Crockpot Vegetable Soup (Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Vegan)

I'm not sure if I should say happy Monday or not because it is Monday of finals week. In a few short hours I have to take my statistics exam that I have seriously studied my brains out for. No joke I've woken up doing statistics in my sleep, scary I know. I cannot wait for finals to be over and go home! 

This weekend I basically went off the grid, which in a strange way was rather nice. I hardly turned my phone on and tried to keep Internet usage on my laptop to a minimum- minus yesterday's study break which I finally posted my Thanksgiving recap and may have wound up watching buzzfeed videos (seriously no clue how I ended up there). I've been studying like a mad woman for my stats exam and really needed an easy meal for finals week. I've been craving vegetables (is that strange?) and soup sounded nice in the cold weather, thus I present Crockpot Monday Vegetable Soup! 

Crockpot Vegetable Soup

• 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2 lb. frozen vegetable mix, I used Meijer brand which had carrots, peas, green beans and corn
• 28 oz organic diced tomatoes
• 32 oz organic low sodium chicken broth, can substitute vegetable stock 
• splash of olive oil, approx. 1-2 teaspoons, you can omit this
• ground black pepper, to taste
• fresh or dried basil, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic

In the crockpot add the splash of olive oil, then layer in the onion, sweet potato and about half of the mushrooms. 

Next, dump in the entire bag of frozen vegetables. 

On top of the frozen vegetables dump the remaining mushrooms.

Dump the entire can of diced tomatoes on top of all the vegetables, then pour in the chicken broth. 

Finally top with ground black pepper and basil to taste. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Stir the soup to mix around all the vegetables before serving. I served the soup with gluten free corn bread.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for later use.

Nutrition per serving, serves 10 (macros will vary depending on what products you use):

Calories: 59

Carbs: 10 grams

Fat: 0 grams

Fiber: 2 grams

Protein: 3 grams

Sodium: 148 mg

Sugar: 5 grams

Thanksgiving Recap (Better Late than Never)

I am definitely way behind on getting posts up, and for that I blame finals. Since Friday I have been basically off the grid holed away in my apartment studying for my statistics final, which is tomorrow (YIKES)! I am so ready for finals week to be over.

I know Thanksgiving was over a week ago, but I wanted to do a quick recap of my short Thanksgiving break. 

For some stupid reason my university does not give us an entire week off for Thanksgiving. I drove home Tuesday night after classes. Wednesday morning I was scheduled for an ultrasound because of problems I have been having due to lupus. I was not allowed to eat or drink for 12 hours before the test. My test was scheduled for 8:15, but I normally eat breakfast between 4 and 4:30 AM. I was extremely hangry and parched by the time my appointment rolled around, not to mention they were late getting me. As soon as the test was over I bolted across the street to Panera Bread and got the breakfast power bowl with turkey. I was crazy good, but I'm not sure I even tasted it. I scarfed the whole thing down in no time. 

I did not even get to enjoy much of my Thanksgiving break because I had a ton of homework and a take home statistics exam that were due after break. I spent a lot of my break studying, but Cora kept me company while I worked on my statistics. I think the only reason she likes having me home is because I allow her on the furniture. 

Thanksgiving morning I did a killer workout partially because I knew I was going to stuff my face later. Post workout I enjoyed this deliciously chunky cookies and cream Quest Bar.

I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving dinner this year, but trust me my mom did an exceptional job! Friday I was not one of the crazies out shopping early in the morning. I stayed home and indulged in this parfait bowl. I had 1/2 cup light and fit greek yogurt, 1 kiwi, 1 tablespoon vanilla espresso almond butter from Wild Friends (I finally got my hands on it!) and about 1/4 cup cranberry almond quinoa granola (I made a chocolate version). 

With my parfait bowl I had my favorite avo-egg GF toast. If you haven't tried it yet you are seriously missing out! I love avo-egg toast with scrambled and hard boiled egg either way you can't go wrong. 

Sunday morning I drove back to school early in the morning so I could get settled in and ready for a hectic week. My mom didn't let me leave empty handed though. I was sent back with a doggy bag of yummy Thanksgiving leftovers- leftover turkey and roasted vegetables. (P.S. I got a new set of dishes over the weekend and I am in LOVE with them- I love black Friday markdowns all weekend!)

I apologize for the mile long post and being MIA the past week. I need to get back to studying for exams :P Have a great rest of your weekend! 

Christmas Exchange Part 2: Funfetti Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

It's officially December, where has the time gone?! And happy Cyber Monday too, have you gotten any good deals? I'm very excited for Christmas because I love this time of year and my brother is coming home from California for Christmas!! Plus I am so ready for finals to be over- I have been studying and working on final projects and feel like my head just might burst. 

Sadly I do not have a crockpot Monday recipe to share this week. I am eating my way through my freezer to clean it out before Christmas break, so this week I will be eating the last of the minestrone and mini turkey meatball soup I made a few weeks ago. I promise I have a new crockpot recipe for next week- for a little preview it's vegan, gluten free and dairy free and super easy to make! 

Today I want to share part two of my Christmas exchange with you. Around Christmas it always seems like everyone is making sugar cookies, but good sugar cookies are hard to come by. My childhood was filled with more than a few sugar cookies that could have been used for hockey pucks. My body has a really hard time dealing with sugar now, so I had to rely on a trusted group of taste testers who were more than happy to sample and critique each batch of cookies. I landed on this recipe and I'm proud to say all of my taste testers said they were the softest sugar cookies they had ever had. So, as promised here is the recipe for the Funfetti Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies I paired with the cookies and cream puppy chow in the Christmas exchange with my friends.

Funfetti Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

• 1.5 cups all purpose GF flour, or regular all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tarter, do not omit- I learned this secret from a good friend
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter, partially melted
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a mixing bowl combine flour, cream of tarter, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, chocolate chips and sprinkles. 

Once all the dry ingredients are combined add in the egg and vanilla. If you are using a stick of butter simply heat it up in the microwave to get to soften and melt. You do not want to melt all of butter, only a little bit, otherwise you will melt the sprinkles and chocolate chips.

After all ingredients are combined place dough in the fridge to chill. I left the dough in the fridge for three hours (I only did it that long because I forgot about it, whoops- you can chill it overnight though). Placing cookie dough in the fridge prevents the dough from spreading into flat, giant cookies when baking. You don't have to chill the dough, but I do recommend doing it for at least 30 minutes. 

Using your hands or a scooper form dough balls approximately 1.5 tablespoons each. I was able to get 38 dough balls. If you make them bigger you will get less. 

Place dough balls on a lined baking sheet. Gently press the top of each dough ball down- just enough to flatten the top of it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Even if the cookies appear to be too soft they are done. 

Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or paper towels to cool completely. 

Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for later use.