Zucchini Noodle Pasta with Mushroom Garlic Sauce

A hearty vegan meal to die for! Even my husband had seconds and thirds…

When you’re running around and don’t have a lot of time to prepare anything fancy, this is a great healthy option that literally takes 25 minutes. The simplicity of this meal does not represent how explosive the taste is! I recommend heading to the store NOW and getting the ingredients to prepare this refined pasta alternative for dinner tonight 🙂

 

Ingredients for Pasta:

5 Zucchini’s

Ingredients for Sauce:

2 Cups Garbanzo beans

6 tomatoes

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup spinach

3 Garlic cloves (minced)

1 yellow onion

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 tablespoons Nutritional yeast (optional)

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive oil (or water if you like to cook without oils)

Directions:

Heat oil (or water) in a medium sauce pan, medium heat. Add chopped garlic and onions, sautee for 1 minute. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except for the spinach and yeast), and sautee off until everything looks soft and cooked. Add spinach and nutritional yeast at the end.

Grab any kind of veggie noodle maker (I used a simple $ 15.00 hand held tool found at Bed Bath and Beyond- doesn’t matter what kind you use). Make your noodles! If you like it raw, then your meal is ready to eat, if you’d like to cook the zucchini noodles…place in a pot of boiling water and cook for approximately 2 minutes with a pinch of salt.

Throw it all together and you’ve got yourself a tasty SIMPLE, vegan meal that will leave you incredibly satisfied. Enjoy!

(No Bake) Chocolate Coconut Energy Bites

 

Tastes just like caramel, no joke. With a potent flavor of chocolate sweetness, balanced out by oats and coconut… these energy bites are to die for. You would never guess that there isn’t any added sugar, butter or dairy- it contains nothing that will make you feel sick like we usually do after eating sweets. What a fantastic alternative and so quick and easy to make!

These are the best for a quick addition to your breakfast, freeze them for later, a snack for on the go, or just a simple sweet treat!

 

Chocolate caramel goodness!

READY IN 5 MINUTES! NO BAKE, NO OILS, VEGAN, GF

Directions and Ingredients:

~~Combine in food processor (or blender):

1 cup oats

2 tbsp honey/agave/molasses (you choose!)

10 pitted medjool dates (soaked in water for 10 minutes prior to making)

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp raw cocoa powder (no added sugar)

~~BLEND until consistency becomes smooth and dough like. Grab a separate bowl and pour in a heap of organic dried, unsweetened coconut flakes. Bit by bit, grab a chunk of our date dough and roll it into a ball. Cover the ball with coconut flakes, and voila!! Done in less than five minutes and makes a nice portion to share with friends 🙂

Chocolate caramel goodness!

Goes great with breakfast 🙂

 

 

 

SMOOTHIE BOWLS FOR THE WIN!

Check it out! Super quick and easy to make- less than 5 minutes and you have this beautiful breakfast bowl to fuel your day and keep your immune system strong. Rich in antioxidants and omega 3’s!

Ingredients:

1.5 frozen bananas

2 slices of fresh ginger root

1 lime

1 large handful of any dark leafy green (I like using spinach or kale)

1/4 fresh pineapple

4 ice cubes

1/4 cup coconut water (young)

BLEND!! Should be a nice and thick smoothie consistency. Pour in a bowl and top with anything you’d like…get creative! In the picture shown above, I used gluten free oats, flaxseed flour, walnuts, and the fruits I had available at home (banana, blood orange, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries). You can also top with chia seeds and almond butter if you want an extra kick 😉

 

Enjoy!!

-Cess

 

Plant Pure Nation and The China Study

HIGHLY recommended documentary called Plant Pure Nation directed by Dr. Campbell’s son, author of The China Study. This documentary reveals the realities as to why the US suffers from so many diet related diseases. Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol…why are so many people still suffering while they “medicate” to treat these issues? What are we not being told?

I guarantee that it’s worth watching and I challenge you all to inform yourself TODAY so you can start living a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

 

I also recommend Dr. Thomas Campbell’s book: The China Study, which gets down to the connection between nutrition and heart disease (and other major diet related diseases). His report explains nutritional confusion and misinformation produced by lobbyists, government entities and opportunistic scientists. I promise it will make you rethink so much of what we believed to be true our entire lives…

 

 

Overnight Chia Seed Pudding

 

A super easy, quick grab in the morning. Throw over some cooked oats or simply with your favorite fruits, and you have yourself an omega-3 rich breakfast with lots of yummy flavors!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chia seeds

2 tbsp honey, maple, or agave (optional)

1 1/2 almond milk or coconut milk

Add 2 drops of vanilla 

1 tsp cinnamon 

*Combine all ingredients in a jar, cover with a lid. Shake well and place in fridge overnight. Enjoy the next morning for breakfast or for an afternoon snack!

 

I personally like to pour over cooked oats to add a creamy texture. Fruits and walnuts make a great topping!

Oh how I missed the fresh tortillas!

Fresh Tortillas!

First Lunch at home

 

This was our first meal at home in St. Helena! On our morning walk, we ran into these adorable hispanic women make FRESH tortillas for a fund raising event at the local church. Naturally, we bought a dozen and devoured them all with our delicious meal! What you see above includes: fresh corn tortillas, a veggie frittata (made by our lovely neighbour for Bruno!), fresh garden salad, lentil goulash, with hummus and tomato soup. We ate seconds and thirds and had nothing left to share. Oops.

RECIPES

Tomato soup recipe: (I added some sautéed veg to this to make it more hearty) http://www.veggieinspiredjourney.com/2014/09/02/creamy-tomato-soup/

Garden Salad: Kale, cucumbers, walnuts, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (Throw whatever fresh ingredients you have in there!)

Trader Joes Classic Garlic Hummus: Can be purchased at your local trader joes store

Turmeric Lentil Goulash recipe:  http://helloglow.co/healing-turmeric-and-red-lentil-dhal/

Vegetable frittata:  http://yinandyolk.com/2016/02/04/three-veggie-frittata/#more-2737

CHEERS!

Cess

Brasil–> USA

I’m officially home– St. Helena, CA– WE HAVE ARRIVED!

After almost three years living on an island in the south of Brazil, I can only be grateful for all of the amazing experiences I had living abroad. Florianópolis was an amazing home to me, and even though it feels incredible to be back and see friends and family– I will always carry the love I have for Brazil in my heart wherever I go.

I took a break from posting for a while because my life was crazy trying to prepare for a wedding, moving countries and re-adjustment to the United States. However, I’ve discovered some great new sources for plant based living and extremely informative documentaries that have changed my world. I’m BACK and can’t wait to share all of my new ideas with all of you on how to maintain a healthy, holistic, and balanced lifestyle!

One of the biggest challenges since I’ve been back is creating BALANCE with all of these welcome back parties, wine nights and “Napa Style” cuisine that I love so much- but how the hell do you enjoy all of this amazing, tasty food being plant based? How am I really supposed to tell my aunt that I don’t eat CHEESE anymore? Let me tell you, it’s actually been pretty easy 🙂 There are always simple solutions and wonderful alternatives – and I’ve learned so much about myself in the process. The benefits are always worth it, because feeling good about how you treat your body is one of the greatest skills you could ever have.

Here are some links to some powerful sources of information that will change your world:

• McLibel: Two Worlds Collide – tells the true story of two ordinary people who battle McDonald’s in what became known as “the biggest corporate PR disaster in history” (Tammy Lee)
• Earthlings- documentary film about humankind’s total dependence on animals for economic purposes. (Tammy Lee)
• BAVeg Napa/Solano Vegan Resources Guide: by Tammy Lee http://www.bayareaveg.org/nsvrg.pdf

Books:

• Meatonomics by Dave Simon
• How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger
• Food Seduction by Dr. Neal Barnard

Stay tuned for new recipes and ideas! I wish you all a beautiful day!

Cess

Passion Fruit Zinger Smoothies

Ingredients: 

2 Ripe Bananas

1 Passion Fruit

3 Slices Ginger Root

1/2 cup coconut water

1 Handful of Ice

1 Lime

1/2 cup Kale (spinach or any other leafy green works too!)

Optional: Dried Coconut (no sugar added) for decoration!

Blend until smooth- consume soon after made.

ENJOY!

 

 

 

The Ultimate Immune System Booster and Hydration Combination

POWER TRIO TEA

For a naturally sweet and hydrating tea (enjoyed hot or cold)

Ingredients & Directions

Boil in a tea pot for ten minutes:

• 3 to 4 ginger root slices
• 1/4 cup loose leaf hibiscus tea flowers
• 1 Cinnamon Stick

In order to release the properties of these ingredients, it must be boiled for ten minutes to get the full potential from each ingredient. Each of these ingredients help support a healthy and strong immune system while hydrating and healing damaged cells in your body. That beautiful dark red color is there for a reason 😉

If you want to switch it up…

1. You can use Hibiscus and Ginger as your base, but instead of boiling cinnamon, you can add in fresh fruit! I love to throw in fresh pineapple rinds for a sweet and tangy twist; orange peels work great too!
2. Also Try…
   HOT SUMMER DAY TEA: Hibiscus Flower + Fresh Ginger + Lime

   Simply boil ginger and hibiscus, and add lime once the tea is ready. Once cooled, throw it in a pitcher with some ice and have it be a refreshing summer drink!

I personally love to take this tea with me on the go…I throw it in a Klean Kanteen or a Glass Jar and sip on it throughout the day!

Enjoy!

Cess

SEAWEED VEGGIE HUMMUS WRAPS

 

The best part about this beautiful and colorful meal is sharing it with like-minded people who enjoy eating just as much as I do! While hosting my friend from California on the island for a week, I had such a good time cooking and preparing plant based meals for her. She admitted that she had never eaten so many vegetables and fruit in so many diverse ways, but was loving every new thing that she tried!

After a long and exhausting 7 mile hike, we found ourselves licking our fingers and devouring every last bit of these delicious wraps. I felt myself warm with happiness watching everyone’s enjoyment as we nourished our tired bodies in the purest form possible.

At one point she said, “Cess, this food is mind-blowing.” I smiled back and said, ‘I know.’

 DIRECTIONS AND INGREDIENTS:

GET CREATIVE! You can prepare these with whatever veg you have in your kitchen

• Large Seaweed Paper Wraps: The Bigger you find the Better- small ones will be hard to work with
• Can replace with Rice Paper Wraps
• Carrot, Zucchini, Beets, Cucumber, Red/Yellow/Green Bell pepper sticks (slice finely so they are easy to stack inside of your wrap)
• Garbanzo bean Hummus (or any type of hummus)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Sriracha Sauce
• Avocado slices
• Black Eyed Peas (Cooked and spiced to your liking)
• Pickled Ginger (the kind that you eat at sushi restaurants)

Wrap it all up and enjoy!!!