Tag: lifestyle

Recipes

Recipe: Piñata Burrito Bowl [Vegan]

Miche

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I’m starting to fall in love with bulk cooking. Not only am I free from prepping food and dish-washing each and every night, but it leaves me more time and energy for the gym. Talk about a win-win!

For my second bulk dish, I went with a burrito bowl since I’d had burrito cravings for days. The reason I’m calling this particular recipe a piñata bowl is because it’s a bit of an explosion of color–with lots of green, red, and yellow–and is rather pretty to look at. And more importantly, it tasted AMAZING. It lasted me five nights, and I found myself looking forward to it every night. I was sure I’d get bored of eating the same thing even three nights in a row, let alone 5, but this bowl has proven me wrong!

Not only is it delicious, but it’s got plenty of protein and fiber and can be made nearly fat free if you omit the avocado. Perfect for those on a high carb lifestyle, and for those looking to eat a giant burrito equivalent for way fewer calories!

It’s also versatile, since you can substitute veggies as you’d like, as well as brown rice for the quinoa, or other types of bean/protein for the black beans.

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Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup dry (uncooked) quinoa
  • 1 cup dry black beans (or a can of black beans)
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • Juice of one medium lime
  • 3 small summer squashes
  • 2 small zucchinis
  • 2/3 white onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 5 big kale leaves
  • 6 fire roasted red peppers (I used piquillo)
  • 1 – 15oz can corn
  • Cumin, salt and pepper
  • Chili powder/cayenne/paprika/chipotle powder (only need one)
  • Avocado, tomato, shredded romaine, and hot sauce/salsa for topping

Directions:

1. Prepare the lime-cilantro quinoa: cook the quinoa according to instructions on the package. It should take less than 15 minutes. Also, rinsing before cooking is recommended to wash off the saponin, which can cause reactions in sensitive people. As it cooks, chop up the cilantro. Once the quinoa is done, combine it with the cilantro and half of the lime juice and salt to taste. Set aside.

2. Prepare the black beans according to instructions on the package. For dried beans, this generally calls for soaking them overnight, draining them an hour before dinnertime, covering them with an inch of water and bringing them to a boil, and gently simmering for one hour. You can also try quick-soaking or just cooking without soaking, but it will take longer. Season with salt.

3. Prepare the veggies: chop up the squash, zucchinis, onion, kale, and peppers. Mince the garlic, and sautee it in a medium-large pot with onion until it begins to turn translucent, over medium heat. Then add the squash, zucchini, and kale. Sautee until tender. Add the peppers and corn, and remove from heat. Add the juice from the other half of the lime, along with 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2-1 tsp of either chili powder, cayenne, paprika, or chipotle powder. (Or mix and match as you like!) Season with salt and pepper.

4. Prepare toppings: slice up 1/2 avocado and 1 small roma tomato per serving; if serving all at once, use 2.5 avocados and 5 roma tomatoes. Chopped/shredded romaine is also a nice addition, about 1/4-1/3 cup per bowl. Add hot sauce or salsa as desired.

5. Combine the the quinoa, black beans, veggies, and add the toppings. Eat them separately or mix them all up–it tastes great either way!

Nutrition info: 

  • Calories per 1/5 of recipe: 350 calories (450 with 1/2 avocado)
  • Carbs: 65g (14g fiber)| Protein: 16g | Fat: 3g (13g with avocado)

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Thanks for reading!

(This is cross-posted from my recipe-only blog)

Recipes

Recipe: Vegan Pasta Bolognese (with lots of veggies!)

Miche

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Lately, I’ve been on a mission to simplify my life in the food department. As much as I’ve loved coming up with new recipes every day, it can get exhausting and takes up a lot of time. So a few weeks ago, I decided to do something drastic: make a dinner that would last me for more than one night, rather than making some whole other new dish the next night like I usually would.

And it was a success! Instead of spending an hour cooking an entirely new dinner the next day, I spent that time reading a book and relaxing after a day of midterms. I could get used to this.

The pilot meal was a pasta bolognese, and it was delicious! It’s a super simple weeknight dinner, with leftovers that seem to keep getting better and better. I stored the pasta and veggies separately, and each night just had to combine them with the marinara and “beef” crumbles.

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Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 4oz dry pasta (I used ancient grain penne)
  • Mushrooms, garlic, kale, broccoli, and any other veggies you’d like
  • 1.5 cups marinara sauce
  • 1 cup Beyond Meat beef crumbles

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta according to directions on the package–will vary by type.

2. Prepare your veggies as you’d like: I roasted brussels sprouts and broccoli in the oven at 400 degrees for ~10-15 mins, and sauteed mushrooms and kale together with garlic.

3. Combine cooked pasta and veggies, marinara sauce, and Beyond meat beef crumbles, and serve hot.

Nutrition info: (using 2 cups of broccoli and kale)

  • Calories per 1/2 of recipe: 420 calories
  • Carbs: 67g (9g fiber)| Protein: 25g | Fat: 7g

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Enjoy your quick and easy weeknight dinner!

(This is cross-posted from my recipe-only blog)

Recipes

Recipe: Cauliflower Mac n Cheeze (Vegan and Low Cal)

Miche
This is a classic case of it-tastes-better-than-it-looks, I promise!
This is a classic case of it-tastes-better-than-it-looks, I promise!

Sometimes, the craving for comfort food is overwhelming. Luckily, instead of turning to the high calorie foods I’m dying for, I like to make low cal substitutes. This cauliflower mac n cheese is one of my favorites, especially because it’s so easy, and actually pretty healthy! The whole thing came to 300 calories for me, and that was with the avocado–the dish was amazingly rich and filling. (I like to try to have half an avocado a day, so I incorporate it as often as I can.)

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Who needs pasta when you have cauliflower?

Most of these are estimates, because I cook spontaneously. So just mess with the ingredient amounts to fit your tastes!

Serves 1.

Ingredients

  • 1-2 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets
  • 1/3 cup vegan cheese of your choice [I used daiya cheddar]
  • ~1/4 cup unsweetened non dairy milk
  • 1/2 avocado, ~75g  (optional)
  • Chipotle or smoked paprika powder (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Optional add-ins: spinach or kale, veggies, vegetarian sausage

Directions

1. Wash, slice/rip, and cook cauliflower as desired. I microwaved mine in the bowl for ~45 seconds. Roasting it would also taste delicious!

2. Prepare sauce: in a pan over low-medium heat, add the cheese and half the milk, stirring frequently.  Once melted, add as much milk as you’d like until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. (it really varies person to person!) Add salt, pepper, and any seasonings you want.

3. Add in cauliflower, avocado if using, and add-ins; stir until coated and cauliflower is as soft as you like it.

4. Pour into a bowl and serve hot.

And enjoy!

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Recipes

Recipe: Mango Swirl Chia Pudding

Miche

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I love chia pudding, but I don’t make it nearly often enough because you have to plan it the night before if you want it for breakfast. After trying adding various fruit flavors, however, I’m now addicted–totally worth the early prep!

This tropical themed one is one of my favorites: it’s creamy, delicious, and packed with omega-3’s, fiber, protein, potassium, and vitamin C! (And of course all the other myriad of nutrients that chia has.)

Makes ~8oz. (pictured) – 300-350 calories.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp chia
  • 1.5 cup water or soymilk (necessary liquid varies with seed types)
  • 1/2 cup mango chunks (best if frozen)
  • 1/2 banana (best if frozen)
  • 1/3 cup coconut or plain unsweetened yogurt (optional)
  • Protein powder (optional)

Directions

1. ~6-24 hours before: mix the chia and the water and/or milk together. Shake or stir at 5-10 minute intervals until it stops settling and is evenly distributed throughout. (Or you can just let it sit 30 mins and shake it once). Let sit overnight or until soft and expanded.

2. When you’re about to eat it, prepare the fruit puree. Blend together the banana and mango–you may want to add a splash of water or milk to get it going–until smooth.

3. Mix chia mixture with yogurt and any add-ins you want, add the fruit puree, and enjoy cold!

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