Black Bean Quinoa Salad

I tend to be very boring and consistent with my week day lunches. I usually have a salad, with the ingredients only mildly changing (if at all) from one week to the next. I like to plan my lunches at the beginning of the week, usually making one big batch from which I can scoop out each day's serving.

Needless to say, the same thing every day, every week gets old very fast. I don't like being bored by my lunches. It makes me much more likely to snack throughout the afternoon, and the impromptu snacks are rarely as healthy as the planned ones.

This meal is anything but boring. The spice of the green onions, the toasty flavor of the roasted pecans, and the slight pop of the quinoa keep my taste buds interested and intrigued with each bite. Packed with protein, this meal can replenish all the calories I burn in one of my lunch-time intense work-outs. I had discovered that on the days I go to my more intense weight class (Body Pump), a simple salad was no where near filling enough to propel me through the rest of the afternoon. Enter this Black Bean Quinoa Salad. With this as my meals for the week, I was happy, I was intrigued, I was filled. Need I say more?

Black Bean Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa (I used tri-color, but any kind will do)
2 cups veggie stock
2 cups spinach
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and roasted

1. Rinse quinoa. In a medium sauce pan,  bring veggie stock and quinoa to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or as directed on package.

2. While quinoa is cooking, if you have not already done so you will need to roast your pecans. Roughly chop pecans. Toast in oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

3. Once the quinoa and pecans are done cooking, combine all ingredients in one bowl. Serve and enjoy. If you're making this for the week ahead, separate into individual serving containers for ease so you can just grab one and go in the morning!

Zucchini Black Bean Chili

I know it's summer. I know I'm supposed to only be craving light cold items...but I'm not. Despite 90 degree days, I have been consistently craving chili for two weeks. You heard right. Chili. For two long weeks I tried to deny the craving ('I'm not REALLY craving chili in July'). Then I tried to convince myself the error in my craving ('No! You want a smoothie! You want ice cold! Think of how hot it is!'). But it was to no avail. I wanted what I wanted and I wanted it when I wanted it.

I've never really understood the whole craving concept. I mean, why would I crave one thing even IN THE MIDDLE of eating some other equally delicious meal?

Oh well. If what I REALLY want is chili, I can have that. Then I was presented with a new dilemma. If you've made chili before, you know - it makes a lot of chili. I should just freeze some, but inevitably we just end up eating chili for 3 or 4 days straight until it's finally all gone. While I wanted chili, what I didn't want was beef for 3 or 4 days straight. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for beef, but there is a time and a place for it and 4 days straight is not the time and my belly for those 4 days is most certainly not the place.

I hopped on over to my handy dandy Pinterest. I knew I had pinned several veggie-friendly chilis, so I casually perused until one caught my eye. Zucchini and Black Bean Chili. 'That's it!,' I thought. I opened the recipe, nodding along as I read each ingredient out loud...until I saw "two pounds ground beef." Well, there goes that idea. None of the other recipes I saw were satisfying my fancy, either. I wanted real chili and real chili taste without having to put greasy fatty beef into my system for several days.

Never mind, I'll make it myself. And you know what? I WILL have Zucchini Black Bean chili - my own way. Since I'm making it up, I'm going to add one of my absolute favorite food items of all time - avocado. If avocado isn't your thing, you can obviously just leave that item out. Feel free to top with your favorite chili toppings. This has everything you love about chili - the thick consistency, the lumpy tomatoes, the absolutely wonderful taste...just without any beef. You may be surprised to find that you didn't actually need that beef.

Zucchini Black Bean Chili
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 big zucchinis (about a pound), diced
1 onion, diced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth (plus more, if needed)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons cumin
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper
avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream (for garnish)
1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder or other thickening agent, if needed

1. Combine all but your garnish in a crock pot. Be sure to add all the liquids from your canned tomatoes. The liquid should completely cover everything. If not, add more vegetable broth until everything is covered.

2. Cook in crock pot at low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

3. A few minutes before serving, taste and add more of the spices if needed. If you want thicker chili, add a tablespoon of a thickening agent (arrowroot powder, masa flour, corn starch). Mix to combine.

4. Top with favorite chili toppings. I used a tablespoon of sour cream and half of an avocado, diced. If you want to make this vegan, don't add sour cream or shredded cheese.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

To me, summer eating means more veggies, lighter and simpler meals. Last week I was all set for a simple easy favorite of mine - sliced Roma tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, and sweet potato fries. But then the whole way home all I could do was think about other yummy ways I could fix the sweet potatoes. I wanted spice, but couldn't shake the idea of some cinnamon to offset that spicy. As I drove, I created the recipe and I knew exactly what I wanted to make when I got home.

These turned out a little spicier than I had anticipated, but they have so much flavor. If you need to cut back some of the cayenne pepper, just make sure to cut back the same amount of cinnamon so they don't get too cinnamon-y or sweet!

Spicy Sweet Potatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix ingredients until well-combined. Place in greased dish.

3. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Easy Vegan Rosemary Bread

I don't know if there are many things better than bread fresh out of the oven. When AJ and I got married, I made pretty much all of our bread, and it was just so satisfying to bite into that first slice while it was still warm and fragrant. Mmm.

A few years ago, I was looking for a bread recipe. I hadn't ever made bread before and I had no idea where to start. My friend Hannah had recently been cooking and baking a lot because she was a vegan living in New Orleans. She was probably the only person who baked their own bread, so I asked for her recipe. You may think....wait...vegan bread? But don't knock it until you try it. The recipe Hannah gave me is so easy and so versatile.

I know people get intimidated by the thought of making their own bread, but seriously the hardest part is the WAITING. Seriously. I've made some recipes that call for kneading and letting the bread rise THREE TIMES. It's out of control.

Anyways, this bread recipe is NOT like those really long, laborious, intense ones.

I've made this bread countless times, with variations of the seasonings and flour types. I've shared one of my favorite rosemary variations below.


Vegan Rosemary Bread
3 cups All-Purpose flour
3 cups Whole Wheat flour
3 cups water
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt (I like my bread less salty, but you can add more)
2 Tablespoons dried Rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary

1. In a big bowl, mix everything together (don't knead). It should look like dough. Essentially, you're just incorporating everything and making sure all the dry ingredients get moistened.

2. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours.

3. Pull out some and put in a greased loaf pan. It should reach about halfway up the side of the pan. Alternatively if you don't have a loaf pan or want a different shape, grab about a grapefruit size and place on a greased baking sheet. Put another layering of dried rosemary on top for extra rosemary flavor.

4. Cover and let rise for another hour. While it's rising, heat your oven to 450.

5. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean.

This recipe will yield 2-3 loaves. If you don't want to bake it all at once, you can over the bowl of dough and keep in fridge for up to a week.

White Wine Spaghetti Squash

This weekend I decided I wanted to make a completely original dish. No Pinterest inspiration, no cookbooks, just me. Some people may be intimidated, but I actually really like the challenge. Of course you bring whatever experience you have to the table, but you still have the chance to make something AMAZING and completely yours! What more inspiration is needed?

All I knew going into this was that I wanted to use this extra spaghetti squash that we had.

As I looked through our fridge, an idea started to form. I saw the extra mushrooms and bell pepper from the week's salads, the wild green onion that grows in our yard, the Bota Box that only had a glass or two left of Chardonnay. I don't know about you, but I really like adding alcohols to my dishes. It just seems to add an extra level. So much flavor and so many options! We served this on the side with some Tilapia seasoned similarly, but this would be delicious as a main dish too.


White Wine Spaghetti Squash
1 small spaghetti squash
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
4 oz. mushrooms (about half a package), sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon basil
1 Tablespoon Morton's Natures Seasons
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
3 green onions, chopped

1. Poke spaghetti squash several times. Put in a greased shallow pan and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Make sure to set it aside for at least 10 minutes before touching it again. It will be really hot!

2. Meanwhile, put wine in a small pot over med-high heat and cook until reduced by half its volume.

3. In a separate pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion and pepper, and cook until starting to soften. You don't want these soft yet because they will still be cooking for a while.

4. Add mushrooms to pot with onion and pepper, and stir.

5. Slice spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out seeds. Take a fork and scrape out the insides. It should look like spaghetti. Add to the pot of veggies.

6. Add in basil, Nature's Seasons, garlic, and green onion. Mix to combine.

7. Pour in the reduced wine, increase heat to high and cook until almost all excess moisture has evaporated.

8. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 2-3.