Impromptu Tostadas with a Vegan Chipotle Aioli

After a wonderful and exciting weekend filled with friends and family, a half marathon, and a delicious brunch with a celebratory toast, I welcome the busy week ahead of me. Midterms are in full force, and projects are slowly swooping in. All the while the bright colors of poppies in the garden and the warm breeze of late spring entice me to play....."strong and steady, strong and steady." This is my mantra for life. Not only when I am racing up another steep hill, but also when I need to start charging through my growing to-do list. "Don't lose focus." It helps me accomplish one hour at a time and one day at a time until I get to break!

Break time means either running or cooking during the week. After a long race yesterday, I decided to give my legs a rest and enjoy the quiet kitchen all to myself. With a glimpse into the refrigerator, I quickly decided what would hit the spot...something savory, spicy, but not too heavy...tostadas!

I love tostadas. I probably make them once or twice a week. They are incredibly delicious and very versatile. You can use whatever you have in the fridge and load them up with a ton of fresh goodies. Also, tostadas are one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to make an impressive gluten-free meal. Since corn tortillas are gluten-free, as well are beans, veggies, your homemade chipotle aioli, and pan-fried eggs, within minutes you can have yourself a balanced nutrient dense and gluten-free meal! 

So if you have a busy week ahead and are craving some Mexican flavors, try these healthy and fresh gluten-free and dairy-free tostadas!

Impromptu Tostadas with a Vegan Chipotle Aioli

Tostadas are refreshing and delicious, especially when it is 80 degrees outside. They are easily assembled, and can be put together with whatever you have in your refrigerator. Don’t be frightened by the long recipe, it is really easy and quick to make. Just get creative and have fun!

Serves two

For the vegan chipotle aioli:

¼ cup coconut milk (full fat)

½ lime

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon chipotle powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon nutritional yeast powder

For the corn tortillas:

4 corn tortillas (I used Mission “extra thin”)

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

For the toppings:

10 small mushrooms, sliced

½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

½ mango, peeled and diced

½ avocado, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Squeeze of lime

1 carrot, shredded

½ cup shredded cabbage

2 cups mixed salad greens

4 eggs

½ cup refried beans

To prepare the chipotle sauce: Mix all the ingredients together in a small mason jar and set aside for flavors to develop.

To prepare the corn tortillas: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place corn tortillas on to a baking sheet and brush each side with olive oil. Sprinkle each with a little sea salt and place into oven. Set timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes have passed flip the tortillas and return to oven for 5 minutes. They should be crisp like a corn chip. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool.

To prepare toppings: Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan to medium heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil, the onions, and the mushrooms, and sauté until onions and mushrooms are golden brown. Season with a pinch of sea salt and pepper.

In a small bowl add the mango, avocado, tomato, cilantro and lime juice. Season with a pinch of sea salt. Set aside. In a separate small bowl, mix together the shredded carrot and cabbage. Place mixed greens into a small bowl as well.

Finally, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat in a small frying pan. Add the 4 eggs and reduce heat to medium low. Season with salt and pepper. To heat the refried beans place into a small saucepan or cover them and microwave for a minute.

To assemble the tostadas: Either offer the toppings individually and allow people to pick and chose what they like or assemble yourself. First spread the refried beans onto the baked corn tortillas. Then add the sautéed onions and mushrooms, and spoon 1 teaspoon of the aioli over top. Continue to top with mixed salad greens, shredded carrot and cabbage, and once again top with chipotle aioli. Finally add the mango avocado salsa and top each tostada with a freshly fried egg. Serve immediately. Offer more chipotle aioli or your favorite hot sauce.

Note: To mix it up replace eggs with: sauteed turmeric tofu, pan-seared and sliced pasture-raised beef, or some garlic prawns.

For another great gluten-free recipe and tips on how to have a gluten-free kitchen check out the Zing Bars Blog.

Rejuvenating Spring Smoothies

After a rejuvenating Spring Break filled with family, friends, adventures, and of course good food, I am craving smoothies to maintain this wonderful and energetic self I had lost the past two months. With Spring in full bloom, and even sunny warm days to tempt us into wearing light sweaters and digging for the long forgotten shades, vibrant smoothies seem to fill the sense of health and purity.

Give me fresh, give me color, and give me flavor! These two smoothies are just that.

Spring Green Smoothie

Both pineapple and kiwi are vitamin C storehouses, with one serving of this smoothie containing 313% of your daily vitamin C needs. Vitamin C is not only a powerful antioxidant but it also helps you better absorb non-heme iron found in dark leafy greens and legumes. Therefore the combination of these tropical fruits with the handful of spinach helps increase your absorption. This is very important, especially for those individuals who are following a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Spring Green
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple, diced
1 kiwi
1 generous handful spinach
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
Squeeze of lemon

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into blender. Blend until smooth.

Nutrition Information (Per Serving): Calories 200 cal; Total fat 2.9g; Total carbohydrates 41.5g; Total Dietary Fiber 7.4g; Protein 4.3g

Sunshine Mango Smoothie
Turmeric and ginger make their name in this sunshine colored smoothie. Turmeric is gaining a lot of recognition for its impressive anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. The bioactive compound curcumin is responsible for the benefits of turmeric by stabilizing free radicals. In recent animal studies they have also seen the ability of curcumin to increase basal metabolic rate resulting in significant weight loss. Curcumin is also used in cancer and Alzheimer's prevention.

Ginger is known for its potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties and is also commonly used to reduce nausea and vomiting.

Sunshine Mango
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup great northern beans
Juice of 1 medium orange
1/2 cup coconut water
Juice of 1/2 lemon/lime
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp Coconut Milk (full fat)
Handful of ice
1 tsp of honey (optional)

Note: I think the smoothie is sweet enough without the honey, but some just like it a bit sweeter. I would taste test before adding in the honey and then decide. Also, the coconut milk I like best is full fat without any added guar gum. Natural Value is one of the good options out there.

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into blender. Blend till smooth.

Nutrition Information (Per Serving): Calories: 190 cal; Total Fat 3.1g; Total Carbs 42.1g; Dietary Fiber 6.5g; Protein 4.7g

If you want some more smoothie ideas check out Zing Bars. I created five smoothie recipes utilizing their nutrition bars as a base for some timeless classics. 

How to Beat the Winter Blahs

With the cold temperatures, sniffling noses, and less hours of sunlight per day, it can seem as though our total energy is lacking compared to the warm summer months. Long hours at work, less exercise, and poor diet choices can have a huge impact on how we feel. But how can you change that? Simple daily choices and activities can have a great impact.

Here are some easy ways to boost your energy, feel rejuvenated, and minimize stress. Check out my post on the Zing Bars Blog, to find 4 ways to naturally boost your energy. Plus, today I share with you one specific exercise that can have a huge impact on our health and stress management.

Don't Forget To Breathe...

We usually resort to short shallow breathing during the day, and deeper heavier breathing during the night. However with deep focused breathing meditations, you can reduce stress, reduce your blood pressure, and supply much needed oxygen to your red blood cells. This enables red blood cells to interact with tissues throughout the body, including the brain, exchanging nutrients and oxygen for debris and toxins. This interaction stimulates the brain to send signals of relaxation throughout your body, alleviating your body from the “fight or flight” mode by reducing the hormone cortisol. In a recent study by Iglesias and team, 52 undergraduate students were selected to test the effectiveness of 3 stress management programs, including a mixture of deep breathing exercises, meditation, guided imagery, relaxation response, and cognitive behavioral techniques. The results proved that with the combination of the above stress management techniques, stress could be effectively alleviated by reducing salivary cortisol levels and lowering anxiety, anger, neuroticism, hopelessness, and respiratory rate (1). Since deep breathing exercises can be done anywhere try this easy form of detoxification and stress alleviation at home or in the office.

• A great 4-minute exercise is this soft belly breathing exercise. Try it out!

*Remember check out the additional "4 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs" on the Zing Bar Blog.

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Reference:

1.   Iglesias SL, Azzara S, Argibay JC, et al.  Psychological and physiological response of students to    different types of stress management programs. Am J Health Promot. 2012 Jul-Aug;26(6):e149-58.