Curry with Chickpeas, Couscous, and Veggies.

Mmm...want to see what I had for dinner last night??

Curry, chickpeas, couscous, chard, zucchini, and red onions.

I modified this recipe from Healthy Vegan. I used coconut oil to saute the veggies (I added zucchini to the recipe). I didn't have coconut milk so I had to use almond milk. There are plenty of Indian spices you can use but I just bought a curry spice that pretty much includes all of them.

Tone It Up Check In & Snacking on Kale Chips!

Hey guys! Just wanted to post a video since it's been a little while. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and getting ready for the New Year that is approaching us. I'm staying on track with my workouts and just wanted to share with you what I worked on today and the healthy snack I gobbled up! Can you guess what it was??? :-)

Kale Chips!

Looking for a delicious snack that won't break the bank??? You should try making your own kale chips! As many of you know, I LOVE kale. It's packed full of nutrition and flavor and when I first tasted kale chips, I knew I found a friend for life...lol...yes, I'm a little crazy. The first time I tried making these delectable snacks it did not turn out so well. The sauce on the kale was too soggy and a few of them came out crispier than I wanted. So, I gave in and bought some Alive and Radiant kale chips from Whole Foods. They were delicious! Alive and Radiant uses a dehydrator so their chips are raw, with natural ingredients, and tasty. I was hooked and treated myself to a bag of the tasty chips once in a while. But, after a few bags you realize that these treats are way more expensive than you would like them to be. So, I decided to try and make my own again. As much as I would like a dehydrator, I do not have one yet, so I baked my chips. For the sauce I used red bell pepper, nutritional yeast, soaked cashews, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I blended everything up in my blendtec and mixed the sauce together with the kale. I threw them into a 210 degree oven for about 2 hours.

Russian Banana Potatoes

I believe this is the first time I've received Russian Banana Potatoes in my CSA box, but I was happy to find that they weren't something crazy or odd. Just nice little potatoes ready for me to eat. I found a recipe on the CSA newsletter for them and decided to make it for dinner last night.

Here's the recipe:
Slice the potatoes in thin rounds. Destem and chop the chard or kale (I used chard this time). Slice mushrooms and green onions. I also added some zucchini. Heat a pan on medium heat with coconut oil. Add the potatoes and cook until you can stick a fork in them and they're soft. Add the mushrooms and green onions, once the mushrooms are amost cooked, add the greens and cook for about another 2 minutes. Season. 

Merry Christmas!

Hey Everyone! I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas time with your family and friends. :-) I just wanted to do a quick video to show you what I'm up to while getting ready for some Christmas cheer. I have an awesome recipe for you from The Tolerant Vegan. The delectable treat is a Cranberry Pecan Sheet Cake...oh my gosh, I'm still drooling over how delicious this dessert is! I'll leave the recipe below the video. Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!



Cranberry Pecan Sheet Cake

Cake ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
• 1 1/2 cups refined sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar (I didn't have white so I used apple cider vinegar)
• 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, chopped
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
• 2 tablespoons orange zest

Frosting ingredients:

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup dairy-free cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe’s This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese)
• 1/3 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together the Earth Balance and refined sugar on low-medium speed until combined. Stir in the applesauce, almond milk and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and flour. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low-medium speed until fully combined. Stir in the vinegar and then gently fold in the cranberries, pecans, and orange zest. Pour the batter into a 9×13″ pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the frosting. To make the frosting, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix on low-medium speed until combined. Spread the frosting on the cake and take a big bite!

Eat Pastry Cookie Dough!

Yum Yum Cookie Dough! I heard about Eat Pastry through other vegan blogs and they raved about how delicious this vegan cookie dough is. So, I tried it and I have to agree with all of them. This cookie dough is scrumptious! My absolute favorite is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip...drooling...it's just so yummy! I usually make cookies from scratch but sometimes you just have to take the night off!lol

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip!

Mmm Hot Chocolate!

Has anyone made hot chocolate yet? I made some last night to get into the Christmas spirit! I used some Almond Milk, a scoop of unsweetened cocoa, a scoop of cacao powder, cinnamon, and some maple sugar. Oh, and I added some vegan marshmallows! :-) How do you prepare your hot chocolate?

My absolute favorite mug!