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!

Healthy Chia Honey Mustard Dressing

I was craving some honey mustard dressing and in the past have tried a few different recipes and experiments that were just not quite there. One recipe I used called for using jarred organic mustard, and the results were very tasty, but for me, I like using all my own ingredients... so I tried once again and this time, I hit hit the nail on the head! The consistency is perfect and the taste is amazing. This dressing is great for sandwiches, salads, wraps, dipping you name it! The healthy secret is chia!

If you are into eating healthy, you will probably already know that chia has been touted as a super food. Chia packs a big punch with the right balance of omega 3's & 6's, protein, calcium and fiber. Here is a good article on chia on the Dr Oz site.

Besides chia this dressing has other healthy ingredients like the anti-cancer combo of turmeric and black pepper, fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey and dates. All nutrient dense ingredients! Ok on to the good stuff!

Chia Honey Mustard Dressing:

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/8 cup olive oil

2-3 tbsps raw apple cider vinegar (depending on how tangy you like it)

2 medjool dates (soaked makes them easier to blend)

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp turmeric

5-6 black peppercorns or fresh ground pepper

1-2 tsps raw honey (not vegan and this is optional, add another date instead if you like)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup water (you can add more if you want it thinner)

Toss all ingredients into your blender and puree for 2-3 minutes until thick and smooth. It will be to the point where it starts to warm up a bit. This makes 4-8 servings depending on size. I store my extra in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. 

Salad pictured is kale, carrots, cucumber, tomato, and avocado. Better photos next time. I did this on the fly so I could record this recipe. I have more ideas for some healthy dressings that I will experiment with soon. Enjoy!

Apple Walnut Waldorf Salad With Creamy Hemp Mayo

Waldorf salad always makes me think of my grandmothers house. It was at her table I had my first bite of Waldorf salad. Of course she used mayo in hers. Back then mayo was probably a bit healthier than it is now days with all the strange additives.

I have been craving this salad for a while and I happened to have all the right ingredients to whip up a batch except the mayo... I have looked online a few times for vegan mayo recipes and experimented a bit. A lot of mayo recipes call for cashews since they whip up amazingly creamy. And I love cashew, cashew is great for vegan sour cream, cheese sauce, cheesecake, ohhh so many things, but I was getting a bit tired of it. I also believe that to be healthy, you need to eat a variety and using cashew for every creamy thing is not optimal. Anyway, I have been using a little hemp here and there, and discovered how creamy its texture is when blended. Plus it is less sweet than cashews, more "herby" flavored. So, needless to say this "experiment" came out exactly as I planned! And what a great healthy mayo recipe I have now!

The great thing about making your own mayo is that you can flavor it any way you like... oh the ideas in my head... Not to mention it is super easy with a decent blender, I mean it doesn't really get much easier than this! Anyway, here is my take on a raw vegan Waldorf Salad!

Salad:
3 gala apples diced with skins on (or whatever sweet apple you like)
2 celery stalks diced (use the leaves too!)
1/2 cucumber diced
1/4 cup diced red onion (or any sweet)
1/4 cup match stick or grated carrot
1/2 cup raisins or fresh grapes halved
1 cup soaked raw walnuts
2-3 sprigs cilantro

Hemp Mayo:
1/2 cup hulled hemp seed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp real maple syrup
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp sea salt
1 small garlic clove (or half of a larger one)
1 1/8 inch slice fresh ginger root

For the salad, dice salad veggies/fruit and add to a large bowl. For the dressing add all ingredients to a blender and puree for around 3 minutes. You will feel the mayo start to warm a bit. It should be rich and creamy at this point. Spoon over the salad a little at a time for the desired amount and mix.   The dressing should be about the right amount. Place a large scoop on a bed of mixed baby greens and fresh sprouts and serve! This recipe serves about 8-12. I make up a batch and keep it in the fridge.