  Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Mushroom, Kale & Spinach Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Cream.  

The Healthy Librarian raved about this dish and already being a huge fan of Wendy (HGK), it was the first recipe I asked our friend to make.  OMG--SOOOOO good!  A fantastic mix of flavors and the Poblano Cream just totally made it outstanding.

2)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Cashew Carrot Salad:

Ok let me just say that my husband ADORED this dish.  He picked it off Susan Voisin's site and wanted it made both weeks we got help. I loved it too!  Sweet but not too sweet.  Made without sugar--this is a seriously good carrot salad and if you have a sweet tooth (as I have this entire pregnancy) then you will LOVE it!  

3)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's International Quinoa Salad:  

Once again, another pick from the Happy Nurse.  SO good.  The lime juice is such a great combo with the quinoa and chickpeas.  I completely agree with Susan Voisin--you don't miss the olive oil AT ALL!  Packed with protein--definitely an awesome meal for a person growing a human being!  :-)

4)  My New Roots Winter Slaw

Ok so obviously I'm a huge fan of this salad!  I've blogged about it many many times in the past (here for example)--there is just something awesome about shredded raw kale and carrots.  Talk about dense nutrients--adding the cabbage and the sesame seeds and its a nutritional home run.  YUM!  

5)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Spinach & Artichoke Pie

I've been wanting to try this for ages because Susan Voisin raves about this recipe (along with her blog readers) but was a bit intimidated with the phyllo dough part.  I didn't make it myself of course, but it didn't sound as if it was crazy complicated to make and the finished product was AMAZING!  It is incredible how it can have only 5g of fat and still pack in 11g of protein per serving while tasting SO high in fat!  I absolutely LOVE Greek food--Skanakopita is a long time favorite that I haven't had in years since I gave up cheese.  This pie is just like I remember Skanakopita tasting except it is SO much healthier!!!  Phenomenal.

I love the way I feel physically when I eat vegan--my body just feels so clean and well fueled.  Like its happy I gave it the gift of good nutrition.  

In the coming weeks I'm going to try to make one pot of soup per week to have on hand.  Do you have any soups to recommend??!!!

Thanks! :-)

RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Are Eating This Week! Baba Ganoush, Plant-Strong Pizza, Cuban Black Beans, Salads & MORE!!!

As I write this post I'm waiting for homemade pizza dough to rise in the oven.  I had the afternoon off and after coming home to the exciting discovery of an Amazon box on my doorstep, I decided to delve straight in to Mark Sutton's new book "Heart Healthy Pizza!"  I'll keep you all posted on the pizza construction process but so far it looks very promising!!  


It feels like I haven't written a food plan post in FOREVER, but its been a hectic few weeks and between vacation and work I just haven't had time!  I kept up my commitment to salads (as I wrote in this post) and have actually come up with a few yummy salad ideas on my own!  Much to my surprise, I'm really liking the addition of salads to my daily diet!  It makes getting the necessary veggies (I eat minimum of 2 cups straight veggies per meal) in easier!


WHAT ARE YOU EATING THIS WEEK??!!! ANY RECIPES TO PASS ON?


Snacks:

• Smokey Baba Ghanoush from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson:  Made this for a party last weekend and WOW it was a hit! I HIGHLY recommend you get this cookbook--I've posted about recipes from it here & here.)
• Robin Robertson's Polenta Crostini with Eggplant Tapenade also from her book, Party Vegan.  I used store bought polenta as the base.  The Tapenade was AMAZING.  You mix together the inside of one eggplant (roasted in the oven for 20 mins & then cooled so you can peel the skin off) with 1/2 cup kalamata olives, 3 garlic cloves, salt and pepper.  I adapted the recipe a bit because I didn't have any capers and was making this all in a big rush before the party!  Everyone LOVED it! 

Entrees & Soup

• PIZZZAAAAA!!!  As mentioned above, from Mark Sutton's new book "Heart Healthy Pizza":  Homemade Pizza with Light White-Brown Sauce topped with olives, sundried tomatoes & peppers.  I'm making the pizza dough with gluten-free all purpose flour from Bob's Red Mill!  To get a taste of the type of recipes offered in the cookbook, check out a few sample recipes on Mark Sutton's website.
• My old AMAZING soup stand-by The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Coconut Curry Kale, Chick Pea and Sweet Potato Soup:  I liked this but it probably wasn't my absolute favorite--which surprised me because I expected it to be!  I was missing a few ingredients though--like the bok choy so I may have just totally missed the boat on this recipe because of incorrect ingredients!!
• Mushroom Tibs from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz:  The Happy Nurse and I had a delicious vegan meal at an Ethiopian restaurant on our date night last week so I had to incorporate some Ethiopian food for this week!  YUM!
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Cuban Black Beans & Kale:  I've been wanting a Cuban black bean recipe!  After having the vegetarian plate at the FANTASTIC Columbia Restaurant in Tampa (on our vacation) I've been craving some good black beans.  Can't wait to make this recipe this weekend!  I've been waiting for my plantain's to turn black so I can cook them & they are almost ready so with a few onions on top, I may just be able to recreate part of the dinner we happily ate there!
• Beetballs by Susan Voisin of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:  HELLOOOOOOO wonderful!  I'm so excited to have a "meat ball" without soy in it!  Whooohooo!! :-)

Salads:

• Rice Noodle Salad (cold) mixed with my Shredded Kale and Carrot salad (below) & Cool Slaw Dressing from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
• Shredded Kale & Carrot salad--this has been an exciting find that I figured out all on my own!  Inspired by the awesome My New Roots' Winter Slaw recipe, I shredded kale and carrot together for a basic, yummy and nutritious salad.  I've eaten this a few different ways:

• With raisins mixed in, no dressing
• With "Cool Slaw"Dressing from the Appetite for Reduction Cookbook by Isa Chandra (I can't tell you how highly I recommend this cookbook!!!  She has tons of low fat dressing recipes & everything I've made from here so far is excellent) (recipe below)

"Cool Slaw Dressing" (recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction Cookbook)

Mix in a blender or food processor:

1/4 cup cashew pieces

2 Tbl minced onions (she says fresh, I used dried minced)

1/2 cup water

5 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp non-cane sugar sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

• Caesar Salad:  With Healthy Girl's Kitchen's  "No-Oil Caesar Salad Dressing,"  I modified the recipe a bit.  I used pinto beans this week instead of garbanzo.  I add more capers (she says 2 Tbl, I add the whole bottle!).  I add more dates (she says 2, I add 5!).  See the original (and I'm sure delicious) recipe here.

COMING SOON!!:

• Preparing for a Joint Replacement--What can YOU do BEFORE surgery to have a quicker recovery? ~post series in two parts: Knee & then Hip ~
• SLEEP:  Why Is it Critical for Your Health ~ Join the Sleep Challenge!!!
• Interviews With My Favorite Plant-Strong Bloggers!
• AND MORE!!

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