Meatless Monday: Roasted Vegetable Tacos

I love Mexican food. I could eat a plate of loaded nachos all by myself. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I had to make that for meatless Monday!

By looking at the photo, you can see, it's very colorful and combine that with cumin, garlic and olive oil roasted for about 25 mins, this almost replaces my standby ground beef taco.

I roasted the vegetable on Sunday to save time on Monday night after I got home along with making the super easy avocado cream sauce in my small food processor.

I usually don't like corn tortillas but Trader Joe's has these amazing  corn and wheat tortillas that are quite tasty. Pick them up -- I wouldn't sway you wrong.

These tacos were a huge hit with my husband, myself and the baby. My son is hard to please and he opted for a cheese quesadilla.

Delicious!

Roasted Vegetable Tacos
from Naturally Ella

Ingredients
Filling:
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small summer squash, diced
½ medium red onion, diced
1 ear sweet corn, removed from cob
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
¼ teaspoon salt

Feta or Goat Cheese
4-6 corn tortillas
Cilantro

Avocado Cream:
1 ripe avocado
⅓ cup full fat, plain greek yogurt
¼ cup cilantro
1 tablespoons lime juice

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚. Prepare all the veggies as described and toss with olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and cumin. Roast in a pan in a single layer for 20-30 mins until tender and lightly browning.

While veggies are roasting, whip together avocado, greek yogurt, cilantro, and lime juice.

To assemble tacos, warm up tortillas (in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel or a oven with a damp tea towel) and assemble with roasted veggies, avocado cream, and a sprinkle of feta.

Green your lunch: get a reusable fork

I often eat snacks at my desk as I work almost 55 hour weeks.  I was noticing that I was using a lot of plastic forks and spoons one day and then remembered my trusty camping spoon from Light My Fire.

Slowly, my family has stopped using plastic bags, paper coffee cups, plastic sandwich bags so it's a natural fit I either bring utensils from home or use my camping spork.

How do you green your lunch routine?

Journey to finding a new, fuel efficient car

For the next 12 months we'll be researching cars so we can purchase two in the spring of 2014.

We'll be saying goodbye to our trusty and faithful 1997 Honda Civic and our gas guzzling Jeep Liberty.

The goal, to buy one reliable commuter car for my husband with cash and have payments on another car that gets better gas mileage than our Jeep (currently gets 15 mpg in the city) for me.

Buying a car, for me, has always been an exhaustive search -- with the exception of our Jeep -- the car we shared busted a head gasket and we needed a car NOW. My husband was more into looks rather than fuel efficiency and "just needed that Jeep." Since he drives 60 miles a day roundtrip, he drives the Honda.

Prior to marriage, I'd research consumer report and ask friends and test drive 15 cars.  My dad was quite annoyed by the process. I have never been into flashy cars but functional and reliable. Our Jeep has been reliable as well as our Honda but our Honda is getting up there in miles though 1990s Honda have been known to run forever.

I don't need an SUV -- mainly, I just want something that gets better gas mileage.

Anyone have any suggestions? On our list are Subarus, KIAs and Hondas but I'd love your input! What you like or don't like! We have a whole year to make this happen.

Month 2 Shaklee update

We're 60 days in ... watch how I'm doing!

Product review: Diaper Dabbler

This post is sponsored by Diaper Dabbler. They gave me a package of their Mother Earth sampler to try in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are my own. 

How would you like to try diapers before you buy a whole pack to discover they aren't the greatest fit or leak. Well, you can.

Diaper Dabbler is genius and takes the guess work out of the equation for new, overwhelmed moms.  Their mission: to provide a one stop cost-effective way to sample a variety of disposable diapers.

Yes, this is a green blog, talking about disposable diapers. I see the irony in that.

Since I am a working mom with two kids, cloth diapers won't work for me but there are a lot of options of earth-friendly diapers that are biodegradable, made with plant based materials or produced with less chemicals.

Diaper Dabbler sent me the Mother Earth sampler to try which included the following brands:

Honest Company™: Jessica Alba's company specializing in non-toxic diapers, made from sustainable, plant-based, biodegradable materials.
Retail for $14 for 36 diapers (size three). $0.38 per diaper

Earth’s Best TenderCare™ : Chlorine free diapers with materials made from corn and wheat.
Retail for $13 for 35. $0.37 per diaper

Seventh Generation Free & Clear™: Free of whitening agents and chlorine free.
$12.50 for a pack of 20. $0.62 per diaper

Naty by Nature BabyCare™: Free of fragrance and totally chlorine free pulp, the leakage is barrier made of natural material and GM free based corn film.
Retail $36 for 54 diapers. $0.66 per diaper

Huggies Pure & Natural™:  Made with organic cotton outside, cushiony soft quilting and a flexible pad inside these are hypoallergenic, with a touch of Aloe and Vitamin E.
Retail $40 for 140 diapers. $0.29 per diaper

Attitude™: Made from renewable and compostable materials, they are also carbon neutral.
Retails for $11 for 30 diapers. $0.37 per diaper.

The verdict? They give you this nifty score card to keep track of what you did and didn't like:

The verdict, I loved Honest Company. I tried their diapers when they first came out and I fell in love with everything except the price. They are the best quality diaper you can buy if you're an earthy conscious momma like myself but they hit the pocket book hard.

EmmyLu models Honest Diapers

Earth's Best, Attitude and Seventh Generation came in at a tie. They had a scratchy feel (well, so did Honest Company but they got points for being cute) but they didn't leak like Natty and Huggies did when EmmyLu wore them.

If you would like to try a set of diapers, Diaper Dabbler is offering my readers 15% off ... just use code WMGG15.

What are your favorite diapers?  I'd love to hear!

This post is sponsored by Diaper Dabbler. They gave me a package of their Mother Earth sampler to try in exchange for an honest review. The opinions are my own. 

Meatless Monday: Roasted veggie macaroni and cheese

Trust me, this tasted better than it looked. I'm not the best food photographer, apparently.

I love mac and cheese and this one was loaded with yummy veggies and easy to prepare in under 30 mins. How many mac and cheese recipes can say that?

The original recipe called for red pepper flakes and cayenne but since the kids were eating it, I left the spices out.

Roasted Veggie Mac and Cheese
Adapted from Comfort of Cooking



1 cup broccoli florets, chopped into small chunks
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 yellow squash, quartered and diced
10 baby carrots, sliced thinly
2 cups whole wheat pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups (8 oz.) Cheddar Cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs

Directions


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set a medium pot of salted water to boil. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with aluminum foil and coating with a little olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.

Toss broccoli, red pepper, squash and carrots onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until vegetables have softened. Remove from oven and set aside.

Once water is boiling, lower heat slightly and add pasta, cooking according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheddar cheese until well distributed and melted. Add salt and pepper. Add macaroni and vegetables.

Place mixture in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Place under the broiler in your oven (500 degrees) for 3-4 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Follow my Meatless Dishes board on Pinterest!

Product review: Anjou Spa's Sweet Relief Spa Services

This post is sponsored by Anjou Spa. Anjou Spa provided the services at no charge in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions are my own.

I remember my mother telling me before she died how hard it was to spend time or money on yourself when you’re a mom.  There were always places to be, bills to play and kids to attend to.   I didn’t understand at the time what she meant but 17 years later, oh I understand. And I feel guilty when I’m away from my children.

I haven’t had a massage since Benjamin was 5 months old. He will be 5 next month.  I have spent the last 5 years turning into my mother. That’s not a bad thing but when I started my journey towards a healthier lifestyle, I told myself that I needed to also spend some time on being nice to myself. As I had coffee with a longtime friend, she said “when you’re nice to yourself, it benefits everyone.” So true.

Anjou Spa in Bend, Oregon

Anjou Spa, Bend’s Green Spa, approached me wondering if I’d be interested in trying out a few of their “Sweet Relief” Spa Services and offer some feedback. A spa that uses organic oils and scrubs, non-toxic nail treatments and natural aloe-based hair products – WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

The “Sweet Reliefs” menu is perfect for busy, working mothers like me living or on vacation in Bend, Oregon.  The services are $44 and 30 minutes each with six spa selections ranging from massages, hydrotherapy and facials. I indulged and went for the Back Country and Fresh Face Peel.

I was happy to learn that Anjou has showers and a steam room because I came directly from crossfit to my appointment and needed to wind down before Lindsay, their spa director, gave me a quick tour and then started my spa treatments.

Fireside room available for
couple massages

From the outside, Anjou Spa doesn’t look like a big place but once inside, I was amazed by the soothing atmosphere, fireside couples massage room (booking that for our anniversary), relaxation room and Vichy shower room.

After talking with Lindsay about my muscles being sore from the Tabata Ta Dah WOD and Power Snatches, she added an essential oil targeting to help with sore muscles to the massage oil. This is a complimentary service that Anjou provides to all massage services.  Clients can pick from a variety of oils to help with sleep, mood and even to aid digestion.

I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical of a 30 minute massage. Could it really do the trick in a pinch? Let’s just say, I almost fell asleep. A great sign of a good massage.  BUT I wasn’t done. There was the facial.

Massage and facial room

Anjou’s Fresh Face Peel is described as a service that “brings forth newer, plumper cells and say goodbye to older, dead cells! Enzymes from a natural peel also penetrate the skin to clean pores and improve skin tone and texture. “ In 30 minutes, I was skeptical, in my relaxed stat.

Lindsay asked about my skin issues. I was lucky to never have suffered from acne problems but I do have rosacea and my skin is sensitive to anything I put on it. This has stopped me from getting facials in the past but since the products used at Anjou are green and friendly (Eminence Organics to be exact), how could I go wrong? A relaxing 30 minutes later, my sensitive face felt pretty amazing and I am happy to report nothing irritated my skin. She recommend I use Eminence Couperose-C Serum to help with my rosacea. I'm happy that I purchased it because it seems to be helping. 

Relaxation room

After regrouping, I was greeted in the hallway by Lindsay with a cup of water in a cute green Preserve cup. After services at Anjou, they offer a complimentary beverage which range from tea, lemon water, local microbrews, champagne and even kombuucha in their gorgeous relaxation room.  I stuck with tea but could imagine myself with a girlfriend unwinding with champagne.

Busy people in Bend, Oregon listen up … the Sweet Reliefs menu is for you. Stop feeling guilty and call Anjou Spa up to book something off their spa menu. And here’s a gift from me, mention “WorkingMom” and you’ll get 10% off your service.

Next time I visit Anjou Spa, I definitely need to spend more time relaxing in the steam room and have a girlfriend waiting with a glass of champagne after.

How do you pamper yourself?

This post is sponsored by Anjou Spa. Anjou Spa provided the services at no charge in exchange for a fair and honest review. The opinions are my own.