Do you like Lentils?

Then you'll LOVE this!

I made my husband Jim a Turkey meatloaf a few weeks back while I was doing Beachbody's Ultimate Detox and have been hungry for meatloaf ever since!  I just am not ready to add a ton of animal protein back into my diet, and every day it was too late to make this Lentil Loaf recipe because I never had the lentils prepared!

Well, I made the lentils and couldn't wait to try this one out.  It is a vegan recipe from the creator of Oh She Glows and it is hearty, sweet, savory and downright DELICIOUS!

(This is her photo)!

It does take a little bit of prep work, but I found that eating clean and healthy using whole ingredients usually does!  This was total comfort food!

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked lentils (I used precooked - didn't hold together as pretty, but was fine)

1 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

3 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup of water (whisk together and set aside)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 cups sweet onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup grated carrot

1/3 cup peeled and chopped sweet apple

1/3 cup of raisins (I used craisins)

1/2 cup of oat flour

3/4 cup of breadcrumbs

3/4 tsp of dried thyme

salt & pepper, to taste

red pepper flakes, to taste

Balsamic Apple Glaze

1/4 cup of ketchup

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tbsp apple butter ( I used unsweetened applesauce)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 325*.  toast your walnuts for around 8 minutes, set aside.

Raise temp to 350*.  Rinse and strain your lentils.  Place into a pot with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 40-45 minutes.  Stir frequently.  The goal is to overcook the lentils a bit so you can slightly mash them with a spoon.

Heat tsp of oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Salute the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes.  Add in diced celery, shredded carrot and apple, and the raisins.  Salute for about 5 minutes more.  Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients together, season with the thyme and red pepper.

Grease loaf pan and line with parchment paper.  Press mixture firmly into pan.  Whisk together the glaze ingredients, and spread 1/2 of mixture evenly on top.  Save the rest for a delicious dipping sauce!

Bake at 350* uncovered for 45-50 minutes.  Edges will be slightly browned.  Cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  Let cool some more before slicing.  ENJOY!

  I'm not vegan, but if this how the food tastes I may just convert!

Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cups?

My Life is Complete!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love peanut butter.  And Dark Chocolate.  Separate, together, in cakes, on spoons - however you want to dish it out.  And I found myself digging into the jar while adding chocolate chips on top a little too much.  I was hungry for these and was trying to recreate them.  It was good, really good.  The problem was when you dig into treats that way they don't seem like real treats, like they're invisible or something!  And my spoonfuls got a little bigger and a little more frequent.

Enter the clean eating Reese's!  There are so many different recipes you can find on Pinterest.  My good friend Jaissa forwarded me this one.  It uses all whole, clean ingredients right down to the cacao powder and madagascar vanilla.  It does have a little bit of a coconut taste to it as well because of the coconut oil but I'll take that over preservatives and high fructose corn syrup any day!  Give them a try - I hope they hit the spot!  Just don't eat all of them at one sitting...

Reese's

1/2 cup of Coconut Oil  (melted but not hot)

1/2 cup of Cacao powder (you could use cocoa but there's sugar in some)

1/4 cup of Raw Honey

1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract (I used Madagascar vanilla from William Sonoma)

Mix all ingredients together until well blended.  Spread a spoonful evenly into cupcake liners.  I used mini.  Place in freezer to set for about 5 minutes.  Spread Natural Peanut butter on these once they have set, then cover with the remaining chocolate mixture.  Freeze and Enjoy!

Hubby's Favorite

Italian Potato Soup

Have you ever had one of those meals that your spouse asks you to make over and over and over again?  Well, this just may be another -especially since cold weather and the infamous football season is upon us!

I don't have an actual picture for this like my other posts - you just have to trust me on this one!  But you can enjoy looking at this cold winter scene while you're dreaming of this hot soup!  ;)

Italian Potato Soup

8 ounces of Turkey Sausage  (I use 1/2 hot, 1/2 sweet)

3 cups of chopped red skinned potatoes, skin on

1/2 cup of chopped onion (Jim hates onion so I omit this - never missed it)

1 (15) oz can Italian style tomatoes, low salt if you can find them

1 TBSP each of basil & parsley flakes

1 tsp each of oregano and salt

1 (15) oz can of tomato sauce  (many times I use leftover home made - about 2 cups)

2 (14) oz cans of chicken broth

3 cups of water

finely chopped escarole, endive or kale - your choice  I always use escarole.

Saute' the sausage in a 5-6 quart saucepan until the fat is rendered.  You can use links that you cut into coins or loose sausage - doesn't matter!  Drain the fat.  Add the potatoes and onion and cook for just a few minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the greens.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat and cook until the potatoes are tender.  Add chopped greens in at the end and continue to cook for around 10 minutes or until they've wilted.  Kale usually takes a little longer.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you'd like.

Serve with a salad and Italian bread and you have yourself a meal!

Kale & Brussels Sprouts Salad with

Butternut Squash, Pomegranate

&

Candied Pecans

Salad:

1 small butternut squash, peeled & cubed

1 TBSP olive oil

Pinch of Sea Salt

1 small bunch of Kale, finely chopped

1 lb Brussels Sprouts, finely chopped

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1/2 cup candied pecans

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Dressing:                                                                  

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 small clove of garlic

2 tsps shallot, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp raw honey

Preheat oven to 400*.  Place cubed squash in baking pan.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Roast 25-30 minutes or until tender.  Remove and set aside.

Place kale in a large bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.  Massage leaves for 2 minutes or until they soften and begin to wilt.  Stir in chopped Brussels Sprouts, squash, pomegranate seeds, candied pecans and parmesan cheese.  Season with salt & pepper.  Pour on dressing and toss to coat.

*I also added chopped figs because, well, I'm addicted to them :)!

serves around 6

This recipe is by Two Peas & Their Pod

www.twopeasandtheirpod.com

New year coming,  New Me here!

We have one month left in the year 2014.  What's in store for you in 2015?  I know what is NOT in store for me - going back to bad habits!  It took me a while to figure out that clean eating, regular exercise and optimal nutrition is the way to lose weight, keep it off and look healthy and happy.  I've done them all - fasting, low carb, no carb, vegan, vegetarian, only fruits & salads and at times only meat!!!  I don't know what I was thinking!  But I do know now what has helped me get into the best shape of my life.  It's discipline.  It's eating real food.  It's exercising!  Is my diet perfect?  Nope - not at all.  But for the most part I follow the 90/10 rule.  90% healthy, 10% not so much.  I also don't miss a day of my Shakeology.  It has ALL of my nutritional needs in one delicious shake!  So I don't worry on special days now where in the past - everyday I would fret and ultimately blew my diet, again.  I was out of shape, didn't feel good about myself.  My diet already sucked so why bother trying?  I bothered trying because I was unhappy with myself.  Period.  No one was going to do it for me but me. Period.

I was a marathon runner for Pete's sake - how could this happen?  Excuses.  Temptation.  Low discipline.  I get it.  I know it's hard.  Exercise is hard.  But what was harder was being uncomfortable in my own skin.  You might say I picked my hard and exercise and nutrition was it!  Now, everything is easy.  It's not even about being thin for me - it's about being HEALTHY.  No more back pain.  No more bloating.  No more depression.   I look at the pictures above and what was hard was being like that.

 Everyday now until December 31 I'm going to post a healthy recipe for you to enjoy.  One with clean, natural ingredients to help me stay on track and possibly get you on track!  I love doing this and this is my thank you to you for motivating me!  Let this be the jumpstart you need, or just plain enjoy the recipes!

I love these Millet, Feta and raisin fritters - I even enjoy them cold!

Have a great Day!