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

Vegan Egg Nog

Even before I was vegan I hated Egg Nog, mainly for the reason that it was made out of eggs. I just couldn't wrap my head around that and it just grossed me out. So when my sister Ashley told me she made a vegan egg nog I was really intrigued. The night I made my Lasagna Inspired Salad she  brought it over for me to try and after one sip, I knew I was hooked. I thought it resembled the flavor and texture of egg nog perfectly, and it was the perfect holiday drink to share while watching Home Alone. You could even add a little 'holiday spirit', aka Rum, into it to make it even more festive!

Make this a new holiday tradition for you and your family this year!

Banana Nog
- water and meat from one young coconut, or 1 1/2 cups of almond milk
- 2 frozen bananas
- 4 pitted medjool dates
- 1/4 tsp powdered vanilla
- 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, optional

Blend together in high speed blender and enjoy!!










Persimmon Nog 
For people with banana allergies!
- Water and meat from one young coconut or 1 1/2 cups almond milk
- 2 frozen, peeled persimmons
- 4 pitted dates

- 1/4 tsp powdered vanilla

- 1/4 tsp of cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, optional

Blend together in high speed blender and enjoy!!

These lovely pictures were designed by my sister Ashley. You can follow her at Naturally Ashley on Facebook! 

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

What is Nutritional Yeast?

I was thinking the other day about how some of you might not know what nutritional yeast is (because I sure didn't a couple months ago) And I have been using it in some of my recipes I post. So I thought I would do just a quick post for those of you who don't know what Nutritional Yeast is! 

Lets see what good old Wikipedia has to say:

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast (unlike the activated yeast found in breads) often a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 

It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy, and gluten. Sometimes nutritional yeast is fortified with Vitamin B12. 

Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of cheese. It can be used in many recipes in place of cheese, such as mashed and fried potatoes, as well as put into scrambled tofu as a substitute for scrambled eggs. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn.

I was a little weirded out by it when I first came across it, but after using it I have grown to love it in my food. Some other ways Nutritional Yeast can be used are:

• Mixed into tomato sauce and pasta, as a type of Parmesan Cheese
• Mixed into chili
• Sprinkled on top of pizza
• Sprinkled on top of veggies before you roast them in the oven

Also for those who have a Superstore or Bulk Barn near by, I found it at both places. At Bulk Barn you get to control how much to take home, where as Superstore might be more convenient. You can also get it at most health food stores, such as Alternate Roots and Nutters!

The recipes I have used it in: 

• Lasagna Inspired Layered Salad
• Vegan Lasagna 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Lasagna Inspired Layered Salad with Avocado 'Cheese' Sauce

I thought of this salad while lying in bed Sunday morning. I was surfing Pinterest and saw a couple of recipes for avocado mac and cheese. I have been seeing a lot of this recipe lately so I clicked on the link to check out the ingredient list. The one I looked at was not vegan but it had the great idea to use avocado in the cheese sauce. PING! An idea light bulb popped in my head. An avocado cheese sauce would be great on lasagna! But.... I didn’t want to cook it, so the next best thing came to mind. A salad! Which is perfect because I can use all of the ingredients that my cooked lasagna calls for, I just won’t cook any of it!

This past month or so, I have been addicted to the homey flavours that lasagna provides: I have made it 3 times!! YUMMMMM. So I am not surprised that this idea sprouted from my brain. Now I can satisfy my homey lasagna craving with this and feel a little better about eating something that is traditionally seen as ‘unhealthy’. 

This salad is pretty easy to whip up, its just all about timing! First you have to put the cauliflower on the stove to get it steamed. While this is steaming I cut up all of my veggies for the salad and layer them in the bowl. Then I pop my sauce ingredients in the blender, blend for a couple minutes and pour that into a jar and rinse my blender out. By then the cauliflower is usually done, so I take it off the stove and run it under cold water to cool it off (we don't want hot cauliflower mixed with avocado, yick). When making the avocado sauce in my Magic Bullet Blender I had to stir it quite a bit to get it all mixed together. I just didn’t want to add any more liquid to the mixture because I wanted it to be a thicker sauce. I already had the tomato sauce, which was already watery, so two watery sauces wouldn’t have jived well in the bowl. Totally worth the extra effort!

Tomato Sauce Dressing – For 2- 4 servings

2 tomatoes

1 sun dried tomato

½ clove garlic

1 lemon, juiced

¼ cup of oregano

¼ cup basil

3 dates, soaked in water for ½ hour

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth!

Avocado Sauce – For 2 - 4 servings

1 whole avocado

1 cup of cooked cauliflower

½ clove garlic

1 lime, juiced

¼ cup parsley

¼ cup cilantro

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth!!

Layer spinach, tomatoes, orange bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini, top with the avocado sauce and tomato dressing!!

I was so excited about this dish I just had to call my sister Ashley over to try it. Luckily she wasn't busy and was able to stop by to sample my latest creation. Her verdict?..... She loved it! and because of that she decided to make this lovely post on Facebook! Thanks Ash for the pretty picture collage! 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo- N

Nature's Path Waffles: Organic, Gluten Free and Vegan

Supper around my house usually sounds like this:

Me: Devon what do you want for supper?

Devon: I don't know, what do you want?

Me: I don't know either...

Which sometimes leads to:

Devon: Lets go to the grocery store!

Thursday was one of those days. We just couldn't decide what to make and with Devon and I watching the Food Network before supper that didn't make the task of choosing any easier. So off to Safeway we went, in search of something delicious to make for supper.

I wandered the produce section for a bit, while Devon got ingredients for Chicken Fried Sandwiches. I ended up with celery... haha for a quinoa stir fry! Yummy! Luckily I had everything else I needed at home so I was done in the produce section. Which got me wandering around the store looking at random stuff waiting for Devon to be finished. 

Then, there they were in the frozen isle........... Gluten Free, Vegan Waffles!!! Holy crap! I am pretty sure I gave the other Safeway patrons a show with my happy dance right there in the gluten free frozen section. So of course when we get home I just had to try them, how can I not!? I pop them in the toaster and after the first minute we start to smell this heavenly smell of sweetness. Its the waffles. They are made of pear and grape juice which give it this amazing smell of awesomeness. I topped them with cantaloup and they were great, they tasted really good, just like real 'Eggo's', but better. 

These are perfect for families who are just transitioning into a Gluten Free lifestyle. They are a great substitution for the 'regular' version, I would even say that kids wouldn't be able to tell if they were gluten free or not!

One Hot Brussel Sprout, Quinoa Salad

Lately I have been loving my hot salads. They are the perfect balance between wanting a hot cooked meal and wanting to get my raw fruits and veggies in. This one came to me one night and I thought I would give it a try, not really knowing how it would turn out (this is how most of my meals start out). And Success!! It turned out great. 

Before I met Devon I thought I hated brussel sprouts. I might have tried them once before him, but with the stigma that brussel sprouts were gross I think my mind was already made up that I was not going to like them. Then at one of Devon's family suppers they were placed on the table and Devon made me try them, just to see if I might like them. I didn't just like them, I loved them! They are now a main side dish in our house, usually accompanied by quinoa and salmon for Devon.

Ingredients - Serving for 2-3 people

3 cups of brussel sprouts

1 cup of quinoa

2 cups of water

1 tsp of coconut oil

2 green onions, chopped

1 cup of mushrooms, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 small zucchini, sliced thin

6 cups of romaine lettuce, or any other leafy green
1 lemon, juiced.

Steam your brussel sprouts in a double boiler pot until fork tender. Boil the 2 cups of water and add quinoa, simmer until all of the water is gone (it cooks very similar to rice). Saute the oil, mushrooms, onions, garlic for 5 minutes, then add the cooked brussel sprouts and saute for another 10 minutes.

Arrange your lettuce in a bowl or a plate, top with quinoa, vegetable mixture, fresh zucchini and dress it with the lemon juice!!

Optional ingredients: The other day I made this for the second time and I added fresh tomatoes plus I added 1/4 cup of Daiya cheese into the pan of the sauted veggie mixture, leaving it in there just long enough so it melts. So good! I just forgot to take a picture :(