Earn Your Certificate in Plant-based Nutrition

For the past 5 years, I’ve been flirting with a full transition to a plant-based diet, but I never felt like I could get it quite right. With the overwhelming amount of highly processed vegan food on the market, it’s no wonder that many of us tend to think we can never achieve healthy plant-based living. I am here to give you an invaluable tool to set you up for success.

The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies has an excellent, well-paced plantbased nutrition course that can easily fit into a busy schedule. The course is chock full of evidence based science and studies that detail the benefits of a plantbased diet and the detriment of eating animal products. In 6 weeks, I had the tools and confidence needed to transform my outlook and fully embrace plantbased nutrition while bringing my family along for the journey.

If you are interested in learning the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet, I encourage you to explore the online certificate program. The course is not inexpensive, but well worth it. If your budget is tight (mine is), I encourage you to apply for a scholarship. I did and was awarded a full scholarship valued at $1260 of which I’m immensely grateful. Do yourself the favor of a lifetime and take the next step on the path of health and healing.

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing – Gluten Free and Vegan

It’s summertime in Texas, which means is a jillion degrees outside and I’m not kidding even a little bit.

As you may know, when it’s a jillion degrees outside, it can be difficult to find the desire to eat.

Or run.

Or move at all.

As the temps soar, I tend to lose my drive to spend time in the kitchen.  Since there are people in my house who think they must eat every single day, multiple times even, I found myself in the kitchen just long enough to make this salad.

Go me!

The salad is really just leftovers piled randomly so you can get creative here.  I used romaine, spinach, baby kale as the base and topped it with a chopped vegan veggie burger, some roasted acorn squash and garnished it with guacamole and radishes.

 

After piling all the goodness in the bowl, it called for something cool and creamy.  Not wanting to undo all the hard work I’ve been putting into keeping healthy, I opted for a light vegan dressing with just the right amount of creaminess to think I was being bad.

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Ingredients:

1 c. coconut yogurt (unsweetened)

a handful of cilantro

juice from half a lime

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar (optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients except the apple cider vinegar in a mason jar or blender.  I went the mason jar route since I have an ancient blender and the blender blade and ring fits the jar.  Easy and no mess.

 

Blend until all the cilantro is chopped and the dressing takes on a uniform green color.

Taste to adjust salt and pepper.  At this point, add the apple cider vinegar if you want a tangy dressing.  You can also add more lime.  Whatever floats your boat.

Drizzle it on a salad for a healthy meal or use it as a healthy dip for fresh, seasonal vegetables.

 

For more healthy meal inspiration, visit my Fit Foodies Pinterest group board.  If you are interested in contributing to the board, leave a comment and I’ll be happy to add you!

Follow Sherry Lyle of TheSimpleHive’s board Fit Foodies on Pinterest.

Healthy Lunch Ideas

I’m on a mission to feel better and have more energy and so far, it’s working!  I have been doing yoga on a regular basis and fitting a little running in when time allows, but mostly, I’ve been making healthier food choices.  Over the last few years, I have fallen into a bad habit of letting lunchtime get the best of me.  We homeschool so we can exercise healthy food choices, but we don’t always do it.  Some days we are knee-deep in schoolwork and don’t allow for a real lunch break.  We eat while discussing our latest math concept or history timeline.  That’s not always a bad thing, but doing these things over sandwiches and chips is not so great.

I’m not knocking sandwiches.  They are what you make them. For the chips, I have no strong argument.  I will say, there was a time in my life I didn’t eat chips.  I never even bought them.  Five years ago, after discovering the need to eat a gluten-free diet, I began substituting the wheat snack crackers I once enjoyed with chips.  What was I thinking?  I wasn’t.  It wasn’t thinking about the extra fat and empty calories until the extra pounds began layering themselves on my person.  It isn’t a daily thing, but I put chips on my plate more often than I care to admit and my thighs are angry about it.  They’re not gonna take it anymore!  (You’re singing Twisted Sister in your head right now, aren’t you?  Sorry.)

Gluten-Free Vegan Recipe for Veggie Burgers & Meatballs

After IKEA announced its new vegan meatballs, I began craving meatballs.  Obsessively craving is a more accurate description.

Well played IKEA.

Because of this craving and the fact that the nearest IKEA is more than an hour from home, I rummaged through my pantry and freezer to see if I could satisfy the obsession.  What I ended up with was the most delicious veggie burger in existence.

Makes sense in my head.

To clarify, I did make some of the mixture into meatballs using a small scoop and baking them until firm.  They were a nice addition to top of some gluten-free spaghetti.  But I just couldn’t leave well enough alone and thought, what if?

That question usually leads me down a long and winding road, sometimes leading to success and sometimes leading to a new lesson learned.  This time it led me to an easy and delicious veggie burger.  If all roads were this easy to travel, my life would be less interesting.

Let me give you a little nutrient breakdown so you can fully appreciate this humble little burger.  With this knowledge, you can feel good about what you are using as fuel for the amazingly complicated machine that is your body.

The chickpeas and green peas pack a protein punch while providing iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C.

Kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, so sneak it in whenever possible.  It is high in vitamins A, B6, C and K and minerals such as manganese, calcium, copper, potassium, and magnesium.  Fiber and protein are some more benefits of kale, so eat up Buttercup!

Sorry I called you Buttercup.

Ground psyllium husks act as a binder to keep the form of the patty while providing fiber.  Fiber helps control blood sugar, promotes cardiovascular health and helps provide a feeling of fullness, thereby aiding weight loss.  It also helps to keep your skin healthy, did ya know?  It helps move yeast and fungus from the body so they don’t have a chance to be excreted through the skin, triggering acne or rashes.  Fiber also helps keep things moving along ifyouknowwhatImean.

Flax meal also acts as a binder while providing a healthy dose of Omega-3 fatty acids and lignans.  It also is a good source of fiber.  Again with the fiber!

Vegan Triple Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

As simple as this recipe is, I can’t believe it’s so delicious!  I had to eat two just to be sure I wasn’t mistaken.  Maybe I should eat another just to be completely sure of its deliciousness.  I do what I can to ensure honest evaluations.  I’m here for you!

This recipe happened because the girls and I needed a little chocolate to push through our day.  Homeschooling can be hard, folks!

This was a perfect way to integrate life skills into our day.  The recipe is so simple, even a five-year old can do it and she did!  I have found that my little picky eater is more likely to eat the foods she helps make.  Get the kids in the kitchen and make these healthy chocolate cookies.

Vegan Shamrock Shake

After seeing recipes for Shamrock Shakes all over Pinterest, I decided to try a healthier spin.  After all, I’m not getting any younger, or healthier, and pounds aren’t as easy to shed as they once were.  I can’t do anything about getting older, but I can do something to be healthier.

Go away extra pounds!  You aren’t welcome here.

Because I like ice cream, but still want to be able to fit into my jeans, I came up with a healthy and delicious Shamrock shake that is filled with energy-giving foods.  Because St. Patrick’s Day is just around the bend, and because I want you to be able to fit into your jeans too, I’m sharing the love.

Cooking with Kids: Chapati Indian Flatbread

 

 

In many families in which parents educate their children at home, cooking is interwoven seamlessly into the school day. Math, reading, science and critical thinking skills are cultivated and honed through measuring, reading recipes, baking and substituting ingredients. Children becomes great home cooks at an early age and learn to clean up after themselves and appreciate their parents who loving provide them with food on the table and a roof over their heads.

Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

Gluten-free and Vegan Coconut Sugar Cookies

 

 

 

Because my issues with gluten and Baby Honeybee’s severe egg allergy and mild milk allergy, I have made it a priority to figure out this whole gluten-free and vegan baking thing. In the past, when I bake cookies for the family, my focus has been on egg-free, not necessarily dairy or gluten-free and I often get left out.  No fair.

That all changed when I came across this recipe for gluten, dairy and egg-free coconut sugar cookie recipe from yammiesglutenfreedom.

The recipe, as written, accommodated all our needs without any substitutions. She is awesome.  I might cry a little.

Seriously, she is an amazing young woman.  Check out this About Me page on one of her blogs.  Impressive.

I could ramble on, or I could move along to the recipe.  That’s really why you are all here, anyway.  Well, there may be a few of you who love to read the ramblings of a lunatic. You know who you are.

 

Coconut Sugar Cookies

What you need:

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/3 c. coconut milk, full-fat

2 tsp. vanilla (make sure yours is gluten-free)

3/4 c. white rice flour

1/3 c. coconut flour

2 Tbsp. potato starch

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

coconut frosting (recipe follows)

What you do:

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside.

Cream together the coconut oil and sugar with an electric mixer. If your coconut oil is too hard, soften it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds, then add the sugar and mix.

Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a third at a time, mixing thoroughly.  The mixture will be moist and fluffy.

Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let sit at room temperature while the oven preheat to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Use a small scoop or your hands to roll 1.5″ balls of cookie dough.  Do not flatten the dough and you will get a nice, soft cookie.

Bake for 11-12 minutes, rotating the trays halfway in the cooking time.

Let cool for about 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Frost with the following recipe when completely cooled.

 

Coconut Frosting

1/4 c. coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar (the original recipe calls for 3 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, but I needed much less)

6 Tbsp. full-fat coconut milk

 

Sift the powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps.

In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut oil and vanilla.  Alternate adding the powdered sugar and the coconut milk, mixing well.

Spread the frosting on each cooled cookie.  The coconut oil give the frosting the consistency of buttercream, so you can use a pastry bag to make them as fancy as you like.

Now go on.  Make these and share the cookie love.

The Simple Hive on Pinterest

 

This post is linked-up with The Art of Home-Making Mondays.  Hop on over to the party at Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth for other great blogs.