Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite treats for Thanksgiving but that only comes once a year. So to get into the spirit of Autumn sooner I love making pumpkin smoothies.
When you slowly sip this savory drink bursting with flavors of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg you can’t help but to sit back and take a moment to truly enjoy the season. This recipe is very easy to make and is super delicious! I always try to use organic ingredients when they’re available.
Pumpkin Smoothie
1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 Can Organic Pumpkin Puree
1 Small Ripe Banana
3 Tbsp Organic Rolled Oats
2 Organic Pitted Dates
1.25 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 heaping tsp Ginger
1/8 heaping tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 C Ice
1/2 Hass Avocado (optional) *
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Top with sprinkled cinnamon and enjoy! (Makes about 2 glasses)
* Note: If you prefer a thicker, creamier smoothie the avocados do the trick. They have a mild flavor and give you more of a milkshake consistency. But I would try it first without the avocado because you can always add it later, it should be thick enough without it 🎃 Another trick is to use 2 Tbsp Organic Chia seeds. Soak them overnight in water and add them to your smoothie mix and blend.
With the cooler temps finally here in the South, I wanted to try a new vegan soup recipe. But I wanted something really hearty that would be filling and I found it. This is a recipe for “Best-ever Beefless Stew” with portobello mushrooms taking the place of beef. If you’re not a fan of portobellos, I’m sure you could use another type of mushroom that would taste just as good.
I gotta say this was one of the most delicious and satisfying stews I’ve ever had! A few things I would change to the recipe is to add a little salt and pepper to taste and it also calls for fresh parsley as a topping. But I wasn’t too crazy with flavor of the parsley with the stew. I would recommend giving it a try anyways and see for yourself, you may end up liking it.
This recipe was published in the latest Forks Over Knives, “100 Best Plant-Based Recipes,” 2021 and it can also be found on their website “Best-ever Beefless Stew.” It was really easy to make with everyday ingredients.
If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of this issue, it’s available on the Forks Over Knives Website.
Hope you’ll give this tasty recipe a try 😊
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“Health is the first form of Wealth. Invest in yours by eating whole, unprocessed foods.” ~ Dr. Axe
With autumn here, squash and pumpkins are in season! Spaghetti squash is one of my favorites this time of year. It’s a round/oval shaped yellow squash that can be light in color or a little more orange. It’s loaded with vitamins and minerals and is low in calories. It’s also a good source of Vitamin C, maganese and Vitamin B6.
1 Cup Cooked Spaghetti Squash contains about:
Calories: 42
Carbs: 10 grams
Fiber: 2.2 grams
Protein: 1 gram
Fat: 0.5 grams
Vitamin C: 9% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
Manganese: 8% of the RDI
Vitamin B6: 8% of the RDI
Pantothenic acid: 6% of the RDI
Niacin: 6% of the RDI
Potassium: 5% of the RDI
Instead of eating traditional spaghetti that’s loaded with carbs and can be fattening, try making some spaghetti squash. It’s fairly easy to make and quite delicious. Although I must warn you, that cutting the spaghetti squash can be a little hard so be careful and use a sharp knife.
Recipe:
Cut the ends off the spaghetti squash and cut in half lengthwise.
Remove the seeds with a spoon.
Fill a shallow pan with about 1/4″ inch of water.
Place the spaghetti squash in the water, cut side down.
Bake in oven at 400 ̊F for 45 minutes or until the squash can be easily pierced with a fork.
Once it’s cool enough to handle, gently scrape the inside flesh with a fork lengthwise to separate the spaghetti like strands but be careful not to break the outer shell.
Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, if desired and serve with marinara sauce.
You can serve spaghetti squash in a variety of ways by adding different veggies, navy beans, chick peas or anything else that you like to eat. There are plenty of recipes online to get you started. So why not try something new and healthy too! You may be pleasantly surprised.
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“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” ~Buddha
With the frigid cold months approaching, it’s always nice to sit down with a warm bowl of soup. I always go into soup mode during the fall and winter seasons. It’s pretty warm down here in the south, but thankfully the temps do cool off enough to enjoy delicious soups.
Soups are especially tasty when you’re feeling under the weather. There’s a certain magic to eating a warm bowl of soup. No matter how bad you feel, you always feel better after eating a bowl.
There are many types of soups. Some are served cool or flat out cold while others are served warm or very hot. The consistency also varies depending on what’s in your soup. Personally, I like a soup full of flavor and hearty enough to satisfy my appetite.
You can buy lots of soups in your grocery store. But that’s all processed food loaded with salt and a lot of other ingredients you can’t pronounce. Not to mention ingredients that shouldn’t be in your food in the first place. Making soup is fairly easy and most definitely worth the effort.
The internet is loaded with tons of recipes. I find vegan soups taste just as good or sometimes even better than non-vegan. Forks-Over-Knives has a ton of delicious soup recipes on their website. Whether you’re vegan or not, these recipes serve as good place to start with and then just add a few of your own ingredients.
One of my favorite soups is made in my Vitamix Blender which has a program setting for hot soup. If you don’t have a setting for hot soup on your blender you can still make this soup using your blender and then warm it on the stove for a few minutes.
Creamy Veggie Soup Recipe
1 Carrot, roughly chopped
1 Stalk Celery, roughly chopped
4-5 Large Pieces of Fresh Broccoli, roughly chopped
1 Tomato, roughly chopped
1/2 Zucchini, roughly chopped
1 Clove of Garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 Cup Raw Almonds
2 Tbsp Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 Tbsp Organic Red Miso
1/8 tsp Organic Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 Cup Water
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. If your blender doesn’t have the soup feature, then warm the soup in a small pot on the stove for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a bowl.
Extras
1/2 Hass Avocado, sliced
Fresh Organic Cilantro, chopped
1 Slice of Ezekiel Bread
Top your soup with sliced avocado and cilantro. Serve with a slice of bread and enjoy!
Try creating your own variations with this soup, like adding some cooked black beans outside of the blender for texture. There’s lots of options, be creative and add what you love to eat.
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“In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices.” ~Deepak Chopra
Ok, I confess I’m a chocoholic. But who doesn’t like chocolate? I mean it’s just awesome! There are so many varieties of chocolate out there like white, milk, dark and all flavors in between.
Besides tasting so delicious, studies have shown that dark chocolate, at least 75% or more has some pretty good health benefits too like reducing stress and food cravings, fighting fatigue, improving blood circulation and so much more. It’s even considered nutritious and contains nearly the full RDA of copper and manganese, plus it contains descent amounts of magnesium, iron, fiber, zinc, selenium and potassium.
The 75% dark chocolate has the least amount of sugar as compared to white or milk chocolate. So it won’t contribute to weight gain as long as you don’t over do it. What I have noticed personally is that the more sugar that’s in the chocolate, the more I’ll want to eat it. I find that with the darker chocolate I only need 1 square to satisfy chocolate craving and I’m good to go.
As most of you know, I’m vegan so I’m always looking for vegan chocolates. They do make more of them now and they’re very tasty but a little more pricey than regular chocolate. With that being said I’m always on the hunt for new ways to satisfy my chocolate cravings.
I found a great smoothie recipe online that I tried. It was good but just wasn’t satisfying that rich chocolatey flavor I was looking for so I made changes and came up with this delicious Vegan Chocolate Smoothie that has a rich chocolate flavor and contains about 16 grams of protein:
1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk (or any unsweet non-dairy milk of your choice)
3 Tbsp Organic Gluten Free Oats
2 Tbsp Organic Cacao Nibs or 1.5 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (see note below*)
2 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
1 Tbsp No Salt or Sugar Added Almond Butter
2 Tsp Organic Chia Seeds
1 Banana
1 Organic Date (pitt removed)
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Instant Espresso Coffee
1/2 C Water
1 C Ice
Combine all ingredients in a blender and enjoy!
(*) Although I love cacao nibs and all the antioxidants they provide, I found that using Cocoa Powder gives the smoothie a richer and creamier flavor.
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.
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“I’d give up chocolate, but I’m not a quitter.” ~Unknown
I’ve been exploring more vegan recipes, especially the ones that don’t necessarily appeal to my tastebuds. And I must say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. So far, they have all been quite delicious and tasty.
My family likes to eat tuna fish sandwiches but tuna is one of the most toxic fish you can eat. They’re high in mercury and other heavy metals because of pollutants in the water. So I wanted to find a vegan alternative. I finally decided to give this recipe a try and I’m glad I did. It’s a “No Tuna” Salad Sandwich. It’s great because it doesn’t have that fishy smell like real tuna but it’s super delicious and quite filling. Plus it’s quick and easy to make.
The recipe was published in the latest Forks Over Knives, “100 Best Plant-Based Recipes,” 2021 and it can also be found on their website “No Tuna” Salad Sandwich.
The main ingredient is chick peas aka garbanzo beans which is not necessarily my favorite but they work well in this recipe. I served my family these sandwiches and they were a hit! Lots of flavor, very filling and satisfying, vegan and most important, No Mercury! It’s a win win.
I recommend getting a little crazy and giving it a try. You may discover new flavors on this adventure!
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“Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence. All parts are interconnected.” ~ T. Collin Campbell
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We all know that we should express our love every day to those we hold dear, but Valentine’s Day is that 1 day to really shine. Without spending a lot of money, here are 14 Ways to Show Your Love to that Special Someone in your life:
Make a nice breakfast.
Take over and do their chores for the day.
Go for a nice walk together.
Do a yoga or other exercise class together.
Go out on a picnic.
Watch a movie with candy and popcorn.
Bake a special sweet dish like the vegan brownies from last Thoughtful Thursday!
Make a handmade Valentine’s Day Card.
Create a surprise “Love You” display on the kitchen table with candy, flowers.
Order a “To Go” meal and have a candlelit dinner at home.
Create a romantic music play list and dance the night away.
Leave little love notes for them to find.
Give them a Spa Day at home with candles, chocolates and bubble bath.
Spend quality time together talking with no distractions and really listen.
“Where there is Love, there is Life.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
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Many moons ago when I tried eating vegan, it really wasn’t the tastiest, at least not the recipes I tried. I’ve been vegan now for the past several years and can say that the recipes have improved tremendously. Some recipes are so good you can’t even tell they’re vegan and not made with eggs, milk and the usual ingredients. A lot are even better all plant based.
You may have seen Zucchini Brownies for sale in health food stores and restaurants. The thought of making something as delicious as a brownie from a vegetable didn’t quite appeal to my taste buds at first. But being a chocolate lover I finally gave into my curiosity and tried one at a small restaurant. To my surprise it was so delicious and moist, I pretty much inhaled it, lol.
Since I love to bake, I figured someone on the internet must have a pretty good recipe. Lo and behold I came across ElaVegan.com hosted by Michaela. She is a very talented vegan food stylist, recipe creator, photographer and writer.
Michaela’s Zucchini Brownie Recipe was absolutely delicious as are her many other recipes which I highly recommend you try. The recipes are written with easy instructions, lots of photos and helpful tips. She also puts a tab at the top of each recipe for a quick print. Even if vegan isn’t your thing, it’s a delicious alternative to healthier meals. I highly recommend trying these delicious brownies!
“Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it.” ~Josh Billings
Flowing Waters Art 