Saturday, October 19, 2013

Carrot Sesame Dressing

From the book: The Beauty Detox Foods

Another great salad dressing recipe and I love the colour!

Blend together:
1 very small clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped carrot
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp sea salt
(I added 2 drops of stevia)

Add 1 Tbsp sesame seeds (soaked for 8 hours and then rinsed)
and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Vegan Sour Cream

Anything with cashews is amazing. This is so easy to make and is great. Went well with my borscht!

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for a few hours then drained.
The juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
salt to taste
Blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Purple Cabbage Slaw

I made this recipe from the book "The Beauty Detox Foods" because of the picture. It tastes amazing.

3 cups purple cabbage, shredded
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp tamari
1 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
4 drops liquid stevia
1 tbsp. tahini
top with avocado

Shred the cabbage and place in a large bowl. Whisk together the other ingredients, adding the tahini last. Pour over the cabbage and mix well.
Allow to chill, covered in the refrigerator, for at least 2 hours before serving.

Polenta with Creamy Basil Sauce

 I love polenta!!!

3 cups water
1 cup ground corn meal
1 tbsp. vegetable broth
1 cup spinach
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Coconut oil
In a large pot, bring water to a boil Reduce heat and stir in the corn meal, stirring constantly.
Meanwhile, heat the veg broth and quickly sauté the spinach until it wilts and set aside. Keep stirring the corn meal for a total of about 45 minutes, or until it gets too thick to stir. Add the spinach.
Turn off the heat and add the nutritional yeast and basil. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Grease a 8 X 8 glass baking pan with coconut oil. Add the mixture and press down. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes or so to set.

Cream Sauce
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 tbsp. minced spinach
1/2 tbsp. minced basil
1/4 tsp xantham gum
salt and pepper to taste
Blend the milk, spinach and basil, then pour it into a pot and heat on the stove, keeping below a boil. Spoon a 1/2 cup of the sauce into a small bowl and whisk in the xanthan gum.
Add the contents of the small bowl back into the main sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet heat up 1 tbsp. of coconut oil. Cut the polenta into thirds across and lengthwise, and cut each third on the diagonal. Fry in oil until golden brown on both sides. Make a swirl of sauce on each plate arrange 2 pieces on top of the sauce. Dot with more sauce.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Yam Shepherd's Pie

Before I became vegan I loved Costco's shepherd's pie.  I didn't think anything would top that I until I made this recipe from The Beauty Detox Foods (I did make a few adjustments). Wow just love this recipe.


3 medium yams
1/2 cup almond milk
Sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 1/4 cups peeled and diced carrots
1 cup peas (fresh is best)
Kernels from 2 ears of corn
1 1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. arrowroot starch
1/4 cup Ener-G egg replacer, mixed with 3/4 cup very hot water
Nutmeg

Lightly grease a 2 quart glass casserole dish with coconut oil.
In a large pan, bring enough water to boil to cover yams. Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until softened.
Drain yams and place in a large mixing bowl, mash lightly. Add the almond milk. Blend the potato mixture with an electric hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat some coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onions until almost caramelized, then add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the celery, carrots, peas, corn, thyme and rosemary. Increase the heat to medium high. In a small bowl, whish together the broth and arrowroot until smooth, and add to the skillet. When the mixture gets close to boiling, reduce the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat. Stir in the egg replacer/water combination.
Pour the veggie mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Spoon the yams on top to cover. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

CREAMY DIJON-TAHINI DRESSING

From the book The Beauty Detox Foods this has to be my favourite dressing.

2 1/2 tbsp. tamari
2 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup raw tahini
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2/3 cup water

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE

I LOVE who ever came up with this recipe. Incredible!!!!

1 1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 very small clove garlic
1 tbsp. minced white onion
2 tbsp. water

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Place in a container in the freezer for 2 hours to help set the oil. After 2 hours move to the refrigerator.

Red Pepper Dip

WOW another recipe from Beauty Detox Foods this dip is great. Goes very well with carrot sticks.

Combine all these ingredients and blend until smooth.

3 red peppers (the book says to use raw but I roasted them)
1 cup RAW walnuts, soaked for 15 minutes
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 TBSP nutritional yeast
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 TBSP lemon juice
a few drops stevia
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin


Avocado Stacks

Ok that's not really what they are called BUT because I am addicted to avocado's I renamed them. I got this recipe from the book The Beauty Detox Foods(but made a few adjustments). My new favourite recipe book.

This is another wow recipe. It has my favourites, avocados, quinoa and butternut squash.

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 tbsp. dried rosemary, crushed
sea salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
2 cups veg broth
Juice of one lime
2 1/2 tbsp. minced parsley (I used cilantro)
1 tsp minced fresh basil
1/4 cup finely minced purple cabbage
2 avocados diced
Sprouts to top (I used cilantro)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt coconut oil in large bowl and toss in the cubed squash. Add the rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the quinoa in the veg broth for about 12 minutes, or until soft and fluffy. Add to a bowl and mix in the lime juice, parsley, basil and cabbage. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Assemble by greasing ramekins lightly with coconut oil. Start with the squash, and pack in gently. Add the diced avocado and then push the quinoa mixture down into them. Press down again.
Gently flip the ramekin upside down onto a plate. Repeat with the rest. Top with generous portion of microgreens or clover sprouts.