Hello hello!
Coming back with a foodie post y'all! Yay! If you love food but want to try to eat healthier, I am your girl! Here are a few dishes I have made over the past month or so. They are really really good! I have also included some quick breakfast options/snacks as well. If you follow me on
Instagram @Mcapril then you have probably seen most of these images. Hence the title Instagram Round Up. Most of my good food post go on my Insta snap.
Enjoy!
Quick Breakfast Options
Acai Bowl
I love this! Its filling, refreshing and really good without being super sweet! I can't make this for myself on a work day. Because, lets get real I am not a morning person and I don't wake up with nearly enough time to make something this pretty lol. To make the smoothie, acai base I use the Trader Joe's Acai puree packets. They are sugar free and all natural! You can also find these at more common food stores like Harris Teeter and Publix.
Acai Base Recipe
Acai packet
Coconut Water
Banana
Frozen mixed berries
After this is blended you just pile on your toppings! This day I topped mine with a homemade pumpkin spice granola (recipe post coming soon), flax seeds, sliced banana, chia seeds, frozen mixed berries.
Oatmeal and OJ
This is pretty basic but its honestly my go to on a work morning! I just pour out my over night oats, add in some fresh strawberries and bananas and top it with walnuts and chia seeds! This is low in sugar, high in fiber and the chia seeds are just packed with nutrients to get you going. Its hearty, filling and did I mention quick! You can eat the over night oats cold or hot. I typically always heat mine up for about 45 sec in the microwave.
Here is my post on the recipe for the overnight oats if you missed it!
Waffles With Fruit Topping
Super basic I know, but some mornings I crave this before work! Its all in the waffles. Trader Joe's really out did themselves with these seasonal waffles. These are the legendary pumpkin waffles. They are only 180 calories in 2 waffles! I just warm up my organic maple syrup and pile on the fruit. It looks like this week all we had was strawberries and bananas lol. These are so good! and I prefer using the organic maple syrup because it has no artificial sugars and no nasty high fructose corn syrup in it like the common brands.
Green Smoothie and Grapefruit
Green Smoothie Recipe
1/2 frozen banana
1 regular banana
Frozen Mango chunks
Frozen Peaches
Frozen strawberries
Handful of spinach
Handful of kale
1 cup of Trader Joe's Green Plant juice
1/2 scoop of Vega Vanilla plant protein powder
1 spoonful of chia seeds
For my green smoothie I found that not using crushed ice helps maintain the consistency longer. This is helpful if your taking your smoothie on the go. I have also used pineapple coconut water in place of the green plant juice and it is still bomb. This smoothie alone will keep me full for about 2 1/2 hours! I have really been craving grapefruit lately. Odd I know lol. I just slice it open and sprinkle a little bit of coconut sugar on top! Sooo good!
Lunch/Dinner Options
Arugula "Chicken" Salad
I am vegetarian so this is Gardein chicken. It is a chicken substitute made from plant protein.
This salad is really simple but so tasty. I just lay down my arugula, top with carrots, tomato, cucumber and corn. Add on some craisins and croutons then top with with the cooked "chicken" strips and add on my dressing. Here I used the Daiya vegan ranch dressing. It was really really good. Taste just like Hidden Valley to me minus the dairy. Score!
Gardein is my favorite vegan plant based meat substitute. It is reasonably priced and taste really really good. If your are transitioning or want to try out some new stuff I would say check them out. They have a ton of good recipes on their
website too!
Tofu Pineapple Stir Fry
This was a really really great recipe that I kind of stole and tweeked from one of my favorite youtubers
Rachel Talbot. I love her channel. She does recipes, home decor/lifestyle and a little beauty too. Her vids are just very relaxing and informative to watch!
How to make: Marinate some extra firm tofu in the Island Soyaki marinade and sauté that up. I added in some roasted asparagus and some sautéed red peppers. The star ingredient was the grilled pineapple. It gave this a nice sweet taste! I dumped all that over some brown rice and that's it! Took all of like 30 min to prepare.
Ramen Veggie Noodle Stir Fry
Ramen! Doesn't it just remind you of like freshmen dorm room college days. Well Ramen has gotten pretty bougie and fancy since my college days. It never gets old! My sister and I love this Ramen restaurant here in Charlotte called
Futu Buta. They really know how to do some fancy ramen. Mine is not nearly as decadent but still pretty damn good for a self proclaimed chef lol.
This is really easy to make. Can you tell that is trend here? lol. First, the veggies of your choice. I used, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, kale, onion, and garlic. While this doing its work, cook 3 packs of ramen noodles in some veggie broth. Do not cook these long! Literally like 10 min. You do not want them getting mushy. After this, add the noodles in with the veggies and little bit of the veggie broth and top on the seasoning. I added in some coconut aminos, vegan worcheshire sauce and some liquid smoke. Let it all simmer. Top it off with some fresh green onion and that is all my friends!
Roasted Veggie with Brown Rice and Hummus
This is like my go to dinner! I love it! It goes with out explanation. Roast your veggies, add rice, tomatoes and hummus and whala! My all time favorite hummus is the horseradish hummus from none other than Trader Joe's! Try it, trust me!
I hope these recipes inspire you to try something new and to make healthier choices in what you eat. Cooking at home is always best if your on a health journey!
Enjoy!
Love,
April W.
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