Blueberry Chia Baked Oats - Easy Breakfast Bowl

As promised, or rather, as I committed to myself...I made my oats for breakfast today!  I'm working on more balanced breakfasts in place of a grab and go Larabar.  I do love my Larabars, don't get me wrong.  But, I need to reserve them for an occasional treat, not breakfast every day.  My commitment is to make time to eat a healthy, balanced breakfast every day, even if I am in a rush.

Today's baked oats were good.  I will tweak them next time because I made them too watery today.  Sometimes eyeballing the ingredients doesn't always pan out!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup gluten free Rolled Oats
• 1 cup coconut milk (start with 3/4 cup and add more if needed)
• 1T chia seeds
• 1/3 cup frozen organic blueberries (no need to thaw)
• pinch of sea salt
• dash of cinnamon
• optional: 1T mini chocolate chips (I added them today - Enjoy Life brand mini non-dairy chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in oven-safe bowl.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on how much milk you used.  I needed the whole 30 minutes today.  Let it cool for a bit before eating.

When I stirred the oats before baking, they turned blue!

YUM!!

Batch Meal Prep - Clean Eating

Hey friends!!  I haven't blogged in awhile - yikes!  Summer's here and all of my little princesses are home with me.  It probably goes without saying that my days are pretty busy and these kids are wearing me OUT!  Phew!

Today's post recaps my very first Batch Meal Prep!

6 portioned meals for the rest of this week & weekend

I'll save a lot of what I want to share for another post and keep it simple today.  In short, I am feeling unbalanced and not entirely healthy these days.  My stress levels are a bit higher with my girls home (more fighting, whining, crying, etc) and my adrenal fatigue is wearing on me.  I had been upping my cardio the past few weeks and it really did me in.  It put my adrenals into hibernation for a bit. Therefore, I decided that trying meal prepping & portioning might be in my best interest in order to keep my food intake on track...and also eliminate the stresses of making meals for myself and my kids, three times a day.

After some great inspiration from Instagram and a few Google searches, I came up with a quick (okay, it took me a few hours) and easy plan for the next 4 days or so.  I learned a bit and will plan better and more accordingly next week.  But this works for me right now!

My awesomesauce husband, Josh, picked up 3 organic, hormone-free chicken breasts from The Fresh Market the other day.  I rinsed and patted them dry, laid them on non-stick foil on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with salt-free Mrs. Dash.  Tossed them in the oven and baked at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes.  They were thick, hence the baking duration.

While the chicken was baking, I added a dish with 5 really small sweet potatoes and let those bake for about 50 minutes.  Halfway through the sweet potato baking time, I also put in a baking dish with asparagus.  I left it plain - no oil, no seasonings.  I left that in there for about 25 minutes.

I really liked being able to time out these three foods and use the oven for all of them at the same time.  It reduced energy used, and also cut down on my cooking times.

While the chicken, sweet potatoes and asparagus were in the oven, I steamed 2 heads of broccoli (plain) and a package of pre-washed green beans.  For a snack, I sliced up three bell peppers (yellow, red & orange).  I portioned these out into 6 containers - each had half of a chicken breast (sliced), asparagus, broccoli and sweet potato (some whole, some halved, depending on size).  I left the green beans & peppers in separate containers for snacks or meal additions.

Pictures follow - they show how I portioned everything out.  Hope this is helpful for anyone else who might want to start food prepping & portioning!

So pretty!  Lots of health benefits in different colored produce!

Seasoned chicken, prior to baking

Baked sweet potatoes 

I fully admit that I totally cheated and steamed these right in the bag!

Steamed broccoli

Chicken - after baking

Asparagus - baked plain, no oil or seasoning 

Here's a look at the 6 portions plus green beans & bell peppers

close-up of one of my portioned meals

Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream Sauce

Here's part 2 of my two-part blog post tonight:  Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Cream Sauce.  My earlier post was for Shredded Chicken Stuffed Green Peppers.  I served these zucchini noodles with the stuffed peppers tonight and they were heavenly!  A great pairing if you ask me.

A friend had posted on Facebook last week that she purchased a spiral cutter for veggies, to make noodles and such.  I have been wanting one for quite some time - well over a year now...so I jumped at the opportunity to get this Paderno spiral slicer on Amazon.  It arrived today and while I had already decided to make my stuffed peppers, how could I not use my brand new kitchen tool?  Just happens I picked up three organic zucchini this morning.

I want to say that while I will totally make raw zucchini noodles (recipes forthcoming), I decided to steam them tonight.  I liked the consistency, but I did really need to drain them.  Zucchini retain a lot of water!

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini
pinch Himalayan sea salt
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1T coconut oil
2 avocados
1/2 lemon
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp taco or Mexican seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder

I used my spiral cutter to make the zucchini noodles.  I did cut the zucchini in half crosswise to make sure it would stay securely on the cutter (pic 1).  It worked perfectly (pic 2). Toss zucchini noodles with a pinch of sea salt and steam for about 12 minutes.  Remove from steamer and drain well to remove excess water (pic 7).

In blender, add avocados, coconut milk, juice from 1/2 lemon and seasonings.  Blend until desired consistency, adding more coconut milk if you'd like (pic 4).  *Note - I only used half of this sauce for the noodles.  Set the sauce aside and heat a small pan on medium heat.  Add the coconut oil and red peppers.  Sauté for 3-5 minutes (pic 6).  Toss drained noodles, red pepper & sauce together - serve warm.

These noodles can be served with my Shredded Chicken Stuffed Peppers or any other protein dish.  Enjoy!!

1. Half of a raw zucchini, ready for spiral cutting

2. Raw zucchini noodles, before steaming

3. Avocado Cream Sauce ingredients

4. Blended sauce

6. Red peppers, sautéed in coconut oil

7. zucchini noodles, steamed & drained 

8. Serve with Shredded Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Beef & Veggie Lasagna with Zucchini & Cashew Cheeze

Beef & Veggie Lasagna with Zucchini & Cashew Cheeze

I really love that so many recipes can be tweaked based on the ingredients, produce and spices that we have on hand at home.  Many of my original recipes are made differently each time because I may not have a particular spice or vegetable.  I encourage you to use my recipes as a base or starting point for your meals...but make any changes based on your family's needs or what you have available.  That's not to say that you can't make it exactly as posted.  Either way, I'm sure it'll be amazing!!

I knew that I was going to use zucchini for the noodles and organic ground beef for the filling.  I wasn't sure what else I was going to add, so this recipe was built as I was preparing dinner last night.

There will be picture overload following the body of this post.  I love adding step by step pictures because so many of us learn visually.  Seeing each step can help less confident cooks to really visualize what their meal will look like during each phase of the recipe.

Enough chatter from me.  Here's the recipe for Beef & Veggie Lasagna with Zucchini & Cashew Cheeze.

View of one serving, from the side

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini

1 small yellow squash

3 cippolini onions

5 white or baby bella mushrooms

3/4 lb organic (grass-fed, no hormones added) ground beef

1 recipe Cashew Cheeze (click HERE and scroll to bottom for recipe)

1/2 bunch kale

2 avocados, sliced

chili sauce

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp taco or Mexican seasoning mix

1-2T coconut oil

First, prepare the Cashew Cheeze sauce and set aside (pic 2).  Wash and slice your zucchini lengthwise (pic 4).  I used a knife rather than a slicer or mandolin so mine were not quite the same thickness...but they still worked just fine.  Steam the zucchini slices for about 8 minutes until they begin to look translucent (pic 11).  While those are steaming, dice your squash, mushrooms & onions and saute in coconut oil in a large shallow pan until browned - add some chili sauce here if you'd like (pic 6).  Remove from pan, set aside and add chopped kale to the pan.  Cook for a few minutes until it turns bright green then remove from pan and set aside (pic 10).  Next, add the ground beef to the pan and stir until cooked through.  (I like to reuse the same pan for everything because it cuts back on cleaning dishes later!)  Add taco seasoning, to your liking to lightly season the beef (pic 7).  The rest of the spices still need to be added so don't overdo it with the just yet.

In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef and sauteed veggies.  Sprinkle the cumin, sea salt & garlic powder and mix well (pic 8).  Taste it now - if you want more spice, add more.  Line a rectangular baking dish with non-stick foil or spray well.  Add one layer of steamed zucchini "noodles" to the bottom of the dish (pic 12).  Next, layer the beef/veggie mixture (pic 13).  After that, add the kale (pic 14).  Next, add the avocado slices (pic 16).  Spread some of the Cashew Cheeze over the avocado and add the final layer of zucchini "noodles" (pics 17 & 18).  I added more Cashew Cheeze sauce and a drizzle of chili sauce to the top (pic 19).  Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool a bit before serving.  Enjoy!!

1. The makings for Cashew Cheeze sauce (I added a little chili sauce too)

2. Cashew Cheeze sauce, after blending.  Mine was very thin - I added extra water.  It really thickens up during cooking - keep that in mind!

3. Three medium, relatively same size, zucchini

4. Zucchini - sliced and ready to steam

5. Diced squash, mushrooms & onion (I added a little extra zucchini too)

6. Sauteed veggies with chili sauce

7. Browned ground beef with taco seasoning

8. Ground beef & veggie mixture

9. Lacinato ("elephant") kale from my garden

10. Chopped kale cooking in coconut oil

11. Steamed zucchini "noodles"

12. First layer - Baking dish lined with zucchini "noodles"

13. Second layer - ground beef & sauteed veggie mixture

14. Third layer - chopped, sauteed kale

15. Slice avocados lengthwise in half and remove pit with large knife.  Slice the avocados lengthwise.  Scoop out with a large spoon and separate the slices.

16. Fourth layer - add sliced avocado

17. Fifth layer - Cashew Cheeze sauce

18. Top layer - more zucchini "noodles"

19. Top layer with added Cashew Cheeze & chili sauce

20. After baking - looks SO GOOD!

Vegan Walnut "Meat" Tacos in Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Cheese Sauce

Vegan Walnut "Meat" Tacos in Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Cheese Sauce

When my friend Heather recently posted in our Meat Free May Facebook group that she made some fantastic tacos using walnuts for the "meat", I will admit - I was a little skeptical.  I did some online searches and found that there are a ton on recipes for walnut "meat" filling, so I decided that if so many people have blogged about this, perhaps I should give it a try.  Not that I didn't believe Heather when she said these were amazing!  After all, her little boy has started stealing her green smoothies.  She must be creating some good stuff in her kitchen.  I digress...

I opted to make mine just a little differently, but they were still pretty similar.  I did not soak my walnuts and I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  If you don't know about this product, please go get a bottle and start using it right now!!  I use it almost daily whether in recipes or just on sautéed  kale.  It's loaded with amino acids and is free of preservatives and salt.

Taco filling:
1.5 cups raw walnuts
1 cup diced mushrooms
coconut oil
2T Trader Joe's taco seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1T Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Saute mushrooms in about a tablespoon of coconut oil until browned.  Remove from heat.  Add walnuts and seasonings to food processor and *pulse* until crumbly.  If you over-process, you'll end up with nut butter and that would be better for a sandwich.  When the walnuts are crumbly and the spices incorporated, add the mushrooms and stir until mixed.  Done - honestly, that's it.

I opted to serve mine in romaine boats with tomato, purple cabbage and "cashew cheeze" sauce which can be found at the bottom (under the pictures) of THIS blog post from last week.

Josh liked it too - and that's always a bonus!

Walnuts pulsed in food processor with spices

Close-up view of the walnuts

Cashew "Cheeze" Sauce

Sauteed mushrooms

Walnuts mixed with mushrooms

Simple - there's no need to have a dozen ingredients to make a taco!

And you can eat more with less guilt!