Welcome Back Green Smoothie

Hello All

I hope you forgive me for my looooong absence. We welcomed our third baby just a few weeks ago. I had a tough pregnancy so I decided I needed to cut something back so I could function and take care of my other two little people so I took a break from the blog!

But- our third little is here! He is an angel and I am excited to be back to inventing some fun healthy food. 

I have had some thoughts as I've been continuing to do research on what I believe is the healthiest way to eat. I have thought about this a lot in these last few weeks especially as I've been concocting my plan of attack on how to drop the baby poundage. 

I continue to believe that an 80%-90% plant based diet is the healthiest. These are nature's foods for our bodies. They are chuck full of so many nutrients and low calories so we can eat our fill without counting calories (which is totally exhausting in my opinion!) I, however, believe that having small amounts of animal products is not going to kill us. I feel fine giving my little people eggs, yogurt, and lean meats. We continue to cut out red meat it tastes disgusting to me at this point unless it's a good old home cooked hamburger at a fourth of July barbecue...am I right people, there isn't much better :). 

We don't eat a lot of pork either. We stick to lean poultry. 

However I feel most protein should come from plant products and grains for example:

Black Beans

Quinoa

Broccoli

Nuts and Legumes

So many people worry about the fat content in nuts, just remember that you are putting healthy fats into your body. Instead of worrying about fat count...worry about types of fat! Now do I suggest grabbing a spoon and eating half a jar of peanut butter, no. However a handful of almonds or a spoon of peanut butter is a great way to get some protein and healthy fats into your system. 

So my plan of attack for weight loss (I invite anyone to join in this plan with me and we can all give each other suggestions and help each other...support is key)

I begin my day with a huge Green Smoothie! (I am nursing so I do need more calories so I also might add some peanut butter or oatmeal with my smoothie)

For lunch I stick to plants, a large salad with beans and nuts on top and low fat/low cal dressing

Then for dinner I have been preparing the lean meats with fruits and veggies for the whole family to eat. 

So far I've been losing healthy weight loss and I'm on my third week post baby, I've been dropping about 2-2.5 pounds a week (well not counting the huge amount of water weight) and I have to report I truly feel that this style of eating is helping me function when I am seriously sleep deprived and have two wild munchkins to entertain all day on top of baby! 

So anyways I wanted to post a yummy green smoothie recipe that is chuck full of goodness, but low fat! This green smoothie by the way is not green...it doesn't have to be green to be considered a green smoothie, most of mine turn a disgusting brown color!

Energy Lovin' Green Smoothie

3 HUGE handfuls of spinach, kale or collard greens (or all of them)

1 cup frozen berries

1 1/2 Banana

1/2 apple, chopped

Water 

Add spinach to blender. Add water to help blend spinach. Blend until pureed, about 90 seconds. Add banana, then berries, then chopped apple. Blend until completely incorporated and smooth. About another 90 seconds. Serve chilled! This has incredible amounts of fiber and nutrients to help you get through your morning! I pour mine in a bottle and carry it with  me, for my nearly hands off breakfast! Good with kids!

Enjoy

What are your favorite healthy breakfast recipes? What is your plan of attack for getting your ideal body weight?

One Dish Bulgar Skillet

I love one dish meals! They are simple and call for an easy clean up! I also adore skillets...the way that they mesh all the delicious flavors together...it makes me sneak leftover bites for days to come! 

I decided to try something new. Bulgar. Has anyone tried it before? It is a whole grain--a groat really from wheat specimens (I sound scientific huh) Anyways it's delicious. I had planned to make hot cereal with it, but our weekends have been crazy and I leave for work before anyone else is awake during the week. So I decided to make a skillet full of veggies and boca crumbles! Bulgar has a nice nutty flavor and it was a great addition to our pilaf skillet.

This really is up to you what veggies you want to add. I used:

1 onion

1 bunch of broccoli

1 garlic clove

1/2 yellow pepper

1 grated carrot

a large handful of chopped kale

I thought my choices of veggies really meshed nice together...

some other suggestions I thought of

broccoli slaw

olives

mushrooms

sun dried tomatoes

After you have all the veggies chopped add the onions with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to a large skillet. Heat them until tender then add the garlic. When it is fragrant add remaining vegetables and heat for about 5 minutes. The amount of Bulgar I used was plenty... 1 1/2 cups. After the veggies are heated add Bulgar. Add 2 1/4 cups of vegetable stock and 1 tablespoon cumin and half a bag of Boca crumbles. Now you simply cover and simmer over med-low until all the liquid is absorbed. 

When it was all said and done I added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of parsley and some low sodium soy sauce. Serve hot and it is yummy!

Honestly I was hoping for more of a reaction from my kids. I loved every bite, they liked it but you could tell it wasn't their favorite! It is a delicious meal. If you aren't looking for vegetarian/vegan I bet chicken, turkey or shrimp would be great to add into it!

Ingredients written out a little easier for you :)

1 onion chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 grated carrot

1/2 yellow onion

1 c chopped kale leaves

1 head of broccoli chopped

1 1/2 c Bulgar

2 1/4 c vegetable stock

1 T cumin

1 T parsley

2 T lemon juice

1 T coconut oil

1/2 T low sodium soy sauce

1/2 bag Boca Meatless crumbles