Hemp Smoothie

Today's post isn't the most salivating, but it is healthy. I try to have a hemp protein smoothie everyday (especially now that my jar is best by December 2). I am not a big fan of the grainy quality and aftertaste that the protein powder gives to my smoothie (Nutiva is the only brand I have tried so far), but I do appreciate the added protein and the omega 3 and 6 punch it provides. Here is my usual plan of action for these smoothies.

First put half of a banana and 1/4 -1/2 cup frozen fruit of choice (I used a mixed berry blend).

Then add 3 handfuls of spinach. This is my usual handful.

With my personal blender I have to really push down the ingredients for more room. Those of you with larger blenders, feel free to add more of the good stuff above to your liking.

Then add 3 spoonfuls of the hemp protein powder. With the size of smoothie I make, It is hard for me to handle the recommended 4 Tbs of protein powder, but feel free to use the serving size.

Pour a nice helping of hemp seeds on top. I believe the serving size for these is 2 - 3 Tbs (depending on the brand - I've seen both suggested).

Top with remaining banana. I use the banana to give the blender something easy to start blending as my blender is on it's last leg. We have had to buy a new personal blender every year as I use it every day, sometimes multiple times. I need to just save up some money and buy a nice one. Any Suggestions?

Anyway back to the smoothie. I then pour in half water and half almond milk. The more liquid the better with this smoothie. It really helps the protein powder to not be so thick and overpowering. Also the vanilla almond milk gives it a nice taste as well.

Blend until smooth. Enjoy and drink to your health!

Then reward yourself with some Wheat-free Chocolate Chip Cookies from Veganomicon. I lowered the sugar to just 1/2 cup loose brown sugar (as in not packed), and added about 1/2 cup (maybe a bit more) of unsweetened shredded coconut. I think the amount of chocolate chips I used made up for the sugar I didn't add - a little counter-productive. Oh well, I guess I will have another smoothie.

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate chip Cookies

Happy middle of the week! You've made it this far, so I think you deserve a treat. A slightly spiced, softly chewy, chocolate filled treat! Here is the Recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie puree

1/2 cup earth balance melted

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs non dairy milk

1 1/2 teas vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup whole spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

1 teas baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1/2 cup or more chocolate chips

Cream together the pumpkin pie puree, margarine, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the flour

arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You can mix wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine if you would like. I prefer the simplicity of using one bowl. I pour the dry ingredients on top and then stir them together a bit before fully combining with the wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. drop spoonfuls of batter on parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 -20 min.

If you can't get enough of the pumpkin pie and chocolate combination, add some pumpkin pie puree to your hot chocolate as well, and don't forget the ricemellow creme. I actually made this recipe a bit too thick, so still working out the kinks with this one.

Whip up a batch of cookies, heat up some cocoa, and enjoy the rest of your week. The weekend will be here before you know it!

Sunday is for Brunching

Work weekends leave me exhausted, not to mention with little time to be in the kitchen making delicious food. So this morning I was determined to at least have a good brunch before I headed off to work. As we slept in a bit and I had to be at work at 11:30, both breakfast and lunch had to be eaten in a short amount of time, therefore we brunched. I used Chocolate Covered Katie's single serving cupcake recipe and made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins out of it, by adding some pumpkin pie puree to the batter, and chocolate chips. I whipped up enough batter for 3 muffins. We also had some delicious oatmeal made with half water and half coconut milk. Sweeten this oatmeal with a bit of brown sugar, add a dash of vanilla and a hand-full of raisins and you are in business. If your business is making amazingly creamy oatmeal that is.

So now another week begins. Hopefully this one will be a bit brighter. Have a happy Monday everyone!

P.S. I noticed I have a couple new followers. Welcome and thanks for choosing my blog. Hope you enjoy! Leave a comment and say hi sometime, I would love to hear from you.

Pumpkin Pie No-bake Bars

When your in the mood for chocolate but have no chocolate chips or bars, no-bake cookies do the trick. I decided to be inventive and throw in some pumpkin pie puree, inspired by the chocolate pumpkin pie I made one year for Thanksgiving. These no-bake cookie bars turned out quite delicious. Chocolaty, deeply rich, and with a hint of Autumn spice, this dessert is a crowd-pleaser, or in my case a husband-pleaser.

I used this recipe, and added about 3 tablespoons of canned pumpkin pie puree. Then I spread it into a square dish, and popped it into the freezer for about an hour, for faster cooling time. Slice, serve, and top with some Ricemellow Creme. Yum!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Saute

As promised, Matt's creation, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Saute. This dish was inspired by Alexia brand Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes found in the frozen food aisle. We have had the Alexia version on occasion as it makes a really quick and delicious lunch or dinner, but it is nice to make it from scratch. Tonight we served the dish with Blackened Garlic Bread. Here is the recipe!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Saute

1 and 1/2 sweet potatoes, cubed or 1 bag frozen diced sweet potato

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cup frozen corn

olive oil

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 teas onion powder

1 Tbs cajun seasoning

smoked paprika to taste

sweet paprika to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add sweet potatoes. Cook until just starting to soften. Then add corn, red pepper,and black beans and continue to cook adding more olive oil as needed. Stir in spices and add a bit of water if things are getting to thick. Once cooked thru, serve with Blackened Garlic Bread.

Blackened Garlic Bread

half a loaf of sourdough baguette

earth balance buttery spread

garlic powder

olive oil for pan

Slice the baguette in half lengthwise and then cut into 4 pieces. Spread earth balance on each slice and sprinkle with garlic powder. Heat olive oil in the skillet and when hot add the bread, buttery side facing down. The garlic powder will start to toast and the bread will get a bit crispy. The longer you leave it in the pan, the garlic powder will burn, hence the blackened nature of the garlic bread. If you would rather not have the toasted garlic powder, sprinkle it on after the bread has toasted and you are ready to serve. Optionally you can drizzle on a bit of olive oil before you serve the black bean dish.

Enjoy! The Black Bean and Sweet Potato Saute is also delicious served with avocado and garnished with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Serve with toast.

Cookbook Inspiration

I was doing so well with Vegan MoFo, and then missed a day. Sorry everyone. The whole mouse fiasco has left me with a lack of desire to be in the kitchen. Hopefully that will be remedied soon. I've been flipping thru The Urban Vegan, and am salivating over a number of recipes. So I think I will be doing a cookbook series shortly, starting with this gem. Here are some of the recipes I am excited to try.

Grilled Cheese and Bananas

Havana Beans and Rice and Pan-Fried Plantains

Chocolate -Chipotle Chili

Marsala Mushroom Crepes

Chocolate-Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Can't wait! I have this bad little habit of checking out way to many cookbooks at the library and not getting to really use them, so I am going to plan for some of these recipes. It will give me a bit of practice on that whole meal planning thing that I have been wanting to give a whirl. My mother created extensive meal plans every week before she did the grocery shopping. I did not quite gain that commitment to organization, but a bit of planning wouldn't hurt.

Tomorrow I will post for you a recipe created by Matt. It's a good one!

P.S. The author of The Urban Vegan also has a blog. Check it out.

Mac and "Cheese" for a lousy day

Monday started out in typical fashion with the hum drum of another work week. Then once home from work I get a call from Matt saying that our land lord is coming over to put mouse traps in our apartment (What!). Apparently Matt has been seeing things and neglected to fill me in, but that is probably for good reason. So I let that go and went about my day and got a call that I didn't get the job I interviewed for. Needless to say Matt and I were both a bit depressive for a while. So the cure all was comfort food. Macaroni and "cheese" to be exact.

I used some spelt spiral pasta and some Daiya vegan cheese. Toss in some Earth Balance and some rice milk and cook until creamy. I also added salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning, as well as some smoked paprika for garnish. It hit the spot. Since my wounds were not quite mended I whipped up some peanut butter cookies using a recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. I added a bit to much molasses, so they look like a cross between a ginger cookie and a peanut butter one. They hit the spot as well.

To counteract my emotional eating, I did some yoga. I have been really slacking in that area, so it was much needed and was hard work. I used the dvd Yogalosophy, and really enjoyed the mix of yoga poses with toning techniques.

So my evening ended up being enjoyable. That is until we heard some rustling under the oven. Sure enough it was a mouse. I am wondering if it is my fault for my lack of floor mopping. Matt says it is an old house and this happens, but I guess I never saw it coming. I know mouse traps are not the most humane thing and do not really go hand in hand with vegan ethics, so does anyone have any good ideas for future house protection?