Eat Your Veggies with Explore Cuisine and Veestro

Did you know June 17^th is National Eat Your Veggies Day?  

Engchik Eats has got you covered with creative ways you can consume veggies!

Gone are the days of relying on raw, sometimes tasteless, vegetables and sad salads.  

With creative options like Explore Cuisine pasta alternatives, plant-based meal delivery service Veestro and Field Roast grain meats, it is easier and more delicious than ever to hit those daily veggie servings.

Explore Cuisine is a leader in innovative cooking using organic ingredients of the highest quality. All Explore Cuisine products are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and jam packed with nutrients.

Original Bean Power: 

One Ingredient.  

ORGANIC BEANS – that's it.  

In only seven minutes, your family can indulge in a delicious, healthy and satisfying meal, power-packed with high protein and high fiber. Varieties include Black Bean Spaghetti, Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccini, Soybean Spaghetti and more. 

 Italian Signature Selection: Made from organic lentils and chickpeas, these pastas are high in protein and a great source of fiber and iron. Vegan, organic, and gluten free- it's a perfect dish for everyone at the table. 

In just minutes your family will be enjoying fresh pastas made in Italy. Varieties include Red Lentil Penne, Green Lentil Penne, Chickpea Fusilli, Green Lentil Lasagne, and more!

Field Roast, the original maker of grain meats, uses only fresh, natural ingredients – grains, vegetables, legumes and spices – to craft artisan plant-based meat and cheese offerings. Since the company's debut in 1997, Field Roast has been an innovator in the vegan and vegetarian market by creating flavor-rich products rooted in culinary tradition.

Veestro, the leading plant-based meal delivery service, offers convenience without sacrificing nutrition, taste or authenticity. With delicious offerings, think Veggie Burgers, Veggie Lasagna and Veggie Empanadas, you can easily meet your recommended amount of vegetables daily – no chopping, cooking, or cleanup required. All meals are chef created, ready to heat-and-eat, 100% plant-based, made with organic ingredients and preservative free.

Livi- The Portable Planter- Join the Crowdfunding Crew!

Do you know LIVI?

Livi is a portable planter that can transform windows to vertical gardens. This planter can stick on virtually any vertical surface thanks to its specialized “palms.” 

They are made of an innovative nanotechnology material that can bond with smooth surfaces repeatedly, including windows, with just a gentle push. 

It's a simple idea, but provides an attractive way to grow plants inside, on windows, stick to the side of your fridge, or pretty much anywhere there's a flat surface.

They are currently Crowdfunding for the project and already have 90% in pledges. Get more information about Livi at the Kickstarter page!

Live a Fire-Driven Life with the Right Foods

With so many health and diet books on the shelves, how do you know which one to chose that’s right for you and your lifestyle? I’ve tried many, read most, stuck with, well, none.  I retain a lot of the info that goes along with it, but I don’t always make the right choices.

Enter Vanessa Chamberlin’s new book: The Fire-Driven Life: How to Ignite the Fire of Self-Worth, Health, and Happiness with a Plant-Based Diet. Chamberlin, Certified Holistic Health Practitioner and Lifestyle Coach Vanessa has figured a way to write a book that reads like a (very smart) friend telling you how to enjoy your life. I absolutely loved this book! It’s a cookbook, a health book, an advice book, a life manual. I can open it at any page, glean some info, and out it to use in my life instantly.

Her book focuses on food in three ways- all to have a fire-driven life. The “PlantFire” diet is based on foods’ metabolic activity. Green-Fire or “go” foods are foods that you can eat at any time; Yellow-Fire or “caution” and Red-Fire or “stop” foods should be used sparingly; and No-Fire foods are foods that should be avoided at all times.

“My book is a not a standard ‘plant-based’ vegan cookbook,” explains Chamberlin. “It’s a manual for living a ‘Fire-Driven Life,’ which means a life that’s healthy, inspiring and fulfilling. Upon reading the book, I hope you become super-charged to not only change your diet but also become armed with a healthier toolbox that will help fuel every aspect of a your health, happiness, and wellbeing.”

The book begins with histories and information on foods and origins of things most people think are healthy but aren’t really. Recipes for smoothies, dinners, recommendations on going out to eat and visiting at friends’ houses and info plus charts and a detailed glossary, seasonal produce chart, and recommended resources

This book does not talk down to you- rather it lifts you up and inspires you. Vanessa’s pictures of her family and friends enjoying a fire-driven life shows that she isn’t a lofty celeb sipping a coconut on a mountain spa somewhere- she’s in her kitchen cooking for her family, and most importantly- enjoying life!

I for one love to enjoy food, and the recipes and info in this book strive to create the balance between eating well and enjoying food so you can better enjoy a fab quality of life.

I was inspired by Vanessa’s book to try a variation of salsa- I used slim sweet peppers and tomatoes from the CSA, plus limes, black beans, sea salt, and pepper! I enjoyed a lovely array of colors from my veggies and beans.

Get inspired and start living a Fire-driven life!! Fall is the perfect time to reinvent yourself.

Vanessa Chamberlin holds nutrition and coaching certifications from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, The Institute for the Psychology of Eating, Cornell University, SUNY Purchase, and the Wellness Forum, where she is certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner. She is accredited through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP), is a member of the National Charity League, and is a board member of both Create a Change Now and The Miss Nevada Scholarship Organization

Chamberlin’s Fire-Driven Lifestyle includes a TV series, several books, and various events centered on the PlantFire cooking style. She also owns Vasari, a luxury clothing and shoe boutique in Las Vegas, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

The Fire-Driven Life can be purchased from Amazon and all major booksellers.

Delish recipe from Vanessa's book:

Chia Raspberry Cookies

Ingredients:

FOR COOKIES:

2/3 cup raw cashews

2 pitted dates

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch Himalayan salt

¾ cup raw or rolled oats

FOR JAM:

½ cup raspberries

3 pitted dates, cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon chia seeds

Instructions:

FOR COOKIES:

Combine cashews, dates, vanilla, salt and 1 teaspoon water in food processor. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until thick, chunky paste is achieved. Add oats, and process until mixture starts sticking together.

Roll dough into 20 small balls, then place on baking sheet. Make thumbprint indentations in center of each ball. Refrigerate for 2-6 hours or until firm.

FOR JAM:

Process raspberries, dates and 3 table spoons water in a blender until mostly smooth, but with some chunks or until desired consistency is reached.

Transfer to a small bowl and stir in chia seeds.

FINAL STEP:

Fill each cookie’s indent with 1 ½ teaspoon jam. Store in single layer in sealed container in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Pictures Courtesy of Vanessa Chamberlin