Green smoothie love and recipe fail!

Who says kids won't drink green smoothies? My kids love them. They get the best "green" moustaches as you can see. My 7 year old daughter asked me, "How come you don't get a moustache?" Hee hee. Then she proceeded to tell me they were fun! Apparently, I'm just not doing it right. :-)


I've recently started back to school full time which has been super challenging when trying to cook scratch, gf/df healthy meals for 7. I've started relying on my old favorite Vegetarian Times. VT is pretty reliable with their recipes. I saw a magazine on the stand at the HFS that they put out called Quick & Healthy 30-minute Meals. I bought it because that is exactly what I need right now. The first recipe I tried out of it was called Southwestern Salad with Avocado-Lime Dressing. The picture in the magazine is pretty because it did not have the dressing on it! I am sad to say that this is one of the very few recipes from VT that I have tried that was AWFUL. I did switch out the sour cream with a pine nut sour cream substitute to make it vegan. However, the dressing was just kind of gross. I ate it, but I think that is mainly because I felt guilty wasting so much food. The kids wouldn't even eat it. I am very disappointed, but given VT's excellent track record, I will definitely try more recipes out of the magazine.

New green smoothie

I tend to stick to the same old same old when it comes to green smoothies just switching it up very little. I saw a recipe for a very different smoothie on another food blog, and I thought I'd try it. It has a pear, a banana, a bunch of parsley, blueberries, and water. I decided to put in a couple of dates because I like my smoothies sweet. I was very curious to see what it would taste like, and I was pleased! The parsley adds a sort of minty taste to the smoothie. I will definitely keep the dates in it though. It added just enough sweetness. I did take a picture of mine, and hopefully I'll get it up on the blog soon. For now, here's the original recipe with a picture! Enjoy.

(okay - picture is added! It's not the greatest picture in the world due to the lighting, but it was a yummy smoothie. For the record, I got tired or waiting on the hubs and just figured it out myself. I am woman - hear me roar! LOL.)

more questions...

Yep - still waiting on the hubs, so.......

what's your favorite spice or spice blend?
coriander

you have $20 to spend on fresh groceries and produce for the whole week (with a fairly well stocked pantry of dry goods, legumes, grains, and spices).
spinach, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes

what's your favorite way to make tofu?
Marinate it in mirin, Bragg, and sesame oil then bake it and serve it with a raw satay sauce

vegan guilty pleasure?
Tofutti

were you always interested in cooking, or did veg*nism change the way you saw and interacted with food?
I started cooking in the kitchen with my mom at a very young age and have always been interested in cooking

excluding analogues, what new things have you tried that you probably wouldn't have as an omni?
Can't think of a thing. I'm pretty adventurous.

what is the one vegan staple that everyone seems to love, but you can't get behind?
Daiya "cheese" - yuck.

what question about being veg*n do you HATE answering?
Where do you get your protein? Ugh.

are your pets vegan? if so, what do you feed them?
No. I feed the cats Kumpi cat food supplemented with locally grown, chemical free meat. I feed the dog Kumpi dog food supplemented with the same thing as the cats as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.

what’s one “veg*n myth” you’d like to squash?
That the diet is boring. I can't tell you how many times I've told people about something I've eaten, and they have NO IDEA what it even is. My diet is quite interesting and varied. I eat a much greater variety of food than any omni that I know.

Questions

So, my hubby was going to help me get recent pictures off my phone (long story - phone issues) tonight, so that I could finally update my blog, but he got all grouchy about it. *grump* I guess that'll have to wait until tomorrow! So, I swiped this from Veganza for fun!

1. Favourite non-dairy milk?
Homemade cashew milk is the best.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Well, the TOP 3 changes all the time, but the upcoming 3 are: 1) avocado wasabi salad, 2) pressure cooker Ethiopian stew (although I have no pressure cooker, so I'll have to improvise! I've been looking for a reason to make injera again though.), 3) Cuban-style black beans from Vegan Planet.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Nutritional yeast for sure

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
A gazpacho that was WAY too green peppery. I was 17 or 18 and learning to experiment in the kitchen and try new recipes. God bless my parents who ate everything I made EXCEPT the gazpacho. It was pretty bad.

5. Favourite pickled item?
Cucumbers. Boring - I know, but still yummy!

6. How do you organise your recipes?
The recipes I have on cards go in a file under the general categories.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
Compost! We built our own awesome, huge compost pile. We just emptied one side two weeks ago and puts lots of lovely compost in our garden!

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
1) tofu, 2) peanut butter, 3) tomatoes

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Mom's homemade beans with cornbread. Yum.

10. Favourite vegan ice cream?
The best is vanilla Tofutti - hands down. Not the healthiest - but still the most delish.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
My Blend-Tec blender. Although my cast iron skillets come in a close second.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
Fresh basil. The smell is intoxicating and the taste is out of this world!

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
The New Farm Cookbook - it has masking tape holding it together!

14. Favourite flavour of jam/jelly?
Blackberry

15. Favourite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
Thai peanut pasta

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
I can't eat seitan (and please don't call it say-TAN - it just sounds stupid, really stupid.) because it's gluten. Tempeh (and no, it's not tem-PAY) is good, but it takes a lot of prep for it to be good, so it's labor intensive! Tofu is just yummy and versatile.

17. Favourite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
One favorite meal? Gosh.... I like making oat balls or oat sausage balls.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
Bento stuff and the snack box.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
Blueberries, orange juice, kale burgers

20. What’s on your grocery list?
hummus - yes, I know I should make my own, but I don't often.

21. Favourite grocery store?
Well, I love Whole Foods because it just has so many cool things, and I love all the fruits/veggies. I also love Costco because I can buy organic fruits/veggies in bulk! What can I say? I have five kids.

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.
I'd love to make a vegan (or at least dairy free) version of cottage cheese loaf - although since the main ingredient is cottage cheese, I don't know that it is possible!

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Yikes! Lately I haven't been checking the blogs because I've been so busy. I love Vegan Dad, Vegan Yum Yum, and The Spunky Coconut though.

24. Favourite vegan candy/chocolate?
I don't know the name of it, but Vitamin Cottage sells these coconut bars covered in dark chocolate that are supper yummy!

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
A bottle of Acai juice. It felt extravagant.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
Scared? Ha! I laugh in the face of.... uh, unusual ingredients. I just bought some fufu flour to try. That's one of my favorite things about cooking, to grab something unusual just to give it a try!