Last week I was craving Mexican, but without all of the ground beef or flank steak.  I knew I had to use some creative marketing to convince BJ to forgo the meat – I was hoping that if I said “vegetables” over and over, it might just work (the man loves veggies).  I couldn’t have picked a more delicious dish to con convince my husband to eat a vegetarian dinner; Layered Vegetable Enchiladas is the perfect weeknight dinner or dinner party pleaser.

It’s easy, and it looks beautiful (so much so that I wanted to photograph it more than I wanted to eat it).

Ingredients
1 can corn (15 oz)
1 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3-4 limes
bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans (15 oz)
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
chili powder
salt & pepper
8 tortillas
3/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large pot, combine corn, green/red peppers, red onion, juice from 2 limes, tomatoes, chili powder, salt & pepper, and cook until liquid is almost evaporated.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mash black beans with cilantro, lime juice, chili powder, and salt & pepper.   Arrange 4-6 large tortillas on a large baking sheet (spray with Olive Oil or Pam).  Spread bean mixture evenly on each tortilla.  Top each with 1/2 cup of vegetable mixture and cheese.  Layer each tortilla on top of each other; top remaining tortilla with vegetable mixture and cheese.  Bake until hot throughout, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to plate; garnish with lime wedge, fresh cilantro, and serve.

Enjoy!

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Hello readers! My name is Kammie and I am a healthy living food blogger over at Sensual Appeal Blog and a Fitfluential Ambassador. I live over in the beautiful city of Chicago and I’m currently a senior in college. Being a student, my life is all about balancing what’s important – school, work, hobbies, fitness, and healthy eating. I’m managing quite well and that’s mainly thanks to the accountability of the blog and preparing easy healthy recipes which I’ve been learning since starting my blog in March.

I am thrilled to be here at {will run for margaritas} to share something delicious with you guys. As you probably already know, post-workout or post-run eats are hugely important in proper recovery. My recovery meals range from protein oats, shakes, eggs, or…. soft serve. Wait, soft serve? Yes! Because I have an enormous sweet tooth and just because I like to eat healthy doesn’t mean I have to sacrifice my preferences and my sweet tooth… like chocolate? No way, I could never give up chocolate. So today I am sharing with you guys my go-to quick recovery meal, a Mocha Banana Protein Soft Serve. Are you ready for this? I hope so.

I used to drink my favorite recovery meal as a regular protein shake at first. The Mocha Banana protein shake was one of my first recipes to be posted on my blog and I’ve been drinking it quite a lot ever since. I recently tweaked it to make it more decadent tasting. Because I’d rather feel like I’m eating dessert. That’s just me and my huge sweet tooth. Sorry I’m not sorry.

I hope you make this delicious vegan recovery snack/breakfast/dessert/whatever-else-it-could-count-as. It’s not only healthy and vegan, it also has no sugar added! So you can have no guilt for satisfying that mocha craving.

Ingredients (serves 1)
2/3 frozen banana
5-6 ice cubes
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder (I used Isopure)
1 tsp Inka (or instant coffee)
1 Tbsp Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
1 Tbsp oat bran
1/8 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
1/8 tsp agar powder (optional)
shake of cinnamon
1/3 – 1/2 cup almond milk

Instructions
Put the ingredients in a blender in the order listed. Add a little bit of almond milk at a time, just to get everything going. Add more to make the mixture blend easier if it gets stuck. The outcome will be thick and creamy, of soft serve consistency. Top with cereal if desired (I used Sally’s Natural Cocoa cereal).

Enjoy!

It’s official: I can’t stop eating cucumber “noodle” salad – it’s seriously like a party in my mouth {BJ thinks I’m crazed} I love that I can taste every flavor (I could eat fresh mint & cilantro everyday), but at the same time, it’s the perfect blend and not-overpowering.  The best part?  It’s healthy and super easy to make!

Ingredients:
Cucumber
Red Onion
Scallion
Mint
Cilantro
Peanuts (optional)
Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Pepper

Directions:
Skin the cumcumber and cut into two – julienne half of the cumber (to give it a noodle-like apperance) and thinly slice the other half.  Chop red onion, scallion, mint, and cilantro.  Combine ingredients.  Add salt & pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar.  Top with peanuts.

Enjoy! 

I’ve been enforcing encouraging “Meatless Monday” at the Jones household (and yes, I’m aware today is not Monday – although I’ll admit, I just barely know what day it is).  We don’t eat a ton of meat as it is, but I think it’s important to make a conscious decision to avoid it once/week.  I was originally craving Chicken Tortilla Soup, but felt that with the right spices and ingredients, this soup would flourish without chicken.  I was right.  This Vegetarian Tortilla Soup was a huge hit and full of flavor.  It’s super easy to make – it’s a real crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 can (12 oz) corn
2 cans (24 oz) black beans
2 containers (32 oz) Vegetable broth
1 large can (15 oz), diced tomatoes
1 can (4 oz) diced chilies {I use mild}
3 -4 cloves of garlic
1-2 limes, juice
Handful of fresh, chopped cilantro

Spices {be bold, add or substitute spices as desired}
Cumin
Paprika
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Nature’s Seasoning
Chili & Smoked Sea Salt grinder {Trader Joe’s}

Directions
In a large pot, over medium heat, saute onion, red pepper, and green pepper until soft.  Add garlic, fresh cilantro, and spices, cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the green chilies, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, juice from 1 lime, and vegetable broth.  Cook until warmed through.

Serve in bowls garished with avocado, mexican cheese, tortilla chips and lime wedge.
{other toppings include: sour cream, hot sauce, cilantro}

Enjoy!

{recipe was adapted, and made my own, from various recipes that I found online}

BJ  and I have a friend that is currently living in Kabul (yes, Afghanistan).  I don’t want to get into details – but let’s just say it’s not very fun over there.  Dave is home for 3 weeks and had one request: Thai Chicken Pasta.

This recipe is full of wonderful flavors and beautiful colors.  It’s great for parties or leftovers  {it actually tastes better 1-2 days later}.  While it’s not difficult to make, there is a lot of chopping, grating, slicing involved – but it’s totally worth it!

This one’s for you Dave!

Ingredients
1 lb chicken
1/2 lb vermicelli noodles
1/4 lb snow peas or sugar snap peas
2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
1/4 head sliced savoy or napa cabbage
2 scallions minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 cup peanuts
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Cook noodles al dente as instructed on package, rinse under cold water.  Meanwhile, brown chicken until cooked (I like to cook the chicken in a light teriyaki sauce).  Chop, slice, grate vegetables.  Toss all ingredients together and dress with the vinaigrette.

Note: Add bean sprouts last & reserve some vinaigrette to be added before serving (noodles will drink up the sauce)

Enjoy!

The other night all BJ wanted for dinner was soup or stew – specifically (and I quote) “something hearty”.  I wasn’t so much in the mood for beef stew (or the likes), so I racked my brain for something substantial enough for my hubs and “light” enough for me.

This recipe, adapted from Barefoot Contessa, was a huge (and I mean, HUGE) hit at the Jones household.  BJ talked about the soup of 8 days.  I am not kidding.  If you are looking for an easy but delicious soup, this recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Author Notes/Substitutions:
I used chicken/turkey/basil sausage from Trader Joe’s; I used both panko and italian bread crumbs; I used orzo instead of tubetini/stars; I completely eliminated dill from the recipe (it’s just weird)

Ingredients

For the meatballs:
3/4 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don’t have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!