6 (easy) Ways to Add Leafy Greens to Your Diet ….and stay healthy! Most of you guys probably already know that I’m plant-based and if you didn’t… well… now you know. A LOT of things changed since I went plant-based, but that’s probably a topic for another post. I definitely eat healthier and reach for foods I really hated as a child (like spinach or celery). Eating healthy definitely takes some planning ahead, but it’s worth the effort (promise!). Let’s talk about a few easy ways to add leafy greens to your diet, shall we? First, please keep in mind that: +I don’t use the word “diet’ as a way to describe you restricting yourself from eating certain foods or actively trying to lose weight. We’re talking diet, as in the foods you eat every day. +I’m referencing some of my favorite plant-based recipes here, but you can still incorporate these ideas into your diet, even if you like your steak Pittsburgh rare. +I am not vegan, just follow a mostly plant-based diet. SMOOTHIES This is probably one of the easiest ways to add leafy greens to your diet. If you’re not a fan of spinach or kale (but how could […]

The post 6 (easy) Ways to Add Leafy Greens to Your Diet appeared first on Lifestyle Gleam.

As much as I love spending time in the kitchen, working on difficult and time consuming recipes, during the week it’s all about two things for me: quick and easy. If I don’t have an idea for a “weekday dinner”, ninety percent of the time I end up making some sort of a pasta dish. Today I have a quick, easy and healthy idea for you: mushroom & zucchini pasta marinara. Not surprisingly, this pasta dish is meat free. As you guys know I’m not much of a meat-eater and have lots of love for my veggies. Luckily, my hubby likes his veggies too but probably not nearly as much as he loves chicken or steak. While I enjoyed this pasta as-is, I served his portion with some grilled chicken topped with extra marinara sauce. You can use homemade marinara sauce for this recipe, but if you’re really short on time, you can also opt for organic marinara sauce from a jar. Marinara sauce is probably one of the easiest pasta sauces to make. To make marinara sauce, I  usually heat up 2-3 gloves of minced garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until it becomes fragrant, then add a […]

The post Mushroom & Zucchini Pasta Marinara appeared first on Lifestyle Gleam.

Over the last couple of years my view on food has changed drastically. Here are five, must-see documentaries that will do the same for you. 1. Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. [embedplusvideo height=”392″ width=”645″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1FICSNZ” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Gv3vEXy_EwU?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=Gv3vEXy_EwU&width=645&height=392&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=0&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep6013″ /] A 100 lbs overweight, taking tons of medication and suffering from an autoimmune disease, Australian entrepreneur and filmmaker Joe Cross takes us on a journey to gain his health back. He vows to drink nothing but fresh vegetable and fruit juices for 60 days. During his journey he travels throughout the US, meeting over 500 Americans, many of which are also suffering from weight-related health issues. This documentary is an inspiring story of change, determination and human connection. It was one of the first food documentaries that I’ve watched and since then I became a food-documentary junkie. After watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, we got ourselves a juicer and try to incorporate fresh juices into our diet as often as possible. Since the release of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Joe has released a sequel (Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2). 2. Vegucated [embedplusvideo height=”392″ width=”645″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1FIDfbk” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/GKzng1_byMY?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=GKzng1_byMY&width=645&height=392&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep1457″ /] Marisa Miller Wolfson is a food activist who decided […]

The post Five must-see food documentaries & what healthy eating did for my skin appeared first on Lifestyle Gleam.

Today’s recipe is the first of 2015, so it’s only fitting that it’s a healthy one ;) I made this “skinny” veggie pizza few times these past couple of days and I still didn’t grow tired of it. A lot of times, we are hesitant about changing our diet to a healthier one in fear of being destined to eat nothing but lettuce and carrots. It’s not true that eating healthy is dull and boring, it’s not true that we can’t indulge once in a while. At home, I mostly cook healthy, but once in a while we do order pizza or sushi on a Saturday night. I still eat ice-cream in the middle of night sometimes (this usually happens when binge-watching TV shows on Netflix… perhaps I should stop that…).  The most important thing is to create a healthy balance. This year I plan on cleaning up my diet even more. Last year I successfully gave up coffee. Even though I still enjoy a cup here and there (usually on a Sunday morning) it still feels great knowing that I no longer need to drink copious amounts of coffee just to get through the day. In 2015, I’m planning […]

The post Skinny Veggie Pizza appeared first on Lifestyle Gleam.

Anyone else feels like they’ve gained about 10 pounds over the Thanksgiving break? After I skipped breakfast this morning, I really wanted to have a nice, healthy lunch, which was a bit of a challenge with nothing much but Thanksgiving leftovers in my fridge. Few things that I always keep in my fridge are fresh avocados (I only buy about one or two at a time as they turn ripe rather quick-it’s either that or they take forever to ripen), feta cheese (it doesn’t go bad quickly and is a nice addition to salads, pasta dishes, etc. but I don’t have it too often), kumato tomatoes, organic cucumbers and Boston lettuce. I also had some homemade pesto leftover that I usually love using to make a healthier version of grilled cheese sandwich.  I put all of that together with some multi-grain panini bread to create one of the most delicious veggie sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. I had my sandwich with lots of lemon and cucumber infused water. It’s so nice to indulge once in a while (especially on holidays) but I do have to say that it feels great being back on track and eating healthy! At least for the […]

The post Veggie Lover Sandwich appeared first on Lifestyle Gleam.