Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce

I love creamy sauces, but unfortunately most sauces that are creamy have dairy in them. I learned that cashews make the best tasting creamy sauces ever! It is so easy to make a delicious vegan cream sauce. All you need is a good blender like a Vitamix.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews soaked in water for a few hours
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp Maca powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast(optional)
1 package of whole wheat pasta of choice

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, add other ingredients to blender and blend on high until the sauce is of a creamy consistency.

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream

Another one of my favorite foods along with pizza and chocolate is ice cream! I thought I was going to have to give this up too, but I was wrong. This ice cream has a healthy ingredient that is similar to soft serve.
Ingredients:
2-3 sliced frozen bananas
A handful of frozen strawberries
Directions:
Process the frozen bananas and strawberries in a food processor(I use my Vitamix blender) until it is a creamy consistency.

That's it! Then scoop into bowls with an ice cream scoop.

You can make a variety of different flavors by adding other fruits, peanut butter, or cocoa powder. My personal favorite is Chunky Monkey. After processing the bananas, I just add walnuts and pieces of dark chocolate.

Vegan Pita Pizza

One of the first things I thought about when I decided to become a vegan was that I would not be able to give up my favorite food. Pizza! Well it turns out my vegan pizzas taste better than any non vegan pizza I have ever had.

Ingredients:

3 whole wheat pitas

Your favorite marinara or pizza sauce

2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced and marinated(recipe below)

A couple handfuls of spinach, kale, or arugula.

Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese(You can get this at a Whole Foods or an Earth Fare)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread a thin layer of sauce on top of the pitas. Then top with the marinated mushrooms, spinach, and Daiya cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until pitas are crispy. When they are done, put a little more marinara sauce on the top while they cool before cutting.

Recipe for the mushroom marinade:

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp of olive oil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1-2 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and let the mushrooms sit coated in the marinade for 10 minutes. Sometimes I grill them first, but you don't have to. They are still good!

Chocolate Oatmeal

Chocolate has to be one of my favorite vegan foods and I can even eat it for breakfast without guilt. I like to use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder in almost everything. My favorite breakfast to make in the morning before a long day of work is the chocolate oatmeal. It is full of protein and keeps me going all morning. I got the recipe off of my favorite healthy vegan dessert blog.

I noticed it is also good with a a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter. It gives it a creamier nuttier texture.

Kale Pesto Quinoa

Dinner tonight was perfectly simple and healthy. Kale is one of my favorite greens because it is the best superfood. I based my recipe off of a spinach pesto recipe I found online.

3 month Anniversary

It is our 3 month anniversary of being on the vegan diet and we are celebrating tonight with some cauliflower poppers and basmati rice with a peanut sauce. I got the peanut sauce recipe from a vegetarian food recipe from Google. My husband and I LOVE spicy food, so I put a whole tsp of chili powder in there. I also cut up some broccoli and roasted green peanuts to mix in with the rice.

To make the cauliflower poppers:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut up one head of cauliflower into florets.
3. Toss in a little olive oil or coconut oil.
4. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Cajun seasoning
5. Bake for about 20 minutes.