Summer Fun! Cherry-Vanilla Milkshake + Ginger Peach Iced Tea + Toast

Summer is officially here! And that usually means, less cooking, more blending (smoothies that is). There were frozen cherries on sale (such a rarity), so I thought a cherry milkshake was in order. To make this vegan, replace the yogurt with more almond milk (or add some chia seeds to thicken it). This wasn't quite milkshake material (ice cream would have put it over the edge) But I'd say it's in between a smoothie and a milkshake. Yum!

Frothy nums

1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries
1/2 small banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stevia, to taste
Almond milk (to blend)
2-3 Ice cubes (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a blender, blend on high for 1 minute. Makes 2 servings.

Avocado, olive oil, salt, pepper and tomato slices on toasted spelt bread

Toast has made frequent appearances this past week, the toppings are endless (like fresh avocado puree and tomato slices). You could also spread it with hummus and top with sprouts and cucumber, yum!

Jenn has been experimenting with homemade iced tea, each recipe is different, so we have yet to discover the magic formula. But this Ginger-Peach Iced tea really hit the spot.

2 tea bags (ginger-peach)
4-5 slices of lemon (important! tastes so much better with lemon)
Honey, to taste (you could also use agave)
Optional, add peach slices and shreds of ginger

Brew tea, add honey and lemon. Pour into glass bottle (or jar), Chill in fridge overnight, add peach and ginger once cooled. Add ice, enjoy on a hot summer's day.

Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie, New Products + Chocolate-Banana PB Toast

We've been working on a smoothie post for One Green Planet and all this smoothie making really got me inspired. I bought a bunch of fruit yesterday and don't usually have that much fruit on hand. Usually I only have apples, bears (haha, I mean PEARS lol I wish I had bears...) and bananas (not the most appealing smoothie material). But now I have strawberries, kiwi, and mango as well as bananas to make dozens of smoothie combinations!

What I like about this smoothie is that there's no banana in it for those who are trying to decrease their sugar. And the cucumber adds volume and a clean, fresh taste. This smoothie is so refreshing, you may as well be drinking a strawberry-kiwi Capri-Sun! Please tell me someone remembers capri-suns...it's a 90's kid thing...

We've been buying this coconut water a lot lately and I've only found it in this one grocery store near where I live, I hope I can find it in Toronto when I move there this summer. But it is hands down the best coconut water I've ever tasted. It tastes like actual coconut water that would come from a coconut, haha I know that seems a little obvious but if you've tried some of the canned/boxed varieties you'd understand that not all coconut waters are alike.

Frozen, raw unpasteurized coconut water (thawed)

2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
6-7 strawberries
4 slices cucumber, peeled and frozen
1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder
Stevia, to taste

Blend and enjoy! Makes one serving.

Strawberry frost!

I saw this China Black Rice bread in the store. I usually buy the Brown Rice variety but wanted to try something different.

Food For Life China Black Rice Bread

It was about a dollar more expensive than the Brown Rice bread and I didn't really taste a difference, it was more of a novelty and it was kind of cool to eat purple bread. Also black rice has lots more health benefits than brown rice.

Jenn and I def have been over doing it on the peanut butter as you may have noticed based on our recipe choices on the blog lately. And we know we've heard somewhere that peanut butter isn't safe or something.

Well we don't let that stand in the way of our peanut butter intake!...But lately we've decided to try Valencia Peanut Butter which apparently has less mould in it and actually tastes much more fresh than the regular stuff.

I am obsessed with peanut butter toast, it's such a good comfort food, the melted, warm, gooey peanut butter on soft and crispy toasted bread. It's enough to make you peanut butter crazy like we've been the past week!

So with these two magical products I give you...the three best combinations in the world:

Chocolate-Banana Peanut Butter Toast!

Bare Purpley Toasts

valencia peanut butter, bananas, chopped vegan dark chocolate

Nummy nummy numchucks!

- Jac

Peanutty Treats + Healthier Version of Clif Bars!

When choosing nuts, I usually go for the almond or cashew but this time I decided on organic dry roasted peanuts. I never saw them before in the grocery store, and I don't know about you but it seems organic peanuts are hard to come by while organic peanut butter is very common. So I took advantage of this rarity and used them in these three awesome treats! Check out the peanutty inspiration starting with Peanut Butter Banana Protein Ice Cream:

1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoop brown rice protein powder, top with peanuts

This fudge is made with carob, peanuts and raisins. I've come to appreciate fruit and nut treats, ever since making our Superfood Nut and Fruit Clusters.

2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 1/2 tbsp sunflower seed butter, 1 1/2 tbsp carob powder, 1 tbsp brown rice syrup, stevia to taste, pinch of salt, handful of peanuts, handful of raisins

A few days ago I picked up some amaranth at the store, I originally wanted quinoa, but noticed amaranth was cheaper for the same amount so I went with it. I tried cooking it as you would quinoa and let me tell you, it is very soupy! No wonder it's often used to make porridge!

*I've heard of popping amaranth before but always thought it would be a difficult process. Well turns out, it's not! It literally takes 20 seconds. Heat a wok or frying pan on medium heat, when pan is fully hot, add in just under 1 tbsp of amaranth and stir continuously with a wooden spoon. It will start popping after 3 seconds. Continue stirring until the un-popped seeds turn brown and popping slows. Only do a little bit at a time or else you will get burning.

Popped amaranth and ground peanuts

We adore Clif Bars! And although they are marketed as nutrition bars, we eat them as a treat, equivalent to a cookie because of the high sugar content. Here are our version of Clif Bars with wayyy less sugar but the same Clif Bar texture: 

Peanutty taste

PEANUT-COCONUT CLIF BARS

1/2 cup ground organic peanuts

1/4 cup coconut, shredded

6 tbsp popped amaranth *see above for directions*

6 tbsp crushed organic cornflakes (fruit juice sweetened)

2 tbsp whole peanuts

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

Drops of stevia to taste

1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder

Pinch of sea salt

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl, add brown rice syrup and combine with hands until a dough forms. Shape into "cliff bar" shapes. Makes 4 bars.

If you're in the mood for some more Sketch-Free Vegan Treats, check out our ebook Simple Sweets!

Rainbow Fruit + Post Holiday Salad

Post holiday is here! I hope everyone out there in the blogosphere had a wonderful, bountiful holiday! Ours was filled with family, fun and of course lots and lots of food. Today I was just like, I need SALAD!

Jenn is obsessed with cutting up fruit...don't ask. She made this lovely rainbow inspired fruit plate on Christmas day! 

Caramelized Onion-Apple-Blueberry-Walnut Salad w/ Dijon Dressing

Handful of mixed greens

Caramelized onions

Cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 an apple, chopped

Handful of blueberries

Handful of toasted walnuts

Dressing:

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Pinch of salt and pepper

Last year's asian inspired post-holiday salad!

11 Days - Day 6: PUR Gum + Peanut Noodles + Pudding

Day 6! I can't believe Christmas is like 6 days away, incredible!...I went out shopping today and got lots of ideas of things I can buy for the fam, but I kept second guessing the gifts and didn't end up buying anything! I plan on going shopping some more tomorrow, so we'll see if I can grow a pair and actually buy something!

Anyways my favourite type of vegan/sugar free gum is PUR. I've tried Glee Gum and don't like the texture as much as PUR, Glee disintegrates more quickly and doesn't hold its shape as well. A perfect stocking stuffer, for those who like to avoid aspartame, I know I do! :)

pomegranate-mint and spearmint, sweetened with xylitol!!

It looks like Jenn and I both had peanut parties without even knowing it! Here is a pudding Jenn made involving peanuts:

avocado, banana, carob, almond milk, topped with peanuts!

Peanut Noodles (inspired by Aarti Paarti) see original video. If you haven't gotten into Aarti's videos please do so! (This was before she became the Next Food Network Star, and won her own show)

The best part of this recipe, is that if you watch the video before you make it you'll have "Movin' Right Along" from the Muppets stuck in your head! :)

late in the day photography, still looks delicious! :P

Brown rice pasta (I used spaghetti)
4-5 stalks of asparagus, cut into strips (as shown above)
1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
1/4 red onion, sliced
1 inch ginger
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Safflower oil, for frying

Sauce :
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp lime juice
(I didn't add any, but you can add some sugar if you like!)

Boil pasta, drain, set aside. while pasta is boiling, slice up your veggies. Heat oil in a skillet on medium, add onion, cook until onions are tender, add garlic and ginger, continue cooking. Combine all ingredients to sauce in a small bowl. Once onions, garlic and ginger are cooked through, add sauce and sesame seeds to pan. Add in pasta and veggies. Combine everything together. Garnish with cilantro/sesame seeds.

This dish leaves you so full, and at first I was hesitant with the raw asparagus, but now I love it, I actually prefer it to cooked. You can also pack this as a lunch and it will still taste good cold, if you watch the video Aarti brings it for her friends to a movie viewing and it is eaten cold. Mmmm! So yummy, this is definitely a keeper!

11 Days of Healthy Stocking Stuffers - Day 4: Tia's Bakery

Wow this week went by fast. Today's stuffer comes from Tia's bakery; a gluten-free bakery that makes super yummy cookies and cakes. We had the opportunity to try the oatmeal raisin and peanut butter cookies and man were they good! They had that chewy texture of a freshly baked cookie that I've really been missing since going gluten-free.

Our favourite was definitely the peanut butter:

Santa doesn't need these....;)

Nothing is better then cookies in your stocking!

Here's some pics of what we've been eating lately. (No recipe today :( )

Cocoa-berry pudding: Avocado, frozen cucumber, cocoa, berry powder, stevia

Zuchinni noodles cooked in marinara sauce

Tempeh on salad w/ creamy tahini sauce

11 Days of Healthy Stocking Stuffers - Day 1: Anita's Organic Mill

We decided to do 11 days of Healthy Stocking Stuffers! Hopefully these posts will give you guys ideas on what to give the hard core health freak foodie for Christmas. You guys probably could tell we are product fiends. Every time there's something new at the health food store we simply HAVE to try it. We don't post products that we don't believe in and we hope you guys enjoy looking at all the obscure, new health foods we've been discovering.

So first on the docket:

ANITA'S ORGANIC MILL BREAKFAST BOOST!

We are loving this breakfast boost! It has buckwheat groats (for crunchiness) Chia and Hemp seeds (for omegas) sunflower seeds (for heartiness) and dried cranberries and currants (for sweet chewiness)

I love how there's no added sugar to the cranberries, it's just purely dried.

We found lots of ways to use this booster:

Pumpkin Pudding: pumpkin puree, banana, vanilla brown rice protein powder

Bananas and apples w/ tahini and breakfast boost!

Any self respecting health foodie would jump for joy if they found this in their stocking! I know I would.

Watch out tomorrow for another stocking stuffer! :)

Cookie Trials + Our Favourite Hummus

A few months ago, we had the idea of starting up a cookie business, we're not sure if we're actually going to follow through with it but we still like to experiment when we can with some gluten-free baking! 

Sometimes they turn out really good, sometimes they turn out just downright weird! Like these sweet potato cookies, the concept is good, I was so excited about it! It tastes like sweet potato pie (yyyum!), but the texture is exactly what you'd think would be like if you mixed a potato into a cookie. Kind of rubbery and dense...

Sweet potato puree, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, almonds, cinnamon, coconut sugar, vanilla, safflower oil.

These next ones on the other hand turned out great! Chocolate Chip Sunflower Seed Cookies. I just made a small batch, so you will end up with around 1 dozen.

Cookie rounds w/ chocolate chip and sunflower seeds

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup millet flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup safflower oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp water

Dash of cinnamon (optional)

2 tbsp mini chocolate chips

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl combine sugar, agave, oil, vanilla and water. Pour dry into wet. Stir until combined. Mix in cinnamon, chocolate chips and seeds. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, flatten with hand, and then bake for 13-15 minutes. 

They ended up being soft and chewy which is always nice, but now I'm looking for a way to make gluten-free crunchy cookies!! Anyone have any suggestions??

Next up, I just wanted to share with you guys my favourite hummus of all time: Fontaine Sante Eggplant and Olive!! Mmmmmm. 

Taking the hummus experience to a whole. notha. level.

Half way hummus

Enjoy with crackers!! Pictured here: Sesame-Brown Rice Crackers (recipe soon)

Ready for a sugar cleanse? Check out our ebook for 31 sugar-free recipes.

Cheezy Steamed Potatoes + Sunwarrior Protein Puddings

There's nothing like a rainy sunday. It's one of those "do-nothing" days and the perfect time for some comfort food. How about some cheezy potatoes? It's very simple and very yummy. All you need is tahini and nutritional yeast and water to thin it out.

I didn't measure exactly when I made the sauce but this is around how much I used:

2 tbsp tahini
1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup water
Generous pinch of sea salt

About 3 medium red potatoes, steamed

Serve on a bed of greens.

Simple and Easy

We tried SunWarrior Protein Powder for the first time and loved it! We received a chocolate and a vanilla in the mail. I of course made protein packed puddings with them.

Avocado, Frozen cukes, vanilla protein powder. Topped with buckwheat groats and hemp seeds

Avocado, Frozen cukes and chocolate protein powder. Topped with almonds and hemp seeds.

I love how it's raw and contains no sweetener except stevia. It had a really natural taste and it wasn't chalky like I expected.

Thanks SunWarrior!

Miso-Tahini Pumpkin Noodles + Pudding + King Soba

You probably already know we are big fans of tahini. 1. because it's cheap 2. because it has a low glycemic index and 3. because it actually tastes really good! I made a super yummy asian inspired miso-tahini sauce that you can use as a dressing or poured over top of noodles. In this case I used King Soba's Pumpkin-Ginger Noodles. We love this gluten-free noodle company (especially the packaging) and they're organic too! Double score! They sent us some other noodles to try so we'll also be posting recipes for those when inspiration strikes.

So to make your noodle dish first mix together the sauce:

2 tbsp of tahini
1 tsp miso paste
1/4 cup hot water (or more depending on consistency of tahini)

Mix together the miso and hot water. Add in tahini and stir until well combined. It should have a dressing consistency.

Pour over cooked noodles and wilted spinach or arugula (or whatever greens you'd like). Toss in the dressing. Eat!

Into the miso abyss

Greens!

I hope you guys don't mind the simplicity of the dishes we've been making. Hopefully when the holidays come we'll get a bit more crazy.

King Soba! 

Here's a pudding I made...guess what's in it...

It's avocado and kiwi! (w/ cinni and hemp seeds on top). Simple, low-glycemic and filling. We love our avos!