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'...

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!...

Skinny Matcha Granola

January 8, 2016 Amanda Plott

There's two things that I haven't tried before, making my own granola and matcha. Okay, well... I have tried matcha since my favorite tea room here dusts it over their fabulous brownies, but outside of that - no. I've had my fair share of green tea, but matcha is different. Since I haven't tried it before, but have heard good things... I decided to do a little research.

At the end of my research, I ended up buying myself a package of the green stuff.

Matcha is made by using specially shade-grown green tea that's then ground down into a find green powder. It's supposed to be effective in improving mental focus with it's higher amounts of theanine. The theanine and caffeine together help to give a boot of energy without causing the crash that comes with the caffeine in coffee. The antioxidants are what I'm after though!...

Mixed Berry Chia Jam (Sponsored)

December 17, 2015 Amanda Plott

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MinionsMovieNight #CollectiveBias

My mom and I are all about themes, and anyone that knows the two of us will tell you that through and through. Whether it's birthday parties, get togethers, or sometimes even just movie nights at home. It's a trait that I'm instilling in my daughter too as she gets older.

One of my little one's favorite movies of this summer, Minions © 2015 Universal Studios. All rights reserved., just came out on December 8th to own. I just knew that we were going to have to whip up a fun family friendly movie night in honor of it. So, Illumination Entertainment's Minions movie is the inspiration for this Mixed Berry Chia Jam.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind for me when I think of those cuddly little yellow characters is that famous jam scene. The one all about Mr. Gru's Old Fashioned Jelly in Despicable Me when we're first introduced to the minions...

Cuban Black Beans (Crock Pot)

December 12, 2015 Amanda Plott

I was trying to use up some of the odd-and-end things that I had leftover in the kitchen this week (mostly to start making room for Christmas foods), and one of the ways that I like to do that is with a nice pot of homemade beans.

Black beans are one of out family favorites, in fact for several years there it was one of the only sources of protein that I could manage to get my little girl to eat. She was basically a vegan for the first four years of her life, by her own choice of course. She's always had a pretty sensitive palette, especially when it comes to spice, so I'll blame it on that.

Beans have always been in her 'safe zone' so, I've made myself rather familiar with making beans in my crock pot over the years. I've found that beans are one of my favorite and most versatile ingredients...

Citrus Fennel Salad & White Wine Vinaigrette

December 5, 2015 Amanda Plott

What can I say? I needed something bright and sunny in my life this week. This salad is just that. Bright and sunny.

Grapefruits tend to be aplenty here in Texas during the winter time, so I always like to do something fun with them to stave off the winter blues. Not like it's been very much like winter around here lately with a high of 75 in the forecast for the upcoming week here in Austin.

Even so, my spirits needed some lifting and this bright salad was definitely a step in the right direction since it has some of my most favorite things in it. Two of which I've been absolutely obsessed with lately; grapefruit and avocado!...