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Vegetarian

Goat Cheese Makes This The Most Creamy Veggie-packed Pasta

I have two goals when meal planning for dinners. Be quick – even a toddler who plays well independently senses when mom is cooking and immediately wants full attention. Secondly, have some emphasis on veggies but it must taste good. Be quick, taste good. This veggie-packed rigatoni pasta with goat cheese recipe checks the boxes.

It’s not complicated. It tastes better than you could get at any chain Italian restaurant. You’ll be eating sooner than you can get takeout and it’ll be cheaper too. It’s a win all around and that’s why it has been a staple in my meal planning for the last few months. The timing for this recipe is perfect because we’re finally getting to see fresh zucchini and carrots showing up in the local farmer’s markets.

June 15, 2020 by meaganleanne

Healthy eating, Meal Planning, Recipes, Vegetarian

What I Ate Wednesday 10-18-2017

I tend to enjoy reading “What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW)” posts or watching WIAW vlogs and I decided I’d like to start sharing posts of my own! One of the things I’m working on currently is more consistent meal planning to cut down on food waste as well as to save money from eating out. I’ve done meal planning in the past but I’m trying to be more dedicated with it now. Not only is this helping to save money, it’s more nutritious eating and healthier all around. Overall it’s just a big fat win. I’ve been using the Knock Knock What to Eat pad to plan our meals which has been working well. It’s $15 on Amazon right now but I found it at my Books-a-Million store for $6.50.

I’ve been staying on top of planning lately and I’ve tried out quite a few new recipes in the process like this vegan Chai Butternut Squash Soup last week that was absolutely fantastic. I had my doubts but I was truly blown away by how amazing this was.

I’m trying to incorporate better snacking food into my diet. I’ve been avoiding bringing home snacks like chips, crackers, and in my husband’s case, peanut butter. This leaves a hole in our pantry because snacking food or “lunch accessories” are pretty important. Some ideas I’ve had are: homemade scotch oat cakes, fresh veggies and vegan ranch dressing, frozen yogurt – I really like the So Delicious Coconut Yogurt – berry bites, roasted chickpeas, homemade pita chips and hummus. Brady and I would also like to shift towards eating more vegan food and less dairy but that’s going to be implemented at a fairly slow pace.

October 18, 2017 by meaganleanne

Fall, Favorites, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian

The Best Cornbread Muffins Recipe | Friday Favorites #6

Happy First Day of Fall! I thought fall had started a few weeks ago because the temperatures had dropped into the 60s. I was just about to pull out my fall sweaters and all of a sudden it was warm again. Some of the trees have started changing color but it’s still overwhelmingly green and pretty hot around here. Either way, to commemorate the start of a new season, I’ve got one of my favorite recipes – Cornbread Muffins! – to share with you as well as a few Friday Favorites!

Cornbread Muffins Recipe

My mom was an amazing cook and even more amazing because the majority of what I ate growing up was vegan AND sugar free because of my dad’s dietary restrictions. One of my favorite meals and often requested for birthday dinners, was my mom’s homemade chili and cornbread muffins.

Most cornbread recipes out there call for way too much sugar and the muffins basically end up being a dessert with the amount of sugar in them. These have a minimal amount of sugar but it doesn’t take away from the fullness of flavor or fluffiness in the muffins. This recipe is especially healthier if you plan on adding something sweet on top.

As with any baked goods, cornbread muffins are best when taken straight out of the oven, split open and buttered right away to let the butter melt in. These are perfect with some jam or honey on top or you could do as my husband does and just break a few up and let them soak into a warm bowl full of chili. If you happen to have leftovers the next day, pop ’em in the toaster oven for a minute and they’ll be just as good as straight out of the oven.

If you’re vegan and don’t eat honey, just switch it out for cane sugar, rice syrup, or a natural sweetener of your choosing.

However you decided to eat them, these cornbread muffins are definitely a treat you’ll enjoy!

September 22, 2017 by meaganleanne

Fall, Favorites, Food, Hiking, Vegetarian

Friday Favorites #5

Hello there friends! It’s been a while but that will all make sense pretty soon… but for now, I’ve got a quick catch up and some favorites to share with you!

In the middle of June we got a new kitten, Maisie! It’s unbelievable how much she’s grown in 2.5 months! For whatever reason her nickname is Maisie-Ella Mozzarella, she’s a bitey little monster who loves to terrorize our 14-year-old cat Shadow, and she’s got the loudest purr I’ve ever heard from a cat so I guess we’ll keep her. 😉

I didn’t get to do a whole lot this summer but Brady and I did get away the first weekend of August to go camping at Deep Creek Lake with my family. While we were there, we went to Swallow Falls State Park for the first time and it’s easily now my favorite state park in Maryland. It gives off a vibe as though you were in the Pacific NW, probably more so because we were there just after a downpour!

September 8, 2017 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Meal Planning, Vegetarian

The Perfect Valentines Treat

The last week has been a mish-mash of events, emotions and goings on but I’m really excited to share my favorite Valentine’s treat with you today.

This Week:

But first a quick review of this week. This last weekend was my father-in-law’s birthday and we had a special party down at Maggiano’s in DC. Brady and I are used to being asked to sing for basically any parties we go to so we prepared a few special little songs to sing for the party.

February 10, 2017 by meaganleanne

Food, Healthy eating, Recipes, Vegetarian

Fresh Tomato-Basil Pasta Recipe

Since summer is in full swing, farmer’s markets have popped up all over the place, and our gardens are starting to yield, I decided it was time to share one of my favorite summer recipes: Fresh tomato-basil pasta!

This recipe is:

Perfect for summer
Light and fresh
Low in calories
Full of heart-healthy fats and antioxidants

This summer, I’m only growing a little pot of herbs because I don’t have my own space to plant a garden; however, there is a permanent little farm market close by where I was able to pick up some local peaches, zucchini, and fresh tomatoes.

I didn’t like fresh tomatoes all that much growing up because the seeds and goop were a little too yucky for my picky self. As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve fallen more in love with the versatile flavor that they add to many dishes. Caprese salad is one of my favorite dishes with fresh tomatoes!

My mom and grandma used to make fresh tomato-basil pasta so I’m sharing that with you today! This is a perfect recipe for me because it’s cheap and quick to make. This pasta won’t take you longer than 15 minutes to make and only uses a handful of ingredients. I love using these scissors (affiliate link) to prep the basil even faster!

July 18, 2016 by meaganleanne

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