Berry Good Carrot Juice Recipe

This juice is sweet and hearty...and only 3 ingredients!

It amazes us how the flavor of the strawberries really take front stage in this recipe.

Yum!

Berry Good Carrot Juice Recipe

1 lb. of strawberries, tops removed

5 lbs. of carrots, tops removed

2 red apples

Wash all and feed through your juicer!

Chi Chi Chickenless Salad

I LOVE this recipe! It is super simple and surprisingly hearty. I saw the idea for this in a book put out by PETA. The book was geared towards college aged vegans with little time and few resources.
I tweaked it a bit to suit my tastes and added a special ingredient that I use to add to real chicken salad…way back when I ate that.

This recipe is VERY loose…no real measurements. I make it to ‘feel”.

Chi Chi Chickenless Salad

1 can of Garbanzo Beans (AKA: Chi Chi beans, Chick Peas, etc…) rinsed and drained
1 or 2 small handfuls of celery, finely chopped
1 – 2 small red apples, finely chopped
Lemon Juice
Veganaise to taste/texture preference
Sea salt and pepper to taste

With a fork, slightly mash the Garbanzo beans in a medium sized bowl. Add the Veganaise, a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Sprinkle some lemon juice and then toss in celery and apples. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.

That’s it! So easy.

I like to just eat it with a fork but you could stuff a pita with it too…

Enjoy!

Helen's Kitchen - Garden Steaks ...mmmm

HANDS DOWN…our new favorite veggie burgers!

Awesome texture - no more mushy, crumbly mess

Great flavor – delish on its own "as-is" or can be transformed by any other ingredients

Versatile – leave it whole on a bun, cut into strips for a stir fry or chop into cubes for a shish-kabob

Ideal any time of day – it can taste like a breakfast sandwich, afternoon grilled burger or hearty dinner entrée

You can find these winners in the frozen foods isle.

Click Here to go to the Helen's Kitchen Website

Enjoy!

Super Simple Creamy Vegan Pesto

I was craving something creamy and fresh last night and I whipped up this vegan version of a creamy pesto sauce. It was yummy and super simple! Let me know what you think...

Super Simple Creamy Vegan Pesto

A large bunch of fresh basil, washed
2 cloves of garlic
About 6 tablespoons of walnuts
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons of vegan parmesan “cheese”

Process the first 5 ingredients in a food processor until creamy. Add the last 3 ingredients and continue processing until blended. Serve as a sauce over warm pasta, as a dip for veggies (especially tomatoes!) or as a spread for sandwiches or crackers.

Vegan Spinach Dip - Recipe

At Last!

I have always loved creamy, gooey, rich spinach dip.

We used to make it for parties and it was always such a treat.

After giving up most dairy, I just sort of forgot about it but today I decided to create a vegan version of our beloved dip. I was inspired by some vegan recipe books I have been reading to expand our food repertoire. They all have some type of creamy spinach dip...sometimes with stuff added like artichoke hearts.

Some are cold...some are hot.

Below is what we did...just try it and see if you can tell that there is no dairy or eggs!

Simple and Safe Vegan Spinach Dip

1 box or bag of frozen spinach, thawed, with the water squeezed out

1 container of vegan sour cream (12 oz.)

1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise (you can add a little more if you want it creamier)

1 can drained and chopped water chestnuts

1 package of dried vegetable mix

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl making sure to break up the clumps of squeezed spinach.

Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or so (if you can wait to dive in) to bring out the flavors.

We have used this as a dip with veggies and chips or you can use it to stuff tomatoes or olives.

Serve it in a pretty bowl, a martini glass or a scooped out loaf of bread.

Creative Vegetable Party Display - Tip

This is a variation on a simple way to serve veggies and dip for your next party.

I use a large oval, glass baking dish as my base container. This time I lined the bottom of the baking dish with a coordinating, colorful napkin. You could also leave the dish exposed and fill it with streamers, holiday ornaments, glitter, tissue paper...the options are endless.

Then I find glasses in a variety of heights and widths. I have bought a few individual glasses at the dollar store to supplement what I already have.

I like to cut the veggies long and ragged and have them be sort of organic in shape as opposed to symmetrical.

You can fill tall glasses with long carrots, celery and even bread sticks. Medium glasses are great for bell peppers sliced lengthwise and strips of jicama. Short glasses work well for shorter cut veggies and olives. Specialty glasses like Martini and Margarita are perfect for dips, sliced cucumbers and marinated items.

I think it makes a pretty presentation and I like how little of the landscape the whole collection takes up. When entertaining, sometimes space can be tight.

Pasta Sauce Fix Up - Tip

I recently made some pasta for my family and did a little alteration to the store bought red sauce.

My son doesn’t like chunks of tomato in his sauce so I decided to blend it to make it smooth.

While I was at it, I thought it was a good opportunity to add some nutrition.

I peeled and rough cut a couple of raw zucchinis and threw them in the blender too. I added some fresh garlic and some more fresh herbs. Once blended it was smooth and creamy and pretty pinkish-red color.

It almost looked like a Vodka Sauce.

Because he is really open to eating healthy foods (if they taste good) I told him about my additions. He thought it was so cool because he didn’t taste the zucchini but still got all of the nutritional benefits.

He isn’t a fan of zucchini on it’s own, so this was a great way to get him to eat…

and most importantly, enjoy it!