yummy casserole

BEST TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE RECIPE

by with No Comment fitnessfoodhealth

Yup I said it! This recipe IS the best! It’s Corrine friendly (it’s gluten-free), super nutritious (that’s for you, carb conscious ones), and it’s super delicious! It has that nice crunch on the top layer, that ooey gooey comfort of the cream and cheese, a sweet lil kick from the peas, and a spicy lil kick from the peppers!

yummy casserole
I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs, posted by fitness extraordinaire Sarah Bowmar! I tweaked the recipe just a bit to meet Corrine’s dietary restrictions and walaaaa! Here you go! The taste of home in less than 30 minutes! . . . Well minus the prep 😉
Ingredients:
6 oz pasta (I used 4 oz of quinoa elbow pasta and 2 oz of GF spaghetti noodles – for texture!)
1 1/2 tbsp grass-fed butter
1 medium onion finely chopped
3 TBSP gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cup water (or you can use broth like the original recipe calls for)
1 1/4 cup almond milk
2 cups peas
2 cans of tuna – drained
1 clove crushed garlic
shredded cheese (I used what cheese we had left of the Trader Joe’s lite 3 cheese blend)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes – to taste

Method:
Cook the noodles as directed, I used two kinds of GF pastas because I’m a texture girl and no matter what anyone says, quinoa pasta still tastes different to me. The GF spaghetti noodles (cut into pieces) added a lil normalcy to my life.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter and carmelize the onions and garlic in a separate pan. Then salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red-pepper flake that to taste. Wisk in the flour for a few minutes until it starts to brown (creates the thickness).  Then stir in the water (or broth) and bring that to a boil. Add in the milk and peas. Let that simmer together for a few minutes, drool over how yummy it smells, and then add in the tuna. Mix it around to break the tuna up and evenly disperse it throughout the pan and then remove it from heat.

Toss in your cheese and blend together until melted. Add in your noodles. Stir this pot of happiness until everything is nicely combined and coated.

Spritz your pan with some coconut oil spray and pour in your casserole. Bake this for 20-25 minutes (depending on how you like your crispy) at 375 degrees and NOM NOM NOM! If you love cheese like we do, sprinkle in the remaining cheese on top before baking so you get that crispy melty goodness!

I’ve linked the original recipe above so if you’d like a non gf recipe (but still really healthy one) than you can try that one out too!

Take it from someone who eats gluten and loves regular glutenous pasta – with this recipe you won’t be able to tell the difference! Even Joe was happy! We’ve been getting all beach-season ready over here so this healthy take on the traditional dish is such a comfort food! It’s been a lot of chicken and broccoli in my house. I of course, drizzled my portion with sriracha sauce and was quite sad when it was all gone.

This recipe makes a nice huge pan worth so we’ll be enjoying this tomorrow too hallelu!

TAG us on Twitter or Instagram when you make this and let me know if you alter it so I can try!

Hugs for a beautiful week!

Jess Lizama

 

Daily Vitamins

WHY DO I NEED TO TAKE A DAILY VITAMIN?

by with No Comment fitnesshealthwellness

This is a question Corrine used to ask me when she was little and it’s still a question Joe asks me when I try to hand him a palm full pills each day. Part of my daily regime is to take a daily vitamin, and about 17 other vitamins that do a few different things.

Daily vitamins

Ok not 17…7, and I know what this looks like…so many vitamins! Why?! How do you do it?! What do they do?! Well I’ll tell you. So pictured above we have . . . the 2 green pills which are for my brain (more on this in a bit), the larger orange pill is fish oil, the smaller tan capsules are a multi-vitamin, the larger tan pills are  anti-oxidants, and the two white capsules are fish collagen. I know what you’re thinking…”whoa back it up….brain pills and fish collagen?!”

Let me explain what they do and it will all make more sense. The first is my daily multi-vitamin. I love this one by the Tone It Up Girls because it’s vegan and gluten free which means my Corriney can take them daily also. Not to mention that it provides 100% of most of everything you need like Vitamin C, E, B6, Folic Acid, Biotin (big one for your hair, nails, and skin), Zinc, and others! So just by taking this one vitamin a day (2 capsules per serving) you’re able to refrain from having to take 805 other pills. I choose to take the other 7 you see, but if you wanted to take only  one vitamin- THIS is it! Simple, wholesome, and almost everything you need! It is a vegan product so the fish oil and collagen I take separately.

Perfect Fit Daily Vitamin

The Super Antioxidant formula smells like fruit which makes complete sense considering it’s comprised of super potent seeds like black cumin, cranberry, pomegranate, black raspberry, grape, milk thistle, and others. Antioxidants are simply molecules that interact safely with free radicals (highly reactive atoms that can start of chain of damaging reactions) thus preventing any damage free radicals may cause. Soooo . . . I take two of these a day.

Ear Bar Organics Super Antioxidant

Fish Collagen I take as it promotes collagen support and reproduction. As we age, there is a progressive break down of collagen in our skin. A loss of firmness and elasticity, the ‘plumpness’ you have in your skin that we try to regain the older we get. So I take 2 capsules before bed! The collagen in this is the main component found in the collagen of our skin, and combined with the other ingredients, promote collagen and tissue renewal… YES YES YES!

Fish Collagen

And Brain On. Now I can see how this would sound a lil bit cooky….it all does, all these pills and vitamins and minerals, but this particular supplement is great for focus and clarity, a balanced mood and lowering stress levels. This blend is primarily composed of blue-green algae which contains active enzymes, amino acids, phytochemicals, and essential fatty acids. Hey I’ll take anything that will keep this brain of mine young and sharp . . . short of having to consume 15 cups of coffee a day…yeesh! But so far I’ve noticed sharper focus, I work with more intention, it’s only been a few months but I love that I feel more alert and ON! It’s the same effect I get with coffee except this is caffeine free.

Brain On

And there you have it! Those are the vitamins and supplements I take daily, along with a ton of water, lots of rest, and an active lifestyle – I feel like I’m on the right path towards having a healthy mind and body. We’re all going to get older, aging is a part of life. I accept that and I look forward to aging gracefully. Gracefully being the key word here. I will supply my body with what it needs to flourish but I 100% understand that at times it could make me appear a tiny bit loopy……”why yes I take brain on and fish collagen”. It’s a bit much.

Do you take a daily vitamin? Have you ever heard of some of the other supplements I’ve talked about today? Share your daily regime with me and I’ll see you later this week!

 

xoxo- Jess

quinoablogpic

Tex Mex Curry Quinoa With An Asian Chicken Stir Fry Recipe!

by with No Comment beautycharitycommunityfashion

Welcome to day 5 of my ‘6 courses in 6 days’ recipe plan for you! Today we have a Tex Mex inspired curry quinoa with an Asian inpired chicken stir fry combo! The quinoa is vegetarian and gluten free friendly, yayy for my child, and the chicken is spicy but not too spicy, packed with flavor, and a great compliment to the curried quinoa! I’m taking you to Texas and then Asia today! Let’s goooo!


So what was so wonderful about this dish is that you can literally toss the quinoa into anything! It makes an amazing stuffed peppers recipe, it’s great with eggs in the morning, over top some veggies, you can use it for all sorts of dishes and it’s gluten free and vegetarian for those of you who are GF or Veg! So my daughter was very happy with this quinoa dish and my boyfriend was very happy with this chicken stir fry!

So for the quinoa you’ll need: 

– 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
– 2 cups cooked quinoa
– 1 bay leaf
– 1/2 red onion finely chopped
– 1 clove crushed garlic
– 1 teaspoon 21 salute seasoning
– 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– 1 teaspoon ground cumin
– 1 teaspoon tumeric
– 1/4 cup chopped basil
– 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
– sea salt
– fresh cracked black pepper
– 1/2 cup coconut milk full fat
– 1 can of corn
– 1 can of black beans

Saute the onion and garlic in the coconut oil, then add in the quinoa and the required amount of water. Add in the bay leaf, spices, and basil with cilantro, and cook until done. Drain the can of corn and black beans and drop them into the pot when the quinoa is done and just let that cook over low heat until the entire mixture is warmed. Serve with some fresh cilantro on top and ENJOY!

For the Asian chicken stir fry: 

– 2 rinsed and cleaned skinless chicken breast cubed
– 1/2 diced yellow onion
– 2 Tablespoons liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
-1/4 cup diced yellow and red bell peppers
– 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-1/4 cup diced fresh mint
– 2 Tablespoons olive oil
– 1 clove crushed fresh garlic
– 1/2 Teaspoon Himilayan sea salt (you won’t need much since the soy sauce adds salt
– fresh cracked black pepper
– 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
– 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

Saute the onion, garlic, and bell peppers in olive oil, toss in the chicken, spices, mint, and pepper flakes. Once the chicken is half way cooked, add in the soy sauce and cook until done. Top the dish off with fresh cut cilantro and over the bed of quinoa and you’re day is done! Nomnomnomers!

This entree is so yummy when you put the chicken over the quinoa, but each dish on their own is equally delicious! You could put the chicken over a bed of rice, wrap it up in a tortilla, or go carb free and wrap it in a piece of romaine lettuce. The quinoa like I said can be put over top so many side dishes to make a complete meal, so try these out, get creative, and be sure to tag me on Instagram and Twitter so I can see your creations! 😀


A delicious day to you, and I’ll see you right back here tomorrow! 

xo



eggplantblogpic1

A Mediterranean inspired Coponata dish recipe!

by with No Comment beautycharitycommunityfashion
For those of you out there on a cleanse, or if you’re gluten free, or vegan, this one’s for YOU! So the night Fr. Leo came over to cook up a storm, one of our friends was on a cleanse (I know right, I felt so bad that all this carb dense food was staring at him!) and my daughter is a gluten free vegetarian, soooo we had to make something that wasn’t all carbs and meat haha! This dish was refreshing to our palettes and diet friendly to our friends. Win win baby! So lets get cookin shall we! 


So this egg plant dish is creamy in texture, but not creamy in an ‘I hate textures and can’t eat that’ kind of way. It’s mineral-ly and smokey, and light enough that I could literally eat this every day. 

We had this in between courses while our food settled, and it was light enough to refresh us, yet satiating enough to keep us from going back for seconds on the other dishes. 

What you’ll need for this Coponata: 

– 1 eggplant
– 1 clove crushed garlic
– 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
– 1 teaspoon sea salt
– 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
– 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
– half of one finely diced red onion

So cut the tips off of the ends of the egg plant and slice the eggplant in half, horizontally. Then cube and cook them on very HIGH heat in 2 tablespoons of heated olive oil. Cooking this on high heat will allow the eggplant to blister which we want. You may drizzle the eggplant with extra olive oil if it’s not frying enough, perhaps you didn’t add enough at the beginning (this is what we experienced). You don’t want the eggplant to dry out so if using more olive oil is necessary, go for it. 

Then add in the fresh garlic and onion, crack some fresh pepper over top and add in the salt, and give it a toss. Drizzle the red wine vinegar over top once the onions are softened, this will de glaze the pan, and then add in some freshly cut parsley to top it all off before serving. ENJOY! Nom nom nommyyy! 

This is really really yummy for an appetizer too, light enough for it, and gets you ready for the other 5 courses! Please visit Grace Before Meals for more yummy recipes, and thanks again to Fr. Leo! 
Hope you enjoy this dish, I know we did! Be sure to tag me on Instagram and Twitter when you make it, I love seeing your spin on recipes! 

hugs all around, 

Jess