a salad i eat every day

it's true. i eat this salad every day. well, nearly every day. i make a huge one in the morning and have some for breakfast, then i'll have more later on in the day and normally there is enough for breakfast the next day. that's how much i love it!!!

i've thought about keeping it to myself. but that's not fair ;)



what you'll need to make this beauty of a salad:

-green leaf or red leaf lettuce
-organic baby spinach
-grape tomatoes or 1 large tomato
-cucumber
-chunk of red cabbage
-chunk of fennel
-2 medium carrots
-piece of red onion
-chickpeas
-1/2 or whole avocado
-hemp seeds

dressing:
-olive oil
-balsamic vinegar
-mustard of choice
-fresh lemon juice
-salt & pepper

to assemble the salad, cut up some lettuce and throw into a large bowl with a few handfuls of baby spinach. dice your tomato and cucumber (or halve the grape tomatoes). shred the cabbage (or what i do is just cut it up into small slices) and slice the fennel. grate the carrots and chop the onion. toss everything with the chickpeas, avocado and hemp seeds.

for the dressing: start with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (feel free to use your choice of oil). add a tsp or two of balsamic, 2 tsp mustard, and juice of half a lemon. add the salt and pepper and whisk. if you want the dressing thinner, add more lemon juice. if you want it thicker, add more mustard.

toss the salad with the dressing and enjoy!!

(if you want this raw, you can use sprouted chickpeas instead. i prefer the taste of the cooked beans, myself. for the dressing, you probably would have to sub the vinegar and mustard with something else as they may have been heated.)


hannah and i have been spending a LOT of time outside lately. it's been so beautiful! this is one of her favorite spots, her sitting tree. we made a path in the woods and i cleaned some vines off of it for her. so whenever we go outside now she has to go back there to sit in her tree :)


i'm so anxious to get digging in the gardens. but i think i better wait until our last frost date. i don't want to take any chances! i think i'm done buying seeds. i've got enough, hehe. tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, kale, sunflowers, a number of herbs, all organic....can't wait!


oh wanted to share a link to a recipe from uncooking101.com. it's so simple and all you need is frozen bananas, a ripe avocado, and homemade almond milk. find it here!

it's delicious. i made it a few nights ago and loved it. i wanted to put cacao in it but when hubby tried it he said "no chocolate! it's good like this!" hehe. but tonight i made it again and added the cacao, just a couple tbsps with some agave. it made a yummy shake.


one more thing! a new favorite inspiring website, nourishing our radiance, is offering a lovely course, cultivating the sweet life. if you need a healthy change in your life, this might be for you! take a look at what they are offering. intriguing, yes? <3

fruit!

i love fruit. fruit is an easy thing to love. and it's an easy thing to prepare. it also reminds me of summertime. it makes these dreary, snowy/rainy days more bearable.


easy fruit salad

1 large perfectly ripe banana, sliced
5-6 medium strawberries, diced
1/2 cup halved grapes
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and diced
splash of fresh lemon juice
sprinkle of shredded coconut

makes 3 small servings or 1 large serving.


i am very excited about this:

it's an amaryllis bulb, that i've had for about 3 years now, and hasn't bloomed once. until now. i can't wait to see it! it's a bit late in the season, but better late than never :)

green goodness

a green smoothie you really must try!

2 handfuls of spinach
1 fresh banana
1 frozen banana (in slices, estimate)
1 cup frozen peaches
1 cup fresh pineapple
1-2 tbsp chia seeds
protein powder
1-2 cups water

throw everything into the blender with 1 cup of water. too much water won't make it as creamy as it's suppose to be, so just add 1 cup to start with then if it's too thick, add 1/2 cup at a time. i think i ended up using about 2 cups total.

this will make 4-5 cups worth. it is soooo delicious. try it asap!

lately

yeah, i disappeared again >.<

just wanted to update kinda quick on how my raw diet has been going. i wouldn't say i'm eating high raw, it's been about 50/50. which i'm fine with for now. i never did go 100% that one week i said i was going to. i sort of realized that i was already detoxing my body with the raw/whole foods i was eating. so i didn't feel the need to go that far.

i've cut out gluten by about 90%. which is great. it's something i had wanted to do but it didn't seem possible. i've noticed a huge difference in how i feel after meals. no bloatedness. yay! i still enjoy the occasional slice of bread with earth balance, and maybe once in a great while i'll have some pasta. that's about it!

i love making my own almond milk! who knew it could be so easy? well, lots of people knew, but not me til i tried it ;)


this spinach manicotti is one of my favorite meals. totally raw, totally delicious.


and the desserts. i think desserts are better raw!


one of these days i'll share a recipe or two, heheh.

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.