More from Simply Clean for Me

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower


Parmesan Mashed Cauliflower

What you’ll need:
1 head of cauliflower
aprox. ½ c. milk (we use almond)
1 clove minced garlic
½ c. Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan boil cauliflower for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain and pour cauliflower into bowl of electric mixer. With the whisk attachment, mash the cauliflower with the garlic until somewhat smooth, adding small amounts of milk as needed. Once the desired consistency is reached, mix in the Parmesan cheese then salt and pepper to taste.

Sauteed Cabbage


Sautéed Cabbage

What you’ll need:
1 head of cabbage
1 tbsp oil of your choice
1 onion, diced
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper

Chop your head of cabbage in thin slices; make sure they aren’t too long.
Put the oil in a large saucepan and before adding the cabbage. The pan must be large because the cabbage starts off large but cooks down a bunch. Next add the sliced onion to the mix and let the cabbage and onion cook until tender. Next add the tomatoes and cook until it is all heated through. Salt and Pepper it to taste.

Lemon Dill Tilapia

Lemon Dill Tilapia

Tilapia is such a versatile fish. Tonight we’re doing a super easy baked tilapia that everyone enjoys.

Start by greasing your pan or dish (I’m using a 9x13 glass casserole dish for 4 pieces of tilapia) with which ever oil you prefer (I use coconut). Set your oven to 350 degrees.
Place your tilapia filets in the pan and coat the fish lightly with your oil of choice then cover each filet with fresh lemon juice.
In a separate small bowl make a little seasoning mix of 1 tbsp dill, ½ tsp salt and a ½ tsp black pepper. Sprinkle the mix over your tilapia, it should stick nicely. Place your dish in the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on your dish and the number of filets. The tilapia should flake easily when coked through.

Enjoy this light, healthy treat!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Back in the Saddle!

Wow! I have been out of edible deliciousness' pocket for a spell! My world has consisted of full-time wife, mother and now student! Yes, last August I went back to school to finish up my B.S. in Biology and this past semester was a little all consuming. I have one class left to take in the spring and then I am officially finished... for now! I'm a professional student really. Ha! Anyway, I had to let a few things go these past few moths and sadly, the blog was one of them as well as many of my Vegan ways. Boo! So I'm easing back in to the fun and many of this weeks recipes aren't vegan, but we'll get there soon :) I'm posting a board on Pinterest with many of my fav on-line recipes! Check it out!



Monday: 
Breakfast: Anna's bday breakfast
Lunch: Out

Tuesday:
Lunch: Broccoli Quinoa Casserole 
Dinner: 3 Bean Chili  

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Lara Bars
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Honey with Veggies
Dinner: Left Over Night

Thursday:
Breakfast: Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread
Lunch: Veggie Spring Rolls
Dinner: Family Dinner with Kindergarten class... precious families!

Friday:
Breakfast: Eggs and Toast 

I will be posting these other recipes in the next day or two. I hope everyone has a great week!

Rebekah

Monday, July 23, 2012

Menu Week 5


Oh, it feels so good to be back in the menu-making circuit. When our food isn’t planned out, the weeks are unhealthy and chaotic… not good for the littles or me! Now that we’re not on vacation and eating like gluttonous beasts, it’s nice to settle back into predictable, delicious food. The kids are happier and I don’t feel like I have a tar baby sitting in my stomach. (That’s my Uncle Remus reference... thank you, southern up-bringing!) Anyway, I'm happy to be back!  I will be posting the rest of my original recipes later today or tomorrow. J

Monday:
Breakfast: Oats w/ cinnamon, honey and blueberries
Lunch: Quinoa salad with tomatoes, avocados, lemon juice, black beans, green bell pepper and olive oil
Dinner: Asian Eggplant w/ broccoli and fried rice

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Blueberry, banana, spinach smoothie
Lunch: Veggie rolls with rice paper
Dinner: Black Bean Burgers with grilled zucchini  

Wednesday:
Breakfast: blue berry muffins
Dinner: Red curry with eggplant and brown basmati rice

Thursday:
Breakfast: quinoa with cinnamon, honey, blueberries and almonds
Lunch: black beans veggie wrap
Dinner: Garlic Basil Marinara over Spaghetti squash

Friday:
Breakfast: Larabars
Lunch: Avocado, tomato pasta
Dinner: Masar Dal Pulao w/ naan  

Friday, July 20, 2012

Greek Pasta Salad


I love pasta salads in the summer. It’s too hot to do much, other than sit by the pool with a margarita. So when lunch or dinner rolls around sometimes its nice to have a cool, light option. This pasta salad is it. And it is SO FREAKING EASY!!! It includes a recipe-ish for dressing, but feel free to put on what ever your fav dressing is. Sometimes simplicity is all that matters!

Ingredients
16oz of pasta… cook’s choice! Prepare to package directions. I find a little al dente is nice J
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
½ cucumber, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 small package of feta cheese, if you must J

Here’s the hard part:
Dump it all in a bowl and stir. Boom. Dinner or lunch is served. Now I realize that some of you olive lovers out there are thinking, “what the heck? (or hell, depending on your verbiage preferences) This salad TOTALLY needs olives.” To you I say, “Olive away!” If I thought olives were remotely tasty I would be loading them up in this bad boy. Sadly, olives have the ability to make my stomach turn at the mere mention of their consumption, so I will stop there. I don’t know why, I’ll blame it on an unknown childhood experience. 
 
If you're game for a lovely Greek dressing, here you go… its also super difficult (sarcasm).

½ c. olive oil
½ c. apple cider vinegar
tsp oregano
tsp basil
tsp dried mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Dump it all in a glass jar and shake it like you mean it. Boom. Boom.


The boy told me he wanted to eat this salad forever and the Man ate 2 huge servings followed by a text complementing the meal. When the men folk happily eat salads it is immediate meal success.
Happy Summer Salading!

Vacation... a health nightmare!


I haven’t posted in like 2 weeks… I’ve been on vacation. Well, one might call it a vacation; it was 8 days at my sister-in-law’s house in FL with my husband’s family. Wine and margaritas got me through, it got us all through. I will say nothing more J

Pic from 'the dock of the bay' by Aunt Janna.
Being that the clean eating (and in our case, plant based clean eating) is a journey for us, I thought this was a part of the journey that was very eye opening. One think I realized through all of this though is that my home is definitely my “safe place” with food. What ever is let in will be the dominantly consumed foods. If its snacks, I will eat snacks. If it is sweets, I will eat sweets. I actually posted not too long ago something about not being someone who eats a ton of sweets or not being someone who will polish of a bag of potato chips in one sitting, well, I should have kept my filthy mouth shut because this past week I DEVOURED some potato chips like some kind of weird potato addict. I ate sweets (note the margarita reference above) like they were going out of style and although the meals I ate were relatively healthy, there were a large number of seafood dishes consumed and what was inhaled during snack times and the evening doesn’t need mentioning. It was bad. Real bad.

My little man was AWESOME
with a fishin' pole.
I came home feeling bloated (yeah, you all wanted to know that, I’m sure), tired and completely addicted to food. You know that feeling when you’re not REALLY hungry but you just kind of want to eat? Well, that is a food addiction popping up to say hello and reminding you that you are not in charge quite as much as you would like to be. My addiction is usually kept at bay by planning meals, having a number of healthy snack options available and also by doing recipe and food research. When I am filling my body with essential nutrients and not wasting space in my stomach and cells with crap, then I find that my cravings subside and I don’t have the nagging desire to ‘munch’ all day long. I’m scared of the self-discipline that will be required to re-boot my toxic body but ever fiber of my being is screaming for good, solid nutrients.

At this point I wish I could have been the amazing person who could “Just Say No” (remember that fancy drug slogan?) every time a bowl of chips were left on the counter or when a bag of starbursts were found lying around after the 382nd ‘treat’ was given to the children. Some of you might say, “Um, it’s a vacation, you’re supposed to eat bad and have a good time”, and I would not be sure that I agree. (Seriously, I’m not SURE yet, I’m working this all out in my head.) I don’t like the shock and fatigue I feel when I chuck this way of eating to the wind. I mean, I adopted this life-style because I felt like it was the right thing to do, not just for my family’s health but also, for environmental sustainability. I don’t want to ‘take a vacation’ from health, I don’t want to feel like the way we eat is so hard so that I need a break from it a few times a year. I want to love our life, just as it is today, will all the benefits it offers. Now, if I can enjoy this life, health and all but just transplant it to the beach a few times a year, then I’m golden!
Until next time!!!!!

This trip was good for me. I realized how weak I am. I was humbled. I pray that in the next venture to the mental land of ‘vacationing’ that I will hang in there and be true to who I am and not go running the opposite direction. We’re all a work in progress and I’m thankful that there is grace for me J