Today we have a special guest post from Michelle, a high school student who is sure to inspire us! If she can make healthy eating happen on her schedule, there's hope for all of us!
Without further ado... Michelle!
I'm extremely excited to be a guest blogger on Happy Herbivore!Ever since the start of my freshman year in high school, I have been cooking all my own meals. (Even with my hectic extracurricular/homework schedule!)
I realized last summer that the food I was consuming (which was riddled with salt, refined sugar, artificial ingredients, unhealthy fats, butter and all vegetables came from a can) was going to affect me in the long term, so decided it was time I'd take control of my health.
Up until a few months ago, I was getting bored with the same old bland meatless meals I would eat at least once a day (if not more) and desperately needed some new ideas. I'm not vegan nor am I a vegetarian (but hoping to become one), and ever since I found this magical cookbook (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook!) in my local B&N, it's been love at first sight, and as a plus, I've found that I'm hardly missing meat at all. :)
Chocolate, bananas and black beans are three of my favorite foods and when I found there was a recipe that combined all three of them, I knew I just had to try it out. The result: absolute heaven. The batch pictured was my third time making the black bean brownies, but this time, I added coffee granules to create a chocolately-mocha-goodness! (Thanks for the suggestion in your cookbook, Lindsay!)
As a born and raised native Texan, I've grown up with Tex-Mex and never really had a taste of true Mexican food. To fit what I currently had on hand, I modified the recipe by omitting the corn and serving over quinoa. (Please ignore the awkwardness of the picture; I had little space in which to take the picture.) The chilled quinoa helped to tone down the slight spiciness of the dish, which was refreshing on a scorching hot Texas summer day.
I've got to admit; I'm obsessed with anything Pacific/Asian-inspired. Tofu and vegetable stir-fry is typically my go-to dish on busy nights when I'm not in the mood to cook much and/or I have so much homework, but wanted something different for a change. I love how quick and easy this recipe was to make! (not to mention how delicious it is!) I omitted the salsa and added sugar but it still turned out to be a great dish! I have made this numerous times, many of which I made for my anti-health food little brother and father and it has never failed to impress!
