The Smoothie Vegetarians

It has become a fad to be lean and thin, almost to the point of lunacy. Nonetheless, there is much merit to keeping ones body fat to the absolute necessity only, not more, not less. January has come around, many have vowed to lose weight, get more active and be more healthy. Why not make this week a yearlong approach, a lifestyle? Once we incorporate key and essential ' hacks ' in our lifestyle which become daily healthy habits, this is achievable with little to no effort. Many of these I have mentioned in past articles, and shall not elaborate on in great detail for most. . . Most important, is to ensure that your house is free of ALL processed foods and/or animal products, along with chemical personal care, household items, these vary from deodorants, toothpaste, soaps shampoos, bleaching agents and excessive plastics- specifically for food storage. Ensuring your dietary intake is wholly fresh fruits and vegetables or at the least, 95% so, is a suref...

Hey guys! My husband's favorite food is Biscuits and Gravy.  Since transitioning to a plant-based diet, we have been struggling to finds the perfect gravy for his favorite dish.  After months of trial and errors, we ended up using prepackaged vegan gravy for awhile. The other night my husband REALLY wanted biscuits and gravy but we didn't have any prepackaged gravy. So I decided to try again. I finally came up with the ideal vegan gravy for biscuits and gravy! I am so excited about this, I thought I would share. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe and let me know if you find a way to make it even better in the comments. Happy Cooking! ~Stella~ Vegan Peppered Gravy Recipe Makes two cups - 1 cup unsweetened almond milk - 1 cup vegetable broth - 1 teaspoon pepper - 1 clove of roasted garlic - 1 dash of chili powder - 3 tablespoons of flour - 3 tablespoons of cooking fat (I used vegan butter) 1. Add the cooking fat...

Hello all! Today I wanted to share with you this yummy clementine jam recipe! Thie recipe only has three ingredients, that's it! **Please remember that your jam will only be as good as your clementines, so choose wisely!** The perfect clementine, will be a bit firm but not too firm. You want to easily squeeze it but you do not want it to have indentations in it after you squeeze it. The perfect one will be fragrant and have a thin skin. The best time to purchase clementines is in later winter months (January - February). This is when they are in season. You can store them at room temperature for a week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. If your clementines are very ripe, you may want to put them in the refrigerator if you do not plan on using them right away! Happy cooking! ~Michele!~ Clementine Jame Recipe Makes one jar of jam You'll need 3 pounds of clementines (they're often sold in 3lb bags) a cup of sugar the juice...

Hey guys! Today I wanted to share with you a super quick and delicious recipe for cauliflower. This recipe is great if you ar eon a low carb diet, or if you are trying to count some calories. It is even perfect if you do not want something as heavy as mashed potatoes. This mashed recipe as a similar taste and texture to mashed potatoes, in fact my family can not tell the difference between this and traditional mashed potatoes. Feel free to season this up just like you would for mashed potatoes. Cauliflower takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. If you wanted to add more flavor you could use vegetable broth to steam the cauliflower. This is a favorite in my house and I hope it would be a favorite in yours also! Happy cooking! ~Stella~ Mashed Cauliflower Recipe Makes 6 servings - 1 head of cauliflower separated - 1 head of roasted garlic - 2 tablespoons fresh thyme - Salt and Pepper to taste 1. Steam cauliflower. 2. Add steamed cauliflo...

The Face: ‘What lays manifest in the physical, is a mirror of the internal’ ~ Jan P. L ó pez. The skin on one’s face is the most sensitive part of the body, we wash often, moisturize and expose to the sun daily. In order to maintain healthy skin, it is imperative to hydrate the body effectively by consuming as much fruits and vegetables daily along with drinking sufficient amounts of pure water. Diet plays a major role in the appearance and health of one’s skin. In conjunction with the above, it is also important to ensure t whatever goes on the skin is safe and nourishing. It is 100 %true that ’if you would not eat it, perhaps it should not be on the skin. ' The skin is  porous and the largest organ of the body and  thus easily transports whatever it  comes into contact with  to the bloodstream in a matter of just seconds. So, let us look at some of the very natural ingredients/items which can benefit the skin and its natural health, as ...

Hey guys! Today I wanted to share a super yummy breakfast food today. This morning I had time to make a really awesome breakfast. I went to the store last night they had the really pretty gala apples in the reduced produce bin. I bought two big bags of them. I thought thew gala apples would make a perfect star for my breakfast dish. I absolutely love the flavor of gala apples, they are my second favorite! (Granny Smiths are my first favrotes!) As expected they made a perfect addition to the oatmeal.  This was the perfect breakfast but would also make a perfect dessert! I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I did! Happy cooking! ~Stella~ Oatmeal Apple Cups Recipe Makes 2 Servings -2 Gala Apples - 2 tablespoons of coconut oil -1 cup chopped almonds -1 teaspoon Vanilla -1 teaspoon Cinnamon -1/2 teaspoon Allspice -1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg -1/3 cup maple syrup (or any sweetener) -1/2 cup oatmeal -1 cup water 1. Preheat ...

Hey guys! Today I wanted to share with you a recipe for naan. Naan is one of my favorite bread recipes, I mean who doesn't love bread? The reason naan is so wonderful is because it is so flexible! It can be used like a flat bread for pizza or sandwiches. It can be eaten with soup or even on it's own. Honestly, the possibilities are endless. The traditional naan recipe has eggs in it, so I wanted to figure out a way to make it with out the eggs. I did a bunch of research, tried a bunch of recipes and ended up coming up with this one. The reason I came up with this recipe, and like it above all of the others is because all of the ingredients are things that I always have around. I hope you guys try this recipe and end up loving naan as much as I do! Until next time! ~Stella~ Naan Makes 8 servings - 2 cups all flour (plus a bit more to flour the surface you are working on) - 1 tablespoon salt - 1/2 cup water - 1/4 almond milk - 2 tablespoons oliv...

I like to advise people on healthier options to partake of in their lives, one such area to jump start this process is that of personal care and products involved therein. I generally no longer purchase commercial care products mentioned here. In this toxic world we live, there are many reasons to avoid as best as possible, all contaminants that which we are exposed to. The body stores toxins in fat cells, at their point of saturation, the environs are at threat to acidity, leading to a condition called acidosis, which is  precursor  to several diseases: Heart,  Strokes, Cancer, Diabetes to name  a few of the  life-threatening ones are the most prevalent and ones which can undoubtedly be avoided.  It is in OUR  best interest to keep our products used daily, frequently and even from time to time as ' clean ' as possible. Our water, food, and air are main contributors to anatomical contamination; the mobile phones and television sets ...

One of my all-time favorite things to eat is a really good vegetable roast. Not only is it super easy to make it is also a really good way to use veggies that are getting ready to go bad. This particular recipe is for sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts because I have recently ended up with a bunch of them. I do not recommend peeling the potatoes because this is where most of the nutrients are in it. I am a firm believer in eating to fuel my body, not for pleasure. So it is important for em to keep in mind where the nutrients are in the food I am eating. All though it calls to be roasted for 45 minutes, it does not require any work during those 45 minutes so you are free to do whatever else you need to do!  This is one of these dishes that would be perfect if you meal prep. You can through this all together in a container and it can sit in the fridge for about a week. I hope you enjoy this recipe! ~Stella~ Sweet Potato and Brus...

One of the biggest reasons I get from people for why they can not eat a plant-based diet is that it is too expensive. The reason that people feel this way is because they are not eating what is in season. Fruits and vegetables do not thrive all year round, the reason we can purchase them in store all year round is because they are grown in green houses are they are shipped from other parts of the world. When they are shipped from one part of the world to the other, the fruit/vegetable is harvested early. This is so it is not rotten or close to it when we get it. When a fruit/vegetable is harvested too early it does not have enough time to absorb all of the nutrients from it's mother plant. This will effect many things, one being the flavor. For me, I can notice this the most in oranges. Oranges are in season this time of year, and I have to say they are absolutely delicious! 6 months from now they will not be as food, they will not be as flavorful. Another benefit o...