Fabulous Vegan Recipes

Pea protein is the new ingredient that is added to protein powder and smoothies, I'm just realizing. Am I late to the game? I feel like I always overlook peas as being boring or something I used to be made to eat as a kid but they are actually pretty awesome. I bought frozen peas yesterday at Whole Foods so I could make a smoothie today and I wasn't disappointed. To make the sweetest smoothie with bananas, make sure you use super ripe, speckled bananas, as ripe as you can possibly buy. The riper the banana, the sweeter the ice cream.

Ice cream is a summer essential, it's a part of my diet almost everyday and since I'm vegan, I don't have to worry about filling my body with crappy dairy and insulin spiking sugar. I make mostly banana nice cream but I also made coconut milk gelato a few times and loved it; it's a decadent treat so when consuming dairy free treats on a regular basis, I would stick to mostly banana ice cream. No hate for coconut at all but it's high in fat so maybe consume in moderation? I don't know I'm not you so do whatever you wish, whatever is best for you body :)

This long Memorial Day weekend has been just lovely, spending time with friends and eating good vegan food. It's super hot in the city so running was a challenge today but I did it and followed it with an awesome strength workout. So while I savor this long weekend and reflect on just how lucky I am and how beautiful this life is, I want to share a few more things I'm loving lately!! Oh and be on the lookout for my next recipe, cauliflower mac and cheese. Oh yeah!

This smoothie was pretty freakin ridiculously delish. It was loaded with PB&J flavor and was just a dream to eat. The story behind this smoothie centers around having made way too much strawberry chia jam and not knowing what to do with it besides freeze it. I wanted to make peanut butter and jelly cups and I messed up bad so I turned the mess into a smoothie. My smoothie base is always super ripe bananas and lately my bananas have almost turned to mush because they are so ripe. Very ripe bananas give you an amazing smoothie/ice cream base. So, don't be afraid to buy ripe bananas or wait for them to ripen and freeze them. NEVER throw out a bruised/black banana, are you kidding??? Ice cream central!

I woke up the other day wanting to eat raw; I think I do this when I overindulge or have too much sugar. This cheesecake is an ode to nice cream, the ice cream I make from frozen bananas. The crust is a mix of fruit and nuts and is sweet and filling. This is such an awesome, lower in fat cheesecake you can whip up in case you have a crazy insane sweet tooth like me and don't want to snack on crap or high calorie sweets like baked goods. The cheese in it is simply the nice cream, no nuts, so it's totally cool, refreshing and chocolatey delish.

I'm writing this post now at 1pm on Saturday partly because I'm procrastinating when it comes to doing my long run today (6 miles) and partly because it's the weekend, I have no pressing engagements this afternoon and I can actually take the time to write this! I woke up later today because I went to bed super late but I was productive as soon as I opened my eyes. I donated three big bags of clothes and one big bag of shoes to the farmers market reusable clothing collection. I donated clothes, towels and shoes. It feels great to unload everything and to clean up my apartment. I live in a tiny apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan but damn, I have a lot of shit! Also at the farmers market, I dropped off my compost and bought organic spinach and come organic carrots. Do you collect your food scraps for compost? You should!

This was my recovery meal today. Killer. It hit the spot. I was tired, sore and very hungry. But before I get there, let me give you a little training update. I'm a very nervous runner and need major work on my self confidence. When I train for a run, I worry about it alot and constantly scrutinize my training runs, how they are going, how I'm feeling, what time I wake up, what time I go to bed, how much water I'm drinking or not drinking etc. I wish training could be a little more relaxed but, believe it or not, I am having fun!

I just came back to the city after being home for a week visiting my family and friends in the burbs and I feel rejuvenated! I spent time with my little niece, drove around the burbs, hung out with my friends and enjoyed central air conditioning! The first thing I did when I got back to the city was hit the farmers market in Union Square to get a ton of veggies and fruit so I could start up my fully raw rest of the summer. I've always wanted to go fully raw for a few reasons: the health benefits, the weather and having a ton of in season fruit available to me, weight loss and to see how my body would feel eating completely raw, fresh foods. It's day 1 of being completely raw and I feel great.

I have another guest blogger today, on this wonderful Meatless Monday, a fellow veggie consumer and alum of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Kelly Anne Monahan!  She recently published an ebook that focuses on healthy recipes and clean eating.  Kelly talks about her story, what led her down the path of health and nutrition and she gives some information about her book.  I'm so happy to post her story! After her post, I included a chocolate shake recipe for you, fat free, sugar free, made with whole ingredients.  Enjoy!

I am having a wonderful Thanksgiving break at home here in the Philly burbs.  I spent awesome time with family and friends thus far and I still have two days here.  Wednesday afternoon we had some snow in the area and I was afraid I wouldn't get home until late or there would be so many delays that I would be so frazzled once I got home but my bus ride was quick and painless.  I got into Philly late Wednesday and then went right to my mom's for Thanksgiving breakfast Thursday morning so I didn't have time to make any dishes for Thanksgiving dinner.  As disappointed as I was, I will be making up for it at Christmas time!  Raw pumpkin pie and cupcakes here I come!

We are all probably doing some cooking or baking in one form or another this holiday season and, while things can be hectic, you can carve out cooking time to be relaxing time.  Cooking can be so enjoyable and refreshing, it can be a form of meditation.  I challenge you to make your time in the kitchen something to look forward to, an escape from the challenges of everyday life.  Here are a few ways to make cooking relaxing and meditative:

My most favorite breakfast this week by far is nana ice cream. I've been making it all week and just loving how versatile it is. I went to Trader Joe's last night and miraculously, I got out within the hour. If you're in NYC, you know that there is no such thing as a quick trip to Trader Joe's. But last night I was in and out and I got raspberries, dates, potatoes, and of course bananas.

I had such a fabulous weekend with my best friend from home! She stayed all weekend and we walked all around the city, eating vegan food and enjoying the sights. We've known each other since freshman year in college...so long ago haha and I always have so much fun with her.

Pumpkin + nana ice cream = awesomeness! Trader Joe's has canned pumpkin again!!  And I bought some more cinnamon and vanilla :)  Here is a quick Friday post with this fabulous recipe for your weekend.

Last night, I slept fabulously after not really sleeping that great all week.  I can't blame my interrupted sleep on the weather because this weather is just so insanely awesome!  I haven't used my AC execept for a few days this summer and right now it's breezy and super comfortable.  And I'm teaching yoga in exactly 2 hours!!!  But yes, last night I slept pretty good and I woke up, checked Instagram and saw the yummiest nana ice cream recipe I'd ever seen.

I can't wait for fall. I know we had a very hard winter and everyone is super psyched for warm weather but there is just something comforting about fall..like coming home. The smell of cinnamon, pumpkin pie, warm, spicy smelling candles, chilly nights around a fire pit, loved ones surrounding you...it's a magical time of year. This will be my first fall in NYC and I can't wait to watch the fist leaves change. My street is tree-lined and gorgeous, the East River is seconds from my door and I'm looking forward to watching the fall appear. So, I sprinkled into this smoothie a little taste of fall. I'm still doing raw til 4 and it's going great. I'm also doing well with my 30 days of yoga challenge, haven't missed a day yet! I just finished an excellent flow fundamentals class and I feel my teaching skills are getting better just by watching other teachers, going through the asanas and thinking about what I want my first class to look like.

What beautiful weather!!  NYC is gorgeous on days like this, low humidity, breezy, sunny, sort of like fall.  My window overlooks my awesome tree lined street and it's so hard not to go out on the fire escape and just hang haha (I take my food pictures on the fire escape all the time).

So, you're pretty much 100% vegan but you can't ditch the cheese and the ice cream and the milk. You need milk for your oatmeal and you crave ice cream at night and you love a cheese pizza.  The above picture is nana nice cream, dairy free but completely satisfies a dairy craving.  Take it from a former cheese fanatic, you can kick dairy, it may just take some time and some inner motivation.

I love my soaked oats or chia seed pudding for breakfast. Breakfast needs to include non dairy milk and oats/chia seeds. I just love starting my day out with that combo. Actually, I love breakfast whatever it is....I've lately enjoyed sprouted grain toast with peanut butter and fruit. This week I also had toast with homemade hummus and 1/2 of an avocado. This post is a gallery of some of my fav breakfast recipes! The first oat recipe is a past recipe in honor of throwback Thursday.

My ice cream posts continue.  I just can't believe how easy it is to make ice cream with just one ingredient.  I'll never go back to buying ice cream again.  This time I made chocolate ice cream because I wanted something sweet after dinner and I was in the mood for chocolate.  I had four ripe bananas on my table that needed to be used asap.  Aside from freezing the bananas for a while, this recipe takes less than five minutes.  Great for kids!!  Here is the recipe: