Cozy Winter Vegetable Sauté

I just can't get enough butternut squash and sweet potatoes this winter season. Who's with me? I like preparing meals that pack a punch of flavor and don't take hours to make. It's surprisingly easy to do so when using seasonal vegetables, herbs, and spices.

This can be made as an entree, side dish, or snack. You can enjoy with a side of hummus and crackers as a filling meal like I did (pictured below), or with anything else you please.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2-inch piece ginger, minced

3 green onions, sliced

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 1/2 cups oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1 bunch baby bok choy, ends removed

1 Tablespoon coconut aminos - Coconut Secret

Pinch of sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Pinch of dried chili flakes, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve

Procedure

1. Heat coconut oil in a large pan. Add garlic, ginger, and green onion and sauté for a few minutes.
2. Add diced butternut squash, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, until tender but not mushy.
3. Add mushrooms, baby bok choy, coconut aminos, and spices.  Cover to cook until greens have wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
4. Serve and garnish with chopped herbs and lemon wedges.

Serves 4-6

Enjoy and share if you try this dish. What's your favorite quick and flavorful meal?

x,

Giovanna

Superfood Hot Chocolate

Every year I come home to visit for the holidays with a new favorite drink or food that I'm eager to share with my family. This year, I've been on a hot chocolate kick for about a month now, and it's been a healing and delicious journey. This has been the morning drink of choice at my house for the past few days, and I encourage you to give it a try if you're looking for a cozy nourishing start to your day. Especially around the stressful holiday season, starting with a warm pre-digested drink like this will sooth the digestive system instead of causing more stress first thing in the morning. You'll feel lighter and more energized.

Ingredients

2 cups herbal tea -Any herbal tea of choice works.I use a loose leaf mixture of dandelion root, holy basil, gynostemma, and chaga mushroom. (I order my herbs online from Mountain Rose Herbs)

2 Tablespoons hemp seeds

1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon raw honey

1 teaspoon raw maca powder - Boosts energy, balances mood, influences stamina, and aids sexual function

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ashwagandha powder - An adaptogenic herb that helps the body deal with stress, strengthens the immune system, and boosts energy. 

1/4 teaspoon he shou wu - Strengthens the immune system, supports adrenals, calms the nervous system, and maintains youthful condition and color of hair. 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 drops of vanilla stevia (Omica Organics)

Pinch of sea salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

superfoodhotchocolate

Procedure

1. Place hot tea and remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and frothy.

Note: This drink is not by all means limited to these ingredients only. My hot chocolate is never the same. I like to switch off using different superfoods depending on how I feel that day. Play around with what calls you. Other ingredients I often use: mucuna, shilajit, lucuma, stevia, dates instead of honey, tahini, cinnamon, medicinal mushroom powders (reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, shiitake, etc.), and Everlasting Vitality & Youth.

Let me know what ingredients you try and how your specialty superfood hot chocolate turns out.

Enjoy & Happy Holidays!

x, Giovanna

Miso-Glazed Eggplant with Cauliflower 'Rice'

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, but one that I don't cook often for some reason. This recipe here took my taste buds to a whole other level of goodness. It's a great main or side dish for any dinner occasion. Treat yourself to this miso-glazed eggplant, you won't regret it.

Not only is it delicious, but eggplant has some pretty great health benefits:

• High in fiber and potassium
• Promotes hear health
• Supports brain health

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons white or yellow miso (organic and non-GMO)

2 green onions, sliced

1 Tablespoon unrefined sesame oil

1 Tablespoon grade B maple syrup

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

1 large eggplant, sliced to 1/2 inch thickness

Cauliflower 'Rice'

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pinch of sea salt

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients, except eggplant, to make a sauce.
3. Place eggplant on a baking dish and drizzle sauce over it. Use a spatula or spoon to coat eggplant well. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cooked and tender.
4. Cauliflower rice: place chopped cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until chopped into a rice consistency. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and sea salt to taste. You may also cook it on the stove for a bit with coconut oil to warm it up and make it tender.
5. When eggplant is done, serve over cauliflower rice and garnish with fresh herbs and seeds. Enjoy!

What's your favorite way to eat eggplant?

Herbal Vanilla Latte

Perfect for a chilly night, this herbal vanilla latte is calming and comforting. Besides the anti-inflammatory and digestive support properties of the herbal tea, I sneaked some extra superfoods in there to make it an even more nourishing treat. Recipe was created for Oh My Drifter.

Photography by Micaela Hoo.

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons raw hemp seeds

1 cup spring water

3 cups hot herbal tea (chamomile, mint, nettle, rose)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil

2 teaspoons maca powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4 drops vanilla stevia or 1 teaspoon raw honey

Pinch of sea salt

Procedure

1. Place hemp seeds and water in blender and blend until smooth to make hemp seed milk.
2. Add remaining ingredients to milk and blend until smooth and frothy.
3. Serve and garnish with extra cinnamon.

Sweet Potato Gratin with Tahini Cream

This is not your typical baked dish. It's a healthy spin on a gratin that is comforting, nourishing, warming, and so satisfying. There's truly so much flavor in it, and so easy to make that it will blow your mind. I created this recipe for Oh My Drifter. 

Ingredients

Filling

– 1 large sweet potato, thinly sliced by hand or using a mandolin
– 2 zucchinis, thinly sliced by hand or using a mandolin
– 2 cups spinach
– 1 onion, thinly sliced
– 1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Tahini Cream

– ½ cup tahini
– ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
– 2 cloves garlic
– 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
– Juice of 1-2 lemons
– Pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Topping

– 4 slices gluten-free bread, chopped
– 2 Tablespoons melted ghee or coconut oil
– Pinch of sea salt

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Prepare filling: chop vegetables as directed and set aside in a large bowl.

3. Prepare tahini cream: Blend all ingredients together until smooth. If cream is too thick, add a bit of water.

4. Prepare topping: Place bread pieces in food processor and pulse until they reach consistency of crumbs. Add melted ghee or coconut oil and sea salt to taste and pulse once more.

5. Assemble: Add tahini cream and half of topping to vegetables. Toss to coat well and spread out evenly in a baking dish. Top with remaining topping.

6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until vegetables are cooked through and the top has browned.

Photographs by the lovely Micaela.

Creamy Pumpkin Curry Soup

Pumpkin everything is going on in my kitchen these days. I love the colors and flavors of fall. Here's one of my favorite creations this season so far. You can use any variety of pumpkin, squash, or carrots as a base for this. They're all delicious.

Ingredients

1 medium sugar pie pumpkin

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 onion, sliced

1 clove garlic

4 cups homemade vegetable stock, spring water, or almond milk

1 Tablespoon curry powder

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon Garam masala (optional)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Cut pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Don't discard seeds, you can make use of them!
3. Lay the pumpkin halves face down on a baking dish and add a bit of water to cover the bottom of the dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until tender. When fully cooked, pumpkin can easily be separated from skin and scooped out with a spoon.
4. Transfer pumpkin to blender, add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serves 6

Leave me a comment below to share how your fall curry creation came out!

x,

Giovanna

Strawberry-Tahini Milkshake {dairy-free}

While I prepare pumpkin everything for my upcoming fall brunch club, I'm also still holding on to summer for as long as I can. When strawberry season was at it's peak, I loaded up on them every time I visited the farmers market and froze them so I could later use them for delicious recipes such as my simple strawberry-matcha sorbet and this milkshake/smoothie I'm about to share with you.

I just love using strawberries in my smoothies since they give it just enough sweetness and add anti-inflammatory and skin nourishing properties. Tahini also provides tons of health properties. It is made out of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of copper, selenium, manganese, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and fiber. All these minerals are important for many functions of the body, but especially nourish the skin, bones, and aid with PMS. Tahini is also a great source of plant-based protein, which stabilizes blood sugar and will leave you feeling satisfied.

I hope you enjoy this taste of summer as we move into the chillier days. Perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

2 Tablespoons tahini

1 cup coconut milk (or any nut milk of choice)

1 teaspoon raw maca powder, optional

1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla bean

1 drop vanilla stevia (I use Omica Organics brand) or 1 teaspoon raw honey

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt

Procedure

1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
2. Top with toppings of choice: shredded coconut, bee pollen, sliced strawberries, cinnamon

Serves 1

Enjoy! x

Captures of Our First Community Brunch Club

I'm so excited to say that our first brunch club was a success!  The room was filled with like-minded and inspiring individuals. If I've learned anything in the past 4 years that I've been a nutrition & health educator (and going through my personal health journey), it's that health is so much more than 'what to eat and what not to eat.' It's truly about community and surrounding ourselves with people that are also on the path to optimal health and well-being.

I loved sharing this experience with everyone and opening up the opportunity for people to connect and support one another. The location was amazing as well - 18Reasons, it made the event that much better.

Thank you to everyone that attended, supported, and participated in making this day happen. Below are the beautiful captures of the September brunch club, taken by my lovely friend Erica Bean.

I cannot wait for the next one this month! Stay tuned for the date.

Xo,

Giovanna

Strawberry-Matcha Sorbet

I used to love ice cream and sorbet growing up. It was my treat of choice (after chocolate, of course). I love being able to make my own now that is both delicious and good for me. Completely guilt free!

I created this recipe for the lovely Oh My Drifter, and she photographed it. Treat yourself to this simple and refreshing recipe. 

Ingredients

– 1 cup frozen strawberries
– 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
– 1-2 medjool dates
– 1/3 cup coconut water
– Juice of 1/2 lemon
– Pinch of sea salt

Procedure

1. Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. You might need to stop blender and use a spatula to push ingredients down from time to time (if using a Vitamix, just use the tamper to keep things moving).

2. Once smooth, place in the freezer for about 20 minutes to firm up, sprinkle on your favorite toppings (we used coconut flakes), then enjoy!

Enjoy!