{Italian Veggie Salad}

I LOVE LOVE LOVE eating my vegetables like this. For me, it is sooooo good. I love it. Try it out! I make it for a side dish for one of our dinner meals and then i will snack on it the next day...all day long! :)

Ingredients:

About 1/2 head cauliflower(pulled apart into Bite Size florets)

1 can of black olives

Large Tomato(cut up into bite size pieces)

1 Red Bell Pepper(cut into bit size pieces)

Mushrooms(Cut in half or fourths, depending on what you like)

1 cucumber

1/2 to a whole red onion(cut into bite size pieces)

1 package of zesty italian seasoning(follow the directions on the back of the package)

Feta cheese

Directions:

Throw all the veggies in a cake pan and pour the mixed zesty italian dressing on top. Stir it up good so that each piece is covered in the dressing. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to soak up the dressing. And occasionally stir it while it's in the fridge sitting. You can eat it right away, but it tastes so much better the longer it sits! :) Sprinkle some feta cheese all over. The quantity depends on your liking.

Also, you put in however much of the vegetables you feel you would like. There really is no set recipe for the amount of each vegetable. That's just what i usually put in.

{Green Smoothie}

Yes, i am into smoothies. I love em. What can i say. So, a friend of mine posted a green smoothie recipe on her blog a couple years ago. I made it for awhile and then stopped. I wanted to make those again , but couldn't remember the exact recipe so i decided to just put in what i remember and then add what i think i would like. It turned out DELICIOUS! I make this after my workout. It's my recovery drink! You can drink it anytime though! TRY IT!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vanillla yogurt(any yogurt you prefer)

a squeeze of agave nectar, which is about 2-3 TBS.

juice of an orange

1 scoop of protein powder

About 1/8- 1/4 cup Flaxseed

one banana

6-7 strawberries

2 handfuls of spinach

6-8 ice cubes(your preference)

Directions:

Mix the liquids first along with the protein powder, then add the spinach, strawberries, bananas. And lastly, the ice cubes. Enjoy!

I am going to be totally honest. I can be a pig. This makes about 4 cups. I drink 3 cups of it. Tanner drinks about one cup. It's a lot, but man it tastes so good after a hard workout. I gulp it down quick! :)

I will be experimenting more with smoothies again soon.

{Healthy Strawberry Banana Smoothie and MORE...}

Seriously, this was sooo good and creamy. This is my very own recipe! Man i am good. haha! :) Granted, i did look into smoothies and what would be good to put in it, so i kind of grabbed different ingredients from different recipes and put it all together. I put in the amounts that i felt i wanted in it. TRY THIS! It's the best smoothie i have had, but maybe i haven't had many smoothies, which might be why it's the best smoothie i have had. Usually when i eat a "smoothie" i like it to be more like a slushy with the ice bits in it. I don't usually go for anything without the slushy taste. BUT i did with this! There is a fabulous after taste that stays with you after every gulp. I didn't need this to be like a slushy in order to like it! YUMMY! :)

Ingredients:

1 whole banana

About 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

2-3 TBSP. honey

1/3 of an avocado

Juice from one orange

1 cup Coconut milk

1/4 cup Original plain greek yogurt

6 ice cubes

Directions:

Blend it all in your blender! Wahlah! Makes about 4 servings.

Strawberry Mango Smoothie

6 strawberries, medium to large size

1 cup frozen mango

3 TBSP. Agave nectar

1/2 of an avocado

Juice from an orange

1 1/3 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup original plain greek yogurt

Directions:

Blend well.

*Tip*: If you don't like the taste of coconut, then use almond milk. I found that i like coconut milk better than almond milk for my smoothies.

{Homemade Granola Bars}

These are good granola bars!! I love them and they are so addictive. Next time i am going to try honey instead of the molasses b/c the molasses was too strong in the bar. But i still enjoyed them. OR i could do 1/3 cup honey and 1/4 cup molasses. That could be good. These are easy to make! No need to buy store bought anymore. These are healthier for you too. ALSO, i added flaxseed to my granola bars. I add flaxseed to anything i think it would be good in. It's great for you!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 cup nuts, seeds, or spices OR a combination of all three ....totaling 1 cup

1/3 + 1/4 cup honey, agave, molasses, or maple syrup. You can mix up flavors or just use one.

1 cup total dried fruit

1 cup apple butter or almond butter

Directions:

I just combined all the ingredients. If you want the pieces chopped up more fine, then use a food processor. Line your cake pan with parchment paper. Poor the mixture in and press down really hard on the mixture to pack it in good. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in the freezer until they are firm. Then cut into the size you want.

They can be stored in an air tight container for a week. OR will last frozen up to a month. Enjoy!

Source: www.goodlifeeats.com