Kid Friendly

Oct
4

The Healthier Chocolate “Milkshake”

The Beauty and The Banana

I’ll do anything to get my daughter to eat more fruits and vegetables. It took about 7 years to convince her to eat a banana just the way it is. So I had to come up with creative ways to make the banana invisible. I mixed it in the chocolate “Milkshake” and she loved it! Yey! Every time she is willing to taste something new and she likes it, I mark an imaginary “V” in my mind for yet another Victory for me. I’m sure some of you know what I am talking about 😉 There is no need for convincing here… This shake is so delicious, healthy and easy to make and If you remember to freeze the bananas beforehand it becomes a frozen dessert no one can refuse!

*If you like, you can replace the almond butter with peanut butter.

Ingredients

2 Organic Ripe Bananas

2 Cups Almond Milk (play with the amount depending on and how smooth you like it)

1 Tbsp. Raw Almond Butter

1 Tbsp. Organic Date Syrup (If you have Dates, even better use 3-4 Medjool Dates)

1 Tbsp. Cacao Powder

1 tsp. Hemp Seeds (They contain complete protein, Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Fiber, this is Good stuff!!)

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preparation

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Category: Blog, Breakfast, Drinks, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Raw, Recipies, Sweets and Desserts

Oct
1

Red Lentil and Acorn Squash Patties

I made these patties in a few different versions before. I learned that a great way to experiment with making patties or veggie balls, is to use dry uncooked and soaked legumes as a base ingredient. Add vegetables, herbs and spices and the options are limitless! The fun fact is:, Legumes, due to their high content of starch (that’s the white stuff you see in the soaking water) act like a “glue” so there is no need for eggs. How simple and cool is that?! Actually, Falafel balls are made with the same principle, dry uncooked and soaked chic-peas or Fava beans mixed with spices and herbs and then fried.

In this recipe I used the beautiful Acorn squash with the red/orange lentils and made it ready for fall… I served it with tri-color couscous and simple tomato sauce but It’s great in a sandwich too. So lets get to work! start soaking your lents…

Ingredients

1¼ Cup Red Lentils, Soaked in water for about 3 to 4 hours

1/2 Acorn Squash

1 Small Onion

1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 tsp. Fresh Thyme leaves

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp. Turmeric

1 tsp. Paprika

1/2 tsp. Dry Ginger powder

1/2 tsp Black pepper

1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

Oil for Frying

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400º

Cut the acorn squash in half, scoop out the seeds, brush with olive oil, maple syrup and sprinkle with sea salt (I used only one half of the squash, the other half I used for another recipe).

Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour until soft. Set aside to cool. After the acorn squash has cooled, scoop the “flesh” from its inside, do not use the skin.

Rinse and strain the lentils and chop the onion.

Place the mashed acorn squash, the lentils and the onion in a food processor and blend.

In a mixing bowl, add the mixture, the bread crumbs and the spices.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan. Use an ice-cream scooper to form balls, place it in the pan and flatten a little to look like patties. Fry on medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

• Always fry one pattie first to test the flavoring. If more spices are needed, add it to the mixture before frying the whole batch.

• If the mixture is too soft for the ice cream scooper to pick up, add more bread crumbs.

• If you prefer, you can bake them in the oven, it comes out just as tasty. Just brush them with oil before baking.

Always test one first

Category: Blog, Holidays, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Patties and Burgers, Recipies, Uncategorized

Sep
17

Almost Home-Made Vegan Pesto Tomato Pizza

It took me more time to take the pictures than to actually prepare this beautiful Pizza, which was about 5 minutes. There, I said it! You can call The Martha Stewart Police on me… guilty as charged… If I can make a Vegan Wholesome Pizza that is healthier than a frozen Pizza and quicker than a Vegan Delivery Pizza than I’m choosing the easy-healthier-quick one. I wish someone will see the potential and open a Vegan Pizzeria close to me already! :). Some super moms, somewhere, are probably making the whole thing from scratch. Not me, I love time saving short cuts that lets me keep the good quality ingredients without compromising on taste, especially on days where I don’t have the time to do rocket-science recipes.

There are a few things to keep in mind / have in advance:

1. I try to keep a good quality tomato sauce handy for quick recipes like this one.

2. I used the Fresh Pesto Sauce from a day before, but even if you choose to make it the same day, it’s super quick to make as well (you can use a store-bought vegan pesto if you’d like).

3. For the crust, I found this organic great whole grain ready-made crust. If you can’t find it where you live, use any crust you like or even make it on an Indian Naan bread or pita bread (make sure to check the ingredients since some of them are made with dairy).

4. I also keep shredded mozzarella Daiya cheese which is the invention of the century for vegans… but there are other kinds of vegan cheese that you could use (Trader Joe’s has one that really melts good).

Ingredients

One 12″ Pizza Crust (I used Rustic Crust Organic Great Grains)

Tomato sauce (Marinara or basic Pizza sauce)

5 Tbsp Pesto sauce

1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella style Vegan Cheese (I used Daiya)

a bunch of heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

a few Sliced olives and fresh basil leaves for topping

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 425°

Spread a layer of the pesto sauce on the crust first, spread the tomato sauce over it than sprinkle with the shredded “cheese”.

Add the sliced tomatoes, olives and decorate with basil leaves.

If you want to get fancy, add some crushed pistachios mixed with nutritional yeast for a “parmesan- ish” twist.

Bake for 8-12 minutes. Cool for 3 min. before cutting into slices and serve.

Reading the ingredients list on the Pizza crust, happy I found it!

Category: Blog, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Recipies, The Main Dish

Sep
12

Smiley Coconut Snowballs

While I was researching the famous phrase: ‘You are what you eat’, to find out who said it, I stumbled upon a very funny comment in one of the sites. Someone said it was his mom who said it first… 🙂 I’m sure she is not the first mom telling it to her kids, wanting them to eat healthy. As a mother, a big part of my life is worrying about what my daughter eats and I know I’m not alone in the ‘Picky Eaters Parents Club’. So I have to be creative and “sneak-in” the ‘good stuff’ into the food I make for her. It makes me happy to see her eating something healthy in disguise. For her it’s a dessert and all I see is the chia seeds.

Easy and quick, no baking involved so even the kids can help make it. Everyone loves them, including the grown ups! Back to ‘You are what you eat’, even though I don’t have scientific evidence, I’m pretty sure you can become a smiley (and healthy) snowball after eating these cute & delicious munchkins 😉

(makes about 25-35 Balls)

Ingredients

2 Cups Raw Almond Flour/Meal (Ground Almonds)

2 Cups Unsweetened Shredded dry Coconut Flakes

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds, Soaked in ¼ Cup Almond Milk (it will expand into 3 Tbsp. after soaking for 15-20 minutes)

½ Cup Maple Syrup

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

Pinch of Salt

Options: Add Teaspoon Raw Almond Butter, Cashew Butter or Cinnamon

(If you want Chocolate balls, just add 1 1/2 Tbsp. of Cocoa Powder)

For the Decoration:

Shredded dry Coconut to cover

Vegan Chocolate Chips (for the eyes)

Goji Berries (for the mouth)

Pine Nuts (for nose)

Preparation

Mix everything well, don’t add the liquid all at once (Almond milk with soaked chia seeds), try to play with the amounts to the desirable consistency. The coconut oil melts in room temperature so after you’re done mixing, place in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to harden, so its easy to work with. Take it out of the fridge and form balls. Dip in the shredded dry Coconut, decorate and serve, or keep in fridge for later. Smile & Enjoy!

Category: Gluten Free, Kid Friendly, Party, Raw, Recipies, Snacks, Sweets and Desserts, Uncategorized

Aug
31

Vegan Sesame Halva “Milk”

The first time I took a sip of this amazing “milk” was at a Vegan cooking class. The chef teaching was Adam Sobel, the awesome owner of the famous Vegan Food Truck: “The Cinnamon Snail”.

Immediately, it reminded me of the taste of Halva, which is a Mediterranean sesame sweet treat. I think it really should be called liquid Halva. It could be a base for shakes, ice creams and other desserts. So easy to make and you will not believe how good it tastes!

If you’re in New York City go see the Cinnamon Snail, there is nothing like it, they are very friendly and the food is amazing!