Protein rich Vegan meal

For the Garbanzo bean side:

1 cup of homemade Garbanzo beans or canned beans rinsed

1 tablespoon of Olive oil

1 tsp of Garlic, ginger powder, parsley and chives. (more to taste) 

1 tsp of salt and pepper 

Directions:

I used a small pan, heated up the oil then mixed in beans and seasonings. Cook till warm and then take off heat. 

Quinoa: 

Use pre-cooked Quinoa, or let quinoa cool before you fry in olive oil 

1 tsp of garlic powder, ginger and pepper. 

1 tbs of Gluten free low sodium soy sauce (I like the tamari brand)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in no stick pan, add Quinoa and seasonings plus a handful of spinach. Mix for three minutes or until warm then take off heat. 

Veggies:

I heated 2 tbs of olive oil and mixed in veggies until soft but still crunchy, before I took them off the heat I added 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tsp of ginger & garlic. 

Meal for two! 

Taco Bowls (can be made vegan)

 

Taco bowl for lunch!! This was so good and kept me full throughout work 

You will need!

1.White or Brown rice cooked in chicken broth! ( I use bouillon cubes for less sodium) Cook one cup of Rice with two cups of water and one bouillon cube (vegan use substitute chicken flavored cube)

2.Red Cabbage (shredded) organic is always best

3. Black Beans (can or homemade, I make a pack of beans a week and store in freezer when I need them) Cook in one cup of chicken broth, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, cumin, and 2 tsp of garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

4. Boiled Chicken (lower fat and shreds easily) I cook chicken breast in a couple cups of water and seasonings. 1 tbs of garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. You can add bouillon cube for richer chicken taste 

*vegan substitute chicken for tofu or more beans 

5.Pico De Gallo:

One tomato, half of a red& orange bell pepper, 1/4 an onion, 1 lemon and salt and pepper 

Dice all the ingredients and mix together. 

I put them in the order shown and added dairy free sour cream on the top!! this was so delicious and can be made ahead of time so you can have meals all week! Enjoy

Green breakfast smoothie!!!

Sweet and packed with good stuff!! 

Smoothies!!!

One tid bit of advice when you make a smoothie! adding just fruits is good every now and then but try to add at least one veggie to your smoothies! vegetables keep us full and give us good fiber and vitamins.
Hope everyone is well

Great website and movie! explains why gmo foods are not good for us! lots of websites to look at

http://www.thefutureoffood.com/get%20involved.html

Eating raw a couple days a week can help improve nutrient intake

Instead of eating a cooked meal for dinner try eating raw a couple meals a week. Fruits and veggies loose a lot of nutrients if you cook them on high temps. Plan your plate similar to this! Fill to the brim with good food!! Protein from nuts, fruits and veggies!! No grains as you can see but I usually save that for a snack later.

Quinoa stir fry!!!

Quick healthy Vegan dinner!!

I used pre-cooked Quinoa: Cooked in mock chickem bouillon cubes 1/2 a cup

1 cup of mushrooms

1 cup of red bell pepper

1/4 a cup of red onion

1 handfull of spinach 

1 cup of zuchini and squash 

Gluten free low sodium soy sauce 

Ginger powder 1 TBS

Salt & pepper 1 TBS  of  pepper a drizzle of salt 

Garlic Powder 1 TBS

Directions:

Cook the mushroom first in a tablespoon of olive oil 

Once mushroom start to soften add the rest of the vegetables and more oil if needed

Season with garlic powder, ginger powder, salt and pepper

Once the veggies are as soft as you like them (I usually cook for 5 minutes, I like my veggies crunchy) add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and Quinoa

Mix Quinoa and Veggies and add 1 tablespoon of low-sodium gluten free soy sauce (got mines at sprouts the Tamari brand is divine) 

Current groceries! Seasonal and fresh, always keep healthy food handy

 

A good way to eat seasonal foods is by going to a farmers market for your produce!! One more thing most organic sections of sprouts and wheatsville only carry seasonal local produce. 

Vegan!!

It has been a while since my last post. Let's skip all the rest and go to the fact that I am Vegan now! I am trying it for 30 days to see if I see any changes in my physique, mental capabilities and well-being. This Friday will be my first week of the challenge. I will be able to talk about what has worked and what has not worked. So far I have made garbanzo beans & Quinoa for protein. I have accidentally eaten milk products twice!!! The transition is hard you never know what animal products can sneak their way into your food

Mint chocolate chip smoothie

1/2 a ripe avocado can be supstituted for coconut oil 2 tbs
1/4 a tsp of peppermint oil, add more to taste
1 TBS of vanilla extract
1 hand full of spinach
1 cup of ice or frozen coconut water
1 ripe banana frozen
2 cups of vanilla almond milk

Blend till smoothe

Throw in a handful of dark chocolate chips and mix slowly

Voila! Delicious

Kick the fat salad!

Favorite veggies and fruits with romaine, cilantro and spinach. For dressing use olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper! I also used garlic and herb seasoning. Eat this along with nuts for a nutritious lunch

Grocery trip!

Picked up some everyday things. Fruits and veggies! Also sun butter for granola bars my boyfriend and I can enjoy!

Weightloss Tip

1. Drink more green tea! Three cups a day promotes weight-loss, skin health, keeps your skin young, hair growth and helps boost your metabolism. I would try the kind with berries or any other mix so you do not add sugar. Beware of the sugar!! adding it completely defeats the purpose of drinking tea for good health. If you absolutely cannot go without sugar in your tea try pure-via natural sweetener it is zero calories and will sweeten your tea with only one packet. 
2.Alcohol makes you gain weight. If you are having problems with your belly and skin you straight up need to give up alcohol. Beer is known to make you have a huge belly and bloats most peoples organs!! Liquor turns into sugar in your bloodstream!! Lots of people can drink in moderation and that is fine. If you are trying to loose weight I recommend you cut it out all together. Your will be amazed at the amount of energy and liveliness you have once you do (turn this energy into workout time) 

Also if you are trying to go Gluten free (beer has gluten) keep that in mind 

Be safe, stay strong you can do this!!  

Weekend detox!

Morning Drink! 

1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne (more if you are okay with spicy)

1 Lemon, squeezed and peeled into drink

1/4 a cucumber sliced

1 tablespoon of organic honey

1/4 a teaspoon of sea salt

Add fruits then fill with purified water to the rim! 

Afternoon Drink!

1 Lemon squeezed and peeled into drink

1 lime squeezed and peeled into drink

1 packet of purevia sweetener or sweeter of your choice 

1/4 a cucumber sliced thin 

Nighttime Colon Cleanse

Your favorite detox tea, I use dieters cinnamon 

2 tablespoons of honey

3 strawberries cut 

1/2 a tablespoon of coconut oil 

Some people like to cleanse without food, I on the other hand am hypoglycemic so I cannot go a whole day without eating. I drink these along with eating salads and just fruits and veggies all day. Nothing processed, no meat, no sugar and absolutely  no dairy. Try this for Saturday and Sunday! Do not try this mid-week you will be going to the bathroom a lot since your cleaning out your system. Enjoy and make sure to credit me! I created this cleanse on my own.  

Healthy choices

Healthy choices for a new you!!!

Chicken noodle soup

Ingredients: 

Gluten free chicken bouillon and vegetable bouillon cubes

Chicken 1/3 a pound 

fresh 

green beans 

2 carrots

broccoli 

Gluten free noodles (I use the kind made with Quinoa, you can use normal rice kind just put it in 5 minutes before soup is finished) 

6 cups of water 

Directions:

Boil 6 cups of water with 4 bouillon cubes (3 chicken and 1 vegetable)

Add diced chicken and cook for 6 minutes

Add veggies and cook for 25 minutes

Lastly add noodles! cook for 10 minutes and enjoy!! 

(good for 4 days in fridge) 

Smoothie prep

Freeze 1 banana per bag! they are good for over a week!! make sure they are very ripe (brown and bruised) for a sweeter smoothie 

Achy, Tired eating too much?

If your wondering why you may be tired, drowsy, cannot think straight, have headaches often, pains in your body constantly you might need to change your eating habits. Try living without Gluten or Dairy for a month, see how it makes you feel. A lot of American food involves these ingredients, you'll have to make major changes to cut them out. If after a month, you feel better have more energy then you probably have a food allergy. 

To curb your appetite bring sugar free peppermint gum with you when you get a craving chew some gum with a glass of water

Weight-loss tip

You need more fruits and veggies in your life I swear! Unless you eat more than seven servings of fruits and veggies everyday I can promise you, you need more. Not only do they provide you with nutrients and keep you full they are natures natural vitamins. I seriously have not gotten sick since I started drinking smoothies daily. I have recipes up and the web has tons. I will try and post 30 different varieties of smoothies. I never make one the same. Comment if you have specific questions!!

Gamma juice!

Literally the best green protein smoothie I have made to date!! love it. I recently read somewhere that green smoothies lack protein and I was like uhh... nah so I made this delicious treat to share with you. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of almond or coconut milk

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (warmed in the microwave so it is melted)

2 tablespoons of flax seeds

2 tablespoons of pb2 or you can use coconut peanut butter

2 cups of frozen banana

2 large handfuls of spinach or kale 

Blend and voila so delicious!!! you can't taste the spinach I swear 

Alterations to make it a protein smoothie! 

Add 1/2 a cup of cooked and cooled Quinoa. (tip to make it sweeter and not taste so bitter is to cook it with cinnamon sticks; brew cinnamon tea with the amount of water needed to cook Quinoa, usually 1/2 a cup of Quinoa too 1 cup of water. 

cup of qun

Fruity paleo protein smoothie

Mornings are difficult sometimes. Sometimes my body is craving something super sweet! Lately I've been turning to smoothies to satisfy that craving. This smoothie has about 8 grams of protein so its a good snack/breakfast on the go for me. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked quinoa (cook the quinoa per directions, add cinnamon for something extra special)

1 cup of frozen berries ( I used central markets organic berry blend)

1 cup of Almond milk (dream-blends are delicious)

1 very ripe banana (frozen or unfrozen)

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 packet of pure-via (doesn't need it if you don't have much of a sweet tooth)

Blend them all together for a delicous treat!! 

Peaches and Cream Smoothie! Dairy free/gluten free

Ingredients:

Coconut Cream 2 tablespoons

Frozen peaches 1 1/2 cups

Frozen banana 1 (cut into pieces and frozen the night before)

Almond Milk ( I used the dream blends almonds/chia kind) 2 cups

2 soaked dates (soak them over night so they  blend well)

1 packet of pure-via sweetener (or your choice of sweetener)

Blend all these together I used the whip setting at the very end and oh my this was just like ice cream. So delicious and so healthy!!! 

Weight-loss tip of the Day!

Do not skip breakfast. Like really, I know you see it everywhere and you probably have heard this before. Now you are hearing it from a normal person, who lost weight without a doctor or nutritionist help. Skipping breakfast or any other meal will slow your metabolism and cause your body to store fat!
I have recipes and will add more recipes for breakfast that do not take much time and are low fat. I love breakfast it is the most important meal of the day, your meals should only get smaller as the day goes on. Breakfast is to fuel your body, lunch is to refuel your body and dinner is to replenish your body.
Food is fuel! 

Great Gluten free store bought bread!

Lately, I have been feeling the sting of not being able to eat wheat. This weekend I got over that when I found this bread! My goodness its perfect. I have tried other Udi's kind before but this one takes the cake! Its delicious and so close to the real thing I cannot even tell the difference. Plus its packed with nutrients. Happy Sunday sandwich to you! The chips are Eat your veggies sour cream and onion. Also add red bell peppers and spinach to your sandwiches you will not regret it!!! Stop by Sprouts Farmers Market for buy one get one eat your own veggies chips and earthbound organics spinach!! Sale ends WEDNESDAY

Want to lose weight? Here is a week by week plan for this coming up Month or start now!

So for this next week coming up, (you can start Sunday if you want to better keep track of your schedule) your gonna have to give up one of these five things

1. Refined Carbs which is stuff like white pasta, white bread, anything that is not 100% whole wheat.
2.Any kind of drink except for tea and water. (juice is included in drinks you give up since it has loads of sugar)
3. Sweets (anything and all sweets) you can eat fruit with honey if your craving something sweet, or 100% wheat waffles with organic maple syrup. I also have recipes on this blog you can use that are sugar free

4. Fast food, ( I realize that this is a tough one, I'd do this one last, practice preparing meals first)

So to lose weight you would need to drop one of these things a week at a time. By the end of  a month you will be giving up all these things and you will start to lose weight fast. This only lasts for a while after you start to lose weight you can start to exercise more frequently and more rigorously. Working out now will only turn your fat into muscle and unless you want to be bulky I wouldn't recommend working out right away. There are some small workouts you can start to do. I would practice one of these videos for a week. Just do a small amount everyday. If you can go for walks you should, start at 30 minutes then increase your time by 5 minutes every week. 

Here are some links for videos you can do at home. 

I would do the first one before you move on to the next video. If you can't finish the second video its okay. Just keep working at it and you will be able to do the whole length. I would take a days rest in between workouts to start out.
http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout-detail/Easy-Warm-Up-Cardio-Workout/cp/

http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout-detail/Low-Impact-Cardio-Workout-Quiet-Cardio-Workout-at-Home/f5/

Happy Sunday!

Here in Austin it is pretty cold. (come on warm weather)
I tend to eat a lot, days like these, its cold and there's nothing better to do! Well anytime you feel hungry workout!! It will help curb your need to eat just cause your bored.
Here are some fun workouts I do, regular crunches are boring

Groceries anyone? Here are some I got.

If you are Gluten free here are some options! Dairy free me as well. I love this sweetener purevia I use it in all my recipes :)

Homemade dairy free Ice cream anyone? Me please me!!!

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1 1/2 of a cup of almond milk

1 tablespoon of flax seeds

2 tablespoons of raw cocoa powder

2 packets of purevia (2 if you want it sweet and chocolaty)

2 tablespoons of chia seeds 

1 tablespoon of hemp seeds 

a drizzle of granola (homemade or store bought)

Blend all ingredients in the blender and cool for 1 hour in the freezer 

Overnight oats! Power me up

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of chia seeds

1/2 cup of steel cut oats

1 cup of almond milk 

1 packet of pure via

1 tablespoon of coconut/peanut butter

1/2 a cup of blueberries

1 banana to top it when you eat it in the morning!! 

Put them in the jar in the following order

Power smoothie!!!

Ingredients: 

2 cups of frozen strawberries

1 frozen banana

1 handful of deep green power blends

1 cup of coconut water

2 packets of purevia

1 tablespoon of chia seeds 

1/2 a cup of cooked quinoa 

2 tsp of cinnamon powder

Makes 2 delicious smoothies!!! put one in a mason jar in the fridge for the next day!!! 

pre-workout? delicious 

Gluten free chicken fried rice and veggies!

Steps with Pictures!

Ingredients:

1/2 container of slices baby Bella mushrooms

2 breasts of free range chicken, diced 

2 cups of broccoli (more if you'd like)

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups of filtered water

1 cup of carrots

Ginger powder

Garlic powder

Sea Salt, Cracked black pepper 

1. Cook brown rice: 

1 cup brown rice, 2 cups water, 2 gluten free chicken bouillon cubes

Bring to a boil and cover for 40 minutes mixing occasionally. 

lay rice out on cookie sheet for 1 hour letting the rice dry out. 

After rice is dry, start with next steps!!! 

Brown mushrooms in coconut oil, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp of cracked black pepper

Brown chicken in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of cracked black pepper, 2 tsp of ginger, 2 tsp of low sodium gluten free soy sauce. 

While you are browning chicken boil broccoli and carrots in a sauce covered for 8 minutes. 

 

Add onions to chicken for a couple minutes then added steamed veggies, add 2 tsp of soy sauce 

Add more olive oil then add brown rice. Add 2 tsp of garlic powder, ginger, sea salt, black pepper and more soy sauce to taste and baby Bella mushrooms! and Voila takes a lot of work but totally worth it. 

This blog will be about...

Hello, 
My name is Sarah Perez, I am currently an after-school teacher and curriculum writer. I teach Tasty Tech a food blog class and a Cultural cooking. I have taught cooking classes for the past 2 years. I have learned about nutrition through nursing classes, reading, blogs and friends. Now I plan on becoming a personal trainer and hopefully, eventually, I will start my own gluten free restaurant (or even better restaurant/gym!).  My whole passion for food started when I was diagnosed with Diabetes over four years ago. I was on a diet when I collapsed at work and was taken to the hospital. I was only 20. I weighed over 190 lbs and ate fast food/ processed food for every meal. The doctor at the hospital told me frankly that if I did not change my eating habits I would have major problems with diabetes. It took a couple years to truly find a healthy diet that worked for me. As soon as I did the weight just dropped off. When I started my goal weight was 140 which I met in the spring of 2013.The summer of 2013 brought upon great change. I was in a cycling accident that required me to have brain surgery. I fractured my mandible, temporal bone and shoulder. I cracked my skull in three places and had a 20% chance of living. I survived it and became even more aware of my health. My body needs nutrients to heal. During a doctors visit I was told that if I gave up Gluten I might start to loose some of the haziness I complained about. I gave it up for a month and boy am I glad I did. I felt more energized, had less skin problems, could think straight and lost my belly plus over 10 lbs! This blog will feature weight-loss tips that I have researched, gluten free recipes, dairy free recipes, posts about Austin Gluten free friendly places and places to find deals on gluten free food! (so expensive) 
Hope you enjoy, please follow me if you like what you see 
Grain free for life!