I had a package of dates at home so I looked for date recipes and found this one which has now become one of my favorites in frequent rotation for my lunchbox. This recipe is quick and easy to make on a Sunday and then I divide it into 4 containers for lunch. "Medjool dates contain fiber, 16 essential vitamins and minerals and have more potassium than a banana (weight for weight)". Dates are a great way to add sweetness and nutrients to your recipes.
  Ingredients:

½ red onion

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 can chickpeas

2 tsp curry powder 

1/3 cup peanut butter 

2 TB maple syrup, grade B 

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled 

2 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped 

salt, black pepper, cayenne, turmeric (to taste)

1 mango 

Directions: 

The dimensions of the containers I bought are 4.5 inches by 2.6 inches and weigh less than 2 lbs! I was so worried about carrying glass in my purse but it's very small and light. It snaps close and does not leak. The best part is it can also go in the oven! Their website says you may reheat up to 300 degrees in the oven. So I finally have ramekins and have been making baked oatmeal in them. They're also dishwasher safe and microwavable. It's 5x stronger than regular glass. I store cut open avocado in it and it stays green days later in the fridge! In plastic containers my avocados would always turn brown.

If you're wondering what I ate for lunch here, it's one serving (measured) of spinach penne, with lentils, and broccoli. In a separate container I didn't microwave I had a little cheese and oil for sauce. 410 calories with 22g of protein and 12g fiber

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day my afternoon snack was a pot of green - honeydew, grapes, and kiwi.

With the new year I know everyone wants to get a jump on their health and fitness goals. If weight loss is one of them, then you know that results come from 80% diet. This week I'm going to post some healthy new recipes for you to try.

Ingredients:
¼ cup frozen Edamame (no shells) ½ cup canned Corn
½ Orange Bell Pepper (diced)
½ cup Onion
¼ Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
half of a Lime juiced

Directions:
Bring water to a boil, and cook the edamame for 5-7 minutes.  Drain & set aside.
Saute onion and red pepper in oil for 10 minutes or until soft.
Add corn and edamame to onion mixture; cook on medium for 5 minutes.
Add vinegar and remove from heat. Top with lime juice.

Makes 3 servings

This recipe is from the Ultimate Reset which is a three phase, 21 day program of an all-natural alternative to harsh "cleanses" and starvation diets that returns your body to optimal health. The Reset lets you have real food, 6 specially formulated supplements, and tea to help return your metabolism to optimal function.I brought this to work for lunch by adding a half of a vegan roast.

I use Yves Meatless Ground as my meat substitute for this chili.  Cilantro is my secret ingredient that just makes this taste amazing! Here's an easy take to work lunch for the week, I've already pre-filled my tupperware containers so I can just grab and go in the morning. You can also add butternut squash to this recipe for a fall flavor.

Yves meatless ground
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch ground cinnamon
½ onion, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced ½ inch
1 14-ounce can chopped whole tomatoes, with juice
½ chipotle pepper in adobo, seeded and chopped, with about ½ teaspoon adobo sauce

1–15-ounce can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped cilantro
nonfat organic yogurt, for serving (optional)
black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook until the onion is wilted, 5 to 7 minutes. If the onion begin to stick to the pan, add 2 tablespoons water and scrape with a wooden spoon to release.

2. Add the Yves meatless ground and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon, and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.

3. Add the carrots, tomatoes, and chipotle pepper.

4. Bring to a simmer; reduce the heat to low, and cook, partially covered, 25 minutes. Stir in the beans and 1/2 cup cilantro, and cook 15 more minutes.

5. To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Top with  cilantro and a spoonful of yogurt. 


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For your fitness and nutrition goals Sundays are the day to meal plan for the week!  You'll be blown away by how satisfied and successful you feel at the end of the week if you lay your week out in advance. I put an exercise schedule in front of my TV so I know which DVD I'm doing each morning. Early morning workouts rev up your metabolism, jump start your energy level and accelerate your ability to burn up calories.

However for the month of October I've decided to mix up my routine a bit. I bought a groupon for a one month gym membership so I can take zumba classes 3x a week. I thought it would be a fun change, but also a hectic change since I'm so used to working out in the morning and having my whole evening free. I'm also going to challenge myself to not consume refined sugar and wine for the month to tone up for my favorite holiday - Halloween! I was inspired by Ashley who is giving up alcohol for a year.

 Now that it's fall I make a pot of soup every Sunday for my lunch for the week. This week I made a lentil, coconut based soup with some Indian spices. Lentils are a great source of protein and cholesterol-lowering fiber which help stabilizing blood sugar levels They're also a great source of folate and magnesium which is good for heart health. Plus it has vitamin B, phosphorus, iron, potassium and other minerals.

I learned how to cook in high school by reading Vegetarian Times magazine. Haven't looked at it in years until I bought a groupon deal for it this year. The July/August issue features "Eggplant 5 ways, new ways to cook eggplant". Now I never eat eggplant so I thought this would be a fun challenge. Did you know eggplants are actually a berry and its purple skin is full of antioxidants? It needs to be salted before cooking to bring out its juices that carry the bitter flavors, and it tightens and firms up the flesh, making the eggplant less likely to soak up as much oil. I found this out the hard way when the first batch I made I did on the frying pan and I had to keep adding oil to my pan because it would completely disappear! The next time I made it I looked up eggplant cooking tips and decided to roast it in the oven.

I saw this recipe and was intrigued since I've never had bok choy, surprised to find it's so small in the grocery store, I was expecting some large leafy vegetable. lol You eat both the green leafy part and the white stem. It's incredibly high in  vitamins C, A and K and has all the essential minerals.
I simplified the recipe by just using eggplant, bok choy, edamame, 1.5 TB of 365 peanut sauce over udon noodles (which I measured for serving size). It came out to 324 calories, 15 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber.

I like to make my own sauces and I came across this amazing super easy recipe (scroll to bottom) for vodka sauce without the cream! Basically you sub almond milk, nutritional yeast, cashews and white beans for cream and the result is extra protein! I added onion and garlic to this and used fresh spices. The recipe makes 6 servings and then I added baby portobello mushrooms and broccoli on top of whole wheat fusilli pasta. I made enough for lunch for the whole week and put it in separate containers in my fridge so its easy to just grab in the morning. The pasta I measured before cooking to make sure I was only eating one serving each day and whole wheat pasta has a lot of protein in it.The whole bowl is 320 calories, 14 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber.

My morning snack is cashews and my afternoon snack is shakeology mixed with fresh pineapple. Yesterday afternoon my co-worker asked me if I had any candy and I said no and that I never eat candy. He was in disbelief, maybe because the office candy bowl used to be by my desk so perhaps people see me as the source of candy. Anyway I just happened to be drinking my shakeology and said this is my candy! It's sweet and a great afternoon pick me up to fill me with energy! I'm so full after I drink it, I don't even think about snacking.

Last week I told you I was following Tosca Reno's stripped meal plan. For lunch this week I made Tosca Reno's Cauliflower and Tofu over red quinoa. I changed the recipe a bit by marinating and baking the tofu and used cranberries instead of raisins. Since peaches are in season I bought a box and peeled the skin and put it in my shakeology for my afternoon snack.

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I read Tosca Reno's book Eat Clean Diet Stripped and am doing the plan along with my Clean Eating Stripped Challenge Group. I find it really inspiring to be doing the plan along with a group of people.

As a vegetarian I have to be mindful not to get a lot of my calories from starchy sources so I always measure rice/pasta on my food scale before cooking it and I tend to stay away from beans which are high in carbs. I also watch my dairy intake that it's not high in sugar which is easy to do with yogurt! Tosca Reno calls white sugar poison and says to stay away from it. To be honest for me that is hard, so I try to get low cal dessert options.

The key to my weight loss is to take in as much protein as possible, although the body can only process 20 grams of protein at a time according to a study by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In case you're wondering where I get my protein from, check out this chart from Tosca's book:

I eat high protein grains like oatmeal and quinoa and add protein powder to my oatmeal to give it more protein. A word of caution, if you're using protein powder read the ingredients of everything you put in your mouth! A lot of protein powders contain chemicals, artificial sugar, and a host of other ingredients you don't want in your body. That's why I love Shakeology, it's completely natural, you can read every ingredient because it's all whole foods and no artificial sugar or chemicals.

Here are the Eat-Clean Stripped principles which I already follow:

1. Eat more! Eat 5-6 small meals each day, spaced at 2 1/2 to 3 hour intervals.
2. Eat breakfast every day, within an hour of rising.
3. Make your last meal three hours before bed.
4. Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.
5. Eat sufficient healthy fats every day. Chia seeds, avocado, coconut oil, nuts and nut butter.
6. Drink two to three liters of water every day. 
7. Carry a cooler packed with Clean foods each day. I bring my lunch to work everyday.
8. Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes.
9. Adhere to proper portion sizes. 
10. Eat only foods that have not been overly processed or doused in chemicals, saturated and trans fats and /or toxins.

This week for lunch I made Tosca Reno's recipe "From India with Love Quinoa Pilaf" (pic below). I talked about the benefits of quinoa in this post, which by the way is gluten free. With it being summer I had to get some watermelon which tastes so refreshing mixed into my Shakeology and I've never felt so stuffed afterwards. I have to say shakeology is a life saver for me as a perfect snack option! Here's my meal plan this week on the stripped plan, I left the weekend open since I will be out a lot.
I bring my lunch to work everyday because I think that's really critical for me to maintain my goals. If I buy lunch out I'm not going to be eating clean and will be consuming too many calories. Making my lunch on Sunday for the entire week ensures that I stay on track and save money! Here's my lunch this week - Red quinoa, baby portbellas, red swiss chard, topped with 1 teaspoon of pine nuts.

Baked tempeh, udon noodles, red bell pepper, squash.   Lunch is 400 calories, 18 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. I had some Thai green curry left over so I poured a little of that over the noodles. The cashews, organic string cheese and melon are my 10am, 2pm and 3pm snacks and total 333 calories.

Tempeh is made from cooked and slightly fermented soybeans and formed into a patty. Did you know that just a half-cup serving of honeydew melon provides 25 percent of your daily supply of vitamin C. Red bell pepper were on sale at Trader Joe's for only .99¢ each when normally the red ones are double price so I had to get some! They're high in vitamin A which is good for your eyes and have more vitamin C than orange juice.




Ingredients:

Had the first slice for dinner and the rest will be my lunch at work at $3 per serving.

When I was in high school I subscribed to Vegetarian Times magazine to find new recipes to try and this was my first lasagna recipe and still my fave! I make it once or twice a year now. It takes a little time to prepare because you have to caramelize the onions for 30 minutes, but this white sauce lasagna is absolutely delicious!

Pinto beans, kale and brown rice. Lunch is 321 calories, 11 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber. Kale has an abundance of vitamins including calcium, iron, fiber, vitamins A & C. The fruit and cashews are my 10am and 3pm snacks. I also packed shakeology because today is my rest day from Chalean Extreme so I'm taking a yoga class after work. Yoga class is at my usual dinner time so the shake will give me energy for a vigorous class plus I won't be thinking about how hungry I am all throughout class!


I buy Trader Joes brown Jasmine or brown Basmati rice which tastes nothing like Uncle Bens brown rice, it's really tasty! So if you think you hate brown rice, you haven't tried this! It has more fiber than white rice and its the fiber that keeps you full longer.  Bragg liquid aminos is a calorie free soy sauce. This makes 5 servings, so I made enough food for lunch for the whole week!

Ingredients: