It's All About the Sauces!

Once thing I have heard over and over again is that, when it comes to the best vegan food, it's all about the sauces. The best vegan meals I have had at restaurants and at home have had amazing vegan sauces. Restaurants, unfortunately add sugars and oils to their sauces that I just don't want. So when I'm at home, I make sure to omit those things from my sauces, making them not only delicious, but much much healthier. 

I have a few sauces to share with you that I have created myself and a few from various blogs that were just amazing and worth a shout out. 

First of all, there is a sauce that I use for sour cream. It's great for Chili and tacos because it also tastes kind a cheesey, so it takes care of that cheese flavor and gives you the sense that you also have something creamy. It's also the easiest sauce to make. 

Simple Cashew Cream Recipe: 

Juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 cup raw cashews (soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

First soak your cashews, then drain. Put all ingredients into a high speed blender. (I use a nutribullet). Blend until smooth. This sauce never lasts long in my house, but it does keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. I usually put it into an air tight glass jar. 

The next sauce I want to share is called a "Yum Yum Sauce" It was created by my friends over at Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures. I linked it above. After making it, I first used it on a portabello mushroom sandwich, which was freaking amazing! Then I tried it on avocado toast, also freaking amazing! I think this sauce would be good on just about anything! The next thing I plan on trying it on is a Buddha bowl! Yum! 

What to use for Mayo? Mayo is a hard one, it's hard to get the taste right for mayo without using any oils. The closest recipe I have found was created by a blog called Clean Food Dirty Girl. They have lots of great recipes if you want to check them out. Their Mayo Recipe is delicious and totally worth trying if you want to switch to plant-based and need something for your sandwiches. 

My favorite dressing for salads is a Turmeric Tahini Dressing. I've been playing around with others, but this one has been the best so far. 

Easy Tahini Dressing:  

1/2 cup Tahini
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water (to thin)
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano

Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth

Cilantro Lime Sauce  (This sauce is great for Tacos, Taco bowls, Avocado toast, and even a dressing if you thin it out a bit!)

Best Vegan Hollondaise Sauce (This link brings you to a recipe for a tofu breakfast sandwich! The Hollondaise sauce is amazing, I had leftovers, so the next day I made a tofu scramble and used this sauce on it and it was amazing!) 

Vegan Cheezy Sauce (This will bring you to a vegan ranch sauce, I have to warn you that it does not taste like ranch, I have yet to find a good Vegan Ranch sauce. But, it has a cheezy flavor, and is also delicious on bowls, sandwiches, french fries, cauliflower, really whatever you want to use it for.)

Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe: (this recipe is great for a white pizza sauce, or a pasta sauce)

1 Medium White Onion
1-2 cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
4 Large Cloves Garlic
1/2 heaping cup unsalted cashews
Juice of 1 lemon
2-4 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Add onion and 1 cup of broth to a large pan over medium heat, cook for 8 minutes until onion is tender. Add the garlic cloves and cook a few minutes more. Cook until broth is gone. Add cooked veggies to a blender along with 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Add remaining ingredients to the blender. Blend on high for a couple minutes until creamy and smooth. 

These are all of my go to sauces. I do use a few others, but these are the best and most flavorful ones that I use on a regular basis. If I find more, I'll add them. I hope you enjoy trying out some new healthy sauces! The Alfredo one listed above is great for pasta! 

Homemade Vegan Mushroom Pizza

One of my greatest home creations is my mushroom pizza. It's so delectable. First of all, let's talk about crust. So I normally would make my own crust, especially since my husband has celiac's disease and it's just healthier to make the crust from scratch, but I have yet to find a good gluten free crust recipe. The crust pictured is from this amazing little bakery in Milwaukee called Blooming Lotus, they do gluten free, vegan, and refined sugar free products and when I am in Milwaukee, I like to support them. Plus, their crust is one of the best gluten free and vegan crusts I've had. 

Since this crust isn't available here, I have pulled together a couple other options. The crust pictured to the left is a pre-made whole wheat crust created by Engine 2 which is a whole food plant-based company. They create their products without oils, or refined sugars, and their products are vegan. The crusts aren't the greatest as far as flavor goes, but if you have the right toppings, you can't go wrong. 
Secondly, there is Schar brand pizza crusts. They are gluten free and are actually really delicious. They are also accidentally vegan. Meaning, that although it doesn't say vegan on the box, they have no animal products in them. This has been a go to crust for Chris and I for a long time, even before I was vegan and I was excited to find out that the majority of their products are vegan as well. 

On to the toppings. So for the sauce, I made my own vegan Alfredo sauce. 

Recipe:

1 Medium white onion
1-2 cups veggie broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Large Garlic cloves
1/2 heaping cup raw cashews
Juice of 1 lemon
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Add 1 chopped onion and 1 cup of broth to a large pan over medium heat, cook for 8 minutes until onion is tender. Add garlic and cook until the broth is gone. Add cooked onion and garlic to a high speed blender along with the other ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Note: I add the garlic cloves as full cloves since my blender is high powered enough to break them up. 

After the sauce is done, set aside. 

The next step for this pizza, is to grab your mushrooms. I usually use baby bellas since I can find organic baby bellas at almost any store I go to and I love the flavor and texture. Cut your mushrooms into slices or pieces, whatever your desired texture. Then saute in 1 Tbsp of coconut aminos and a touch of balsamic vinegar. While these are cooking, cut up a red onion and saute in balsamic vinegar and a small amount of veggie broth until soft. 

Once your toppings are ready, pull out your crust and smother it with as much sauce as you like. I usually like quite a bit of sauce, but don't want the crust to get soggy, so it depends on what crust I'm using. The Schar brand holds up pretty well, but the engine 2 brand is thinner and gets soggy more easily. After the sauce is on, spread on your mushrooms and onions. I like to add some sort of greens as well. You could use spinach, kale, chard, or mixed greens, whatever you have in your fridge. This pizza also tastes great with artichoke hearts, but I've been having trouble finding those organic. 

Lastly, I have been adding Miyoko's Mozzerella cheese to my pizzas. It's a great brand with great ingredients, all organic, and nothing bad from what I can tell. It tastes kind of like a ricotta cheese to me. It's very delicious! I highly recommend it! I slice the cheese into pieces and cover the pizza, there is usually a tiny bit left at the end to munch on, but it depends on if you are just covering one pizza or if you are spreading it out on two. This cheese is also great as a substitute for cheese in lasagna! 

Once all toppings are on, follow the instructions listed on your crust. Sometimes for gluten free crusts you have to cook it a little longer if you want it crispy. 

Once cooked, remove from the oven, wait a few minutes and then slice up your deliciousness! 

Dijon Gravy with Mushrooms and Beans

The other day I was helping my sister out, and it was a long day. I didn't get home until late, and I had to ask my husband to make dinner. He doesn't like to follow recipes, but I had this recipe sitting around for a while and it needed to get made since we had to use up the mushrooms. This is another recipe from Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures. And it's absolutely delicious and easy to make. 

Dijon Gravy with Mushrooms and Beans


This recipe surprised me. It definitely looked good, but it's always a gamble when you try a new recipe. The recipe says you can have it over pasta, potatoes or rice. We decided on rice and it worked out really well. I'm not sure I would like it over pasta. Potatoes might have been fine, but I think rice was the best choice. 

I strongly recommend this recipe if you want to try something a little different. I know some people don't like Dijon mustard, and that could be a turn off, but to be honest, I would never eat Dijon mustard alone, but in this sauce it just adds a nice flavor profile, it doesn't overpower. 

Try it! It's delicious and easy and will definitely be on our menu in the future! 

The Amazing Avocado Toast

Since becoming vegan, I kept hearing over and over about how amazing avocado toast is. People were raving about it. Every time someone online would ask about a breakfast option, Avocado toast was ALWAYS recommended. For the longest time, I refused to try it. I love avocado, but avocado on toast just didn't seem right to me. I had grown up with peanut butter banana toast, or jelly and butter. So, for a long time, I just wasn't eating much toast because I no longer wanted to ingest all the sugar and oil that came with what I normally put on toast. Not to mention, the bread I was used to consuming also contained sugars and oils. So, I just basically stopped consuming most breads for a while. This wasn't a bad thing, but then, I finally tried Avocado toast. 

When my husband and I visited San Diego, We went to a timeshare presentation where they provided us with a vegan and gluten free breakfast of avocado toast. Granted there was oil on it, and raw tomatoes which I scraped off, but I was surprised by how this simple breakfast was so good and flavorful. I don't know what they dressed it up with, but it was good. So, when my husband and I were in Florida, I decided to make Avocado toast to add to our breakfasts, and I had brought some Trader Joes Chili lime seasoning with us and we bought some fresh sprouts from a local store. We did a vegan, gluten free bread toasted with avocado, chili lime seasoning and sprouts and it was beyond delicious. It was actually even kind of addicting. 

After I returned home, I decided to keep the trend going. I went to social media and asked around to see what kinds of things people put on there avocado toast, and many people simply said that they sprinkle it with Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe's. I had heard this before, many times. So I finally decided to try it. I bought the seasoning and made myself some avocado toast with just that and I was in love. I would still add sprouts if I have them or lettuce greens, I also still like to add a bit of the chili lime seasoning, but if all you have is the everything but the bagel seasoning, it's really all you need. It's such an easy breakfast or snack. Also, I found that the Ezekiel brand bread is easy for my body to digest because it is sprouted grains, all organic, and does not include any sugar or oil. It's the only brand of bread that I will eat. Of course, you are welcome to eat any bread you desire. 

If you've never tried Avocado toast, now is the time to try it! It's wonderful! 

Perfected Vegan Gluten Free Banana Blueberry Bread

I started the journey of creating the best breakfast muffins or bread a few months ago. My challenges were the fact that I could not use anything with gluten because of my husband's celiac disease, including oat flours. Unfortunately, EVERY recipe I found for gluten free, vegan muffins had oat flour. I was so frustrated. So I started to experiment and it took a few months, but I have finally perfected a breakfast loaf that both my husband and I can enjoy. 

This recipe is refined sugar free, gluten free, oil free, and completely plant based. This bread is healthy, delicious, and perfect to grab on your way out to work for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. It's seriously delicious. 

Recipe:

4 Large over-ripe bananas
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup unsweetened organic non-dairy milk
2 cups organic unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut nectar or date syrup
2 cups rice flour or other gluten free mixed flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries

Optional Ingredients: 
1-2 Tbsp ground chia seeds
1-2 Tbsp Kate Hill Unsweetened Greek style yogurt
Small packet of green stevia leaf (if you want it a little sweeter)

Preheat oven to 350, line loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Mix almond milk and lemon juice until it curdles (skip this step if you are using the yogurt). 

In a small bowl, mash bananas. 

Add bananas to a large bowl, add the lemon juice and almond milk mixture, sweetener and applesauce, and zest. Stir well to combine. 

Add dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Stir until well combined. Fold in the blueberries. 

Spread into pan and bake 70 minutes. 

Allow to cool before slicing. 

The first time I made this recipe, I did add a mashed avocado as a way to add extra moisture, but it really didn't need it.  It also added some green specs that I had to explain to my husband was not mold, but avocado. However, if you like a more wet banana bread, the avocado adds some extra fat and sort of works like an oil. You could also add the avocado instead of the applesauce, but it might be less sweet that way. Feel free to experiment with it if you want. The last two times I've made it, I've left the avocado out and it's turned out great. 

If you want a banana bread that is a bit more dry and does not need to be refrigerated, I would add the optional chia seeds. They seem to soak up some of the moisture. Sometimes I add more blueberries on top of the bread before putting it in the oven. This just adds more moisture and flavor, but it's not necessary. 

I encourage you to try it. It's my new favorite recipe and I try to keep it around for my husband and I. He likes to have something to eat for a mid morning snack at work and I need something mid-morning as well to take my all my pills with. So, this has worked out perfectly. :)

I'm still working on perfecting my muffin recipe, for some reason it keeps coming out on the dry side. So I'll keep working on that and share my perfected recipe when it's ready. 

The Importance of Chewing Your Food

The last time I had chemotherapy, It took a toll on me, and after it was over and I had started to recover, My husband and I decided to go on what we called a Raw Vegan Adventure in San Diego, CA at a place called Optimum Health Institute. It was a way for my body to detox from the chemo. We spent 3 weeks eating a completely organic and raw vegan diet and attending classes on health and wellness for the body, mind and soul. During this time, we learned many things, but one of those things was the importance of chewing your food. 

In the cafeteria there was a sign that said "Chew, Chew, Chew, Chew at least 30 times before swallowing" After learning the importance of chewing your food. I slowed my eating way down. I used to be one of the many people in our society that would just scarf down my food. It was the way that I thought you were supposed to eat, especially if you were hungry. Or, I was just used to doing it that way. It had become a habit. So, every day, I would grab my raw vegan plate of food and I would spend an entire hour eating. I couldn't even really carry on much of a conversation, because we only had an hour to eat. So it was all about chewing thoroughly and swallowing. 

The question is, why? Why is is so important to slow down, and

chew your food before swallowing. One reason is simply to enjoy your food. Savor the flavors of the food, this makes eating more indulgent and satisfying. What's the point of taste buds if we scarf down the food and don't take the time to enjoy it? The other reason is that digestion starts in your mouth. Your saliva starts to break up the food before it hits your stomach making it easier for your stomach to digest, break down the food, and pull the nutrients it needs from the food. Not only are you making it easier for your body to digest the food, but you are saving yourself from some uncomfortable indigestion symptoms and you are also protecting your esophagus. 

Chewing your food thoroughly also helps your immune system. The way in which it does this is simple. Digestion is one of the biggest challenges that your body takes on in a day, and this takes energy away from other things your body could be doing, like fighting off disease. The more you can help your body along, the better. If you chew thoroughly, you are taking off some of the pressure of the digestive system to break down the food you are eating, allowing for it to break it down faster and get back to it's many other functions. 

This might sound strange, but even holding beverages in your mouth for a while and letting the saliva break them down is helpful for your body. When I make smoothies every morning, I try to do this. Have you ever heard people say "Chew your wine, and drink your food?" The idea behind that has to do with this same concept. Chewing your food thoroughly is just one of the many ways you can help your body work efficiently. 

If you really want to help your body, you could even do a juice or smoothie cleanse where you spend as many days as you feel comfortable only drinking liquids. Some people will do a juice cleanse for a few days, others have gone as far as doing a water cleanse. There are so many to choose from and I won't get into the specifics in this post, but if you feel your body needs a reboot, this is a great way to do it. I have linked to a 5 day detox that I've been wanting to try below. Doing this gives your digestive system a break, so that your body can focus on healing. 

If you are interested in learning more, I have included some articles on the importance of chewing your food below. I hope that this information, at the very least, has inspired you to consciously be aware of how quickly you are eating and slow down so you can savor your food and give your body a bit of a break. 

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/31/chewing-foods.aspx

https://yoursuper.com/products/detox-pack

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7775/why-chewing-your-food-can-change-your-life.html

https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2015/03/10/5-reasons-you-should-chew-your-food

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-times-should-you-chew-your-food

First Attempt at Vegan Paella

 A long time time ago, before I became vegan, my Mom made this amazing Paella dish. I remember just loving it. All the flavors coming together in this delicious Spanish rice dish with saffron and other spices. The non-vegan version often has sausage, shrimp and/or fish in it, so this version obviously does not include these things. 

This recipe was a bit confusing because the rice was cooking much slower than the recipe said it would, my husband was in a hurry this night and had to leave, so our first serving of the dish was more like a soup with undercooked rice, which doesn't match the idea of a good Spanish rice dish. This recipe also didn't call for

saffron, but Chris and I had purchased some from Trader Joes just for making Paella. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this dish and after we tried a second bowl, where the rice was more cooked, I was looking for ways to improve upon it. One thing I did was used fresh tomatoes instead of the canned that were called for in the recipe and I think that may have changed the flavor. So, next time I'll use canned tomatoes. Also, I might try making and adding some vegan "sausage". I might also try adding oyster mushrooms. My husband had tried a dish in Milwaukee at a vegan restaurant that had oyster mushrooms in it and they tasted and had the texture of scallops. I don't think this dish really needs a meat substitute, but it might be worth a try. 

The artichoke hearts and the mushrooms in this recipe give it that almost meaty texture. This recipe is great if you are in the mood for something different. The other part of the recipe that I didn't follow, was that it says to add fresh squeezed lemon at the end. I did not do that. So, first I think I will just try to make it with the canned tomatoes, add the lemon juice, and lastly throw in some spices at the end. I think those steps alone will improve it exponentially. 

If you love Paella and want a healthier version of it, or are in the mood to try something a little different, I totally recommend this recipe. 

When my husband and I were in San Diego we were at a winery that had one vegan option. It was a Vegan Paella that I was really

excited to try. The chef made it up for us and besides being very oily, it was very delicious. It had all sorts of delicious vegetables that wouldn't normally be found in a Paella. Since having it I have wanted to try and copy it, but obviously with way less oil. This recipe was the start of my experimenting. So you may be seeing more Paella recipes pop up in the future!