Spicy Cranberry BBQ Tempeh

I realized the other day that I had a couple of bags of fresh-frozen cranberries that my mom sent home with me. I pulled one out to defrost and was planning on making some dried cranberries. As I let them defrost something else popped into my head... and I had a new mission.

Keep the Doctor Away Green Smoothie

As always, I start my morning with a 16oz glass of water with lemon. The latest talk is that it is a good way to help your body detox and re-hydrate from the night, before you begin to put food in. And... Strawberries are in season here in Florida, YUM one of my favorite fruits. I can't resist having these around, even organic prices on them are decent! So I had to have a few of these fresh with my smoothie! I didn't want to add any in my smoothie, I just wanted to enjoy them as is! I usually save the frozen ones for smoothies and eat the fresh ones! (And yeah, old Coca-Cola glasses haha, I will NEVER put that stuff in my body again ever! The glasses are cute though! :) Anyhow, back to the topic of smoothies! There are a lot of great things about smoothies.

Creamy Roasted Squash Soup

I have been on a soup kick lately and squash soup is one of my new favorites. Talk about comfort food! This is one that fits the bill. Move over chicken-noodle! The great thing about this soup is that it is ..."souper" easy! Minimal chopping and dicing, to start you simply toss the whole squash into the oven! I actually use my toaster oven for this. It's far more efficient for this recipe, it has a convection setting and the squash fit perfectly. Then simply saute the onion and garlic, then toss everything into the blender and voila!

Hearty Vegan Minestrone Soup With Parsnips

I love homemade soups. There is just something comforting about them.  There is not much to say that most people don't already agree with. When I'm not feeling well, I love soup. This one is warming, filling and satisfying. I made this for visiting family and it was a hit. And so much better than Campbells! Parsnips are so delicious in homemade veggie soups, if you haven't had them before, they have a flavor similar to a carrot, they are a bit sweet but have a more "herby" flavor to them.

Creamy Coconut Cilantro Lime Dressing

I eat a lot of salads, no surprise there I'm sure! I have my favorite dressings, one being my homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and I will get on a kick for days wanting the same dressing. But I love changing things up after that. Before I became vegan, another one of my favorites was a cilantro ranch dressing. So I have been on a quest to come up with a healthy, vegan creamy garlic-herb dressing to replace that. And YUM! This dressing is everything I wanted it to be, creamy, thick, garlicy, herby with a mild hint of coconut! The ingredients that make this work are the hemp seeds and the fresh Thai coconut meat. They blend up smooth and creamy!

Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1/8 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup fresh young Thai coconut water
1/4 cup fresh young Thai coconut meat
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove
1 small lime juiced
3-4 sprigs fresh cilantro
1-2 sprigs fresh parsley
sprinkle of sea salt
sprinkle of pepper

Directions:
Simply add all of the dressing ingredients except the fresh herbs to a good blender. Blend 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Once the desired consistency is reached, add the cilantro and parsley and pulse a few times. The dressing makes enough for about 4-6 small salads or 2-3 large salads. I store my extra in a mason jar for to use later. It will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

The salad is baby spinach, tomato, shredded carrot, avocado & red pepper in a huge cabbage leaf! Now it you can eat this with a fork, but I wrapped mine up in the cabbage leaf and ate it like a giant wrap! I love using the outer beautiful leaves of fresh cabbage like this. I always pull those off and save them for wraps! I have been eating my cabbage many ways! I add it to stir-fry, soups, salads and came up with a tasty fully raw, vegan coleslaw recipe I will be sharing soon!