Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

This event was super crowded, but a lot of fun. We found some new recipes, new restaurants, and new encouragement to eat healthy. We are not vegetarians, but we try to eat meat sparingly, and many of our meals are vegetarian. It just feels good to have a nice balanced diet, and for me that includes utilizing interesting grains, proteins, dairy, fruits and vegetables to make meals satisfying but not overly heavy on any one thing. We are not perfect at eating healthy by any stretch, but it is fun to try and continually be better at it.

The loot.

I now present to you....

Canned Peaches! :)
Locally grown in MA and canned by yours truly, and the ever talented Jessica.

Do I feel like a bit of a domestic goddess? You bet I do.

Green Machine

I am thinking green might be my new favorite color. But then I feel like I am being a traitor to blue which has been stalwart pretty much my whole (albeit short) life! And what about pink, I have loved that one for a long time too! What will they think if I just suddenly start saying my favorite is GREEN?! Am I the only one who feels they must stay loyal to colors, of all things?! I mean, I don't really think "blue" would mind. Maybe if I break the news to blue in a nice way.....

I need more friends.

Anyways, speaking of Green, feast your eyes. And your bellies because you should make some.

When Job saw what I was putting in it he just said, "Sorry hun, I love you, but I am not eating that." He was serious!! I was shocked! I pleaded, puppy eyed, "demanded" etc... but he was pretty firm. But finally after I drank mine and mentioned how delish it was he sipped it. And LIKED it! ha!

Kale Apple Smoothie

Serves 1| Hands-On Time: 05m | Total Time: 05m

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup chopped kale, ribs and thick stems removed
• 1 small stalk celery, chopped (go easy on the celery, it can get too strong)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• (I also added flax seeds the next time I made it for an extra boost of nutrients)

Directions

1. Place the kale, celery, banana, apple juice, ice, and lemon juice in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth and frothy.

(From Real Simple)

Don't let that gorgeous green color scare you. It is gooood! :)

For Health and Strength and Daily Food

I'm baaacckkk! Did you miss me? What? You didn't even notice I was gone?! oh, ok yeah...I guess it wasn't that long....

My very short absence from blogging has made me want to get right back in and post some catch ups today. Because babbling here does this girl some good.

First off: Check out the good start to our new way of eating (Basically just more fruits and veg, less meat, more whole grains, more natural, less processed, more whole foods etc. Basically the Word of Wisdom! :) More on our little "diet" later...if I remember that is.)

I checked out this book from the library and liked a lot of the recipes and ideas. So we are trying to implement some of them into our eating habits.

(source)

Job made roasted red pepper hummus, I blanched some veggies, and we used up some whole wheat crackers we had laying around. Super good!

I bought whole wheat flour to bake and cook with this time instead of white. I obviously need practice with making whole wheat bread as this loaf was too dense, but it tasted yummy and was nice and hearty :)

Anyone have some great healthy recipes they want to share with moi? Or just great whole foods we should try? I am wanting to try quinoa and see how we like it. Do share people, I love new ideas! :)

Baked Black Bean Taquitos-Easy Peasy!

These taquitos are easy to make, healthy, and delicious! We liked them so much after I first made them that we had them two more times within the same week and a half ;) Enjoy!

Baked Black Bean Taquitos

Adapted from: Naturally Ella who adapted it from a Whole Foods recipe :) Keepin' the love going.

Servings: 6-8 Taquitos

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium yellow onion finely diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 small jalapeno de-seeded and finely diced
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3/4 cup black beans drained and rinsed if using from a can
• 1/4-1/3 cup cilantro
• 6-8 white or yellow corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup Colby Jack, mozzarella, queso fresco, or Oaxaca cheese (i.e. whatever kind you like ;)
• Oil for brushing

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 425˚ and bring a medium/large pot of water to a simmer.
• In a pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and pepper until onion becomes translucent.  Stir in garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes.  Add in black beans and cilantro, cooking until beans are heated through- two to three minutes more.
• Turn off pot of water.  Taking one corn tortilla at a time, dip in hot water for 3-4 seconds.  Place on a cutting board and scoop one spoonful of black bean filling and a hefty pinch of cheese on top.  Roll tight and place seam side down on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.  Repeat until all the filling is used.  Brush each piece with oil.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until the corn tortilla is a light brown color.  Dip in salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

Deeelish!!!

We like to eat taquitos whilst playing games :) These are actually chipotle beef taquitos but hey, it's the only picture I had ;) These are divine too. I'll have to share the recipe later....
P.S. Don't worry, we are working on Job's shuffling skills