Out with the old, in with the new! (And a recipe too!)

I was not feeling well this weekend so I took a nap and before I knew it, I slept through lunch. When I woke up I was starving! Knowing I had a history of making "bad" food choices when I'm hungry, the first thing I did was prepare a healthy smoothie so I could grab hold of the hunger then make a smart meal choice with a clear mind. I do believe the old habits are officially out of here! 

My smoothie of choice? A banana, almond milk smoothie with a scoop of vegan protein powder.

Because smoothies and juices are part of the secret to my success, I can't keep this yummy healthy treat to myself, the recipe is below.  Its a great snack or meal replacement, I often enjoy one of these for breakfast or as an after workout boost. Give it a try the next time you want a delicious and satisfying treat!  

Banana almond milk smoothie recipe:

1 ripe banana

6oz of unsweetened almond milk

dash of organic cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of organic vanilla extract

1/2 scoop of Plant Fusion (unflavored) plant based protein powder

1 tablespoon agave nectar. 

Ice     

Blend and enjoy! 

What do you do to keep hunger under control? How do you keep from making "bad" food choices? How do you handle cravings? Share your tips with me in the comments below!   

We all scream for icecream!

Homemade ice cream made with bananas, assorted fresh berries and peaches. Ahhh mazing!!

 Made this healthy dessert using bananas, almond and coconut milk, frozen assorted berries and peaches. organic agave nectar and ice. I used the smoothie option on my blender till it became the perfect consistency then we froze it for a few hours. It was pure perfection!

Mack and Cheese... maybe...

Made this over the weekend!

 Looks good right?! It was great!! And.... it’s Vegan! It was amazing!! No one could believe there was not any actual cheese in this Mac and Cheese! I picked up the recipe from a great blog called "That was Vegan?"  I added a little Braggs nutritional yeast to take the cheesy taste up another notch. It was Delish and healthy!!

If you are looking for comfort food without the calories, fat and cholesterol this is the one to try! If you are thinking about converting to a Vegan or Vegetarian lifestyle this is a great intro to what yummy stuff can be created without using animal products! Give this dish a try! Even our children approved this one!

Helpful tips to keep in  mind when making this recipe... I tried roasting my own butternut squash, I made too much so the first batch was more butternut squashy vs cheesy. For the second batch I went with the frozen butternut squash I say go that route, the recipe calls for 10 oz of butternut squash and the frozen package is exactly 10 oz so, no opportunity to screw up.  Also, I am a lazy cook so I put all the following ingredients in the blender

• 2 T Earth Balance
• 3 T flour
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 10-12 ounces of butternut squash, thawed
• 1 cup soy cream

Then I poured it all in the pot to heat it up, and I tossed in the following ingredients:

• 1 small sweet onion very finely diced
• 1 bag  Daiya cheddar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon Herbamere (or salt of your choice)
• Pepper to taste

Once the ingredients came to a bubble I began to slowly add the Braggs Nutritional Yeast one table spoon at a time to taste, and then finally perfected the seasoning, sea salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Here is the link to the full recipe: 

Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese 

 ENJOY!!