seeing green

ok. so.

as i said in my last post. i'm going raw. not completely, but mostly (hopefully).

enter the green smoothie:

i have a feeling i'm going to be making a lot of these ;) the taste is a little funky as i'm not used to them yet. i've had only a few before. the one pictured was made with a partially frozen banana (i was impatient), a non-frozen banana, a large handful of spinach, some water, frozen cranberries, and chia seeds.
the one this morning, which i didn't take a photo of because it looked pretty much exactly the same as the one above, was made with a banana, hemp milk, handful of spinach, chia seeds, and frozen strawberries.

my poor cuisinart food processor got a lot of action today. i felt bad for it. it's not used to it. but a couple weeks ago, i broke my ninja! i was processing dates and they must have been too hard or something because suddenly the motor was smoking. i freaked and unplugged it. sadly it had to go in the trash. soon i'll be buying a new ninja, an even better one, and i'm so excited.

raw tabbouleh, anyone?

oh yes please. my second new favorite food. it's actually quite delicious! see instead of bulgar wheat, you use cauliflower! amazing! recipe was found here. the original recipe seems to call for powdered sugar, which i omitted. this tastes lovely and very close to tabbouleh made with bulgar :)

oh yes, one more amazing discovery i made just yesterday, and also my first new favorite food. raw falafel. didn't know this was possible lol. didn't even require a dehydrator, which i do not have. so yay!


original recipe found here. i didn't use maca powder, and subbed almond butter for tahini. worked great! and also, no cilantro. can't stand the stuff. used parsley instead ;)

i'm really happy with the way the day turned out for me. no, it wasn't 100% raw but like i said before, i'm fine with that. i am just happy that i now have delicious ways to get in more vegetables and make them taste good raw!

i'm also really happy that there is leftover tabbouleh and falafel in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch ;D

lurking

sorry for kinda disappearing for a month, heh. i have been a bit uninspired. and detached from a lot of things. i'm hoping to get back into keeping up with my own blog!

what have i been up to? honestly, not much. been thinking a lot about my goals. general and future plans alike. the new year is approaching fast. hannah will be going to school next september. at that point i'll be looking for a job. things will be changing suddenly.

my veggie garden for next spring has been planned. unfortunately it started snowing and we never went out and prepared the land. hopefully the snow will melt and stay gone long enough for us to do that ;)

as for food, well, i'm going to give raw a go. it's always seemed so far-fetched for me. because i love cooking and baking so much. but it's something i've been intrigued with ever since i went vegan. i will probably never be 100% raw. and that's ok. my ultimate goal is to increase the amount of raw food i eat and decrease the amount of cooked food i eat. that's it.

with the new year, i like to participate in whole living's action plan. so when i start it, i think i'm going to go completely raw for a week and see how it makes my body feel. it would be an amazing cleanse. then as i re-introduce more food i will also re-introduce a few cooked foods as well, but sticking to mainly raw.

i'm really going to do it. i'm ready. i've done a lot of research. i've read a lot of articles, watched a lot of videos, i feel i'm educated enough to make the right food choices. and i'll be making a slow transition, as to not deprive myself so quickly of things i love.

anyone have experience with a raw food lifestyle? if not is it something you'd like to try? it can't hurt to try, right? :)

a wordless wednesday

pumpkin muffins

the love for pumpkin continues.....

while searching for recipes for pumpkin muffins, i came across one from family fresh cooking, they looked irresistible! had to make them. i changed a few things in the original recipe, so here's how i made them:

yummy pumpkin muffins

1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup nut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup so delicious coconut milk
1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
grease a muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
in a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices.
in a medium mixing bowl, add the nut butter, vanilla, coconut milk, sugar, and pumpkin and mix well. pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a spoon until just combined.
pour into muffin tins. bake for 25 minutes.
this recipe made me 11 muffins.

they will be moist.
they will not be too sweet.
they will be perfect.
enjoy that pumpkin!

some favorite things

endangered species chocolate is my favorite chocolate. they make some yummy flavors. i like their raspberry, cranberry with almond, and mint the most. not only does it all taste amaaaazing, but they are a really good-hearted company to buy from.

i scored a bag of these on sale for $2.99, an after-halloween special ;D

some of their chocolate is vegan and some is not, so make sure to check the ingredients.

roasted squash. doesn't really need an explanation about why it's so good:


large cans of chickpeas. also doesn't need explanation :)

i don't know why but i can't seem to cook them right when i buy them dry. i really wanted it to work since i've heard it's cheaper than buying cans all the time. but there's just something so nice about opening a new can of chickpeas.....

i was so excited when i spotted this! i knew it was coming and was surprised to find it so soon. it tastes great! and i'm glad that there is another option out there other than soy. so delicious, you have made me sooo happy!


pumpkin muffins: tasty, moist, and not too sweet. recipe to come soon!


happy monday!

wiaw V

good evening! just popping in to post for wiaw :) now that mofo is over i will probably not post quite so much. i'm most comfy posting 3-4 times a week. hope ya'll don't mind ;)

breakfast:
tofu scramble with mushrooms and kale, tomatoes on the side and a slice of toast.

lunch-ish:
pumpkin pie smootheh

snack:
cucumber, tomatoes and crackers with hummus. it has become a favorite of hannah and i.

dinner:
a cheezy quesadilla.....

with tomato soup. i made this over the summer and froze it. i grew a bajillion tomatoes this summer and i miss having them at hand!

dessert:
a few of these throughout the day. they are peanut butter filled "caramels." i made them on halloween and they turned out to be the perfect candy! recipe can be found at love veggies & yoga.


mmmmmmmmm!

so how was your halloween? did you get any trick-or-treaters? we got 3 groups of kids. so cute! we are thinking of taking hannah to a few houses next year, should be fun :)

halloween party food

we had our halloween party last night. the kids are big fans because they get to dress up and run around like crazy and enjoy yummy party foods.

the one time they were all calm, at the table eating dinner.

for this special occasion, i put together a few things.

on the menu was:
-rice with roasted veggies
-mummy dogs (for the kids)
-a veggie tray with hummus
-chips & dip
-tortilla chips with salsa
-bucket of candy

i made these mummy dogs today for myself.

aren't they cute? found the recipe in the coupons from the sunday paper. just use veggie dogs and vegan crescent roll dough. cut the dough into strips and wrap the dogs. bake at 375 degrees F for 14 minutes. then dot on eyes using mustard and a toothpick.


this pumpkin cornbread was made on friday evening. the recipe can be found at the edible perspective. my only changes to the recipe were using regular flour and coconut flour in place of the buckwheat and corn flours. turned out incredible!

ahhh comforting and simple. i knew i was going to need a meal to satisfy the adults at the party. so what better way to go than to serve rice and vegetables.

i didn't dress up this year. but since hannah was being stubborn and refusing to put on the wings to go with her costume, i stole them for myself.

happy halloween!!!

wiaw IV

breakfast:
french toast from the vegan girl's guide to life. best french toast ever. drizzled with agave. hannah and i each had 1 & 1/2 slices.

lunch:
i was lazy at lunchtime and, since hannah wasn't hungry, just poured a bowl of cereal. nature's path maple pecan something or other, with so delicious coconut milk. love in a bowl.

snack:
i've been craving a pumpkin pie smoothie for a few weeks now. it was time!

dinner:
pasta with white beans and sauteed kale.
with a side of.....
roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower with dried sage from the garden. had to double up on the veggies ;)

happy wednesday!

smoothie time

it's been a long time since i made a smoothie. like probably since summertime. crazy. i kind of miss the strong sweet flavor of berries. so i made one today using frozen blueberries.



this smoothie contained:
-2 bananas
-1 mango
-3/4 cup frozen blueberries
-splash of apple cider
-& chia seeds

not much else went on in the kitchen today, other than bread makin'.

this bread makes the best french toast. i can wait to get cooking in the morning ;)

monday foods

my mom and dad came over to visit today. it was nice to see them. we live about 50 miles apart so i don't see them often. they stayed for a while so i made lunch. they loved it :)

biscuits and gravy with roasted veggies and chickpeas. it's one of my favorite meals.

for dessert tonight hannah and i each had a so delicious ice cream sandwich mini. i LOVE these. and apparently so does hannah. when i finished photographing mine, i went to sit down and noticed she was almost done with hers. she devoured it!

some raw brownies i made yesterday using walnuts, dates, and cacao powder. gotta love the simplicity!

getting ready for halloween:


it's the best holiday ever. and i just realized that our party is this saturday so i need to figure what foods i'm making for it! haha. so far, i'm thinking pumpkin soup and veggie-dog mummies. probably a vegetable tray, and chips and crackers.

roasted squash and cauliflower

i LOVE roasted veggies. they are the best. i could eat them every day. as it seems that cauliflower is in season, i've been buying it every other week. i also have been buying some type of squash every week.

a few nights ago i used some leftover butternut squash and cauliflower i had in the fridge. and roasting was the way to go.

roasted butternut squash and cauliflower

peel the squash and cut into bite-size pieces (like 1-inch). chop the cauliflower the same size and toss both with some olive oil. spread out onto a large baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and some dried sage. roast in a 450 degree F oven for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. it's also nice if they lightly brown. serve over rice or pasta. sprinkle with parmy cheeze and sea salt.





next time i think i'll add roasted chickpeas. yes.

the pancakes

i was happy to see that a few of you were curious about the pancakes i had for breakfast yesterday.
hannah liked them so much that she wanted them for breakfast again today! so i took a few more photos, and decided to share the recipe :) i was in the mood for leftovers so i simply halved this recipe just for her.

chocolate chip coconut pancakes

(serves 2 / makes 6 small pancakes)

1 cup of flour (i used unbleached white)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk substitute of choice (i use so delicious coconut)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips

in a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and coconut. add the milk and oil and stir until just combined. add the chocolate chips and mix one more time.

in a large skillet over medium heat, melt some earth balance or whatever margarine you choose. using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop the batter and drop into the pan. i don't have any special tricks for making them perfectly round. just pick one spot for the batter and keep it dripping into the center. the pancake will spread out evenly into a circle. make 3-4 per batch.

wait for the pancakes to get those little holes over the surface. flip carefully and cook about 3 more minutes or until browned. serve with your favorite syrup.

*if making a second batch, turn the heat down to low. keeping it too hot will make the pancakes too dark without cooking them all the way through. once the pan cools down a bit you can turn the heat back up.

i used a medium skillet here, which works, they just get smooshed together :)


the little holes. i've heard them called bubbles before but to me they look like holes!

ahhh perfect :)

served with a bit of earth balance and agave drizzled on top.


please let me know what you think if you try these :)