Happy Tuesday! It’s a bleak and rainy day here in NYC, but I’m looking forward to a steamy hot vinyasa class at Yoga to the People in a few moments, then dinner downtown.

So yesterday, I promised you the recipe for my sweet potato and lentil loaf, which was a hit at Christmas dinner this year! Before I get to that, though, some photos from a recent lunch at Peacefood Cafe.

Coconut, Lemongrass, and Kabocha Squash Soup

Raw Nori Rolls

Asian Greens Salad with Tempeh

The raw sushi were mine, and the salad was split. I swear, Peacefood just keeps getting better: more options, more raw items on the menu, more patrons. It is the coziest and most adorable lunch spot, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have it right around the corner!!

Back to the lentil loaf. This is not the first lentil loaf I’ve ever made—it’s kind of a ubiquitous vegan dish—but it is the first lentil loaf I’ve been compelled to blog about. It’s hearty, the texture is spot-on, and it’s relatively easy to prepare. Beyond that, it’s full of nutrition in the form of oats, lentils, and sweet potatoes. This is comfort food at its finest, and it is heavily satiating! A great recipe for when you need something that will stick to the proverbial ribs.

Lentil Sweet Potato Loaf (vegan, gluten free if you use certified GF oats, soy free)

Serves 10

1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt (+more to taste)
2 3/4 c vegetable broth (or water)
1 c lentils
1.5 cups grated sweet potato
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/4 cup organic tomato paste

Organic ketchup (optional)

1) Heat coconut oil in a large pot, and sautee the onions and celery until soft and the onions are browning — about 8-10 minutes.

2) Add lentils and vegetable broth to the pot, along with grated potatoes.

3) Cook mixture on a simmer until broth has absorbed and lentils are very tender–about 30 minutes.

4) Stir in oats and remove mixture from heat. Add spices and season with salt and pepper to taste. Texture should be very thick, but pliable. If you think it needs to be drier, add some more oats; if it’s too dry, add a little water.

5) Press mixture into a loaf pan. Brush with ketchup if desired. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife finds it firm. If the top starts to brown, cover with foil midway through.

Check out the texture! Pretty spot on, if I do say so myself:

The loaf also makes for some pretty superb leftovers!

On that note, I’m off. But before I go, I wanted to call attention to my brand spankin’ new FAQ’s page! Right up there, next to my recipes. This tab includes answers to all of my most frequently asked questions, from “what juicer/dehydrator/blender do you recommend” to “why don’t you practice food combining anymore” to “what are some good vegan dishes to serve at dinner parties” to “can you recommend a good nutritionist or health coach?”

Read, enjoy, and feel free to leave feedback if there are other burning questions that you think are universal enough to make good additions!!!

xo

Merry post-Christmas! I hope you all had joyous and merry holidays, and that you enjoyed some excellent food. Me? Well, let’s just say that I was well fed. I had the pleasure of dining at my dear friend Blanche’s home on Christmas night. The spread, while not intended specifically to be vegan, was one of the more vegan-friendly feasts I’ve seen in ages.

Highlights: A raw beet and fennel salad that I am dying to recreate soon, on my own; cranberry sauce; butternut squash puree; roasted turnips, carrots, and parsnips; simple baked sweet potatoes; roasted brussels sprouts; a kale, spinach, scallion, and mixed veggie salad (to die for—I had 3 servings!); and a lentil and sweet potato loaf courtesy of moi (recipe tomorrow). My plate raneth over with plants:

What a spectacular feast. One can count upon fine food and generosity in Blanche’s home!

On Christmas Eve, my Mom and I enjoyed an intimate meal at our place, and a menu of my own devising. There were mashed turnips (yum), there was a big salad of beets, spinach, radicchio, carrots, celery, and balsamic dressing, and there was the savory tart that I am about to share.

Tarts aren’t usually my thing. They take a lot of work, and they’re often on the rich or heavy side. This tart is a little time intensive, sure, but it is also delicious, and it’s uber healthy! It features dark leafy greens, with all of their tremendous nutrition properties, beets, which are phytonutrient superstars, decadent cashew cheese, and savory roasted potatoes. Best of all, the crust, which is typically rather void of good nutrition, is made of chickpea flour, which is impressively high in protein and creates a crisp, savory base for this delectable dish.

The key to making this tart is to cook it in parts. I roasted potatoes and beets and made the crust on Friday; I sauteed my kale and baked the tart crust on Saturday, then warmed the whole dish. Do it in stages, and it feels like a cinch!

As for the cashew cheese, it’s optional. And soy feta or daiya would also work well!

Chickpea Tart with Roast Potatoes, Sauteed Swiss Chard and Garlic, Beets and Cashew Cheese (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Serves 6

Prep Work (one day in advance):

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
1 tbsp herbes de provence (or thyme, or oregano)
6 tbsp ice cold water

1) Place the flour, salt, herbs, and pepper into a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and mix quickly; then, add the water and mix with hands till a solid dough forms. Add more chickpea flour if necessary to reduce stickiness.

2) Place chickpea crust onto a sheet of saran wrap and cover with another sheet. Flatten into a disk, and refrigerate for one hour, or overnight (recommended).

For the potatoes:

1 large russet potato
1 tbsp coconut oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thinly slice 1 large russet or other white potato. Place slices onto a baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Dust with salt and pepper.

2) Bake potatoes till brown on each side, flipping once (about 30 minutes). Set aside or refrigerate.

For the beets:

2 large red beets

1) Wrap beets in tinfoil. Roast in an oven set to 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until a knife pierces beets easily. Run under cold water and slip skins off beets. Chop and set aside or refrigerate. (You can cook these simultaneously with the potatoes.)

For the chard:

1 bunch Swiss chard

1) Trim bottoms of stems from chard leaves. Slice leaves into ribbons. Wash and spin chard dry.

To assemble your tart (day of your meal):

Have ready:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 batch Gena’s cashew goat cheese OR vegan cheese of choosing
• salt and pepper

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll crust out with a rolling pin or a large drinking glass until it’s a 1/4 inch thick round.

2) Press crust into a pie dish. Trim edges.

3) Bake crust for about 25 minutes, or until it’s golden brown. Add roasted potatoes to the bottom of the tart crust in a nice pattern.

If you’re serving this dish soon, reduce oven to 275 degrees and allow tart to cool outside of oven. If you’re serving it later, turn oven off (you’ll reheat right before mealtime).

4) To prepare the chard: Bring pot of water to boil. Par boil the chard for about five minutes to make your sauteeing easier and get any toughness out. Drain chard.

5) Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan. Over medium heat, add 1 clove minced garlic and sautée for about two minutes, stirring often. Add chopped chard, and then sprinkle chard with sea salt and pepper to taste. Sautee until chard is very tender (about 5-10 minutes).

6) Layer the sautéed chard over the potatoes in the tart crust. Add sliced beets on top, and finish with some crumbled cashew goat cheese (or a vegan cheese of your choosing).

7) If you’ve done all of this ahead of time, and put it in the fridge, heat tart in an oven set to 275 degrees for about 15 minutes, or a little longer if necessary. Cut into 8 wedges, and serve!

What a beautiful, festively colored vegan entrée. So elegant, too.

This is precisely the kind of intricate recipe that feels rewarding for a holiday. Or when you happen to be on vacation! But if you are balking at the work, feel free to:

• follow the same idea with a store-bought whole wheat vegan crust
• use packaged roast beets or canned beets
• use a pre-made vegan cheese
• omit any of the components: potato, cheese, etc. The tart will still rock.

OK, my dears. Speaking of rocking, I’m off to rock some crazy amounts of hummus with my friend Rose downtown. I’ll have a recap of that, and some other dining, very soon!

xo

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope all of your stockings are hung with care, and so on. I’m on the way back to NYC from Westchester (to see my Dad), and gearing up to put my Christmas Eve feast together at Mom’s. On the menu: a chard and potato tart, mashed turnips, and a big salad. I can’t wait!

In the meantime, a recipe I’m excited to share! I’ve spent the last week or so perfecting a recipe for raw (or raw-ish) vegan eggnog that is quick, easy to make, delicious, and authentic. I think I got it. I put some finishing touches on it this morning, and it got the seal of approval from the resident CR recipe tester (my Mom). May you all give it a try today or tomorrow, share it with loved ones, and bask in the glow of vegan sweetness.

Come to think of it, the bourbon may have something to do with the glow, too

High Raw, Vegan Eggnog (high raw, vegan, soy free)

Serves 4-6

2 1/4 cups almond milk
1/2 cup raw cashew or almond butter (I like cashew for this recipe: macadamia would work, too)
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup or agave (OR 1/2 cup pitted dates)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp bourbon (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender on high. Serve cool, as is, or warm gently before serving.

Thick, rich, decadent and delicious.

This stuff is good. Real good. 70% of you have almond milk and nut butter in your pantries right now, so why not take this opportunity to imbibe the holiday’s most quintessential drink—vegan style!

Lovely CR readers, let me be the first to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas.

xo

For many of us, the last few years have been lean years in terms of material wealth. This means that the holidays are an excellent time to remind ourselves that the best and most meaningful gifts don’t have the highest price tags: they’re the gifts that embody love and consideration. To me, the best gift is one that indicates to me that the person giving knows me well enough to know what would make me smile.

I like to think that I keep this in mind when I give gifts to family and friends: they’re not always fancy, and they’re often not even store bought, but they are full of love, and I always try to fit my gifts to the tastes and fancies of the people I’m giving to.

This year, I made more edible gifts than I ever have before. It was a little more work than usual, given my final exam schedule, but absolutely worth it. I was really happy with how my holiday treats turned out, and I’ll definitely be repeating them. Here, for the 2011 giving season, is a roundup of my favorites—most of which you saw here when I first posted them—as well as my picks for holiday dining this year (don’t worry: there will be more of those in the next two days).

Raw, Vegan Macaroons

Low Fat, Raw, and Vegan Apple Cinnamon Raisin Granola

Sweet n’ Spicy Candied Nuts

Sour Cream and Cherry Muffins

Cocoa Crunch Buckwheat Granola

Vegan Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

And, if you’re looking for some fantastic holiday dishes to prepare tomorrow, on Sunday, and throughout the week, you can try:

Creamy Fusilli with Beets, Kale, and Toasted Pine Nuts

Raw, Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Sunflower Seed and Cashew Cheese with Cranberries

Gluten Free, Vegan Stuffing with Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash

Curried Cauliflower with Fresh Cranberries

Vegan Colcannon

Enjoy!!!

Looking back, I think that Christmas was truly the holiday that taught me to be conscious of my own good fortune. I was so grateful for my cozy holiday dinners, my gifts, my friends, and my family, and it occurred to me that so many people around the world were spending their own Christmases without shelter, warmth, food, or company.

This Christmas, as we all get ready to dig into presents and feed ourselves like kings and queens, let’s all try to remember not only the many other human beings who are less fortunate than we are, but also the hundreds of thousands of animals who are suffering this holiday season—all too often, suffering for us. Let’s remember that they, too, are without warmth, shelter, or rest; let’s remember that they’re often sick, scared, and lonely. Before you check off all of your Christmas gifts, please consider donating to your favorite animal-oriented charity or non-profit, or, if you’d like to link your own life to that of an animal in need, please consider sponsoring an animal at a local farm sanctuary.

My life is so much richer because of Hamlet, the ornery pig I sponsor at Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary near DC. And the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in upstate New York is the place I learned how to connect intimately and compassionately with animals. There’s really no greater gift you can give yourself and an animal than the gift of a newly forged relationship.

For a list of farm sanctuaries near you, check this link out.

And an early, tasty, happy Christmas to you, readers See you tomorrow!

xo

Greetings, all! I’m glad you liked the looks of my apple cinnamon raising graw-nola. As I mentioned in that post, lower fat recipes aren’t really my “thing,” but there’s more of a demand for them lately, and comments like this are very encouraging: “I am diabetic and have found that if I eat low fat (such as Engine 2 or Fuhrman), I have normal blood sugars. You are so popular that perhaps if you spread the word, it might help more diabetics achieve normal blood sugar.”

Not so sure about the popularity, friend, but I’m so delighted that I gave a recipe that suits your health needs!

Today, I’m actually focusing up on a veggie dish, after many days of edible giving. Of course, you can give vegetables to anyone on your Christmas list, too: I, for example, would be glad to receive any and all vegetable gifts you guys can think of! But this curried cauliflower and cranberry dish is so very tasty that you may not want to share much of it.

The inspiration for this dish is a curried cauliflower and raisin salad I had at Whole Foods recently, served cold and garnished with (ack) red onions. After peeling those onions off, I found the salad itself very tasty (obviously, it channels Aloo Gobi a little bit, too). I’ve wanted to re-create the dish for a while, but it occurred to me this week that it would be fun to give it a holiday themed twist: cranberries in place of raisins. And fresh cranberries in place of dried fruit. It all came together beautifully, and the dish was very easy to make. This is a great holiday side dish, and I may very well make it again for Christmas Day!

Curried Cauliflower and Cranberries (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Serves 2-4, depending on appetite

4 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
3/4 cup fresh cranberries
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp coconut oil (you can reduce to 1 if you wish)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup
Kosher salt
Black pepper

1) Set oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with tinfoil.

2) On top of the foil, mix the cauliflower, cranberries, garlic, oil, curry, agave, and salt and pepper to taste.

3) Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cauliflower is golden and cranberries are popping and turning dark.

Serve this dish warm, with any protein and/or grain of choice. Leftovers are also fabulous mixed into big salads; I should know! I enjoyed them that way today for lunch.

So now I’m on the train up to Hudson, where I’ll soon be reunited with Chloe and her family. I’m so thrilled to be traveling to my proverbial happy place, and hopefully Chloe and I will come up with some fun recipes to collaborate on. We haven’t really done any joint blogging since Chloe became a food blogger, and it’s probably time for that to change!

Meanwhile, the fellow behind me is giving his poor neighbor a long lecture on what it means to be a luddite. As I attempt to tune that out, I’m catching up on the latest issue of Oprah Mag, with Dr. Oz on the cover:

…AND feeling pretty honored that I’m featured in a short piece on raw foods, called “The Raw Deal!” Dr. Joel Fuhrman—a former post-bacc student—is also interviewed, and I could not be prouder to be in such esteemed company.

You can’t tell from the truncated photo, but I was asked to share three of my favorite raw food ideas—one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Can you guys guess which three I would have chosen?? I bet you can. And if you can’t, check out the issue, now on newsstands everywhere!

I’ll write soon, from upstate NY…

xo

Greetings from NYC! This is a bittersweet homecoming, as my grandmother’s funeral is today, but it’s also great to be home, and in the company of my family and friends. It has been a long, long six months since I first arrived in Washington, and I’m looking forward to a little reflective time over this break. I’m also looking forward to catching up on some sorely needed blog work: emails, comments, updates, guest posts, and so on. Finally, I’m looking forward to being upstate with Chloe on Wednesday and Thursday! I haven’t gotten up there in well over a year, and I’m long overdue.

So, while I attend to family duties today, I’m leaving you all with yet another edible gift idea: the first were my pumpkin and mocha chip macaroons. And now we have something a little more traditional: candied nuts. But this traditional recipe gets a spicy twist with some untraditional spices, and a touch of heat. Hence the sweet n’ spicy part!

I first made this recipe years ago, while I was still working at FSG. It quickly became my coworkers’ and friends’ favorite of my gifted treats, and I’ve been making it every single year since. I guarantee that you’ll have the same results with your loved ones, if you make this recipe. And the good news for all of my readers is that there’s no dehydrating required, so you won’t have to modify this recipe for your oven.

Sweet N’ Spicy Candied Nuts (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Makes about 4 cups worth

2 cups pecans
1 cup walnuts
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup coconut oil 
1 tbsp tamari 
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tbsp cumin 
2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1) Turn all nuts into a big mixing bowl.

2) Whisk together the coconut oil and tamari. Pour over nuts and toss with hands to mix thoroughly.

3) Add sugar, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne to the nuts. Toss well to combine thoroughly. Add more sugar if you have a sweet(er) tooth! And if you need a little more moisture, add a tbsp of maple syrup or agave.

4) Bake at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes, until nuts are nicely toasted and glazed. Check on them often to make sure they’re not burning. At the 30 minute mark, reduce oven to 200 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes.

5) Remove from oven and break nuts apart gently with a spoon or tongs. Allow to cool completely before serving!!

This isn’t a super-healthy recipe by any means, but it is a perfect recipe for a holiday treat—one you give yourself, or one you give to others. And you can’t beat the buttery tasting, spicy sweet glaze:

This is one you’ll want to bookmark!

Hope I’m managing to give you all inspiration for some economical and tasty holiday gifts. Usually, I do a big holiday gift guide with vegan appliances, culinary specialties, and apparel. This year, as a student on a budget that truly only allows for edible giving, I thought I’d stay true to my own constraints and show you exactly what I plan to give to the people I love. I always say that food is the best kind of gift—nourishment for body and soul—and I hope you all agree

xo

I’m back!

Hope you all had lovely weekends, full of festive preparation for the holidays to begin. I was busy finishing, and then celebrating the finish of, my first official full year as a post-bacc student. It has been without a doubt the hardest experience—and really, the hardest year—of my life, but I’m proud to have persevered so far, however shakily. And I could not manage to do that without all of your constant support and encouragement. So, CR readers: Thank you.

I thought I’d share with you a simple, yet festive holiday recipe I made this week: a sunflower seed and cashew “cheese” with cranberries. This may remind you of my cashew cheese with meyer lemon and dried cherries, which is also good, but this one is tangier and in some ways a little more fun. It’s an excellent idea for a raw and vegan party appetizer that’ll astound your guests: watch as they liken it to a sweet cream cheese! And it’s very easy to make. I actually fermented mine, per instructions here, but you can skip all that, and in fact I made the recipe fermentation free. 

Sunflower Seed and Cashew Cheese with Cranberries (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Makes about 3 cups; Recipe Can Easily Be Halved

1 C. raw cashews, soaked 1 hr and drained
1 c. raw unsalted sunflower seeds, soaked 1 hr and drained
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Water

1 cup dried cranberries (find an unsweetened brand if possible: not always easy, so don’t sweat it if you can only find juice sweetened ones. Do opt for organic)

1) Add nuts and seeds to a food processor (or VitaMix). Add all other ingredients.

2) Turn on machine motor slowely, and start drizzling in water. Start with 1/2 cup water and add just enough for the cheese to be smooth and creamy, but still thick and spreadable (like a very thick hummus).

3) Add cranberries. Pulse to combine.

4) Store in fridge until ready to use.

Thick, creamy, and bursting with sweet cranberry flavors! Delicious. Bring this to your next holiday cocktail gathering!

I also celebrated the end of exams yesterday with one of my favorite people: Anne P!

Anne and I haven’t hung out since our trip to Café Green this past summer, and we were way overdue for some catch up and giggling. We decided to hit the Georgetown Sweet Green for lunch:

…and we both arrived exactly 5 minutes late and with wet hair, having each decided not to cut our runs short

There’s no indoor seating at this SG, so we took our salads to Dean and Deluca and got some tea and a table. I enjoyed a salad of chickpeas, sweet potato, mushrooms, broc, beets, carrots, tomatoes, and peppers. Anne was impressed with my capacity to order every veggie on the salad menu. I got lemon on the salad and the hummus dressing on the side.

Con green tea:

I have to say, Sweet Green has become by far my favorite place for salads. That’s a big honor in my book!

It was wonderful to chat with Anne, and all too short. I can’t wait till she’s back in DC, so that we can extend these short visits into weekly events.

And now, as I write, I’ve just finished packing for a glorious three week (or almost three week) trip home to NYC. I. Can’t. Wait. I’ll be posting regularly from home, naturally, and eating out quite a lot, but I’ll also be cooking at my Mom’s place. This isn’t easy for me, because my Mom doesn’t have a food processor, and while I can usually make do happily without a VitaMix and a dehydrator, I’m a little lost without the mighty processor. Still, I like to remind my readers that raw and vegan foods don’t demand too many appliances, so I guess I’ll be putting my money where my mouth is! I’m sure you’ll be seeing more cooked foods than usual, but in the meantime, could you guys tell me which non-appliance raw dishes you’d like to see me make? Or, do you have suggestions for good ones I should try? Let me know!

Happy wkd,

xo

Have I mentioned that I love Green Recovery posts? Thank you all for the warm, kind responses to Sarah’s post. Keep them coming.

It’s been a long week, which is why I’ve been very glad to have a ton of Thanksgiving leftovers in my fridge. There’s nothing nicer than coming home to something that demands virtually no work! This week, I’ve been focusing on my fantastic vegan stuffings, which were such a tremendous hit last week with my family. If you haven’t yet caught up on recent posts, these were a millet stuffing with roast brussels sprouts and butternut squash:

And a “meaty” wild rice and mushroom stuffing (made with a delicious cauliflower and walnut base).

I made, but didn’t blog, a cranberry sauce with orange zest and orange juice, which was a little on the tart side, but very tasty (next time, more sugar—or date paste!).

There are tons of creative things a person can do with leftover stuffing. It can go into wraps, it can be heated and eaten on its own, it can get stuffed into roast peppers, mixed with roasted veggies, and, if you’re me, you can dump it on top of a big green salad and enjoy it all over again—this time, with some fresh crunch!

Tonight’s salad started with a bed of arugula. On top of this I piled a heaping cup of my millet stuffing with brussels sprouts and squash, and about a third cup of my cranberry sauce (I don’t have an exact recipe, but you could check out this one as inspiration). The coup de gras was a new favorite dressing, based upon the delicious cranberry dressing I tried at Candle Café last weekend.

Fresh Cranberry Vinaigrette (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Scant 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 pitted dates
1/4 tsp salt (or less)

Blend all ingredients on high speed till smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste, and also adjust tartness/sweetness; you can add more dates or OJ for sweetness, or ACV or cranberries for tartness.

Altogether, this salad has everything: salty, sweet, tart, bitter, and pungent.

OK, I lie. I have no clue what would be pungent in this salad. But it’s pretty well rounded—a taste party, if you will—and oh-so-seasonal.

We’ve got a long month of holiday cooking ahead of us. Don’t just heat and eat your leftovers, folks—think about transforming them into fresh, creative, and fun nutrient dense salads. Everything tastes better on top of greens!

Hope you’re all ready for the weekend—I certainly am.

xo

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is settling nicely into a new week. Remember yesterday, when I hinted at the fact that I’d made some chocolate date paste? That’s basically just my normal recipe for date paste, with about 1/4 cup cacao powder and 1/4 extra cup water added.

Now, with the unveiling of this wonderful buckwheat cocoa granola, I can tell you all about it.

I love raw granola. It’s one of the first dishes that I actually made in raw form, and I think it’s highly versatile: you can put it on top of smoothies, cover it in almond milk and eat with a spoon, sprinkle over fresh fruit, and snack on it just the way it is. Over the years, I’ve shared a few recipes with you; recent favorites include my raw, vegan “cheater’s granola:”

My sunflower oat bars, which can be crumbled instead of pressed into bar shapes, and thus turned into granola:

And my personal favorite: my “only raw, vegan granola you’ll ever need:”

Today’s recipe offers a new and whimsical twist on plain ‘ole granola: it’s chocolate granola, and it’s sure to astound chocoholics and regular breakfast lovers alike!

Cacao nibs from Navitas Naturals play a big role in this recipe. You could absolutely use any cacao nibs you like or have around, or, if you’re cacao-less, try using chocolate chips or carob chips (you may want to decrease the quantities, because chocolate goes a long way in granola). Round this out with nutrient-rich buckwheat, vitamin-rich sunflower seeds, and a touch of almond milk for a very special treat!

Raw Cocoa Buckwheat Granola (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Makes about 6 servings

2 full cups buckwheat, soaked for 2-3 days and dehydrated fully (see instructions for my buckwheat cereal)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cacao nibs
3/4 cup chocolate date paste
1/4 cup almond butter

1) Mix buckwheat, sunflower seeds, and cacao nibs together.

2) Mix almond butter and date paste with a fork, and add them to the buckwheat mixture. Mix well with hands.

3) Place mixture onto a Teflex-lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate overnight (8-10 hrs) at 115 degrees. Alternately, you can bake this mixture at 325 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Check out the fantastic texture!

Chef’s Notes: This is actually a very mildly sweetened raw granola, in spite of the dates! If you taste it while you’re making it and it’s not sweet enough for you, try adding a bit of stevia to get it sweeter (alternately, maple syrup will be great).

I haven’t yet had this for breakfast—I’ve been too busy snacking on it! But I can’t wait to have my first bowl with homemade almond milk and berries tomorrow. Yum, yum.

Before I go, I should mention that this is the week of creative use of Thanksgiving leftovers. It started in earnest today, as I threw some leftover succotash (cherry tomatoes, corn, lima beans, roasted) on top of zucchini pasta, and covered it all in cashew dill cream (my cashew alfredo with dill added). It was pretty excellent.

Bet you can’t wait to see what other Thanksgiving leftover concoctions I come up with.

Night!

xo

Happy Thanksgiving, to all of my US readers!! I hope you are having lovely holidays thus far. Thank you to everyone who commented on my two versions of vegan stuffing; the leftovers of both batches are safely tucked into my freezer, and I can’t wait to devour them next week.

Since last night was my true Thanksgiving feast (and what a feast it was—wonderful food and the company of family), I woke up this morning with no schoolwork, no classes, and, most importantly, no cooking to do! I adore making holiday food, but two days straight in my kitchen were a little exhausting. Rather than turning on the oven, dehydrator, or stovetop, I set about making a cool, sweet, and simple smoothies. Much to much surprise, I was out of berries (this is an unusual event in my house). But I did have frozen, organic peaches that I’d gotten in case Thanksgiving called for peach pie in addition to the many, many varieties of pumpkin pie I’ve been laboring over. It didn’t, and so the peaches have been neglected. This was the moment to fix that.

This smoothie is a winner. Mellow, creamy, and a very easy way to get some greens into your diet. I find that green smoothies work best with sweeter fruits, and so the banana and peach in this recipe is quite ideal. The hemp protein and milk can all be varied, of course, according to your tastes.

Peaches n Green Smoothie (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Serves 1

1/2 frozen banana
1 cup frozen peaches
1-2 ice cubes
3/4 cup tahini milk (or any nut/seed milk you like)
2 large leaves kurly kale
2 tbsp hemp protein
1 pitted date or 2 drops stevia (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender till smooth, using the tamper to keep things moving. If you use regular almond milk in place of the tahini milk, you may want to add a tablespoon of hemp seeds or nut butter for creaminess.

What a wonderful way to infuse your Thanksgiving with a little green!

Now, if your family is like many families, you may have guests or other family members spending the night this Thanksgiving eve. Which means you’ll be waking up to company. Why not treat them to any number of quick, easy, and delicious vegan breakfasts? Thanksgiving week is a week of indulgence, and rightly so, but there’s no reason not to meet it with equal parts nutrition and taste.

1) Sugar Plum Muffins

2) Classic Tofu Scramble

3) Green “Eggs” and Hmmmm

4) Banana Carmel Bread Pudding

5) Chocolate and Zucchini Smoothie

6) Classic Blueberry Pancakes

7) Vegan French Toast

Zucchini Date Muffins

9) Banana, Oat, and Chia Seed Muffins

10) Chia Power Pudding

Before I go, I was just reading over my “I Am Thankful” post from a few Thanksgivings ago. My, was it touching! My life has changed so dramatically in such a short period of time, but I can say for certain that everything I was grateful for then, I’m grateful for now.

Happy T-Giving, folks!

xo