Strawberry Daiquiri Smoothie

This smoothie is very healthy and really tastes like a strawberry daiquiri minus the rum. :-)

Ingredients:
9 fresh strawberries (frozen does not get the same flavor)
3/4 cup of frozen mixed berries
1 ripe banana
1.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp of chia seeds/flax seeds

Instructions:
1. Slice strawberries in half and add to blender
2. Add sliced banana, chia seeds, and frozen mixed berries
3. Slowly add almond milk to the fruit. The almond milk should only go as high as the fruit or the smoothie ends up too watery.
4. Blend and enjoy!

Vegetarian Coconut Curry Soup

This may be the best recipe I've made so far. It was inspired by the recipe below, but it is obviously not 5 ingredients but it was very easy to make. If you enjoy coconut curry, you will love this soup!


http://www.zenfamilyhabits.net/2010/01/5-ingredients-5-minutes-5-meals-simple-noodles/


Ingredients:
4 oz of brown rice noodles (I used Annie Chun's brand, half a box is plenty!)
1 can of light coconut milk
1 bag of frozen (unflavored) asian stir fry mixed vegetables
1 can of baby corn, drained
1/4 cup of lime juice
4 cups of vegetable stock (1 carton)
1 cup of sliced shitake mushrooms
2 tbsp fresh, grated ginger
2-3 tbsp of red thai curry paste (I used thai kitchen)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chinese five spice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro, chopped

Instructions:
1.  Add a 1 cup of broth to a large soup pot.
2. Add sliced shitake mushrooms, garlic, and ginger to the 1 cup of broth and bring to a low boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes. This step is to soften the mushrooms.
3. Once mushrooms are softened, add the rest of the broth, can of coconut milk, frozen vegetables, lime juice, and drained baby corn.
4. Add 2-3 tbsp of red thai curry paste and stir. Amount of curry paste depends on how spicy you like your soup. The soup should turn a light orange color if you have enough curry paste in it.
5. Let soup come to a slow boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. While this is simmering, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Add 4 oz of dry brown rice noodles to the water when it is at a rolling boil.
7. Cook the noodles for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water.
8. Add salt, pepper, and chinese five spice to the simmering coconut soup. Taste to see if it needs more spice or curry paste.
9. Put rice noodles in a bowl and pour the coconut soup over the noodles.
10. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

Spicy Vegetarian Taco Soup

This recipe was inspired by the below Paula Dean Recipe. I wanted to make a healthy version of taco soup. Definitely will make this again, it was very easy to make and tasty.

Recipe Inspiration
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/taco-soup-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp of chopped jalapeno
1 zucchini, cubed
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of corn kernels
1 tin of green chiles
1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tin of sliced black olives (optional)
4 cups of vegetable stock
1.5 cup of water
2 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 packet of taco seasoning or 2 tbsp of taco seasoning
2 tbsp of lime juice
Salt to taste

Tortilla chips, avocado, cheese, cilantro, or sour cream for toppings!

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil
2. Add minced garlic clove, onion, and jalapeno to heated oil
3. Saute for 5 minutes on medium high heat until onion is translucent
4. Add cubed zucchini and saute for 3-4 minutes
5. Add cumin and cayenne pepper to veggies and stir
6. Pour the vegetable stock and water into the pot
7. Pour black beans, corn, pinto beans into a strainer and rinse and then add to the soup.
8. Add 1 tin of green chiles, taco seasoning, and drained olives.
9. Add 2 tbsp of lime juice and a sprinkle of salt and bring to a boil.
10. Let soup simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
11. Serve with chopped avocado, cheese, sour cream, and/or tortilla chip pieces.

Veggie Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I made this recipe with my friend April last night, who also helped get the awesome picture of this delicious dish! It was inspired by the recipe referenced below but I did make a couple of tweaks to it. This recipe was helped by the fact that it is zucchini season! The zucchini's were from the market and were delicious and I really liked the stuffing as well. This was a tasty, healthy, and relatively easy dish.

Recipe Inspiration: http://lowfatveganchef.com/vegan-quinoa-stuffed-zucchini-boats/

Ingredients:
2 cups of pre-cooked brown rice (we used seeds of change microwaveable brown basmati rice)
1/2  cup of crushed walnuts
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 green apple, diced
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, diced
12 baby carrots, chopped
4 large zucchini
1.5 tsp of oil (we used coconut oil)
1 tbsp of greek seasoning (which had dried lemon peel, basil, parsley, thyme, onion powder)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Slice zucchini in half, length wise, to make the boats.
2. Take a spoon and scoop out the flesh of the zucchini to make a pocket for the stuffing. Discard the flesh in a small bowl to use for the stuffing.
3. Once the zucchini's have had the inside removed, set them aside on a cooking sheet with foil and pre-heat the oven to 375.
4. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a large saute pan
5. Add minced garlic cloves to the heated oil and saute until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add apple, onions, carrots, and celery to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, zucchini flesh, and greek seasoning mix to the vegetables. Continue to saute for another few minutes.
8. Once the vegetables look pretty well softened, add the crushed walnuts and pre-cooked rice to the pan and mix together.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste to the mix and turn off heat.
10. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on the zucchini boats before adding the stuffing mixture.
11. Use a large spoon and add the stuffing in all of the zucchini boats.
12. Put baking sheet in the 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. If you like zucchini a little crisper and crunchier I suggest 25 minutes, but you like soft zucchini I would cook it for 30-35 minutes.