Recipes

I’m not a big protein shake girl, it’s never really been my thing. So when I got a sample of body logix’s chocolate vegan protein powder, I just stuck it in my drawer. Fast forward to these past few weeks where I’ve been training for a half marathon and it has been really interesting finding just the right kind of breakfast to get me going before my run. It can’t be too heavy or I won’t feel well and it can’t be too light or I won’t run as long as I need to, so a protein smoothie seemed like it just might be right! I jazzed this one up by adding flaxseed meal and even snuck in some kale, of course.

Mocha Protein Smoothie
1 serving size of chocolate vegan protein powder ( I used bodylogix and it tasted good. It’s also soy free, dairy free, non gmo and has no artificial flavors. They DID NOT pay me to say this! haha)
1 frozen banana (but a regular one will do)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup coffee
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 cup of kale ( or just two handfuls of kale)
4 ice cubes

Blend it all together and enjoy! You can also add dates to make it a little sweeter but I’m off the sugar right now so that’s why I didn’t.

It’s always a blast spending time in the kitchen with my bestie and team ludo teammate, Chef Jeff Kawakami. What a lot of people don’t know about Jeff from watching The Taste is that he’s a pretty killer healthy cook as well. Jeff makes some vegan dishes that are out of this world and has celebrity clients that require him to make really healthy food, really delicious on the daily. Naturally, I asked him to share with us, an easy, go-to snack that’s both delicious, healthy and ‘man-friendly’. This healthy, crispy cauliflower recipe is sure to be a guilt free crowd pleaser.

Crispy Cauliflower

1 cauliflower cut into florets
1 egg
1 egg white
1.5 tbsp of dijon mustard
hot sauce to taste
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Cut your cauliflower head into florets and place in a large bowl. Add eggs and lightly toss the cauliflower in them. Add you mustard, hot sauce , garlic powder, parmesan and bread crumbs and toss till cauliflower is covered in mixture. Salt and pepper to taste and then spread out the cauliflower on your baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, they are finished when the edges are light, golden brown and crispy.

                Currently, I’m training for the More/Fitness Magazine half-marathon in NYC as well as recipe testing for my upcoming Sweet + Skinny Summer Detox. I have been on a mission to find some delicious, protein packed foods that are light Senough to keep you slim but substantial enough to power you through a long sweat session. It’s safe to say almond butter has become my new best friend!
I scoop it into my smoothies, add it to my oatmeal and love having it on some sliced green apples before my morning run. It’s packed with protein and good for you fats that my body needs to keep up with all my training. Almond butter satiates me and gives me a great, clean energy for the day. You can count on it being all over the recipes for my new detox and upcoming blog posts.
To make things even more exciting, I decided to go out on a limb and make it at home with my new Samson Juice Extractor. I had seen in the manual that it was possible but hadn’t really thought to give it a go till recently when my almond butter habit had been getting a little expensive. To my surprise, making homemade almond butter was incredibly easy with my Samson and it came out so delicious that I had to share the recipe with you!

Sweet + Skinny Raw Homemade Almond Butter
If you’re using a Samson Juice Extractor like mine, simply switch to the mincing head from the juicing one. Turn it on and toss your almonds in the head at the top. (I’m sure this would be possible in a food processor if you don’t have a juicer as fancy as mine – definitely don’t try it on a regular juicer, you will break it!)

¾ cup of raw almonds
2 tsps of coconut oil
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 tsp of pumpkin spice

Put your almonds through and you should have a slightly dry ground almond paste. Mix in the rest of your ingredients and feel free to knead it with your hands like sugar cookie dough. It will be slightly drier than the stuff you buy in a jar, if you prefer it a little creamier feel free to add additional coconut oil to your liking. Macadamia nut oil also works well if you are not a fan of the coconut.

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For those of you who love being festive with your food as much as I do, here is a fun little smoothie you can whip up in the morning to show off some Irish pride! It’s also equally delicious, if you just need to satisfy a mint chocolate chip milkshake craving.. 😉

 

A Healthy Shamrock Shake (aka. my mint chocolate chip smoothie)

Simply blend 1 banana, 1/2 an avocado, 4 leaves of Romaine (or a handful of spinach), 1 cucumber (seeds out/skin off), 3/4 cup almond milk, a couple fresh mint leaves (if mint’s your thang – if not skip it!), a tbsp of cashew butter (any nut butter will do though!) and blend it all together! If you’re a mint chocolate chip fan – mix in some small vegan chocolate chips after it’s all blended. Enjoy your dessert for breakfast treat and skip all the green dye colored food during the day! 

 

Made this for myself right before I left on my trip to Cali and ended up packing it up to go with me for the airplane! Roasted veggies and rich, creamy noodles make for a hearty dish to nourish you in the crazy NY cold! Super simple and very hearty.

Creamy Tofu Noodles
1 bag of tofu shirataki noodles
3 tbsp of go veggie Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of chopped or powders garlic
1 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp olive oil

Rinse and drain noodles. Place olive oil in a sautée pan on the stove along with the noodles. Keep on low heat and watching, stirring to move around noodles while adding other ingredients to taste. Noodles will hear quickly, the whole process should take 5-10 mins max.

Glazed brussel sprouts and carrots
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 cup of chopped brussel sprouts
2 tbsp of olive oil (or coconut oil)
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder

In a large sauce pan on medium heat, add olive oil and vegetables. Stir constantly while adding balsamic, Dijon and spices to your taste. I like to cook them till the vegetables are hot and roasted.

We all have those mornings that are hard to wake up to. The morning after something in our life goes terribly wrong. Maybe it’s just a bad review at work, maybe it’s a break up, maybe it’s something as earth shattering as someone you love passing. Regardless of the degree, at the moment we usually don’t want to eat anything or we want to eat everything just to comfort ourselves. Both paths will leave us empty and feeling horrible. So this morning, when I was having one of those dreadful mornings you never want to wake up for, I decided to treat myself to something delicious and nourishing for my body, my brain and my heart. Chocolate covered strawberries are one of my favorite things in the world and so I decided to make myself a chocolate covered strawberry smoothie! Even though I have no appetite and it would have been super easy to skip breakfast all together, I know that right now my body needs me to take care of it. This smoothie was SUPER yummy and helped brighten my other wise gloomy day – I hope it can do the same for you- or just make your already awesome day even better! xo

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie
1 cup of chopped organic strawberries
1/4 cup vegan choc chips
1 tsp of almond butter
6oz container of plain coconut yogurt
1/2 cup of chocolate nut milk
2 pitted dates
5 ice cubes

Blend it all together and enjoy! 🙂

These little oat filled treats are great to have around the house if you’re a snacker in need of a healthier option. They are also jam packed with fiber so just one (or two) will keep you feeling satisfied till your next meal. I have to be honest, they are definitely more along the lines of a granola bar kinda deal than they a cookie. You’ve been warned! That said, they are still very delicious. I love having them as a breakfast on the go, I can just throw 2 or 3 in a little zip lock and eat them on my way in the morning.

Vegan Pumpkin Balls
3 cups gluten free oats
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I use this liberally)
1 tbsp flax seed meal
1 cup of crushed cashews
1/2 cup vegan (or regular if you wish) dark chocolate chips

Mix it all together and then make baby balls and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Put them in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes. You just want them to set a little bit, you don’t need them to “bake”. Let them cool and enjoy! Super easy snack and you can sub out the chocolate chips for raisins or craisins or add in dried cherries and really have some fun with it!

 

Nothing is better than a GOOD green smoothie to start your week off in the right direction or get you back on track mid week! I love this particular one when I really want to feel nourished and full. It has lots of good for you fats so you won’t start getting the ‘hungries’ around 11am. It’s also fulling enough to drink post work out if you’ve had a really intense sweat session. Totally inspired by Kris Carr’s one in Crazy, Sexy, Diet, a book that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to be more mindful of what they put in their body and take better care of their ‘god-pod’ (body) as she would call it! I hope you give it a whirl for breakfast one day this week, I know it might sound a little funky for a smoothie but you’ll have to take my word, it’s pretty yummy and it will start your day off right and set the stage for making healthy choices all day long!

Green Guru

4 leaves of Romaine
1/2 avocado
1 cucumber
1 banana
whooping tbsp of almond butter
1 cup of coconut milk

Blend it all together and enjoy!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and whether you are sharing it with your significant other or best friends, who doesn’t like to make a sweet little chocolately something?! These Vegan Chocolate “Caramel” Truffles will knock your socks off and more importantly, your guests socks off when they find out how healthy they actually are for them. Don’t be scared, they are super easy to make too!

Vegan Chocolate “Caramel” Truffles

13 oz container of dates (standard package)

1 bag of vegan chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)

2 tables spoons of almond butter

1 tbsp of coconut oil

Optional: unsweetened coconut flakes or crushed cashews for topping

In a food processor, combine all your dates with 2 tablespoons of almond butter. Pulse till the dates are becoming one with the almond butter and you see that caramel consistency. Take your faux caramel out of the processor, pack it in a nice little chunk and put it in the freezer for 5 minutes. I usually clean the food processor while it’s chilling and by the time I’m done, they’re ready! So go get them out, and start rolling little baby balls and placing them on a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper. Put them back in the freezer when you’re all done, so they will stay firm while we’re getting the chocolate ready!

For the chocolate, in a small saucepan add approx. half the bag and tbsp of coconut oil.  You can stir this constantly on a very low heat or I prefer to double boil it, which just means that I put a small soup pan of boiling water on the stove and THEN place my saucepan with chocolate on top of that. This helps the chocolate melt properly without burning as easily as it does on the stove. Either way, stir that chocolate till it’s almost completely melted and turn off the burner. Let the final little chunks melt themselves.

Now the fun part! Go get your frozen balls out of the freezer and stick toothpicks in them so that you can easily dip them in your chocolate. I used really pretty festive ones for V-Day, so I kept mine in but you can always toss these after the chocolate hardens so don’t be afraid to use a normal toothpick. Dip your faux caramels in the chocolate and if you’ve decided on a topping, nows the time to sprinkle it on or roll your chocolates in it after they’ve been dipped. This particular batch I used unsweetened coconut flakes but you can get as creative as you want with it!

Once they’re all dipped, place them back in the freezer for 10-20 minutes for the chocolate to harden and leave them either there or in the refrigerator till you’re ready to serve! These babies are best enjoyed firm and cold!

 

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this is a great little recipe for a quick, festive treat that won’t have you laboring over the stove! You can also modify it depending on whether you want it to be vegan or not. I’ll give you both options!

strawberries + cream tarts
6-8 strawberries
1 package of philo dough shells

1 container of tofu cream cheese (vegan version)
1 cup powder sugar (optional how much you use)
1 container of mascarpone (if your are not doing the vegan version)

3 tsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp of agave/stevia

First, defrost your little philo dough shells! These little babies are accidentally vegan most of the time but be sure to check the box because I’m sure there are all different brands. Just let them sit on a plate while you wash and slice your strawberries. Place your sliced strawberries in a bowl and add the balsamic and sweetener, mix it all up and let them sit. This will give them a sweet and  tangy taste and make them must more interesting to eat! Now, if you’re not going the vegan way, just pipe your mascarpone in to the little shells, the dollup should be about the size of a hershey’s kiss at most. For my lovely vegans, take your tofu cream cheese, put it in your mixer and slowly add the powdered sugar to taste. I said 1 cup but you really only need enough to turn the cream cheese taste into a slightly sweeter and more refined ‘cream’ taste! I use powdered sugar because no one wants their creamy filling to have little granules in it. Yuck!  Once all your baby shells are filled with cream filling, place three strawberry slices on top and you’re good to go!

Wasn’t that easy?! It’ll take you 15-20 mins TOPS – and the best part is that your guest will absolutely think they are the cutest, tastiest thing ever. Everybody wins!

 

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               Yes, Shehu was the chef from Team Marcus that ended up staying while I got sent home on The Taste a few weeks ago but us New Yorkers stick together and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to be in the bottom with. Shehu is a big sweetheart and it was such a pleasure cooking with him on the show and hanging out with him here in NYC. He was generous enough to share his absolutely delicious and VEGAN recipe for potato gnocchi with vegetables with me because he knew I’d just love it! Gnocchi is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods in this cold weather and I couldn’t think of a better thing to whip up this weekend to warm you up if you’re reading this from the east coast, like us! It’s also a great dinner party dish, simple to make and super impressive to guests! Give it a whirl, get creative and feel free to keep up with Shehu on facebook and instagram for more delicious food inspiration!

Sauté Potato Gnocchi with Vegetables and Tomato Sauce

1 med size Potato
2 cups AP Flour
1 sm Zucchini
1 sm Yellow Squash
1 sm Carrot
1 sm Onion
1 cup Broccoli Florets
1 cup Cauliflower Florets
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp Shehu Fitzgerald Spice Blend # 14 ( or your own favorite spices!)
Salt and Pepper

Place Potato in a pot and cover with water 1 tbsp salt and boil till just tender. Remove from water let cool for 2 mins then peel off skin. Place into a bowl and mash ( try best not to have any lumps ) season with salt and pepper and add flour litter at time and mix to make dough ( sorry I always do this by eye ). Knead and roll into 1/2″ rope and cut into 1″ pieces.

On the stove have a pot of boiling water ready. In a small sauce pot warm tomato sauce. Drop gnocchi into the pot of boiling water and cook till they start to float, then sear them in a sauté pan over med high heat. Season with #14( your own favorite spices!) and cook till golden, then remove  from pan. While pan is still hot add veggies and cook till done.

Assemble the plate and serve 🙂

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For those of you who watched The Taste last night, my #teamludo not only won the group VEGGIE CHALLENGE, but my girl Louise (aka. Weezy) won 2 gold stars for her veggie dish! Woot! Woot! Combine that with my man Lee saying that his gold star was for me and it’s safe to say I felt very happy with my friends stepping up there game and making some killer vegetarian dishes!
Naturally, I wanted to represent my veggie rockstar team mate Louise and asked her for a yummy recipe to share with you and I think you guys are going to LOVE this one!! Louise was kind enough to share this fabulous video with us of her making her “Green Machine Breakfast Shake” Check it out for a delicious and nutritious  way to get your greens in the AM and start your day off right. For those of you who are vegan watching, Louise does add some greek yogurt for protein, feel free to substitute that with a little more almond milk and scoop of almond butter OR if you like the yogurt-like consistency, they make some delicious almond and coconut ‘yogurts’ out there. Enjoy! Go #teamludo!