Tomato Harvest & Clean Marinara Sauce

Lately my garden has been overflowing with tomatoes.

With the recent rise in temperature they have been ripening left and right. Now I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with. My local grocery store is also selling roma tomatoes by the bushel now. I'm so sad that this probably means the end of summer is coming, but I do admit that fall is my favourite time of year. The produce is the best, you get to drink hot chocolate, bundle up in cozy sweaters, jump into piles of leaves, carve pumpkins and go on fall walks! Fall is aweseome.

Sorry, too soon to talk about autumn? Let's get back to those tomatoes.

Want to know something funny? Just the other day I was picking some of these gorgeous beauties, and as I was reaching into the jungle of vines my arm grazed the plant at the front of the garden, causing at least 5 tomatoes to all fall off at the same time. How weird is that? My tomatoes have never fallen off the vines by themselves before.

Seriously. They're just crying to be used..pick me. Pick me! Sort of like my basil plant.

And...there's still more coming.

Time to make a little somethin' somethin' with 'em.

If you've never made your own marinara sauce before, then you're missing out. There's nothing better than fresh and homemade. Plus, it's one of the easiest things in the world to make. This smelt soooooo good while it was cooking. It was like bottling summer in a jar. So warm and robust. The whole house smelt like this all day. You can enjoy this fresh, store it in the fridge for a week, or freeze for a few months.

You could also easily can this and keep it stashed in your pantry for one of those gloomy overcast winter days when you need a bit of warmth from summer.

Marinara Sauce (makes 3 cups)

(adapted from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook 2)

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Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 heaping Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 1/2 cups fresh roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 cups clean low sodium tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan or stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and red pepper flakes, and saute until onion is translucent.
2. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute longer.
3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and oregano. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Using a hand-held immersion blender, blend sauce until desired smoothness. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve this with fresh with pasta, vegetables, fish or grains. It also makes an amazing pizza sauce.

Funky Monkey Smoothie

Before I started eating healthier, I never really put much thought into getting the proper nutrition my body needs. I still remember the days when I used to just eat something because I was A) hungry, B) lazy and in a hurry, or C) I wanted it, and it was convenient. All the while without giving a second thought about whether it was good for me. Those were the teenage days. At least the early ones anyway.

Boy how things have changed!

After realizing how crappy my body felt and that it was making me miserable I decided to make a big change in my eating habits and lifestyle, and focus on my health. First went the pop. Then went the rest of all the junk and fast food.

I started lifting weights and within a few months I started to see noticeable definition. I was already fairly active, but the weights made a big difference. After all, muscle burns more calories than fat!

These days I feel like the picture of health and I'm a whole lot happier for it.

I love feeling in shape and toned.

I love the way I feel after I eat something that's bursting with nutrition. Everyday doesn't need to be perfection, but as long as the overall 'big picture' is one that is balanced, I'm happy.

I don't worry about counting calories anymore or bother with products that promote themselves as fat-free or sugar-free; they are just lined with chemicals and other unnatural ingredients. Eating clean gives me the proper nutrition my body needs from real whole foods. Just eat a rainbow of real food.

I like to start my day off sometimes with a nutrient packed smoothie. If I don't get one in the morning I'll also have this for lunch. This guy is gluten-free, vegan, lactose-free, and made with Vega one chocolate mix. It has the equivalent of 3 servings of veggies (+ added fruit), 21 grams of protein, 11 grams of fiber, antioxidants, and 50% of your daily intake of vitamins & minerals. It's also low glycemic! Vega is also wonderful If you're looking to lose weight, because of it's low GI rating you keep your blood sugar low and get the maximum amount of nutrition at the same time. It's perfect for supplementing 1 or 2 of your daily meals with in addition with healthy snacks. That's exactly what this smoothie is designed for.

Love, love, love Vega! I must write a review of this stuff. I'm way overdue for it.

Funky Monkey Smoothie (serves 1)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 large tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1 scoop Chocolate flavored Vega One
• 3-4 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place ingredient into blender in this order: frozen banana, Vega powder, peanut butter, and almond milk.
2. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add ice cubes and pulse.

It almost tastes like a peanut butter cup; my favorite cheat of all time!

This recipe is being shared at Fit and Fabulous Fridays.