Vegan Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 28 oz low sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tbsp basil
• 1/2 tbsp organic no salt seasoning (from costco)
• organic tomato paste (398 mLs from costco)
• 2 tbsp agave

Steps:

• In a large frying pan on medium-low heat, fry the carrots and onion in avocado oil for about 5 minutes.
• Add in the remainder of the ingredients.
• Lower the heat to low and let all the ingredients simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.
• I used quinoa macaroni for the spaghetti, but quinoa would work great! 

ENJOY!!!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Balls

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 4 tbsp organic coconut oil
• 2 tbsp honey or agave
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 tsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp raw cocoa

Steps: 

• Mix all ingredients together and let them blend together for about 10 minutes
• Roll into balls and freeze for at least 20 minutes

Notes: These are great and versatile! You can leave the cocoa powder out and exchange the chocolate chips for other things like dried blueberries, dates, and many other things! You can also use lemon extract or others in place of vanilla!

ENJOY!

Raw Vegan Pecan Pie Tarts

This is my favourite dessert EVER! Seriously, anything raw vegan is perfect for dessert. This recipe is adapted from Organic Olivia :)

Ingredients:

CRUST:

• 3/4 cup pecans
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 4 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup dates
• a dash of sea salt
• **Process the dates in a food processor. Once they have been processed add in all the other crust ingredients**
• **Press the dough crust you have made into an 8x8 pan and put in the freezer while you are making the filling**

PIE FILLING:

• 1 and a 1/4 cup medjool dates (these need to have soaked at room temperature for at least an hour)
• **Drain the dates but keep the date water for later**
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I found this is my local superstore, I never even knew it existed before! It's amazing!)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch sea salt
• 1/8 cup agave
• **add all these ingredients together in a food processor, including a splash of the date water to make it creamier**
• **spread it over the crust layer and let it chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. You can either store it in the freezer or fridge.**

ENJOY!!! :)

Avocado Quinoa

This recipe is super delicious and easy! The fam jam loves it and Gavin doesn't even like avocado all too much. So, if you already like avocado, then you will love this recipe!

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 avocado
• Garlic powder to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste if desired

Steps:

• Cook quinoa as you would typically.
• Once quinoa is cooked, add in mashed or blended avocado.
• Add in a dash of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix it all together and serve warm

Makes 4 servings

Per 1 serving

Calories: 208

Fat: 9.5 g 

Saturated Fat: 0

Cholesterol: 0

Carbs: 26.8 g

Protein: 4.8 g

Enjoy!

Turkey Chili

     Love this recipe. Super simple and the whole fam jam loves it too. The substitution of lean turkey meat in place of beef means that it has less fat, and is high in protein, iron, zinc, potassium, and the B vitamins. The meat is low G-I and can help keep insulin levels stable. This is perfect for a cooler day, especially if you are looking for something simple and healthy to make.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp avocado oil (or olive oil)
• 1 1/2 pounds learn ground turkey meat
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I omit this because spice makes my stomach ill)
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans (or soak your own, which is a better option)
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley 

Steps:

• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat.
• Add turkey, onion, bell pepper, and garlic.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until turkey is no longer pink.
• Add cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne, and stir for 1 minute.
• Stir in kidney beans and tomato sauce; bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.

Makes 4 serving, 1 1/2 cup each

Per serving:

Calories: 433

Fat: 16 g

Saturated Fat: 4 g

Cholesterol: 117 g

Sodium: 794 mg

Carbohydrate: 33 g

Fiber: 11 g

Sugar: 10 g

Protein: 43 g

This recipe is adapted from Body Beast. Enjoy!

Easter Baking

     Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Easter. This is my first Easter since I have taken junk food out of my diet.... so needless to say I definitely had to be creative when coming up with some treats! I found a few recipes on other blogs, and created one myself, and played with them a bit so they suited my dietary needs. Here are three sweet recipes that are perfect for anytime of the year. :)

Chocolate Cupcakes

     I have to say that this recipe could still use some playing around with.... but the icing is on point! The cupcake is really sticky and is hard to get off the cupcake cup. So, I suppose the alternative would be to just cook them in a pan without the cup, possibly in coconut oil. The icing recipe I used is from Elena's Pantry. First I tried to create one using vegan butter, that is not happening again. Ever again. So here it is!

Chocolate Cupcake

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (use here what you wish, I used cup-for-cup stevia, and used 1/2 cup)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
• 3 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin.
• Combine dry ingredients, then add wet and mix well.
• Add in cupcake cups and bake for about 20 minutes.
• This makes around 20, depending on size.

Coconut Cream Icing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup honey
• pinch sea salt
• 5 tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 1/4 cup coconut oil

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat coconut milk, agave, honey, and salt for 10 minutes.
• In a bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a paste.
• Pour arrowroot mixture into saucepan.
• Mix with hand blender, and bring to a bowl, briefly.
• Remove pot from heat and add in coconut oil.
• Place mixture in freezer for 35 minutes, or until it has formed a solid white substance.
• Remove from freezer and blend again.
• Spread over cupcakes.

Raw Vegan Coconut Balls

     I love these! These are from Organic Olivia, who pretty much makes my all time favorite recipes. Please check out her blog for the recipe, here!

Avocado and Lime Tarts

     I also found this recipe online! They are so good! The only difference is that I made them in muffin tins, so they are smaller than the originals. For the filling I also used 1 and a half of the recipe so I had more, but stuck to the regular base. Please check out the recipe, here! 

I hope that you guys will try these out! Enjoy!! :)