Ⓥ Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie -- Loaded with Greens! Ⓥ

What's better than vegan cheesecake? Cheesecake in smoothie form loaded with so much healthy goodness that you'll want seconds! Yup, that's exactly what this smoothie is! Blueberry and cheesecake coming together with the added benefit of a ton of healthy greens--and, what do you know? You'd never even know there was this much greenery in this lovely dessert/breakfast/snack! ;)

vegan / gluten free/ sugar-free/ 

Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie

1/4 cup Frozen Blueberries

1/4 an Avocado

4 large leaves of Swiss Chard or Collards (or any combination of your favourite greens)

1 scoop Vanilla Vega One Protein

2 Tbsp Daiya Cream Cheese

2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds 

1 Tbsp Flax Seeds

1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

¼ cup water (or for added flavour, chilled chai tea^)

Hazelnut Stevia to sweeten (or other sweetener of your choice)

Add all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth. Add less or more liquid to get your desired consistency, and less or more sweetener to your desired sweetness. 

I like making this smoothie as a thicker "nogurt" snack, but feel free to add more liquid to make it a full smoothie. 

Makes 1 serving. Enjoy! 

^I often brew chai tea overnight so that I can add it to smoothies! Always nice to have some handy and you can make large batches at a time.

*I make my smoothies in either a Blendtec Blender or my Nutribullet -- both are amazing blenders that make smoothies super smooth and creamy!* 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Fancy Mac 'n' Cheese Ⓥ

I like to think of this recipe as an "adult" mac 'n' cheese--meaning let's add a little extra umph, some veggies, and other goodness. ;) 

I have made this sauce with just pasta for my younger brothers before as well and they loved it--and they are picky boys, so I consider this recipe rather kid friendly as well. 

vegan / gluten free/ refined sugar-free/ healthy

Fancy Mac 'n' Cheese 

Enough Pasta for 4 servings--I like to use a brown rice spiral pasta, but anything works.  

For the Sauce:

1/3 cup Rice Flour (or any other flour)

3 Tbsp Coconut Oil

3-4 cups Water

1 heaped tsp Miso 

1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tbsp Tamari (or Braggs)

1/2 tsp of Garlic Salt

1 tsp Salt

1/3 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp ground Mustard 

dash of Black Pepper

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast

1/2 cup Daiya shreds

1/3 cup Sunflower Seeds, soaked in water so that they are just covered

1 head of Broccoli, chopped 

Tofu Mix:*

1/2 block firm Tofu, crumbled

2 Tbsp Tamari

1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

dash Chili Pepper, Cumin, Black Pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to instructions on package. (depending how long your pasta takes to cook, start cooking accordingly ;)) 

For the Sauce:

While you soak the sunflowers, make the sauce.

Combine the flour, oil, miso, tamari, and vinegar together in a medium sauce pot and simmer on medium heat, stirring fairly often--until it starts to brown. Once the mixture has browned, slowly start to add water and stir consistently. Add the spices and continue to stir until your sauce is nice consistency. Add the daiya at the end. Let cool. 

In a high-speed blender (I use my blendtec, because they are amazing and use my blendtec for everything), add the sunflower seeds and sauce and blend until perfectly creamy. Add more water if necessary to get your desired consistency. 

Add back into the pot and leave to simmer on low heat. 

While cooking the sauce, if you can manage multi-tasking then make the tofu and broccoli. 

Simply sauté the tofu in tamari and spices, stirring so that it doesn't stick but allow it to brown and really soak up the flavour. 

*You could also just add in veggies dogs or faux meats of some sort, but I love the ease of cooking tofu and the better health factors. 

*I also love making tofu balls instead if you have the time. 

Add the broccoli to the tofu towards the end so it gets nice and tender but not overcooked. 

Add everything together in one large pot--you can probably use the pasta pot if you used a big one. 

Serve! Enjoy! 

Makes 4-5 servings. 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Cosmic Super Cookies! Ⓥ

These cookies are super amazing. I have seen various versions in stores before but they are usually made with spelt so this is a gluten-free version :). Plus they are fun to play around with and easy to make yourself. They are super duper and packed full of goodness! 

Cosmic Super Cookies

1 1/4 cup Oats (use gluten-free oats if you're gluten intolerant)

1 cup Rice Flour

1/4 cup Tapioca Flour

1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds

1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/4 cup Shredded Coconut

1/4 cup Hemp Seeds

1/4 cup Flax Seeds (ground)

1 teaspoon Cinnamon 

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (Vegan ones)

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 tsp Guar Gum

1/2 cup Sweetener (I usually use just under 1/2 cup Agave + couple drops of Stevia)

1/4 cup Water

just under 1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Rice Milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Preheat oven to 350℉.

Combine all dry ingredients (exclude sweetener, water, oil, milk) in a large bowl, until well mixed. Add in the rest of the ingredients (sweetener, water, oil, milk) and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. 

Portion using a 3/4 cup measure onto a lightly oiled baking tray. Bake at 350℉ for approximately 24 minutes (until a you can stick a toothpick in and comes out clean). 

Makes approx. 12 cookies. They are super filling and super delicious! :) 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Vegan Gravy Ⓥ

 This is so simple and easy to make, plus you're not using unhealthy animal fat (yuckyyyy!). I don't know why you'd ever want to use gross meat-stuff ever again. ;) 

This is also gluten-free, although you can make this with just about any flour. :) 

Vegan Gravy

3 cups Vegetable Broth

3 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided

1/3 cup Rice Flour (or any other flour)

dashes of black pepper

3/4 tsp Salt

In a heated medium pot, add the oil along with the flour, stir together. It should become a gooey clump. Add a little more oil if necessary. Toast for approx. 15 minutes in the pan until it smells toasty and turns a medium brown colour. Stir practically the entire time so it cooks evenly. Use a whisk to avoid clumping as well. 

Stream in the 2 cups of broth, whisking constantly so it doesn't clump--the trick is to add the broth slowly, if you do it too quickly it will clump. Whisk until it's thick and smooth. 

Add pepper and salt to taste, parsley is a nice addition as well, feel free to play around with flavours.

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Brown Rice Banana Bread!!! Ⓥ

I have to say this is probably the most amazing gluten-free banana bread I've ever made or tried. I am super happy with the results! It turned out nice and moist and packed-full of flavor of course! Always make sure your bananas are over-ripe when making banana bread--it makes a HUGE difference! 

Brown Rice Banana Bread:

"Banana mixture":

3-4 over-ripe Bananas

Egg Replacer equal to 2 eggs. 

(just under) 1/4 cup of oil

1/3 cup Agave Nectar (or other sweetener, we actually used brown rice syrup)

2 Tbsp Almond Milk (or other vegan milk)

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

"Dry ingredients":

1 1/2 cups Brown Rice Flour

1/4 cup Oat Flour (you can find gluten-free varieties)

1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

1/3 cup Carob Chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside. 

In a food processor, blend together all the "banana mixture" until smooth. You could also use a blender or just mash it all in a mixing bowl, just requires some more work. ;)

In a medium bowl, stir together the "dry ingredients." Add the blended banana mixture and stir until "just mixed."

Pour evenly into loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan. 

Makes 1 loaf. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did! We topped it off with some Rice Dream ice cream. Mmmmm!!!! :) 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Apple Cinnamon Pulp Muffins! Ⓥ

I cannot believe how amazing these turned out! Another experiment using the leftover pulp from juicing, this timing using just apple pulp. Of course, you would need a juicer for this recipe, or else a friend who is willing to give you there fresh juice pulp. But if you don't have a juicer I highly recommend getting one anyway. ;)

These are sugar-free, gluten-free, flour-less, vegan (of course), and sooo good for you and absolutely delicious! Who knew you could get such a moist perfect little muffin that is oh-so good for you and free of the most common allergens! 

I think this is now my favorite muffin recipe! :) 

Apple Cinnamon Pulp Muffins:

1 medium Apple (cored and chopped into slightly smaller pieces)

1 ripe Banana

1 cup Dates

1 cup Apple Pulp (from a juicer)

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Almond Butter

2 cups Oats

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

Now there's a particular method that works better here for making this a perfect texture so bare with me, it sounds more tedious than it actually is ;)...

Preheat oven to 325°.

In a food processor, process the apple until "mushy." Add the Banana, process again. Add Dates (you guessed it!) process again--don't be scared if the dates make your food processor jump a bit ;). Add the Apple juice pulp and process again. 

Add the Almond Butter, Cinnamon, and Vanilla and process one more time until the mixture is pretty smooth. 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oats, salt, baking soda and powder. Stir in the other mixture until well-combined and you get a "batter" like consistency--just keep in mind that these are not regular muffins so the consistency will be different, they should hold together but still be quite moist. 

Lightly oil a muffin tray. Pour batter into tray and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes--until you can stick a toothpick in it and it comes out clean. 

Now OCD people may cringe but this made 11 muffins, one poor little spot was left alone. ;)

These are fabulous and I hope you enjoy them as much as me and my husband did! 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Coconut Smoothie! Ⓥ

There's nothing that sings summer more than Coconut and this delightfully delicious smoothie is perfect for a pretty summer morning. :) 

Coconut Smoothie:

1 Banana

1 cup Berries (I used a mix of Blueberries and Strawberries)

1 cup 100% pure Coconut Water

1/8 block of medium Tofu

Combine all the ingredients in a blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth. Add less or more Coconut water to make it thinner or thicker to your desired liking. 

Makes 1-2 servings. 

I use Blue Monkey Coconut Water, what you're looking for is 100% Coconut Water--not oil or milk. 

Optional Add Ins: I usually have a teaspoon of Matcha powder--because I tend to always add it to my smoothies ;)--and half a scoop of Vegan Protein Powder but I imagine that some protein powders may mess with the flavor a bit, I probably wouldn't recommend hemp protein.  

Enjoy!!! :)

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Almond-Crusted Potatoes! Ⓥ

 These are by far my favorite potato fries. It's something a little different, packed-full of flavor and just so ridiculously good you'll be as hooked as I am on these. ;) 

I have also made this recipe with peanut butter instead of almond butter, and both are amazing! You can also use any combination of potatoes or root vegetables you'd like for this recipe, all one or a combination of anything you'd like; sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, carrots. My favorite is sweet potatoes and yams--plus they're healthier than regular potatoes. 

Almond-Crusted Potatoes:

3-4 Potatoes or other Root Vegetables 

3 tbsp Almond Butter (or peanut butter)

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp each of Garlic Powder, Cumin, Black Pepper, Curry, and Basil. 

Chop root vegetables into thin "fries," or you can chop them into cubes--either works. Preheat oven to 400° and oil tray.

Combine all the other ingredients in a food processor (or a large bowl) until well mixed.

Line fries on tray and pour mixture over them, making sure they are well coated. - or - Place fries into the large bowl with mixture and get fries so they are well coated and then place them onto tray. p.s. you're hands are probably going to get messy unless you can manage to mix them alright with a spoon or spatula. ;) 

Bake 35-45 minutes (depending on the thickness of you fries) until coating is browned and a bit crispy and the fries are fully cooked. 

*Flip fries several times to avoid sticking. 

Makes approx. 2-4 servings, depending how hungry you are. ;)

(Will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days)

Enjoy! These are amazing and once you know what you're doing they are super fast and easy to whip up! :) 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Peanut Butter Cocoa NoGurt! Ⓥ

I had an idea and decided to throw this together this morning instead of my habitual morning smoothie. It turned out absolutely delicious so I'm now sharing it with all of you ;)

I very rarely start my day with anything other than fruit and protein so this was a fun variation... oh, and in case you haven't noticed yet, I love peanut butter :)  

Peanut Butter Cocoa "NoGurt":

1/6 Block of Medium Tofu 

2/3rd of one medium Ripe Banana

2 tsp Peanut Butter

1 tsp Raw Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Agave Nectar

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Rice Milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add less or more Rice Milk to make it thinner or thicker to your desired liking. Makes 1-2 servings. 

I had this topped over a bowl of fruit and granola, so the rest of that banana was sliced in the bowl with some strawberries and a bit of granola. :) 


You can also make this without the tofu if you're sensitive to soy, just add less milk to it's still thick and use a frozen banana. 

Super delicious and another lovely protein- and fruit-packed way to begin the day. 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Vegan Pesto! Ⓥ

Mmmmm, Pesto! So delicious as a pasta sauce or a spread in a grilled cheese sandwich. I used to love the stuff but haven't had it since going Vegan. Finally, I decided to make some for myself since I didn't really have a good excuse not to and it was simply calling for me to make some. 

This recipe is super quick and easy, although pine nuts are pretty expensive so it's a bit of a treat and I advice only to buy how much you need ;). But this recipe goes a long way so half it if you don't need very much.   

Without further ado... 

Vegan Pesto:

2 ½ cups fresh Basil

½ cup fresh Parsley

½ cup Pine Nuts

½ teaspoon Salt

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

2 tablespoons Vegan Cheese (I use Daiya Mozarella)

2 tablespoons Miso

Process all the ingredients in a food processor, adding water slowly to desired paste-like consistency. Makes approx. 1 cup... ish, I didn't measure so I'm kind of guessing ;)

And there you have delicious Pesto! As already said, makes a great base for a pasta sauce and sandwich spread! 

I made a delicious grilled "sandwich" the other day with; toasted gluten-free bread, pesto spread, tofu balls sliced/flattened, and Daiya mozzarella cheese melted over top. Yum!!

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Tofu Balls Ⓥ

These are so absolutely ridiculously delicious! I've brought these to potlucks before and people just eat them right up, even the avid meat-eaters and tofu-weary folk! It is a fairly simple recipe, easy to make and only takes about 30 minutes total. They go great in spaghetti sauce, as a side dish, in subs and wraps, or as a great "turkey" replacement for all of those big festive dinners (like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and so on)--drizzle some vegan gravy over top and I'm in complete heaven!   

I snagged this recipe up from "La Dolce Vegan" cookbook and changed a few little things to my liking. So if you fall in love with this recipe, I highly recommend that you go pick yourself up their cookbooks, like immediately! ;) 

Tofu Balls:

1 cup Tofu (best if its firm but I often use regular and it works just as good), mashed or crumbled

1/2 cup Rice Flour (or other flour)

2 tbsp Tahini (or nut butter)

3 tbsp Tamari

1/8 cup Parsley

1/2 tsp dry Mustard

1/4 tsp ground Black Pepper

1/4 cup flour for coating

2 tbsp Olive Oil

In a large bowl, stir together the tofu, 1/2 cup flour, tahini, tamari, parsley, mustard, and pepper. Place 1/4 cup of flour onto a plate and roll 1/2 tbsp of tofu mixture into a ball and coat with the flour. In a frying pan on medium heat, fry tofu balls in oil until browned all over. Makes approx. 10-14 balls.  

~ my cheesy Tofu Ball "Sub" ...actually a wrap ;) ~

Enjoy!

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Morning Protein-Packed Smoothie Ⓥ

My absolute favorite way to start my morning is with a lovely workout followed by a 5-minute shower and then BREAKFAST! :) 

I absolutely love smoothies and starting your morning with fruit is one of the best treats for your body. The other great thing to start your day with is protein. So, my smoothies are a protein-packed treat that always leave me licking the very last drops out of my mug (yes I drink my smoothies out of mugs).

Currently I am in love with this recipe, absolutely delicious and the cinnamon adds a lovely flavour. 

Protein-Packed Smoothie:

1 Ripe Banana (frozen makes the smoothie thicker and colder)

½ - 1 cup Frozen Blueberries

¼ cup Tofu (it doesn't matter what type really but soft works best)

2-3 tablespoons Hemp Protein Powder (or any other protein powder)

1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (or other nut butter)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon 

1/2 cup Rice Milk (or other vegan milk)

1/2 cup Water

Throw all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy smooth. Add less or more water/milk if you want your smoothies thinner or thicker. And voila, a fabulous way to start your morning! Plus if you're on the go then pour it into a travel mug and off you go! 

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