My Favorite Quick & Easy Recipe: Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Top photo via Eat, Live, Run on Yummly (what it's supposed to look like)

I've had this blog for almost four years now and this is the first recipe I've ever posted! To be honest with you, I'm not a very good cook (just ask my poor fiance who has had the "pleasure" of taste-testing my edible disasters) but I'm getting better! I'd say I've gone from a terrible cook to an okay one in a very short period of time. Ever since I changed my vegetarian diet to a vegan and gluten-free one due to health reasons, I've had no choice but to learn how to make healthier meals, or starve ; ). Right now I prefer fast, easy, and uncomplicated meals due to my busy schedule (and lack of skills) so I was excited to come across this vegan and gluten-free Mexican rice and bean casserole online because Mexican food is my absolute favorite and I swear I could eat chips, salsa and guacamole every single day and not get sick of it. This recipe is tasty, delicious, healthy, quick, easy and cheap to make! It's one of my faves. Here's what you'll need:

 For the casserole:
- 1 cup brown rice, dry
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce (I used a bit much this time, make sure it's a smaller can than the one in my photo!)
- 1 4-oz can diced green chilies 
- 1 14.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a 9" x 13" dish, combine the rice, broth, beans, tomato sauce, green chilies, cumin, chili powder, salt and garlic powder. Stir well then cover tightly with tin foil. Place in oven and bake for 90 minutes.

For the guacamole:
- 3 ripe avacados
- 1 roma tomato
-  2 tbsp onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 squeezed lime

Directions: Mash together in a bowl.

Serve the guacamole on top of the casserole and enjoy! 
(And remember not to use too much tomato sauce, like I did.)

(You can also add some gluten-free tortilla chips. I dip them in the casserole and guac and it's heavenly.)

5 Month Health/Diet Update

So it's been over five months (!!!) since I cut out all animal products and gluten from my diet, due to health reasons and I thought I'd give you an update on how I've been doing. Some of you may be wondering if I stuck with it.... Well I have! And now you may be thinking "What the heck does she eat??" I eat a LOT of fruits and vegetables, salads, quinoa, lentils, beans, gluten-free pasta, nuts, superfoods like goji berries and cacao, gluten-free steel cut oats, hummus, peanut butter (with bananas), lots of guacamole (love it!) with GF tortilla chips, almond or coconut milk instead of milk, raw chocolate (for a treat!), GF pizza with vegan cheese, GF bread, the list goes on. I try and focus on what I can eat instead of what I can't. I'm also not too strict with myself, for example on Thanksgiving I had mashed potatoes with real butter (I forgot to bring vegan butter and didn't want to ask the host to make me a separate dish) and I had a few chocolate Halloween treats last week (I gave in to the temptation) but I didn't feel very good after. Because I eat so healthy 90% of the time, when I put something into my body that has a lot of sugar or something that is really processed, or even something my body is not used to eating anymore I can really feel it! I like eating food as close to its natural state as possible. (The way we were meant to eat it!) But I will also indulge once in awhile and get GF fries with vegan gravy and a Coke at one of my favorite restaurants. But that's about as un-healthy as I get. I just don't crave that many un-healthy foods anymore because they don't make me feel good. It's as simple as that!

The pro's of eating a Vegan and GF diet:

-After a week of cutting out all animal products and gluten/wheat I started to think clearer. Not sure if that makes sense and it's hard to describe. I just felt "lighter" I guess and my brain wasn't as foggy.

-Speaking of feeling "lighter," I lost 5 lbs. right away and then gained a couple back. I also noticed fat starting to disapper from my body, especially in the stomach area and my clothes starting to loosen on my body.

-I have soooo much energy! I'm still drinking my super smoothie every single morning which charges my batteries and if I don't drink it, I definitely feel it. And before I started my new diet I used to feel really lethargic in the afternoons around the 2 p.m./3-ish mark but I don't anymore.

-My IBS symptoms have decreased dramatically, I no longer get those pains that made me have to curl up into a ball.

-Because of all the fruits and vegetables I'm eating and because I'm juicing a lot, my skin is brighter and I honestly feel it has a bit of a "glow" to it. I've also noticed the fine lines around my eyes starting to soften.

-My nails are so long and strong! They used to be so weak and brittle! I think the ingredients in my smoothie have helped with this.
-I do not count "points" or calories or fat grams or any type of numbers anymore, I don't need to. I listen to my body now. When I'm hungry, I eat. When I'm full, I stop. 

-Because I've been eating healthier, D. has been eating healthier. I've also learned how to cook which he is happy about! I was so bad before (I once started a fire while boiling water) but I'm getting pretty good at it because it's something I have to do if I want to survive ; ). D. still eats meat and dairy and bread and all that but he does enjoy my recipes. Sometimes he'll add chicken or salmon to a dish, if he wants.

This is my "healthy bowl" which is always stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. Actually I have two bowls like this, filled to the brim all the time since I use a lot of produce for juicing.

And the con's:

-The most difficult part of changing my diet was the reaction I got from my family and relatives at first. All of them are meat eaters. My parents even own a buffalo farm. So a lot of family members couldn't understand how I could stop eating all animal products (I was a Vegetarian before that so they were used to me not eating meat already) and things like bread, and buns, etc. "What do you EAT?! Lettuce?! What do you eat at a RESTAURANT? What if you go over to someone's house for dinner and you can't eat ANYTHING? Where do you get your protein and iron from? That diet can't be healthy! How can you live without meat, diary and wheat?? Are you doing this to lose weight? Because you don't NEED to lose weight!" - These are the types of reactions I got. I just had to tell them that I'm doing this for health reasons and I feel so much better eating this way, it's my choice. I can bring my own food to other people's houses if I need to. And not to worry, I make sure I get all my vitamins from the foods I'm eating and supplements, if needed. People shouldn't judge! I don't judge anyone for eating a couple of Big Macs, why does anyone need to judge or scoff at me for making healthier choices? Luckily my family is now much more supportive and I think they have a better understanding of why I've changed my diet. My Mom even made me a GF and vegan cake for my birthday, which was delicious!

-Going out with friends for dinner. Most people can have anything they want at a restaurant but with my diet I can have maybe 2 or 3 dishes on the menu, unless I go to a Vegan restaurant or one that has a Vegan, GF option. But most establishments only have one or the other, not both! So that's a bit difficult...

-I have to really take the time to prepare myself, for example, if I'm going out of town and staying in a hotel, I make sure I have enough healthy snacks to eat and have researched restaurants I can enjoy a meal at. This was really easy for me to do when I was in California in September, there were soooo many options available to me! And they had Whole Foods' stores everywhere. We don't have any in Canada : ( So I go to Planet Organic, which is about 1/3 the size of a Whole Foods.

I am also still working out about 3 or 4 times a week going to Pilates and Barre classes and I actually started teaching group Pilates Mat classes again at a Pilates studio in my city! I love it! I missed it so much. I've stopped doing the Tracy Anderson DVD's, they are too hard on my knees : (.

To wrap up this post, I am really enjoying the benefits and results of my new lifestyle. I know I call it a "diet" but really it's a whole lifestyle change and I think I'm going to stick with it for the long haul. It's been somewhat of a challenge but it's been so worth it.

Life, Lately

Clockwise starting from top left: The dress I got to wear while hosting the JACOB Shopping Event, the Whirling Dervish Quinoa Salad at Noorish, horse-ing around at my brother's ranch, my favorite pair of shoes (tap shoes!) for International Tap Dance Day

Kitty being silly, my new necklace from IN PINK, filming a commercial at Coup Boutique, a wine glass in a cup! BEST INVENTION EVER! Although I don't drink wine...

The Laughing Buddha Bowl at Noorish (can you tell I love that place?), my new business cards designed by my good friend Andrew, 3 of the six kittens we rescued at work, my coworker holding my favorite one. So more on the kitten rescue: a coworker of mine noticed them trapped underneath a heavy piece of pipe in our yard, next to a bunch of other heavy-duty material that needed to be moved. We got a bunch of strong guys to lift the pipe up and pulled all 6 kittens out, to safety. (We were afraid the pipe was going to squish and kill them.) The poor little things were malnourished and lethargic and the mother wasn't around. A couple of ladies from HR took them to the vet and they were all deemed healthy. I emailed a few pictures out to everyone in our company, telling them about the rescue and how the kittens would all need caring homes to go to in a couple of weeks. Well they were snatched up in a heartbeat! We had to feed them with a syringe and formula for a few days but now they're eating solid food and have so much energy and spunk! 

all photos taken on instagram @ mariealamode

I could not end this post without thanking my readers for all the positive feedback on my last post, as well as for sharing your struggles and stories with me. It's nice to know I'm not alone ; ). I was really overwhelmed by your support, so THANK YOU so much!

My Health Journey

I know I usually talk about fashion and beauty on this blog but today I want to talk about my health journey, which has become very important to me and the main focus in my life right now. I have never talked about this on my blog before and I feel a bit vulnerable putting it out there but I want to be honest and open with you guys, my lovely readers, and maybe something I write in this post will resonate with one of you and help you on your journey.

Growing up as a dancer, I had the perfect ballet body. I was long, lean, strong and tall and could eat two quarter pounders, fries and a coke at McDonald's (which I did often) and not gain a pound because I was constantly burning calories. I took dance classes 5 times a week and I loved dancing - it was my life- until the tendonitis in my knees forced me to cut down. When I stopped dancing as much, I gained about 10 lbs. and for the first time ever I had to watch what I ate. I cut out all red meat and lost some of the weight by exercising and non-healthy dieting. But a year later, after a very painful breakup with my high school sweetheart (and entering my first year of college), I could not stop binge eating. Clearly, I was eating my feelings. I was out of control. (For those of you wondering, I did not purge after I would binge, thankfully.) I ended up gaining 25 pounds in a very short period of time and hated how I looked. Especially since I was in theater school at the time and was constantly surrounded by mirrors in dance class and rehearsals, plus I had to wear skimpy costumes for some of our productions. So I decided I had to stop the binge eating and focus on getting skinny again!! (I should have been focusing on self-love but that would come much later.) So I started dieting and the weight started to come off.  I also started doing Pilates, which I really enjoyed. I enjoyed it so much I later got my Mat Certification, and I still teach today, along with teaching Barre classes. I should mention here that I did not eat healthy at all while on this diet though. I basically would eat food with the lowest amount of calories and fat possible, devoid of any real nutritional value, just so I could eat more throughout the day. I didn't eat enough food either, I was always hungry (and cranky) when I went to bed. Over the course of a year and a half I lost around 35 lbs. I was way too skinny but I was obsessed with my weight and food. It was horrible. I couldn't enjoy life because I was too busy focusing on how many calories or fat grams were in everything I put in my mouth and staying thin. It was my way of staying in control during a time in my life where I felt very out of control.  With some guidance and help, I eventually put on a bit of weight that I was comfortable with and started to relax about food but it was really hard.

 Just in case you wanted to know where your gallbladder was located ; )

I am pretty sure the extreme dieting and rapid weight gain and weight loss had something to do with me getting gallstones at 18 years of age. Except I didn't know they were gallstones until I was 26!! I thought they were just "cramps!" Finally my doctor ordered an ultrasound and yup, I had a ton of large gallstones that were causing me intense, curl-up-in-a-ball pain for years! So I had surgery and got my gallbladder removed. (I also contracted a nasty staph infection which was just awesome!) Anyways, shortly after my surgery I decided to become a Vegetarian (for various reasons) and thought I was eating really healthy! Wrong. I was anemic and was put on an iron supplement by my doctor. And I was still having intense pain and bloating in my stomach, among other stomach problems I'll spare you with. I thought removing my gallbladder would have helped that? When I went back to my doctor she told me I should probably get a colonoscopy (FUN!) and get tested for Celiac disease. When both tests came back negative, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Sydrome. (Even more fun!!) She signed me up to see a dietician. Before seeing this dietician I had to journal what I ate for 3 weeks and when I showed her what I had written down she basically told me that if I keep eating the way I was eating I would be very malnourished and more susceptible to illness and disease. She asked if I would consider cutting out dairy and gluten. No way. I wasn't ready then. I already didn't eat meat, if I had to cut out dairy and gluten what the heck would I eat? Grass? So my dietician gave me a list of foods I should try adding to my diet, to help with my IBS as well as give me enough iron and protein to help with my anemia. I felt a bit better adding more nutritious foods to my diet but I was still feeling tired and every now and then I would get that intense pain in my stomach and it would blow up as if I was 4 months pregnant.

It wasn't until I met and started spending time with and really listening to my good friend Lisa, who writes Life By Leese when she moved back to Edmonton from New York City that I realized what you eat can actually make a difference in how you feel. I mean I guess I knew that all along but I was too lazy to make the necessary changes to live it. (Lisa gave a really good interview here to Keltie Colleen, which really inspired me, you should read it!) She is studying to be a holistic health counselor and is so passionate about healing through nutrition, health and wellness and living a healthy, fulfilling life that her positivity rubbed off on me and I asked her what I should do to help my IBS and another chronic illness I've been suffering with since I was a child (that's a whole other post!) and like the dietician I saw, she recommended cutting out all dairy and gluten. Dammit, I love my toast and I love my Dairy Queen Blizzards! But she just asked me to try it for 2 or 3 weeks. So a few days ago Lisa was kind enough to take me shopping to Planet Organic and Save-On Foods where I picked up a few staples to start with, including the items above. (The rest is in my refrigerator.) She also gave me recipe ideas, tips on juicing (which I have been doing for the past couple of months already) and ultra-healthy smoothie-making. I am slowly cutting out dairy and gluten from my diet and I'm not going to lie, it has been really hard so far. I have to consciously make healthier choices. But Lisa told me, "Don't focus on what you're cutting out, don't focus on what you can't have. Focus on all the great foods you can have and all the new, delicious foods you'll be adding to your diet and how they will make you feel." I know being Vegan and gluten-free will be hard at first but I'm willing to try. So that's where I'm at right now with my diet. I hope to be completely dairy and gluten-free by the end of this weekend, I'm just slowly weaning myself off. Right now, I'm feeling really good, with more energy than I've had in a long time. And I'm not counting calories or fat grams at all!

My very simple and favorite juice recipe: 

2 apples, 2 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, 2 celery stalks, a bunch of kale and a bunch of dandelion greens
(sometimes I will add a pear or lemon and a knob of ginger for extra taste)

In the past couple of months I have also started to amp up my workout routine, exercising 4 times a week instead of 2 or 3. I've been active all my life but I stopped doing a lot of cardio when I stopped dancing, I would just do Pilates or Yoga. I know how important cardio is for your heart, health and well-being so I've started walking when it's nice outside and also doing Tracy Anderson's DVD's. Her Metamorphosis package includes a 30 minute dance cardio section (along with a muscular structure section which is SO hard but you really see results!!) where she basically happily flails around and you have to follow her moves. I found it hard to keep up with her and the music really repetitive so I press play but do my own moves and choreography while listening to my iPod and basically dance around my living room like a boss for half an hour. Sometimes I look at the TV and follow her moves for a minute but then I get back into my own groove. When Tracy stops, I stop. It's a great workout! I do it twice a week, even though she says you should do it 6 times a week for 90 days to "transform" your body. But I get bored easily so on the other two days, I'll go to the Pilates studio and work out on the machines or go to a barre class, or do Ballet Beautiful or Barre 3 at home. I also teach 3 classes of Barre and Pilates a week now.

At the end of the day, for me it's not about just looking good, it's about feeling good, physically and mentally.  Because if you don't have a healthy mind and body, what do you have? And I finally realized this only recently! And only recently have I started to love my body. I wish it hadn't taken me this long but I'm glad I am now finally on the right track : ).

 

Thank you for listening : ). Have a wonderful weekend!

The Best $10 I Ever Spent

dress - H & M, shoes - Target, purse - c/o J. Crew, ring - H & M

Happy Monday! (As happy as a Monday can be, right?) I hope you all had a nice weekend! Mine was pretty good but of course went by waaaaay too fast. Thank goodness we have a long weekend coming up. On Saturday night I slipped into this fun, floral dress I bought months ago for $10 on sale at H & M (yes, ten bucks!!) but had never worn up until this past weekend when I went to dinner with my family. We went to Chop Steakhouse to celebrate my Grandma's 90th Birthday. I've mentioned before that I'm a vegetarian so you might be wondering, "What the heck does a vegetarian eat at a steakhouse??" Well, I'll tell you!

I started off with spicy cashew snap peas...

For my main dish I had a chicken apple salad with toasted pecans  (minus the chicken) and I finished off with a....wait for it, wait for it..

...delicious baked apple pie with vanilla ice cream that I shared with my sister-in-law. It was amazing! We all walked out of the restaurant with food babies in our tummies. D. had twins, he could hardly move.

My nephew Kayden and my grandma after she blew out her candles. She looks great for ninety years old, hey???

Have a great week! And don't forget to enter my So Pretty Jewelry international giveaway for a chance to win a $100 gift card! 

Chardonnay and Shenanigans

dress - Winners (borrowed from Jenessa at the last minute because I didn't like the dress I brought)  

shoes - Aldo   purse and rings - H & M

Last Friday my best friend Kristin and I surprised our other best friend friend Jenessa for her birthday by kidnapping her for the evening and taking her to The Matrix Hotel downtown. Jenessa lives in Vancouver so it's not often the three of us can get together and just hang out and be dorks which is exactly what we were that night. Unfortunately I can't get into too many details of our night of debauchery on my blog because my mom or the Pope might read this and/or I might get arrested if I divulge too much information. (I'm only half-kidding when I say that.) And if the Pope is reading this, I promise I'll go to church this Sunday. Twice!

This was our room. I loved how it was decorated.

Two Beauts! Wine tasting in the hotel lounge.

The thin band I'm wearing on my finger is the same one I reviewed here, c/o Anjolee.
If you're wondering!

Our first stop: Hundred Bar and Kitchen for dinner and drinks.
Edmonton Oilers fans will appreciate this bottle of vino ; )

Kristin's Lobster Taco's

My tasty spinach salad with dried cranberries and granola

Dessert for the birthday girl! A  warm peanut butter cookie topped with banana ice cream.
We all had a bite, or two or six ; )

Shots! Our second stop: Moriarty's Wine Bar for more drinks and shenanigans, which usually go hand in hand. We had so much fun and ended our night at The Pint with a.....

Pirate?? Oh, yes.

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Skinny Legs and Cowgirls

Note: right after this picture was taken my cat escaped out of the house (she's an indoor cat) and ran to the fence where she found a dead bird : (  After smelling and hissing at it Kitty ran back inside (without the birdie thank GOD!)

 

blazer - Anne Klein, blouse - Zellers, jeggings -F21, heels - Zara, purse - vintage, bow ring - R.W. & Co, blue ring - H & M

I hope you all had a great weekend and celebrated Mother's Day yesterday in some form or another. My mama left for vacation to Arizona on Saturday so unfortunately I wasn't able to spend time with her on her special day but I'm joining her in Phoenix in a couple of weeks and plan to pamper her a little bit when I arrive. I also plan on doing A LOT of shopping while on holidays, I hear there are some amazing outlets in that area. Actually I'm afraid that I might go a little craaaazy shopping while I'm there. (I've been saving up for months!) Anyways, this is what I wore Friday night when I went out for dinner with some girlfriends. The Anne Klein blazer and vintage purse I picked up at Over the Top Swap last week. The blazer was actually part of a pant suit but the pants were too short so I didn't take them. The classic blazer fit me perfectly and was in mint condition and the cute vintage purse caught my eye right away.

So we went to an organic bistro called Skinny Legs and Cowgirls. Cute name, hey? Our waiter's legs were definitely skinny. The food was alright but we waited 45-60 minutes for our meals to come to our table so we were starving once it arrived. Needless to say I snarfed down my food with a vengeance.

Have a great week! Let's get Monday over with, shall we??

And don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

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Easter Sunday Brunch

dress - H&M (Garden Collection)   shoes - Aldo   tights - Zara  earrings and clutch - Banana Republic  bangles - H&M

Babka (Polish Easter bread)

Fresh spring flowers

Boiled Eggs and Kubasa 

I only ate the eggs but I thought I'd throw in some sausage for my carnivore readers

Jelly Belly's! I think I had about 15 of these

My Grandma's delicious pastries

My adorable cousin/"niece" Lily, modeling the sunglasses I got her.

Earlier in the day she said, "My ear is itchy. I must have eaten something itchy." Ha!

I hope you all had a relaxing and rejuvenating Easter weekend! Did anyone else gain 3 to 5 pounds in the past three days?? For those of you that have today off I am jealous and for those of you that have to work welcome to the club. : (

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