Christmas Presents for the Vegans in Your Life

For Christmas, my adorable sister-in-law, Terra and my brother, Craig bought us the cookbook Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. We LOVE it! So far, I have made three recipes but can't wait to try them all. The ingredients lists are short and simple, but packed with flavor. Nutritional information is included with each recipe. And, a majority are soy and gluten free, or give alterations to make them such.

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad ( because you could eat this EVERYDAY and never get tired of it!!!)

 Shaved Brussels Sprouts

Lotsa Veggie Lentil Soup

 

And, they also bought us a milk frother! So, John made Oat Milk Lattes today.

 

 

Cacao Nib Cookies

I followed the recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies from Vegan Cookies Take Over Your Cookie Jar. The recipe requires the use of only one bowl, making clean up a snap. Instead of chocolate chips, I used Cacao Nibs and LOVED them! They are very crunchy and not sweet. I also added chopped pecans. The cookies are fantastic and paired nicely with this new tea that I purchased in my recent travels. It is Green Tea with Rose Petals.

Blueberry Banana Shake

I have to stop making these every night. Although they are a good source of fruit, they are also high in sugar :-( But, as a farewell to the shakes for now, I made a final one with 1 cup blueberries, 2 bananas, 1 scoop vanilla soycream, 6 icecubes, and 1 cup Ricemilk. It was fantastic!

Strawberry Banana Shakes

I have become addicted to these! They are just like milkshakes minus the funk of dairy. So, tonight was officially movie, pizza, and Strawberry Banana shake night.

We added 2 bananas, 8 strawberries, a few scoops of soy vanilla ice cream, 6 ice cubes, and a cup and a half of rice milk. YUM!

Peanut Butter Banana Milkshakes

I wanted to make something delicious but slightly nutritious for the 2 year vegan anniversary dinner dessert. I initially thought to make cupcakes because they are my favorite! But, decided to go a different route when I found peanut butter at the grocery store! Peanut butter is just not a big deal to people around here. They have no idea what they are missing out on.

I followed this recipe and besides the clean up of the blender, it was a snap.

Ginger Lemon Tea

Despite the Vitamin C, Echinacin, Zinc, Mucinex, cookies, and wife-love, John is still sick, coughing, and not feeling well. I found this recipe for a tea that consists of ginger, lemon, and agave syrup (really, it calls for honey but I substituted agave). He asked for seconds and I haven't heard as much coughing! I made a cup for myself and it was quite enjoyable and relaxing!

I boiled a full pot of water. To this, I added a 1 inch diced piece of fresh ginger, 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbs agave syrup and let it sit in a thermos for about 15 minutes. I let a few ginger pieces escape into the mug when pouring it from the thermos because we both love ginger!

Sun Tea

With a week of 100+ degree weather, nothing was more appealing to me than Sun Tea! I had a bunch of fun flavors to choose from but settled on Mango Passion Fruit from the Stash herbal tea sampler collection. I put 4 tea bags in the pot and set it in direct sunlight for about 4 hours. I let it cool a bit and added it to a glass of ice. It was very refreshing!

Mango Parsley Green Smoothie

Definitely not our favorite Green Smoothie so far! The mango was very stringy, almost like drinking something with hair in it!!! 2 mangos (peeled), 1 large bunch parsley, 2 cups water. Blend and drink (if you can stand it!!!)

Summer Delight Green Smoothie

My friend Debbie introduced me to the book Green For Life. It is a nutritional plan based on the diet of chimpanzees that requires the blending of lots of greens and fruits. I was so happy when John jumped right on board with replacing a meal a day with a smoothie. He also found me a fantastic industrial strength blender on Craigslist for $10! First, the smoothies are unbelievably delicious. Second, it is so fast and easy to get a variety of nutrients from greens and fruits by drinking them versus taking the time to cook and/or eat them. Third, nothing is lost, as is sometimes with juicing, and it is raw, whole, fiber and vitamins. It can get pricey, but it is worth it to buy organic.

This smoothie is a combo of 6 peaches (no pit), 2 handfuls of spinach, and 2 cups of water blended smooth.