Whole Grain Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat’s Cheese

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:
6 oz whole grain pasta (spaghetti, soba, etc.)
16 sun-dried tomato halves (not packed in oil)
1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
4 tsp pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
2 oz goat’s cheese, crumbled

Instructions:
Place the sun-dried tomato halves in a dish with warm water, cover, and allow to soften (about ¼ hr). Drain and chop roughly.

In the meantime, puree the basil leaves, pine nuts, oil and garlic in a blender and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and place in a large serving dish. Add the pesto, chopped tomatoes and goat’s cheese and toss gently.

Serve immediately!

This sounds so good!  I would probably use Soba noodles instead of spaghetti if I were to make it.

 

Blueberry Green Smoothie

1 c frozen blueberries
2 handfuls of spinach
1 scoop protein powder
1 c water (cold)
2 tbsp Chia seeds
Ice

This is probably one of my favorite healthy smoothie recipes yet. I forgot to add ice so I had to let it sit in fridge for a bit and while in there it thickened because of the addition of Chia seeds (they expand in liquid). So what does one do when it’s too thick to drink?  Pour it in a bowl and eat it up with a spoon.  Adding a bit of granola on top makes a nice touch. Yum!

Last week, I made up a mixed berry green smoothie. It was delicious but not as good as today’s blueberry green smoothie in a bowl.  I’ll share the recipe below.

But on another topic, I really need a new medium size smoothie maker/blender.  I have the Magic Bullet which is my all time favorite BUT it’s small and real hard to put all the green smoothie ingredients in it.  My mom gave me her full size Magic Bullet, the Bullet Express so I’ll try that next. My current smoothie maker is on it’s last leg. Might go out with the trash tomorrow.

So here are the ingredients for the mixed berry green smoothie from last week.

Mixed Berry Green Smoothie

1 c Berry Medley
1 c Naked Mango Coconut Water
2 handfuls spinach
1 banana
Splash of vanilla
A little squirt of agave nectar

I did not add protein powder to this one.

The smoothie was tasty but not pretty ha ha

Enjoy!

 

I absolutely love sweet potatoes and black beans.  I usually just put black beans on a sweet potato and eat it up but this sounds a lot tastier.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Black Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 15oz can black beans, rinsed
• 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¼ cup reduced-fat sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prick sweet potatoes with fork a few times.  Then bake in the oven for about one hour, or until tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

In the meantime, place beans, tomatoes, olive oil, spices (cumin and coriander) in a saucepan. Season with salt and cook until heated through.

Cut each potato lengthwise and press open to make a well. Spoon the bean mixture on top in the center of the sweet potatoes, add a bit of sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and sprinkle with cilantro.

Perfect healthy lunch for a cold day.

 

If you haven’t heard of the paleo diet, you can read the What is the Paleo diet? post I wrote for Angie last week where I explain what the paleo diet is in more detail. But today I wanted to share what a typical day might look like on the paleo diet.

Why?

Because people who have never heard of the paleo diet always wonder exactly what you might eat when you can’t eat all those non paleo diet foods. So to make it easy I thought I’d just include some pictures of what a typical day of paleo meals might look like on my plate.

Breakfast- A bountiful serve of bacon, scrambled eggs and freshly cooked salsa

Snack – Nuts, seeds and a few raisins

Lunch – Spicy chicken served over a bed of lettuce and topped with avocado and a drizzle of olive oil

Dinner – A delicious plate of spaghetti bolognaise – without the spaghetti because that’s not paleo friendly. Instead this bolognaise is served on a bed of tasty sautéed cabbage noodles.

You can get the recipe for this paleo meal right here on Angie’s blog.

And of course don’t forget to keep healthy snacks handy. This is essential to any weight loss success!

Snacks I keep handy at work.

Some tinned salmon and tuna, apples or fruit, and a bag of nuts.

As you can see from the above day of eating, the paleo diet and lifestyle is far from boring. Anyway I hope that gives you a good idea on what the paleo diet is all about.

If you want more info about it you can visit my paleo diet blog and if you sign up for my newsletter you will receive a free paleo diet food list and a snack ideas list too. This will give you lots of ideas for healthy snack ideas no matter what diet you’re on!

 

What is the Paleo diet?

The background of the paleo diet is built around the premise that our genetics have not changed too much since the Palaeolithic era, otherwise known as the caveman era. Palaeolithic researchers have gone into proving that this phenomenon is true and that many of our modern food sources are the key problems in the development of diseases such as weight gain/obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and so forth.

You see methods of agriculture to grow things like grains and legumes en masse have only been around for about 10 000 years. So these scientists say that our bodies have not been able to adapt to the change. On the other hand, the caveman way of eating had sustained our human species for millions of years. Of course we couldn’t avoid death by sabre tooth tiger, but the existence of disease was rare.

There is still a lot more research to do but people are seeing incredible results from the paleo diet and lifestyle, with both easy weight loss and many increased health benefits.

It makes logical sense when you think about it. But although the whole caveman idea is the premise on which the paleo diet comes from, I personally like to think of it as a real food, clean food and a natural, healthy diet that excludes many of the foods of modern agriculture.

So what can you eat on the paleo diet?

• You can eat a wide selection of protein sources including red meats, chicken, duck, turkey, game meats, organ meats, fish, seafood and eggs.

• You can eat any type of vegetables you like and there are many of those delicious things to choose from in every shape, color and form!

• You can eat fruit, dried fruit, nuts and seeds in small quantities.

• You can eat fresh and dried herbs and spices.

• You can eat good sources of fat including avocado, olive oils, coconut oil, nut butters, flax seed oil, and coconut.

And what foods should you avoid?

What you should avoid on the paleo diet is pretty important if you want to see results for weight loss and health improvements.

You should avoid all grains, legumes, beans, dairy, white potatoes and potato products, excess salt, processed meats, sugary sweet things, deep fried foods and any type of processed foods for that matter. That means sauces, condiments, pasta, pizza; candy, cookies and all those other packaged foods must go.

And yes, say goodbye to your take out fast food! Sorry about that but it’s no good for you and won’t help you achieve your goal so you should be happy I mentioned it!

Does this sound like it might be a life sentence to you?

I thought so too when I first read what I had to cut out on the paleo diet! Believe me, I loved eating bread and pastas, and lots of them too! Sure it may have been a bit hard initially, but surprisingly I have thoroughly enjoyed eating this way and now I would never go back.

I have experienced so many improvements all round including weight loss, no bloating, increased energy and vitality, the ability to think clearly, my moods are level throughout the day, and I just generally feel better all round.

Anyway I hope this gives you a bit of a look inside the paleo diet.

If you want more info you can visit my paleo diet blog and read all day if you like. Would love to see you there. Have a great day. Jedha

 

We look forward to having her guest post here often.  Please do welcome her to Losing It and Loving It.  We hope you enjoy her recipe!

Bolognaise with Cabbage Noodles

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef mince
• 1 large onion – roughly diced
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 medium carrots – grated
• 2 x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
• 250g-tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
• 1-cup water

Cabbage Noodles

• 4 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 1-teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of tamari (wheat free soy sauce) – you can also use ordinary soy sauce
• Water

Cooking Method

1. Heat olive oil in pan
2. Add onion and sauté over medium heat until lightly browned
3. Add the mince and brown the mince for 10 minutes, stirring regularly to break mince up and stop from sticking to pan
4. Add grated carrots and herbs and stir to combine well, cook for a further 5-10 minutes or until most of the mince is lightly browned
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, and ½ cup of water and stir well to combine
6. Then reduce heat to very low and simmer for 20 minutes stirring on the odd occasion
7. Add the extra ½ cup of water, stir and let simmer for a further 20 minutes. Again make sure you stir it occasionally
8. When your sauce is almost ready cook the cabbage noodles for serving
9. Add the 1-teaspoon of olive oil into a fry pan and heat the pan
10. Add the cabbage into the pan and begin to sauté the cabbage letting it brown so it gets a tasty flavour.
11. Sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly and then add the tamari/soy sauce over the top and stir in. It will steam up and the pan will dry out but continue to sauté it like this for a few minutes so it absorbs the smoky, dry flavour.
12. After a few minutes add a small amount of water to the pan, turn down the heat and let the cabbage noodles simmer slowly until cooked to your desire. You can cook them more if you want them soft or if you like to eat them a bit crispier just cook them less.
13. Serve the noodles on a plate and top with the bolognaise sauce.

BON APPETIT!

Note: The sauce will keep in the fridge for a few days and you can also freeze it for later.

This recipe is a family favorite at Jedha’s house. You can find more healthy weight loss recipes over at Jedha’s Paleo Diet Blog.

 

Winter is rolling in and this sounds like the perfect meal for a cold day.

Crockpot Lentil Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable stock
1 ½ cups green lentils, washed and sorted
4 cups kale, finely chopped
5 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
Handful of cheese, grated
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to a crockpot, give it a good stir and cook for about 8 hours (temperature depends on your specific crockpot).

Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice, sprinkle with grated cheese and serve with healthy bread.

Enjoy!

 

A lot of people have been asking me about the health benefits of chia seeds and how to incorporate them into your daily life. I was offered a product to sample for review so it’s perfect timing to share the info with you.

Health Warrior sent me their new 100 calorie peanut butter chocolate chia bar samples to taste.  Heath warrior is a premium chia seed company and Nick Morris, co-founder of the company says, “We created Health Warrior because we experienced first-hand the health and fitness benefits of the chia seed and wanted to share our discovery with the world.”

These little 100 calorie bars are good!  Perfect size and great snack. They kept me full for quite some time. I liked that they were soft and easy to chew.  Nothing like a hard crunchy granola bar, thank goodness.  A lot of ‘power’ bars leave a chalky taste in my mouth and these did not.  I am also impressed by the ingredients, no funky stuff in it that I have no clue what it is.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are loaded with many healthy nutrients like calcium, omega 3′s, protein, fiber (these little seeds pack a punch and keep you full for hours), antioxidants and more.  Chia seeds can help you balance your blood sugar, keep you hydrated and give you that boost of energy you need.

About Chia Seeds

Chia seeds can be added to a variety of foods/meals.  I like to add them to yogurt, sprinkle over cereal, salad and applesauce.  You can also grind them (or not) and add them to smoothies.  AND grind them up to use when baking (they can replace eggs).  When chia seeds and liquid come together the chia seeds expand and have a gel like substance.

Here is what Health Warrior has to say about chia seeds,

“Chia seeds are unprocessed, nutty-tasting, nutrient-dense whole seeds with omega-3 fatty acids. They have among the highest antioxidant activity of any whole food. Researchers who have studied the seed have called it an “almost perfect food” featuring myriad health benefits, including the ability to energize, rejuvenate muscles, hydrate, improve cardiovascular health, support detoxification, augment strength, bolster endurance, stabilize blood sugar, induce weight loss and aid intestinal regularity. And chia seeds are one of the most nutrient-dense foods on earth, offering a remarkable array of disease-fighting and health-promoting nutrients. In fact, chia seeds boast the highest level of Omega-3 Essential Acids found in any whole plant food.”

Here are some chia seed recipes that sound interesting:

Chocolate Banana Chia Pudding

Raw Pumpkin Chia Pudding

Quick and Easy Chia Seed Recipes (these look awesome!)

Have you ever tried chia seeds?

 

For Workouts/Exercise: 

Holland and Barrett has a nice variety of  workout DVD’s which include Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Belly Dancing and more.   They have protein power bars, whey protein powder to use in healthy smoothies and even a variety of shaker/blender bottles to whip up a quick after workout shake. The ever popular Coconut Water is on their shelves too.  Coconut water helps you rehydrate and is awesome anytime of day.

For Mind and Body:

They have a great selection of relaxation and spa type items.  Imagine a day of pampering with their aromatherapy essential and massage oils, sprays and calming music.  They have a collection of CD’s like Mozart, The Sea, Tranquility and my top choice Dolphin Serenade.

And with their wide variety of Bath & Body accessories like sea salt, loofahs, salt scrubs and body lotions they definitely have all you need to relieve the stress and relax after a busy day.  Set up a spa in your own home!

For Foodies:

I’m amazed at how many food products they have available here at Holland & Barrett.  The health food shop is chock full of cereals, nuts, dried fruit and many other goodies like their new Belgian dark, milk and white chocolate bars.  A wide list of supplements is available as are vegetarian, vegan, egg free, gluten free and low sugar/sugar free products.

You can get spreads/preserves, spices & herbs, all types of teas, beans and rice and so much more.  You are most definitely covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks AND dessert options.  And if you like to end your evening with a drink, they even have a bottle of Organic Hot Toddy (available in their local stores).

Happy Shopping!

P.S. They are a green company too!

 

Sure makes me want to send some hugs to a few awesome vegetarian bloggers I follow on a regular basis.

Hugs go to these awesome ladies:

Emily from Daily Garnish. Take a peek at Emily’s fabulous recipes.

Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point.  Check out some of her unique and fun lunches and dinners.

Lindsay from Happy Herbivore (she’s vegan). Her book is on my wishlist.

and

Sarah aka Mama Pea from Peas and Thank You. Meet the pea family!  Her book is on my wishlist too.

Short and sweet today, just wanted to give a shout out.  I can’t believe it’s been over two years since I became a vegetarian (although I still eat fish/dairy/eggs). I’m always on the lookout for more meal ideas.

Do you have any favorite vegetarian blogs?