Vegetarian Chili

So here is something simple that can be made and enjoyed multiple days of the week. There is really no rule as to what to use, but here is how I made mine today (it varies all the time depending on what beans I have and what I am in the mood for)...I don't measure remember, but soak a fair amount of various beans to have enough to feed however many you need to.


Vegetarian Chili

Adzuki Beans
Cannellini Beans
Chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 Packet Organic Vegetarian Chili Seasoning
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 green pepper chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 Anaheim pepper chopped

Soak the beans for about a day (or over night)*
Boil the beans about an hour. Drain and add other ingredients. Place on medium heat until vegetable tenderness is at desired point (I like mine a little crunchy still). Serve it up!

This is so healthy and hearty for you. Don't forget to add a protein to eat with it. I grilled a chicken breast (which I seasoned and rubbed some deli mustard on for flavor and pan grilled) to eat with mine today, but you can grill a fresh sausage, hamburger patty, etc. Ditch the unnecessary things like cheese and rice (if you have to have rice make it brown then).

*Try to use bulk beans. When you soak them it will allow some of the "gassiness" to soak out (you can see it float to the top of the pot). Not only do canned beans keep this in, they usually are packed with sodium which you don't need!

Work Lunches

So this is not as much as a recipe as it is an easy quick idea for work lunches. So many times I hear people say they just don't have time to make a lunch for work. I say that is bullshit and laziness. Here is what Walter and I do every day we work for a healthy lunch.

First I start the week by baking some chicken breasts variously seasoned. I put them in a tupperware dish and refrigerate. This is a good lean healthy protein to have for lunch and does not have to be heated up.

I then make a tasty salad. Mine usually consists of:
-Romaine lettuce (1/2 of one)
- 1/2 Avocado
- 1/2 tomato (when I have them)
- Sunflower seeds (if I am in the mood)
- One of my delicious homemade dressings.

Making this gives a good helping of veggies, the healthy fat (from the avocado and dressing) and your protein from chopping up the chicken and adding it to the salad.

Some might think that you will get bored eating the same thing everyday, but I really don't. You can change the protein to a can of tuna or make a fresh fish for it. Change the topping and dressings to whatever you want. It is healthy and fresh and good portion. It fits right into a plastic container and can fit in a lunchbox. The whole thing actually costs less than $2.00 to make. Save money, eat healthier! Win, win!

Here is what I made today. Romain with avocado and lemon pepper chicken with my cilantro dressing! Don't forget to ditch the soda and have refreshing water with it!

Salad Dressings

So look on the ingredient label of most of the salad dressings you are using on your salads at home. I am sure there are some low quality oils, things you cannot pronounce along with sugars (do we really need those in salad dressing?). In attempts to be healthier and SAVE MONEY, I have been making my own salad dressings (we eat a salad for our work lunch every day and often times for dinner or lunch when we are at home). I am recycling the glass dressing bottles from the store bought dressings we were using and mixing up my own creations. Today I made 3 different kinds and if I say so myself, the F%&*ING rock! You can really throw anything you like into them, just keep one rule in mind....1/3 vinegar and 2/3 oil. Here is what I made. I did not measure perfectly because, for anyone who has seen me cook, I just don't measure but eyeball everything an adjust accordingly after I taste it.

Garlic Cilantro Dressing

2 cloves garlic
Big handful of cilantro, rinsed
2/3 olive oil
1/3 apple cider vinegar
Squirt of Sriracha
Squirt of lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground pepper corns

Throw in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into bottle and close and refrigerate.


Sesame Asian Dressing

1/2 Shallot
About 3 TBSP sesame oil
2/3 olive oil
1/3 apple cider vinegar
3 tsp. sesame seeds
3 TBSP reduced sodium soy sauce (or Tamari sauce which is better)
Squirt of Sriracha

Throw in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into bottle and close and refrigerate.

Chipotle Mustard Vinaigrette

2/3 olive oil
1/3 balsamic vinegar
Small handful of Italian Parsley, rinsed
3 TBSP Chipotle Mustard
1/2 shallot
Fresh ground pepper corns
2 pinches of wood smoked salt (I love this stuff..great to season burgers with too)

Throw in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into bottle and close and refrigerate.


These are good and tasty and literally take no time at all to make, and the best part is, you know what is going into them so there are no surprises!

Fresh Chicken Sausage Penne Pasta

This is a very light but filling dish that is simple and delicious.

2 fresh Chicken Sausages (I like the chicken and apple ones)
6 large roma tomatoes
1 Box Penne Pasta (use quinoa for gluten free or whole wheat for a better choice with gluten)
Pinch of crushed red pepper (to taste)
1-2 cloves of garlic
7-8 large leaves of fresh basil (I prefer the sweet basil for this)

Take sausage out of casing and crumble in a frying pan and brown.
Bring a pot of water to a boil (enough to cook the pasta in).
Once boiling, place the tomatoes into the boiling water.
Let the tomatoes cook til they are hot in the inside. Take out of water and carefully peel the skins off. (they will come off pretty easily)
Add pasta to the water and cook until your desired tenderness.
While pasta is cooking, add tomatoes to a food processor along with the crushed read pepper, fresh garlic, and about 5 large leaves of basil. Pulse everything together. Add the browned sausage and pulse a little more til the sauce is desired consistency.
Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce.
Dish into pasta bowls and serve immediately.
Chop up additional basil leaves to add to top for a fresh garnish and additional flavor.

This dish is so fresh and tasty and simple to make. It takes less than 30 min start to finish. It is low fat and low calories but filling. Eat 2 servings if you want and you will still be under 600 calories for the whole meal!

Purpose of My New Blog

I have decided to begin this new blog because when I went on my detox and healthier lifestyle regime people kept telling me how horrible they thought it must be to have to cut out so many foods. (see http://themindandtimes.blogspot.com/ May 11th-20th) I began taking pictures of what I was eating along with my food journal to show everyone how well I was eating and how awesome the good food could be.

Since beginning my new lifestyle (and honestly not following it buy about 70% of the time...I really want to make it to 80%+ of the time) I have lost over 20 lb. That is in about a month and without (which is my laziness) exercise. Not that I am condoning my lack of exercising, but I want to show people that your food intake really does affect your waistline (mine started at a measurement of 49 inches and is currently 44 inches). To illustrate and comprehend how much that actually is you really need to get a plastic of fabric tape measure and make a circle with it to each measurement. It is a huge difference!

I am not going to give my diet here since I already did it on my other blog. What I am going to do here is post some of the recipes I have been making up for the meals I am eating. When I say making up, some are renditions of other recipes but made healthier, while others I just pulled out of my ass with the food I had available. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures along with it. I will try my best with the photos. Since I cook daily, this should be updated quite often, but I do sometimes cook the same things so it will not be a daily blog. I hope you enjoy and use my recipes and obtain success in your own personal health. As a warning, if you chose to change the recipes and use unhealthy ingredients, you will miss the whole point (think of using vegetable oil instead of olive oil...bad bad bad).