Wish List: Food Items

I know, this is supposed to be another yummy recipe for you all to try and enjoy. But honestly, for the past couple of weeks I haven't made anything remotely interesting. Just a lot of salad, pasta, couscous, crock pot stuff and smoothies. Things that I love but have already shared.

Even though I haven't made anything new it hasn't come from a lack of want, it comes from a lack of time. There are TONS of ingredients and recipes that I really want to try. 

My husband and I were gifted 3 vegan cookbooks this Christmas. So I feel like I have all the tools, yet things still don't get made.

It's been about 3 months since we started the vegan challenge and it's time to get a little more adventurous.

This week I have a list of things I've been thinking about trying. Hopefully, in the coming weeks (and months), I can scratch some of this stuff off the list!

So here goes:

• "Live" Brownies -- I just subscribed to an interesting youtuber who has been vegan for more than 12 years. In 2011 she took a live (or raw) food challenge and it completely intrigued me. While I will NOT be joining her in this endeavor, there are some recipes I'd like to try. Here's the video that inspired me to read up on it if you're interested.

• Kale -- I've heard it's similar to collard greens but have never used it. I'd also like to make kale chips.
• Raw cocoa powder -- This is one of the ingredients needed to make the "live"(or raw) brownies.
• Almond milk -- I want to try to make my own. I don't have a food processor though so this recipe will have to wait until I get one.
• Vegan cheese sauce -- This is another recipe for the food processor. I have a blender, which only really works for mixing liquids and smoothies and such.
• Dressings -- My vegan cookbook has TONS of different recipes for dressings. We always use the same one in our salads (olive oil and vinegar). So I want to branch out and experiment with some new flavors.
• Brown rice flour -- A tasty sounding vegan gravy is used with this flour. Apparently, it lumps a lot less than whole wheat flour making it a breeze to use. I'm sure it has other uses as well.
• Tofu mayonnaise -- I don't even care for mayo but my husband does so I'd try it for his sake.
• Polenta -- There are so many things you can make with this stuff, including pizza, which I miss!
• Desserts -- We need more of these! 

I know these ingredients are haphazardly thrown together but they were the things that caught my eyes as I skimmed my cookbook. I'm hoping this list will push me to get it together! So stay tuned for more recipes.

Things I'm Loving (October Edition)

Here we are again with odds and ends that I've used over and over again and love in October. I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post. But go check it out if you haven't already! 

OK, let's get started.

Weekly Recipe: Smoothies

So this is going to be the quickest, easiest, recipe ever. Smoothies are so versatile so I'm just putting the ingredients down for what I've been sipping on lately. 

Honestly, I haven't felt like cooking. At night I just have some veggies in the form of a salad or stir fry with a protein (usually beans) and then a smoothie. I Get my fruit intake plus they're GOOD!

Smoothie Recipe #1:

1 cup nonfat, vanilla flavored Greek yogurt

1/2 cup (or less) orange juice

Strawberries

Blueberries

Smoothie Recipe #2: 

1 cup nonfat, unsweetened, plain yogurt

Splash orange juice

Strawberries 

Blueberries

(Also good with a tablespoon cashew or almond butter)

Smoothie Recipe #3:

1 cup nonfat milk

Strawberries

Blueberries

Mango

I'd like to try adding cottage cheese at some point too. Of course I will try more fruit and ingredients but I want to use up what I have first before buying something else. The frozen fruit from Trader Joe's can seem expensive but I've had the bags for three weeks now and I have a smoothie every night (except on weekends). This weekend I'll pick up some other stuff. 

Tonight I'll see how I like it with a banana since Chema picked up some while I was at work. Smoothie #3 is my favorite. It's nice and thick and not too sweet. 

Some people say adding spinach is good because of the iron and the veggie serving. Haven't tried that yet but I'd like to. Bottom line: experiment! Smoothies are great anytime of the year!