OneMileOneMeal

Soup Idea: Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Carrot and Kale Soup With a Ciabatta Roll

When I was in Boulder a couple weeks ago, BFF @jenmyronuk took me to this grocery store called Alfalfa's Market and in their hot foods soup section, they had this Quinoa, sweet potato, carrot, and kale soup that is one of the best soups I have ever had. I ripped off pieces of my ciabatta roll and dunked it in the soup.

Seriously, I'm not ashamed to admit that I licked my paper bowl clean after eating this soup!

I couldn't find a recipe online. If you know of one, do let me know. If you are in Boulder, go to Alfalfa's and buy the biggest container of this soup. It is divine!

One Of The Many Reasons Why People Hate Vegetables And How To Fix That

I had dinner at a hotel restaurant last week and I ordered the vegan plate and this is what I got, a plate of steamed vegetables that had zero flavor because basically they boiled all the flavor away and didn't bother to add any kind of seasoning whatsoever.

This is a perfect example of why people start to hate vegetables because they associate it with this kind of bland unexciting experience. I don't blame you. My dish here tasted like "diet food." It's awful and gives veggies a bad rap!

Now let's take a look at vegetables from another perspective. This is my vegan plate at another dinner function, but this time at a Whole Foods.

On the plate is seasoned grilled sweet potatoes, tofu rolls wrapped in bok choy, a slice of pear and caramelized onions pizza on whole wheat crust, tempeh on top of polenta with roasted red peppers, and butter lettuce cups in a cucumber bowl drizzled with a Green Goddess dressing.

Here is a close-up of those butter lettuce cups which were my favorite of the evening. What is amazing about these cups is that it's basically just lettuce, tomato, radishes, purple cabbage, and cucumber, on their own nothing exciting...but how tantalizing do those veggies look now when arranged in a cup versus flat on a plate and boiled to death? This setup is way more fun and oh tasty!

This is one of the many reasons I love Whole Foods, they make vegetables look and taste exciting and fun. And Whole Foods isn't the only place that can make vegetables look fantastical. Check out some of the vegetarian and vegan places in town kind of like a vegetable field trip. You will be amazed at how good veggies can taste when made in simple yet creative ways.

Meatless Monday Idea: Simple Kale Salad With Avocado and Heirloom Tomato

One of my favorite go-to-salads is this kale with avocado, onion, and tomato salad. Here's the recipe using cherry tomatoes, but you can get creative and use whatever kind of tomato you like. In the picture above, I used an heirloom. I'll sometimes add in walnuts too as a way to add protein and healthy fats.

Not only is this salad super easy and fast to make, it's nutrient dense as kale has one of the highest ANDI scores.

Meatless Monday: Sweet Potato and Avocado Salad With Asian Dressing and Three Bean Chili

If you live in Phoenix or come to visit, Nourish is a place we highly recommend especially for those with food allergies and intolerances, or those with specific food needs you normally won't find in restaurants because at Nourish they pretty much have good coverage for all the 8 major food allergens. There is plenty to eat there if you're like me with food allergies.

And better yet, those who can eat anything will find plenty to enjoy as well. Nourish serves some vibrant and very healthy foods. Say Hi to owner Kirsten! She is one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet.

On Saturday, for a special Gluten-Free luncheon organized by @SustainableKen, I noshed on my favorite sweet potato and avocado salad with their special Asian dressing which is soy and gluten free. You could easily make a simialr dish at home. Just cut up some avocados and a sweet potato that was boiled so it's slightly soft, and then mix in one of your favorite bottled Asian dressings.

Paired with the salad, I got the Three Bean chili made with black, red, and white beans. I enjoy the tomatoey flavor in this chili. The cool thing about Nourish's chili is that you can add on cheese and ground beef for those who want that. Gotta love multi-purpose foods!

Power Breakfast: Crunchy Sprouted Grain Cereal With Golden Flax, Blueberries and Bananas

The Ezekiel cereals by far are one of our favorites. Remember the Golden Flax with the organic raspberries and power trail mix we ate last time?

Today for breakfast, we had the same Ezekiel Golden Flax cereal but this time with organic blueberries and sliced bananas in rice milk. We got protein and antioxidants!

Mehanne Was Right: A Tomato Grown By Kids Tastes More Awesome Au Naurale

Last night I went to an event at The Orchard which is a farming project where local elementary kids can learn about growing vegetables and fruits. The Orchard is an actual 7.5 acre farm in South Phoenix.I think this is such a wonderful project. Jamie Oliver would be so proud of these kids.

We started the noshy evening with these crunchy tortilla chips and fresh made salsa from tomatoes grown on the farm. In the background is some of the farm. For drinks, there was this carrot and orange drink that everyone raved aout. It was simply oranges and carrots from the farm blended in a Vitamix with ice tossed in to keep it cold. I believe it was so incredible because you could feel the life force in the drink...yes I went woo-woo on you.

Kathleen aka @LOLPHX the Founder of Urban Lab is working with The Orchard to help the project thrive. She gave me this tomato from the farm and told me to make something delicious. I was going to make my own salsa, but then her daughter Meghanne said. "Oh no! Just chill the tomato, cut it up and sprinkle a little pepper on it and enjoy it as is. It's so much better."

So, I took her advice, but took it just one little step further. I crushed some organic garlic and put it in some olive oil. I sliced my tomato and drizzled the garlic and olive oil on top and sprinkled some sea salt and pepper. On the side, I added torn up pieces of warmed ciabatta bread with a nice Syrah to make a happy hour snack.

OMG! That was one of the most amazing tomatoes I've ever eaten. In fact, I ate the whole tomato because I couldn't get enough. It is really amazing to eat vegetables straight from a farm, and a farm where kids are learning how about the land and nature.

I swear I could taste the love in that tomato!

Meatless Monday or Summer BBQ Side Dish Idea: Fresh Corn Arugula Salad

This dish is one of my favorite from the Whole Foods deli. I couldn't find a recipe online, but I just read the ingredients on the dish and made up a recipe. It's really one of the easiest dishes you can make, and awesome as a side dish for summer time BBQs.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 4 cobs of boiled or grilled fresh corn
• 2 handfuls of fresh arugula chopped
• 1/4 red onion thinly slivered
• 1 tbsp of your favorite vinaigrette (I used a raspberry vinaigrette) or 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar.
• sea or kosher salt to taste

Let's cook:

• Slice off in strips the sides of the cobs of corn. Break the strip of corn into smaller chunks. Part of the fun of this dish is the odd clusters of corn.

• In a big bowl, put in the corn, the chopped arugula and slivered red onion.

• Pour in the vinaigrette and some salt, and mix well together.

• I start off with 1 tbsp of vinaigrette to get the flavor going. I lean towards just a hint of vinaigrette so the flavors of the corn and arugula are dominant versus the dressing.

• Chill in fridge for like 15 minutes, and serve.

Enjoy!

 

Meatless Monday In 10 Minutes: Baby Bok Choy With Portobello And Sweet Chili Black Bean Sauce

Gotta love the simplicity of a fast veggie dish! I wanted to use some shiitake mushrooms but at Whole Foods they were $12.99/lb and even for me that is a bit much. Portobellos were $5.99, a more palatable price and just as tasty.

I think baby bok choy is one of the most interesting vegetables from a design perspective. When you cut the bok choy bulb down the middle, there is this cool looking design in there...quite artistic I'd say there from Mother Nature.

For this dish, I just made up a sauce from various sauces I had in the fridge. I could have just used tamari by itself but really how much fun is that?

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 4 bulbs of baby bok choy halved down the middle
• 1 portobello mushroom sliced in thin slivers
• 1/4 onion chopped length wise
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
• 1 tsp black bean sauce
• 1 tsp tamari
• 1 tsp Sweet Chili Sauce (I use Trader Joe's brand)

• In a wok, heat the oil and the saute the onion garlic until the onion gets soft.

• Toss in the portobello slices and mix in with the onion and garlic. Cover the wok and let cook for about a minute.

• Mix the black bean sauce, tamari, and sweet chili sauce together with 2 tbsp of water to make a sauce.

• Toss the baby bok choy in the wok and mix in well with the portobello, onion, and garlic.

• Pour in the sauce evenly around the baby bok choy. Mix the sauce in with the veggies.

• Cover the wok and let the veggies steam stirring occasionally until the green leafy part of the baby chok starts to get soft and wilty but not mushy.

Pour veggies into a serving platter and enjoy!

 

Happy Memorial Day and Mini Vacay! Noshing On Salad In A Bun

Hope all of you are having a wonderful 3-day weekend! Whole Foods had an awesome sale on organic burger buns, so I've been getting bun noshy here. Today, I made this basically BBQ salad in a bun with arugula, grilled eggplant and onions, corn from the cobb and avocado with honey mustard dressing.

Fun way to get some grill taste in on a Meatless Monday!

Today, I send blessing to all the men and women who served our country and to their families. My dad is a veteran and I grew up on military bases so I am very grateful to all those who help keep us safe.

Since we are officially in summer now, I am going to take a little vacay this week from blogging here. You can still find me active on Twitter @skinnyjeans and I'll tweet some linkage on @onemileonemeal. And you can keep track of me on my daily exercise activity for my 112-day streak over at my Daily Mile Page.

Have a good week and see you back on June 6 :)

Happy Find: Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan Power Bar In A Coffee Place

One of my favorite coffee hangouts in Phoenix metro is @EchoCoffeeAZ (which is actually in Scottsdale).

They have a new chef and one of the latest creations is this raw, gluten-free, and vegan power bar which has figs, cocount, cacao, raspberries, and I believe cashews in the crust. You almost never see this kind of stuff at a coffee place.

Can you tell I'm excited!