Spinach Cashew Cream

Holy moly! Who knew that cashews could turn into an amazing sauce! I have seen so many recipes for cashew cream all over the internet so I had to try this out. It is an easy creamy vegan substitute for a dairy like sauce. It can be turned into a sweet sauce but I took it in a savory direction. This sauce is super easy but takes planning ahead because you have to soak the cashews overnight. It is well worth the planning. You can use this sauce on so many things! Pasta, quinoa, chicken, or just use a spoon and eat it because that's what I did. 

3/4 Cup Raw Cashews, Soaked overnight

1-2 Cloves Garlic (I used 2, it was pretty garlicky but I love garlic)

1/2 Cup Spinach

1/2 TSP Sea Salt

1.5 TSP Nutritional Yeast

1/4 Cup Vegetable Broth (Make sure it's GF!)

Soak cashews overnight in a small tupperware. Make sure they are all covered with filtered water. The cashews will puff up a bit and it makes them easier to blend.

Drain the water from the cashews.

In a food processor add all the ingredients and blend! Add more vegetable broth for a thinner consistency. It's that easy!

*If you like the taste of raw garlic, just throw the cloves in the food processor.

If raw garlic is just too much, cut the ends of the garlic and add to 1 inch of boiling water for about 1 minute. This will mellow out the flavor a bit.

Enjoy XO

Jalapeno Kale Almond Dip

I really can't stop combining jalapeño and kale. This dip is so flavorful, slightly spicy and packed with vitamins and nutrients. Serve it cold with rice crackers or cucumbers.

1 Cup Raw Almonds

1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil

1 Jalapeno, Seeded and Chopped

1/8 Cup Lemon Juice 

5 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

1/2 Cup Kale, Stems Removed

3 Cloves Garlic

1 TBSP Braggs Liquid Aminos

1/2 TSP Salt

3/4 Water

Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender until smooth. 

Enjoy! Xo

Jalapeño Kale Pesto

I love kale... Well, I love kale chips. Other forms of kale, I pretend to love because I know it's so good for me. Kale has amazing benefits like tons of fiber, iron and vitamin K. Not only that, but it's low in calories and is filled with powerful antioxidants. Meet your new beneficial best friend. This version of pesto uses kale and spicy jalapeños for a little twist. 

 I was never a big pasta person before I went gluten free, so pasta cravings rarely happen (especially since a lot of the gluten free pasta I have tried is so gummy) The great folks at Ancient Harvest sent me a few boxes of their amazing products. I am officially obsessed with their quinoa pasta. Their pastas are made with a mixture of corn flour and quinoa flour and is far from gummy! I have found exactly what I need for those rare pasta cravings, but for all you pasta lovers try it out. 

Ancient Harvest Quinoa

Jalapeño Kale Pesto

2 Cups Kale, Stems Removed

3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped

1 Jalapeño, Seeded and Chopped

1/3 Cup Pine Nuts

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

*Sauce is Vegan 

Spinach Meatballs

1 Pound Ground Turkey

1 Cup Spinach, Finely Chopped

1/4 Red Onion, Finely Chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1/8 Cup Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes

For the pesto: 

In a small skillet, heat 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil over medium heat. Add the kale and sauté until the kale begins to soften. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or two but do not let garlic burn. 

Add the kale and all the ingredients for the pesto into a food processor and blend until it's a smooth consistency and there are no chunks.

For the meatballs:

Mix all the ingredients and form into little meatballs. Do not form the meatball too much. Just roll and go. The tighter the meatballs the more tough they will be.

Bake the meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees

OR

In a skillet, heat 1 TBSP of olive oil. Add the meatballs and cook in the skillet. Since the meatballs are mini they don't take as long but make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. 

Enjoy! XO

Jalapeño Almond Dip

Dips usually mean guilty eating. They are filled with cream cheese, fats, cheese, sugars, and all around unhealthy ingredients. Here is a dip that is free of guilt and super delicious! It uses almonds as the base which gives you major nutritional benefits. Almonds are high in vitamin E, aid in weight loss, rich in flavonoids, and help stabilize blood sugar.  

Take the guilt out of eating dips and make this flavorful dip for your next party or just for yourself!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, but it will get eaten before that!

1/4 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil

1/2 Cup Raw Almonds

1/8 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast

1/2 Jalapeño, Seeded 

2 Cloves Garlic

2 TSP Braggs Liquid Aminos

1/2 TSP Salt

1/2 TSP Cumin

1/4 TSP Paprika

Mix all ingredients and blend in a food processor or blender. That's it! 

Serve with rice crackers or cucumbers! Enjoy! xx

Basic Basil Pesto

Every person needs this recipe in their back pocket. It is so easy to make and takes less than five minutes to put together. You can use this pesto on gluten free pastas, fish, chicken, potatoes and anything you want. The fresh basil tastes so much better than anything store bought and has tons of benefits. Basil has powerful antioxidants and tons of vitamins, especially vitamin K. 

 Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. 

2 Cups Fresh Basil, Loosely packed

1/3 Cup Pine Nuts

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1/3 Cups Parmesan Cheese

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. 

*You can use fresh garlic if you like the taste of fresh garlic

To mellow out the flavor of the garlic, boil 1 inch of water and add garlic cloves for 1 min. Take out and cool down. 

Easy Homemade Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette recipe from The Kitchn is so easy and flavorful. It takes about 5 minutes with ingredients that I already had. Try and stock your pantry with a variety of oils and vinegars so you can mix up this dressing all the time. Be careful of certain vinegars because some of them may contain gluten. Malt vinegar is off limits. Make sure to read the labels and look out for rye, malt, wheat and barley. 

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

3 Cloves Garlic, minced 

1 TBSP Dijon Mustard

1 TSP Honey

1/2 TSP Salt

1 TSP Pepper

Mix all ingredients into a bowl and whisk until combined. Pour into a small mason jar and store in the fridge. Enjoy! xx