I haven’t been able to make new recipes lately. I have a stack of new recipes that I want to tackle but having my last 3 months of Physician Assistant school is giving me a lot of anxiety and very little time to do the things that I want to do.

The next two weeks are going to be hell on earth because I have 3 of my exit exams and I am really praying that I do well enough to pass. I have been working really hard so I hope everything turns out ok. My anxiety doesn’t help but I will try my hardest to get a handle on it….we shall see.

Once I am done with school, I am also planning on spending time overseas. First I would like to secure a job before my departure so let’s see how that turns out as well…. So much to these few months…..Just wish me luck!!!!

This super awesome high protein white bean arugula salad was something I just put together in about 10 minutes….literally. I have never added pesto as a dressing for any of my salads but I think the combo was rather tasty.

As any salad, you can add any veggies of your liking and if you are not too fond of white beans you can just use any other legumes you may like. Chickpeas will go great in this salad as well.

On another note, this coming summer I will be going to Morocco for about 10 days. I have been there once but really didn’t get to explore or do much. I am really excited to explore some of the areas and experience their culture, food and much more.

It is something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time so I can’t wait. I will be posting much of my adventure in my blog so you will be able to learn things to do while there if you ever make it to that side of the world.

Anyways, I leave you with this amazing high protein white bean arugula salad. I have to head to school to practice and study now.

Until my next recipe,

Enjoy!

High protein white bean arugula salad

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6 servings

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 15 oz white beans, I used canned
• 7 oz fresh Arugula
• 1 large cucumber, chopped
• 6 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 large red onion, sliced
• 1/3 cup hemp hearts
• 1/2 cup pesto sauce
• 3 tbs rice wine vinegar

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl mix all the ingredients. Toss to combine. Serve.

Note: I have taken this for lunch many times to work. It is the perfect salad.

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Lately I have been on a kick to make sandwiches. I have been using avocados most of the time to make spreads or add to salads but I have just discovered that they are great on sandwiches. I was so happy with the taste of this avocado, cucumber, goat cheese sandwich I made it 3 times on a row.

I have made it my mission to add more avocados into our diets. I love the fact that avocado contributes nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that can enhance the nutrient quality of the diet.

Also, avocados, which are a fruit although most people think of them as a vegetable, contain less than one gram of sugar per 1-ounce, the least amount of sugar per serving of any other fresh fruit.

Do you have a family member that suffers from heart disease? Avocados are a nutritional power house especially given that they contain naturally good monounsaturated fat and are cholesterol free. Naturally good fats are an important part of a healthy diet.

My family love avocados. Not matter how I prepare them they devour them at once so it was no surprise that they really enjoyed these avocado, cucumber, goat cheese sandwiches. I have packed these sandwiches for their lunches. It is one of the sandwiches they have been asking for most lately.

In October 2016, Hass Avocado Board (HAB) and the American Heart Association (AHA) announced its four-year strategic alliance to encourage Americans to eat the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, an endeavor that has the potential to limit deaths from cardiovascular diseases, stroke and diabetes.

February,  HAB and AHA are teaming up to host a recipe contest called Take Avocado to Heart. Make sure you enter.

• February is American Heart Month. The contest will run February 9-27, 2017.
• The official hashtag is #addavocado.
• Consumers can enter recipes in the categories of appetizer, entrée and dessert.
• Recipe entries much adhere to the AHA nutrition criteria.

There are many recipes you can try with avocados. I have an array of recipes in my blog that you can take a look at and get creative. There are many recipes for you to get inspired so make your own takes and enter the contest.

I hope you like this Avocado, cucumber, goat cheese sandwich. It is one of our favorite vegetarian sandwiches to date.

Enjoy!

Avocado, cucumber, goat cheese sandwich

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 slices whole grain bread
•  4 egg whites, optional
• 2 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 large cucumber, sliced (about 1 ¼ cup)
• 2 fresh Hass avocados*, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
• 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Spread the goat cheese evenly on all of the slices of bread. Take one of the slices of bread and top with cucumber and avocado slices. Drizzle fresh lemon juice over the avocado.

Add sprouts and season with black pepper.

Place the other piece of bread, goat cheese side down. Repeat with the other sandwiches. Serve immediately.

Nutrition facts include egg whites:

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Calories 360; Total Fat 19 g (Sat 3.5 g, Trans 0 g, Poly 3 g, Mono 12 g); Cholesterol 4 mg; Sodium 290 mg; Potassium 840 mg; Total Carbohydrate 34 g; Dietary Fiber 12 g; Sugars 5 g; Protein 14 g; Vitamin A 1540 IU; Vitamin C 18 mg; Calcium 100 mg; Iron 1 mg; Vitamin D 0 IU; Folate 165 mcg.

The post Avocado, cucumber, goat cheese sandwich appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

After getting my juicer about a couple of weeks ago I have been using it quite a lot. I want to start collecting my scraps to make cakes, muffins and such because with all the amount of juices I am making I hate to waste the fiber and the goodness from all these organic ingredients.

Variations are endless when it comes to making juices and while there are some vegetables my kids don’t enjoy mixing them with certain fruits camouflages the flavor so that they will drink them. The flavor they especially don’t like comes from beets. Adding apples and a bit of ginger or lemon makes the beet flavor much milder.

I love adding parsley to most my juices for the high amount of antioxidants it brings. Even though I use plenty while cooking I like to have it on its raw state.

Have you guys been juicing for a while? What are your favorite combinations? I love this super refreshing green juice because it tastes like something I have never tasted before. If you add the lemon it will add even more refreshing taste to it. All in all I think it is one of my favorite juices so far.

I am sure I am going to be posting many other variations shortly since I can’t get enough of my juicer. If you have any tricks on how to keep the scraps I would love to hear about them.

Enjoy!

Super refreshing green juice

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 organic cucumbers
• 1 big  head organic celery
• 4 organic apples
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1 lemon, pealed, optional

Directions:

Wash all your produce before putting through the juicer.

There is no need to peel them if fruits and vegetables are organic. If you can't afford organic produce or if it is not available to you just spray them with apple cider vinegar and wash very well.

I use mason jars to store my juice but it is best when the juice is consumed immediately!

The post Super refreshing green juice appeared first on Eat Good 4 Life.

I have never made any type of spread but humus. We do love cream cheese and goat cheese, really any cheese will do for us :-)

Goat cheese can tend to be a bit strong for some people thus mixing it with cream cheese makes it a bit more mild in taste.

The way I served it was actually rather great because the cucumber gave it a bit of a crunch and refreshing twist to the spread. You can also use radishes, I think that would also work well!

Anyhow, here you have a simple and tasty option to make some summer sandwiches for the beach, road of just for lunch time like we did.

Enjoy!

     

Herb Goat and cream cheese spread

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 2-3 cups

Ingredients:

10 oz goat cheese
8 oz 13 less fat cream cheese
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dill, I used dry
4-6 tablespoons low fat milk
A few drops of Tabasco, optional

 

Directions:

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl. With an electric mixer beat at medium speed until ingredients are well combined. Add any additional milk if the spread is very thick.

To make sandwiches, spread herb cheese on whole grain bread and topped with slices of cucumber.

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