Welcome Baby Boy!

 I promise I'll post more recipes soon, but I've been pretty busy...making a perfect human ;) And moving to a new country.  I'm Canadian for now, eh! Back to baby - Ellington Michael was born on July 12th at a healthy 8 lbs 11oz.  And he's growing like a weed! Already the size of a 3 month old!

Carrot Raisin Muffins

Ok so I'm on a bit of a muffin kick.  And as I make them, I'm storing half of them in my freezer like the world is ending...nesting maybe? These are everything you want a muffin to be.  Sweet, moist and scrumptious.  They also happen to have lots of fiber and even a vegetable!  I love when I get my veggies from anything other than salad.  Stayed tuned for more muffin recipes!

Blueberry Bliss Muffins

Since I've been preggers (2 weeks to go BTW!), I've been loving the basics.  There's nothing quite like a good ol' fashioned blueberry muffin - especially when it's guilt-free and health-full.  These moist and fluffy little guys are packed with antioxidants, fiber and omega-3's.  And since I used a combination of oil and apple sauce to lower the fat, you have no excuse not to try them!

Eggless Tofu Salad

This was inspired by Kris Carr's recipe in Crazy Sexy Diet.  If you don't already have this book, RUN - don't walk - to get it. It's basically my bible.  This is such a perfect dish for a party, for lunch, to snack on with some corn chips, or a summer picnic!  If you want to double the recipe, it will keep in your fridge for 4-5 days....but it probably won't last that long :)

Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie Shake

 This was born from me wanting a chocolate milkshake, but still wanting to feed my "vetus" (what Chloé Jo calls a vegan fetus) a healthy snack.  I have one of these before bed about 4 nights a week and when I have one, I only wake up 3 times instead of 12!  Extremely high in antioxidants, protein, and yuminess, this is a winner.

Eating Vancouver: Grilled Cheese Truck!

 We were shivering our way through the streets of Vancouver, when we got an incredible whiff of toasted bread, tomato soup, and cheese.  We kept walking because let's face it - that'd be too good to be true.  Then we remembered Vancouver is the birth place of Daiya cheese (oh yes!) and turned back to check it out.  Ding ding ding! Not only does Mom's Grilled Cheese Truck have Daiya, they have Gluten Free bread too! And although it's 75 cents extra, they give you TWO sandwiches because the slices are so small - which ends up being more food than the other breads! Score!  When I ordered, they asked if I wanted my grilled cheese cooked in a separate pan, and she even changed her gloves when working with my food.  Seriously awesome service.  The sandwiches come served in these fun retro-style cones with a pile of potato chips at the bottom! No weird GF texture, and zero sacrifice on the taste.  Hands down the best grilled cheese I've ever had.  The tomato soup is also vegan (if you get it without the cheese they dribble on top), and it was closer to marinara sauce than tomato soup - which was ideal for dipping and totally rocked my world. 

Tomato "marinara" goodness

I'm so happy I found this gem toward the beginning of my trip and I will soon be a regular here.  Visit momsgrilledcheesetruck.com for location and hours.  If you're in Vancouver - this is a MUST.

So fun!

Coming Soon...

The hubby and I are in Vancouver - he for business, I for the food.  Rawsagna from an underground Raw/Vegan/Organic restaurant? Yes, please! A Chinese restaurant that's entirely vegan? Ok! Gluten free chocolate donuts?  All day long, baby.

Stay tuned for "Eating Vancouver"

Cheezy Kale Chips from Heaven

 

I thought the love I have for my husband was a deep as it gets.  And then - totally and completely out of the blue mind you - he decides to whip these up.  Now I can honestly say that I know what true love is. Michael, I am honored and humbled to dub you Iron Chef of Kale Chips.  Congratulations, hunny bun.

Not only are these crispy, cheezy and salty in the most wonderful way, they are healthy too!  I don't want to say that too loud because I really don't want you to get the wrong idea here.  But they are!  Like super hero healthy! Good luck keeping these around longer than a day.  Sheesh.

Gluten Free Raspberry Fig Cookie Bars

This recipe was inspired by and all but stolen from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's theppk.com.  But since I'm doing my best to avoid wheat and gluten, I wanted to provide a GF version of this brilliant baking accomplishment.  I highly suggest taking a stroll through The PPK- it's an incredible resource of recipes and ideas.  Just remember who sent you there and come back to say hi every now and then.

This is one of those recipes that makes me chuckle when someone says, "you're vegan and gluten free? What do you eat? Don't you feel deprived?!"  Yes, so deprived.  Doesn't that photo just spell deprivation? These cookie bars have the perfect amount of fruit to allow you to justify to yourself why you ate all of them in one sitting.  But just the perfect amount of gooey figgy center, and sweet melt-in-your-mouth golden fluffy crust to let in the perfect amount of guilt.  Come one, we all know how good it feels to be bad.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

  Happy New Year!  It sure has been a long time since my last original post, and my goodness do I miss you!  I haven't posted new recipes because for the past 3 months I've been really tired.  And sick.  And couldn't stand the smell of food.  And hated all of my favorite foods.  And had weird cravings.  Catching my drift yet?  I'm gonna be a mama! Let's just say the first trimester made me a much stronger person, and now I feel ready to conquer the world! Or at least some super delicious recipes!

This first recipe comes from my friend Kristen, who I now consider a gluten free baking goddess.  She also gave a great tip.  If a gluten free baking recipe ever calls for baking soda, she omits that and just adds baking powder - it won't rise with baking soda...who knew?! Kristen, we owe you our lives for this recipe. 

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

It's been a while! I have not forgotten about my little blog, my life has just been busy busy! I'm going to cheat this week and re-post a couple great recipes for Thanksgiving!!!  No table should be without the famous BROCCOLI CHEESE!!! *As is, this is not Gluten Free, but with a few simple substitutions, it easily could be! BONUS: If you're thinking about making a Green Bean Casserole, you can use the Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe below!

Thai Teak Restaurant

Michael's Pineapple Fried Rice with Tofu...incredible!

 On our way home from running errands today, we found the cutest little restaurant in Santa Monica called Thai Teak.  They also do massages and sell orchids, but we just stopped in for the food - which was OUTSTANDING!  For $20 we got 2 entrees and an appetizer the size of an entree.  It was fresh, insanely delicious, and very filling - we both had leftovers! The kitchen was super clean and the man who served us our meal was so sweet.  It's the perfect little place for a quick lunch or dinner or maybe even a date :) The tables are bar-style by the windows, but it was still quite cozy.  I would give this place a perfect 10! 

I had chow mein tofu! YUUMM!!!! 

So if you're in or near Santa Monica, I'd definitely give this place a try!! It's located at:

2400 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Lentil Bowl

 This is very similar in taste to the Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole, but it's made with quinoa and cooks in a pot instead of in the oven..and in half the time.  It's the perfect dish for a stormy summer night.  Easy to make and easy on your budget, this is definitely a new staple!

Pizza Bellos

 While drooling my way through the prepared foods section at Whole Foods, I spotted these little guys.  Although I was tempted to buy them, I knew I could make them in 15 minutes for a fraction of the cost - so I responsibly made my way over to the produce section.  I'm big on texture, so I think I was more excited for cute mini pizzas than actually biting into a portobello crust, but.... once again I was pleasantly surprised.  They were so scrumptious and completely satisfying.  Now you can have pizza every night!! Much better than that English toast concoction my mom used to always make - sorry ma...

*if you don't use the veggie sausage they're gluten free
 

Strawberry-Watermelon Granita

Photo Credit Thomas J. Story*

 I love everything about this.  The name is delicious, the dish is beautiful, and it cools you from head to toe the second it hits your tongue.  I had a giNORMOUS watermelon that I knew we'd never finish, so I went to watermelon.org for inspiration - these people are passionate about watermelons!  I put my own spin on their watermelon granita to cut out the sugar and add a little extra somethin somethin.  The slushy flakes of granita are so light and cold and flavorful, it's the perfect dessert for a hot summer day.