In SUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMERRRRRRR!

 Yes I am a HUGE Olaf fan! Wasn't he the absolute best character in Frozen?! Anyway, in summer I am ALWAYS having cookouts!! But you are a vegan, Karissa?! Yes, yes I am, and I grill the hell out of my vegetables ;) So here is my absolute favorite grilled up vegan recipe. Veggie Kabobs. (Recipe for the BBQ Sauce coming soon!)

 

For the Ingredients you will need the following;

• 1 fresh Pineapple
• 1 red, and 1 orange Bell Pepper 
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 Ears of Fresh Corn
• 1 Tub of Firm/Extra Firm Tofu 
• Garlic Powder
• BBQ Sauce

For the Utensils you will need 

• A grill
• Wooden Skewers 
• Tongs

Cut your vegetables, Tofu,and Pineapple into large chunky pieces. The corn is the hardest to slice and I usually use a bigger knife to hack them up. Then skew to your liking, be careful with the corn, but aim for the center, as it is the softest. Sprinkle the veggies and tofu with garlic powder and bring out to the grill. 

My father is the Grill Master in my family so I always coax him into grilling my veggies to perfection. BUT If you have to do it yourself turn the grill to about 450, Set your skewers on the top rack of the grill, drizzle the top with BBQ sauce (make sure the tofu is well glazed with the bbq sauce) grill for about 5 minutes on each side. Add more sauce to the other side when you flip.

Be careful because the sticks are hot when you start to grill them, sometimes I use my fingers to flip and take off the grill, but if it gets too hot I switch to tongs. I like to make sure the Tofu is nice and grilled on the outside before I remove them.

 

This is a super fresh, perfect summer meal. Pair with a Veggie Burger, and a side of Grilled Asparagus. Or just enjoy alone! I will be making many more of these thisssss sssssuuuuuuuummmmmmerrrrrr!

Night!

-Karissa May

Double Chocolate "Milk" Shake

Oh my goodness, my husband gets some major pointers for todays blog post! He had been playing around with smoothie, and milk shake recipes the last few weeks, since all the kids are home for the summer! He definitely blended this one to perfection! You nailed it baby! 

Ingredients:

• 4 frozen ripe bananas 
• 2 ripe bananas
• one can full fat coconut milk (refrigerated)
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• water

We use a vitamix (which I absolutely LOVE) Its pretty easy to blend anything just right. The Bananas sweeten it perfectly. I usually add a little water if it is too thick upon blending, otherwise you can skip this ingredient. Of course I had to top it with my vegan whipped cream because I had it from making pancakes this particular morning :) I promise I don't eat/make it everyday!! I also sprinkled it with cacao nibs, and a little love. 

 This is absolutely perfect for any sweet tooth cravings, or an energy boost. The combination of the bananas and cacao beats any cup of coffee you might think you need! I have SO much energy after drinking it. I hope everyone is having a GREAT summer!

<3

Karissa May

Vegan Banana Pancakes

Just the other day I had four hungry guys to feed, So I decided to make these delicious Vegan Banana Pancakes! Totally kid and hubby approved I might add :)

It was actually my son Sage's first birthday! I thought that he would appreciate these sweet fluffy cakes now that he has 2 1/2 teeth to use :)

So lets talk ingredients

Pancake batter:

• 1 cup flour ( I used organic pastry flour)
• 1-2 ripe bananas 
• 2 tbsp baking powder (seems like a lot, but yes those are tablespoons)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup almond or coconut milk
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• vegetable/coconut oil for frying

Toppings:

• Banana (sliced) 
• Coconut Milk Whipped Cream (recipe in blog)
• Cinnamon
• Powdered Sugar 
• Agave Nectar

Turn the stove on medium/high heat to warm the frying pan that you'll be using. In a medium/large mixing bowl add your dry ingredients and mix well. Next add your wet ingredients and blend on medium high for about a minute. 

Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, dip into the batter, and pour onto the oiled pan.Once they start to bubble in the center, flip.

After you have fried the cakes I like to stack them and make them look pretty!

Stack the pancakes, throw on a dollop of coconut milk whipped cream, sliced bananas, drizzle with syrup of choice (I use Agave in the Raw) and sprinkle with cinnamon, and powdered sugar!

So good!

This recipe is simple, fun and easy. Not to mention super delicious! I hope you and your family enjoy it. Play around with toppings, let me know what you come up with! I love a good out of the box pancake recipe so please share any comments, ideas, or questions you have with me!

until next time...

-Karissa May

Vegan Whipped Cream

Yes you heard it folks! This stuff is the truth. Whats best is that it is only three ingredients!!

Ingredients:

1 Can  of Full Fat Coconut Milk (preferably organic)
3 Tablespoons of Powdered Sugar (or sweeten to taste)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Lots of Love! :)

Tools:
Electronic Cake Beater/ or Whisk
Medium Bowl
 
Step One:
Refrigerate the coconut milk for at least an hour.
Helpful Hint: Make sure to stand it upright. Standing the can upright will allow for the fat and coconut water to properly separate and make it easier for you scoop.

Step Two:
After the milk has been refrigerated open the can and scoop out all the thick fat. Avoid the water at the bottom as much as possible. Scoop the contents into your medium bowl.
Helpful Hint: Using a glass/metal bowl helps to keep the fat cool while you blend it altogether

Tip: Save the remaining coconut water in a mason jar, and refrigerate for smoothies later :)

Step Three:
Add the vanilla and  powdered sugar, then blend on medium until the ingredients are well mixed. Your whipped cream should begin to get thick and fluffy!
Helpful Hint: If your cream is too runny, add more powdered sugar or refrigerate, and the coconut will become harder.

 I love this recipe its so simple and delicious. Perfect for Vegan Cheesecake or as pictured, the delicious
Vegan Chai Latte. Both recipes coming soon!

Enjoy!

Salsa!

The thing is, Salsa makes everything better!

If you want something tasty, vegan, gluten free, and quick, toss it all in a salad! This is what I used:

Leftover Brown rice (did not warm it up, because that's how I roll) (can replace with quinoa)

Big handful of baby mixed greens

1 Med. Carrot peeled with a potato peeler

Beet Peeled with potato peeler

Chopped onion

Chopped tomato

1 giant scoop of salsa

top with 1/2 an Avocado

P.S you can add fresh corn, and it would also be delish. with black beans at the bottom!

Raw Popcorn

Picture doesn't do the taste justice!

Okay this is freaking amazing, If I wasn't breast feeding I would make this EVERY DAY (my baby gets a little gassy from broccoli and Cauliflower, were building up our immunity)

If you want to add some more raw veggies into your diet this is super easy and delicious

what you will need:
Half a head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
Nutritional yeast
Chili powder
Salt & Pepper

First: Chop your cauliflower. Remove the stems unless you want those in there... Personally I do not.

Second: Drizzle the cauliflower with a bit of olive oil.

Third: Toss about 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast into the mix

Fourth: Add about 3-4 dashes of chili powder, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Fifth: Put on your favorite movie, and devour.

This is one of the simplest best tasting recipes, and its filling.


Enjoy!

Journey from Paradise to Baltimore

Wyoming 2011

Tonight i want to write about how being a vegetarian in a non vegetarian world has affected my thought process. So about 3 years ago I moved from Oregon to Baltimore. In Oregon I was surrounded by lush country land and beautiful wine vineyards. It was an extremely Organic environment. It was an environment I was used to, and definitely took for granite. My best friends were all vegetarian and our favorite restaurant was a vegetarian Bakery/cafe that was about a 30 minute drive into the country to get to. We gladly took this drive several times a week. They made fresh food straight from their garden. Everyone that worked there also lived there and worked the land. They baked fresh bread and all the milk/cheese/butter was straight from their beautiful happy cows. Sound like a dream? It was definitely a reality.  Today I live downtown Baltimore, in the smog and hustle and bustle of the city. It's quite a bit different from Roseburg Oregon where I grew up, and not every restaurant you go to has great vegetarian options. Some none at all. Not to mention the cookouts here consist of meat, meat, meat, and mac n cheese. Not too many people grilling veggie burgers and tofu skewers. Its been a bit of a struggle for me, but also a learning experience.

 I quickly learned the lack of vegetarian options and general quality of food once I crossed into the midwest! Boy was that place rough on me. Especially since our moving truck broke down in the middle of wyoming for 5 days. Yeah lets talk about that for a second. At one point my mother and I walked into a diner to get a bite to eat... It was a little sketchy to say the least. Our waitress was straight out of a movie. There were animal heads decorating the walls, and it looked like the only "vegetarian" option was a chicken salad minus the chicken. As I was sitting there afraid to drink the water ...Because c'mon where the heck is this water coming from anyway!? A man wearing a (barely) white chef's apron walked out of the kitchen. This was one LARGE, DIRTY, HAIRY, SCARY man! I  pointed my mother in his direction and said "Mom...THAT is the man that is about to make our food!" We quickly made up an excuse about my sister with special needs, that needed us right away. (she really does have special needs, judge us for using her) We bolted.

 In that moment I realized that no longer than a year before that, I could have cared less about where my food/water was coming from, or who would be preparing it. Being aware of that is definitely one of the first steps. From that point on I really pay attention to the cleanliness of the restaurant/cook, and the quality of food they present. If your water cup is dirty, what makes you think that your food wont be? Demanding quality is just like demanding Organic. The more we do it, the more available it will be to us. Our bodies are temples and what we put into them determines our quality of life.