Happy September! Who is ready for the Fall and getting back to a normal routine? I know I am and am very much looking for to my “12 Day Real Food Reboot” program that launches again Monday, September 16th! I love doing it with my clients because it allows me to get back to the basics of healthy eating and to cut out the foods that tend to cause a lot of inflammation. Plus, the benefits speak for themselves:

• Increased energy
• Weight loss
• Improved skin + sleep
• Better digestion
• Reduced stress + anxiety
• Learn how certain foods affect your body

If you’re exhausted from the summer and need to jump start your body, this is the program for YOU. If you sign up by Friday, September 6th, you can lock in the early bird special ($50 off the regular price!!!)

While this healthy tuna salad is not Reboot approved, it is a healthy alternative to your regular tuna fish salad with mayo. Like I’ve said before, I used to be a HUGE fan of chix salad but since I don’t eat meat anymore (just seafood and eggs), I’ve had to experiment a bit in the kitchen to create recipes that fill my chix salad void, haha. Instead of using mayo, I opted to use avocado and it makes this tuna salad so creamy and delicious. It’s perfect on Ezekiel bread, Mary’s Gone Crackers or lettuce wraps. Super simple because that’s what healthy living is all about 🙂

Avocado Tuna Salad

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Author: Little Adapts By Jax

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 can of tuna
• 1 ripe avocado diced
• 1 slice of yellow/white onion diced
• ¼ of a lemon
• S+P to taste

Instructions

1. Open the can and do not drain -- just place contents into a bowl and break apart the tuna with a fork.
2. Take the avocado to halve, dice and throw contents into the bowl.
3. Peel a white or yellow onion and then just slice one ¼ inch wide slice off the onion. Then dice finely and throw into the bowl.
4. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl and add pepper and sea salt to taste.
5. Mix the contents of the bowl and taste test to see if you need to add anymore seasoning.
6. I ate mine on Ezekiel bread with a drizzle of honey mustard, spinach leaves and pumpkin seeds on top for more nutrients. However, you can also throw on a salad or on lettuce wraps, eat with crackers or straight out of the bowl. Enjoy!

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With Health + Happiness,
Jax

PS – Want a 3 Day Real Food Detox Guide to get detoxing now? Click here to get started!

Did anyone else grow up making english muffin pizzas when there wasn’t any food in their parents house or make it as drunk food when they got home from the bar? I actually used to do this frequently with my little sister, Katie, whenever we were both home for the holidays or over the summer, haha. I obviously don’t make it as drunk food anymore, BUT recently I was craving it since I don’t really eat much pizza these days due to my dairy allergy. These are super easy to make + will leave you feeling satisfied, but without the guilt of regular pizza because it’s made with REAL FOOD. It also brought back all of those late night memories with my sister 🙂 (Note: These are made with Ezekiel bread english muffins, but you can totally just use regular Ezekiel bread instead. I did this for Dubs the other night and he absolutely loved it!)

Hoping this brings you back to some of your childhood memories that make you smile 🙂

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – If you haven’t signed up yet for my FREE 3 Day Real Food Detox, do it — you will feel incredible after!

This salad has been on repeat for us all summer since it’s super refreshing + hydrating! Watermelon is definitely one of my favorite fruits and is made of 93% water – making it an excellent addition to your diet during the hot summer months. The recipe below is for 1 serving, but I would suggest multiplying the ingredients by 4-6x what the recipe says below if you to bring it to share at your next BBQ. Make sure to make it before the summer ends!

Watermelon Pesto Summer Salad

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Little Adapts By Jax

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 handful baby kale
• 1 handful baby spinach
• ½ diced avocado
• ¾ cup diced watermelon
• ¼ cup diced orange pepper
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 6 halved cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup banza pasta or ¼ cup brown rice/quinoa
• 1-2 tbsp pesto sauce (just remove the avocado and double the amount of basil in this recipe)/pesto dressing
• Optional black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a larger bowl, add all ingredients and then top with black pepper and pesto sauce or dressing.
2. Toss the ingredients together until the salad is well coated and either eat out of this bowl (to save on dishes!) or serve in a smaller bowl. Enjoy!

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Want more tips on how to go plant based? Check out this blog post!

With Health + Happiness,
Jax

As I’m only 6 months into being a dairy-free pescatarian with eggs (I know I’m complicated!), it took me a little while to get used to not having meat sauce on my zoodles or chickpea pasta. Of course in “Little Adapts” fashion, I was determined to make my own vegetarian “meat” sauce so that I could enjoy a home cooked, hearty bowl of pasta that would make me + my clients happy 🙂 It’s great to make a batch and then freeze half of it for a rainy day when you don’t feel like cooking. Hint: the “meat” is legume + veggie based. Here’s what I came up with + hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Vegan Bolognese Sauce

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hours

Total time

2 hours 20 mins

 

Author: Little Adapts By Jax

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¾ of a medium yellow onion diced
• 2 cups diced mini Portobello mushrooms
• ¾ cup diced carrots
• ¾ cup diced celery
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes with juice
• 1 can (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup dried lentils (rinsed)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp dried parsley

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in onions and sauté until they start to brown. Once that happens, add in carrots, celery, + mushrooms. Turn up the heat to medium and allow the veggies to cook for 4 to 5 minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add in garlic, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cinnamon + nutmeg and stir. Allow the spices to cook into the veggies for about 1 to 2 minutes. Then add in tomato paste and stir that in for another 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add in tomato sauce, tomatoes with juice, veggie broth, water + lentils and stir. Bring everything to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer. Occasionally stirring so everything doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add in coconut oil + dried parsley and bring the heat down to low and cover the pot with a lid. Let it simmer and continue to stir occasionally for another 1 to 1.5 hours. Throughout this time, please taste the sauce to see if you would like to add any more spices and make sure that the lentils are softening.
5. Remove bay leaves before serving and serve over Banza pasta, zoodles, or spaghetti squash. Option to add raw greens to the bottom of the bowl for extra nutrients. Enjoy!

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With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – If you need a new energy ball, check out my Matcha Race Day Energy Balls here! They are amaze-balls 🙂

I’ve been experimenting with grain-less meals recently as there are so many theories out there about how grains are inflammatory. While I do believe whole grains are definitely needed in our diets as they are a great source of protein for vegetarians + vegans and fuel for the brain, I think we tend to over do them. They are also particularly useful for athletes and runners as a slow release of fuel while training or working out. I have found that we use them to fill our plates or as snacks when again they are only meant to add nutrients and texture to the meal versus being the star of the show. As I’ve always said, your plate should always be 3/4 greens + veggies and the whole grains + protein should be the other 1/4. Like I do with all theories, I test them out on myself to see how I feel and see how they fit into the “little adapts” philosophy. I will keep you posted as I experiment more, but this chipotle burrito bowl made with cauliflower + broccoli rice is definitely filling even without the whole grains + meat. Cinco de Mayo is coming up and you’re going to want to make this one 🙂

Cauliflower + Broccoli Burrito Bowl

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Little Adapts By Jax

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• ⅓ of a white onion diced
• ⅔ of yellow pepper diced
• 1 cup frozen or fresh cauliflower rice
• 1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli rice
• ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 tsp chipotle seasoning (sub cayenne, paprika, etc. combo)
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 4 tbsp guacamole or 1 whole avocado sliced
• 2 handfuls of leafy greens of your choice

Instructions

1. Dice onion + yellow pepper. Heat a pan on medium-low heat + once heated, add in avocado oil.
2. Add in onions, yellow pepper and black pepper to the pan. Sauté until the onions start to turn golden brown.
3. Add in the cauliflower + broccoli rice along with the chipotle seasoning. (Note: You can make your own cauliflower rice by washing + cutting the head into florets and then throwing into the food processor to create "rice" size pieces. The same thing can be done with the stems of the broccoli. You can wash + chop up the stems of the broccoli and throw into a food processor.)
4. Mix ingredients well and bring down to low heat. Cook for about 5 to 7minutes until all the flavors have been absorbed. Make sure to stir periodically.
5. Add in halved cherry tomatoes + black beans and stir. Then cover and cook for another 5 minutes and continuing to stir.
6. Turn off the heat and uncover + allow to cool for a few minutes.
7. Place 1 handful of greens into the bottom of each bowl. (Note: This recipe makes 2 servings, but you can save the mixture for lunch or dinner the next day if you're only making 1 bowl. Easy meal prep!)
8. Once the "rice" mixture is cooled, add about ½ into each bowl and top with 2 tbsp of guacamole or ½ an avocado sliced.
9. Enjoy this vegan bowl!

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With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Love avocado? Try this avocado based smoothie recipe here.

Recently, we had friends over for dinner and I didn’t want to force them to eat vegetarian if that’s not their thing. I respect that everyone has different tastes + dietary needs so I won’t force you to eat vegetarian, but I will include a lot of healthy plant based sides to the meal. So I decided that we would still get them steak, but I would try making “cauliflower steaks” for Dubs and I. The recipe came out amazing! Then I made them again last night (btw when you’re our family we expect you to eat more plants!) and they came out just as good if not better. I was asked for the recipe on both occasions so that’s when you know you have a gem 🙂 These are super easy to prep and if you are looking for more “meatless meals”, this is a perfect one to try. Note: You can cook at a higher temp for less time as per the recipe, but if you are cooking other veggies and not in a rush – then 350 degrees F works just fine. Enjoy!!!

Herb Olive Oil Cauliflower Steaks

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

Author: Little Adapts By Jax

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• Optional: Chimichurri sauce to drizzle on for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (You can go upwards of 500 degrees F if you want to expedite the steaks as cooking only takes 25 minutes then instead of an hour, but 350 degrees F is best if you are cooking other veggies in the oven!)
2. Cut off stems and leaves of both heads of cauliflower and then rinse with water + pat dry. Make sure you don't cut too much of the stem/core off the cauliflower or the "steaks" will fall apart!
3. Slice each cauliflower in half down the middle and then cut 1 to 1.5 inch "steaks". You will get about 4 steaks give or take. Don't worry if small florets fall off as you can still throw them on the baking tray anyways.
4. In a small bowl, add olive oil + spices and whisk together. Then using a basting brush, brush the marinade on both sides of the cauliflower steak (+ any separate florets) and place on a baking pan. If you don't have a basting brush, you can just drizzle it on.
5. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil, and place in the oven on the bottom rack. Bake with the foil on for about 15 minutes to steam the cauliflower.
6. Take off the foil and continue to bake for another 45 minutes. You will need to carefully flip the cauliflower steaks halfway through to make sure each side gets nice and brown. Option to broil for the last few minutes if you like your steak extra crispy!
7. Serve with greens, more veggies (like these sweet potato fries), and drizzle with chimichurri or avocado pesto sauce. This chimichurri sauce you can buy at Whole Foods!

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With Health + Happiness,

Jax

PS – Want to try 12 days of plant based eating, have lots of energy + lose weight before summer? Click here ASAP to sign up for the “12 Day Real Food Reboot” Program that starts on Monday, April 22nd!