CASHEW CHEESE STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS WITH ZOODLE PASTA

Ok so this might not look like the most appetizing thing (or maybe it does, I dunno) but what I do know is that IT. IS. DELICIOUS.

Beautiful squash blossoms from the farmers market stuffed with homemade cashew cheese, dipped in an almond meal batter and light fried in coconut oil- I mean mouthgasm.

On top of a bowl of quinoa noodles and zoodles with a garlicy, lemon dream sauce. With some sauteed shroomies, fresh dill and crushed red pepper.

Its a winner.

Being able to make this pasta and truly enjoy eating it without the fear of how it might effect my weight is something I am so thankful for, because it wasn't always the case.

There were years where I was so afraid of carbs- and eating one bite would often make me feel immense amounts of guilt and shame, like I broke my diet, so I would end up knee deep in a binge, eating everything, while promising myself that tomorrow would be different.

It except it rearely was. It was a vicious cycle I was somehow stuck in.

Breaking free from this is challeneing, but it is possible.

If I can do it so can you.

And if you want freedom, then I encourage you to apply for my July Break Free From Binge Eating Group Coaching, You can do so here.

And without further ado here is the recipe:

Make the cashew cheese first- it takes a day to be ready.

Then make the pasta and fixings before frying the blossoms so those a crispy and fresh to put on the pasta right before servings.

CASHEW CHEESE STUFFED SQUASH BLOSSOMS WITH ZOODLE PASTA

For the cashew cheese:

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews soaked in hot water for 30min-1 hour. drain the water

• 2 probiotic capsules from renew life- i used these

• lemon juice, to taste

• avocado oil, to taste

• salt, to taste

Drain the cashews and add to a food processor and process into a riccotta cheese like texure. Add in some oil, lemon juice and salt to taste. Then transfer to a plastic container and using a plastic spoon (metal deactivates the probiotic), open up and pour the powder from the capsules in the cashews and mix. place a paper towl or cloth over the top and let it sit on the counter next to the oven or stove. Leave for 24 hours. Then tastes and adjust to your desire. I adapted from this recipe.

For the Squash Blossoms:

• 8-10 blossoms

Almond meal mixture:

• 1 cup almond flour

• garlic powder, vegetable seasoning, onion powder ect: what ever seasoning mix you like is perfect

• salt to taste

• Two eggs- whisked/scrambled

• Coconut oil for frying.

To make the blossoms:

Using chopsticks, gently pull open the blossoms and stuff with cashew cheese.

then grab two bowls, put the almond flour mixture in one, and the eggs in the other.

Heat coconut oil in a large pan- use enough to caot the bottom generously.

Dip the blossom in the egg wash, dip in the almond meal and fry in the oil. Repeat for all the blossoms.

Pasta:

• 1 bag of quinoa brown rice pasta from trader joes

• 4 zucchini- spiralized

• 1-2 cups mushrooms, sliced thin

Sauce:

• 1/3-2/3 cup avocado oil

• 2 lemons juice

• 5 garlic cloves, minced

• salt

• pepper

Directions:

boil water and make the pasta according to package instructions.

In another pan heat up 1 tbsp of the oil for the sauce and add in the sliced mushrooms to cook for 3-5 minutes per side. Then add in the garlic and salt, lightly cook for 30 seconds and then add in the remaing oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and add in the zoodles to cook for 1-2 minutes.

Then transfer the pastas noodles and the zooles mixture to a large bowl and mix well. Proceed to make the blossoms and then top on the pasta. This makes 4 servings!

ALSO, if you have been loving my recipes then you I am so excited to share that my first ever cookbook Vegan Buddha Bowls is now available for order.

Amazon

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Book Depository:

EASY VIBRANT FOOD RECIPES AND AN AGRUMENT FOR THE NUTRITIONAL MIDDLE GROUND

Franzzzz,

Gosh it has been a long time since I posted a recipe on here.

There are many reasons why but I started to drift away from my recipe developer roots as I dived deeper into being an anti-diet, ed recovery, health coach.

Recently, there has been a lot of chatter in the ED Recovery, anti-diet and Body Positivity realm about Wellness Culture being the new Diet Culture (read here, here and here) and in fear of causing harm to the very people I want to help, I stopped talking about my passion for nourishing whole foods as much.

BUT - I am an advocate for the nutritional middle ground, as Stephanie Webb calls it.

I realized that I truly believe in the power of vibrant nourishing foods and they played a role in my eating disorder recovery because it became a form of self-care and self-love.

Denying that, or no longer talking about that, is not being true to myself or my journey, which I discuss at length in my book, Body Wisdom.

And while I am not an advocate for processed foods -(think twinkies and Jack in the Box) for many reasons, (even though I do eat them sometimes- hello french fries are fucking delicious), I do absolutely understand the POV of not demonizing them which creates fear and food rules- two things that are not good for anyone with an ED.

YOU are not good or bad for eating anything, but I don't want to pretend like all foods are equal from a biological nutritional perspective (or form an enviormental one either), which is often the mindset that Food Neutrality proponents suggest taking on, but I never thought foods were truly equal like that at any point in my recovery journey.

I think we have to keep talking about the fact that there is a very real health epidemic happening in our country as a result of the food system and food supply.

Don't get me wrong, Wellness Culture and "clean eating" has absolutely contributed to the developement of eating disorders like Orthorexia, but I think it comes back to the individual and how they are thinking about the food- not just the food in and of itself.

That said, my mission is not to end chronic illness nor to remove all nutrient depleted processed foods from our society, rather it's about helping women heal their relationship with food and their body through authentic inspiration to take care of themselves and make empowered choices that honor who they are and what they care about in their lives.

For me, vibrant, colorful nourishing food from mama earth is something that I love and I truly enjoy eating in abundance. It is something I genuinely care about.

I get so much joy from going to the farmers market, collecting ingredients and whipping up recipes in the kitchen.

And I want to keep sharing the passion with all of you.

So without further ado- here are some easy quick recipes that I made this week for meal prep. I love meal prepping, even though I do not always make time for it, because it saves me time during the work week.

And I just think its fun!

Bruschetta Lentils (adapted from The Whole Smith Cookbook)

• 1 box pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joes (or 3 cups lentils cooked)

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in quaters

• 1/3 cup red onion, diced

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 tbsp avocado oil

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• pink salt to taste

Mix everything in a bowl and store in the fridge.

Rainbow Carrot Salad with Ginger, Mint and Lime

• 1 bunch rainbow carrots, shredded (about 4-5 cups shredded)

• 1 watermelon radish, sliced on a mandolin and cut into matchsticks

• 1/2 cup mint, rough chopped

• 2 tbsp ginger, grated on a microplane

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 limes, zested and juiced

• 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• handful of crushed peanuts (optional)

• pink salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Keep in the fridge

Sesame Cabbage and Cilantro Salad

• 1/2 large green cabbage head, sliced thin or on a mandolin

• 2/3 cup cilantro, loosely chopped

• 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame oil

• 2 tsp braggs or coconut aminos

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• pink salt to taste

Add everything into a bowl and mix well.

Roasted Sweet Potatoe Fries

• 2 large sweet potatoes cut into steak fries

• 1-2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil

• spices: cumin, garlic, cinnamon, curry etc (get creative- whatever sounds good to you)

• pink salt to taste

Pre-heat over to 450f. Once hot roast sweet potatoes for 25 mins until crispy and almost burnt on one side.

xo C

ALSO, if you have been loving my recipes then you I am so excited to share that my first ever cookbook Vegan Buddha Bowls is now available for order.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indiebound

Books-a-Million

Book Depository

DO YOU THINK THIN = BEAUTIFUL?

I used to really dislike this wide legged trouser trend that is so popular at the moment. Over the last year, it has slowly become the LA girls uniform and now, I am a full convert.

While pondering on the fact that my attraction towards these pants has changed, I realized how we, collectively as humans, can unlearn or change what we see as attractive, but we often seem to forget this.

How many of you reading this believe that THIN = BEAUTIFUL?

how about THIN = ATTRACTIVE?

Or THIN IS BETTER?

When I ask my clients about why they struggle to accept and love themselves they often say something like “I can’t love myself at this size because it’s unattractive or ugly.”

As if we have no capacity as a human to change our mind about what is beautiful.

Lke it’s hardwired into our brains, we were born with these beauty ideals rather than something we are conditioned to see.

We are taught to think a specific body type is attractive by the people and messages around us.

But what we see as attractive can change.

Just like I thought I would never swap my skinny jeans for these (ugly) trousers, the more I saw them on other women, the more they grew on me, until eventually I was like OMG I NEED A PAIR.

Like the trousers, I used to hate everything about my body, until I actively worked on seeing beauty within myself.

I started to change the messages I ingested and the people I was surrounding myself with. I left my job in the fashion industry and stopped reading magazine.

So if you are struggling to see your body as beautiful or attractive, what are you doing to influence the way you see yourself?

Are you reading tabloids and fashion magazine or body-positive blogs?

Are you hanging out with people who are afraid of fat and constantly dieting or body-positive people?

Are you following people on Instagram who post before and after photos or body-positive accounts?

Are you looking for beauty everywhere, or is your view narrow in scope?

In order to improve our Body Image we need to be open to seeing things differently.

xo C

*An Isabel Foxen Duke idea