Summer Pesto sauce (DAIRY & PINENUT FREE)

1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Vegetable Paste

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice (juice from about 1 lemon)

1 cup basil leaves (or 1 ounce package)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

Directions: Blend ingredients together until smooth. If I am looking for a thicker sauce as a salad dressing I will add 1/2 cup of tofu or white beans. Keep in your fridge covered for up to 7 days.

Ways to use pesto: add to cold pasta noodles with fresh tomatoes. Put on pita bread with desired toppings and bake for pesto pizza. Add as sauce over stuffed peppers/potatoes. Us as a dip with home-baked fries/chips.

Wild Rice and Avocado Salad

My grandma made this Wild Rice and Avocado Salad for our wedding and it was an absolute hit. Out of all the amazing plant-based food at our wedding this dish just hit the spot like no other. It was nice because my grandma made the wild rice and mixed it up with the dressing the day before the wedding, the only thing that was left was to chop up the avocado and mix it into the salad. So flavorful for being so simple. A great thing to eat as a side, in a buddha bowl or stuffed inside a pepper or sweet potato!

We didn’t get an unclose shot of the wild rice salad but here is a portion of the food served at our wedding.

Summer Wild Rice Salad

4 SERVINGS - 10 MINUTE PREP - 45 MINUTE TOTAL

Ingredients:

✔️ 2/3 Cup wild rice (or 3 cups cooked)

✔️1 tsp dijon-mustard

✔️1 tsp salt

✔️1 tsp sugar

✔️3 Tbsp Balsamic or apple cider vinegar

✔️1/3 cup olive oil

✔️2 green onions, minced with tops

✔️2 ripe (soft/black) avocados (diced)

✔️1 Red bell pepper diced

✔️fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse the wild rice in a colander and shake off water before adding to a decent size pot. Add 3.5 cups of water and bring rice to a boil.

2. Once water and rice are boiling reduce to a rolling simmer, turn heat to a bit over medium heat. Allow to cook for 45 minutes. When done some of the rice should look a little curled open and the rice should be tender. Might need additional time based on oven/rice you have. While rice cooks prep the rest of your ingredients.

3. Mix up the sauce in a small cup or bowl: oil, vinegar, dijon, salt and pepper. Chop the bell pepper, green onions and avocado.

4. In large bowl, fold together cooled rice with the dressing, onions, peppers and avocado cubes.

5. Serve cooled or room temperature. Great to make the day before serving.

8 Tips for Healthier Traveling

When it comes to staying on track with healthy eating while traveling, a little planning goes a long way. Here are my 8 tips for healthier travel:

1. Make little instant oatmeal ziplock baggies with different flavor combinations. Add flax, dried fruit, spices, a handful of nuts and instant oats. All you need is hot water and your good to go! We use the hot water from the coffee pot hotel room. Ex. Cinnamon Raisin pecan, mocha, berries and walnuts, etc.

2. Buy pre-made microwaveable Quinoa and Bean packets. Having a healthy base to a meal makes it easy to find some fresh produce to add in like cucumbers, red peppers, and fresh greens in the airport, gas station or grocery store.

3. Pack Powdered Hummus. Found in the bulk section at health food store this is a great travel and backpacking option. Light weight and just needs water to rehydrate. You could use it inside a wrap or as a dressing in a Buddha Bowl. Or try packing single serve hummus or guacamole packs from gas stations.

4. Bulk roast sweet potatoes and/or other veggies. Healthy airport food is expensive and often small portions. If you do a little roasting before you leave you will have a great calorie base which is easy to add more veggies to. Sweet potatoes will do fine outside fridge for the day and can be put in a zip-lock bag to go through TSA.

5. Stock up on Mcdougall Soup cups that just need hot water. These soups are fairly healthy and can be made healthier by adding fresh produce when you get to your destination. Low in oil and salt just add hot water and you are covered!

6. Pick Ethnic Restaurants. Your company will be able to find something they like and it will be easy to find a delicious plant-based option. Think Asian, Mediterranean, Indian, Mexican, Sushi, Ethiopian and so on. If you are at an American style place order sides and make your own meal like baked potato, salad and sautéed vegetables.

7. Download the free HappyCow ap or go to happycow.com. There you can find what plant-based options are available in your area. They list fully plant-based spots as well as places that sell all food but have plant-based options.

8. Bake a pan of Black Bean Brownies or granola bars and keep them in your carry on. Black bean brownies are good because they are tasty yet protein rich and fill while not too sweet, minimalistbaker.com has a great recipe.

Summer Wild Rice Salad

A cold & flavorful salad for a hot summer’s day.

Even though wild rice is technically harvested from mid August to mid September I couldn’t help I got a craving for it a month early. This salad is fresh, filling, full of flavor and can be very flexible with ingredients based on what you have or what is popping off in your garden (cucumbers right now)! Make a double batch of this and add it to your wraps, nourishing bowls, stuffed peppers or sweet potatoes.

Summer Wild Rice Salad

4-5 SERVINGS - 10 MINUTE PREP - 45 MINUTE TOTAL

Ingredients:

✔️ 1 Cup wild rice (or 3-4 cups cooked)

Sauce:

✔️1 Tbsp miso paste

✔️2 tsp maple syrup

✔️3 Tbsp softened tahini (I recommend Walmart’s creamy squeezable kind pictured below or you could use olive oil instead)

✔️3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

✔️2/3 Mango orange juice (or regular orange juice)

✔️1/4 tsp granulated garlic

✔️fresh cracked black pepper and salt (taste before adding salt because miso is salty)

cold add ins:

✔️1 chopped roasted red pepper (more or less based on prefrence)

✔️2 green onions/scallions chopped

✔️2/3 cup dried cherries, cranberries or raisins

✔️1 diced cucumber

✔️Handful of chopped greens when serving (use curly kale if making ahead and looking to avoid soggy greens)

Directions:

1. Rinse the wild rice in a colander and shake off water before adding to a decent size pot. Add 4 cups of water and bring rice to a boil.

2. Once water and rice are boiling reduce to a rolling simmer, a bit over medium heat. Allow to cook for 45 minutes. When done some of the rice should look a little curled open and the rice should be tender. Might need additional time based on oven/rice you have. While rice cooks prep the rest of you ingredients.

3. Mix up the sauce. add a scoop of miso to the bowl, maple syrup and the vinegar. Mix together until miso has softened into a thick sauce. Add tahini, garlic powder and pepper. Stir in the juice. You want it pretty smooth but don’t stress over a few little chunks of miso if you see them.

4. Chop the rest of your add ins (raisins, green onions, peppers). Wait on adding greens until ready to eat or cooled down unless it is curly kale.

5. Drain off any liquid left in the wild rice and fluff with a fork. I prefer to let my rice cool down before mixing it together but this is not required. Mix together, taste test to see if salt is needed.

This tahini is the best kind I have ever found and surprisingly at Walmart. It is more creamy and easier to stir than others and not bitter like I have had from the jar.

Cashew Queso "Cheese" Sauce

Here is the perfect queso for a healthier spin on nachos, over a loaded baked potato or the sauce to jazz up a Mexican inspired nourishing bowl. This recipe has been a party favorite in our house for years. There are versions of this recipe that omit cashews if you are looking for a less calorie dense version, look up potato carrot queso to find something similar but I have found the cashew carrot version to be my favorite.

Cashew Queso “Cheese” sauce

4 SERVINGS - 5 MINUTE PREP - 15 MINUTE TOTAL

Ingredients:

✔️ 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews

✔️1 medium carrot, chopped

✔️1 Tbsp miso paste

✔️2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

✔️1.5 tsp of better than bouillon veggie paste

✔️1/4 Cup salsa

✔️1/2 to 2/3 Cup water (left over carrot water) Use more or less water depending on desired consistency and/or blender power

✔️Optional 1 tsp of Chili Paste (or cumin/chili powder/sriracha or jalapeño)

Directions:

1. Boil the chopped carrot and cashews in a small pot until very soft, around 10 minutes while you gather the rest of the ingredients into the blender pitcher. If you can, save the boiled carrot water for the cup of water needed for blending (if not no biggie, any water will do).

2. In a high speed blender (or immersion blender/food processor), add all ingredients to the blender pitcher and process together until very smooth. Stop and use a spatula to scrape down sides as needed. If blender is struggling a little more liquid will help, add 1-2 Tbsp at a time.

3. If you want it thicker heat in skillet for a few minutes. Serve with oven baked tortilla chips, regular chips, over a stuffed sweet potato/regular potato, or however queso sauce sounds good!

Marinated Lentil Sweet Potato Boats

Deliziosa marinato lenticchie, aka delicious marinated lentils 🇮🇹

This recipe (especially the lentils) feed our good gut bacteria which helps stabilize blood sugar, boosts immune system and aids in smooth running digestion. This is a great recipe to prep on Sunday to eat throughout the week on baked sweet potatoes, lettuce wraps, flour tortillas or as a protein/antioxidant/vitamin rich side.

Italian Marinated Lentils

4 SERVINGS - 10 MINUTE PREP - 20 MINUTE TOTAL

Ingredients:

✔️ 1 cup green lentils

✔️handful of sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrate in a bowl of water in the microwave or on the stove for 2 minutes)

✔️1/2 cucumber, diced (or whole)

✔️red pepper, diced

✔️4 green onions, chopped

Sauce:

✔️2 Tbsp tahini or olive oil

✔️2.5 tsp red wine vinegar

✔️1.5 Tbsp lemon juice (fresh)

✔️1 tsp maple syrup

✔️1 tsp Dijon mustard

✔️1/4-1/2 tsp salt/pepper

✔️1/2 tsp dried basil

✔️pinch of red pepper flakes

✔️super soft baked sweet potatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse sweet potatoes and add to baking sheet. Cook for 1 hour (best to have this done already) or until super soft. You can also microwave them for 5-6 minutes in a pinch, just fork some holes in them first before microwaving.

2. Rinse lentils and then add to a pot of water. Fill water 1 inch or so above lentils. You can save a step by adding the sun dried tomatoes in with the lentils to rehydrate them. Bring pot to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook until tender 18 min or so. Drain lentils once tender but not mushy. If your sun-dried tomatoes are whole you will want to chop them into bite size pieces before adding them into the mixture in the next step..

3. I like to chop my veggies and make my sauce while lentils cook. Add chopped veggies and lentils to a bowl. If you haven’t already rehydrate sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl of water in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then chop into bite size pieces and add to the bowl.

4. Whisk up the sauce, add to the bowl and mix well. Stuff inside the baked sweets when you are ready to eat otherwise keep lentils cover in your fridge for up to 5 days.

Creamy Cauliflower Spinach Alfredo

A recipe that is packed with nutrition but tastes and looks as if it is creamy and indulgent. This is a great meal for picky eaters or those looking to enjoy Alfredo without the cholesterol and saturated fat. Directions on how to freeze for later below recipe.

Creamy Cauliflower & Spinach Alfredo

6-8 SERVINGS - 10 MINUTE PREP - 20 MINUTE TOTAL

Alfredo sauce:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews

• 1 small head cauliflower (6 cups chopped)

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup of quartered canned artichoke hearts

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 handful of spinach (or other greens)

Pasta:

• 1 lb (16 oz) of dry whole wheat fusilli (or gluten free pasta, I used chickpea pasta in the video)

• *Optional sauteed mushrooms (saute in a side pan and mix in before serving)

Directions:

1. Chop cauliflower into small pieces. Place cauliflower in soup pot with 1/2 cup of cashews. Fill with enough water to just cover cauliflower and cashews. Place lid on and turn to high heat. Bring pot to a boil and allow cauliflower and cashews to cook for 10 minutes or until very soft.

2. Meanwhile get noodles cooking by following directions on the package. Set a timer to prevent over cooking. When done drain pasta and put back into the pot.

3. While the cauliflower and noodles cook, get out the blender and gather ingredients for the sauce.

4. To the blender add the water, 1/2 cup of artichokes, greens, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. Once the cauliflower/cashew pot has cooked for 10 minutes, drain them and add to the blender pitcher.

5. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of blender and tamping down ingredients as needed. (If blender is having a tough time blending add 2 Tbsp of water at time). I blended for about 3 minutes until smooth. Taste test and adjust as needed.

6. Pour cream sauce over cooked/drained noodles and stir together. Add in more chopped greens, sautéed mushrooms, chopped roasted red peppers, black olives, zucchini noodles or whatever else you would like.

7. Serve with a side salad and enjoy!

This pasta is best fresh but will keep for a few days covered in the fridge or frozen for 2-3 months when sealed well. Freeze sauce separate (remember to label and date), and cook fresh noodles the night you plan to thaw/reheat the sauce. When warming back up squeeze some lemon to brighten back up!

(Nutrition is based on 8 servings using chickpea penne pasta)

Calories per serving: 311 grams of protein: 20.7 grams of fiber: 11.6 vitamin C: 49.2 mg

Sweet and Smokey December Kale Salad

One recipe that combines some of the peak seasonal ingredients in December but can certainly be enjoyed all year long! This salad is great to make ahead because the kale doesn't get soggy when dressed the night before. In fact it is better when the acid in the vinaigrette has time to penetrate the kale.

Sweet and Smokey Kale Salad

4 SERVINGS - 15 MINUTE PREP - 25 MINUTE BAKING TIME

SMOKEY SWEET POTATOES:

• 2 Tbsp of reduced sodium soy sauce (or tamari if gf)

• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (by bbq sauce aisle)

• 2 Tbsp Maple syrup

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 1 pound of cubed sweet potatoes or squash- about 4 cups (the smaller and more evenly cut, the faster the cooking time will be)

SALAD DRESSING:

• 1 ripe avocado (1/2 cup)

• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

• 1 cutie or clementine

• 1.5 Tbsp pure maple syrup

• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper

SALAD:

• 1 bundle of curly kale chopped into bite size pieces

• Pomegranate seeds for topping

• Golden kiwi for topping

• 2 Tbsp flax meal for topping or pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup, olive oil, nutmeg, coriander, and cumin. Add the cubed sweet potatoes and mix together until all pieces are saturated with marinade.

3. Add dressed sweet potatoes to cookie sheet, drizzling any remaining marinade onto the sweet potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, toss sweet potatoes and bake for another 10 minutes until sweet potatoes are nice and soft with some caramelizing on the edges. Add more time as needed.

4. While sweet potatoes cook, add all ingredients for salad dressing in blender and process until smooth. Taste test and adjust as needed. Add chopped kale to a big bowl and drizzle dressing (as much or as little as your preference) on the greens. Use your hands to mix in the vinaigrette, squeeze/massage the kale, which will help break down some of the fiber, making it easier to eat. Taste test the greens and add more vinaigrette as needed.

5. Top with flax, golden kiwi, pomegranate and smokey sweet potatoes. Smokey sweet potatoes can be served hot or cooled down.

Calories per serving: 447 grams of protein: 8.7 grams of fiber: 14.7 % daily vitamin A: 710%