Skinny Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

March 8, 2016 Amanda Plott

I'm not sure about anywhere else, since Texas is the only place that I've lived in my adult life, but here... we go through an awful lot of cilantro. It's all that amazing Tex-Mex we have here, so you won't find me complaining. Cilantro and I definitely have a love-hate relationship though.

I've come to the realization that I don't tend to like it much in it's raw form. That is... it needs to be added to something; guacamole, fajita meat, etc. I do, however, love cilantro when it's done right by being used as an ingredient to brighten up a dish. And what better way to do that than with a nice fresh spring produce salad?...

Matcha Waffles (Gluten Free)

March 5, 2016 Amanda Plott

So, this is what I've been up to pretty much each morning this week. I've made these waffles three times now, adjusting the recipe and tweaking it to get it to where I wanted it to be. The first time I made them as a test run, they turned out beautifully. But, the second time I made them - they were a huge flop.

Yes, even I make mistakes in the kitchen!

That could have been mostly my fault though. Honestly, my heart wasn't in it that morning and my mind was elsewhere and focused on other things going on in my life. I'm pretty sure in looking back that I left something out at some point and ended up with a waffle iron full of raw inedible goop. Whoops!

This was my third attempt with these waffles after a few final changes and a more careful eye for my measuring and accounting for each ingredient...

Cauliflower 'Fried Rice'

March 3, 2016 Amanda Plott

This week I've decided I'm going to start eating a more plant based diet. It's something that my subconscious has been slowly seeming to lead up to for the past months, and honestly I hadn't really noticed until I sat down to write out my weekly meal plan for myself last week.

I think what really got my wheels spinning on 'plant based' meals was a quote that I heard a long time ago.

"Eat food. Not a lot. And mostly plants." - Michael Pollan

It's sort of been my mantra ever since I first came across it, though sometimes I stick to it more than others. I'm not saying I'm going vegan or vegetarian by any means, just that this is what I'm trying to do more actively at home and on a more regular basis. And one of the first things to come to mind with my veggie-forward thinking was this Cauliflower 'Fried Rice'...

Skinny 5 Ingredient Chocolate Cherry Crisp

March 1, 2016 Amanda Plott

This post was sponsored by Honey Bunches of Oats Chocolate as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received complimentary products to facilitate my review.

Sometimes we all just need a little chocolate in our lives, and in my opinion not much goes better with chocolate other than cherries. You really can't go wrong with the combination. Of course, coming off of an extremely busy weekend, I wanted to be sure to do something simple with few ingredients and lots of flavor.

What can I say? I needed something to curb my sweet cravings.

I've seen it done before where Honey Bunches of Oats have been used as a quick fix 'crisp' style topping for desserts, so I decided to take that idea and run with it. But, I didn't want anything plain-jane so I had to put my own chocolate lover's better-for-you spin on it....

Grapefruit & Avocado Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

February 25, 2016 Amanda Plott

So, last week I had posted a picture of this fabulous little lunch/snack that I had for myself, and seeing as it managed to grab quite a bit of attention I thought I would do something else similar this week. Though I still might share the original soon too!

Grapefruit is very much so in season here in Texas right now, and as such, I wanted to make full use of it since it's one of my most favorite circus fruits. I find that it's a perfect addition to any breakfast or lunch because of it's brightness. It just adds a little bit of a pep to my step and cheers me on through my day...

Vegan Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Bowl

February 17, 2016 Amanda Plott

Lately I have been trying to be a lot more mindful, especially with my time. It seems as if the older I get, the less minutes and hours there are in my day. Life has been whipping my tail lately and it all seems like such a blur. So, to help slow things down I decided to make this super easy vegan squash bowl. It's what 'Make Me Mindful' means to me right now.

I've noticed a lot of times that I tend to make vegan cooking a lot more of a task than it needs to be. Sometimes when it comes to food, the simpler - the better. And that couldn't be more accurate with this wonderful all inclusive plant based bowl that doesn't even require one dish to be made messy in the process of cooking it!...