3 Easy Ways to Get in More Fruits and Veggies

Most underestimate the power fruits and vegetables have on our bodies. We all know we should get more of these, but yet we do not. It is recommended that we get 5-9 servings a day by the Center for Science and Public Interest. The American Institute for Cancer Research is so convinced of the cancer-fighting abilities of fruits and vegetables that they’ve been recommending 9-11 servings each day. If every American ate at least 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of veggies a day, as a nation, we would be exponentially healthier. Researchers traditionally have attributed the health-promoting affects of plant foods to their comprehensive array of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. More recently, however, research studies are uncovering a new story. Plant foods contain thousands of other compounds in addition to the macronutrients (complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and fiber), and the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). These many other compounds are collectively known as phytonutrients (phyto=plant). Simply put, phytonutrients are active compounds in plants that have been shown to provide benefit to humans when consumed. Particularly in the area of cancer prevention, phytonutrients show special promise for lowering the risk of health problems.  Cultures whose diet primarily features plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes have been found to have increased longevity and reduced rates of the many cancers and chronic diseases so common in populations consuming the standard American diet.

Here are 3 easy ways to get in more fruits and veggies. It would be most beneficial to do all three in one day!

1) Drink a fruit and veggie based smoothie in the morning: Drinking veggies and fruit is much easier than sitting down and chewing them.
It is also much faster to drink it in the morning when we are feeling rushed to get out the door. Be sure to add greens like, Kale, Bok Choy, Spinach or Chard to your smoothies. Then add a little bit of fruit like berries to mask the flavor of the greens. Then add your choice of non-dairy milk. You will not even be able to taste the greens!

Bok Coy Smoothie: Blend all ingredients in a blender or Vitamix until smooth!

• 1/2 cup Plain Almond Milk
• 1/4 cup Chopped Mango
• 1/4 cup Chopped Oranges
• 1/2 Banana
• 1/2 cup Mixed Frozen Berries
• 1 cup Chopped Boy Choy
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds

2) Eat a Large Salad for Lunch: For lunch try eating a large salad everyday. When I say large I mean LARGE! Try adding new ingredients to your salads to make them interesting. Try adding lentils or beans instead of meat on top of salads for a healthy protein punch. Every week buy a bunch of lettuce and other ingredients for the salad. Wash it and prep it, then store in a large container in your refrigerator. When making your lunch for the next day you will already have the salad ready, and all you will have to do is transfer your portion to your lunch container! If you get bored with the salad, add the salad ingredients to a whole wheat wrap.

Lentil Leaf Salad: Mix all ingredients together for 1 serving

• 1 cup Washed/Chopped Dinosaur Kale
• 1 cup Wash/Chopped Red Leaf Lettuce
• 1 cup Washed/Chopped Romaine Lettuce
• 1 cup Washed/Chopped Boston Lettuce
• 1/4 cup Canned Organic Corn (Rinsed)
• 1/4 cup Chopped Organic Tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Chopped Organic Carrots
• 1/4-1/2 cup Cooked Green Lentils
• 1/4 Avocado

Sweet and Tangy Peanut Dressing: Mix with a fork and pour over salad

• 2 Tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Agave Syrup
• 3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

3) Blended Soup for Dinner: Blended soups are a great addition to your dinner, and they are an easy way to get in more veggies. Similar to the smoothie, it is easier to eat a soup than to sit down and eat a bunch of veggies! You can have a hot soup on a cold day, and a cold soup, like a gazpacho on a hot day!

Blended Black Bean, Butternut Squash and Chard Soup: Heat 2 tablespoons of water in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add squash; stir 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Stir in beans, broth, and tomatoes with juices; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in chard; simmer until chard is tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes longer. Ladle into a Food Processor or Vitamix and blend until smooth. Serve warm. Serves 4.

• 2 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 15-ounce cans organic black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 3 cups (packed) coarsely chopped Swiss chard leaves (from 1 small bunch)

Other easy ways to get in more fruits and veggies:

1. Eat a fruit or veggies with every snack, instead of chips, cookies or other packaged food.
2. Keep fruit visible in the house in a large bowl on the counter
3. Chop up sweet potatoes into french fry shapes, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 min at 400 degrees F. Sweet potato fries are always a hit!
4. Add fruit as a replacer for oil in recipes such as pumpkin puree, bananas and applesauce
5. Try a veggies stir fry once a week
6. Make a veggie platter for snacking
7. Try to stay away from fruit juices. There is a lot of sugar and no fiber in juice. Choose a smoothie instead!
8. Add berries to your oatmeal in the morning to sweeten it up.
9. When making dinner, steam broccoli, and make extra to put into your lunch for tomorrow.
10. Larabars are great snacks. They are made from fruit and nuts.
11. Keep dried fruit (no sugar added) in your purse or car for a quick snack when feeling hungry. 

5 Fresh and Cool Summer Recipes

These 5 quick and easy recipes will take you less than 15 minutes to make. They do not require an oven, because they last thing we want to do in the summer time is turn the oven on! These recipes are refreshing and sure to please.

 

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cool, raw vegetable based soup perfect for the summer time.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
2. After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. 
   Agave Lime MelonThis refreshing and delicious recipe will be sure to cool you off.Serves 4-6

   Ingredients

   • 4 cups mixed melon balls, (cantaloupe, watermelon, or honey dew)
   • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
   • 2 tablespoons Agave Syrup
   • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime peel

   Directions

   1. Halve your melons and seed them, then scoop out bite-sized balls with a melon ball scooper and toss together in a large bowl. (If you don’t have a melon ball scooper, a teaspoon will do — though the result won’t be quite as round.)
   2. Whisk together the freshly-squeezed lime juice, honey and lime zest, then pour over the melon and gently toss to combine. Refrigerate for one hour for flavors to develop. 

    

   Rainbow Salad

   This colorful and nutritious salad will energize you through the day.

   Beautiful layers of fresh, colorful vegetables stack up to one great salad.

   Serves 6

   Ingredients

   • 4 cups romaine lettuce
   • 2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and cut into strips
   • 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
   • 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
   • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
   • 1 large cucumber, peeled and diced

   Directions

   1. Layer ingredients in a glass bowl. Serve with your favorite dressing.

   
   

   Apple Berry Salsa

   This salsa is a fun recipe to share with friends and family

   Serves 6

   Ingredients

   • 2 med granny smith apples
   • 1 cup fresh strawberries sliced
   • 1 kiwi, peeled and chopped
   • 1 small orange
   • 2 teaspoon packed brown sugar
   • 2 tablespoon apple jelly  

   Directions

   1. For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples using apple peeler/corer/slicer. Cut apples into squares, chop with food chopper. Slice strawberries using egg slicer. Chop kiwi with food chopper. Place fruit in small batter bow.
   2. Zest orange using zester/scorer. Juice the orange using a juicer. Add orange zest, juice, brown sugar, and apple jelly to fruit mixture, mix gently.
   3. Serve with cinnamon pita chips

    

   ALT Sandwich

   This sandwich is super-fast to assemble and even more delicious.

   Serves 2

   Ingredients

   • 4 Slices whole wheat bread
   • 1 ripe avocado
   • ½ cup romaine lettuce
   • 1 tomato
   • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

   Directions

   1. Spread ½ tablespoon of mustard on each slice of bread
   2. Spread 1/4^th avocado on each slice of bread
   3. Cut and place ½ tomato on 2 pieces of bread
   4. Layer 1/4^th cup of lettuce on 2 pieces of bread
   5. Stack 2 pieces of bread together with tomato and lettuce

   
   

Black Bean Brownies

Adding black beans to the ingredient list of a brownie recipe might sound really weird. But let me tell you, you cannot even taste the black beans! Plus it adds extra fiber, protein, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and many more nutrients. So what went from a very non-nutrient dense dessert just turned into a more nutritious treat! These treats have no oil, eggs and are surprisingly moist. 

Ingredients: 

1 Box organic brownie mix (be sure to get a mix with no eggs or milk added)

1 large banana

1 can organic black beans

Directions:

Pour the brownie mix into a bowl. 

Drain a can of black beans and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear.  Puree the beans and the banana together.  Add the puree to the dry mix along with 2 tablespoons of water.  Stir to combine.

Pour the batter into a 9×13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Cut into 16 squares! 

Enjoy!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

I love mac and cheese, and to be honest I really miss it being a vegan! So I decided to try a mac and cheese recipe from theveganzombie.com. (You should really check out this website too, it’s awesome!) I added some spicy dijon mustard to give it an extra kick! After trying this I do not miss regular mac and cheese anymore! This tastes just as good!! I love it!!! This recipe uses Daiya cheese which is a revolutionary non-dairy, non-soy vegan product that shreds, melts, stretches and tastes delicious! Note this isn’t the healthiest meal, so I will only make this once in a while for a treat! Next time I will try adding some mixed vegetables to increase the volume and nutrient content!

Vegan Mac and Cheese

Serves 8, 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 pound elbow noodles cooked
• 1/4^th cup flour
• 1/4th cup canola oil1 1/3 cup so cheddar cheese
• 1 1/3 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
• 2 cups plain soymilk
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp basil garlic spice
• paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Heat canola oil over med hear and stir in flour. Add soymilk and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper, basil garlic spice, onion powder and cheese.
2. Strain pasta and put in deep pot. Pour melted cheese sauce over pasts
3. Place in glassware dish and add breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with paprika on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degree F.

YUMMM!!!!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These muffins are so delicious, and you would never know these are made without any added fat or oils. They are very moist! They are also made without eggs or added refined sugar. I made these muffins for dessert for Thanksgiving dinner and they were a hit! They take less than 10 minutes to mix and about 20 min to bake. Super quick and easy. I found the recipe on the Forks Over Knives recipe website.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Serves 6-12

1 medium banana, mashed
1 (15-oz.) can sweet pumpkin puree
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole oat flour or wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup grain-sweetened dairy-free chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.

2. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Transfer mixture to large bowl and mix together gently until well combined. Avoid over-mixing to prevent toughness in the final product. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spoon batter into silicon muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Store muffins in an airtight container.

*Recipe derived from Julieanna Hever’s Blueberry Oat Breakfast Muffins in Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, edited by Gene Stone.

Easy, Healthy “Pumpkin Pie”

Here is a quick dessert that is a healthier and quicker alternative to regular Pumpkin pie! YUMMMMMMYYY!!

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 cup pumpkin puree (can)

2 tablespoons agave syrup or honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Mix pumpkin, syrup/honey and cinnamon in a small bowl and enjoy! Dip with apples for a crunch!

Cheap and Creamy Bean Dinner

On a budget? Think eating healthy has to be expensive? This recipe proves you wrong!

Creamy Bean Dinner Recipe:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 can kidney beans (rinsed)
  
• 1 can red beans (or any other kind you like, rinsed)
  
• 1/2 cup hummus (any flavor)
  
• 2 tablespoons spicy mustard (optional)
  

Directions:

• Toss together the beans, hummus and mustard. Serve with steamed veggies (from frozen section), add red pepper, and black pepper for an extra punch to the veggies! 

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

A perfect way to celebrate the Halloween season. These vegan pumpkin cinnamon rolls are perfect for a special morning treat. These made the kitchen smell wonderful!

 Ingredients:

Dough:

•  1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1/4 cup organic soy milk or rice milk
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted (non-hydrogenated)
• 1 tablespoon in the raw sugar
• 2 1/2 cups organic white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 3/4 cups organic white whole wheat flour
• 1 T vegetable oil

 Filling:

•  3 tablespoons in the raw sugar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons organic white whole wheat
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons chilled margarine (non hydrogenated), cut into small pieces

 Glaze:

• 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

 Directions:

1) In a large bowl, combine the warm water with the yeast and whisk together with a fork, let stand for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, milk, melted margarine, and sugar in with the yeast, and lightly mix. 

 

2) Sift in the first two and a half cups of flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

 3) Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Take the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and use it to flour the top of the dough and your surface a tablespoon at a time, as needed to keep the dough from getting sticky as you knead it. Knead the dough for about ten minutes, the dough will be elastic but soft and still a little sticky to the touch without being floured.

 4) Place the dough in a large bowl coated with oil, turning to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. 

5) Punch the dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

6) While dough is rising, combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in margarine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal.

7) Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, from the long side, pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place the slices in a 9-inch square or round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

8.) Preheat oven to 375°.

9) Bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

10) Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add the water and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. It should be thick, but easy to drizzle. If it’s too thick, add another 1/2 teaspoon of water.

11) Enjoy!!

Barbecue Portobello Pita Pockets!

These are are such a great replacement for meat because of their meaty like texture!

Serves Two

INGREDIENTS:

• a couple slices of sweet onion
• a couple pieces of organic green lettuce
• 2- 6 inch whole wheat pitas
• 1 bottle Annie’s Organic BBQ smoky maple sauce
• 2 large organic portobello mushrooms

DIRECTIONS:

Put 1 cup of the sauce into a nonstick skillet and let heat over medium until bubbly. 

Clean mushrooms while sauce is heating. Remove stems and ribs inside the mushroom. Cut into 1/2 inch strips

Once the sauce is warm toss the mushrooms in for about 10 minutes on medium. Continue to turn them.

(At this point you can serve these over cooked quinoa with steamed or fresh spinach or continue with my pita recipe)

Cut the pita in half and fill with lettuce, onion and mushrooms.

ENJOY!!

Mini Grocery Store Tour!

Ever get lost in the grocery store and have a difficult time deciding on what is healthy or not? Here is a short preview of Colleen’s actual in person grocery store tour-

In her real in person tour Colleen will give helpful tips on what to look for and what to put back on the shelf for 30 minutes. She will hit all the sections such as produce, meats, seafood, dairy, cereals, breads, the all natural section and more. After leaving this tour you will have a new sense of direction when grocery shopping. Go to NutritionTranslator.com or email colleen at Colleen@nutritiontranslator.com if you would like to sign up for a tour in the Cleveland/Akron Ohio area!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MINI TOUR!