Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf

Lentils and Walnuts unite to make this protein packed vegetable main course! (Link!) I chose to make this dish for Passover, substituting the bread crumbs for whole wheat matzah meal (yes I know this is being posted late!). It was a huge hit - and super satisfying (I didn't even miss the brisket!). It has a dense meatiness and the topping has such a lovely sweetness. 

This amazing loaf has lentils, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, breadcrumbs, walnuts, and flax seed (as a binder!). The topping is a sweet blend of maple syrup, ketchup, and balsamic. 

cooking the lentils and veggies - yum! 

I think this dish would be amazing for Thanksgiving. It really does act as a hearty meat substitute, and is vegan too so it is a great alternative for your guests with food restrictions. I imagine you could even do gluten free with gluten free breadcrumbs!  And did I mention how fast this dish comes together? You're welcome :)

Teriyaki Veggie Stir Fry

Have I mentioned how much I love the Hummusapien food blog? Well here's another recipe from her that gets 5 stars. It is full of nutritious veggies, protein rich quinoa and edamame, and deliciously healthy fat from cashews. Not to mention, it tastes dynamite.

The secret to this quick and easy stir fry is the sauce. Bottled grocery store teriyaki sauce is honestly scary. I shudder to think about some of those ingredient lists. 

This sauce is simply made of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha and....canned pineapple for sweetness! That's it! In her recipe she calls for 2T of sweetener but it honestly doesn't need it! It is sweet and perfectly balanced as is! Now thats a sauce you can feel good about. 

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The stir fry itself is full of delicious onion, garlic, ginger, shredded carrot, bell pepper, broccoli, snap peas, quinoa (or brown rice), edamame, and cashews. 

I whipped up this dish with a friend one evening and we had a lot of fun making it. You just need to start the quinoa, chop up the veggies, blend the sauce, and then sauté everything! We ate outside and it was the perfect fresh dish for a pleasant spring evening. There's nothing better than eating food that tastes delicious and nourishes your body at the same time. Enjoy!

Love this recipe? Try the other recipe I've made from her blog: the Creamy Artichoke Spaghetti Squash!

Baked Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Hello friends! Today I bring you a breakfast recipe to spruce up your morning routine. I love baked oatmeal. It is incredibly convenient because you can make a pan of it and have a healthy breakfast ready to go throughout the week. Regular oatmeal can get a bit boring, so this recipe for Carrot Cake Oatmeal (Link to Recipe) is perfect to mix things up. Plus it's great to sneak veggies into breakfast whenever possible.

This delightful dish has oats, cinnamon, vanilla, shredded carrots, almond milk, ginger, raisins, and nuts.

I decided to half the original recipe to make just three servings for myself to eat during the week. I used a loaf pan and baked it 30 minutes. I also made some substitutions to take it to the next level! So if you use my suggestions and are following the original recipe, make sure to double my measurements.

My substitutions:
-For an added nutrient boost and a unique flavor I subbed some of the almond milk for carrot juice! I used 3/4 c carrot juice and 1/2 c unsweetend almond milk.
-I also cut out the maple syrup and subbed 1/6 c mashed banana. With this substitution, the end result is not at all sweet. So if you like sweet oatmeal than definitely keep in the syrup.  I spread a little 100% fruit apricot jam on top as a way to sweeten it up a little, or you can drizzle some syrup on top to taste.
-I used slivered almonds instead of walnuts but I think walnuts would give a nice crunch.

Bonus tip:
Next time I will try this in muffin tins for easy portioning and may even stick some in the freezer! I'll let you know how they freeze!

Cauliflower Fried Rice

This is one of my all time favorite healthy recipes, and I can't believe I haven't posted about it yet! It is one of the easiest and most delicious recipes and you can basically eat as much as you want (sign me up!).

Cauliflower, Peas, Carrots, Onion, Egg, Soy Sauce, Garlic

This (Link) is a good recipe to start with, but it is super flexible (just like regular fried rice). You can add any veggies you want (broccoli sounds good!), tofu or another protein, cashews (yum). But this recipe gives a good starting point, and takes just 30 minutes (yes please!).

What can make this so easy is if you can buy the already riced cauliflower. Trader Joes sells riced cauliflower in the produce section, and it makes this recipe so so easy. If you can't find riced cauliflower, you can make your own in a high powered blender or a food processor. It adds a bit of time to the recipe, but is still totally worth it. Just pulse the raw cauliflower florets until they look like rice!

super easy instructions
So you start by making the scrambled eggs and setting them aside. Then saute your garlic and onion, then add in in the peas and carrots. Finally add in the cauliflower, soy sauce, and the cooked eggs and stir frequently till the cauliflower is tender (5-7 minutes). That's it! If you make just one recipe from my blog, please please let it be this. Your life will never be the same.