4 Ingredient Vegan Power Bowl

I get a ton of questions about vegan meals and I thought it would be the perfect time to share one of my favorite vegan power bowls with you!

This has quickly become one of my favorite recipes, and recently I find myself eating it several times per week.

The combination of the different textures and tastes really does it for me!

Lean and Green Body® 4 Ingredient Vegan Power Bowl

Ingredients:

organic chickpeas (roast them using my recipe HERE)

organic spinach

organic mushrooms

organic quinoa

Directions:

cook quinoa as per directions on box/bag

steam spinach and mushrooms together (I like to use a little bone broth for extra protein and collagen)

create bowl…add quinoa first, layer with steamed spinach and mushrooms, top with roasted chickpeas

This dish is packed with fiber, protein and greens and is sure to keep you full and energized for several hours.

My recipe is super simple…and typically create leftovers…so you can eat healthy for days to come!

Enjoy!

6 Benefits of Adding Vegan Days to Your Diet

The vegan or vegetarian lifestyle may not be for you, but adding just 1 or 2 vegan or vegetarian days in to your diet per week can have a tremendous impact on your health!

I recently posted a blog with an update on how I’ve changed my diet this past year, and how I am feeling eating mostly vegan. Check it out HERE

Here are 6 ways adding vegan or vegetarian days into your diet can boost your health:

Better digestion! Animal protein is really tough for our bodies to digestion, breakdown, assimilate and eliminate; so when we take it out of the equation we often experience better and easier digestion.

More energy! Like I mentioned above animal protein is really tough for our bodies to breakdown, it takes a lot of our energy away from our personality, our work, our endurance to breakdown and digest meat; so when we take it out of the equation even for a day or two, we experience more energy and vitality.

More nutrients. Vegan and vegetarian diets are typically much more nutrient dense, and tend to be higher in fiber, potassium, magnesium, folate and Vitamin A, C, E, and K.

Find a healthy weight. A diet free from animal protein and animal fat can lead to weight loss, and will allow your body to naturally find it’s perfect weight. Much of this has to do with the three previous points: better digestion, more energy, and more nutrients.

Lower blood sugar levels. A vegan and vegetarian diet tends to promote lower glucose levels, better A1C numbers, and lowers ones risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Heart health and lower cholesterol. It is well documented that a vegan and vegetarian diet can help to lower cholesterol levels. After all cholesterol comes from animal products so when we eliminate or limit these our cholesterol levels naturally drop. Decreasing the amount of animal protein and animal fat will also benefit our heart, and prevent or help with clogged arteries and decreased heart function due to poor dietary choices.

I believe that some people do require more animal protein than others; but I also believe that we do not need nearly as much as many assume we do. I am here to educate you and provide you with science based facts. There are several reasons to add vegan days into your diet, and your health is just one.

Would love to know if you have any questions on adding in vegan days or if you’ve already incorporated them into your weekly routine! Comment below and let me know! xx

Photo By Jontel Chere

Life Update! I've made some major changes to my diet...

I have made some major changes to my diet this year, and thought it was time to let you in on what I’ve been doing!

To start I just want to say that aside from food allergies I really dislike food labels. I’m not a fan of all the trendy diets and my education shows that many will lead to organ issues down the road. {terrible!}

Instead I prefer to eat mindfully and intuitively. If you’ve been reading my blog for some time you know that I avoid gluten, dairy and eggs due to food allergies; other than that I listen to my body and eat according to what it needs. I do not deprive and I do not restrict.

 Let me just add that I am at a point in my life and through lots of nutrition school, (college, graduate and post graduate work in nutrition) so when I say I do not deprive and I do not restrict - it does not mean that I sit home eating a box of cookies and a bag of chips. No way! It has taken me a long time but I have a really healthy relationship with food, and I understand how certain foods make me feel. I am at the point now where I would rather feel amazing and vibrant all the time, so I avoid foods that will take away my energy and my vibrancy. My energy is too precious to be wasted.

That being said I have never been a big fan of animal protein. In the past six months I’ve intuitively been making conscious changes and listening to my body and I have pulled away from meat even more; not for diet reasons I simply just do not have a taste for it right now. This may change one day, and I am open to that as well. I eat animal protein (wild caught, wild raised, organic) when I desire it; right now that is about 0-2 times per week. This may seem unattainable or unrealistic to some, but it wasn’t a conscious change. I didn’t wake up one day and say I think I’m going to stop eating meat, no lol. Instead I intuitively listened to what my body was asking for…

….and I have to say I have never felt better.

So although I do not attach myself to the vegetarian or vegan label (because I will eat meat if I desire it, plus I drink bone broth, use collagen, and bee pollen) I do find that adding vegan or vegetarian days into your diet can do wonders for you body.

I would love to know what diet changes you have made lately, or are trying to make?

Photo By Jontel Chere

The BEST Vegan Cheese

Let me start by saying I am by no means a vegan. In fact I hate all the nutritional labels - unless of course they are food allergy related. That being said I avoid dairy for several reason, and in fact I had my last sip of dairy milk when I was 18…let’s just say that was severallll years ago.

Vegan cheese has been around for awhile, but 10+ years ago it was all soy based and gluten filled. Now there are so many options for us dairy free peeps…and super tasty ones too! Over the past few years I have tried a ton of vegan cheese - research ;) - someone had to do it! lol

Well friends, I think I found it!

After lots of research I have found the best vegan cheese. It tastes so similar to dairy cheese, it melts, and it comes in a variety of cheesy options!

Violife is 100% vegan, dairy free, soy free, and gluten free! It comes in everything from cream cheese, to provolone slices, to mozzarella shredded cheese, a parmesan block and even a cheddar block - all vegan!

This post is in no way sponsored by Violife … I wish! I honesty just wanted to share this with all of you!

I get a ton of questions about vegan cheese…or a cheese alternative that is safe for people with food allergies, and I’ve found it!

Just because I love this option, does not mean that you can eat it everyday - I mean it’s not an apple!

Everything in moderation.

But now my vegan and dairy free friends have an actual option that not only tastes good but acts like real cheese. (imagine melty vegan cheese on your pizza!)

Have you tried this brand? If so let me know your thoughts!

The Best Gluten-Free Vegan Cupcakes

With a slew of food allergies it can sometimes be tough to bake…never knowing if the items will turn out like cardboard. Luckily, gluten free foods have some a long way in the past decade and some are actually tastier than the ‘real thing’!

I have a ton of major food allergies, I avoid gluten, dairy and eggs…like 3 major (super tasty) food groups! My brother used to joke that I couldn’t eat anything fun, and that totally used to be the case. Fortunately, I have experimented a ton in the kitchen and have found a few brands that make super clean products that make baking so much easier!

My favorite egg substitute is The Neat Egg, I did a whole blog post on my experience with it when I said goodbye to eggs January 2020. You can check it out here. I love this vegan egg substitute because it is super clean and only has 2 ingredients!

One of my goals for 2021 was to learn how to bake my own gluten free vegan bread, and although I have not yet accomplished this I have found a company whom I love and is helping me until I carve out some time to experiment in the kitchen. Simple Mills is gluten free, non-gmo, and uses organic ingredients. One of the things I love most about this brand is that they keep the ingredients minimal and super clean. The vanilla cupcake’s only have 7 ingredients…and you can clearly read and understand them because they are real food ingredients. The other draw to the Simple Mills brand is the low sugar, they use organic coconut sugar which has a lower glycemic index (35) compared to regular sugar (65). The coconut sugar is a real food versus the artificial chemical sugar found in some “low sugar” brands that our bodies can not even breakdown. When comparing this Simple Mills vanilla cupcake mix with 8 grams of sugar to others brands, I found that the average vanilla cupcake mix contains 22 grams of sugar per serving! That’s insane.

I substituted the 3 eggs that the recipe called for with my Neat Eggs in order to make the recipe allergen friendly and vegan. I have made these cupcakes twice in the last month, and my non-gluten free non-vegan family members loved them! Appearance wise I think you can tell that they are healthier, but taste wise they are so yummy!

This post is in no way sponsored or associated with Neat Egg or Simple Mills; I just enjoying sharing recipe modifications that work with me and my food allergies in hope that they may work for you too!

Vegan Protein Options

A common misconception is that vegans do not eat enough protein. The truth is spinach, per calorie, has more protein than red meat. Shocking? Can you become muscular, healthy, and fit by following a vegan lifestyle? YES!

Plant based proteins are packed full of essential vitamins, minerals, and so much protein. Spinach has 7 grams of protein per cup, and peas offer 9 grams of protein per cup. Your daily greens are packed with way more protein than you would initially think, right? Protein helps to keep your body full, create muscle, and helps to repair and rebuild our muscles after a workout. It is essential to everyone’s diet...vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, or meat eater...everyone needs protein.

Of all the grains available, quinoa is my favorite! Quinoa is not only gluten free and vegan, but it provides 8 grams of protein per cup. This is an excellent option instead of other traditional carbohydrate options like pasta and rice. Quinoa is a complex carbohydrate and will help to prevent spikes in blood sugar, keeping your energy steady after each meal. Quinoa can be substituted in the mornings for oatmeal, added to a salad at lunch, or mixed with pesto and vegetables at dinner. For those readers who are able to tolerate gluten, farro can be a great addition to your diet. Farro naturally contains 8 grams of protein per 1 cup of cooked farro, and is higher in carbohydrates and calcium than it’s quinoa counterpart, making it an excellent choice for athletes.

For those on a budget and looking for an inexpensive vegan option, tofu is a great choice, averaging only 50 cents per serving! One serving of tofu (approximately 4 ounces) has 9 grams of protein. Tofu can be added to your salads, smoothies, or bowl recipes.

Beans and legumes are excellent sources of protein and complex carbohydrates, making them a great pre- or post- workout fuel. Beans average approximately 14 grams of protein per cup, the highest on this list! Beans and legumes make a great addition to any meal.

Chia seeds and flax seeds are another great vegan protein option, packed full of protein, omega 3’s, fiber, and healthy fats. These two superfoods are great additions to your smoothies, oatmeals, salads, and bowls. These seeds are versatile and easy to pack, making them a great on the go protein option.