Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo Primavera

My daughter requested this for supper tonight. I had planned on making veggie burgers, but I often let the family members choose what they want. So, tonight, I will be sharing this super fast and easy recipe. How fast? Well, in the time it takes to cook the pasta, all you'll have left to do is throw it all together, set the table, and eat.

Are you ready?

Go!

Step 1: Get a cup of cashews and cover them with water. Let them soak until you are ready for them. If you can soak them in advance, that's the best (2 hrs) but the time you need to prep the rest is acceptable as well.

Step 2: Get your pasta cooking. Fettuccine, linguine or of you're looking for a more raw version, you can use zucchini, carrot or even sweet potato noodles. Simply spiralize them and set aside.

Step 3: Prepare your veggies of choice. Here are what I usually use, but get creative and pick whatever you have on hand or what you feel like eating. I put them all in a bowl and set aside until I need them.

2 carrots -finely shredded,

1 zucchini -coarsely shredded, 

1 red pepper -diced into small pieces,

1 cup frozen peas,

3 thinly sliced scallions (shallots or green onions),

1 cup of broccoli florets, chopped. ( I didn't have any this time)

Step 4: cashew cream sauce

Rinse and drain your cashews,

place in a high-powered blender or Nutri bullet Rx 

add 2 1/2 - 3 cups water

2 cloves of garlic

1 cube of veggie broth (or equivalent)

salt and pepper to taste

Blend the cashews and other ingredients until no pieces are left. Pour into a large pot and heat slowly. You want to bring this to a boil, stirring often so that it doesn't stick. It thickens quite quickly. 

Once it is as thick as you want it, add the veggies into the pot, and remove from heat. Stir the vegetables into the sauce, coating well, and then add the pasta to the pot. 

That's it. I don't cook the vegetables, they soften in the hot sauce and that's just fine for us. They are not crunchy so no one has noticed that they weren't really cooked.

My daughter has made this using a can of full-fat coconut milk to replace a cup of the water. I prefer the more neutral cashew taste, which was good tonight since we had coconut milk ice cream for dessert.

Smoothie, Smoothie, Smoothie

Gooood Morning!

Almost every morning in our home, we start the day with a yummy smoothie. My 3 yr old used to call it a "soumie" which has since evolved to a "smooty." We're getting there.
It's one of those, 'everything but the kitchen sink' recipes, but we wanted to make sure we got all our nutritious superfoods in there. This time-saving post is to share the brilliant idea of making portion sized superfood jars.

Some time ago, I started making mini-mason jars of superfoods, because when I was hurrying to get the morning smoothie done before running out the door, opening every bag n jar was a pain. This has made my life much easier. Now I am not giving out nutritional advice here because we are all different and so are our needs. I researched every single one of these ingredients before deciding to add it to our routine. I suggest you do so, too.

My choice of superfoods is listed below. Keep in mind that we are five people drinking this every morning (and my oldest would go off with a 1l mason jar for her day). You'll need to adjust your quantities to your needs. See that blender jar on the left? -well, we fill it to the top.



You can find all sorts of lists on the internet on fruit n veggie combining to make sure you have your greens. (I threw in Amazing Grass -Green Superfoods) but we'll be sprouting wheatgrass again and juicing our fresh greens.

Cacao nibs,
hemp seeds,
chia seeds,
sesame seeds (usually the black ones, but they were out),
flax seeds,

pumpkin seeds (my jar is now empty in the pic...)
maca
lucuma
mesquite
camu camu
spirulina
moringa
raw honey
coconut oil
coconut water or maple water
I squeeze 2 lemons, 3 oranges and a grapefruit,
banana
mango

pineapple

My Nutribullet Rx or my Kenmore Pro blend this to a silky smooth drink. Don't let the seeds 'n chunks scare you. (My bullet had died at one point, and while we waited for its replacement to arrive, I used my intermediate sized bullet. My hubby asked if I had put a granola bar into the mix that morning...yeah, not as silky smooth as usual, lol.

I love seeing my girls enjoying their smoothie. I am thrilled knowing they are getting something good into their bodies to start the day.  If you try it, let me know what you think of it!

Since I've discovered Young Living's Ningxia red, I think it's a great alternative for someone who doesn't want to break the bank stocking up on all these superfoods, or simply doesn't have the time to go through this whole process every morning. BTW wolfberries and Goji berries are one in the same. You can either get the 60 ml packets or the 750ml bottles. Feel free to contact me if you want any.

This is from their website:  NingXia Red® is a delicious drink that contains whole Ningxia wolfberry puree; a super blend of blueberry, aronia, cherry, pomegranate, and plum juices; natural stevia, grape seed, and pure vanilla extracts; and orange, yuzu, lemon, and tangerine essential oils. NingXia Red provides a whole-body nutrient infusion.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

My cousin was over for dinner the other night, and I had made this for desert (after an amazing vegan lasagna with cashew ricotta). I had to laugh when she said it was just like her favorite deep n delicious cakes. That's a good sign, right?

Anyway, you are absolutely going to LOVE, love, love this fast and easy recipe. You mix it right in the pan, you don't even have to grease it before hand, it'll pop right out on its own. I usually just ice it and serve from the glass baking dish.

It's gluten-free and totally organic too.

I use Cuisine -Soleil GF all-purpose flour mix, it's a blend of chickpea, rice, and tapioca flour. I also weigh my flour, so if you are NOT using a GF blend, or have a 'cup-for-cup' blend, 120g  of flour is a cup. If you are not weighing, but are using a GF blend, you should fluff it up with a fork before measuring. Never pack the flour down either, unless you want a hockey puck instead of a cake.


INGREDIENTS:


180g GF flour (1 1/2 C)
2/3 C cane sugar
4 Tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C chocolate chips
(we use dairy-free, soy-free, allergen-free)

Mix all the above right into your baking dish. I have never greased my glass dish, and the cake has always easily come free.

1 C water
6Tbsp oil (avocado or grapeseed is fine)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I'm pretty sure white vinegar would work too)

You can either mix them all together before adding to the dry ingredients, or pour them as they appear on top of the dry ingredients. Mix well with a spoon.

Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 18 min....my best advice is to check it with a toothpick. GF flour is not like regular flour and cooking times vary.

If you want to ice the cake:
1 C icing sugar (I put organic cane sugar into the blender and grind it myself)
1-2 Tbsp cacao
1 Tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil
1-3 Tbsp cashew milk
1/2 tsp vanilla



If it is too thick, add more milk, if it is too thin, add more icing sugar. I like to ice the cake while it is still warm....but not hot.
Let me know what you think!

Enjoy :)