​Are you a fan of peanut butter and jelly? Then this is the smoothie combination for you! It has the right amount peanut flavor to blueberry, and entirely reminiscent of that favorite childhood sandwich! 

If the truth is to be told, I don't like PB&J sandwiches that much! I loved them as a kid, but I think I ate too many of them and had PB&J burnout. I enjoy peanut butter toast in the morning, but I usually add sliced bananas or fresh fruit on top of it. Plus I LOVE adding peanut butter and jelly to waffles or pancakes. 

My husband got me hooked on this smoothie combination. He likes to add cocoa powder to his to make it taste like a chocolate covered peanut butter truffle with blueberries. I like that combination as well, but I love the simplicity of this recipe. 

This recipe only takes a few minutes to prep and blend, and only has a few ingredients. 

All the smiling ingredients (it is happy food!) in the blender and blend it up! 

There are countless ways to make a vegan cheese sauce. You can use vegetables, nuts, or commercially available vegan cheese shreds to create a creamy and delicious sauce. I love experimenting with different base ingredients; in fact, roasted butternut squash is still one of my favorite base ingredients for a cheese sauce, but has been my go-to recipe for a quick weeknight sauce. 

The best part of the recipe is that the blender does most of the work, and it only requires a few ingredients - soaked cashews, veggie stock and water, onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, mustard, lemon juice salt & pepper, and tapioca flour.  

Plus it can be changed up to create different flavors! Try adding a little bit of taco seasoning and salsa to create a nacho cheese dip or even to top your nachos. 

These are base ingredients to be added to a blender. Once blended, it is as simple as adding it to a saucepan, whisking in the tapioca flour, and letting it heat and thicken. 

I then poured it over cooked gluten-free pasta, and added steamed broccoli for mac n trees! ​

February was full of many delicious meals, and most were extremely simple to make! I know these are not actual recipes, but these are ideas for you to use in your meal planning.
​Plus I will be developing some of these recipes and adding to the site soon! All of these meals happen to be gluten-free too!

Sautéed Beyond Meat Sausage, with roasted Brussel sprouts, grilled & baked butternut squash steaks, lightly dressed arugula, with a walnut dijon cream sauce. The sauce recipe to come soon!  

I love a good black bean burger! I made the patties by breaking down the beans and spices in the food processor and then adding a flax egg and a little gluten-free flour. The patties were thin, so they became a little crispy on the outside. I need to work on the texture just a little bit, but these were nearly perfect!

There is a plus side to working from home - not having to commute. There is a downside to working from home - always being 20 feet away from the kitchen. Don't get me wrong; I love being in the kitchen as it is my playground. But, I learned that I eat when I am bored or become emotional or stressed. That said, I love to keep food around that I enjoy and is fun to make (yes, I consider using my food processor fun!), and that make easy meals or snacks - Like this homemade hummus on rice & quinoa crackers with cucumbers and a sprinkle of Everything but the Bagel seasoning.

I will always be a Texas girl at heart. This BBQ tofu with homemade BBQ sauce, gluten-free mac no cheese, roasted sprouts, and creamy avocado made me feel right at home. I have been testing out refined sugar-free sauce, and have almost figured out the perfect combo! 
Not to mention, I have finally perfected my cheese sauce! Stay tuned, that recipe will be posted next week! 

I made this meal after a hectic day and didn't have much energy to spend in the kitchen. But, because I batch cook, I was able to mixed leftover cooked brown rice with leftover roasted butternut squash, roasted Brussel sprouts, baby arugula, and leftover cheesy style tofu. I also added some Country Fried Tofu that I picked up at my local Whole Foods Market. Then topped it all with a simple tahini dressing and slivered almonds.  

Again, leftovers play a role in this dish. The tofu scramble was made with leftover roasted Brussel sprouts (yes, we eat a lot of sprouts in this house) and zucchini. I also roasted breakfast potatoes and steamed kale with a cashew creme sauce. It is the perfect way to start any day! 

There are many bowls consumed in this house. However, this is one of my favorites (if not my favorite). This bowl features tri-color quinoa, roasted Brussel sprouts (I told you!), roasted delicata squash (my absolute favorite squash!!), roasted red peppers, and then topped with a simple tahini dressing and toasted pumpkin seeds. 

I hope these dishes inspired you to get in the kitchen and start creating deliciousness! 
As I mentioned, stay tuned for a cheese sauce recipe that will be posted next week! 

I love these easy dessert bites! I make them about once a month for me and Steve to have in the evenings, or to take to parties or potlucks. They are easy to make and are a great snack when I am craving something sweet.

I have made them using different nuts, but I recently started using a nut mixture and found they taste like brownie bites! I have been using a combination of raw walnuts, raw pecans, and a few toasted hazelnuts. I don't mind if the hazelnuts are raw, but I love the deep flavor of a toasted hazelnut...I mean, this could almost be like everyone's chocolate hazelnut spread, just vegan! 

There are only a few ingredients, and most people have everything they need already in the pantry! 

It is as simple as chopping up the nuts in a food processor - ​

Adding the rest of the ingredients and processing until everything is broken down and combined together -

And then portioning them out into individual pieces. You might also be able to press everything into a small cake pan and then cut them into squares, but I have tried that yet! Maybe I will try that next time and add a simple frosting! 

That is one of the best things about this dessert. It can be customized to fit your favorite flavor combos or play around with the shape and toppings!  I hope you enjoy them, or find a favorite flavor combo for you. I would love to hear if you changed it up a little bit! 

I love, love the Instant Pot and use it at least once or twice a week to make some type of beans. Lately, I have been cooking either black beans or pinto beans and then turning them into “refried” beans. I use the quotes, because they do not contain any oil and haven’t been fried, but they are smooth and creamy like refried beans. I haven’t decided which type of bean I like better, but I am leaning towards black beans. My husband prefers the pinto beans.

Chickpea salad is one of the easiest meals that I make, and it is packed with protein. ​I didn't eat much seafood before transitioning to a vegan, except for the occasional tuna salad sandwich. My mom always made the best tuna salad, but I found it was pretty simple to make it vegan just by switching the tuna for chickpeas and the mayo to vegan mayo. If I am in a rush, I will use canned chickpeas, but prefer to make them on my own because I can control how long they cook and the texture.

For this chickpea salad, I used:
1 15oz can of drained and rinsed chickpeas
3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
​1 tbsp pickle juice
3 tbsp diced dill pickles (I used sliced dills)
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 - 1 tsp onion powder (You can also use diced onions)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mash the chickpeas using a potato masher. If you don't want any whole or partially intact chickpeas, you can use a fork to mash  (you can also pulse them in a food processor to break them up). Once the chickpeas are mashed to the preferred consistency, add the vegan mayo, pickle juice, chopped pickles, dried dill, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir to combine and taste for seasoning. Then season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can spread the chickpea salad on your favorite toasted bread, crackers, or lettuce cups.

Note - You can add a pinch or two of dulse flakes to give it the sea flavor. Dulse flakes are dried sea vegetables and can provide a greater depth of flavor to almost any recipe! ​

Did you know It is estimated that over 120 billion fish are caught or farmed and then killed for food each year? The majority of tuna is caught by using huge nets that are dropped into the ocean and then pulled up like a laundry bag. This is cruel, not only to the tuna, but to the sea life that is near the tuna when the nets are pulled up. Thousands of dolphins, fish, and other sea life are killed in this process. However, they are never used for food and their lives are wasted. Just some food for thought.

It is never to early start thinking about your Thanksgiving and holiday menus. I am so happy to be able to share this recipe by Maria Koutsogiannis's, founder of FoodbyMaria, new cookbook, Mindful Vegan Meals. 

This recipe drew me to this book instantly! The depth of flavors and the heartiness of this dish is magical! It is perfect for your Thanksgiving or just any night of the week! 

​See below for the full recipe!