healthy eating Archives

Zucchini Noodle Bake with Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

September 20, 2015 Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

Recently, I bought a vegetable spiral slicer and have been spiraling as many veggies as I can get my hands on. I use this slicer and it works great. So far my favorite type of veggie “noodle” is zucchini. Their neutral flavor is great for a wide variety of sauces and toppings, and their texture is truly reminiscent of a real noodle. After baking them with standard tomato and pesto sauce, I began scouring the internet for another option. I came across Pinch of Yum’s recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Sauce and knew it was the perfect match for my veggie noodles.

The cauliflower sauce is rich and flavorful. If you aren’t a fan of cauliflower, it honestly doesn’t taste like it at all. Instead, the flavor of garlic and parmesan cheese shine through to create an amazing substitute for alfredo sauce. If you don’t have a noodle slicer, you can make this dish with standard cut zucchini. Spaghetti squash would also work well. I added tomatoes and capers for another layer of flavor. If you’re a meat eater, you could easily add chicken or meatballs. Yum!

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Spinach & Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles

April 19, 2015 Filed Under: Soap Queen Cuisine

Do you ever get a sweet tooth late at night? I’m pretty good about staying away from sugar during the day, but once my schedule settles down, my brain starts thinking about sugar. In particular, I have been craving ice cream. Some nights I indulge in a scoop or two. But for the days when I want to stick to a healthy diet, these Blueberry & Spinach popsicles have been a lifesaver.

Made with fresh spinach, frozen blueberries, banana and low-fat yogurt, these popsicles curb my sugar craving without the guilt. The kiddos love them too; Jamisen in particular thinks he is getting a special ice cream treat instead of fruits and veggies. You can see him enjoying a variation of this recipe in the photo from last year below =) They are also incredibly easy to make! Simply add all the ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into a popsicle mold and allow to freeze overnight. I use this popsicle mold and love it.

What You’ll Need:
1 Ripe banana
1 cup Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1 1/2 cups Fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups Vanilla Greek yogurt

ONE: Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth. If necessary, add a splash of milk to help the mixture blend.
TWO: Pour the mixture into your popsicle mold. For the mold I have, this recipe made six popsicles. Place the popsicle sticks into the mold, and place in the freezer until completely frozen (I wait overnight).
THREE: Remove from the mold and enjoy!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Blueberry & Spinach Yogurt Popsicles

Made with fruits and veggies, these popsicles are a healthy and delicious way to curb a sugar craving.

Author: Soap Queen

Serves: About Six

Ingredients

1 Ripe banana
1 cup Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1½ cups Fresh spinach
1½ cups Vanilla Greek yogurt

Instructions

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth. If necessary, add a splash of milk to help the mixture blend.
Pour the mixture into your popsicle mold. For the mold I have, this recipe made six popsicles. Place the popsicle sticks into the mold, and place in the freezer until completely frozen (I wait overnight).
Remove from the mold and enjoy!

Guest Post: A Cleanse That Started a Business

January 21, 2015 Filed Under: Business Musings

Several months ago, I received a lovely email from Patti Flynn. Patti participated in the “Crazy Sexy Vegan Cleanse,” that I coordinated in 2012, which involved no meat, sugar, dairy, gluten, alcohol or coffee. During this cleanse, Patti discovered lacto-fermentation of vegetables. This discovery soon developed into a hobby, which has now turned into a business! I was so inspired by Patti’s story, that I asked her to share it. Read on to learn how Patti went from participating in a cleanse, to developing a new business venture. – A.M.

I have been making soap since since early 2001 and I started my soap company in December, 2001. In my previous life, I was a vastly unhappy chef; I loved the actual cooking, but found everything else about restaurants detestable: the hours, the customers, the pay, the other staff, and the owners. You might say I was an absolute curmudgeon, born to work for myself! The stress levels were constantly insanely high and the remuneration, paltry. However, the skills translated amazingly well into a soap making business. After a time, I was grateful for my years slaving away over a hot stove….they were excellent training for the next 13 years of slaving away over a hot soap cauldron.

Picklish jars, filled with fermented carrots, ready for sale.

I considered myself very lucky to get away from the food industry at all. So, it is with some surprise that I find myself launching a sideline at present, that definitely involves food. Anyone, after listening to me rant about the injustices and indignities of the hospitality industry, might ask themselves what on earth I am doing, taking up my knives again after so many glorious years of comparative rest. It is a very short story:

In late 2011, Anne Marie threw a suggestion out into a soap making forum. The idea was simple: she was getting psyched up to do a cleanse/detox for 21 days and it involved no dairy, no gluten, no booze, no coffee, no sugar, and no meat. Basically, a lot of raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and water. This sounded very attractive , healthy and wholesome, so a bunch of us signed up immediately and agreed to post on our progress. I announced to my long-suffering husband that we would be living on raw vegan food for a time and that I would make it as delicious as possible. He was in.

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