BLUEBERRY HILLS SMOOTHIE- Vegan & Gluten-Free

I don’t think that I’ve posted a recipe for a good two years now…and then I made THE BEST smoothie I have literally ever had and I just had to share it! I know, I know “THE BEST” is quite the statement, but honestly I took a sip of this smoothie and gasped in shock over its deliciousness. I haven’t fed it to the hubby yet, but not because he won’t like it…because I love it too much to share and I only have 1/2 a banana left (aka. only 1 smoothies worth). The picture doesn’t do it justice, obviously. But what’s a girl to do when you discover absolute deliciousness 5 minutes before you’ve got to run off to work?

Blueberry Hills Smoothie

Sweet blueberries mixed with fragrant cinnamon, creamy almond butter and hormone helping maca root powder. This smoothie will keep you smiling for hours!

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 banana

2 tbsp rolled oats (GF as needed)

1 tbsp smooth almond butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp maca root powder

1 tbsp vegan vanilla protein powder*

1 cup of unsweetened cashew milk (of less, if you like a thicker smoothie)

*if you don’t have, or don’t want to use, protein powder- feel free to substitute with 1 tbsp of hemp seeds and a splash of vanilla extract

Instructions

1.) Throw it all in the blender

2.) Blend away and be happy

 

xoxo Erin

 

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Crazy for Carrots…in Cake!

One thing that I enjoy about this time of year is all of the carrot cake. It’s one of my favourites and I think that it is completely appropriate to eat for breakfast….lunch….or dinner. I mean come on, it’s a cake based on a veggie 🙂 Anyway, I’ve spent far too much time drooling over carrot cake treats on Pinterest tonight so I thought that I would share all of the deliciousness that I have stumbled across:

Carrot Cake Smoothie

photo credit: Vega

Carrot Cake Raw Buckwheat Porridge

Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal

Carrot Cake Quinoa

photo credit: Kiss My Broccoli

Carrot Cake Muffins– shameless plug alert 🙂

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies (use egg replacer to make vegan)

photo credit: Amy’s Healthy Baking

Carrot Cake Bars

photo credit: Our Four Forks

Vegan Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Carrot Cake Popsicles

Dairy-Free Carrot Cake Ice Cream

And of course, since it is Easter weekend…

xoxo Erin

 

SPICED PECAN COOKIES- (Gluten-Free, Vegan & Refined Sugar-Free)

I don’t think that there’s a better treat on a warm winters night than freshly baked cookies.

Especially when they’re as delicious as these cookies are!

Gluten-Free & Vegan Spiced Pecan Cookies

Soft and fragrant cookies filled with crunchy pecans and pumpkin pie spices. No butter, no eggs, no gluten and no dairy make these cookies a treat for almost everyone!

Adapted from this recipe.

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar (any granulated sugar should work)
• 1 1/2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp butter extract (it’s vegan- go figure!)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob Red Mill)
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp tapioca starch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat the coconut oil until it softens. Add the coconut sugar and continue to beat until the sugar crystals dissolve into the oil.
3. Mix the egg replacer powder with the 2 tbsp of water and add to the oil/sugar mixer. Beat until combined.
4. Add the extracts and non-dairy milk and beat until combined.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the pecans, and beat until a dough is formed.
6. Fold in the pecans.
7. Drop cookies onto lined baking sheet. Flatten cookies to desired thickness.
8. Chill cookies on baking sheet for 20 minutes.
9. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

xoxo Erin

BANANA PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP OATIES- Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free & Refined Sugar-Free

I cannot believe how long it has been since I’ve posted a recipe here. I wish I could say that I will start posting recipes frequently again, but my recipe notebook is packed in a box somewhere and I don’t know when I’ll be unpacking. My fiance and I are currently staying at his parents house while we finish up renovations in our new house. So not only do I not have my recipe notebook, I also don’t have my own kitchen to experiment and make a mess in. One day in the near future I will though and it will be glorious!

In the meantime, I’m sharing a recipe today that I have memorized because I’ve made it THAT many times. And yes, it is a cookie recipe. What other recipe would I make that often?

I love these cookies because they’re naturally sweetened with banana and they’re packed with protein thanks to our friend Mr. Peanut Butter. These cookies are healthy enough to enjoy frequently but they don’t taste like it. The richness of the peanut butter mixed with the decadent chocolate makes these beauties a real treat!

Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oaties

Decadent cookies that are naturally sweetened and healthy enough to enjoy everyday!

Serves 12-15

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• arrowroot starch for dusting

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl mix together rolled oats and ground flax seeds and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl cream together the mashed banana, non-dairy milk and peanut butter.
4. Add the oat mixture to the medium bowl and mix until combined.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and then portion the dough onto the lined baking sheet.
6. Use a fork dipped in arrowroot starch (to prevent sticking) to flatten the cookies to your desired thickness, remembering that they will NOT spread while they bake.
7. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool on baking sheet for another 5 minutes before enjoying!

xoxo Erin

You May Also Like:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

BLUSHBABY SMOOTHIE- Vegan, Grain-Free & Refined Sugar-Free

Ever wanted something that tasted like a dessert but was filled with veggies?

Well you’re in luck because Leanne Vogel’s newest cookbook Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook (that I introduced the other day) is filled with juice and smoothie recipes that are absolutely delicious. There’s even an entire chapter in the book dedicated to dessert smoothies. Now that’s my kind of chapter! I’m honestly drooling just thinking about all the recipes I cannot wait to try!

Leanne was kind enough to let me share a recipe with you. This recipe is fantastic because it’s a smoothie made with fresh juice. A bit more labour intensive than just a smoothie or just a juice, but the flavour is unbelievable. It’s definitely worth the extra effort. I would suggest making a double serving when you make this. Believe me, you won’t regret it.

Blushbaby Smoothie

Shared with permission of Leanne Vogel. 

Serves 1 (Makes 500ml)

Ingredients:

1 orange, juiced

4 carrots, juiced

1 golden beet, juiced

8 frozen mango chunks

6 strawberries

3 ice cubes

Directions:

Juice the orange, carrots and golden beet.

Pour the juice into the jug of your high-powered blender, followed by remaining ingredients in the order they are listed.

Blend on high for 1 minute, or until smooth.

Transfer to a glass and serve immediately.

To store: pour into a glass container and keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. Alternatively, pour into a plastic container and freeze for up to 1 month.

Grab your copy of the cookbook here and after you do, immediately flip to the dessert smoothie chapter!!! Just do it.

xoxo Erin

Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook!!!

Feeling sluggish? Lost your mojo?

Before you officially cancel today and crawl back into bed, I have just the thing: My pal, Leanne just launched her new book, Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook.

I’ve posted about Leanne’s magnificent work before and you can check out my posts about her other two cookbooks here and here. Leanne is not just a cookbook author, she is also a holistic nutritionist and the mastermind behind Healthful Pursuit. She has dedicated her career to creating delicious recipes that are healthy, nourishing and allergy friendly . That’s right, all of her recipes are gluten and dairy-free. She’s also got a tone of recipes that are vegan and a tone that are grain-free.

But this cookbook is different. And special. This cookbook is focused on juices, smoothies and cleansing. I rarely follow cleansing programs when I come across them because I find that they are usually too strict for my liking. I like choice. I don’t like being told what I can or cannot have. Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook is different though. This book has over 55 juice and smoothie recipes that are all vegan and gluten-free and it has cleanse programs that let you decide what smoothie or juice you’re going to enjoy. That’s right, Leanne has organized her smoothies and juices into categories and the cleanse programs are based off of the categories, not specific recipes. But not to worry, if you are someone who prefers cleanses to be created fool-proof with grocery lists and all, her cookbook also has some of those too!

Like all of Leanne’s cookbooks, Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook is filled with beautiful, mouthwatering photographs. I honestly did not know it was possible to make smoothies and juices look like Leanne does. Healthy food porn at it’s finest, no joke.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your copy HERE! And stay tuned because later this week I’ll be sharing a smoothie and a juice recipe from the book 🙂

xoxo Erin

Note: I am an affiliate of Vibrant Life Cleanse Program & Cookbook and receive a percentage of the sales that are generated from this blog. I would NOT have agreed to be an affiliate though if I did not 100% believe that this cookbook is high quality and worth every penny 🙂

ALMOND ORANGE BROCCOLI- Vegan, Gluten-Free & Oil-Free

I sat down with the intention to write my next review of Happy Herbivore Light & Lean. But as soon as I looked at my computer screen I felt exhausted. I spend about six of my eight hour work day sitting at a desk writing an assessment. Turns out that’s enough to make me not want to write anything else today!

Almond Orange Broccoli

Crisp broccoli smothered in a sweet and salty sauce. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp almond butter
• 3 tbsp sliced almonds

Instructions:

1. Heat frying pan over medium-low heat and add broccoli florets.
2. While the broccoli cooks, add orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar and almond butter to a blender (I used my Magic Bullet) and blend until combined.
3. Once the broccoli is cooked to your liking (I cook mine just until it starts to turn a brighter green), pour the sauce over the broccoli and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.

xoxo Erin

You May Also Like:

       Butter Chickpeas

UPDATE! This recipe has been shared at Healthy Vegan Fridays.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER DONUTS- Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free & Oil-Free

I’ve seen lots of red desserts floating around the internet lately. Some coloured with food colouring, some with raspberries or cherries and some with beet juice. Even though all of these valentines treats look amazing, I’ve had an aversion to foods that are unnaturally red for a long time. When I was younger I would break out in hives whenever I’d eat a little too much of something with red food colouring. I expect that I would still break out in hives but I’ve been avoiding red food colouring since I realized what was causing the hives.

But this valentines treat won’t be causing any hives. These peanut butter and chocolate goodies are decadent enough to make for your sweetheart on valentines day and healthy enough to make again and again for no reason other than they taste like a little piece of heaven. Sweet peanut butter and chocolate heaven, mmmm! Oh, and if you’re looking for more delicious non-traditional valentines recipes, check out The Healthy Maven. Davida has been baking up some ridiculously amazing treats…lemon swiss roll with coconut cream frosting, banana fosters cinnamon rolls and double chocolate cherry cookies kind of amazing! Excuse me while I drool a little…and by a little I mean a lot 🙂

Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Soft and decadent chocolate peanut buttery donuts smothered in sweet and creamy peanut butter glaze. 

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Donut- 

• 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 3 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar (any granulated sugar will work)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder

Glaze-

• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar (any granulated sugar will work)
• 1 tbsp tapioca starch
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and set aside a donut baking pan.
2. Add apple cider vinegar to the non-dairy milk and let stand for at least 5 minutes.
3. Mix the ground flaxseeds with the water and also let stand for at least 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix together brown rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, coconut sugar and baking powder.
5. Add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, non-dairy milk mixture and flaxseed mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over the dry mixture and mix until combined.
6. Use an icing piping bag to fill the donut pan with batter.
7. Cook for 9-11 minutes and let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing the donuts to a cooling rack.
8. While the donuts are baking and cooling, add the coconut sugar and tapioca starch to a blender and blend until the sugar is powdered.
9. Combine the powdered sugar with the rest of the glaze ingredients and mix until combined. Spread the glaze over the cooled donuts and enjoy!

xoxo Erin

You May Also Like:

Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cups

  

UPDATE: This recipe has been shared at Vegan Mondays Roundup, Gluten-Free Fridays, Potluck Party and Healthy Vegan Fridays.

PROJECT LIGHT & LEAN: Muffin & Bread Chapter (Fruity Muffins)

I’ve been procrastinating to write this post because I’m missing a photo of one of the muffin recipes. And not just any muffin recipe, my favourite muffin from the entire chapter! In hindsight this happened because I loved the muffins so much that I ate them all without realizing I hadn’t taken a picture of them yet. I held off writing this post because I intended to make another batch of the muffins this weekend so I could get a photo but I couldn’t find cranberries at the store. Since cranberries are what make the muffins so amazing I decided to hold off on making them again until I had cranberries. Okay, that’s enough excuses for one post. Here are my thoughts on the final three muffin recipes in the Muffin & Bread Chapter in Happy Herbivore Light & Lean.

Like I said in my last review of Happy Herbivore Light & Lean muffins, for all of the recipes reviewed today I used the gluten-free mix that is in the cookbook. Any gluten-free all purpose flour will work though as long as it has xanthan gum or guar gum in it. If your mix does not have either of these just add 1 tsp for every cup of flour you use.

Single Serving Blueberry Muffin, page 50

These muffins were good but I had to cook them for 10 minutes more than the bake time listed. This extra cooking time was a little frustrating because having the oven on for 30 minutes to bake two muffins (I doubled the recipe) felt like a waste of electricity. Even though I love the idea of single serving baking recipes, I prefer when these recipes cook in 15-20 minutes. Regardless of the baking time, these muffins were yummy and had a nice traditional muffin texture. My fiance also liked the muffin and gobbled it up. I probably wouldn’t make this recipe again though. When I crave blueberry muffins I’d opt for either my own recipe or for the Blueberry Yogurt recipe that I’m also reviewing in this post.

Ruby Chocolate Muffins, page 41

These muffins were the best. I loved everything about them. Like I already said, I liked them so much that they were all eaten before I realized I had yet to take a photo, whoops! Anyway, the best part of these muffins was the fresh cranberries that just popped with tart deliciousness when you bite into them. The tartness of the cranberries contrasted perfectly with the sweet chocolatey muffin goodness that surrounded the cranberries. I may or may not be drooling a little as I’m remember eating these muffins. My fiance also liked these muffins, however, I don’t think he loved them as much as I did.

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins, page 48

I started to make these muffins before I checked to see if I had all of the ingredients, so I had to leave out the lemon zest. This was probably a bad idea. I think the lemon zest would have added that extra special flavour that would have sent these muffins over the top. Regardless of my missing ingredient, these muffins had a perfect texture. They were soft and fluffy yet heavy and filling. I also had to bake these muffins for an extra 10 minutes past the recommended baking time but this didn’t bother me since I got 12 muffins out of that 30 minutes of baking. My fiance liked these muffins but did comment that they would have been better if their tops had been more crunchy.

And that does it for the Muffin & Bread chapter. Next is Sandwiches, Tacos & More!

xoxo Erin

Previous Project Light & Lean Review:

         

TROPICAL DESSERT SMOOTHIE- Vegan, Gluten-Free & Refined Sugar-Free

I created this recipe for my mom. My mom loves the summer. She loves the weather, the sunlight and of course, the flavours. Since this winter has been especially cold and since my mom has recently obtained a high-power blender, I thought I’d create a recipe for her. I thought of no better recipe than a smoothie that is delicious enough to call a dessert but healthy enough to enjoy at any time of the day. This super healthy smoothy is completely mouthwatering and will take your taste buds to tropical heaven.

Okay, so it doesn’t look that pretty when it’s just a pile of stuff in a blender, but once that “on” button is pressed and all the ingredients are pulverized, tropical heaven is achieved. Just trust me.

See, I told you! Look at those beautiful green glowing smoothies. I love the look of green smoothies but I can appreciate that lots of people think they look like alien goo. Although I’ve listed this as a dessert smoothie, I still like throwing spinach in there for extra nutrition. You cannot taste the spinach at all. The fruit and coconut milk are so strong in flavour that the spinach is covered up immediately. If I was making this as a meal instead of as a sweet treat I’d probably throw at least 2 cups of kale in there as well. This will make the smoothies much brighter green though and that may be off putting for some. Feel free to leave out the spinach if you’re making it for picky eaters…but I promise if you blind-fold them and serve them the green version they would never know!

Tropical Dessert Smoothie

A creamy smoothie that’s filled with bright tropical flavours and is sweet enough to be a dessert. 

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water (use 1 1/2 cups if you like a thinner drink)
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 cup frozen mango chunks
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp macadamia nut butter
• 2 cups spinach

Instructions: 

1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender, making sure to add the liquids first. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and let your taste buds escape to the tropics!

xoxo Erin

You May Also Like:

Pina Colada Oatmeal

UPDATE: This recipe has been shared at Healthy Vegan Fridays, Raw Food Thursdays and Weekend Wholefood Blender Party.