vegan seven layer dip
Stick around here long enough, and you’ll see that dips are one of my favorite recipes to make and eat. I think they need official status as their own food group. This vegan seven layer is I’ve been making for several years and is a perennial crowd pleaser. It’s probably the first appetizer recipe that inspired me to include dips on a regular basis into our meal plan. Here’s why. I have four kids who all have very different ideas of what tastes good and have varying degrees of pickiness. They also love meat and cheese so I need to work hard to come up with all veggie recipes that…
chocolate peanut butter mousse (vegan, dairy free, gluten free, no added sugar)
(this post contains affiliate links which help fund this blog but at no cost to you) “We go together like birds of a feather…” If chocolate and peanut butter ever had a theme song, that would be it. They were simply made for each other. #Godsagenius And if you were playing Family Feud and had to name a food that went with peanut butter, I’m pretty sure “chocolate” would be a top answer. (“Jelly” might have the edge, numbers-wise, but taste-wise chocolate has “j” beat hands down IMO). You too? So it was only a matter of time before I gave my go to chocolate mousse recipe a slight makeover…
no bake chocolate mint squares (vegan, no added sugar, paleo, gluten free)
. There are three things I have to do before I start writing a blog post: get my pictures purdied up, make sure my nails are clipped short and fix my hair in a ponytail. The pictures are essential. The other two? Just a couple quirks that minimize distractions for me. LOL Now that those are out of the way, let’s chat about these no bake chocolate mint squares. They are a minty take on a couple of recipes I frequently use for desserts and are fast and simple to whip up. The only downside, perhaps, is waiting a couple of hours for them to set in…
south-of-the-border party dip (vegan, oil free, added sugar free)
I could happily eat Mexican-style foods most days of the week. It’s one of the few cuisines that easily adapts to a plant-based diet without extraordinary effort or feeling like something is missing. Meat- and cheese-lovers might disagree, but as a former meat- and cheese-lover, this is my story and I’m sticking to it. While this dip is made for the party scene, I also love it as a main, side or lunch any day of the week. It’s best when eaten within the first day, but can hold up in the fridge for a couple of days, although the avocado isn’t too happy about that. This south-of-the-border party…
the best basic burrito recipe (vegan, dairy free, oil free option, gluten free option)
I could easily eat Mexican food most days of the week. That and my favorite Indian curry. I love how effortless it feels, how easily it adapts to a plant-based diet and that leftovers go a long way. This basic burrito recipe is one of my go-to’s and is inspired by a recipe I found on Whole Foods years ago. One of the things I hope you will love about it is that once you have the basic flavor profile down, you can easily tweak it to your preferences…a little more garlic here, less tomato there, more spice, more lime). Once the basic burrito mix is assembled, here’s how…
oven-baked sweet potato chips + guacamole (vegan, oil-free)
I grew up in a home where we ate quite a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. But somehow the avocado eluded us. And guacamole? The first time I tried it I was in my late twenties. It was love-at-first-bite. But chips, guac’s side kick, are rather low on the healthy eating spectrum, sprouted, organic, GMO-free or not. And despite their salty, crunchy tastiness, I’ve been looking beyond the vegan label to examine what I’m actually putting into my body. Because eating a plant-based diet doesn’t necessarily = a healthy diet. So when I want a healthier compadre for my guacamole, I round up some sweet potatoes and put…
vegan chocolate pudding (raw, gluten free, added sugar free)
When you need a chocolate fix, you need this vegan chocolate pudding. It’s been one of my favorite go-to dessert recipes for years. The inspiration for it came from a bonus recipe pack for the Oh She Glows cookbook. It’s incredibly easy to whip up and, even better, is free of added sugars so it doesn’t give you the crash and burn that typically happens with desserts. When you first mix it up, it has the texture of pudding, but will take on the texture of a thick mousse once refrigerated. To keep a more pudding-like consistency, try adding your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk a 1/4 cup at a time…