Chard Ragout

"I'm a member of a local CSA and we received chard, potatoes, and onions in our box this week. I'd never used chard in anything before, but decided a recipe for Chard Ragout was too good to pass up. It's got white beans, potatoes, onions, chard, and various herbs in it. No broth--just the water the beans were cooked in. Tastes delicious too!"

Bean Salad Heaven

Heather from Richmond Virginia sends us this recipe: "This is a most delicious bean salad with kidney beans, chick peas, avocado, Ro Tel (a canned mix of tomatoes and chilies), cilantro & feta cheese. I couldn't stop eating it!!! I didn't create this salad, but found it on a blog by MckMama called my charming kids." (Note that this is a link to the original recipe, which does not contain feta and is vegan if your Italian dressing is).

Cranberry Bulgur Salad

Cranberry Bulgur Salad from Kiersten at Full Of Beans.

Yoga By The Lake

Here is Grace from Front Porch Yoga: A Place to Pause, upside down on the way up into a handstand while vacationing in TN. Beautiful!

Dining out in France

Mandy says, "I recently returned from teaching English in Spain. During the holidays, my husband came over and we traveled around Europe. As vegans, we were a little worried about finding places to eat, however, we were thrilled to find that there were many vegetarian and vegan restaurants and even more health food stores where we could find all kinds of vegan treats! Here are some pictures of my family and I while in Nice, France. We went to Le Speakeasy Cafe, a vegan restaurant run by an American woman.


"For appetizers there was bread with olives and home-made potato pate.


"For the main course we got potato pie, barley and broccoli, seitan, and tempeh sausage with sauerkraut.


"For dessert there were strawberry tarts, but I forgot to take a picture! Oh well. It was all delicious!"

Hangover Buster Juice

Nikk from Onions + Garlic writes, "I love to juice and have a great natural hangover remedy.


"All veggies are fresh and organic from the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market.


"My Hangover Buster Juice is : Swiss chard (or kale), beets (for your liver), ginger (for your tummy), Meyer lemon, carrots and apples:"

Have a great long weekend, everyone! Depending on your plans, you might want keep this recipe handy. :-)

Sadie's Vitality Broth

Ruthie sent in this picture of Sadie's Vitality Broth from Vegan Vittlesby Jo Stepaniak: "one of my favorites!!"

Fruit Is Beautiful

And here is the work-of-art fruit plate that Victoria served her guests for dessert!

Victoria has started Eating Local in the Tropics, a blog about local eating in an alternative climate. "I've been eating a ridiculous amount of fruit lately since we have so much of it down here."

Beet Salad and Cold Sesame Noodles

Victoria submitted this picture of a vegan lunch she made for out of town guests. "There is a salad of steamed asparagus and roasted golden beets sprinkled with sesame seeds and cold sesame noodles with cucumber, scallions and red peppers."

Victoria, now we all want to be your guests!

The Hills of San Francisco

Cora Rose says, "Having exchanged a rural childhood for urban environs, I stay healthy by finding awesome walks in the parks, roads, and trails in the city of San Francisco - known for its hills and surrounded by shoreline to the west, north, and east."

Two from Germany

Chinese Leaf Lettuce with a Soja (soy) Yogurt dressing on a baked potato.


Wraps filled with Hummus and grated raw vegetables.

(submitted by Netty from her blog Go Vegan, which has some great-looking recipes for those of you who can read German.)

Vegetarian Picnic Lunch

Krista S. writes, "Here are some pictures of my picnic lunch that I made for my coworker and her two children for our first summer picnic. We live in Anchorage, AK, and this past week has been fantastic! (High 50s & sunny)."


"The first is a corn salad with tons of cilantro, some red onion, and tomato dressed in olive oil and lime juice.


"The next is homemade hummus (recipe based on one from the book How It All Vegan!)with carrots & celery ...


"... and the last is tabouli made with onion, cucumber, tomato, bulgur wheat, green onions, and some optional feta to sprinkle in.

"It was well received - especially by my coworker who asked for the recipes!"

Cantaloupe Milk Smoothie

Here's a smoothie idea that's totally new to me, from Zucchini Breath and her Big Raw Vegan Blog:

"Next time you get a cantaloupe save the skins, seeds, and strings. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. The next morning make yourself this delicious Cantaloupe Milk Smoothie.

"Scrape the rinds to get all the meat and juice that you can. Put the seeds, strings and any cantaloupe meat you have in the blender. Add 3 cups of water or less, do not over fill the blender.

"Blend until the seeds are pulverized. There is meat inside the seeds and this is what makes this smoothie so creamy.

"Pour the mixture into fine mesh strainer and press it through. Pour the thick juice into a large glass or jar and drink it up. Refrigerate leftovers and drink within three days.

"NOTE: I drink this smoothie on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for 4 hours after I finish it. If I combine this with any other foods I get some harsh intestinal difficulties. You might not, I'm just saying. The rule of thumb for me with melon is 'Eat it alone or leave it alone'."

Green Juice for Lunch

Sari writes, "This is what I have for lunch everyday! Love the green juice and I put it in a huge goblet to make it more fun!"

Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant Marinara

From Kara, "I try to make "classic" dinners using fresh, whole ingredients. This is my gluten-free, vegan spaghetti: spaghetti squash topped with eggplant marinara and sauteed mushrooms with roasted asparagus on the side."

Go Outside and Play!

JaneW in Capetown knows how to stay active with her family: "We cycle, skateboard, climb trees and mountains and generally play the fool!"

Cooking In Advance

This impressive sight was submitted by Jeff Ainslie, one of the hosts of Fat2Fit Radio:

"Cooking healthy lunches in advance keeps me from eating out and saves a lot of money. Being prepared ahead of time with healthy meals and snacks removes the excuses that I used to have to buy junk out of a vending machine."

I'm inspired by this image, not so much by the exact food that's in the containers, but by the concept of planning ahead and being ready with that healthy choice before the bad choice even has a chance to tempt you. Planning for your own needs and preparing in advance is a great way to stay healthy!

If you planned ahead and had your lunches prepackaged several days in advance, what would be in your containers?

Yoga in French Class

Here's some more work/school inspiration for Monday! Isabelle Alarie in Montreal writes, "A couple of weeks ago, our school participated in the 5/30 Health Challenge (eating at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day and exercising 30 minutes a day). This was a province-wide endeavor which became a school-wide activity for our high school.

"Now as a French teacher, I can't really do much other than talk (in French) about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, but depending on the students I get, fun things can happen.

"My grade 10 students actually did some "competitive" yoga during French class!! It was fun and hilarious! We did this all period (50 minutes) and they often ask if we could do it again."

This is great, it reminds me of the yoga classes I used to lead during lunchtime at my office (back in the pre-shmoo days). Does anyone else have pics and stories to inspire health at work or school?

Workday Lunch and Snacks

Welcome to Monday! Here is M's lunch and snacks for the workday: cut and whole fruit, millet-based tabouli salad and veggies, and salad in a 3-tier To-Go Ware.

Raw Vegan Cheese Crepes

Melissa Cohen sent in this picture of "the best ever raw vegan cheese crepes!" Coconut-squash crepe wraps filled with homemade fermented nut cheese, homegrown basil and tomatoes, topped with homegrown basil pesto, with a backyard lettuce salad on the side.

Stir Fried Tofu

Jenn at Corgi Pants ("short and sweet") wrote a post a few weeks back about How To Eat Soy and Like It, featuring this stir fried tofu with veggies. Yum!

Fruit Plate

This fruit plate looks so celebratory! I love the little stars on the tablecloth.

(submitted by Alison Read of Guess What?!?)

Car-Lite Living

Here's one from Alan Barnard: "We stay thin partially by eating vegan, but we're also a car-lite family and do much of our getting around by bicycle. Attached is a photo of my wife Michael riding home on one of our local bike trails. We own and operate a blog on transportational cycling titled EcoVelo."

Quinoa Pasta

Gluten-free quinoa pasta with sun dried tomatoes, asparagus and lima beans.

(submitted by Lauren at Ginger Is The New Pink)

Wildcat Mountain Hike

An early spring hike in the mountains of Virginia -- "healthy and fun outdoor recreation!"

(from Peace, Love and Veganism at Where's the Meat?)

Chipotle Black Beans

Chipotle Black Beans served over spelt.

(another great submission from Kiersten at Full of Beans)

Black Bean, Mango, and Quinoa Salad

(submitted by Kiersten at Full Of Beans)

Butternut Squash Fries

Here is a submission from Christie Haigh at Haigh Happenings, who writes: "Here is one of my favorites- butternut squash fries. This is a healthy addition to any meal- low in calories and high in fiber. It is a source of all kinds of good things like vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, and potassium, and vitamin A. I like to bulk up my meal with these.

"Here is a picture after I cut it up, cut the skin off, and put it in the pan. I sprayed it with cooking spray, sprinkled cumin and kosher salt on it:

"The great thing is that 2 of my 3 kids also like to eat them. Aliah digging in:


"Violet with a whole fist full:

"Ricky is still dubious, he tried one today for I think the second time. That's progress- it only took me 7 years to get him to eat broccoli."

Green Monster

Have we inspired you to start drinking green smoothies yet? If so, I consider it a job well done.

Here is a photo of a simple green smoothie that Haleigh Ekstrom enjoys often for breakfast. It's called the Green Monster: 1 small banana, 1 cup vanilla soy milk, ice, and a handful of spinach.

You can read more about the smoothie and see before pics at Haleigh's blog Inner Wellness.

Before and After the Race

Before:

After:

Here's some exercising inspiration to kick off your weekend, from vegetarian runner Allison Dehner: "I recently ran in the Arizona Distance Classic 5K. Although I've run in many races I actually finished FIRST in my age group this time! See my totally rockin' score here (female age group 25-29).

"I was so excited. My wonderful husband ran beside me the whole time and pushed our 2 kids in the jogging stroller. As you can imagine we are a family who loves to be healthy and do things together. Also, note the attached, before and after pictures ... the after picture was taken after the race and the kids were ready to get out of the stroller! LOL!"

Thanks, Allison! The kids do look worn out, but I note that you and your husband look fresh as daisies!