One of our favorite things to eat ice cream.  But the “ice cream” we like to eat doesn’t have a ton of sugar, fat, and casein in it.  This one is made out of frozen bananas.  These “ice creams” have a gelato-type texture to them.  They are sweet, smooth, refreshing, and the best thing about them is that  you can flavor them so many ways.  I love mixing peanut butter and chocolate with it, you can blend it with berries, dates, agave, and sometimes even spinach!  But lately, all my daughter has been wanting to make are these banana cinnamon ice creams.  It is ridiculously easy and quick.

I use my handy dandy Vitamix 5200s for this one….

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 tablespoon of organic vanilla extract
• 6 cubes of ice
• 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk
• cinnamon

Directions:

1. Blend your frozen bananas with the vanilla extract, ice, and non-dairy milk.
2. Put it in a bowl/cone/cup and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
3. Enjoy!

Here are some other “ice cream” ideas (click on the photo and it will take you to the page):

RAW VEGAN CHERRY ICE CREAM

EASY VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

I used parsley for garnish.

I had some freshly sprouted mung beans in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I decided to make a salad out of it for dinner.  I have made something similar to this in the past but I have used quinoa, corn, spinach, and a different kind of dressing.  But, this version is a bit more simpler.  It is crunchy, filling, tangy, and creamy deliciousness!  You have your beans, your grains, your veggies, nuts, etc.  This is definitely super healthy!

I love sprouting!

Serves 2

Ingredients for the salad:

• 1/2 cup of quick cooking barley
• 1/2 cup of young mung bean sprouts (how to sprout mung beans, click here)
• 14 cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
• 1 carrot (shredded)

Tangy and Creamy Dressing:

• 1/6 cup of almonds
• 1/4 cup of water (note: you can add more to adjust thickness of dressing)
• 1 tablespoon of flax seeds
• 4 cloves of garlic
• juice of one lemon
• herbamare

Directions:

1. Blend all the ingredients for dressing in your blender until it is smooth adding herbamare little by little until it is salty enough for you.
2. Cook barley by following directions on the box/bag it came in.
3. Drain the barley and set aside.
4. Put all of your ingredients (barley, mung bean sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, and dressing) in a salad bowl.
5. Toss and serve (either warm or cold).
6. Enjoy!

The rain poured quite heavily in our little town today.  It was also a bit chilly which was a perfect opportunity to have “rainy day” soup.  This soup is hearty and super healthy.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

(seves 4-6)

• 3 cups of cooked quinoa
• 3 and a half quarts of water *note: add more water toward the end if you like it more “soupy”
• 1 can of organic coconut milk
• 1/3 lb of Bob’s Red Mill Soup Mix, 13 Bean Soup Mix *I soaked the beans overnight with a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice *
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 7 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 inches of ginger (peeled)
• Herbamare Original (500g=1.1LB) Brand: Vogel *note: you can buy pre-made herbamare from this link or the health food store, or you can save some money by googling “herbamare recipes” and making it yourself.   You will find many different recipes out there.  I made mine myself, but I didn’t measure (sorry…next time I will ), I just go by taste and it usually tastes similar to other herbamare recipes.

Directions:

1. Cook your quinoa and set aside.
2. Wash your soaked beans.
3. In a large pot, boil 3 and a half quarts of water with your soaked beans, chopped onions, and minced garlic.
4. Let it boil for about 1 hour or until the beans are cooked (stir occasionally).
5. Blend coconut milk with your red bell pepper and ginger in a blender until smooth.  And, you will have a red gingery, coconutty, bell pepper soup.
6. After the beans have cooked, add your coconut-bellpepper-ginger blend.
7. Boil this together for another 20 minutes.
8. Then add your cooked quinoa and herbamare (add herbamare a little bit at a time until you are satisfied with the taste).
9. Simmer for 15 minutes or so.
10. Pour in your favorite soup bowl and enjoy!

My little ballerina.

For those of you looking for the perfect cruelty-free ballerina shoes, check out Cynthia King’s vegan slippers.

CYNTHIA KING VEGAN BALLET SLIPPERS

Description:

• Super soft canvas
• Come in peach pink, pastel pink, and black
• Non-slip full sole (children sizes)
• Non-slip split sole (adult sizes)
• Improved pleated toe
• Stretch drawstring
• Attached elastic
• CRUELTY FREE!

Here is the link to their website:   http://cynthiakingdance.com/vegan-ballet-slippers/

The other night, my 4-year old and I made these unbaked “cake/brownies” out of dates, raisins, mixed nuts, shredded coconut, cacao, and vanilla extract.  It is nutty, chocolatey, and chewy, like a chocolate caramel with a sort of nutty “brownie-fudge” consistency.  These are the type of desserts I make at home because it is so easy, delicious, filling, and not to mention a lot healthier than the traditional cake/brownie.  My daughter LOVES these!  And, they are perfect for me when I am craving chocolate!

I have different versions of this recipe; “Raw Vegan Chocolate Balls”, “Snow Balls”, and “Brownie with Icing”.  But, I wasn’t in the mood to make “balls” or “icing”, so I just flattened the chocolate mixture out on a little glass container, placed it in the fridge for a few hours, and then cut it into “cake/brownie” bites.  You can definitely get creative with these and add whatever you want (dried cherries, semi-sweet/dairy-free chocolate chips, etc).  It is fun to experiment!

Here are the links to the different recipes:

I make green smoothies every day for my family.   They are delicious and nutritious!  I like to mix/change up the greens every day for the purpose of getting different nutritional benefits from the different types of greens.  At the moment, our garden is producing some wonderful greens that we can use for our breakfasts such as spinach, kale, arugula, tat soi, and lemon balm.

I have never actually tried lemon balm leaves on anything until today.  I decided to try it out in our smoothies.  And, it worked out pretty well!

Smoothie of the day (serves 2):

• 2 frozen bananas
• 8 fresh strawberries
• 1 fresh mango
• 5 pitted dates
• 3 ice-cubes of wheat grass (optional….see previous post for instructions)
• 7 leaves of lemon balm (fresh)
• 1 cup of fresh curly-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup of kale
• 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
• 4 tablets of spirulina (optional)
• 1 to 2 cups of coconut water or non-dairy “milk”

Directions:

Blend all ingredients together with a few pieces of ice and serve immediately.

VEGETABLE WASH

I don’t buy the store-brand veggie wash, because I just make it myself.

Ingredients:

* Grapefruit Seed Extract Liquid Concentrate – 2 oz – Liquid
* Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Raw Unflavored 32oz
* Bob’s Red Mill Non-Aluminum Double Acting Baking Powder Gluten Free — 16 oz

In a large mixing bowl, put about 15 drops of grapefruit seed extract, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of baking powder in with water.  Mix it up, and soak your veggies/fruits for a few minutes and then rinse your produce.

Mango Kombucha
(see below for directions)

A little over a year ago, I was introduced to kombucha that was purchased from the local health food store.  I instantly fell in love with the taste!  It was tangy, it was delicious, and plus it was “concentrated” probiotics!  The only thing I didn’t like so much about it was that it was $4 a pop.  Some time later, I saw that a local soap-maker was selling kombucha at the farmers market.  I was very excited about this!  I tried her kombucha and asked if I could purchase one of her SCOBYS so I can start making my own.  She agreed and I started making kombucha!

At first I thought it would be difficult, but it is easy as cake.  And, it is super cheap to make!

The lady gave me step-by-step directions on how to make kombucha and I also watched videos like these to help me through the learning process.*****Kombucha: How to Make (Brew) a 1 Gallon Batch *****

More info:  Obtaining and Maintaining the Maximum Taste & Benefit from your Kombucha through Consideration & Application of Balance.

Note: if you can’t find anyone with a SCOBY, you can purchase some on line (google it) or you can check out videos like these: How To Make Your Own Kombucha SCOBY

For those of you who don’t know what a SCOBY is, it is symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts.  It is used to ferment tea.  For more information on kombucha and SCOBYs, here is a wonderful article about them: WHAT IS KOMBUCHA?

Directions:  first watch the video above on how to brew a 1 gallon batch of kombucha.

Here are the items you will need:

• A SCOBY with a little bit of kombucha
• 1 gallon brewing jar
• cheese cloth
• large rubber bands
• China Organic Black Tea (Natural & Organic) 100 Tea Bags by A2AWorld Green Tea (note: I have used other teas, and this has been my favorite)
• vegan cane sugar
• water

Delicious and fizzy!

There are a few scobys in there….

Brewing two 1-gallon jars of kombucha.
Note: I have found that my kombucha tastes better when it is brewed in my kitchen versus my closet. I just cover it up with some napkins so it doesn’t get any light.

After you have watched the video, brew your first batch.  I usually don’t use my PH strips, I just taste-test.  After about 7 to 8 days,  bottle kombucha in an air-tight bottle, and let it sit for another day or two.  This will allow it to get even fizzier, like the store-brand kombucha.  This is called “double brewing”.

kombucha with chia seeds!

After it has “double brewed”, store your kombucha in the fridge.  Before serving, you can add some chia seeds (let sit for 20 minutes to let the chia seeds expand before drinking).  You can also add fresh lemon juice, fresh ginger, blueberry syrup, strawberry syrup, hibiscus, etc.  So many possibilities!

The very top this post, I posted a picture of  my mango kombucha.  I just blended 1/2 of a mango with 1 quart of kombucha.  Tastes a lot like the MANGO SYNERGY drink from the health food store!

Good luck and have fun with your magical kombucha!

I have had a mediocre juicer for the last few years and I don’t use it as much as I use my vitamix.  But just recently, I was inspired to start growing my own wheat and barley grass and I know my juicer would not be able to juice it as well.  So, I decided to purchase a new juicer….last week.  But to this day, I haven’t been able to make up my mind on which to get!  So, I started “juicing” wheat and barley grass with my awesome Vitamix while in the decision-making process.

Note: a vitamix is powerful enough to blend every part of the fruit or vegetable you are blending to create “juice” with fiber.  But, you still have to strain wheatgrass pulp because it is difficult for your body to digest it (according to some of the articles I have read).

Here is what your wheatgrass pulp will look like afterwards.   

So here is what I did…..

I learned how to grow wheat grass from this youtube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=KXIjhe_YiYc

I used organic wheatgrass seeds and barley grass seeds from Amazon.com.  Click on the photos below.

Organic Wheatgrass Seeds

Organic Barley Grass Seeds
So, I will be juicing my wheat and barley grass this way until I decide on which new juicer to get.

…Hurom?…Omega?….Champion?….Kuvings?…..what to do?….what to do?….

Delicious vegan “fish” tacos by me.

omg….yum….at NATIVE FOODS CAFE!
http://www.nativefoods.com/

A few months ago I had the pleasure of dining at a wonderful vegan restaurant called, Native Foods Cafe in Los Angeles.  I enjoyed their mouth-watering grub such as the Rockin’ Moroccan Bowl, Bistro Steak Sandwich,  Chimi Chop Salad, vegan nachos, and their Baja Blackened Tacos.

Today, I was craving their food…like crazy.  But, I am thousands of miles away from this place and I needed to make something similar to satisfy my hunger.  I looked in my fridge and thankfully, I had a lot of the ingredients required to make a my own vegan “fish” taco.

It was delicious, fresh, healthy, and most importantly approved by my 4-year old child.

*Note: It took me 20 minutes to make lunch!…so quick and easy!

So here is what you will need for the tacos:

• 2 packages of tempeh (today, I used 3 grain tempeh)
• 1 medium-sized onion (chopped)
• 1/2 fresh cabbage (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger (grated)
• 3 lemons or 4 limes
• 5 sheets of nori (sea weed)
• 6 bulbs of garlic
• 1 hand full of cilantro
• 6 tablespoons of liquid aminos
• 1/2 cup of veganaise (vegan mayo)
• 1.5 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil
• sprouted corn tortillas
• tomatoes (chopped)
• guacamole

Directions:

1. Juice the lemons.
2. Pour 1/2 of the juice into your blender and set the remaining 1/2 aside.
3. Add garlic, liquid aminos, nori sheets (torn into strips), ginger, and cilantro into your blender with the lemon juice to make your marinade.
4. Blend into a thick sauce.
5. Slice your tempeh into strips.
6. In a large bowl, pour the remaining half of your lemon juice with the veganaise, maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Stir and then add 1/2 of the chopped onion (set the other half aside) with the chopped cabbage.  Mix well and set aside.
7. Heat the skillet/pan in medium to high heat with coconut oil then add the remaining half of the chopped onion.
8. After a minute, add the tempeh and your seaweed marinade.
9. Cook this for about 5 to 10 minutes or until most of the moisture has evaporated.
10. Prepare/heat your tortillas.
11. Build your tacos.
12. Enjoy!

YUM!   Mercury-free “fish” tacos!

It has been a while since I shared a recipe with you all.  So, here is a super easy, quick, flavorful and healthy lunch or dinner idea!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cooked quinoa
• 2 cups of fresh broccoli
• 1 and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 cup of sweet peppers (diced)
• 1 onion (diced)
• 10 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 3 tablespoons of liquid aminos
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• 1 cup of fresh basil (chopped)

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa.
2. Heat the pan and add coconut oil.
3. When oil is hot, add diced onions and garlic.
4. After you have allowed the onions to sweat, add quinoa, broccoli, walnuts, sweet peppers, liquid aminos, and nutritional yeast.
5. Cook together for about 5 minutes.
6. Turn off heat then add fresh basil.
7. Stir and serve.
8. Enjoy!