Smoky Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Kale. {OhSheGlows}

Another yummy one from OhSheGlows. Yummy AND creamy!! They all loved it, except Ava.... but what else is new. Picky little girl.

Asian Noodle Salad. {Pioneer Woman.}

My sister-in-law, jami, turned me onto this one... and man, I am SO glad she did. I first wanted to try it because it's one of their new favorites. Sold. Then I found out it was Pioneer Woman. Sold. Then I saw that it was basically healthy. Sold. Then I read her write-up on it. Sold and salivating. I got the ingredients that day and made it for dinner.

Sold.

Even my pickiest eater, Ava, can get this all down. And even told me, "Mom, this is actually good!" As if it was a freakin surprise her mom actually makes her something good for dinner. Sheesh.

I changed it up a little, but the real deal is here. But try it. Seriously try it. And if I haven't convinced you enough... and the colread what she wrote herself. Then come back and tell me how sold you are!

It makes a huge amount. For my family I half it. It says for 6 portions. Well, that is a LOT of salad. Even for us plant eaters. It's good for leftovers too. The cashews MAKE it.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
1/2 head Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
1/2 head Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
1/2 bag Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts) 
Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
3 whole Scallions, Sliced
3 whole Cucumbers, Peeled And Sliced
1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet

FOR THE DRESSING:
1 whole Lime, Juiced
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (soy sauce)
2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
1/3 cup agave nectar, coconut sugar or brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, Chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Chopped
2 whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Chopped
Chopped Cilantro

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter.

Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

Raw Cashew Dreamcake.

These are sooooo good! A for sure treat staple in my house. I first had these at Mandy's house, who got the recipe on our friend Brooke's blog, who got it on My New Roots (just giving credit where credit is due... very important). And holy yum! It's originally made in a pie pan, but I converted them to mini muffin tins so I could freeze and have them on hand whenever the hankering for some yumminess came.

The hankerings came real fast... and they were gone from my freezer all too fast. Which means I need to stock pile again. My whole family loved these, and I don't feel a bit bad for them eating them either. Good, and good for you!

Crust

1/2 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)

1/2 cup soft Medjool dates
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Filling
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best
juice of 2 lemons
the seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla extract)
1/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup raw honey (Vegans use agave nectar.)
1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen) [i've used blueberries too]

Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process a finer crust longer than a chunky one). Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands. If the ingredients hold together, your crust is perfect. Scoop out crust mixture in a 7” spring-form pan (if you don’t have a spring-form pan, use a pie plate lined with saran wrap), and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well. [I filled my mini muffin pan with liners, used my small pampered chef cookie scoop, dropped mixture into liners and pressed.]

Warm coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.

In the most powerful food processor / blender you own (you decide which one has the most torque) place all filling ingredients (except raspberries) and blend on high until very smooth (this may take a couple minutes so be patient).

Pour about 2/3 (just eyeball it, you can’t make a mistake!) of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. [I used the same small cookie scoop, filled it halfway, and filled each muffin tin] Add the raspberries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. [Then I used the same scoop and scooped about a full scoop onto the cheesecakes.] Place in freezer until solid.

To serve, remove from freezer 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the freezer (what leftovers?). [I froze them in the muffin tray, then when they were all good and frozen transferred them to a freezer ziplock and had them on hand for a few days.]

Yum.

Vegan Berry Shortcakes with Lemon and Thyme Scones.

It was high time to veganize one of my favorite desserts... these yummy shortcakes. And I done gooooood! The combo of thyme and lemon with berries still floors me that it actually tastes good - but it does. And the crust the raw sugar makes on the scones is yummy!

berries
4 cups fresh berries (21 to 22 ounces), rinsed, drained well
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons water

biscuits
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups nondairy milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon raw sugar
whipped cashew cream

Berries: Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until berries are slightly softened and syrup coats spoon, about 10 minutes. Transfer to medium glass bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400*F. Grind the oats to a fine meal in a dry blender. Pour into a medium bowl and add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

Mix the milk, agave, lemon juice, lemon zest and thyme in a small bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and stir briefly with a fork, until just combined. Drop by large spoonfuls onto 2 nonstick baking sheets (or baking sheets lined with parchment paper), making 12 mounds. Smooth the tops a bit with wet fingertips. Sprinkle with raw sugar. 

Bake for about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool slightly. 

Using serrated knife, carefully cut scones horizontally in half. Place bottom half of each biscuit on each of 6 plates. Spoon berries syrup over, dividing equally. Cover with biscuit tops. Place scoop a dollop of whipped cashew cream ontop each and serve.

***A merge of the bon appetit shortcake recipe with the oatmeal drop scones from Reversing Diabetes.

Cashew Ricotta.

I saw this cashew ricotta on my friend Crysta's blog... and totally wanted to try it - for 2 reasons. It looked good and was another new technique to making something animal based into plant based. I'm loving these little challenges. Plus, it's a Tal Ronnen recipe... so I knew it'd be good. And if it worked, it could open up the door to sooo many, now vegan, meals.

It worked. I had to wait to find the perfect recipe to try it on... and then I had to get some probiotic powder (which, I'm still needed to look for other uses for). And someday I'll work up the nerve to try the beet ravioli she used it in... the balsamic maple syrup vinaigrette looked so good.

Tal Ronnen's Cashew Ricotta Cheese
2 cups raw cashews
1 teaspoon probiotic powder (from 6 capsules - I use the All-Flora brand) dissolved in 1 cup of warm water.
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons minced chives
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon sea salt
black pepper

Put cashews in a bowl, add cold water to cover them, and refrigerate 12-14 hours. Drain and rinse them under warm water.

Place nuts in a blender with the probiotic powder and water mixture, and blend until very smooth. Transfer to a clean, glass bowl, and let sit at warm room temperature (I leave the oven light on in the closed oven) for 14-16 hours to culture.

Transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in remaining ingredients. Cheese will keep for a week under refrigeration.

Now, I'm on the search for some good ricotta recipes...

Spicy Doritos Cheezy Dip.

My friend Crysta turned me onto the blog, loveveggiesandyoga. And what I've tried has been some pretty good stuff. This one included. I have a dream of my kids sitting in front of a platter of all raw veggies and gobbling them up with some really yummy and healthy dip. The did like, but didn't gobble... at least not yet. But I'll try again. But that night for dinner we had this with nachos... yum!

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup hemp seeds (if you don’t have these, use Cashews, all Sunflower Seeds.Mix & Match your seeds as necessary)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 of a red pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (add more to taste if desired)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and well combined.

lovesveggiesandyoga

Faux Parmesan.

Parmesan cheese is something I use to love. It's like the perfect finish to a soup, a salad, bread sticks, pasta... you get the idea. And this isn't like the real thing. But it's a yummy substitute. My kids love to dip things, sprinkle things and scoop things. And this is a good sprinkle.

While I'm still experimenting with what all I can use it on, Chef AJ puts it on air popped popcorn, potatoes and steamed veggies, ontop chili and soups. Yum.

Plus, nutritional yeast is an excellent source of (a complete) protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Faux Parmesan Cheese {raw}
1 cup raw almonds or cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon salt-free seasoning (Benson's Table Tasty) {i just used Mrs. Dash}

In a food processor fitted with the "S" blade or in a blender, combine all ingredients until a powdery texture is achieved. If you like ti more chunky, process less.

Unprocessed

Chef AJ

Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese.

So I've been struggling with my almost 6-year-old with all things healthy eating. She use to be an amazing eater and eat any and everything healthy. Would ask me for healthy food and beg for shrek shakes. Long gone are those days, and I blame it all on kindergarten. It's like after seeing how the "other side" eats... and setting her eyes on that cafeteria line - it's all she wants. It's a constant battle.

One day, post kindergarten corruption, she told me she wanted to go have a playdate at her friend Emily's house because her Mom makes them yummy macaroni & cheese... I almost cried. Ouch. So, I was on a quest to find my baby girl some healthy mac & cheese. Found this recipe, on an awesome new site my friend Natalie told me about. I spent a good 3 hours drooling over all her recipes.

The bummer is, we all loved it, except her. I'm beginning to think that we're dealing with some sort of power struggle combined with the food issue. Lovely.

1/2 medium potato, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
1/2 large carrot, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
1 ½ cups raw cashews
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon mustard
~300-340 grams dry/uncooked whole wheat macaroni or other pasta
1 slice bread
1 tablespoon Earth Balance or butter
Fresh or dried parsley, to garnish (optional)
Paprika, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grab a small casserole dish and set aside. In a medium sized pot, add the chopped potatoes, carrots, and onion and fill with water until just covered. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, process 1 slice of bread until crumbs form in a food processor. Add in 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance and process until incorporated. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Now assemble your cheese sauce ingredients (cashews, almond milk, garlic, lemon, salt, yeast, pepper, mustard) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth.

Once the veggies are cooked, drain and add to cheese sauce mixture in food processor. Process until smooth.

Add your pasta to a medium sized pot and fill with water until the pasta is covered by about 1 inch or so. Bring to a boil and reduce to low, cooking for about 7 more minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, mix together your cheese sauce and drained + rinsed pasta. Scoop into your casserole dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Now garnish with paprika and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350*F. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley if you’d like.

Note: This is a heavy and drier mac ‘n cheese. If you want it less dry, you might want to add some Earth Balance/butter or additional milk.

from ohsheglows

my friend Natalie told me about her sight, and our friend Mimi told her

Hurry Up Alfredo.

Ya'll are going to love me for this one. Like, "L-O, L-O, L-O, L-O-V-E, L-O, L-O, L-O... I'm talkin bout... I'm talkin bout love!" (Any Ashlee Simpson Wentz fans out there? Nope? No one? Yeah, me neither!)

Anyhow, back to this amazing pasta. It's for sure going into the Hatch Family rotation. It couldn't be more delicious. It couldn't be more easy. And it couldn't be more any on-hand, go-to meal to make, whatsoever. [any Chandler fans catch that one?... Man, I have got to stop writing these up late at night!] Although if you're just starting up on this vegan/plant-based thing it won't seem at all 'on-hand' ingredients to you at first. But this one alone is well worth the investment of the ingredients.

I seriously wanted more and more of this one, and couldn't believe that it was vegan. Seriously, just try this tonight. Or, right now. I can't wait to play with it some and add roasted red peppers... or try it into a rose sauce... and try roasted garlic with it... yum!

The only downfall was the garlic is not cooked, so the garlic flavor is strong - be ready for that. Too strong for my little Ava... "it's so good Mom... but it's just too strong!" I'll tone that down or try some roasted garlic cloves next time.

1 cup soy or almond milk

1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons low-sodium tamari/soy sauce/bragg's liquid amino's

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika (smoked is awesome)

1 pinch nutmeg

2-4 cloves of garlic, optional (used 2, will use 1 next time)

Black pepper, to taste

whole wheat thin spaghetti

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This may work best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. Just blend extra-long, or perhaps strain if you want it perfectly smooth. Tiny bits of cashews won’t hurt anyone though!

If you’re making this sauce for pasta, drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. I love it with steamed broccoli added in!

belly biters: amazing!!

5 Star Hurry-Up Alfredo...

I just moved this already yummy dish up to 5 star yumminess... I cut up sundried tomatoes and added to the pasta water 1 minute before it's done. And sauted baby bella mushrooms and added them in after I mixed the pasta and sauce together. SOOOOOOO yummy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cups.

Once I made these yummy raw banana split cheesecake cups, I knew I had to try it with pumpkin. Tis the season! They turned out so yummy and rich and cute. Now, I just need to do them again and take notes along the way. Stay tuned.

Raw Banana Split Cheesecake Cups.

I got this recipe off a new blog I've been diggin, Chocolate Covered Katie... then just adapted it to these little cheesecake cups. I'm into finding treats that I can have on hand in the freezer and just pull out what little bit I need to get my fix or help someone else get theirs. These do the trick... I think they're awesome. And the crust is awesome by itself... even awesomer if you add a little mint to the dough and roll them into balls. They're the same concept as my chocolate balls... but sweeter and simpler. Try them, you'll thank me or Chocolate Covered Katie later!

Fudge Babies Crust
1 cup walnuts
1 1/3 cups pitted dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Blend all the ingredients, using a food processor or blender.
2. Line mini muffin tin with muffin holders.
3. Use a 1/2 tablespoon and scoop into each cup, and then press down to form a crust.

Banana Split Cheesecake Filling
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 medium frozen banana
1 teaspoon lemon juice
scant 1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water {and possibly extra to get it to blend}
1 tablespoon agave or maple syrup, for sweetener

1. Soak the cashews overnight, then drain.

2. Blend everything very, very well... about a minute. 

3. Scoop into cups, I like to use my small cookie scoop. Or, you can use the ziplock trick... would probably make for prettier 'cheesecups'.

You can eat it now, or you can put it in the fridge to help set, or in the freezer for later. Frozen, it’ll keep for weeks, and it thaws perfectly. A-mazing!

Carrot Cream Soup.

I have mixed feelings about this soup, and almost didn't post it because I'm not sure if and when I'll make it again. The kids weren't fans... I thought it was pretty good considering it's so healthy. It's just in serious need of some spices and herbs. So, froze half of it and am gonna post it so it will remind me to work on it later.

20 carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into large chunks

{I used 10 because I get those big fatty ones from Costco}

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

3 onions, peeled and chopped

2 cups soy milk

2 cups water

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root {optional}

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon dehydrated vegetable instant soup mix or VegeBase

1/4 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup raw almonds

Add all the ingredients except the nuts to a pot and summer on low heat for 20 minutes. Then puree the cooked soup with the nuts in food processor or blender until smooth.

Disease-Proof Your Child
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
page 181

Fuhrman Fudgecream.

With this whole new lifestyle change - I've always wondered how we'll get around the icecream thing. I just figured that'd be one of my 10% things... and I'd have to just deal with the belly ache. 

Not so Joe. Enter this awesome stuff. All healthy ingredients and it's awesome. The cashews are one of the tricks that vegans get their creamy into something. And it totally works in this. 

I put them in old baby food containers and have little individual portions for my kids... and me.

Oh, and if anyone knows me - knows how much I love me some banana icecream with brownies from Coldstone... this just so happens to be the greatest compromise ever for me! ;)

I'm not saying it's going to totally trump regular icecream or frozen yogurt... I'm not crazy (least I don't think so!). But I am saying this is a guilt-free way to do it! Trust me, Coldstone will still always have a special place in my heart and my belly!

2 ripe bananas
1 cup cashew nuts
2 tablespoons carob powder (or cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk (i love the unsweetened vanilla flavor)

Blend ingredients together in blender or food processor. Pour into containers to freeze. Yum!

{This recipe was originally made for fudgsicles, but those are far too messy for me. To make the messy pops you follow the above, minus the milk and spoon into ice pop trays to freeze.}

Disease-Proof Your Child
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
page 208

Cashew Cream

I was totally excited when I checked out the conscious cook by tal ronnen from the library... After seeing him on Oprah, I knew I wanted to give his stuff a whirl. And then when I saw his vegan solution to cream... I couldn't wait to try it. I've made his mashed potatoes and they were scrumpy. I've had success with substituting it in soups when called for cream. It's great in cream based pastas. The whipped cashew cream for desserts is heavenly! Use anywhere you use whipping cream for desserts.

regular and thick cashew cream

2 cups cashews, raw (not pieces, which are often dry) rinsed very well under cold water

Put the cahsews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. (I've found this isn't necessary, you just blend a little longer)

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minuts until very smooth. (If you're not using a professional high-speed blender, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

To make thick cashew cream, simply reduce the amount of water in the blender, so that the water just covers the cashews.

makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream

prep tims: 10 minutes, plus soaking overnight

whipped cashew cream

1 cup thick cashew cream (above)

1/4 cup light agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup refined coconut oil, warmed until liquid

Place the cashew cream in a blender and add the agave nectar, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water. Blend until thoroughly combined.

With the blender running, slowly drizzle the coconut oil in through the hole in the blender lid. Blend until emulsified.

Pour into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 hours. Stir before serving.

makes about 2 cups

prep time: 5 mintues, plus 2 hours chilling

The Conscious Cook

Tal Ronnen