Yes I dirtied a lot of extra dishes, just to take that photo. But doesn’t it look lovely? This dinner came together so quickly and easily, I couldn’t believe it. And something about baking it makes it feel a little more special than tacos. I’m telling you. Try it.

And if you’re not into TVP, you could sub in ground beef or ground chicken. I might even make this again over the long weekend, in between our weekend activities. Or maybe I’ll just stock up on deliciousness at the farmer’s market. Who knows? Either way, I plan on soaking up some sunshine this weekend.

Enjoy!

The post Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

So I made a few of the usual changes, planning meals, packing lunches, but I did find a few things more helpful than others. I mean, we all know what we need to do… but it’s not that easy, now is it.

This is a sample of groceries for the week:

Stop trying to be perfect

You’re not going to pack your lunch every single day. You’re not always going to use all of your produce before it goes bad. Sometimes you’ll have to take an unplanned trip to the grocery store (oops, impulse buys!) it happens. But it’s not that big of a deal. Just like healthy eating, it’s about balance. If you forget to pack your lunch on Monday, don’t throw everything out the window for the rest of the week. Just pack it Tuesday.

If you don’t know what to do with it, don’t buy it

Eggplants are on sale? Awesome. But if you have no idea what to do with it (or if you don’t really like eggplant) don’t buy it. It’s like buying clothing because it’s on sale. You’ll always avoid it, you’ll let it sit in the fridge, and then eventually you’ll have to throw it out. This is where planning comes in handy. Think about what you could do with leftover ingredients. Think about new ways to revamp leftovers.

Be realistic

Yes, dried beans are cheaper than canned, but are you really going to soak them over night? Don’t get too ambitious, otherwise you’ll just end up ordering take out. Keep in mind things like pre-cut vegetables (you know, the ones wrapped in plastic wrap) are way more expensive than veggies you’ll have to chop yourself. But sometimes things like pre-packaged/washed lettuce will make dinner come together much easier. Decide what you have time for, and plan accordingly. I personally love kale that is pre-cut and washed, but I don’t mind dicing my own peppers and onions. (They also keep a lot longer that way!)

Know what things cost (+You get what you pay for)

I’m not saying you need to go to every grocery store in town for the best price, but decide what is worth your money. I love certain things from the farmers market, so its worth it to me to pay a little bit more. Check out some of your staple grocery items and see if there is a store brand that costs a little less.

That said, in college I lived of Kroger Carbmaster yogurt. It’s like $0.40 a cup. And it’s full of a bunch of random preservatives, chemicals, and flavorings. It’s worth it to me, to pay a little bit more for Greek yogurt that doesn’t contain things I can’t pronounce. Know what things cost and why you’re paying more or less. 

What does all this mean? Well for me, I’ve basically cut my grocery spending in half this month, saving me about $150 bucks. That’s $150! That’s a lot of money, my friends. But I’ve still been able to cook dinner for friends, try out new recipes, and pick up my favorite local groceries at the farmer’s market.

What are some of your money-saving tips?

The post Grocery Budget Progress appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

Friday night, we went to the soft opening of Kitchen on Cary. (Full disclosure, we were provided dinner free of charge.) The food was delicious, and it was fun enjoying dinner together downtown. Kitchen on Cary officially opened on Saturday, and I’d highly recommend you check it out. The food was great, the atmosphere is nice, and the chefs are culinary school students, which I think is so awesome.

The full review of Kitchen on Cary is on my Tumblr page, here, if you’re interested in hearing more about our experience. I’ll take more of that risotto…

Saturday was another dreary day,  but we managed to go to the South of the James farmers market without getting rained on. Is there anything better than leisurely wandering around a farmer’s market on a Saturday morning? We picked up some produce, cheese, and pasta to eat throughout the week. I’d never tried Bombolini pasta, but we grabbed some of the spicy tomato pasta, as well as the roasted garlic.

Last night, we cooked up the roasted garlic pasta with olive oil and salt, and then topped it with roasted tomatoes and sauteed onions.

It might be the easiest dinner ever.  Seriously, the olive oil + salt thing is underrated. Next time you’re out of pasta sauce, give it a try. And since this pasta was infused with garlic, it had an amazing flavor.

Overall, it was a great weekend despite the rain. Now bring on the sunshine. Please?

What did you enjoy this weekend?

The post Eats in the City appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

I’ve always been skeptical but curious about cleansing so when the folks at Kaeng Raeng offered me a free 3-day detox kit, I figured I had to try it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the full 3 days, but I thought a 1 day cleanse could be a fun little experiment.

And so I began.

When I opened up the box, I was a little confused because there were 9 packets, 3 of each kind, but it didn’t say which was breakfast, so I just grabbed one. I blended it up with just water and ice and it tasted… kind of bland. Then I noticed if you were a “first-timer” they recommend yogurt and fruit be added to the smoothie. I didn’t have any yogurt but I added half a banana and a cup of blueberries, as well as a little almond milk and stevia. After that, it was pretty good.

Next up was lunch.

This was the blueberry banana smoothie, which, coincidentally tasted like my breakfast thanks to the fruit I added. I blended this one up before I went to work, adding in a whole banana and blueberries, plus almond milk and stevia again. That made it pretty decent, but it tasted just like breakfast. Oddly enough, I could only finish about half of the shake before I felt so full. I’m not sure if I just didn’t have an appetite for the rest of it, or if this stuff is super filling. Either way, I put the other half in the fridge and munched on an apple.

By the time dinner rolled around, I didn’t feel like myself. I wasn’t particularly hungry, (the shakes really did fill me up) but I felt hazy, tired, and unsatisfied. I realized I needed food. So Alex and I went to Chipotle and I felt completely satisfied, even after eating just half the bowl. Epic fail? I don’t think so. I’m not trying to lose weight, I didn’t feel the need to “reset” my system, and my only goal was to just try it out and see how I felt.

Even though cleansing didn’t seem like the answer for me, it didn’t feel right not to share other prespectives on this. So after a quick twitter poll, I connected with Morgan and Lianna who had both recently cleansed, and had different experiences with it. Their stories are below.

I think I first met Lianna at a Tumblr meet up, and then again at an RVA Comedy Show, and once more when she came to speak at my workplace. She’s so awesome, and spends her days keeping the Tumblr support office in line! When I tweeted about cleansing, she tweeted back that she had a slightly different perspective on it, which she shares below:

I decided to do a cleanse for the typical reasons: feeling bloated, wanting a jump start on healthy eating, and more energy. I was eating a lot of snacks on the go and lunch-meeting pizza at work, so I needed a change, but not a time- or money-expensive one. I decided to go with a variation of Rose Cole’s 21 Day Sugar Detox. No gluten, sugar, dairy, alcohol, chemicals, or high-sodium foods. Also, I don’t like poultry, so I stuck to seafood.

The first two days were great– I was really mindful, I wasn’t craving anything, and I’d planned my meals wisely. By the third day I was very jealous of people visiting the candy bowl on my desk. I’m not really a lover of sweets at all, but I was thinking about the fact that I “couldn’t” eat it and had to switch my thinking to, in the words of my nutritionist, “I can eat anything whenever I want, but I’m choosing to not eat it.” I even recruited a coworker who said a cleanse “sounded fun.” I said, “it is!” but I only sort of meant it. Other friends were already planning a cleanse, so they were great for support too. I recommend doing a cleanse with at least one friend to whom you can gchat, “OH NO I desperately NEED cake today, damn all of these people who are eating cake!” Because they will understand, while all of the people eating cake will say, “oh, just have some.”

By the second week, I was eating huge amounts of almonds and salmon, and drinking more water than ever. A typical day included black coffee on occasion (I tried to kick this habit completely during the first week and was too spacey), eggs for breakfast, brown rice or quinoa and beans with salsa and whatever veggies I had on hand for lunch, almonds (cocoa, cinnamon, and plain) for snacking, and fish and kale or salad for dinner. I did room-temp and hot yoga and various cardio things at the gym. Really rough days meant an almond latte from Lamplighter was in order.

By the third week, I was really craving a strong drink (or ten), a giant pile of spaghetti, and a swimming pool full of chocolate, so I added in some fruit to the cleanse, which definitely helped with the cravings and my extremely low energy levels. Overall, I felt really great about holding out for the full 21 days despite minor slip ups. My biggest achievement was picking up dozens of Country Style donuts for my coworkers without even opening a box. Oh, thank you for your applause, you’re too kind. My lowest point was when I wouldn’t let go of an apple pie candle because I wanted to keep smelling it– inhaling deeply with closed eyes– despite my friends attempting to have a conversation. You win some, you look crazy sometimes. The whole experience was eye-opening. I thought I was a fairly healthy eater and someone who didn’t care about drinking all that much, but three weekends of ordering water when all of your friends are enjoying cocktails or staying in to cook another dinner of fish with a tiny bit of olive oil while new restaurants were opening made me more aware of just how intertwined my social life and food are!

Would I do it again? Definitely. Maybe. Probably. The rewards are worth it! My energy levels were way up, I dropped 19 lbs. total (which was completely healthy for my body and fully backed by my nutritionist), I felt great physically, and I was proud of myself. In fact, writing about it is motivating me to start another cleanse soon!

Morgan, aka RVAYogi is a local health and fitness enthusiast, who recently completed a juice cleanse (this girl has willpower!) and I’m excited to share her positive experience below:

 I recently did a three day cleanse using juices from Cooler Cleanse. Each day consisted of six juices which you’re supposed to drink in order, from 1 to 6. You’re advised to drink your first juice in the morning and then drink one juice every two hours for the rest of the day. They recommend an early bedtime which is a good idea if you want to avoid hanger pangs and late night snack cravings.

Here are the six juices and my thoughts on each one:

1) Sweet greens: Your basic no frills green juice with a hint of sweetness
2) Grapefruit & mint | Pineapple Ginger | Watermelon Lime: All were equally tasty.
3) Essential green: Sadly, this juice lacked the sweetness of juice #1. My tastebuds definitely detected some bitterness.
4) Young coconut water | Spicy Lemonade: The lemonade was decent. However, I’ve never liked the taste of coconut water. Lucky for me that they only included one bottle of coconut water. Despite not enjoying the taste, I drank it anyway to keep my hunger pangs at bay.
5) Essential red: Very tasty juice made from carrots, beets, apple, and lemon.
6) Almond Milk: Ahhh…This was a really satisfying and decadent tasting sweet nut milk made even sweeter with vanilla bean and dates. Of all 6 drinks, this was the tastiest, most caloric, and most fat laden. What a treat to end each day with!

I managed to get through all three days of this juice cleanse without eating solid foods or snapping anyone’s head off. I suffered through hunger pangs throughout the entire three days. Fortunately, the growling tummy sensations grew less intense the further I got into the cleanse. I doubt if anyone actually likes the sensation of intense hunger, but feeling this degree of hunger made me  realize how lucky I am to have food available to me whenever I want it.

When I stepped on the scale after the cleanse was over, I was surprised to see there was no change in my weight. This was disappointing, but some of my clothes were looser. Having my clothes fit a bit more comfortably was one of my main goals for this cleanse, so from that perspective, I consider it a success.

I might consider doing Cooler Cleanse in the future. If so, I’ll to ask them to substitute the spicy lemonade for the coconut water. I found out by emailing customer service that they’ll give you two substitute juices per cleanse. Their customer service team deserves a shout-out for really being on the ball. I emailed them a question at 7:30 am, and within three minutes I received a friendly reply.

Lianna & Morgan, thank you for sharing your cleanse thoughts!

 So with all that in mind, if you’re interested in trying this out, leave me a comment and let me know. The folks at Kaeng Raeng have offered to send one person a cleanse kit of their own. Please indicate in your comment that you’d like to try it. I’ll only draw a winner from the people that actually want to try it out. Then you can let me know what you think! I’ll choose a winner on Tuesday May 21st.

What are your thoughts on cleansing?

The post Cleansing: Featuring Lianna & Morgan appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

This recipe turned out to be pretty simple, and it might be one of my new favorites. It’s also really healthy, meaning you can eat two bowls

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

• 4 corn tortillas
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 24 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 450. Slice the corn tortillas into strips and lay on a greased baking sheet. Spray with olive oil, if desired. On a second tray, spread out your grape tomatoes. Pop these both in the oven. The tomatoes will take about 15 minutes, the tortillas will only take about 5 (or until they start to brown). In a large pot, heat the olive oil, and then saute the chopped onion until it begins to soften. Add in the veggie broth, crushed tomatoes, chili pepper and garlic powder. Simmer for 10 minutes. Once the grape tomatoes are roasted, roughtly chop (I sliced them length wise, but they don’t need to be perfect) and add into the pot. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes. When you’re ready to eat, dish up the soup, and top with the toasted tortilla strips and fresh cilantro. You could also add avocado, greek yogurt, or cheese, but we just ate it as is.

After dinner, Alex and I took a walk around Carytown, and as we were getting close to home, he asked if I wanted to go to Sweet Frog. I think he was half joking, because it obviously wasn’t a question. I’m not sure that I’ve ever said no to frozen yogurt. (Of course, a little bit of guilt might have kicked in when I discovered that I was now the mayor of Sweet Frog on Foursquare…) We decided to just split a cup, and Alex put me in charge of the selection. Naturally, I crammed in as many different types of chocolate as I could.

Isn’t that a lovely sight? A perfectly sweet way to end the day.

What have you been cooking up this week?

The post Vegetarian Tortilla Soup [Vegan, Gluten Free] appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

Then I invited some friends over, because food is best shared with friends and this was the perfect way to wrap up the weekend. Alex and I had spent Saturday in Maryland at the SweetLife Music festival, (followed by a night in DC, where I had late-night falafel, which might be my new favorite thing). By Sunday, I just wanted to stay in. So after church, this meal hit the spot.

Ah, a set table makes me happy.

But back to those fritters. Here’s what I did:

Black Bean Fritters

Serves 4-6

• 2 cans black beans
• 1/3 cup carrots
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup + 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp season-all
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Olive oil for frying

I tossed all the ingredients (except for the extra 1 cup breadcrumbs and olive oil) in my food processor (i.e. the Vitamix) and blended until it was combined but still lumpy. I shaped them into 10 small cakes, and then coated those in the leftover breadcrumbs. In a large non-stick pan, I heated up a little bit of olive oil and lightly fried the cakes over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side.

I served these with a side of roasted red potatoes I picked up at the farmers market earlier in the day. For these, we just quartered them, tossed them in olive oil, garlic and salt, and roasted at 450 until the potatoes were tender.

Have you ever tried recreating a restaurant meal?

The post Black Bean Fritters appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

And so with that, I thought I’d share an old recipe that I made last year, but still love.

So here’s a little throwback recipe that is healthy enough to compete with those oven baked zucchini fries!

Healthy Mozzarella Sticks

• 2 sticks of light string cheese (I used the Weight Watchers brand)
• 2 tbsp bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp fiber one, blended into a powder (or just substitute more bread crumbs)
• 2 tbsp egg whites
• Oregano, chili powder, basil, garlic
• 1/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce (for dipping)

Cut the string cheese in half, and then length wise (or you can keep it long, I just wanted mini ones!) and pop them in the freezer for a couple of minutes. This will keep the cheese from melting all over the pan. Once it’s cold, dip into the egg white, and coat with bread crumbs. Sprinkle with seasoning and pop into the oven on a greased cookie sheet at 400 for about 8-10 minutes, turning half way through.

Served hot with marinara sauce, these healthy mozzarella sticks can easily knock out a cheesy craving! With recipes like these, I barely miss fried food. Barely.

These would have been perfect along side the pizza we ate with my brother and his wife on Wednesday. Did you know Whole Foods has buy one get one free take & bake pizzas on Tuesday nights? I definitely need to take advantage of this more often.

We obviously loaded ours up with peppers and onions. You know I love sneaking in vegetables wherever I can.

What’s your favorite healthy version of a fried food?

The post Healthy Mozzarella Sticks appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

1. Workout DVDs

I’ve mentioned Jillian Michaels before, and she’s worth mentioning again. Never underestimate a workout dvd. These are great when I don’t have a lot of time, or I don’t feel like leaving my house. Workout dvds push me and that’s what I need. Sometimes it’s yoga, sometimes it’s kettlebells, but there’s basically one for every mood! (For specific Jillian recommendations, head on over to the Product Reviews page!)

2. Running

It’s cheap, it’s easy to learn, but it’s hard to do. I’ve started running a little more consistently, now that Alex and I are thinking about signing up for a half marathon later this year. I wouldn’t say I love running, but I love the way I feel when I’m done. Nothing makes me as sore as hill running. (Need a good running playlist? You can subscribe to my playlists here!)

3. Gymnastics

I’m not saying everyone should take gymnastics (actually, maybe I am) but if workouts seem like torture, try finding a sport you enjoy! Since I grew up doing gymnastics, this is the most fun type of exercise for me, but if you love kicking a soccer ball or swinging a tennis racket, grab a friend and try it! These types of workouts don’t even feel like workouts to me!

4. Group Classes

Zumba, BodyPump, Kickboxing, barre classes, anything to get my heart rate up! Group classes motivate me (no one wants to be the weak link) and the time seems to fly by. I recently took a kickboxing class at the gym at work, and I was literally sore for the next 2 days.

5. Mini Interval Workouts

Sometimes there is literally no time to get to the gym, and there doesn’t even seem to be enough time to workout in my living room. On days like these, I sneak in exercise wherever I can! Maybe it’s a 2 minute plank before a shower, or a walk around campus after lunch. Little things do add up. Take the stairs. Do a few jumping jacks. Try some push ups. Every little bit counts!

What are your favorite workouts?

The post My 5 Favorite Workouts appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

Anyways, it’s been such a busy weekend, I haven’t done much cooking! We’ve been to all of my favorite restaurants back in Columbus (including Jeni’s ice cream) because I wanted to show Alex my favorite local spots. Luckily, I have a recipe I whipped up a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been meaning to share.

About a month ago, the lovely folks at Glory Foods asked me if I’d be willing to give a demonstration of some of my recipes at the Southern Women’s Show, to show people how easy it is to eat healthy. It was an awesome opportunity, which I had to pass up simply because I don’t have a commercial kitchen. It was a disappointment. but they kindly sent me a basket of some of their canned goods for me to try. Most of them were from the “sensibly seasoned” line, meaning they have less sodium than the other seasoned versions.

Disclaimer: I received these products at no cost, but as always, all opinions are my own.

I sorted through the cans, and had to donate a few, which have meat in them. If you’re trying to eat vegetarian or vegan, it’s always good to double check labels and ingredients! Some canned goods contain meat!

The seasoned black beans were calling my name, and I was intrigued by the canned tomatoes and okra. I’d only tried okra once, and it was an epic fail , but I was willing to try again. I decided to see if I could make a super simple chili using a lot of these canned goods. It turned out even easier than I could have imagined! If you’re ever worried about finding the right spices for a chili, look no further!

Glory Foods Chili

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium sweet onion
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can  tomatoes and okra
• 1 can tomatoes, okra, and corn
• 1 can pinto beans

Since the beans came seasoned, I can barely count this as a recipe. I diced my onion and cooked it on medium heat with a little olive oil. Then I just added in all of the beans and tomatoes, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. The seasoned beans took all the guess-work out of the chili which was awesome! I would definitely recommend this, if you’ve never tried making a vegetarian chili before.

I’ve found the vegetarian chili is a pretty easy recipe in general, but this certainly takes “easy” to a new level! This would be delicious with a side of corn bread, my favorite grilled cheese, or any of these salad recipes!

Have you tried seasoned canned veggies? (If you have favorites, let me know!)

The post Glory Foods Chili appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.

So here are 5 salads you can make in under 5 minutes (you know, depending on how fast you can chop those veggies.) Keep these in your pocket (or pinterest board) for those days when you just don’t have time to fix something complicated!

Strawberry Walnut Salad

This one was Alex’s idea. We used arugula, kale, strawberries, walnut, cheese (I recommend goat cheese or another soft cheese) and a little balsamic vinegar. The walnuts provide some healthy fats the cheese will give this a little more “staying” power, and the strawberries will pump you up with vitamin C!

 Simple Chickpea Salad

The full recipe post is here but it’s basically just chickpeas, peppers & onions tossed in olive oil, lemon juice and salt. So simple, so refreshing. And chickpeas are full of protein and fiber to keep you full!

Black Bean & Avocado Salad

I blogged about this here, and the credit goes to my old roommate Stephanie, but this salad is one of my favorite summer lunches! Black beans, bell peppers and jalapeno peppers, smothered in avocado and cilantro make the perfect refreshing dish!

Pumped Up Kale

Ok so this one is cheating. Just take a bag of frozen rice & veggies (I buy the seasoned kind from Trader Joe’s, which is great, but there are lots of store brands out there) warmed it up, and tossed it on top of a bed of kale. Does this still count as a salad? Sure, why not. It would honestly be great on raw kale, but I cooked mine for a minute or two, just to soften things up. (All the details are on the original post here.)

Easy Greek Salad

I’m not the only one battling a Feta addiction, right? Lately it’s like I can’t get enough of it! Mixed greens, red onion, cucumbers, Feta (and olives if you like those. I hate them) tossed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and you’ve got a salad on the table!

All of these salads could be enjoyed on their own, or along with a sandwich, some pita & hummus, a cup of soup, or whatever you’re craving! I love tossing these together, because it’s such an easy way to eat my veggies!

What’s your favorite salad combination?

The post 5 Salads Under 5 Minutes appeared first on I Heart Vegetables.