Smoothie Time!

Having a toddler means that there are going to be many times when the majority of a meal may end on the floor, and not in their mouth! My oldest son is almost 2, and although he is a pretty good eater, I always want to make sure that he is getting all of the nutrients that he needs. I'm guessing that he gets a far wider variety of foods than a lot of other kids do, just because I love to try new things and experiment in the kitchen, but to err on the side of caution I often like to throw a smoothie with kale or spinach etc into the mix. I also like to add a source of omega oils and DHA. Let's talk about DHA for a minute. DHA is important for many reasons.DHA plays a crucial role in the growth and development of the central nervous system as well as visual functioning in infants. Most likely you were taught to believe that fish is where DHA originates, and to get it you either need to take a fish oil supplement, or eat fish. Well it does come from fish, BUT the fish eat microalgae, and that is where they get it from. So really, the original source of DHA is actually a vegan source:) Yay!

For this smoothie I used:

1 handful of kale
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 a banana
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tsp Udo's oil (vegan DHA, 3,6,9  blend)

To get the smoothest result, I add the kale and almond milk to my Magic Bullet first, and blend it until the kale is pureed. I then add the other ingredients, and blend until smooth. You can use any combination of fruit that you like, and use and kind of "milk" that you prefer. You could also add a scoop of protein powder to the mix if you are looking for a protein boost. One of my favorites is Nutribiotic Rice Protein. The only ingredients are rice protein and natural vanilla flavor, one tablespoon gives you 12g of protein, and it's made with non-GMO brown rice.
Update: My new favorite protein is Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro. And I now have a vitamix, so making smoothies with greens is so much easier! :)

Apple Cinnamon Loaf

For Thanksgiving, I made a delicious Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf, and it turned out amazingly. I'll be posting pics/links etc of my Thanksgiving dinner very soon. Anyways, I had also made another recipe that required 1 tablespoon of applesauce, for which I had to open a whole jar. Needless to say, I wanted to make use of the rest of the jar so it didn't go to waste. I started thinking about the Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf, and began to manipulate the recipe in my head so that it would include the excess applesauce I had on hand. This is how my Apple Cinnamon Loaf came to be. It's baking in the oven right now, so let's hope it turns out! I'll let you know before I post this ;) Well I just took it out of the oven and sampled it, and it it delicious! So go ahead and try it!:)

You will need:
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1+ 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 chia egg (I ground my chia seeds. 1 tablespoon chia + 3 tablespoons water)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1+1/4 cups applesauce (unsweetened)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 apple, peeled and chopped (I used a Gala apple)
3/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9" loaf pan and set aside.
Toast walnuts for approximately 10 minutes on a cookie sheet. Just be sure not to burn them.
Combine 1 tablespoon of  ground chia with 3 tablespoons water and set aside (you want it to become slimy and jelly-ish.

Chia "egg" mixture

In a large bowl, combine all of your wet ingredients (applesauce, maple syrup, oil, and chia egg), plus the chopped apple and walnuts. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Bake at 350 for approximately 55 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick/knife and it comes out clean.

Caeser Salad...............Made with KALE!

That's right.... kale! I had made some of my Vegan Caesar Dressing, and then went to get the lettuce, only to find that it was a little too old to use. I was pretty bummed, as I was really looking forward to some caeser salad. Then I spotted the kale in the fridge, and thought "why not?". So I gave it a whirl and it cam out great! Obviously the texture was a little different than romaine lettuce, but the flavour of the kale was masked very well by the garlicky-ness of the dressing. It's great to know that I can enjoy a big bowl of Caesar salad AND get my dark leafy greens all at once!

Mmmmmm... looks delicious hey? What I did was, rip the kale into bite size pieces (after washing and removing excess water), and then "massaged" the kale with a little salt and canola oil. Just a sprinkle and drizzle of each, respectively. |This just softens the kale a little so that is is more manageable to eat. Once this is done, add the dressing and the croutons, and toss until the dressing is evenly distributed. Serve with a sprinkle of vegan parm, lemon wedge and fresh ground pepper. Yum! :)

I'm Still Here!!!

Wow, time sure flies! I'm still here, just really busy with a toddler, a newborn, trying to sell a house etc. I really want to get back into posting recipes and such, and I will, it may just take some time. For now, here is a picture of my new little man:) His name is Noah, and he is such a beautiful little soul! I;m such a proud mommy:) I never thought that I'd be the mom who says "my boys". I always thought I would have girls! Two boys it is though, and I couldn't be happier:) Anyways, I love cooking, baking, creating, experimenting and eating, so you can bet I will return with some great recipes!

Tropical "Soft Serve"

Now, I'm not sure if you'd consider this a vegan "ice cream", a sorbet, or just frozen, pureed fruit, but all I know is that it is delicious. It's a great alternative to traditional ice cream, as it is sweet, a little creamy, and so yummy! It is great as is, served in a bowl, or you could put it into popsicle moulds and make sweet treats for those hot summer days. There is no sugar added, so it is especially great for kids as a treat. You can pretty much use any combination of fruits that you like, but banana is the best "base". I just happened to have some mango and pineapple in the fridge that needed to be used, and I had a can of coconut milk in the fridge waiting for an occasion such as this.

In Advance:

Chop 2 bananas into pieces and place in freezer. Also cut up your pineapple and mango into bite size chunks and freeze. You want to try and keep the pieces loose, as opposed to all stuck together in one lump. Also, you will need to put a can of full fat coconut milk in the fridge (the fat hardens and works better when refrigerated).


You will need:

2 frozen, chopped bananas
3/4 cup frozen mango chunks
3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks (using fresh pineapple, as opposed to canned, gives the best flavor)
4 Tablespoons coconut milk/fat (it'll be the consistency of margarine )
1-2 Tablespoons Silk creamer (plain version)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Place all ingredients into a food processor (or even better, a VitaMix or similar), and pulse until the fruit chunks have somewhat broken down. Blend on high until you have a smooth, creamy texture. If the mixture seems to thick, you can always add a little more Silk. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately. Makes approximately 4 servings.

Burrito Time!

Well I'm sure that this "recipe" is nothing new or innovative, but it was a delicious, complete meal, that Hudson really enjoyed, so I thought I'd share:) I enjoyed it also! I basically made some mashed "re-fried" black beans using canned black beans. Soaking your own beans would be even better, but we were all out. The pre-made "re-fried" black beans you get in a can are loaded with salt, almost too salty for me to even eat, so I figured making our own was a healthier (and less expensive) way. There were no measurements in anything I made (beans, guacamole), just made to taste.... really you can make them however you prefer. The "odd" part of the burrito, which I kinda added last minute, was the mashed broccoli. I wanted to add some "greens" to the dish to make it healthier, and it ended up tasting really good... you wouldn't even know there was broccoli in it.  
Here is what I did:

Took one can of black beans and rinsed them thoroughly. Put them in a pot with a splash of vegetable stock (just enough to moisten the beans and make then mashable (if that's a word). Added some garlic powder, onion powder, and cajun seasoning (I just used the "Clubhouse" brand). I then mashed it all together with a potato masher. In a separate pot I steamed a couple cups of broccoli and then mashed with a potato masher. For the guacamole, I mashed 1 ripe avocado with some sea salt, onion powder and garlic powder. I then heated a whole grain tortilla in a pan, added some "cheese" (whatever brand you like), and then layered the beans, broccoli, guacamole and added some salsa on top. For Hudson's I skipped the "cheese" and just put beans, broccoli, guacamole, and fresh chopped tomato instead of salsa (it had a little too much kick for him).
Like I said, it's not a new or sensational recipe by any means, but Hudson really liked it and it was healthy and easy too.... so what more can you ask for? :)

                                                         Hudson enjoying his burrito :)

My Cute Little Man:)

This is Hudson. He is 16.5 months old (15 months old in the first 2 pictures) and is vegan!:) I got him the t-shirt from Karmavore vegan shop (http://www.karmavore.ca/), and it's still a little big, but still cute!:) I'm not sure what's going on with his hair in the pics tho... haha.

He is about 5 months old in this picture.... momma's little man:)

He is about 4 months in these pictures.... the last one is my fave. He started rolling backwards on the pillow and I managed to get his expression on camera... priceless.. haha :)