Fig Bars

With a dash of magical maca, these bars will make you and your taste buds oh-so-happy!  Great for an early-afternoon pick me up snackeroo!  Or a guilt free, healthy, easy and low-cost dessert!

Sweet Apple Slaw

 Michael and I whipped this up for lunch today.  I'm not the biggest coleslaw fan, but this was awesome!!!  Because the sauce is cashew based, and it's packed with veggies, fruit, nuts, and dates, we ate it as a main course.  Add some brown rice or quinoa to get your grains in there too.  Why kohlrabi? We've been getting it in our CSA box and had no clue what to do with it.  Can't find kohlrabi? Use cabbage or broccoli stems instead.  What's so great about kohlrabi?  It has a lovely mild flavor that beautifully complements the apples and is a remarkable source of vitamin C among other vitamins and nutrients!

Chia Goodness

I'll be posting more meal recipes soon, but for now, here's a fun snack that we just discovered: Ruth's Chia Goodness (click here or on the pic to check out their website).  It's a combo of chia, buckwheat, and hemp seeds.  It's quick, satisfying, delicious, and super-hero healthy.  Michael eats it before ultimate frisbee and says he's never felt better or had more energy on the field.  Because I consider snacking a hobby of mine, I'm continuously on a quest for delicious, healthy, and satisfying treats.  The price seems a little hefty at first ($6.99 at WF), but it's so filling that you only need 2 Tbsp per serving so there's actually 10 servings in that little bag! 

I get the original because I prefer to sweeten it myself.  I add almond milk, cinnamon and agave to create a sweet pudding-like breakfast or treat! Michael likes to add a little nutmeg too.  YUMMERS!

Rice Snax - Yes Please!

These are so delish and super addictive.  I could easily eat 3 boxes in one sitting.  They come in four varieties- my favorite is the garlic and onion! If you can't find them in your grocery store, either ask if they'll start carrying them, or order online! You can buy in bulk! Go to the Edward and Sons Website here!
I should be getting paid for this...

Enjoy with some Edamame Hummus for a reallllly yummy snacky snack.

Me and Kris

 A couple days ago, Michael and I went to see Kris Carr at a book signing in Sherman Oaks.  We got there a little late (argh), but were still able to hear her speak for 30 minutes.  She  was so peaceful and knowledgeable and funny, you can't help but be drawn to her.  It was great fun!

Pad Thai

Another new favorite!  This is also from cooking class we took at Cru.  Not gonna lie, I wasn't too excited to try kelp noodles - they just didn't seem that appealing to me.  Once again, I was wrong - they're delish!  This is hands down the easiest meal I've ever made.  Even if you make your almond butter from scratch, it'll only take you about 15 minutes - you could make it for lunch!  I apologize for the less than scrumptious picture - for some reason this dish is very camera shy.

Cabinet Makeover

 One of the first things I did when I began the cleanse, was cleanse my cabinet.  As you can see it was awful - embarrassing, really.  I could never find anything, and half of the stuff would go bad because I'd forget it was there.  Or I'd buy what I already had, or I'd forget what grain was in the bags!  Stressful.  Mason jars are a very cheap solution.  They're about $1.19 each at the craft store so you can go crazy.  Not to mention they're adorable!  They're air tight so no buggies will get in, they don't contain any icky or harmful chemicals that plastic containers have, and you can clearly see what they contain.  I also use them for my green juice.  Ready for the after?

Tostadas

 There's going to be a slight change here at Greenbeane (formally known as WarmSocks).  I am now 100% gluten free and 60-80% raw.  As a result, my recipes will reflect my new diet.  But don't be scared! They just keep getting better and better!  I maintain my promise not to post anything less than scrumptious.

Starting with these Cabbage Shell Tostadas!!!  Michael and I went to a cooking class at our favorite restaurant in Silverlake called Cru.  This place ROCKS.  If you're in the LA area, I HIGHLY recommend a trip there.  If you're not, I still HIGHLY recommend a trip there.  Here's what they have to say:


Inspired vegan and raw cuisine in the heart of silverlake, renowned for it’s creative use of the freshest organic produce and entirely gluten-free menu.
Chef Rachel Carr crafts exquisite vegan offerings from a huge variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grains. Artfully weaving Italian, Japanese, Tunisian, Thai and Indian flavors into a fresh interpretation of life enhancing gourmet food, including desserts that even the most health conscious individual can indulge in guiltlessly.

We went to the class yesterday morning, and made this recipe last night - we shoulda doubled it.  It's the perfect mix of savory and slightly sweet and will blow your mind away with how much it tastes like tacos! It's 100% raw (no cooking = super easy and fast!) and fits right in with the 21-day cleanse...did ya start yet??

 

Crazy Sexy Kris

 Kris Carr is one of my heroes!  She's the #1 Wellness Warrior (in my book) and a super cool gal.  Ok, I don't know her personally, but after reading her book, I feel like she's part of the family.  I saw her documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer, a couple years ago and I've been a huge fan ever since.  She recently came out with a book, Crazy Sexy Diet (now a New York Times Bestseller!!) and I'm hooked.  I've read a bunch of books on plant based diet that were super informative and entertaining, but this takes the cake!  She's so funny (I was laughing out loud) and the book is so fascinating and easy to understand that you'll be eager and excited to make significant lifestyle changes.  At the end of the book there's a 21-day cleanse.  I am currently on day 14 and it has already transformed my life.  I wanted to get a head start before I blogged about it so I could share some of my journey before you got started.  Oh yeah, you're doing this cleanse.  It will change your life.  I promise.  I now place you in Kris' healthy hands.  But when you see her website and blog, please promise to come back to mine every now and then, k?

Visit CrazySexyLife.com and let the fun begin!!!

Edamame Hummus!

This recipe is courtesy of my cousin Elise - an amazing chef!  She made this for a cousin home-video viewing party.  It was great fun and I ate this hummus non-stop the entire time I was there (and I'm eating it right now).  This is a super healthy and super delicious snack!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup With Curried Cashew Crème

New Years resolution #1: Venture outside of your comfort zone.  A couple facts about me: I'm not a fan of soup and I've never really cared about cauliflower.  Therefore, I generally stay away from both.  So what better opportunity to put my new year's resolution into action than to try Robin Robertson's Cauliflower Soup recipe in this months issue of VegNews.  I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised!  This soup is so flavorful, hearty and creamy, it feels like you're coating your insides with spoonfuls of velvet.  It sounds fancy and will take about an hour to make, but the steps are cake and most of that time is spent waiting around while the oven and pots do the work for you.  You could even double it and freeze the rest for a bonus meal a couple weeks down the road.

It's a Jolly Holi-dog!

My sister found this on youtube and I thought it was so cute!!

Broccoli Cheese! Broccoli Cheese!

Broccoli Cheese was the highlight of my holiday dinners.  The responsibility (and high honor) of making it would alternate between us and the McDevitt cousins.  One year when it was our turn, our beloved dog, Goober, enjoyed the entire casserole to herself while we stopped at McDonald's on the way to the family gathering.  It was an utter tragedy, and so was losing the broccoli cheese.  This tasty concoction consisted of a block of velveeta cheese, a can of cream of mushroom soup, frozen broccoli and spinach and fried onions (the canned kind).  When I became vegan, I mourned one dish only - Broccoli Cheese.  How could I replicate coagulated cream of mushroom soup? And a mysterious block of orange goop with such questionable edibility??  Impossible!  Well not anymore.  We've done it!  With real ingredients that will make your heart skip- not stop.  This year I had the pleasure of having non-vegans over for Thanksgiving.  They were self-proclaimed cheese fanatics who couldn't believe their taste buds.  "This isn't cheese?! Really?!?."  Really.  So now, I have the great honor of presenting one of my most proud moments in vegan cooking history.  I give you...the Broccoli Cheese.  

Rich Man's Toasted Walnut Pesto Pasta

...you'll be rich from all money you didn't spend on the pine nuts and Cuisinart.  Traditionally, a pesto is made in a cuisinart with a lot of olive oil, pine nuts, basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.  I wanted to simplify the recipe and see if it tasted just as good without the cuisinart, loads of oil and parm cheese.   It was awesome! I think this will become a staple because of how easy and delicious and healthy it is!  Yay for new staples!

Clean and Green

 I know I'm behind the times a bit on this, but I'm finally putting to rest the harmful chemicals that I've grown so fond of cleaning with.  No more bleach, lysol, scrubbing bubbles, windex, pine sol or....I can't believe I'm about to say this....cleanser.  I have five animals - three cats and two dogs - so I've been reluctant to switch to green cleaning products because I relied on the overwhelming swimming pool scent to cover the unwanted scents - and I thought green products just wouldn't cut it.  This past Wednesday, however, I became a believer.  If Michael hadn't stopped me, I would've wiped down every single wall in my house.  I found joy in the household activity I typically loathe with a passion.  When I bought it, I thought it was a splurge because of how expensive it was.  But it's ultra concentrated and you only use 1⁄4 cup per gallon.  My eyes weren't burning, my hands didn't feel like I had just dipped them in acid, and I didn't bleach my favorite pair of sweatpants.  My house smelled like the crisp clean log cabin in the snowy hills of Vermont I wish I had.  And of all the concoctions I've developed to get rid of animal smell, this worked the best!  I used a 1⁄4 cup of Meyer's clean day, a couple splashes of vinegar (a natural disinfectant) and a 1⁄4 cup of natural pet enzyme cleaner.  Voila!