What We Really Eat & Why

Just a over a year ago, my mother in-law passed away from cancer at the young age of 58. It was painful for her and difficult for all of us in so many ways as we cared for and watched her go. It was that experience that triggered us to get a lot more serious about taking care of our health. Of course we weren't completely ignorant to the unhealthy affects of processed foods and other junk and we were eating "balanced meals", but J took it upon himself to research this further to help our family be wise as to how we nourished ourselves.

 

As he read he found the research of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and their findings in the correlation between animal based diets and disease. We watched Forks Over Knives (on Netflix) and decided to make some major changes in the food we prepare for our family. We now eat a plant based diet and organic non GMO whenever possible. We now for the most part (I would say 95%) only buy plant based foods. The exception is special occasions, eating out, or when we at someone else's home. All of which are a very small percentage of our meals. We never want others to feel like they have to cook special for us and will thankfully eat whatever is put in front of us whenever we eat outside of our home. We love food!
 

 

After a year of eating plant strong meals, we have faced all the challenges you would expect especially finding recipes that a family of eight would all eat. I've decided to start blogging each day for the next month what we eat for dinner, the recipes, and how everyone rated it.

 

So to begin, here's tonight's dinner, tacos and beans. Simple, filling, and everyone loved it!

 

 

So what do you put in a taco without meat and cheese? Here's what we put in ours:

 

fresh cooked pinto beans

pure refried beans (canned and 0 fat)

guacamole

TVP with taco seasoning (it gives the texture of ground beef)

lettuce

tomato

red onion

rice

freshly made salsa

 

What are some of your favorites for vegan tacos?

 

Chocolate Energy Bites

I love a sweet treat I don't have to feel guilty for eating! I always get a crazy sweet tooth mid afternoon and find myself searching through the pantry and fridge for something chocolate. Ok, so maybe not just in the afternoon, I've been known to crave chocolate around the clock. But, that's besides the point. I tried a few different recipes for healthy cookies and bars, but this is our favorite!

You will need:

6 T. milled flax seeds

1 1/2 c. non-dairy milk

4 c. old fashioned oats

6 T. honey

1 c. chocolate protein powder (I use Life's Basics Plant Protein from Sunflower Market)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together the milk and flax seed. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. You may also add sunflower seeds, pepitas, chopped almonds, or raisins to increase the protein and calories to make this a meal.

It will look dry, but will be moist enough when you add the milk and flax mixture. 

I use the ice cream scoop to make them into balls. The kids and I prefer to eat them raw, but you can cook them at 350 for 7 minutes if you prefer.

There you go, not only are these guilt free, but really good for you! Keep some frozen for those times you have to have something sweet so you don't cave and eat junk.

Chocolate Happiness

I saw this recipe on this blog and I had to try it. ;) It's very rich! Which means it was perfect! I thought it actually tasted better after it sat in the fridge over night rather than hot out of the oven.

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My Favorite Fudge Icing

I love chocolate, but rich chocolate cake is my favorite! And, of course the icing is the best part. My favorite recipe is from my Auntie Cheryl, but I can't find it! So, I did a search on allrecipes.com and found one with the same ingredients, I'm pretty sure it's the exact same one my aunt always used.

In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup buttter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 minute. Stir constantly and be careful not to overcook or you will burn the sugar and there will be crunchy bits of sugar in your frosting. Remove from heat. Using an elctric mixer, beat icing for 3 minutes, or until it thickens to spreading consistency. Pour over cooled cake.

I also like to shave chocolate and or add toffee bits to the top!

Spicy Baked Fries

One of the main things I miss when we are avoiding eating out or avoiding junk food are fries! I love potatoes, but I love love spicy fries! I make these fries at home as a healthier thrifty alternative. They are so good, my kids ask for them all the time.

You will need:

2 T olive oil (I was out and canola oil is good too)

2 T hot pepper sauce (I like to use spiracha hot chili sauce. You can find it in the Asian food section.)

1 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

about 8 potatoes (white or red)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 450

Rinse and cut potatoes into wedges (no need to peel them).

In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients except the pepper.

Add wedges to mixture and toss to coat.

 Spread coated potatoes onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake another 15 minutes.

After you take them out of the oven, salt and pepper to taste.

This adds so much flavor to any simple dish like baked chicken or any other meat on the side. It's also a great snack. If you buy your potatoes on sale, this would cost about fifty cents to make!