#plantPOWER Round II: K is for…Kidney Beans – Guest Recipe from Danielle!

Happy Monday, #plantPOWER lovers! Hope you had an amazing weekend. Matty and I were cooped up in the house all weekend, thanks to the storm. We had a blast. It’s not often that we get to spend full days together, so we soaked it up! There was lots of GIRLS involved. We’re all caught up and totally addicted. I may or may not have a huge girl crush on Lena Dunham.

We capped off the weekend with a glass of wine and the Grammy awards.  

J’adore la vie, baby.

One of my “rules” that I stuck to just three years ago was no wine, even though I enjoyed it so much. I wouldn’t allow wine to cross my lips because it would be betraying my eating disorder and giving up my need to control everything. I didn’t want to listen to my needs because it wasn’t something I wasn’t ready to do. Now, I’m the type of girl who loves a glass of wine on her clock.

It’s funny – when you reach that recovered state, your mind is completely transformed. You view your soul as beautiful, which automatically makes you believe that your body is beautiful…but your body isn’t really a concern anymore. Because I see beauty within myself, I see beauty in everyone and in everything.

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Let’s continue with some “J” highlights from yesterday, shall we?

Susan (@wilddose) made a delicious batch of juice pulp crackers!

 ”Mix together 2 cups juice pulp, 1/3 cup flax meal, and 1 cup water. I added a bit of rosemary and ground black pepper to taste. Sadly, these aren’t raw because I don’t have a dehydrator, so I had to I use the lowest setting on my oven, which I ended up raising the temp two hours later to 250-300 because it was taking so long. They still taste yummy =) and would be perfect with salsa, guacamole, cashew cheeze or tofurky”

@mnbgirl created a gorgeous bowl of butternut pumpkin soup.

 “I used 2 white onions diced, 3 cloves garlic crushed, 1 butternut pumpkin, 4 cups veggie or chicken stock, salt n pepper. So easy! Fry off onion and garlic then add pumpkin, sauté for 5 min then pour in stock, bring to boil then simmer for 30 min until pumpkin is very soft. Rest, and then blitz with hand blender and season ”

I know this isn’t a “J” recipe but I also knew that you guys would gush over it…and it’s so easy to make! Thanks for sharing your #plantPOWER brilliance, ladies. Kasey and I are so grateful and seriously amazed by all of you every day!

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K is for…KIDNEY BEANS! Today, we’ve got an awesome recipe from Danielle, author of Clean Food Creative Fitness! The secret weapon ingredient? Kidney beans! Read on and get cookin’! 

#plantPOWER is one of my favorite blog challenges and I am so happy it is back. For me, it has been an experiment in adding more plant-based foods such as fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and beans into my diet. I am the worst about getting extra veggies in my diet, so any excuse to add in more plant-based foods and I’m sold. A dinner full of veggies is just what I need!

Spaghetti Squash Bake

Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash Bake

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 small spaghetti squash
• 14 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 box or bag fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup white kidney beans, cooked
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• Fresh basil

Directions:

• Precook your spaghetti squash before getting ready to assemble your dinner (it will take 45 minutes to an hour).
• To do this preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out your sides.
• Bake the squash cut side down for 45 minutes to an hour until done.
• In a skillet over medium to low heat saute the olive oil and baby spinach until wilted. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Add in the crushed tomatoes and paste letting simmer over low heat 1-2 minutes.
• Mix in the kidney beans and fresh basil, simmering 1 minute more.
• Lastly add in your spaghetti squash (scraped out with a fork) and toss with the sauce.
• Pour the spaghetti squash mixture into an 8X8 baking pan sprayed with olive oil.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Enjoy!

What’s your favorite way to up your plant intake???

Thanks so much for submitting your recipe, Danielle! We love to feature other bloggers and readers’ recipes because we’re all in this together. I love how simple and beautiful this recipe is. You can bet your booty it is on my list! Make sure you check out Kasey’s post today. She’s got a gorgeous new recipe of her own!

Stay lovely,
Heather