So I was going to double down yesterday, but alas ended up doing so today to make up for Fridays skip…
So I just made some homemade almond milk. Mmmmm and srsly- so easy!
The only downfall is that since almond milk is so readily available and it’s not a huge cost savings to make on your own, there may not appear to be much motivation to do so-but the homemade stuff is soooo creamy and delicious and since it happens to be easy and not require a lot I have a feeling we will be making our own often in the future.

Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk

Grocery List
1 lb raw almonds (costs roughly $3.99)
4.5 C water
Flour Sack
if you like it sweetened like we do
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 swirls agave

Soak your almonds over night or 8-12 hrs-drain

Put in blender with water (if doing a full pound I’d recommend doing in two batches to make a bit easier).

Blend on high or liquify for about 20 seconds.

Put a strainer over a bowl (this photo from after my first blending batch)

Top with a flour sack and pour blender contents. You’ll hear the liquid start to drain through. The strainer isn’t a fully necessary step just gives your contents something to sit on…

Pick up the flour sack and squeeze all the milk out. This takes roughly 30 seconds to a minute…not long.

If sweetening-add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 3 swirls the size of the bowl of agave (or just play around with it to taste) stir up or quickly reblend. Pour into container and it’ll last about 2 wks in the fridge.

I cheated and tasted mine with some frozen girl scout thin mints ;)

Then as a bonus- take the left-over almond meal from the flour sack and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake for an hr at 350–it’ll start to clump up, drizzle with agave and eat with almond milk as a cereal or add to your favorite granola. I’m also going to look into a face/body scrub DIY – if I find a good one. I’ll post that too ;)

ahhhh, sweet savasana….

i easily hung out at the “gas station” for a good 20 minutes tonight + after re-fueling i had enough energy to whip up a vegan mac + cheese! i ended up taking pieces of recipes from here + there. (oh she glows + cooks dot com have extended versions.) we don’t have any cashews in the house so i decided to omit those + mix up a few of the ingredients. it ended up being easier than easy + tasted cheezier than cheesy! we loved it + plan on making it time + time again…with variations here + there, of course. ;)

MAC-NO CHEESE (V) (GF if you want it to be)

2 cups of cubed butternut squash
pot of H2O
salt + pepper
1 tablespoon of miso
1 tablespoon of tahini
1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 cup of the “squash water”
1.5 cups of pasta (whatever kind you ♥…we went brown rice shells)
another pot of H2O
breadcrumbs for your crust/topping.
you could certainly omit the breadcrumbs if you’re GF or anti-bread—i’m trying to get Frankie on my dairy-free side so we went for whole wheat breadcrumbs this time. :)

1. fill your pot with your squash + cover with water. bring water to boil + then simmer for 15-20 mins until the squash is nice + soft. (you can also steam or bake it!)
2. once cooked through, drain + place in blender with miso, tahini, salt, pepper, paprika, nutritional yeast, and “squash water” …which is just a cup of water from the pot that the squash boiled in (vegetable broth would work here as well).
3. boil water + pasta while you preheat the oven to 350.
4. blend all of your ingredients until it looks like Kraft Mac. :D
5. mix with pasta + transfer to glass dish. top with breadcrumbs of choice or go naked! it really is yummmmy all by its lonesome.
6. bake at 350 for 15-20 mins. if you want your crust to be extra crispy, mix your breadcrumbs with some Earth Balance in your blender and use that as the topping….not as healthy, but you’ll get a few more vegan-questioners on your side.
7. take out when it looks delish + top with salt + pepper.

this was so easy—and yummy even without the cashews! totally tasted “cheesy” + really hit the spot. ill add peas or broccoli next time! tonight we had asparagus + greens on the side. kids will absolutely love this dish!! ♥

All organic veggie lentil soup! Super easy & nutritious! Fresh ingredients are always better… But canned/frozen always works too.

- mixed lentils (2 cans worth)
- pinto beans (1 can)
- corn (1/2 can)
- zucchini/squash (1 green, 1 yellow)
- carrots (1-2 stalks)
- kale & mustard greens (1 1/2 cup chopped total)
- garlic cloves smashed (3 cloves)
- veggie broth (2 cups)
- diced tomatoes (1 can)
- dash of cumin
- pepper flakes (add more to ur desired spice level)
- dash of black pepper & sea salt
- dash of garlic powder

Combine all ingredients except for greens and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 10 min & add kale/mustard greens. Simmer for 5 min… And voila! Ready to eat solo or with some whole wheat bread to dip. Top with some shredded cheese if you prefer :)

Easy Sunday night dinner:

Peanut noodles with tofu and vegetables!!

8 oz. linguini
16 oz. frozen stir fry veggies
1/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Tofu, pan fried or baked
Chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
1. In a 4-qt Dutch oven cook linguini, adding veggies during the last 2 minutes, drain
2. For peanut sauce, in a small saucepan combine sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, water, oil, garlic, & crushed red pepper; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. In large bowl, combine linguini w veggies, peanut sauce, and cooked tofu, toss to coat :) if desired garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro. This is the best peanut sauce recipe I’ve ever used!! Yumm.

Day 6 was a breeze! I started with a smoothie, refueled with an avocado wrap, and came home to a homemade, vegan, whole wheat, veggie pizza!

The new-to-me part was the whole wheat, homemade pizza dough! I made it earlier this week and had it to ready to go when we got home from snowboarding last night…alert, ALERT….vegan pizza is total comfort food. :)

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH (V)

3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 T dry active yeast
1 t agave (or honey or sugar…)
1 T olive oil
1 T sea or Himalayan salt
+ seasonings if you like/have em (basil, oregano, etc.)

1. In a large bowl, dissolve agave (honey or sugar) in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour until dough starts to come together. Take the dough out of the bowl and transfer to a flat surface floured with the remaining flour (ie: the counter). Knead until all of the flour (and your seasonings) has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. When the dough is doubled feel free to divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight little dough ball and allow to rise for additional 45 minutes, or until doubled.
4. I bake my dough on a pizza stone, but a cookie sheet works great. Just make sure you corn meal your stone or olive oil your pan.
5. First, I put my dough in the oven for 5 minutes at 500 degrees and then lower it to 425 and add my sauce, spinach, daiya (cheez), and extra veggies. I then put the topped pizza back in at the lower temp for an additional 8-10 minutes. This ensures that my dough is nice + crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and my veggies are nice + happy.

This recipe makes 2 thin-crust pizzas….but is also great for breadsticks, calzones, stromboli’s, whatever your little Italian heart desires! Enjoy!!!

Tonight’s dinner: hummus and homemade pita chips and beet and quinoa tabouli!

Keegan roasted the whole head of garlic in tin foil in the oven for the hummus, which I’ve never done before and it was delicious! It gave the hummus more of a nutty flavor and took away a little of the bite, I would recommend trying it if you have the time. He also seasoned and baked his own pita chips! Now for the tabouli. You need:
1 cup quinoa
2 c water or veggie broth (I used broth)
Sea salt
1 large beet
1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes
1/4 c red onion, finely chopped
3oz. feta cheese (optional)
Pepper
Juice of one lime or lemon
6 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
1. Cook the beet. The recipe said to cook it whole, peel and dice later (I assume so you don’t cook all the nutrients away, but I missed that part and peeled and chopped mine and then cooked it; it certainly cooked faster, and it was still delicious.
2. Cook quinoa in veggie broth or water, fluff, remove from heat and toss in beet - it gives it a beautiful pink color!
3. Add the cherry tomatoes (halved), feta (crumbled) and red onion (diced)
4. Prepare a vinaigrette by combining the juice from the lemon or lime, sea salt, pepper, parsley and mint - dress the salad and top with toasted pine nuts! This salad was so delicious!!! Highly recommended. :)

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers:
2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato (about 2 c)
2 tbsp tahini
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp Cajun seasoning (or another fav spice)
1/4 c. Wheat flour
Plentiful panko crumbs
Oil for pan (I used sunflower)
1. Bake sweet potato, peel, place in large mixing bowl
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl, mash beans and potato together
3. Mash in seasoning and flour - season to taste. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist, but you should be able to form a patty, add more flour if needed
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan at high heat
5. Form a patty and coat in panko crumbs - give them a good thick coating. Drop patty in pan and cook until browned on both sides (you could also bake)
6. Transfer cooked patties to a paper towel, cool a few minutes
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings! I used avocado and lettuce.
Note: this patty does kind of fall apart as you eat it, but that’s okay because it’s so yummy! Keegan said “This is the best veggie burger I’ve ever had!” :) and that’s a side of my first ever kale chips on the plate too! This has been my fav recipe of the 30 days so far!

So meant to make this two days ago, but got around to it tonight and it was good. I think because I didn’t rinse my noodles inbetween boiling and tossing, it gave them a semi-starchy texture/taste…but :) we all 3 ate it up.

Ginger Zucchini Pasta

Grocery List:
rice noodles (i used a white rice noodle – spaghetti style)
1/2 block firm tofu, drained and cubed into bite-sized pieces
2TBS coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 zucchinis, halved and sliced thinly
1 tsp minced garlic
shoyu to taste
4 tsp ginger [i use ginger people]
sesame oil to taste

Cook pasta, according to directions.
Meanwhile in a cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, saute onions until soft in coconut oil. Once soft, add zucchini w/ a pinch of salt and garlic, saute 2 more minutes. Dash w/ shoyu to taste. Toss w/ pasta, ginger juice, sesame oil and serve!

[i forgot to get a photo of ours, but here’s rwd’s portion] ;) he gave me the ‘mmmmmmmmmm’and ate it all up!

So last night I hosted mama’s night – a monthly: venting, let’s eat good food, drink wine, let our babes play, and ask all the weird questions about our children or our own bodies that aren’t socially acceptable to bring up over coffee necessarily ;) group of some of my friends who are mamas of bebes ranging from currently preggo to just over 2 yrs old…. So knowing that a lot of them feeding 2, breastfeeding, or just constantly worn out – I wasn’t comfortable going full on vegan dinner ~ so I went with dessert. mmmm, my favorite. This one is super easy and tasty and I could make earlier in the day while rwd took his nap.

Apricot Coins

1C carob chips
1/8C maple syrup
40 dried turkish apricots
40 raw almonds

In a double broiler (or I used a glass bowl on top of a pot) heat carob chips + maple syrup until heated through. Cover and turn off heat for 5-10 mins allowing chips to fully melt. Meanwhile, using the bottom of a cup, flatten apricots to 1/4″ thick. Spread melted carob/syrup mix on top of apricots + press raw almond in the center. Voila. Couldn’t be quicker or simpler. Allow to harden (either at room temp if you’ve got the time, or chilled if you’re in more of a rush). The protein and vitamin E in the almonds is an added bonus to this delicious and not too sweet treat. Enjoy!