Vegan MoFo ~ Cheesy Corn Grits Broccoli

Sometimes when I stock my pantry I grab items that are on sale and then not really know what to do with the product.  I have to admit corn grits isn't something I do a lot with but after I did this dish last night - I will be doing more in the future with this product.  The corn grits I bought were Bob's Red Mill's Brand and YELLOW Corn Grits.  Here's my recipe for this yummy comfort food.

1/2 C Yellow Corn Grits
2 Cups Water

1 C Broccoli (in Ninja/Food Processor)
2 T Nutritional Yeast
2 to 3 T Earth Balance

Optional Add Ins:
Sprinkle Wildtree California Garlic Pepper
Sprinkle (on top) Parma! Vegan Parmesan - Garlicky Green Flavor

Other Add In Ideas that I didn't Use in the Photo Above:
Spray (or two) Bragg's Liquid Aminos (if you want it a bit saltier)
GoL Perfect Food RAW - Green Super Food (if you want to get more 'greens' in there)

A few reasons I enjoy GoL's Green Super Food:

• One serving of Perfect Food Super Green Powder is equivalent to 140g of fresh grass juice.
• Excellent source of natural Vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene and a good source of natural Vitamin C.
• Contains spirulina that supports healthy immune function.^†
• Contains algae and cereal grass juices that provide a natural source of alkalizing minerals.
• Select ingredients in Perfect Food Super Green Formula are produced through the Garden of Life proprietary Poten-Zyme^® fermentation process to make the nutrients more available to the body.
• Includes a Probiotic Blend to support digestive health.^†
• Supports healthy carbohydrate metabolism.^†
• Great for those on low carbohydrate diets or people who are unable to eat enough green foods.
• Perfect Food comes in two easy-to-use forms: Powder and Caplets.

Sweet Protein Bars & Balls

I originally had some Flax Crackers planned for today's post but decided to bump it back to tomorrow.  WHY!?  Because I am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED about these Protein Bars I made!!!!

This is probably one of the most tasty things I have posted on this blog YET!  Especially when it comes to "sweet toothy' items.  Since going vegan I really haven't had any dessert type items because I don't bake and no one around me bakes vegan items.  When I find them in the store they are very pricey, too.  I know I will have to buckle down and do my own and I thought this was a great start!  PLUS...as promised...I broke out my dehydrator and started using it again over the last few nights!  As you can see in this first photo - this is the batter of these bars!  I used my Ninja.  It did a pretty good job.  Especially because the ingredients were all dry and/or solid.  I was going for a chunkier texture than smooth.  Most of the time when I throw things in my Ninja I try to reach a very smooth texture.  Not for this project.  And I think it stood up to the test quite well, actually!

Before I get to EXACTLY what's in this I have more pictures to show you! 

After blending the ingredients in my Ninja I flattened it out on a plastic kitchen mat...it's sort of like a cutting board but "flimpsier" - don't get me wrong - it's not poorly made - it's fairly heavy-duty - it's just not a regular cutting board or wooden surface I have used in the past.  This is what the flatten batter looked like.  I'm not going to lie...I stole a bit of the raw batter and found it to be VERY tasty as is...but I cut them into rectangles and put them in the dehydrator so they would be like breakfast or snack bars instead!  I had a few little pieces leftover and decided to make 3 small 'balls' with the leftovers.  Scroll down for the photo - among others!

So...what is IN this Protein Bar, you ask!?  Well, let me tell you...

1 C Raw Almonds (Not Soaked)
2 C Pitted Dates
1 Scoop of Garden of Life's Perfect Food Alkalizer & Detoxifier Powder
4 T Peanut Butter (I used 2 T of Chocolate Peanut Butter & 2 T Peanut Butter only because I didn't have enough Chocolate Peanut Butter left)
1/4 C Fresh Cranberries

Now...a little bit about this RAW Organic Green Super Food from Garden of Life...

• Highly alkalizing RAW organic lemon juice and RAW organic parsley†
   
• RAW organic coconut water for hydration and replenishment of electrolytes
   
• Eight powerful cleansing herbs, traditionally used for centuries to gently assist in daily detoxification†
  
  
• Unmatched nutritional power from RAW organic grass juices and antioxidant filled RAW organic fruit and vegetable juices†
  
  
• Digestion soothing RAW organic ginger, plus live probiotics and enzymes†
  

Perfect Food RAW Puts the GREEN in Greens—More Chlorophyll in Every Serving 

Vegan • Certified Organic • Dairy Free • Soy Free • Live Probiotics and Enzymes • No Whole Grass Fillers
No Added Sugars • No Artificial Flavors or Sweeteners • No Preservatives

 Here is what they looked like after being in the dehydrator overnight.  I LOVE that you can SEE what's IN these just by looking at them!  The Cranberries - eventho I only used about 1/4 C - where PERFECT in these!  Overall these were SO FLAVORFUL and I really loved them!  I will be doing various variations of these in the weeks to come!  

This is PERFECT for me!  I think they are great to grab on-the-go, wonderfully filling for a quick breakfast and/or snack, or even a dessert or if you have a 'sweet tooth'.  

And if "Bars" aren't really your thing or if you find that they are too big - you can roll them into little balls like I did here!  These 3 are what I had for breakfast this morning in addition to a smoothie which consisted of GoL's Marley Raw Protein mixed in with Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk...I will be writing up a contributing article to submit to their product blog soon for that so keep an eye out on this site to read it in the near future!  I also made it into a vegan Ice Cream, too!

Words cannot express how much I LOVE these lil Protein Bars & Balls!

Carrot Almond Pate

A while back I bought a 5 pound bag of organic carrots for a super low price...I think we only paid about $2.49 so I couldn't resist buying them.  BUT...I have TONS left!  I was trying to figure out a good way to use them FAST!  Of course one way would be to JUICE them and I will be doing that VERY VERY soon with the rest of them!  I wanted something I could dip so I came up with a super easy Carrot Almond Pate of sorts.  I originally saw a similar one online using Cashews instead but I didn't have any cashew left in the house. 

 All I did for this was the following...

4 Large Carrots
1/2 Large Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
2 C Almonds (soaked)
1/4 C Grapeseed Oil
A couple of squirts of Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/2 C - 1 C of Water

I did this all in one of my Ninja Blenders and it turned out really good!  Sweet yet creamy.  This made a HUGE batch...around 5 to 6 Cups, actually!  So I have been munching on it often.  I took a bit of it and put it thru my Ninja again and added some Almond Milk for a sauce, too!  This is a nice starter or base.  The sky is the limit to additional flavorings!  I will be trying more in the future, I'm sure!

Vegan MoFo (#2 of the Day) ~ Vegan Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce, West African Sweet Potato- Peanut Bisque, Ninja Blenders, & Frugal Finds

Hello again - HELLO!  This is my 2nd post today - please be sure to scroll down for more Vegan MoFo and more! 

First...check out these Spring Rolls that happen to be vegan.  I found them at a discount store over the weekend and was so excited they were not only vegetarian but VEGAN!  I fan fried them (Saturday) with Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil and wanted to do a Dipping Sauce.  I decided to do a Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce for them!  Here is what's in this sauce...
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4-1/2 C Water
2 T Bragg's Liquid Amino's
1 T Frank's Hot Sauce
1 T Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Brown Sugar
1 tea Minced Garlic

I really like the way this sauce turned out and the only addition I would make would be to maybe add a little lime juice next time but it was fine and dandy without it, too!

Here's another photo of the sauce incase you wanted a closer look!

Oh!  Also...did you notice something else in the photo above?  Yep!  New place mat!  I found this cute bamboo place mat at Dollar Tree for a buck!  I put it on top of the surface I used to take pics of my crafts and put new bulbs in my spot lights!  I am so excited I have a new set-up for taking photos!  Woooot!  I also found a purple place mat you may see me use in the near future, too!  I will be keeping an eye out for more inexpensive bowls and place mats for taking pictures here on my site!  Another thing I am super excited about is my new Ninja Bowls!  Many of you already know I'm a fan of my Ninja Blenders!  I have a high speed one that is around 1,000 watts and then I have the high speed Ninja Collection that has 5 different size containers with the blender top and the lids.  Over the weekend I found a set of 6 of these Ninja Bowls.  It came with a different blender top with different lids and another blade.  These aren't as powerful as my other Ninja's but still higher speed than your average blender, I suppose.  Another thing I like about these is they are microwaveable and stackable.  I have been having a hard time with leftover containers and don't always have the extra mason jars so this is perfect!  They are also great for steaming.  These will work so much better in my frig than what I have been using!  YAY!

I used my new Ninja while making this soup!  This is the 2nd Soup of my Mostly Liquid Personal Challenge that I start TODAY!  In my previous post I told you about my lunch soup...well...this is my soup for tonight...

West African Sweet Potato- Peanut Bisque. 
Here's what's in this Pureed Soup:

1 Large Sweet Potato
1 Small Onion
1 Garlic Clove
About 8 Ounces Tomato Sauce
8-ounces Vegetable Broth
1-2 C Water
4-ounces Green Chiles
1/2 tea Ginger Powder
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1 tea Cilantro
1/2 tea Wildtree Rancher Steak Rub (which is basically: Garlic, Sea Salt, Pepper, Herbs)

For some reason after pureeing and then heating this up on the stove top the flavor combo made my nose wrinkle.  I'm not real sure why as I do like all of these ingredients.  It must have been the ratio of each and it being blended together and heating that stuck me as 'odd' at the time, I guess...but the taste of the soup itself was yummy!  I sampled about 1/4 C afterwards. 

I'm really excited about the new Ninja's as well as my new place mats for taking better photos AND excited about this week's Mostly Liquids Challenge for myself!  I'm 2 for 2 on pureed soups so far!  YAY!  Tomorrow I will start doing smoothies and/or juices for breakfasts.  That in itself is a big deal for me as I'm horrible about breakfast items! 

What are you up to this week!?

Vegan Mofo ~ Spinach & Chickpeas, Turkish Red Lentil Soup, A Word About Lavender, and Mostly Liquids Week

Happy Monday!  Positive thought to all of you for a wonderful week!  I will have at least 2 posts today! 

Saturday I spent a little time visiting the Farmers Market as well as some of the discount stores in the area and found some really neat things.  (Which I will be blogging about a bit later).  I also spent time cleaning...I did quite a few dishes as well as our floors which needed vacuuming and shampooing MAJORLY.  I also made this dish.  It's Spinach and Chickpeas.  Here's what's in this dish...



1 C Chickpeas
1 Pound Spinach (Frozen)
1 C Vegan Bread Crumbs
3 Cloves Garlic
8 Ounces Tomato Sauce
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tea Cumin
Splash of Balsamic
1/2 tea Paprika

It ended up being pretty good!  It was a nice comfort food, really.  I was craving chickpeas and spinach so this work well.  Paco has been pretty active lately and I caught him in a rare moment this past weekend.  He was pretty drowsy in this photo.  We were watching 'scary' movies.  For some reason the dogs have really been digging them lately.  Not sure why.  Anyhow...this week I will start a new attempt with Paco's eyes.  You may remember me not liking the stuff I am using now and after taking some of Opal's advise I was able to find bulk Lavender.  I haven't gotten my hands on the essential oil yet but I figured the flowers would be a gentle way to see how he did with Lavender...I will soak the flowers in some water and use it as a compress and gently wash the stains using a cloth, I think.

I mentioned last week I am going to challenge myself and try and do MOSTLY LIQUIDS this week!  This could be flavored waters, teas and tonics, Juices and Smoothies, Pureed Soups, and as a cheat I will still stick with the pureed theme and do dips that are pureed (like hummus's and bean dips, for example) but only use celery to dip...things like this for my MOSTLY Liquids Week.   This is my first one of the week my lunch for later today.  This is Turkish Red Lentil Soup.  I sampled a bit of it after making it over the weekend and it was super tasty!  Here's what it has in it...



3/4 C Cooked Lentils
1-2 C Water
1 Onion
1 Carrot
3 Cloves Garlic
2 T Tomato Paste

I'm excited to try new-to-me pureed vegan soups this week!  I will be using my various Ninja Blenders for the pureeing process, too!  More on that in my next post!  What interesting foods did you eat this weekend!?

Christine's Chia Curry, Cold Curried Peas, Strawberry Chia Smoothies & Jams, and Deals

One of my favorite Bloggers & Instagrammers is Christine over at The Raw Project - as I mentioned in my previous post, today!  Yup!  Two posts, today!  Keep scrolling!  Anyhow, Christine is super awesome for many reasons but one of those reasons are her Crazy Blender Skills!

As a fellow Blender NUT - I HAD to try this Chia Curry last night!  I followed the instructions EXACTLY and it came out wonderful!  I love everything about this!  I love the color, I love the aroma, I love the flavor!  It's AMAZING!  I ended up dipping celery sticks in it.  But that's not all!  It made a nice sized batch so I decided to add it to some Frozen Peas that I soaked in warm water to thaw.

This flavor combo was tremendous, as well!  Since this is one of her original recipes I will not post the measurements here but you can find them at the link above!  Her blog is a real winner so DO take a look-see!  But I will tell you that this contains the following:

Chia Seeds, Carrots, Curry Powder, Garlic, Coconut Oil, Lemon Juice, Nutritional Yeast, and Water.  YUMMO!

I mentioned in my previous post that I was going to talk a stroll today - which I did do - and I did take some photos - but I think I will hold off to show you some of them until next week!  I think I will probably get some more snapshots Monday or Tuesday to include in a lengthier post as well!

After soaking a few Chia Seeds to do the above sauce I had some left over and ready to use.  I was trying to figure out some quick things to do with them so the already-prepared gelled Chia Seeds didn't go to waste.

I have also been going thru a lot of my freezer and cupboard items try to get some rotation-system down or something.  I came across some Strawberries that were frozen and did the same thing...soaked them in warm water to thaw.  I added them to the 2nd largest Ninja Blender I have.  There was about a pound of Strawberries in there at this time.  Next, I added 3 Tablespoons of soaked Chia Seeds to the Ninja as well as 2 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup and a half teaspoon of Vanilla Extract and blended.  One of the 3 things I made with these ingredients is pictured here.  A nice Strawberry Chai Smoothie.  For the Smoothie I continued to blend until quite smooth. 

I could help but wonder what this would taste like with a little bit of that Wildtree Chocolate Syrup I mentioned earlier this week.

So, of course, I added some.  It was super yummy!  This made a wonderful little dessert!  Two thumbs up!

But before REALLY blending this together I quazi-blended it and wanted a little bit of chunkage to it.  WHY?  Because I wanted to try and make some Strawberry Chia Jam.

The flavor was pretty incredible!  I had a bit of it on my English Muffin this morning but seriously, I could just eat it straight out of the bowl!

I think at some point I am going to try and build on this jam and make it into a fruit chutney or a salsa of some sort.  I can envision Mangoes, herbs, maybe Pineapple, the possibilities are endless!

I think I am down to only two of these little glass bowls that I have had for several years and I believe I got them at the Dollar Tree.  I might have to go check them out soon and see what other kind of little bowls I can buy for cheap.  The little glasses you see above are from gift sets my Brother-In-Law got me for Christmas.  So are the Wooden Surfaces I used for the background.

Question of the Day: What's the last thing you made with Chia Seeds?  I absolutely LOVE them!

Vegan Dips, Vegan Buffalo Chickpeas, & Vegan Ice Cream Cake

Last weekend I wanted to use the sweet potato I had bought a few days before.  I also wanted a dip - I make lots of dips in my house! 

I took the medium-sized sweet potato and cooked it.  I then took about 1 to 1 and a half cups of Black Beans and put both ingredients into my Ninja.  I made it smooth and added a little bit of Wildtree's Garlic Galore.  It was AMAZING!  LOVE LOVE LOVE this!  Will for sure be making this again!  I also tried a bit with a little Daiya Shreds in there and warmed to melt.  Both ways were totally YUMMY!

I've posted about my "Guacamole Attempts" before and I ended up making some last weekend as well!  I didn't really make it any special way - just used two Avocados with Wildtree's Guacamole Seasoning.  Just thought I would share another photo, really!

Another thing I made this past week was Buffalo Chickpeas.  Everyone once and a while I miss the "Buffalo" Spices in things and have been tinkering with some ways to use the kicky flavor in veganized dishes.  Since I can't get enough Chickpeas I decided to try the two together.  I took about 1/4 C of Veganese, 3 or 4 T of the now discontinued Wildtree Chipotle Hot Sauce, a few pinches of Celery Salt, and 1/2 tea of Wildtree Dill Dip Blend and mixed well.  This is even better the 2nd day as left overs!

I'm REALLY trying to eat bananas!  As many of you know - it's the ONLY fruit I don't like!  Seriously!  I hate the smell!  I don't like the taste or texture...they just freak me out!  But I know they are wonderful offerings of the Earth and I wish I did like them!  So I decided to try and do a Vegan Ice Cream Cake.  For this bottom layer I took 2 C of Cashews, 1 Banana, 1 C of Dates, 1/2 tea Vanilla Extract, and Almond Milk into my Ninja until smooth.  For the top layer I used 1 C of mixed blueberries and blackberries, about a handful of strawberries, 1 C of Almond Milk, 1 C of Dates, into my Ninja until Smooth.  I poured both layers in a large glass bowl and froze it overnight.  The next day I tried it and it does have potential but it also still tasted very banana-E to me.  You could put more fruit on top or Vegan Chocolate Syrup which I might try next time.  I am happy with my first attempt at this and VERY pleased that I forced myself to eat something with bananas in it!

    

Raw Wednesday, Core Goals, Ninjas, World Foods

Last week I reviewed a product from Core Foods and today I'm going to do the same!  I have another one of their flavors to share with you!  Today it's their Raw Cashew Cacao.  As you can see to the left the contents...and following this...the 'jist' of their product description!

Nourishment for the Enlightened.

A High-Fiber Vegan Meal for toning and weight management.
We carefully mix 5 fresh organic plants to pack all 13 amino acids, high plant fiber, and essential fatty acids into one balanced meal on the go. That's all. We never use candy ingredients. Take your nutrition as seriously as your practice--get to the next level be eating like a Defender.
Make CORE part of your daily routine! Sign up for recurring delivery and get free shipping!
This food is FRESH. Store in your freezer for maximum life and flavor. Take anywhere for up to 1 week.

Now...specifically writing about their Raw Cashew Cacao Bar...I found it to be even more filling than the Almond Raisin one I reviewed last week!  I will say that the cacao tastes like the "darkest of dark" chocolates I have ever tried and that could have something to do with it for me, personally.  You know how Dark Chocolate tends to be bitter...and "bitters" usually help you feel "full" and "quicker", well, I totally agree with that in this case!  Even though I could feel my hunger level being fulfilled as I ate the meal replacement bar - I found myself enjoying the "dark" flavor more and more as I continued to eat it!  The Cacao is the more prominent flavor in this specific bar, tho.  The Whole Oats and Cashews did help break up that dark chocolate or cacao taste and the spices and raisins were subtle but appreciated as it contributed to the overall nutritional benefits and experience!

The thing that really shocked me about this one is how VERY full I felt after eating it!  I almost couldn't even finish it!  I felt like I ate a HUGE meal!  I did notice how important it was to follow this one up with the water afterwards, tho!

Eventho I was very full and satisfied with the flavor, the full stomach, and the nutritional benefits - I wasn't 'as' hyper as I was with the other one I previously reviewed...which was probably ok considering just how MUCH energy I did have that day!  But I am NOT saying it didn't provide me with a good deal of energy, still, because it did!  My mind was very focused on my tasks at hand and I was able to flow thru them at an altered rate.  I was determined to get my tasks done and well!  This helped get me thru the day as I was unable to break for lunch!

I enjoyed the "dark chocolate" comparison in this one - when needed - I think I like the overall flavor for 'everyday' consumption of the Almond Raisin just a tad more.  Next up in the near future is the Banana one!

In other news...

It's Raw Wednesday...and I don't have a picture of the Fruit Smoothie I made this morning but here is what I did...Strawberry, Mango, a little Pineapple, and Chia Seeds.  They were all frozen.  At least it's better than nothing, eh? 

As I have mentioned before - several times I have a few different Ninja Systems.  I have the Large stand-alone as well as the system and accessories. 

Since I can't spend $300 or more on the Vitamix - I really think this is the next best thing for the money!  It IS a high-speed blender and the blades go almost all the way up the middle. 

I noticed, too, that you don't need to add as much liquid as you do with other blenders,,,to keep it moving, that is.

Overall I would certainly say I am a Ninja Fan!  Maybe someday when I win the "lotto" I will get a Vitamix! LOL  Seriously, tho, I got a great deal on these - I ended up getting BOTH the large one AND the system and accessories for a total of about $60.  I bought the large one first and then bought the system afterwards.  I like having multiple blenders to choose from - and I have a space just for them in my kitchen.

 And now for some World Food!  I made some Algerian Carrots!  Here is what I did:
1 Pound of Carrots
3 T Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tea Cinnamon
1/2 tea Cumin
3 Cloves Garlic
1/2 tea Thyme Leaves
1 tea Lemon Juice
I loved the way this smelled but might tweak it a bit for next time.  I think I would use less Lemon Juice and Cinnamon and more Garlic!

This next dish isn't Algerian but it's Tunisian!
Tunisian Style Greens and Beans!

2 T Grapeseed Oil (I used Basil Pesto Flavored)
1 Onion
3+ Cloves Garlic
1 tea Coriander
1/4 Crushed Chili Flakes
2 C Chopped Spinach
2 C White Navy Beans (I was out of Chickpeas)
1 C Diced Tomatoes & Liquid
1/2 C Cooking Liquid from Beans and/or Water

This made a HUGE batch!  I will be eating it for DAYS, I am sure!  This is somewhat gently spiced.  I tend to enjoy foods that are REALLY flavorful...this was a bit more bland than I expected but it was still tasty!  Can't go wrong with more Garlic! You know how I LOVE it!

I do have a few other things to blog about but I will hold off until tomorrow!  Have you ever had foods from Algeria or Tunisia?  If so...what?