Green Monster Smoothie - from iowagirleats.com

Ok, all I can say is "I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT ON THIS GREEN, DELICIOUS, YOU NEVER WOULD KNOW IT HAS SPINACH IN IT, SMOOTHIE ALL MY LIFE!!!" You just need to go for it and give a try!! I have been following this blog and can't believe I have been putting this one off. Check her out www.iowagirleats.com You will find this recipe and many other wonderful, healthy recipes :)

Vegan Corn Chowder

I know, I know, I can't help it!! I just love hot soups on cold winter days. I promise I will start cooking other recipes soon ;) I wanted to post this, not only because it is delicious, but it needs the cashew cream from the last recipe. I am not a spicy girl, but I could totally see this soup having a kick to it if you would like :)

Vegan Corn Chowder:

1 TBsp olive oil
1 Cup carrots, sliced
3/4 red bell pepper, diced*
3/4 yellow bell pepper, diced*
1 med. onion, chopped
3 Cups potatoes, chunks
2 Cups Vegetable broth
3 Cups water
16oz frozen corn
3 TBsp. cashew cream
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
sea salt and pepper to taste
sliced avocado

In large pot, combine olive oil, carrots, peppers and onion. On medium heat, cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add in chunks of potatoes and cook for another 8 minutes. Stir in broth and water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add in corn the last few minutes. In food processor, blend 2/3 of soup until smooth. You may have to do this in a couple of batches. Add pureed soup back into pot and add in cashew cream, salt and pepper to taste and seasoning. Reheat for about 5 minutes. Serve with sliced avocado on top!!!

*note* I used the other 1/4 of the peppers as a topping on pizza.

Potato Broccoli Soup with Cashew Cream

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!! I LOVE SOUP!!! And this is probably my new favorite, even my 2 yr.old had seconds of this one! You have to give this a try.

Cashew Cream

2 Cups Cashews, whole pieces

Rinse well. Cover cashews with water and let soak over night. After 24 hours, drain cashews and rinse. Put in food processor (or blender) and put enough water in to cover cashews by about 1 inch. Blend for several minutes until smooth. DELICIOUS!!! I will look for more recipes with cashew cream to post.

Potato Broccoli Soup w/ Cashew Cream

2 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4 Cups Vegetable Broth (see below for recipe or use boxed or cans)
2 Cups water
2 lbs. potatoes, chunks
4 Cups broccoli
2 TBSP. cashew cream

Heat olive oil and onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, salt and pepper and cook for another minute. Add broth, water and potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add in broccoli and cook for another 15 minutes. Blend 1/3 of soup in processor and pour back into soup. Add in cashew cream and cook for another 10 minutes.

Michael Pollan gives a plant's-eye view | Video on TED.com

Michael Pollan gives a plant's-eye view | Video on TED.com

Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins

Here is a recipe that I adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com :

Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Oat Muffins:

1 1\2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup rolled oats
1\2 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1\2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseeds
(mixed with 3 TBsp. water)
2\3 cup plain soy milk
1\3 cup vegetable oil
1\2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas

Put all ingredients into large bowl, mix until well blended. Place baking cups into pan and divide mixture evenly. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Visit www.honestfoodguide.org to download food guide. I love this one :)

Chickpea & Avocado Tacos

Being the only one in the house that is vegan, I still have to make dinner as simple as possible w/o cooking 2 different meals. I already have to alter dinner for my husband and 3 boys! So trying to keep dinners as easy as possible is key for me. Ok, so I am not so good at remembering to take pictures of the food I make. But, I do promise, that if I post it here, it is worth a try :) Here is my version of tacos (I actually like it better than the meat version I used to eat!).

Chickpea & Avocado Tacos:

1 can chickpeas
1 avocado
couple dashes of cumin
salt & pepper to taste

Mash chickpeas & avocado together with fork. Add in cumin, salt & pepper. Add on your normal toppings, tomatoes & lettuce do it for me. Enjoy!

Since I am the only one in the house that will eat this, I usually cut the recipe in half. I use some in a taco and the rest I make into an awesome version of guacamole...

Here are a couple of articles that I thought were interesting:

http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm (for some reason this won't link, you'll have to type it in)
http://www.naturalnews.com/022630_soy_food_health.html

I do need to admit, I do drink a little organic soy milk with my my morning tea. But I am sure one day I will give that up as well. Stick with fermented soy, such as: tempeh, miso, tamairi (fermented soy sauce), fermented tofu and soy milk. I will also admit, that excluding soy products, has not been easy (especially for a vegan). I just deal with it and keep going. :)

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This is a recipe that I have altered to make it, not only vegan, but whole wheat. As you can see, there is no cheese on this pizza. I have made the choice to use very little soy products. I will post some articles soon that will talk about fermented and unfermented soy products. I used to be a huge pizza lover!!! I made the decision to be vegan over vegetarian due to my love of cheese. I knew I needed to really make some major changes in my life and ridding my diet of cheese, just seemed to be a necessity (for me) at this point.



Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:

1. 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat flour
2. 2 1/4 tsp quick-rising yeast or 1 package quick-rising yeast
3. 3/4 teaspoon salt
4. 1/4 teaspoon raw sugar
5. 2/3 cup hot water
   
6. 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 500 degress. Place all dry ingredients into food processor, blend. Slowly add water and oil. Blend until a nice sticky ball is formed. On a floured surface roll out dough until desired size and thickness. Place on pan. Top with delicious toppings. Cook for 10-15 minutes (time varies due to topping).

Food, Inc. Movie

Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change?
This is a must see!! You will be amazed, heartbroken, hopeful and inspired by the end.

Vegetable Broth

Here is an awesome vegetable broth recipe. I use veggie broth is a lot of dishes, especially when making brown rice and quinoa (instead of water). I love soup, so this recipe makes a great broth for soups!!

Vegetable Broth:
2 TBsp.'s extra virgin olive oil
2 large carrots, thickly sliced
1 medium onion, peeled & quartered
1 celery stock, thickly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
5 white button mushrooms (or whatever you have on hand)
10 stems parsley
2 TBsp.'s Tamari (or soy sauce)
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot. Add in carrots, onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add in parsley and 6 Cups water, Tamari, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 hours. Cool and drain liquid into large bowl. Add more Tamari, salt and pepper if needed. I usually double this recipe and freeze extras (2-4 cup bags).