This lentil coconut curry is a flavorful plant-based meal packed with veggies like sweet potato and baby spinach - and it takes just 30 minutes to whip up. [vegan + gluten free] We've been really into lentils in my household lately. I mean, what's not to love? They're tiny legumes that pack a powerful nutritional punch, and they can be incorporated into so many dishes - from lentil soup and plant-based shepherd's pies to Indian-inspired dishes like my recipe today. Benefits of Lentils Lentils have A LOT to offer. One perk is that they're loaded with polyphenols, which are active compounds that fight against harmful agents in the body, including cancer and heart disease. Lentils are also high in protein, iron, fiber, folic acid, magnesium, and calcium, to name a few ... [Read More]
Meatless Monday
5 Healthy Asian-Inspired Dishes to Make for Dinner [all vegan!]
If I had to pick one dinner theme of 2019 thus far, the answer would be easy: Asian inspired dishes. We could maybe chalk it up to #pregnancycravings, but the combination of delicious carbs combined with nutritious veggies and some sort of flavorful sauce has been at the top of my mind when I come up with dinner ideas for the week. Plus it's easy to throw a plant-based protein into the mix, like beans or tofu. And we can't forget one of my favorite parts: adding chopped peanuts, cashews, or sesame seeds on top! Get your sauté pans out, because today I'm sharing 5 awesome Asian dishes that I've been making lately (Bonus: All of these ideas are vegan Asian recipes!). Vegan Pad Thai with Tofu & Peanut Sauce. I created this recipe for Shape a couple of months ago, and it's ... [Read More]
5 Easy Meatless Monday Dinner Ideas I Make Often
I find that people often ask me, "Do you have any easy dinner ideas to share?" The truth is, a lot of my weekday dinners are 30 minute or less meals - but this doesn't mean that I'm scrimping on nutrition and flavor. After all, eating mostly bland homemade dinners would make me a crappy foodie and food blogger, don't ya think? One thing I like to stress to those that ask me this question is that easy meals do not need to equate to unhealthy meals. I have a lot of simple go-to vegetarian dinner ideas, and in the spirit of easy, delicious, & nutritionally well-balanced dinners, today I'm sharing 5 of them with you. You'll notice that my dinners tend to put an emphasize on veggies - I'm all about real food! Rice & beans. I'll admit it that I'm not a huge meal prepper, ... [Read More]
My Evolution as a Meatless Eater + the Eat Drink Vegan Festival
When I first became a vegetarian, I was 10 years old. I was raised in a family of meat eaters (my sister has since become a vegetarian and my mom is mostly one), but I knew from early on that eating animals wasn't for me. I can remember so clearly sitting at my parents' kitchen table for dinner, poking at a pork chop looking at the veiny colors, picturing the pig running around at a farm, and not feeling right about eating him. I was probably 7 at the time. Once I went meat-free, I never went back. But I do remember feeling almost embarrassed if I was at a friends' house or a BBQ and had to tell people that I wouldn't be eating a hamburger. I think I mostly didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I was different, or be a pain in the ass to have over for dinner for that ... [Read More]
Mediterranean Barley Stuffed Peppers
Hi friends! How was your weekend? Did you celebrate St. Paddy’s Day? I was flying cross-country all day Friday on the actual holiday, but I had a chance to celebrate the Irish holiday yesterday with my parents. I’m in Jersey this week visiting family, and went to a winery yesterday with my parents that had a live Irish band playing. It made me want to be back in Ireland hanging out at pubs with my family! So, let’s dive into the real topic at hand today: Mediterranean Barley Stuffed Peppers - an easy Meatless Monday dinner idea! I’ve always been a fan of stuffed peppers, and for this recipe, I wanted to do something different in terms of grains. I usually will use brown rice for stuffed peppers, but this time I decided to try barley instead and loved it. I like to make ... [Read More]
Potato Black Bean Soup [vegan + gluten free]
Lately the weather in the San Diego area has been nuts. Rain, rain, and more rain for the past month! This is usually the "rainy" season - though I use that term loosely - but this has been more rain than I've seen in my 7+ years in California. For the state, this is good news! California's reservoirs are swelling for the first time in half a decade, and the drought we've been in for years might be over if Mother Nature keeps it up. With all of the rain lately, a few things have been happening in my world. For one, my dog has been super whiny and energetic. She literally does sprints around the house when it's raining out, and cries at the door yet doesn't want to go outside and get wet... not that I blame her, I've been missing our outdoor workouts too. Secondly, my ... [Read More]