healthy food — Recipe Blog — AngieReneeHartman

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Now who doesn’t love Mac & Cheese? I mean when I was a kid, and lets face it into my 20’s I still ate Mac & Cheese out of the box. Like piled on the butter and powdered cheese! Now this was the true-to-form stuff right out of the box and it was delicious! However, now knowing what I know, its almost impossible to eat!

So, in order to fulfill my childhood cravings AND be able to provide my daughter with something that nutritious, easy to make and very tasty! As we know toddlers and kids can be very picky eaters so its great to have this in your back pocket for a toddler or for yourself!

There are a couple ways to make this. 100% vegan OR vegan + butter. When I say butter I mean in the truest from. No margarine, no salted butter, no oleo, just 100% organic unsalted butter OR clarified butter using Ghee another one of my favorites. Now what’s the difference you ask? Great question! I read a great article on this articulating the difference in simple terms so I have shared it below.

Grilled Eggplant & Marinated Tofu

This was really something I was dreaming up in my head and to be honest I didn't think it would live up to its expectations. I mean, I like eggplant but it needs to be cooked really well with some major seasoning and/or marinade. It lacks flavor and is really just a giant fibrous vegetable. Thinking of vegetables, I really like to keep the variety in my palette. Since this is purple it really keeps it mixed up and allows for me to have a full range of benefits.

Gut Healthy Dal with Grain Free "Naan" bread

Ok, you guys I may have made one of the most amazing lentil recipes yet for me and my fam! We're on day 3 now and its a huge hit and SO filling! Usually my husband needs meat in addition to anything vegan I make but this time he's loving it as much as I do! I also paired it with some delicious grain free, naan bread! Ok, so my husband calls them pancakes but they are much more dense and I cut them into quarters and served them with the dal and my, oh my they are fantastic! I consider them a mix taste-wise between corn bread, a pancake, and bread. My husband just says they are pancakes but you be the judge! Either way, they add to the texture, and keep this recipe grain free, dairy free, gluten free, and all the other buzz words. AND they are natural meaning made with REAL FOOD!

How To: Meal Prepping Basics

Let's start with the basics of planning your shopping trip to planning out your meals for the week. First, decide if you are the type of person that gets bored with food easily, or you can roll with it as long as its planned out. I'm DEFINITELY the type that gets bored and I really don't life leftovers for more than a day MAX two post cooking. I just prefer my ingredients fresh.

Second, pick your go-to proteins. This can be a range or stick with one particular protein like chicken. If you are vegetarian is it tempeh, beans, legumes, soy, etc. Or maybe you want a variety. That's fine too, just choose your proteins as a base.

Cinnamon Nutty Granola ( GF, V,)

This recipe is super simple and you can really make it what you want with whatever ingredients you have on hand at the moment. If you keep the base which is the oats and the honey as the binder you can pretty much throw in anything else you want and it turns out great. I do love a touch of sea salt and cinnamon as well to keep the sweet/savory flavor. However if you want to go all out savory you can add any spice you have in your cabinet. If you want it sweeter sometimes I really love to add mini chocolate chips to change it up if I'm craving chocolate.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta & Salmon

A NEW find with the spinach & artichoke pasta! Really loved this combo with some fresh bok choy from the farmers market! Very easy to make and total prep to plate was about 30 minutes! Very easy to make when you get home after a long day and don’t want to stress about cutting, prepping and creating something nutritious!

VEGAN Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

If you can't tell by looking at my blog I LOVE desserts. More importantly, I LOVE chocolate and cookie dough. However, if I'm going to eat cookie dough, I'm going to make it healthy because I really want more than what I should have and I know my limits! Once I start into it, I lose it. So its better to know I'm eating "healthy" versions to keep my health in check!

Strawberry Lemon Breakfast Bake

This recipe came out of nowhere. I was in the mood for something refreshing like strawberry and lemon combination sounded delightful. I also LOVE bakes so I really wanted to pair something in a form of a bake with these two flavors.

I started looking at a ton of recipes - which I normally do to get inspiration. Then I looked at what ingredients my mom had at her house. I pulled out chia, hemp seeds, bananas, plant protein, oats, honey, coconut oil and she also had some eggs and I picked up fresh strawberries, lemons and eggs. With that I figured I could some up with something so I just started mixing. Meanwhile, my sister decided to sit and watch - with much anticipation I might add as well as some disbelief I could even make this work!

Paleo Baked Chicken Tenders

According to my husband, these turned out quite well! It was a dabble in trying to create more "meat" friendly recipes. Clearly as you can see by reading my blog and recipes that I do not eat meat, however that doesn't mean I don't prepare it. My husband is a huge fan of all types of meat, poultry and I do make it for him on the reg! This recipe was inspired by him wanting to eat chicken fingers - don't ask me why he had a craving but he was ready to order from the kids menu using our baby as an excuse to eat them! Rather than him going that route, I decided I needed to try a new chicken recipe - and a healthy one at that - to help him satisfy his cravings:)

Blackberry Mango Summer Salad

As promised the weekly Summer Salad edition continues and this one takes in all the in-season fruit goodness that is so plentiful in our local supermarkets and farmers market! As I walk through the produce section I get my inspiration from the colors and combinations that sounds taste tempting to me and this one was just that! The mango is so fresh and I added in some crunch with some health warriors - Walnuts!

Crock Pot Crack Nuts

The name is everything! I couldn't think of a better description for these and this sounded right on! So this is the easiest nut mix ever to create and it takes literally no prep time at all. Throw them in the crock pot - or I guess if you have a modern day Insta Pot - and voila! I'm still stuck in the stone ages and I happen to LOVE my crock post so if you have another means I guess you can just speed up the wait time for the deliciousness!

Roasted Garlic Beet Hummus

Now this beet hummus I've made before but there's something about this particular batch that I really enjoy. super savory with a tinge of sweetness at the end. So delicious! I've been putting it on everything from my salads, to my wraps, to just eating it alone with crackers or veggies. Its a great thing to have in the fridge for last minute scavenging for food. At least you know you are eating something that has some nutrients and is heartier than just eating crackers alone or something worse.

A Host of Health Benefits for Cruciferous Vegetables

Let's talk Cruciferous vegetables. Some of which include (bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower) and dark, leafy greens in this category (collard greens, kale, spinach, Swiss chard) Raw or cooked these vegetables are rich sources of antioxidant compounds like vitamins A and C and flavonoids that help reduce inflammation which as we know is the root cause of most problems in our body.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Let’s talk about the gooiest cookie you ever did see or TASTE! If you want a delectable and healthy variation with whole foods and REAL ingredients then you may want to give these a try! Gluten Free - Paleo

Cherry Chocolate Overnight Oats

Who doesn't love chocolate? And with cherries?!? I mean, this has to be one of my favorite smoothie and now oat concoctions! I need to have something readily accessible for my husband and I to grab and go in the morning. We are both usually busy with our little one and out the door to work or I'm off teaching a fitness class! Life is just easier if we have something that's readily available to us to grab and head out of the door without having to grab something that isn't so healthy.

Sweet & Salty Granola Cereal

This granola has the perfect combination of salty and sweet which I love! When I have cravings and don't know which I prefer, this is a great option because it satisfies them all AND its loaded with super foods! As much as I can I try to jam pack everything into bars and granola because its a great way to give the most bang for your buck, or so to speak. This includes pumpkin seeds, chia, cacao and whole grain oats which all are fabulous for an energy boost!

Spicy BBQ Jackfruit Tacos

Jackfruit is absolutely one of a kind tropical fruit recognized for its unique shape, and size. It is rich in energy, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins and free from saturated fats or cholesterol; fitting it into one of the healthy treats to relish! Here are just a few reasons why it should be part of your diet:

Loaded Beet Veggie Burgers

Now regardless of if you like beets or not, you absolutely need to try this recipe! I've made these burgers a couple of different times and typically just make a huge batch of 15 or so burgers and keep a few in the fridge for the week and freeze the rest. They are perfect for on-the-go where you don't have to think about a meal and you know its packed with veggies and nutrients.

Now, what I can say is these things are messy. Its a bit time consuming, especially if you make a double/triple batch like I do. However, know it will save you a lot of time throughout the week.

Lemon Roasted Salmon & Cauliflower

I was majorly craving salmon and veggies today. Its not uncommon for this craving to happen and I ALWAYS have veggies on hand to ensure I'm getting my daily dose. Tonight was no exception and I had some frozen salmon and cauliflower and fresh broccoli florets. I decided I needed both and that would require a little bit of prep.

Get ready to wow your tastebuds with some zing and zang!

Mint Chocolate Vegan Smoothie

I love smoothies and frankly nothing makes me happier than creating something new and smoothies make it so fun and easy to change up the flavor to keep your taste buds guessing. I had a major craving for chocolate – this is nothing new – so rather than just make a plain ole chocolate smoothie I added some kick with a bit of mint and it was exactly I was imagining and sparked some jazz for my taste buds!

NutritionAngie ReneeMarch 20, 2018smothie recipes, smoothie, vegan smoothie, vegan, healthy diet, healthy food, clean eating, eat clean, fit food, whole food, paleoComment