Vegetarian Stuffed Shells

1 Box of  jumbo shells
1 large part skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup mozzarella
about 1/4 cup parmesan
2 jars of tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon of parsley
1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning.
9x13 baking dish

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Boil the shells and drain
3. While shells are boiling mix together 1/2 cup of mozzarella some of the parmesan and all of the ricotta cheese. 
• Stir in parsley and Italian seasoning
• Put in the fridge.
4. Spray 9x13 backin dish with cooking spray.
5. Fill each shell and place it in the backing dish.
6. When all shells are filled pour sauce over everything, top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 45 mins - 1hr.
7. Cover with foil halfway through baking.

Vegetarian Pasta Primavera

My mom used to make something like this but she added chicken. Since I try not to eat meat, I make a vegetarian option.

You Will Need:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced and smashed
1/2 - 1 white onion - diced
1 diced zucchini
1 cup (ish) chopped asparagus
2 cups of broccoli
1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/4 cup of lemon juice - about 1 large lemon
1 Tablespoon of italian seasoning.
salt and peper to taste I start with about 1 tablespoon of each.
Whole Wheat Linguine - you can use fresh or dry or grain free or whatever you have.

1. Cook pasta and set aside.
2. In pan or large skillet eat olive oil on medium heat.
3. Add onions and garlic cook until soft.
3. Next add zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, salt and pepper. Cook until soft or desired texture. I like mine a little crunchy still.

4. Add tomatoes and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.

5. Let simmer until veggies are your desired texture.
6. Add linguine and mix until fully combined.

7. Serve with parmesan ramano cheese

Serve!

Vegetarian Chili

This is a great recipe if you're going to be gone all day and don't want to cook when you get home. Just toss it all in and leave it alone. You'll have a healthy, hearty meal when you return.

You will need:
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of light beer
1/2 -1 cup of water
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of corn
1 potato peeled and diced
1 small sweet potato (half large)  peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
1 small zucchini and/or yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup nacho jalapeños (optional)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper
1-2 dashes of cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
Plain greek yogurt
cheese

* I always opt for "no salt added" or "low sodium" beans and canned veggies when at all possible.

1. Dump all the ingredients into the crock pot except for the yogurt and the cheese.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. 
3. Serve with cheese and greek yogurt or eat it plain.

Makes about 6 ish servings, freezes well.

Healthy Eats

I've recently become a vegetarian. (the past 3 months) I've never been much of a meat lover and I've eaten vegetarian diets before but it never really stuck. This time is the real deal! I stopped eating meat for a lot of different reasons. Mainly for my health. Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) all run in my family and I want no part of it. Cutting meat out is the first step of many to help myself sustain a healthy life. Another reason I don't eat meat is for moral reasons. Not because I don't think its right to eat animals, because I think its perfectly fine to hunt for food for your family. What I don't think is fine is the treatment of the animals that end up on the grocery store shelves. I've watched all of those documentaries that tell and show you all of the terrible conditions the animals are kept in. But when you see and SMELL it for yourself its a WHOLE nother story. Driving out to San Diego, California from Cleveland, Ohio I saw more than I needed to, to convince me. Seeing cows standing knee deep in their own feces chained up to feeding troughs for miles is just disgusting and frankly I want no part of it.

 

Americans eat way more protein than we are supposed to any way. So I took the plunge. I used to think vegetarians ate salads, smoothies, tofu and veggie sticks. Thats probably why I never stayed a vegetarian for longer than a few months at a time. My husband still eats meat, but he cooks it himself if he wants it. I cook vegetarian dishes every day and I LOVE it. There are so many really good recipes that I've found. I even ordered my husband the "Thug Kitchen" cook book to encourage him to cook real food and at least realize that vegetarian dishes can be delicious.

 

 I highly recommend it and IT WORKED! He has started cooking and he's loved every single thing from that cookbook. I think it helps that they put everything in "thug/bro" language throwing in the occasional "motherfucker" and swear words. It really is funny. The first thing I made was black bean tortas and he said:

"wow, I would have never guessed that there was no meat in here" 

Eva -1 Meat -0 It's a small victory but it still makes me happy. I don't think he'll ever stop eating meat, but as long as he's eating as healthy as he can, I'm happy. I just feel like its so wasteful to put garbage into your body only to get sick. Why not eat food thats delicious and actually good for you!