Sweet And Spicy Vegetarian Baked Beans With Green Chilies And Jalapenos

One of my favorite brands of ready-made vegetarian baked beans.

Very Easy Vegetarian Baked Beans for a Crowd

When throwing a summer party, baked beans are always a favorite. They obviously arent as healthy as having plain beans because of the added sugar, but once in a while its worth the indulgence. Beans are high in fiber which helps you lower your cholesterol and stabilize your blood sugar levels.

This is one of the dishes on my Summer Solstice Party menu that we served at our family gathering last week. When you are feeding a crowd, its nice to have a dish that goes together quickly. Ive made baked beans from scratch but its a lot of work and Ive never been able to duplicate the taste of using Bushs beans in this recipe. After adding just a few additional ingredients I generally let the beans simmer in a crock pot all day but you can also make them on the stove. If you are feeding fewer people, cut the recipe in half. If you are feeding a larger crowd, double the recipe. Baked beans make great leftovers. My daughter loves to eat them along side scrambled eggs.

Are Canned Vegetarian Baked Beans Considered Vegan?

Some products, like Amys organic vegetarian beans, state that they are vegan on the label. Although Bushs does not, they replied to this question by stating that they are "free of meat and meat by-products" and that all of their products are "dairy and casein free". Their ingredients do however include "sugar" (although most of the sweetness is from brown sugar) and they do not specify whether its cane or beet. Some cane sugar refineries use bone char in the filtering process which discourages many vegans from using cane sugar but many refineries do not. Brown and beet sugar does not go through this process.

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Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans with Green Chilies and Jalapenos

[makes 12 servings]

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

Two 28 ounce cans of vegetarian or vegan baked beans

2 ounces mild diced green chilies (1/2 of a 4 oz. can)

1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno (fresh or canned, more or less to taste)

2 tablespoons unpacked brown sugar

Crock pot recipe:

Sauté the onion in oil for 5 minutes. Drain most of the juice from one can of beans and use all of the juice from the other. Put the onion, the beans and the rest of the ingredients in a crock pot and simmer on low all day or on high for 4 hours or more. Get a big slotted spoon and serve your guests from the crock pot.

Stove top recipe:

Using a 5 quart Dutch oven, sauté the onion in oil for 5 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the beans are thick and bubbly. Serve.

Per serving: 151.3 calories, 1.2 g fat, 0.2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6.1 g protein, 31.8 g carbohydrates and 5.3 g of fiber.

The Fast Metabolism Green Juice Cilantro Cucumber Smoothie

Green juice has been popular these days because it offers a lot of health benefits. To mention few benefits, it can help us gain energy, improve immunity, and helps in weight loss. It is also a convenient way to ensure that were getting close to the USDA’s daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.

Today’s recipe is no less than green juice! This tasty green juice – the Cilantro-Cucumber smoothie is a must try!

Some may not know it yet but cucumbers are lovely in a smoothie, especially when paired with some unexpected ingredients like cilantro. Cucumber works best in a smoothie because of its high water content and its refreshing property! How much more if it’s added with a cilantro? And the good news is, you can drink this juice whichever phase you are! Yes, you read it right! It works in any phase of the fast metabolism diet. This green juice recipe includes powdered egg whites for protein (be sure to choose a brand that consist only of egg whites – no additional flavorings or sweeteners), making it a perfect Phase 2 snack. In phase 3, add the optional coconut oil is recommended..

This delicious green juice takes up to 10 minutes for the preparation time.

Ingredients:

         1/2 cucumber (peeled if not organic)

         1 large handful of cilantro

        1 lime, juiced

        1/2 teaspoon lime zest

        2 egg whites or equivalent egg-white powder (or 3 if making it a meal instead of snack)

       1 tablespoon xylitol or to taste; you can also use stevia to taste instead

       1 pinch of salt

       2 cups ice

       1/4 cup water to get it going in the blender

       2 tablespoons melted coconut oil - Phase 3 only

Instructions

       1.       Combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Your healthy juice is ready to drink up! Lose weight with this tasty blend.

Fresh like a babies bottom, your insides will feel squeaky-clean. The mix of romaine, kale and spinach all contain a great amount of chlorophyll which helps bring more oxygen to the body, hello cell rejuvenation! The celery is a natural diuretic which is great for weight loss and the apple provides all that great fiber to keep you full. We dare you to meet the new you.

Purchase your All Green Juice Now!  

Weight Loss Smoothies Strawberry Peach Mango Green Smoothie Recipe

Designed as a post workout smoothie, this recipe uses juice as the liquid to add post workout carbs. You can use fresh fruit and water instead if you like in order to lighten it up. The fruit and spinach in this recipe are high in Vitamin C, while spinach adds iron to the diet. That makes this a great post exercise drink to add to iron stores and boost your resistance to colds and illness. By making this with frozen fruit, it will also cool you down nicely after a workout. If you want protein in your exercise smoothies, make this with milk or soy milk as the liquid.

Strawberry Peach Mango Green Smoothie Recipe

Author: Carleen

Recipe type: Smoothies

Cuisine: Post Workout Smoothies

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  5 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Serves: 1

A great post workout or diet breakfast green smoothie with fruit and spinach.

Ingredients

·         - peach mango juice to the fill line

·         - ½ cup frozen strawberries

·         - ½ cup frozen peaches

·         - small handful of spinach

Instructions

1.    Mix this until you get a smooth consistency, though you can add more juice to get the desired consistency. The strawberries offer antioxidants and a large quantity of Vitamin C. The spinach is packed with Vitamin K, antioxidants and fiber.

2.    You can be creative with the Nutribullet. The idea is to use leafy greens and fresh fruits. The nice thing is that the greens cannot even be tasted in the smoothie. This will allow you to get the nutrition you need in a quick and great tasting manner.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 large cup Calories: 255 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Sugar: 1 g Sodium: 45 mg Fiber: 3 g Protein: 1 g Cholesterol: 0

Source: http://allnutribulletrecipes.com/strawberry-peach-mango-green-smoothie-recipe/ 

Green Tea Weight Loss Fat Burning Green Tea and Vegetable Smoothie

This recipe is designed to burn fat, but it is also an antioxidant powerhouse. Green tea increases metabolism and broccoli and cauliflower have enzymes that reportedly help the body more efficiently burn fat.  Pineapple is added for a flavor boost and to provide vitamin C and antioxidants. Note that for fat burning properties caffeinated green tea should be used. If you just want the antioxidant benefits of green tea then using decaf is fine.

Fat Burning Green Tea and Vegetable Smoothie

Author: Carleen

Recipe type: Smoothies

Cuisine: Energy Building Smoothies

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  5 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Serves: 1

A fat burning green tea smoothie to help blast calories

Ingredients

·         3 Broccoli Florets

·         2 Cauliflower Florets

·         2 Pineapple Spears

·         Green tea to the fill line

Instructions

1.    Fill the Nutribullet

2.    Blend for 20-30 seconds

3.    Enjoy your veggie green drink smoothie!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 large cup Calories: 68 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 11 g Sugar: 7 g Sodium: 15 mg Fiber: 2 g Protein:1 g Cholesterol: 0

Source: http://allnutribulletrecipes.com/fat-burning-green-tea-and-vegetable-smoothie/

Favorite Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes Sweet Potato Casserole Creamy Mashed Potatoes Cornbread Stuffing Brussels Sprouts Green Beans And More!

Everyone loves this simple sweet potato casserole recipe!

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Old Favorites
Theres something about Thanksgiving that makes you crave old favorites. Today Im going to take you back to some of the most popular vegan Thanksgiving recipes that Ive posted over the past 3 years. Just hit the links to get to the complete recipes. For those of you who are preparing turkeys and are having a mixed crowd of meat eaters, vegetarian and vegans, youll please the most people if all of your delicious side dishes are vegan. And I guarantee you, no one will notice the difference!


Potatoes
Ive often asked myself how Thanksgiving became the "celebration of starch" with so many forms of potato dishes in addition to a bread stuffing. That said, I would never omit a single one!
Lets start with my absolute favorite, Sweet Potato Casserole. I assure you, everyone will love this dish! It has no added sugar because baked sweet potatoes are naturally sweet!  Although the recipe calls for baking the sweet potatoes or yams, feel free to peel and steam them if that saves you time. However, I do think baking them in their skins makes them a bit sweeter.

Combine mashed sweet potatoes, crushed pineapple, Earth Balance, cinnamon and salt. Top with chopped pecans.

The next thing Im serving is this year is Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Gravy. Soft, silken tofu replaces the heavy cream in this light, low fat, mashed potato recipe. 

This low fat version of creamy mashed potatoes only has 109 calories per serving and just a few grams of fat!

Stuffing
Ive always favored cornbread for my stuffing. Heres a simple recipe for vegan cornbread and a Cornbread Stuffing Recipe that has a secret ingredient! You can start with store bought cornbread or cornbread stuffing cubes to save time.

Make the cornbread a few days early so the cut cubes have time to dry out

Shredded sweet potatoes add a sweet touch to this stuffing!

Now for the Veggies
Brussels sprouts are my all time favorite holiday veggie but I alway make green beans too for those who dont share my enthusiasm for the petite cabbage.
For a spicy, roasted vegetable, try my recently posted Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crushed Red Chili Flakes. Another way to make them that is very simple and delicious and gives them a creamy texture is Brussels Sprouts with Garlic. For a light and festive salad, you can make Raw Vegan Brussels Sprouts with Orange Chia Seed Vinaigrette and Cranberries.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crushed Red Chili Flakes.
By steaming before roasting, you can use less oil.

Brussels Sprouts with Garlic.
These garlicky Brussels sprouts have a creamy texture.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Orange Chia Seed Vinaigrette and Cranberries.
This colorful raw salad is light and festive.

Growing up in an Italian home, our green beans were always tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic and some seasonings. Ive been making them that way every since! Heres a simple recipe for Fresh Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon and Dill. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Dried dill tastes just as good as fresh in this Green Bean recipe so dont worry if you cant find fresh dill at this time of year

Though not a Thanksgiving classic, this cauliflower recipe is very elegant and it slices well for individual servings. If your guests are cauliflower fans, try this Lemon Tahini Encrusted Baked Cauliflower.

This elegant cauliflower dish slices beautifully 

Hope you enjoy these classic Thanksgiving recipes!

Strawberry Banana Green Tea Smoothie With Chia Seeds

Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea contains catechins, powerful antioxidants that have a role reducing free radical damage which can lead to cancer and heart disease. Because green tea receives minimal processing, its catechins are very concentrated, especially their unique catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). In the laboratory, EGCG has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth. Some human studies have shown a link between increased green tea consumption and lower recurrence of breast cancer after surgery and a lower risk of developing stomach, esophageal, prostate, pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers. Other human studies showed a correlation between green tea consumption and reduced risk of heart disease.

Other Ways to Consume Tea

Besides just making a cup of tea, there are other ways to receive the health benefits of tea. Try adding green tea to soups or using green tea as the liquid in your morning smoothie. There is some caffeine in green tea so be sure not to drink it or cook with it too late in the day or it may disturb your ability to sleep. However the amount of caffeine in an 8 oz. cup of tea is only around 20 mg compared to 60 to 120 mg in brewed coffee or 40 to 50 mg in black tea.

My Favorite Green Tea

By far, the best green tea is from Japan. Its sounds obvious, but green tea should actually be green! So many of the large corporate tea companies make green tea products that dont look or taste anything like real, Japanese green tea. You can buy genuine green tea online from Dens Tea company. You can buy loose tea or these very cute and convenient pyramid tea bags. My favorite is the Pyramid Tea Bag Sencha.

Heres a smoothie recipe that provides all the advantages of green tea, chia seeds and fresh fruit.

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Strawberry Banana Green Tea Smoothie with Chia Seeds

[makes 2 servings]

2 cups strong green tea (cooled)

1 cup vanilla hemp milk or soy milk

2 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 large banana

1 cup fresh strawberries

3/4 cup ice

few drops of liquid stevia or sweetener of your choice, optional

The night before, put one or two green tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bag and put the tea in the refrigerator to cool overnight. Put the chia seeds in the vanilla hemp milk and stir vigorously. Wait 15 minutes and stir again. Wait another 15 minutes and stir one more time and put the chia mixture in the refrigerator overnight. It will become the consistency of pudding - (in fact, it will become "chia pudding". I usually make this smoothie when I have left over Vegan Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding .)

In the morning, place the chilled green tea, chia pudding, banana, strawberries, ice and optional sweetener in a VitaMix, blend and serve immediately.

Per serving: 190 calories, 8.0 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4.5 g protein, 37.8 g carbohydrates, 9.8 g fiber, 3.6 g omega 3 and 2.9 g omega 6 fatty acids.