Finally seeing some sunshine here in Tennessee. Wonder how long it will last? Sunshine has got me like….mmm, I need TACOS!  I whipped up some delicious 100% plant-based Mexican cauliflower tacos topped with a super easy Mexican slaw, and I’m sharing it with you today! This preps so well and keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days. Make it on a Sunday and enjoy it later in the week to make your busy week a little easier! (If you can wait that long to eat it, that is!)

This last month was hard on me. Losing my best friend, Ted, to a pulmonary embolism just four weeks ago blind sided me like no other. It’s hard to grieve when you have little people to take care of and a household to run. You wonder how the world keeps turning when something so tragic happens, but somehow it does. You want to be mad about that, but it’s actually the thing that forces you to move forward. You literally have no choice.

Here is a photo of Ted and me on one of our many trips across the world. We were in Athens, Greece:

That’s why I’ve been absent from my blog for several weeks. I hope you understand! The good news is that Ted and I mutually shared a love for cooking (and eating) and so I believe I would do a real disservice to him to give up on my recipes and videos. Ted would look at me in his overly sarcastic way and say, “Really??” if I even considered that. So, I’m back!

Today I have a 21 Day Fix and 80 Day Obsession approved Creamy Zucchini Soup that you can make in your Instant Pot with the help of your blender! I recommend doubling or even tripling this recipe if you are feeding a crew. I made this specifically for my meal prep and the serving size is only 1/2 cup which equals one green container and one blue container. This recipe makes 2 cups total so that’s four snacks for my meal prep for the week. We all know that your family will laugh at you if you give them a half cup of soup, so doubling the recipe may be best for you.

Here is a video to show you how it’s done:

Y’all. I ate squash for breakfast. Who am I? What have I become? Enlightened, that’s what.

If you’ve been following me, you know that I have cut grains from my diet and stuck to a Paleo(ish) meal plan for the last few months. I do this on and off throughout the year. The main reason is due to my husband’s struggle with Ulcerative Colitis. When we adapt his nutrition plan, mine follows suite. We are not strict text-book Paleo. We eat cheese and yogurt very frequently. And lots of meat and eggs.

And I can’t take it anymore. Not only am I sick of eating meat, I’m also sick of handling it. I noticed within the last year that it was really starting to gross me out to handle meat, especially chicken. By the time we sat down to eat, I would sometimes lose my appetite.

Recently, my friend started experimenting with Whole Food Plant Based nutrition and really peaked my interest. The recipes she was posting were very intriguing and made eating vegetables look a lot more palatable for this non-loving veggie girl. So, we are doing an experiment here at our house to see how the husband does with cutting back on meat. I prepped a week of vegan dinners using a free meal plan from Clean Food Dirty Girl. We are also incorporating SOME whole grains, and eating legumes and beans. My thinking is that although the simplicity of Paleo has been good for him in that he eats the same things daily, he surely can’t be benefitting from trying to digest (and eliminate) all that meat. It’s probably just sitting in his gut in massive quantities.

So, let’s see how this goes! And, let’s eat squash for breakfast!

“Carrot soup? That sounds… um, not good.”

That’s what I said when my best friend, Kelley, suggested we throw together an Instant Pot soup for my blog. But, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of disguising a serving of vegetables into a smooth soup. Make it tasty enough and no one in my family would know they were eating a full serving of veggies. Heck, I hardly noticed myself!

Both Kelley and I deal with food intolerances in our households, so we immediately knew we would make it gluten and dairy-free. We strive to create dishes that are easy, and that meet the needs of our loved ones too. Our end result was a rich, almost buttery-tasting soup that was a cinch to throw together. Even my six year old wolfed down a bowl, and that says something – trust me!

We hope you enjoy it too!

Check out the prep video here:

xo Jaime

Note: This post contains affiliate links that directly help support the life of this blog. When you use my links for purchase, you help keep Modern Day Fox going! I’m not sponsored by any company, and anything I recommend in this post I have actually purchased myself.

You probably already know that I love my neighbor, Sharon, since I feature her on here frequently. She loves to cook just like I do and we have a blast texting each other recipes and swapping samples. Good neighbors make life so much more fun.

Sharon texted me the other night very excited about a steel cut oats recipe she saw on The Chew. Sharon never leaves a recipe the way she found it, and neither do I. So, I took Sharon’s recipe that she had adapted from The Chew, and I made my own changes based on the ingredients I had. Of course I also had to adapt it for the Instant Pot too!

What resulted was a breakfast dish that not only tasted good, but has incredible nutritional value. As Sharon said, “If I can get high fiber, anti-inflammatory antioxidants, and a proper glycemic index all in one bowl, I’m good!” Not to mention that steel cuts oats are very filling and help keep your bowels moving.

Print Recipe

Sharon's Dang Good Oats [Instant Pot]

Course

Breakfast

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

25 min including time to pressure and release

Servings

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP Tahini Butter
• 1 TBSP Butter
• 1 cup Steel Cut Oats
• 1 can Coconut Milk Lite or Full Fat
• 2 cups Water or fill your empty milk can
• 1 pinch Salt
• 3 TBSP Flax Meal
• 2 TBSP Maple Syrup or Honey Add more after cooking if you prefer sweeter oats
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Course Breakfast Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 25 min including time to pressure and release Servings Ingredients 1 TBSP Tahini Butter 1 TBSP Butter 1 cup Steel Cut Oats 1 can Coconut Milk Lite or Full Fat 2 cups Water or fill your empty milk can 1 pinch Salt 3 TBSP Flax Meal 2 TBSP Maple Syrup or Honey Add more after cooking if you prefer sweeter oats 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract 1 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Set Instant Pot to Saute. Melt tahini and butter. Add oats and toast for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add in remaining ingredients and stir well.
2. Turn off Pot and reset on Manual HP for 3 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally. Stir and add additional sweetener to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!

   

Recipe Notes

This recipe was adapted from one seen on The Chew.

1 cup of dry steel cut oats should only be considered 2 servings, but this is an extremely filling recipe. I could have easily fed my family of 4 and still had leftovers.

Share this Recipe