"Chicken" Noodle Soup

Now that the weather is cool, today felt like a chicken noodle soup day..... So I made some!:) Chicken free of course! And the kids actually ate it, so that's always a bonus. They have both been on a bit of an eating strike lately, so if they eat anything at all I am extremely happy! So if you are feeling the chill in the winter air and are craving a nice warm bowl of something nostalgic, try this!

You will need:

1 Tbsp oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped kale
6 cups veggie stock
1 cup diced "chick'n", seitan, or crumbled tofu (Your choice)
1 tsp poultry seasoning (I used Mc Cormick brand)
1 tsp italian seasoning (I used Clubhouse brand)
1/2 cup (approx 44 noodles) linguine or spaghetti, broken into small pieces

Heat oil on medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot, and cook until onions are translucent, being careful not to brown them. Add veggie stock, noodles,"chick'n", poultry seasoning and italian seasoning, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are almost done. Add the kale in for the last couple minutes of cooking (just so it doesn't get overcooked). Ladle into bowls and serve with crackers if desired. Makes about 4-6 bowls, depending on the size.

Healthy and Delicious Breakfast Cookies

Yikes it has been awhile! My apologies! Two kids sure keeps a girl busy! This recipe is great for all you busy moms out there, but also great for anyone who wants a good on-the-go breakfast.
Many mornings I make a pot of oatmeal for breakfast, and usually add raisins, hemp hearts, a couple dates (for sweetness), and sometimes nuts or other dried fruit. There are many times though, when I just don't have the time, or motivation, (especially if both of my kids are in less that happy moods!), or I just want something different. So, I came up with this recipe for oatmeal in cookie form, but healthy! An oatmeal cookie is no new thang, but with these, there is no refined sugar, no egg, no butter, and they are pumped full of healthy ingredients. Make a batch or 2, keep extras in the freezer, and you are set! Fast, delicious, and nutritious. Great for kids or adults.What more could you ask for?

You will need:

1.5 medium bananas, mashed (approx 3/4 cup)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup hot water
1 Tbsp ground chia seeds
3 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup hemp hearts
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1.5 cups quick oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a cookie sheet, use a silpat mat, or line with parchment paper.
Add the pitted dates to the 1/4 cup of hot water and let soak for a minute, and then puree using a magic bullet or something similar. You can do it by hand too, just make sure that it is a nice paste when you are done.
Add the 1 Tbsp ground chia to the 3 Tbsp warm water and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the bananas, coconut oil, vanilla, date puree, and chia/water mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine the coconut, hemp hearts, raisins, walnuts, oats, flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and combine thoroughly.
Form into balls (about 1.5 inches in diameter), and place on cookie sheet.
Lightly flatten with a fork.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes. This will produce a cookie that is soft on the inside. If you prefer a harder cookie, add 2 or 3 minutes on to the baking time.
Makes about 20 cookies (mine only made 16 because my 2 yr old couldn't wait, so he ate a little bowl of the batter for breakfast! haha).

Hudson's Healthier Version (Apple Cinnamon Loaf)

Hi all:) So I decided to make my Apple Cinnamon Loaf again, but this time I wanted to make it in muffin form, and also make it less sugary so that I could give it to my son without feeling like a horrible parent! haha... NOT saying that people who give their kids sugar are horrible parents, I just feel horrible when I know I can do better. You could probably make this with agave nectar or brown rice syrup etc, I just haven't had a chance to try yet. For this version, I reduced the overall sugar, reduced the salt, upped the whole wheat flour, and added ground almonds to the mix. Here is the healthier version:

1+1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1+ 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 chia egg (I ground my chia seeds. 1 tablespoon chia + 3 tablespoons water)
2 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 12 tin muffin tray.
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).
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 combined.
Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.

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!