Want S'more Pie, a gluten free and vegan dessert!

S’mores. A summer time favourite for many and a staple when camping. But who says it has to stop there? Why not double the chocolate and marshmallows and put it into a pie? To me, that sounds amazing especially since I turned it into a vegan S’more pie!

I got this idea about a month ago when I was making the frosting for my Charmed Cupcakes for my vegan party. When I took the icing out of the fridge I noticed that it was the perfect consistency for making a pie. *insert lightning bolt… Hey I just bought marshmallows… chocolate… S’MORES! And the rest is history!

The pie is really easy to make, it just takes some prep time and some waiting time in the fridge. So if you are wanting to make this for Thanksgiving I would suggest making this a couple days before and when you are ready to serve it just throw the marshmallows on top and broil them. That way you can save up some space on your counters and your stove. Plus I love that this is a no bake pie too, so if you do end up making it on Thanksgiving you wont have to worry about taking up room in your oven.

Want S’more Pie

Gluten Free Graham Cracker Crust

1 pkg of gluten free graham cracker crumbs

¼ - ½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup of melted coconut oil

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until moist. Pour onto a pie tin and using your fingers evenly flatten out mixture. Place in the fridge for about an hour or until chilled.

Chocolate Filling

1 can of full fat coconut milk
1 cup of chocolate chips (vegan), I used Enjoy Life Brand 

Put can of coconut milk in the fridge over night. Open and remove all liquid so only the solidified coconut milk is left. Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and gradually melt the chocolate. You don’t want to heat up the chocolate too fast or else it will burn.
Once melted combine the hardened coconut milk and melted chocolate and stir until smooth.

Pour over chilled pie crust, making sure it is evenly distributed. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours or over night.

Marshmallow Topping

1 pkg of vegan marshmallows

When ready to serve place as many marshmallows as you desire on top of the pie, ( I only had half a package) set pie under broil in your oven and roast the marshmallows until golden brown. Watch carefully because they will burn easily!

Cut, Serve and Enjoy!

Lets Celebrate with Charmed Chocolate Cupcakes!

Lets eat cake! I have something to celebrate!

It has been a whole year since I turned vegan and boy does it feel GREAT! Its crazy to think that a whole year has gone by. It feels like yesterday I was struggling to find vegan food in Sturgis, or explaining to people that, No I don’t eat cheese anymore. And by turning vegan not only have I changed my lifestyle but also my husbands. Devon now eats less meat and dairy than he used to and now looks forward to my vegan experiments in the kitchen. To think that we have saved between 150-200 animals this year just warms my heart and soul.

It was one year ago today that I was on Pinterest and came across a pin by the Regina Vegetarian Society and thought WOW this is cool. I didn’t know they had a Vegetarian Society and to think I came across it on Pinterest! Fate was on my side that day because all it took was clicking on that pin and my life was changed forever.

I had reduced my meat intake to just bacon and fish and I was still consuming dairy last July, so it wasn’t necessarily cold turkey…. Or Cold Tofurkey! (haha lame, I know!) But once I did decide to go vegan I did stick to it very strictly. So I guess kind of cold Tofurkey. Now that worked for me, but for some it might be a lot more difficult. Just think every step in the right direction paves the way to greater things. It took me three years to get to a vegan diet and once I made the switch I never looked back. To read my whole story please go to my previous posts found here and here!

Also another big reason to celebrate is that I have reached over 11,000 hits on my blog! That is fricken insane! I never thought I would be so happy making up vegan recipes for you all to try. I literally get a high from people telling me they have tried something I made, or even when someone on Pinterest repins one of my recipes. I do a little happy dance inside every time!

So to commemorate this special milestone in my life I hosted our TGIF (a family and friend get together) at my house and made it a vegan themed night. So everyone who comes must bring a vegan appetizer to share with everyone. When planning this I was kind of expecting a lot of salsa, guacamole and black bean dip, but I was surprised when no one made the black bean dip or guacamole and only one person brought salsa!

So what did everyone bring?
Mary B and Bruce – Sweet potato fries
Jenn and Sean – Cauliflower Buffalo Bites and Banana Muffins
Michelle – Veggies and Hummus
Jody and Dave – Pico de Gallo and Blue Corn Chips
Robyn and Steve – Fruit and Chocolate Dip
Me – Mediterranean Surprise Dip, Black Bean Dip, Homemade French Fries and Chocolate Cupcakes

There was so much food I was so stuffed by the end of the night. It was such an amazing feeling to be able to eat everything and not have to wonder if I could eat something. The biggest hit around the table was the Cauliflower Buffalo Bites that Jen made, they were amazing! I tried making these a couple months ago and they didn’t really turn out, so I will definitely get the recipe from her to share with you guys.

The reason I called them Charmed Cupcakes is because this was the third time trying to perfect the recipe. So like the saying goes... Third times a Charm!

I knew from the start I was going to make a cupcakes because really who doesn’t love them and what’s a celebration without cake! Plus needed to redeem myself for the cupcakes I made for my nephews birthday. I forgot about them in the oven and overcooked them so they were pretty dry. This time I was determined to make a moist delicious chocolate cupcake, that everyone would love! It was however my dads idea to make them with zucchini, seeing as it is zucchini season and we all know that zucchini is the perfect secret ingredient to make any cake moist. So thanks dad for the great idea!

I saw the recipe for the frosting on Pinterest and knew I had to try it out. Not only did it look super simple to make but it was only two ingredients and it didn’t contain any powdered sugar (something that every frosting recipe contains). Its just coconut milk and chocolate chips! And you don’t have to be vegan to appreciate the easiness and deliciousness of it. It really finished off these cupcakes by adding a rich, creamy and more chocolaty goodness.

And yes those are Toy Story Cupcake Liners!!

And did I redeem myself? I think so! Not only were they devoured but the kids were asking every 2 minutes if they could have a second one and in my books if a 4 and 5 year old love them, then they must be good!

Charmed Chocolate Cupcakes - 12 cupcakes
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 bananas, ripe
1 zucchini, peeled and shredded
¼ cup coconut oil, melted

Blend the zucchini and bananas together until smooth. Combine all dry ingredients together and mix well. Add the oil and banana mixture together with the dry mix and stir until well combined.
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake at 375 for 20-25 mins.

Rich, Chocolate Frosting
1 can of full fat coconut milk
1 cup of chocolate chips (vegan)

Put can of coconut milk in the fridge over night. Open and remove all liquid so only the solidified coconut milk is left. Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water and gradually melt the chocolate. You don’t want to heat up the chocolate too fast or else it will burn.
Once melted combine the hardened coconut milk and melted chocolate and stir until smooth.
Place in the fridge for 3-4 hours or until set.
Using an electric beater, beat the mixture until smooth and a frosting consistency. Top your cupcakes with frosting, serve and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Quick and Easy Curry Stew

I LOVE CURRY! Like L.O.V.E LOVE  I have made a couple different curry dishes and this is by far the easiest and best I have ever made. I know I have said this about every curry dish I have made, but honestly it just keeps getting better and easier. I was surprised at how quick this meal came together and how great it turned out. 
Like always, when trying a new dish I am always a little wary on if I will like it, but man this is good. Now, I can see a couple of you out there thinking that this might be too hard, you are wrong, it’s only 4 easy steps to awesomeness for this dish. If you are unsure of whether or not you like curry then maybe start off with no curry spices and add little by little instead. For me I used 2 tbsp of curry spice to really bring out that extra punch.

So if you are in the mood for something really fun tonight, why not try out my amaze-balls curry stew, I dare you!

Serves 2-6 people ( I ate the whole pot so really 1-6 people)

Stew
2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp of coconut oil

2 good-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, or 2 small ones, chopped

1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 lime

Sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

2 inch fresh ginger, peeled

2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground red pepper flakes

2 tablespoon curry powder

1 tbsp maple syrup

½ can coconut milk

Directions:

Step one – chop up all the veggies

Step two – sauté the veggies, hick peas and oil for about 10 mins in a large pot on medium high, until almost fork tender

Step three – put all of the sauce ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth

Step four – pour sauce over veggies and let simmer for 15 minutes, the longer you simmer the thicker it gets!

Garnish with lime and serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Substitutions

*coconut milk for any that you have on hand

*peanut butter for any other nut or seed butter you have

*sweet potatoes for regular potatoes

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N

Hashbrown Casserole, Vegan Gluten Free

Oh yeah this is happening! A vegan hashbrown casserole, something that many people are familiar with at Christmas time or on Mothers and Fathers Day. Devon's mom make this every Christmas morning and it is something I really missed eating. So about a month (I think right after Christmas) I had this idea about making a vegan version but I haven't had time to make a big breakfast. But today was the day to make some magic and Devon and I were super excited. 

I woke up this morning and started to make the Mushroom soup, not your typical breakfast food but it is definitely necessary for this dish. This is something you could make the night before if you have limited time to make breakfast in the morning. It doesn't take too long but its a step you can do before hand.

If you have followed my blog for a while you might recognize this recipe from my vegan poutine recipe (found here). I have altered it slightly to make it a soup instead of a sauce, and the final product turned out amazing. I gave a spoonful to Devon to try and he LOVED it. He came into the kitchen to help me mix the casserole together and when I turned around I saw him eating it out of the blender with a spoon, with a slight guilty look on his face. When ever I make something he likes he automatically says "Do you remember how you made this?" Thats how I know he really liked it because he wants to make sure I can make it again for him. Luckily I did remember and wrote it down! I am for sure going to make this again for lunch one day, probably paired with grilled cheese sandwiches! 



I was also able to share some of this with my sisters, Ashley and Chelsea. I shot them a text after it was done and extended an invitation to them to stop by and try it. Of course they showed up and gave their verdict on what they thought of my newest creation. No surprise, they also loved it, going back to eat out of the pan until it was almost all gone (they left us 3 bites left, thanks guys!) I am always happy to share my food with people, it makes me feel good knowing that other people enjoy my cooking just as much as I enjoy cooking it. I hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as we did, its something everyone can enjoy, even if you aren't vegan. 



Vegan Mushroom Soup - 2 cups
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 small pkg of white mushrooms, minced
1 tbsp of Better than Bouillon, vegetable broth
1 cup water
3 tbsp of coconut milk
1/3 cup quinoa flour, or any other gluten free flour
1 cup water

In a small sauce pan saute the onions and garlic until brown, add mushrooms and saute until soft. Mix the bouillon and water until dissolved and then add to the mushrooms, cook for 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk. Gradually alternate between the flour and water and stir until there are no clumps. Once done pour into a blender and blend until smooth. This should make about 2 cups of mushroom soup.

Hashbrown Casserole

8 cups of frozen hash browns

1 pkg shredded Daiya Cheese, cheddar flavoured

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups of mushroom soup

Grease a glass pan and pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl put hashbrowns, 1 cup of the Daiya, onion and 1 cup of the soup and mix until well blended. Pour into the glass pan and level it off with the back of the spoon. Top the casserole with the rest of the soup and the Daiya. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 min, then bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve!

Thanks for reading!!!
xoxo -N

Broccoli, Mushroom Coconut Soup

So I just had to share this right away because I love it so much, and it only took me 35 minutes from stove to bowl. Mmmmmmmm. I thought up this recipe last night when I noticed a head of broccoli in the fridge that was close to death and I didn't want to throw it out. Its super easy and few ingredients. Enjoy!

Broccoli, Mushroom Coconut Soup
2 heads of broccoli
3 stalks of celery
5 green onions
1 sm package of mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp  of coconut oil
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups of water
2 young coconuts, or 2.5 cups of canned coconut milk (clearly this is not a low fat soup)
Pepper to taste

Heat up a soup pot and oil on med/high. Chop up all of the veggies into bit sized pieces. I started with the onions and celery and threw those in to the pot to sweat while I chopped up the broccoli and mushrooms. When done chopping, add all of the veggies, the broth and the pepper into pot and cook for 10 minutes. If using young coconuts open them up and scoop out all of the meat and the water from one of the coconuts, drink the rest of the water from the second young coconut while you are cooking! Blend up the meat and water until smooth in a high speed blender. Add the coconut milk and water into the pot and set to simmer. Then your final step is to take half of the soup and puree it in a blender until smooth, add it back into the pot and Viola Done!  I am really impatient so I just let it simmer for 5 minutes, basically making sure all of the veggies are cooked and the coconut milk and broth have blended well. I can only imagine what this will taste like tomorrow, if there is any left. 

Devon suggested I use cooked and blended, cauliflower next time I make this to make the soup thicker. I totally agreed and was actually planning on it, but I guess I was wrong in thinking we had a head of it in our fridge. So next time that is the plan and when I do I will let you know how it goes! 

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did! 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo Nikki

Super Saver Brownie and Cookie Bites

Have you ever been really excited about trying a new recipe that you slot out time on your days off, take a special trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients, all to find out that the recipe SUCKED BIG TIME? I have and it sucked big time.  

I had wanted to make gluten free, vegan brownies and chocolate chip cookies from scratch because I am a sucker for pre packaged baking mixes. I thought it was time to tie on my apron, roll up my sleeves and do it like my grandma used to. So I searched the internet for some of the best recipes, printed them off and bought the ingredients.

 

The night my sister came over with her awesome egg nog was the night I had decided to bake. I had just finished the cookies when she arrived and I was super disappointed with them. They were dry, crumbly and a bit tasteless. For me if I am going to eat cookies, they better be damn good cookies!! None of these eating bad cookies just because, I want them to be amazing so I don’t feel bad about eating half of the plate!

After that disappointment I moved onto the brownies, which I thought were going to be so much better than the first disaster. NOPE! No such luck for this gal! The taste was a bit better than the cookies but they turned out super dense and super dry. I was really sad now, all of this time, effort and money wasted. Well actually my husband didn’t mind the cookies, he said that they weren’t THAT bad after eating 4 of them. But I didn’t want THAT BAD COOKIES, I wanted AWESOME COOKIES! So technically all was not really lost.

 

Then Ashley and I had a great idea. Why waste the two batches when I  could salvage them and make bite sized brownie and cookie bites. My spirits were up again , I COULD and WOULD have something delicious to eat after all. I used the cake ball method and crumbled up the brownie mixture and my sister thought that bananas would be the perfect binding ingredient. I agreed, who doesn’t love bananas and chocolate. Then I thought about adding dates, they will add more sweetness and even more binding!

Now, I am not saying to go out and purposely make a bad batch of brownies or cookies just to make these. Just, if you ever come across that horrible situation where that one recipe turns to crap and you are about to throw it out, know that you have another option to save all that time and money!

Vegan, Gluten Free Brownie and Cookie Bites

1 8x8 Dry Batch of Brownies or 12 Dry Cookies

1/4 cup of Coconut Milk  

2 Medium/Large Bananas

5 Dates, Soft

Blend bananas and dates together in the blender. Crumble the brownies/cookies into a bowl until all of the lumps are gone. Gradually mix the banana mixture into the bowl until you get a nice moist batter, if you have left over bananas dont worry, just drink them! Roll the batter into bite sized balls and place in the frige to firm up. I also rolled mine in coconut for a special touch!

*I did make the cookie ones, but my nephews ate them all before I could take a picture!!

*You could also roll them nuts, chocolate chips or any other type of toppings!

*If you dont have dates, you could use 2 tbsp of peanut butter! YUMMMMM!

*This would work also if you had left over cookies or brownies that have gone dry (when does that happen? not too sure but I bet it does on occation). Just use less bananas and dates!

Thanks for reading,

xoxo -N

3 Ingredient Vegan Tomato Soup!

So this week I had the most amazing pleasure of getting 3 wisdom teeth out! Yippy Horay! (feel free to picture Mugatu from Zoolander when reading that, I know I do!) I am one of those people who have the hugest fear of the dentist, like crying and looking at all of the exits when I am in there kind of girl. This trip was no exception because this was my first major procedure and I am hoping it was my last. 

Last week I endured 5 days of torture while my bottom left wisdom tooth tried to free itself from my gums. I didn't like this, not one bit. So I finally got the courage to go to the dentist on Thursday to get them checked out, and make sure they were not infected. I was told that there was a month and a half wait to get the tooth pulled but I would be put on the ASAP list and I would be called if something came open. 

Well that didn't last long because on Tuesday I got the call to come in the next day to get it done! Again... Yippy Horay! I told Jessica at work that I was going to puke because I was so nervous, and I'm pretty sure she said 'Ya, I would too!' 

So there we have it, I'm getting it pulled.... tomorrow...... holy crap.

The next morning, in preparation for this awesome event, I went to Super Store to get some supplies, Oranges and Mangos for juicing and tomatoes because I wanted to try this soup that popped into my head the morning of the teeth pulling.

Thats when I get the call from the dentist:

"Would you be able to come in right away so we can take out the other two wisdom teeth?" 

My first thought was:

"F*** NO!'

 More pain!?!?! More teeth to be ripped from my face? They weren't even the ones that were bothering me last week, so I am not mad at those ones (however they have bothered my in the past, I just have forgotten the pain they caused me. Women have that ability, forgetting pain, its our superpower) 

But then my reasoning kicked in and I thought that this was a good thing. Instead of going in three times to get each one pulled separately, I could get it all done at once, and only suffer one panic attack. Win-Win!

Needless to say, I survived. The freezing was the worst part, it always is for some reason. So now I am sitting at home with kleenex in my mouth, because the bleeding just wont stop. Which means its really hard to eat and drink. So of course, I am starving, Luckily though, I bought tomatoes to make my awesome tomato soup! I fell in love with this soup at first sip, its so delicious, frothy, and super tasty for only having 3 ingredients in it! I didn't count the Salt and Pepper because some people don't need it. I added a dash of each to mine though! 

Tomato Soup - 2 servings

3 fresh tomatoes

5 fresh bay leaves

4 tbsp of coconut cream, or coconut milk

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Throw everything in a blender and blend until smooth, pour into a pot and heat until desired temperature. 

OR just eat it cold! 

I hope you enjoy this lovely soup as much as I do! 

 Thanks for reading!

xoxo -N

Quinoa Breakfast Style, 7 Ways

I used to love cereal. Like full on obsession. You know how I posted that I loved October? Well cereal was right underneath there. I lived on this stuff when I was going to university and living on campus. We had the typical horrible cafeteria food, that always looked questionable and inedible. But luckily there was a wall of cereal to choose from, it was like a mecca of choices. If I can recall, there was Golden Grahams, Corn Pops, Rice Crispies, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Mini Wheats, Honey Combs, and probably 12 others that I cannot think of. I was always thankful for this 'wall of awesomeness' because without it I would have starved!! If you were to ask anyone of my friends from Rez, I am sure they would say that the cereal wall was one of the best things (next to cross track fries) about eating there. Most of the time you would see me carrying out 2-3 bowls of cereal for each meal, plus sneaking ziplock bags full of Golden Grahams for study snacks.

Quinoa with Apples and Cinnamon

Lately, I have been doing a lot of thinking about the food that I eat and what is in it. Right now there are tons of commercials trying to tell you that their products are low fat, no fat, high fiber, high protein, no sugar, no additives, no preservatives ect,  like McDonalds, Activa, and Cheerios. They can all be quite confusing because what do you focus on? For me, I am starting to really focus on simplicity! Simplicity is your best friend when trying to make healthy, wise choices. How could you go wrong with a fresh fruit salad for breakfast, or a lettuce wrap full of fresh veggies for lunch? When you really think about it, the less ingredients, the better. 

I really like the saying, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, its not good for you. I have posted a picture of the ingredients in Cheerios, one of the most popular cereals out there. And two of the ingredients listed are trisodium phosphate and tocopherols .... I have no idea what these are. I know, I could probably Google it, but WHY am I Googling ingredients in my food! That is ridiculous and a bit disturbing. Think of the some of the food that you eat on a regular basis and the possible mystery ingredients that you are possibly consuming.

So with this thought of eating Simply, I came up with a great breakfast dish that I know you will love. It's gluten free, vegan and can be catered to anyone’s taste. It's Quinoa for Breakfast! Yes, quinoa for breakfast, you heard me correctly. I love quinoa, for any meal and for breakfast I think it's a great substitute for oatmeal. It is high in fiber and protein, contains calcium, and it's a seed (not a grain like oatmeal), which makes is easier for your body to digest. It is also very easy to prepare, its a 2 cups of water to 1 cup of quinoa and it only takes about 15 mins to cook. I find that one cup of uncooked quinoa makes about 3.5 cups of cooked quinoa, so that around 3 serving sizes (well that depends on how hungry you are, I can eat the whole fricken pot sometimes!)

Yummy quinoa breakfast!

Basically you treat Quinoa like oatmeal, you can put any type of toppings on in that you like. My absolute favourite is the blended quinoa with coconut milk and bananas. After you blend it, it has the exact texture of oatmeal and if you are a cream of wheat fan, add a little more liquid and blend it longer until you get a silky smooth texture. Also, if coconut milk isn't your thing you could use almond milk, or rice milk!

I have listed 7 of my favourites that I really enjoy and I hope you do too!

Blended quinoa with coconut milk and bananas.

Blended Quinoa with Coconut Milk and Bananas

1 cup of hot, cooked quinoa

1/4 cup of coconut milk (or any milk of choice)

1 medium banana

Put quinoa, milk and half of the banana in the blender, and blend until desired consistency. Cut up the rest of the banana and serve on top!

Dessert Breakfast - Chocolately Quinoa with Bananas

1 cup of hot, cooked quinoa

1/4 cup of chocolate almond milk

1 medium banana

Put quinoa, milk and half of the banana in the blender, and blend until desired consistency. Cut up the rest of the banana and serve on top!

Other ideas

Quinoa with diced apples and cinnamon

Quinoa with frozen blueberries and almonds - I like to leave the berries frozen!!

Quinoa with walnuts and cinnamon

Quinoa with peaches and maple syrup

Quinoa with almonds and dates

****You could also blend any of the other 5 with milk before adding the toppings****

Thanks for reading!!!
xoxo - N