Vegan and Pregnant: Week 29 + Sneak Peek of Maternity Shoot

So I don't know about you but my weekend was amazing! A big thanks must go to Neda's Notions Photography. As this baby belly continues to grow every.single.day I must admit I've had a hard time adjusting to the weight gain and the other changes to my body (I won't go into detail...but let's just say things are...changing). After receiving these sneak peek photos I truly feel beautiful and am more excited than ever to become a momma.

An amazing opportunity has come my way to be a Mommy Rep for a photographer I'm now OBSESSED with. Her newborn pictures are adorable and I've fallen in love. My little man will be here in just 2 more months and I feel blessed my new friend will be taking the photos.

If you like these pics...stay tuned! There's many more to come :-)

Enjoy!

-Joanna

Vegan Dinner: Creamy Broccoli, Peas and "Cheese" Please

Can you believe there's NO dairy in this creamy-n-cheesy dish? Here's a casserole dish that will feed you for the next few days. It's extremely simple and will take about 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.

This dish involves my favorite ingredient--nutritional yeast. It's a yellow, flaky, inactive yeast that adds a cheesy flavor to any meal.

Ingredients:

-2 1/3 cups broccoli chopped
-2 cups almond milk
-2 cups nutritional yeast
-3 tbsp flax seed meal
-1 15oz can organic sweet peas
-3 1/2 cups of halfway cooked whole grain pasta (try sprouted, its much better for you) (want Gluten Free? use Quinoa Pasta)
-Salt and pepper to taste
(I added About 2 tsp of each)

Directions:

1. Combine milk, yeast, flax, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix
2. In a lined glass baking dish (I use non stick tinfoil) layer pasta, broccoli and peas
3. Pour the milk mixture into the glass bowl and until coated evenly (yes it will seem watery but will thicken as it cooks)
4. Cover and cook for 15 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees
5. Sprinkle additional nutritional yeast on top and cook an additional 10-15 minutes

(note: dish should be thick and creamy...if too dry add more milk and cook 5-10 minutes)

Enjoy!

-Joanna

I Heart Juicing! Breville Brand Review + Beginner's Juice Recipe

Here goes nothing...I've decided to try juicing for the first time but was unsure how to begin. I'm an avid follower of Food Babe and she raves about the benefits. I was very hesitant about the juicer she recommends because of the high price, but after reading hundreds of reviews and doing a little research I decided the Breville brand was the best way to go. I chose specifically the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-watt Juice Extractor. It works great!! You can put a WHOLE apple in that thing and it breaks down perfectly. It's also easy to clean and not as noisy as my blender.

 

 

Isn't it pretty? You simply put the fruits and veggies into the large chute up top which are filtered through a mesh screen, then pulp is discarded to the left and the juice is poured into the pitcher on the right.

After a few tests and epic fails (four to be exact, and unfortunately my poor Hubs was the taste tester) I've finally discovered my first recipe that doesn't taste like straight up grass! It's very simple but great for people like me...trying to juice but are completely clueless.

Beginner's Juice

-3 large carrots
-4 stalks of celery
-4 apples

(Need it sweeter? Add another apple)

Directions

1. Wash all ingredients and place in a large bowl
2. Juice in this order: carrots, celery then the apples
(No need to cut anything up)
3. Stir and it's ready!

Enjoy!

-Joanna

Green Smoothie Challenge: The Berry Zinger

Week 27 of my pregnancy and my smoothie commitment is going strong!

Here's another recipe from the challenge thanks to Simple Green Smoothies.

Berry Zinger Smoothie

1 cup arugula
1 cup spinach
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup frozen mango
1 banana
1/4 squeezed lime
2 cups coconut water
1/2 cup almond milk
2 scoops vegan protein
powder (my own special touch)
2 tbsp ground flax seed (my own special touch)

Like it? Go to Simple Green Smoothies to learn more!

Enjoy!

-Joanna