Veggin' Out // Two easy side dishes to add to your meals!

Written with love, by Nikki Lian

Feel like you’ve been busting your butt in the gym and not seeing the results you want to?   Sprint to the finish line by adding some veggies to your diet.  Vegetables contain copious amounts of vitamins and minerals you may be missing from your every day meal plan.  Vegetables also contain fiber, that helps regulate the body’s sugars and will keep your blood sugar and cravings in check.  Try replacing your rice and pasta this week with a couple of my favorite vegetables and let me know how they come out!

 

Brussels Sprouts

These wonderful little green cabbage look-alikes have a bad reputation if you’ve never tried one.  But in my opinion, they are in fact, delicious.  Not only do they have high levels of Vitamin C and K, they also contain sulforaphane, a phytochemical containing anti-cancer properties. 

Here’s how I cook them:

Chop off the bottoms so their leaves start coming off.  Spread the pieces out in a pan and shake on some salt and pepper.  Sometimes I even spray a little olive oil.  Bake them at 425 degrees for 12-18 minutes depending on your desire of crisp (I even put mine in the broiler for a few minutes so they get extra crunchy). 

delicious ways to cook your brussels sprouts

Here you have a nice little side dish that goes with any type of protein you want to add to it.  Who needs complex carbs?


Yams

Yams contain antioxidants, which are compounds in plants that protect your cells from damage.  Yams also contain a ton of fiber and Vitamin A, which are great for your immune system.  You have to stay healthy with all this flu madness floating around!  I like to eat these when I’m craving French fries.  And believe it or not, it does the job. 

Here’s how I like to prep them:

delicious ways to cook your vetetables

First I wash them really, really well, especially if I’m going to keep the skin on.  Although the skin contains the brunt of the carbohydrates, it also has a lot of the fiber.  If you’re not a skin-on type of person, then you can peel the skin off.  Then slice them down.  Again I like crispy, so I slice them thin.  Sometimes I’ll feel a little fancy and cut them into the shape of French fries.  Either way, spread them on a greased (with olive oil) pan and add some sea salt.  These need to be in a bit longer than the Brussel sprouts.  I usually leave them in for about 20 minutes at 425.  You can stick these in the broiler as well, but make sure you keep an eye on them.  Bake them to your desire of crunch. 

Once prepared and cooled off a bit, you can eat them like that or, you can have your own home-made sweet potato fries and add some ketchup.

Look, I’m no Paula Dean, but I don’t have tons of time to be in the kitchen and like a lot of you, I get bored from the same old salads.  Add a boost of nutrients to your meals and take some time to vegg out!!

Fall in love with Fresh Fall Stir Fries

Written with love, by Rebecca Ewing

Fall Stir Fry Recipe by FlavorLA // The Overwhelmed Bride Wedding Blog // Southern California Wedding Planner

It's time to embrace the flavors of fall! And it's my favorite time of the year to enjoy new flavors and textures of different combinations in comfort food stir fries that nurture your spirit and give you that much needed nutrition and vitality to be ready for your big day!

The beauty of the classic stir fry is that you can use what you probably already have and add in a little extra to give you a meal that can be enjoyed over a couple of days!

 

What You Need

- Your choice of protein (chicken, shrimp, steak, turkey) or keep it vegetarian and add in some pre-cooked lentils or beans (I love garbanzos!)

- Assorted Veggies (use a heaty amount of any combination of your favorites)

---> Choose dark green, leafy, hearty greens like Rainbow or green Chard, Kale (TIP: cut out the middle stem and rinse well) and if you use spinach, add into the pot last!

--->Bell Peppers (the best source of vitamin C ever! And you can buy these sliced and frozen to save time) - choose yellow or orange for more color!

---> Cherry tomatoes

---> Add in sliced purple cabbage at the very end

---> Asparagus, green beans, or broccoli - thinly sliced

---> Carrots too!

Add in color and make it pretty! And to get the most nutrients out of your meal, buy organic and as fresh as possible!

 

Directions

- Stir fry your protein on medium high heat with a spritz of olive oil or coconut oil until it's thoroughly cooked through and remove from the plan.

- Spritz the pan again and leave on medium high heat.

- OPTIONAL: Add in a handful of chopped onions (red, yellow, or white) until they begin to smell fragrant

- Add in your favorite hearty greens and vegetables along with a tablespoon of chopped ginger and as much garlic as you like.

- Add your protein back in and heat through.

- The last step is to stir in your favorite sauce. My "go to" sauce is 2 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos mixed with 2 drops of Sesame Oil, 3 drops of Sriracha Chili Sauce and 2 tbsp of water.

 - Let everything summer for 1 minute

- Top with chopped cilantro

- Serve with steamed brown or wild rice.

Want to make your rice less boring?

Add in chopped ginger, garlic, and chopped cilantro and let it cook into the rice. No need to add oil or butter!

 

Use your stir fry for breakfast!

For an easy frittata-style breakfast, scramble your eggs with some leftover herbed rice and 1/4 cup of stir fry. Sprinkle on a little cheese and sliced avocado. That's the way to start off the day!

Bon Appetit from FlavorLA!