Turmeric & Smoked Paprika Artichoke's

Today I tried out a new flavor on my artichoke's. I usually just sprinkle salt and pepper on mine and eat them mayonnaise. However, today I'm doing a turmeric, smoked paprika flavor. Still serving them with a side of mayo.

Here's how I prepared them:

• Wash & trim artichoke's
• Place them in pot. 
• Fill with water up to a 1/3 of the artichoke. 
• Sprinkle ground turmeric, smoked paprika, onion powder and olive oil on top on artichokes. 
• Rub along the top to spread the spices. 
• Shake salt and freshly ground pepper on top to your liking. 
• Throw some whole pepercorns in the water surrounding the artichoke's. 
• Steam for 1 hour medium-low. Or put them in a pressure cooker for half the time.
•  They will be done when you can insert a skewer easily into them.

Shrimp & Veggie Stir Fry

Sharing my super easy and delicious Shrimp & Veggie stir fry. This is classic Cali food. Growing up and living in California has it's perks. You get to eat a ton of food from so many different cultures. Here's my take on a classic stir-fry. Add it to your weekly meal rotation, you won't be disappointed. - Best, Ana

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• grated ginger
• 2 carrots
• 1 yellow summer squash
• 1 cup of snow peas
• 4 baby bok choy
• 1 pound of medium shrimp
• 1/2 cup of Lee Kum Kee's Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce
• Oil

Directions:

• Chop onion & garlic.
• Slice carrots, squash, & bok choy diagonally.
• Clean and season shrimp with salt, pepper, and a few splashes of sesame oil.
• Heat oil in large stir-fry pot.
• Stir fry shrimp till pink and plump, remove them from pan and set aside.
• Saute onions for a minute. Then add garlic and ginger and saute for another minute.
• Add carrots and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
• Add squash, snow peas and bok choy and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes.
• Add cooked shrimp back to pan.
• Add the vegetarian stir-fry sauce and a few dashes of sesame oil.
• Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Yumalicious and healthy too!

Cowboy Caviar Nachos

I wanted a snack so bad one day and had a limited stash of food in the house. The few things I almost always have on hand are tortilla chips, avocados, cheese, and some kind of salsa. Nachos are always a no-brainer when you need a quick snack. So I hooked this yummy concoction up. If you like a nice sweet and tangy salsa with corn and black beans, throw some Cowboy Caviar on it!
Recipe below.-  Best, Ana

Ingredients & Directions:

Place Tortilla Chips on a plate (I prefer Tostito's Round chips).
Shred Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or vegan cheese) on top.
Microwave for 10-15 seconds.
Top with Cowboy Caviar from Trader Joe's.
Heat that up for another 10 seconds.
Mash half an Avocado and drop it like it's hot on top of your nacho's- lol

Dig in and be happy.

Snack attach cured!

Additional toppings: add some sour cream for extra creaminess. I didn't have any, so I went without. I think that's why this came out so much healthier.

Roasted Veggies

My husband luuuuuvs yams of all kinds. He will bake them and eat them straight out of the skin. Which is awesome because that's the healthiest way to eat them! I like peeling them and baking them with herbs or brown sugar and butter. We recently came across these Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes at our local grocery store and they are BOMB! They're organic and sweet and wonderful. We had them for dinner the other day with a few other veggies tossed in. Try them if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed! 

Purple yams are super-food!

Ingredients:

• 1 Stokes Purple Sweet Potato
• 2 Garnet Yams
• 1 medium onion
• 6 Baby Bella Mushrooms
• 3 Carrots
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Turn Oven to 425 degrees.
2. Grab your cutting board & baking sheet.
3. As you cut up your veggies, throw them onto your baking sheet.
4. Peel and slice on the bias the sweet potato, yams & carrots.
5. Wipe clean your mushrooms and slice them up.
6. Cut your onion in wedges
7. Peel your garlic cloves but leave them whole.
8. Sprinkle salt, pepper, & herbes de provence over the veggies.
9. Pour on the olive oil and toss them around with your hands to coat them.
10. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

Serve as a side for dinner or eat them for breakfast with a poached egg.
So yummy!!

Changing What and How I eat for 2015

I love food, all food, but there comes a time in your life when just eating any and everything starts to weigh you down physically, mentally, and emotionally. I really just want to feel better about myself and know that I am treating myself right. I decided to finally do my juice cleanse a few weeks ago. After coming off of it, I have not eaten any meat or dairy and I honestly feel great.

I have become a Pescatarian. I will be adopting a diet of 80% plant based foods, 10% fish\shellfish, and the occasional 10% dairy. I've been trying new recipes like Thug Kitchens "Roasted Chick Pea and Broccoli Burrito", which was delicious and one that I highly recommend. It's a winner in my book. I made split pea soup last week that turned out well. The only thing I worry about is my ability to stay consistent. I have learned time and time again that being consistent is the key to making anything in your life work. So I will labor for a few weeks chopping up veggies and trying new recipes until I find that this new way of eating works for me and my family. For New Years Day, I made a pot of black eyed peas for good luck. Paired it with a mixture of collard and mustard greens, cornbread and a 1/4 cup of rice. Our first completely vegan dinner of the year and many more to come.

Song Crush: Morse, by Nightmares On Wax

This is one of the most relaxing songs I've heard while listening to Pandora's "Visioneer Radio" station. It's one of my favorite stations to listen to when I'm in the house or out in the backyard sitting around the fire pit with a glass of red wine. This is just one of the many cool, laid back, deep vibe songs you can catch playing this station. Love it!

Corn Pudding

Super easy, delicious side dish. I L.O.V.E this yummy corn pudding. So sweet and delicate with a nice crunch of corn. So glad my mother-in-law told me to make this. I can serve this for Sunday Dinners, Barbeques, Thanksgiving and anytime I need a yummy side dish. A variation of this dish I may want to try would be a sweet and spicy corn pudding; by adding Chipotle or Cayenne Pepper, but I like it just like this.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Butter (softened)
• 1/3 cup of Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of Sour Cream
• 1 8-1/2 ounce box of Corn Bread Mix (I used Jiffy)
• 1/2 cup of Milk
• 1 15-ounce can of Whole Kernel Corn (drain it)
• 1 14-ounce can of Cream Style Corn

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees.
2. Grease 3 quart baking dish.
3. Using a hand Mixer, cream together butter & sugar until fluffy.
4. Add eggs. Beat in one at a time, mixing well before adding the other. 
5. Add sour cream, and mix. 
6. Gradually add in corn bread mix and milk. Alternate each, when adding into mixture. 
7. Fold in drained whole kernel corn & creamed corn into mixture. 
8. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for 45-50 minutes depending on your oven.

Serve while warm. Great as leftover! This recipe was adapted from the Taste of Home recipe index.