You all know how I love “cook once, eat all week” recipes.  ;)

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils

2 cups water

1 unsalted vegan veggie bouillon cube or some veggie broth

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped fine

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger OR 1 tsp dried ginger

1/2 finely chopped red bell pepper & 1/2 green pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup quick oats OR coursely ground up regular rolled oats in food processor OR quinoa flakes

1/2 cup brown rice crumbs OR sprouted grain bread crumbs, toasted

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Worcestershire sauce to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275.

Place washed lentils in a pot with 2 cups of water (total liquid) with veggie cube/ broth.  Bring to a soft boil on medium heat, then simmer covered for 20-30 or until soft.  Remove lid and turn heat up to medium, stirring occasionally, until remaining liquid has been absorbed.

Mash lentils.

While the lentils are cooking, toast the sunflower seeds in oven for 30 min. stirring once or twice until golden brown.

Sauté onion, garlic & ginger with oil in a pan until onion is soft. Add peppers, spices, stir for another few minutes, and remove from heat.

Grind toasted sunflower seeds to a coarse meal in a food processor or spice grinder, leaving some large chunks.  (Do the same for the rolled oats if you don’t have quick cooking oats or quinoa flakes.)

Place oats, sunflower seeds, mashed lentils, veggies, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add nutritional yeast, along with minced basil and Worcestershire sauce.  Stir together with your hands to make a stiff mixture. If it seems not quite stiff, add a little more oats and/ or dry bread/ brown rice crumbs and/ or nutritional yeast.

Let stand for 1/2 hour to allow the oats to absorb moisture and bind the mixture together.  Heat a little oil in a frying pan on medium heat, shape the lentil mixture into patties and fry 10 minutes on each side until nice and crispy brown.

Store the rest of your burger patties in the freezer for future meals.

I served these lentil burgers on Ezekiel sprouted grain toast, with some dijon mustard on one slice and some Worchestershire sauce on the the other slice.

And I served them with Zucchini Spaghetti with Sunflower Pesto.  (The same as this recipe, but I didn’t have hemp seeds on hand so I substituted sunflower seeds.)

Enjoy!!

I am getting ready to leave for vacation!  But before I walk out the door, I want to give you some quick goodies.  :)

When you hang out with family or friends, do you notice that the majority brings (or votes for) junky foods?  Now, there’s definitely a time and a place to be a little “bad,” because we want to be balanced people and not be afraid to live life and eat certain foods, right?

But too many junky foods over a period of time can really throw the body out of whack and leave you with some nasty cravings!

So, today, I’m sharing some of my favorite “not so good for you” foods made healthy.  Try them out, friend!  I promise, you won’t be sorry!

5 Junk Foods Made Healthy

Don’t forget to leave a comment below!  What’s your favorite “not so healthy” food.  I will help you come up with some healthier substitute ideas! 

Do you ever hit a road block in your life and feel UNFOCUSED, UNINSPIRED, LAZY, and BORED?

It’s ok, friend, it happens to us all.

As I was trying to make another great BRAIN PICK video for you, every idea was coming out lame, each video clip felt uninspired.  I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t make decisions, I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be working on!  I was ready to give in and give up.

Listen, usually when I make these videos, the ideas keep streaming, and the video-making process flows!

I feel creative, I feel energized, I laugh at my own silly mistakes, and I feel inspired to share my passion and information with you, friend.  These videos put me right in my element, and I feel like I am in my GROOVE!

“So how did I lose my freakin’ groove??”

And more importantly, “Where the H*** am I going to find it again?!”

I took a breath.

And then I did something very simple…

And I was suddenly RE-focused + RE-inspired + calm + alive.  And afterward, it all became so clear like a magical lightbulb flashing in my head!

Click PLAY to find out the one thing I did…

Stop.  Put DOWN the Diet Soda and no one gets fat.

That’s right; you heard me.

Have you ever thought, “I know sugar is bad for me, so to avoid the calories I’m just gonna go with the zero calorie, zero sugar version”?

Zero calories, zero sugar, really sweet taste… too good to be true?

If it looks like a fish and swims like a fish and smells like a fish… Yeah.

So maybe you’ve heard that all of those artificial chemical sweeteners are bad for you, are linked to over 90 different side effects, are carcinogenic, and cause a whole host of issues in your brain and your organs.

But what you may not know is that these “DIET” products are actually contributing to making people fatter!

<you scratch head.>

Wait, What?

That’s right.  Check out my BRAIN PICK video to find out why…

What about the best things you could be doing right now to improve your health?

In the beginning, becoming healthy can seem complicated. There’s so much information out there, hundreds of fad diets with promises, thousands of products with healthy claims and good marketing.

You want to be healthier, but you’re just not sure where to start or what to believe. In this workshop, I will debunk some of the health claims you’ve heard in the past and give you your first steps in the direction toward permanent health.

In this workshop, you will learn/ receive:

• The 10 Simplest and Most Effective Things You Can Do For Your Heath
  • and why these easy “right now” steps can make all the difference

• The 10 Worst of the Worst Additives and Ingredients to Avoid
  • and why these ingredients are so detrimental

• A handy dandy pocket guide of the 10 Worst of the Worst to keep in your purse or your pocket for easy on-the-go reference!

• A complimentary health & nutrition consultation ($49 value)

WHEN:  Saturday, May 11th @ 12pm

WHERE:  IHH Yoga Loft (209 S. Halifax Ave., Suite 104, Daytona Beach, FL)

HOW MUCH:  $20 if preregistered, $25 at the door

TO REGISTER:  Click the button below!

Do you like nuts?  Nuts are great!!!

Nuts have lots and lots of benefits like…

• they help to lower bad cholesterol, and raise good cholesterol

• they are anti-inflammatory

• they support healthy brain function

• they have lots of vitamins and minerals that support our cells, organs, and skin

• they are a great source of protein

• they give us energy

But there’s something you may not know about nuts that could be preventing you from getting all of these benefits!

Watch the video below to find out and then leave a comment below…

You will need:

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1/2 (or a little more) c. of almond milk (or coconut milk)

1 heaping Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp raw cacao powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender.

Chill for a couple of hours in the fridge, and enjoy!

I feel so grateful to be doing what I love and following my heart.  Whether you have a significant other or not; whether anyone sent you flowers or chocolate; whether you celebrate this “official” unofficial Day of Love or not… YOU ARE LOVED.

Thank you for being a part of my little Artful Balance family and for allowing me to be a part of your life and share my heart and my passions with you.

Today, I ask that you take a moment to reflect on a few questions…

1.  Are you doing what you love on a daily basis?

2.  Do you surround yourself with people you love and who love you back?

3.  Are you consistently showing yourself a little love?

We all have ups and downs on our journey through love.  How can you add a little more sweetness, a little more love, affection, warm fuzzies into your life?

And leave a comment – tell me how you like it or what changes you incorporated to make it your own!

You will need:

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 c. veggie broth

2 small carrots, chopped

3 small celery stalks, chopped

1 small sweet potato

2 c. kale, chopped finely

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried sage

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat about a Tbsp of veggie broth in a medium soup pot.

Sauté onion and garlic in broth over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.

Add the rest of the broth, carrots, and celery.  Bring to a boil, and then immediately turn to low.

Add the potatoes, and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).

Add kale, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!  And leave a comment below.  When are you going to try it?  How did you like it?  Did you change anything to make it your own?

 
Are you getting sick of this scenario?…

“Babe, what do you want for dinner?”

– “I don’t care.”

“Ugh.”  (gets out a cookbook, opens to a page that looks yummy)

“I’m missing 6 of these ingredients!!  Aarrrggghhhhh!”

It’s ok, my friend.  I know how you feel.

That’s why I’m sharing some great news today!!

You do NOT have to rely on recipes to make healthy & delicious meals.  Nope.  It’s time to start relying less on recipes and more on your own INTUITION IN THE KITCHEN.  (I’m totally ™-ing that phrase.)

In this video, I’m going to share with you 5 Tips to help you use your GUT when you cook.

So without further mumbo jumbo…