We are back to school already in middle Tennessee. The first day was August 2nd! Growing up in Maryland, that is a mind bender for me. We always got out mid to late June and sometimes went back after Labor Day. August feels like it should be another month of summer fun, but that’s not the way we roll down here. Hard to believe, but I have a second grader and I am beginning to understand that overly recited phrase, “Don’t blink.” Time truly does move so fast.

With the start of school comes the start of soccer practices, gymnastics, homework, and schedule overload. Meal planning is truly the only thing that gets me through. I have to start leaning on quick, healthy meals to stay on track with nutrition and keep my sanity. Our tendency when things get hectic is to reach for the processed foods like jarred Ragu. When we do that, we are unknowingly reaching for spoonfuls of sugar and sodium too. Making wholesome food for your family doesn’t have to be hard. In the weeks to come, I’ll share recipes that are working for our family for both dinners and those pesky school lunches.

Deep breath, moms and dad. We can do this.

Here is a recipe for a fast and easy marinara sauce that you can have Instant Pot to table in 35 minutes. You can double or triple this recipe and freeze the sauce to use on a busy school night. Planning ahead eliminates some of the stress in the middle of two soccer practices and an hour of homework, trust me.

Serve over pasta (bonus points if you choose a whole wheat kind), zoodles, or try it over an eggplant or chicken parmesan. I served it here over Aldi USA Eggplant Cutlets which are breaded and frozen. I air-fried them for ten minutes at 400 degrees and they are oh-so-good and quick!

Check out this video to see a tutorial on how to whip up this sauce!

And, don’t forget – my monthly nutrition and fitness challenges are enrolling NOW! Fill out THIS form and I’ll contact you with more info!

We finally have some sunshine here in Tennessee! Boy, is it hot but I would choose that over cold any day! Warm weather means more patio dining which I love. The other night I found myself on the patio of a cool little Nashville vegetarian restaurant called The Sunflower Cafe. I was meeting up with some new friends who also are eating a plant-based diet. I ordered this scrumptious vegan barbecue bowl that was made up of brown rice, smoky collards, and vegan seitan barbecue. It was out of this world!! I don’t know how in the world they made that barbecue taste and feel so much like pork, but they did it. Blew my mind!

I got home and immediately starting longing for a repeat of that meal. I tried making the seitan in my instant pot and although it wasn’t a disaster, it was way too chewy. I will have to keep trying on that one. The collard greens was quite a bit easier to recreate, and today I am sharing it with you! These collard greens have NO oil, NO meat, and only a few ingredients. Quick, easy and healthy!

Check out how it’s done here:

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!)

Ok, Tennessee. I’ve had about enough of your weather identity problems. Bring on spring already!! I swear my sons have had more cancelled soccer and flag football games than they’ve actually gotten to play. Bummer!

One thing that always make me happy is… ranch. Since moving to a plant-based diet, I have really missed dipping any and everything in creamy fattening Ranch dressing. Good news is I’ve perfected a plant-based version of Ranch dressing and it’s coming soon to this blog! You know who else loves Ranch? My two boys. And thanks to them, I get to share with you a delicious Ranch chicken you can easily make in your Instant Pot.

Here’s to clean plates and NO complaints!

Check out this video to see how it’s done:

A quick reminder that my monthly challenges are still happening – if you are ready to change your health and fitness for once and all, send an email to moderndayfox at gmail.com and let’s get this party started!!

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:

Pasta with white beans is a recipe has appeared on my menu a couple times over the last few weeks. I made the Red, White and Green Pasta from The Simple Vegan Cookbook and loved it. Then, my weekly order from My Veggie Chef had a very similar dish. Both times my family really liked it, so I knew I had to create my own recipe for the Instant Pot. I think I came up with something very special with this recipe! It is low in fat, vegetarian, and delicious!

The sky is the limit on how you can improvise with this recipe. Add some chicken or sausage if you eat meat. Add some feta if you eat cheese. Add olives and pine nuts to make it even more Mediterranean. Switch out the spinach with argula or kale. You do you, and make this dish your own. I do recommend using the sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes that are soaked in oil. It gives the pasta great flavor! If you opt for ones that are not soaked, you may need tom compensate with additional spices. Remember, any change in the recipe that you make can affect the outcome. The directions are for white penne pasta. If you change the pasta, you may need to research to see how that changes cooking times.

Check out how to make this recipe here on my youtube channel:

I love lemon. It makes me happy. It makes me think of spring in the midst of these dreary February days. It’s fresh, zesty and blends wonderfully with sweet and savory ingredients!

I also love rice. I think rice was the main staple of my diet in college. I’ve come a long since my days of Minute Rice with butter and salt at the University of Maryland College Park. Now I whip up fancy rice salads like this one which combines two of my favorite things!

This salad has no oil so it stays low-fat and is perfect served on a bed of greens. I used Jasmine Rice for the nutty flavor that it offers, but you can sub other rice types. Just remember that the Instant Pot cooking times in the recipe below are specific to Jasmine Rice. If you change it, then you need to cook the rice you choose to the proper times in the Instant Pot.

Check out a video on how to make this rice salad here and don’t forget to subscribe!

Dressing for this salad adapted from Ordinary Vegan

Let’s talk about peanut butter. This is a subject that has been peeving me for quite some time. You might be wondering how peanut butter could peeve someone, so I’m going to tell you.

They aren’t all created the same.

Most people know that there is a difference between their childhood Jif peanut butter spread and a jar of natural peanut butter that you have to stir. You know, the kind that has TWO ingredients, peanuts and salt? Well, now those marketing buffs are fooling people into thinking they are buying healthy foods when they are not. They have begun labeling jars of peanut butter with the word “natural” when, in fact, they contain added oil and sugar. There’s nothing natural about that! I can’t tell you how many time I’ve bought a jar of “natural” peanut butter and gotten home only to realize there are more ingredients than I bargained for. That really peeves me! Peanut butter doesn’t need all that stuff. It is velvety and delicious just the way it is. Our kids don’t need extra sugar. They get way more than enough sugar around every turn. And, those parents who are trying to do the right thing shouldn’t have to inspect labels that read “natural.”

Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now. That subject really fires me up.

What can I say? I love peanut butter! And that’s why I created this velvety, rich peanut stew inspired by the many recipes for African Peanut Stew that are floating around the web. I took elements of several recipes and came up with this hearty stew. Even better I was able to throw in plenty of greens and add an extra hit of protein by adding chickpeas.

Just do me a favor when you make this stew- please use natural peanut butter AND read the label! Seriously. This stew has no need for oil OR sugar. It has all the flavor and whole food plant based ingredients it needs!

Here is a video to show you how it’s made in the Instant Pot. Don’t forget to subscribe while you are there!

xo Jaime

I feel like a lot of people psych themselves out by making food prep way too complicated. There is a saying called KISS that I love and follow: “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” Especially when you are new to meal planning, you don’t have to pretend you are a master chef and cook things that have a 100 different ingredients and take 3 hours. Choose recipes that are easy and quick, and that have enough servings to make multiple meals.

I have many people in my monthly fitness challenge group that are doing the 21 Day Fix and searching for easy ways to use their containers. I came up with this simple Instant Pot prep that makes at least four meals with chicken leftover for other meals. I suggest serving the chicken and black bean salad over two cups of chopped romaine lettuce with a 1/4 avocado. If you are using the container system, that would calculate to a red, yellow, 2 greens, and a blue container. Not only is it low fat, low calorie, and delicious, but it all comes together in roughly 15 minutes including the time your Instant Pot needs to come to pressure!

Check out this video to see the prep in action! Make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel too!

Nine weeks into my whole food plant based journey, and I’m surviving… and thriving! My workouts are going great. As of today, I’m on day 22 of my 80 day fitness journey. I feel like I’ve turned a new page in my life where I’m not controlled by sugar anymore. It’s the greatest feeling of release. You have no idea how much white sugar controls your life until you remove it from your diet. All of the sudden you just stop thinking about getting your next fix every chance you get. I don’t know about you, but that’s how it was for me. Sugar was like a drug. I feel like a piece of my mind has just been freed up for more positive activity. It’s hard to explain in words, but it is so freeing.

That said, I still like a treat once in a while! I just use different kinds of sweeteners in my cooking now, specifically maple syrup, coconut sugar, or honey. Since I’m not eating animal products anymore, I’ve also had to learn how to bake without eggs. And, just for an added challenge, I’ve cut out oil as much as possible and replaced it with applesauce where applicable.

One would think I’m suffering, but I’m not! I have reviewed tons of vegan baking recipes and experimented until I found the right combination for my taste. Texture was huge for me. So many Vegan recipes use oats for the flour base and I found that everything comes out gummy. I also wasn’t crazy about how so many recipes used banana in place of oil. Whole wheat flours, regular flour, flax, and applesauce made for better alternatives for the flours, oils and eggs.

Before you try this recipe, I want to clarify something. If you are trying vegan baking for the first time, remember you are cooking in a new way. These are going to be slightly different in texture and taste from the muffins you are used to making. Keep an open mind. When you turn to a plant based diet, your taste buds change. You don’t need tons of sugar and oil for something to taste good. I guess what I’m saying is don’t try to compare apples to oranges. These are a healthy alternative to your run-of-the-mill high calorie muffin, and a nice treat for those on a plant-based diet.