I made this recipe, Caesar Bean Dish, from Smitten Kitchen (my favorite cookbook ever) recently and it is TO DIE FOR. I highly highly recommend it — even if you don’t love beans, you will love this dish. It is so good, that even though I just finished eating it, I want to make it again because it is that good.
Ingredients:
Ingredients
I love celebrating creative and smart friends and any ideas or products that they come up with. Motif Cleanser falls into that category. Started by my beautiful friend, Devanshi, this cleanser is ONE OF A KIND and I cannot rave enough about it.
Devanshi happens to be one of the most beautiful (and kind) people I have ever met. I had the privilege of attending her wedding in India 5 years ago — and it was one of the most memorable and incredible experiences of my life. Look at how beautiful Devanshi is — super model worthy.
Zucchini bread and pumpkin bread symbolize FALL like no other. Since I posted about my favorite pumpkin bread a couple years ago, I thought I should investigate zucchini breads. I fell upon this NYTimes Vegan recipe, and since my husband is not currently eating dairy, I thought it was a great one to try. And I love the outcome — so definitely recommend!
Ingredients:
Most everything in Oregon is hippy dippy (the remaining bit is redneck), and the state produces an incredible amount of yummy, healthy, unique, and interesting food products. There are a dozen of Oregon items that I can’t live without — Toby’s tofu pate, Emerald Valley salsa, Pok-Pok drinking vinegars, Yumm sauce, Nancy’s Yogurt, Dave’s Killer Bread, etc…..– and I just found a new one! Kale Sprinkles! It is literally a pound of dehydrated kale, mixed in with nutritional yeast and other herbs, that you sprinkle on any food to create a spice and added texture. It is so easy, so delicious, and healthy too. I can’t wait to stock up on kale sprinkles (ps, how great is the name?)
Superfood seasoning mix: kale sprinkles
One of my favorite neighborhood go-to’s is Le Botaniste. It is perfect for days when you want to be uber healthy and are looking for a quiet place to eat and relax. Le Botaniste was concepted by the creative force behind Le Pain Quotidien (more here) and serves healthy, organic, vegan, and gluten-free meals. Although I have been over two dozen times, I always get the SAME thing — I make my own bowl.
This meal is a rainbow.
Almond and peanut free! Sugar free! Gluten free! Baking free! SOLD. And even better — they taste divine.
Finished product.
Special Saturday post! This was supposed to go out yesterday (per the normal M/W/F schedule), but there is some exciting stuff going on in the Natori household/corporate world that got things sidetracked. More on that next week.. ANYWAY….
A couple of weeks ago when we got back to NYC after our summer out west, I knew that my schedule was going to be demanding and all-over-the-place (what’s new?). I knew that I didn’t want to eat cereal / protein bars / kids leftovers for my quick lunches, so as a solution, I ordered a kit from Urban Remedy, a new line of raw, ready-to-eat snacks, meals, cold-pressed juices and energy boosting tinctures. Not only were the meals fresh and healthy, but they were unbelievably tasty. I’m ready to place my next order!
Yes, part of my “crazy busy schedule” was me watching tennis with my father. But it is family bonding time, right? Urban Remedy turned out to be the perfect travel meals/snacks.
Theoretically, you could just go to the GOOP website and find this soup. But hey, it is more fun when I post, right? So full acknowledgement, this soup is copied EXACTLY from GP. AND IT IS SO GOOD! And healthy! And the perfect way to start the New Year! So go on and make it. And pretend that I was genius enough (or had the staff) to create it myself.
Ingredients:
I know I have a lot of haters of my healthy desserts (mainly, my husband, father, and brother…see the pattern), but THIS HEALTHY DESSERT is a must-make and must-eat. And not to be hated on. Even my father ate it and asked for more (true story). So, do me a favor and make it. I found the recipe off of my new-to-me-favorite-healthy-food-blog, Deliciously Ella. With a little bit of creative editing, here is the recipe for Raw Chocolate Coconut Bites. Yes, they are vegan. No, they are not nut-free. Yes, they are delicious. Yes, I promise.
Ingredients:
OK. I’m jumping on the bandwagon. In recent weeks, I have seen a couple blog posts on “two ingredient pancakes.” I tried them, and you MUST give them a shot. They taste and look like pancakes, but they aren’t. Truly magical.
Ingredients:
BOOM. Two ingredients.
Out of nowhere, New York is suddenly cold. Slightly depressed about the long, dark, cold, dreary winter ahead of us, I found refuge in cooking a big pot of soup. Nothing better than a healthy, scrumptious, hot bowl of soup (vegan, but packed with protein) to make me feel warm and homey!
Ingredients:
I love mushy food. Like love. It’s like I am a 90 year old woman with no teeth. So what is one of my dream desserts? TAPIOCA!. I experimented and created my own LACTOSE-FREE (aka vegan with an egg) mango tapioca recipe. Refreshing, soothing, delicious. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
* 2 and 3/4 cups almond/soy milk
* 1/3 cup of sugar
* 3 tablespoons of minute tapioca
* 1 beaten egg
* 1 mango
* 1/2 cup of coconut milk
Directions:
* Mix milk, sugar, tapioca and (beaten egg) in a saucepan and let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
I didn’t listen to my own directions and simply placed the egg into the mixture before beating the egg. WRONG, beat the egg before you place it in the milk mixture.
Blend.
* On medium heat, cook the mixture until it comes to a full boil while constantly stirring.
Boiling tapioca.
Getting thicker. OH MY GOD, watching tapioca form is like finding a split end! And then examining it under the microscope. #highschooldays #itsthesmallthings #obsessive
Who knew that an ice cream NOT made from dairy could be so delicious ? Hallelujah! Another alternative for vegans and the lactose-intolerant. Thanks to Raw Ice Cream Company, vegans and rawists now have a sweet treat to consume. And let me tell you: even if you are NOT vegan, you are *STILL* going to love Raw Ice Cream. It is just that awesome.
Founded in 2007, Raw Ice Cream Company is based out of Long Beach, New York. Their ice cream is vegan and entirely free of soy, rice, dairy or preservatives of any kind.The ingredient list is unbelievably pure and real: homemade coconut milk, raw cashews, agave nectar, cacao powder, whole vanilla bean, sea salt, and raw cocoa butter. That is it. Who knew it could be so simple? NO PROCESSED SUGAR AND NO ANIMAL FAT!
Yeah, sure, some people might complain that this ice cream has cashews and cashews are nuts with fat. But it is *good* fat. The fat that comes from cashews helps lower cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, and cleanse your arteries. So, ladies, this fat is good for you and crucial in your diet. So, don’t just eat a spoonful of this ice cream, eat the whole tub!
TUBS!
Currently, they offer 8 different flavors of ice cream: chocolate, vanilla, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate cookie, chocolate fudge, vanilla fudge swirl, mint, and mint chip.
Ready for dessert with not just ONE carton, but TWO!!! Jackpot!
4 ingredients? No refined sugar? No bake? SIGN ME UP!
One of my dear college friends recently visited from the West Coast and told me all about this to-die-for dessert. She knew that I was trying to cut back on eating sugar, and since this dessert only involves sugar from dates, she thought it would be a good treat for me. And boy was she right. Thanks, Kerry! Kerry found this recipe on the website My New Roots, a healthy, inspiring, and beautiful food blog with lots of exciting and interesting recipes. (This blog is amazing and you should definitely check it out).
Ingredients:
You can purchase all these ingredients in any health food store.
* 1 cup whole walnuts
* 1 1/4 cups Medjool dates, pitted
* 1/2 cup raw cacao
* a dash of sea salt
Directions:
* Place walnuts in a food processor or high quality blender and leave on high until the nuts are finely ground.
I love how easy it is to grind up nuts in a vitamix blender. The blades are serious knives!
* Add the cacao and salt. Pulse to combine.
I am the world’s best (or is it worst?) picker. I love having nibbles and bites and picks of everything and anything. Mind you, it drives my family absolutely bonkers, but I can’t help myself. I just love sampling a little of everything here and there. So when I came across this recipe for bite size healthy alternative cookies, I was thrilled. And Cruzzie loves them too (he is also a picker and nibbler). It is the perfect snack to grab and have in each hand as I leave the house. A little perfect portable pick-me-up. Also — you can add whatever you want to make them more special and sweet. Isn’t it fun to change things up here and there? Peanut butter vs almond butter? M&M’s or chocolate covered raisins? Bare naked? No matter what you decide to throw into these cookies, they end up delicious.
Ingredients all in a line.
* 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
* 1/4 cup of any kind of nut butter
* 1/4 cup agave nectar
* 1/4 cup almond flour
* 1 tsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* pinch of good quality salt
* any kind of chocolate touch you want to add. Chocolate chips, truffles, anything that you want to spruce up these little nibbles!
