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Vegan Archives · Rachel's Nourishing Kitchen

Category: Vegan Page 1 of 15

15 Nourishing Pumpkin Recipes for Fall

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On September 12, 2018

In Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

They’re baaaack…

PUMPKINS!

From pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin bread to those cute little pumpkin-shaped mellocreme candies from Brachs, pumpkins seem to be popping up everywhere as we approach fall.

I love pumpkin because of how versatile it is. You can sweeten it in smoothies, breads, muffins, pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, and even pancakes. You can also make it savory and roast it with fresh herbs or blend it into soul satisfying soups.

Aside from being able to morph into just about any kind of recipe you can imagine, pumpkin is also loaded with nutrients that support our immunity, digestion and beauty. Pumpkin is awesome because, it’s…

  • Loaded with vitamin C, an anti-inflammatory antioxidant that supports our immune health.
  • High in fill-you-up fiber, which keeps us “regular” (this is a good thing!) and keeps us feeling satisfied for hours. A one-cup serving of winter squash like pumpkin has about 1/4 of your daily recommended fiber intake. Considering fewer than 5% of Americans eat enough fiber, this is a big advantage!
  • Excellent source of beta-carotene – a potent antioxidant and cancer-fighter that also happens to be good for our eyes and skin health
  • Packed with lycopene and carotenoids that are known to help diminish cancer cells, inhibit diabetes, hypertension, the degenerative signs of aging, and prevent macular degeneration
  • Full of potassium, which helps restore our body’s electrolyte balance
  • Has a low or medium glycemic index (GI) value, which means it supports a balanced blood sugar (and balanced mood and weight – they all go hand-in-hand!)

If you want to learn even more about why pumpkin rocks, check out this site.

Now, onto the recipes! Here are my top pumpkin-lover recipes from my blog and a few other places 🙂

pumpkinrecipes banner

Here are a few ideas for savory pumpkin recipes:

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to make your own pumpkin puree from a real pumpkin, check out this post about How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree.

What are your favorite pumpkin recipes? Feel free to share below! 🙂

Chocolate Bliss Aphrodisiac Smoothie

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On January 13, 2018

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor, Vegan

I love chocolate.

I’ve been eating more of it than usual lately, so it’s been on my mind. No holiday in our house is complete without a box of Jinji chocolates, which are raw, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

They are the best chocolates on the planet.

I’ve also been whipping up some chocolate-based treats in my kitchen to share with friends and coworkers, including these no-bake mint chocolate bliss balls and these cherry chocolate brownie bites. We use raw cacao powder – chocolate in its purest form – as the base of those recipes. It’s packed with health and mood benefits like these outlined by Dr. Mercola:

Raw cacao powder contains more than 300 different chemical compounds and nearly four times the antioxidant power of your average dark chocolate – more than 20 times than that of blueberries

Cacao can improve heart health, cholesterol, stress levels, and inflammation, to list just a few physical advantages. Fringe benefits cacao releases into the brain include anandamide, endorphins, phenylethylamine, and serotonin, all sparking descriptives like “blissful” and “euphoric.”

Chocolate is known to increase neurotransmitters like phenylethylamine (PEA), serotonin, and anandamide (the “bliss chemical”) in the brain. That’s just one of the reasons we crave it and feel so good when we eat it.

I opt for raw cacao (not Hershey’s cocoa powder) as my chocolate of choice because in its raw, unheated form, its antioxidant properties and phytochemicals are most potent.

Today’s recipe pairs the blissful phytochemicals in chocolate with the libido-enhancing properties of maca powder.

Maca root is a cruciferous vegetable indigenous to Peru that has dozens of health benefits and is known for its energy-boosting, hormone-balancing, libido-enhancing powers, like the products from sites like https://www.vigrx.com/ are able to aid you in. So maybe after eating one of these you’ll want to take your partner to the bedroom and stick on an adult movie from the likes of https://www.tubev.sex/?hl=bg and other sites.

It is an adaptogen, which is a “natural substance that works with a person’s body and helps them adapt; most notably, to stress. Adaptogens are a natural ally in dealing with persistent stress and fatigue because they work with regulating important hormones.”

Maca has a mild, malted taste and is a great smoothie add-in, which is how we’re using it today. Make sure you buy gelatinized maca root (it will say it on the bag) because it is easier to digest. I buy mine at MOM’s Organic Market, but you can also find it online or at your local health food store.

This smoothie is thick and creamy thanks for the chia seeds, flaxseed and frozen banana. It’s more like a decadent desert, but I enjoyed it for breakfast!

Nothing like a little chocolate and maca love to get the day started right and put you in the mood for whatever is to come 🙂

Chocolate Bliss Aphrodisiac Smoothie

This smoothie combines bliss-inducing chocolate and libido-enhancing maca powder for a delicious, rich and creamy treat. Whilst it might not increase your libido as much as typing escort roma into a search engine, we’ve found the enhancement to still be pretty darn good!

  • 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
  • 1.5 tablespoons raw cacao powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon maca powder
  • 1 Medjool date (pit removed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 frozen banana

  1. Combine all ingredients except banana in a blender for about 30 seconds.

  2. Add banana and blend until smoothie and creamy. Pour into a glass and top with raw cacao nibs for some crunch and an extra chocolate boost!

Option add-in: 1 scoop collagen protein powder

Chai-Spiced Almond Butter Smoothie

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On December 10, 2017

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

We just had our first snowfall in Baltimore this weekend.  With the colder weather comes an innate craving for warmer comfort foods, like this chicken tikka masala dish we had for dinner in our Instant Pot last night.

Because I try to eat seasonally and pay attention to what my body is craving at different times of the year, I find myself eating fewer salads but more soups and fewer smoothies but more oatmeal.

On days I do want a smoothie, I shy away from tropical flavors and other combinations better suited for summer and load up my smoothies with warming, grounding spices!

That’s how the idea for this Chai Almond Butter Smoothie came to be. I’ve made other spiced smoothies like this Snickerdoodle one, this Turmeric Golden Milk one (two of the most popular recipes on my blog!), and this newer Apple Cinnamon version. Today’s smoothie contains some similar spices, but it pays homage to one of my favorite drinks.

Chai tea.

Chai tea is made with a blend of spices, including cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger, and a hint of black pepper. All of these spices are highly anti-inflammatory, immune boosting, and digestive-supporting and some even have anti-viral properties.

We tend to forget about spices when we are focusing on upgrading what we are eating or drinking, but, as you can see, they are powerhouses of nutrients!

Today’s smoothie uses a blend of those spices and some almond butter for protein, fat and creaminess, all of which will keep you coming back for more!

Chai Almond Butter Smoothie

This fall-spiced smoothie is packed with anti-inflammatory compounds and tastes like a cup of chai tea!

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
  • pinch black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Medjool date (pit removed)
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1 frozen banana ((peel it first!))
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 scoop unflavored protein powder or collagen peptides ((optional))

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 45-60 seconds. Add up to 1/4 cup more almond milk, if needed. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

If you like chai-flavored foods, try some of these other recipes on my blog:

Apple Cinnamon Smoothie

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On October 7, 2017

In Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Holidays, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Vegan

I love this time of year.

September and October are my favorite weather months, and I love the changing colors of the leaves on the trees here on the East Coast.

As fall comes and winter follows, a lot of us will be changing up our diets a bit to reflect the change in seasons. We’ll be adding in more warming, grounding foods like soups, stews, and chilis. We’ll be incorporating more herbs and spices in our meals. We’ll focus on flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, sage, rosemary and thyme.

YUM!

Why not start the season off with one of everyone’s favorites…apple pie!

I have to admit – I’m more of a crisp/crumble girl than a pie person. But I know apple pie is one of those comfort foods that makes a lot of people very happy, so today’s recipe is my best attempt at recreating it…smoothie style!

In this recipe, I used avocado for creaminess (you won’t even taste it!), an apple and a date for sweetness, and cinnamon and nutmeg for a punch of flavor. The hint of lemon juice adds a bit of tartness to this recipe, which you could probably recreate by just using a Granny Smith apple instead of the Gala apple that I used. You can add spinach to create a Green Apple Smoothie, if you’d like. It’s a great way to get in an extra dose of veggies.

Because of the apple and the oats, this recipe isn’t as silky smooth as some other smoothies, but the flavors are on point. My friend Kat taste tested it for me before I finalized it and she said she was a bit skeptical of the combo of ingredients…but it turned out great!

Happy Fall!

Cinnamon Apple Smoothie

As fall foods make their way into our kitchens and bellies, let’s celebrate all of the flavors of fall with this seasonal smoothie!

  • 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 medium apple (cored and quartered)
  • 1 Medjool date (pit removed)
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • pinch sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons rolled oats (gluten-free)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 avocado flesh
  • 2 scoops unflavored protein powder (Vital Proteins and Tonic are my fave brands)
  • 1 cup ice cubes

  1. Blend all ingredients except ice cubes in a high speed blender until evenly combined. Add ice and blend until smooth.

Add 1 cup of baby spinach for a “green apple” smoothie. 

Turmeric Golden Milk Smoothie {Vegan, Paleo}

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On August 19, 2017

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, GBOMBS, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Paleo, Recipes, Savor, Vegan

Are you into golden milk as much as I am?

Maybe you’re wondering what it is and what all the fuss is about and have yet to try it.

After drinking golden milk from about five different places on a recent trip to Colorado, I was inspired to create this recipe. It takes a popular hot drink and turns it into a cool and creamy smoothie!

The base of this smoothie combines an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich, anti-cancer spice blend of turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. Adding a pinch of black pepper helps the body better absorb the turmeric, so whenever you consume turmeric, make sure to pair it with some black pepper.

Turmeric is a plant that grows underground and is a member of the ginger family. It has a long history of medicinal use, dating back nearly 4000 years, and it has been studied in numerous clinical trials for its therapeutic use. The primary compound in turmeric is called curcumin and its consumption has been correlated with a range of potential health benefits:

  • Protection against certain cancers
  • Treatment of arthritis and osteoarthritis
  • Support for those with inflammatory bowel disease
  • Reduce blood sugar
  • May help prevent Alzheimer’s disease

To learn more about this powerful plant, click here.

By itself, turmeric doesn’t taste that awesome and can have a bit of a bitter taste, but when it is combined with other spices (like in the case of curry powder or golden milk), its flavor is muted but its vibrant color shines through.

To make this a more substantial smoothie, I added a few scoops of my favorite collagen protein powder, which supports healthy tissue growth, and some cashews for a source of fat. If you’d rather use cashew butter or coconut butter, you can do that instead.

I usually have to mess with a recipe multiple times for sharing it with you, but this was a one and done kind of day! I hope you enjoy this delicious golden milk smoothie. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Turmeric Golden Milk Smoothie

This cool and creamy spin on a popular hot drink is the perfect way to start your day!

  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (powder)
  • 1/8 teaspoon ginger (powder)
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon raw cashews
  • 1/2 teaspoon sweetener (honey or pure maple syrup)
  • 2 scoops collagen protein powder (I use Vital Proteins)
  • 1/2 zucchini (peeled and coarsely chopped)
  • 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
  • 1 banana (frozen)

  1. Put spices through almond milk in a blender and blend until evenly combined. 

  2. Add frozen banana and blend until smooth.

To purchase collagen peptides from Vital Proteins, click here.

17 Supercharged Plant-Powered Salads

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On June 28, 2017

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor, Vegan, Vegetarian

A few weeks ago, I taught a cooking class for a client in DC about how to supercharge your salads. I summed up the keys to building an upgraded and anti-cancer salad in my last blog post here, so make sure to check that out if you missed it.

We made three different salads – two with greens as the base and a third with grains (quinoa) as the base. All of them were a hit, so I thought I’d share the recipes we made along with a few more of my favorite salads, so you can give them a try!

Let’s dive into the recipes! These are great for any meal of the day (yes, even breakfast!) and perfect for potlucks. Kale salads hold up especially well for a few days in the fridge, but make sure to keep them chilled to avoid food poisoning, especially at outdoor picnics.

Enjoy! 🙂

Strawberry, Fennel & Arugula Salad with a Lemony Balsamic Vinaigrette by Rebecca Katz

Sundried Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad

Spring Farmer’s Market Salad with Tangy Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Rainbow Super Food Kale Salad (my most requested recipe!)

Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Kale Caesar Salad by oh she glows

Mediterranean Spring Salad with Easy Avocado Dressing

Kale Salad with Avocado Tahini Sauce by Love & Lemons

The Easiest Kale Salad Ever

Kale Waldorf Salad by Whole Foods Market Recipes

Simple Beauty-Boosting Salad with Pesto Dressing

A Simple Salad for Salad Haters with Creamy Basil Dressing by Sondi Bruner

Chickpea & Sundried Tomato Kale Salad

Kale Salad with Peach Vinaigrette by The Detoxinista

Cherry Tomato, Asparagus & Quinoa Spring Salad

Watermelon Mojito Salad by Stupid Easy Paleo

Cumin & Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Eat Your Greens Chickpea Medley by oh she glows

What are some of your favorite salad recipes? Feel free to share in the comment section below! I always love trying new recipes.

The Secret Ingredients for Anticancer Salads

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On June 20, 2017

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Gluten-Free, How To, Nourish, Paleo, Products I Use, Recipes, Tips & Tricks, Vegan, Vegetarian

I didn’t eat my first salad until I was in college.

I liked vegetables but just couldn’t get excited about a plate of raw ones and was always grossed out by condiments and anything besides butter and parmesan cheese being on my food, so salad dressings were out.

Fast forward to my 30s, and I am a salad fiend! I love them and do what I can to make them exciting, colorful and delicious.

My husband is a teacher and was telling me about a potluck they recently had at his school. One of the teachers wanted to go in on a salad with him, and they were going to bring the standard lettuce + tomatoes + carrots + cucumbers with ranch dressing.

Now, as a disclaimer, I believe that eating fresh, whole foods, especially vegetables, is a wonderful idea. But what if you could supercharge your salads with more medicinal, disease-preventive, feel good ingredients??

This video from nutritionfacts.org has gotten me to think differently about salads, and I think it will do the same for you. It also reveals the #1 anticancer vegetable, so check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tAAehC4BYs

Based on that video, I thought I’d share the template that I use to mix and match ingredients when making salads. I still include all vegetables but ordered them based on how cancer preventive they are, so use this as a guide for upgrading your salads.

The key with keeping salads exciting is to use a variety of colors, textures, and flavors. Based on this list, you can come up with endless combinations of beautiful, nourishing and delicious salads!

  • Base: spinach, kale, arugula, Romaine, spring mix, watercress, Bibb lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, radicchio, bok choy, endive
  • Veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, shredded cabbage, shredded brussels sprouts, scallions, shallots, onions, leeks, fennel, celery, peppers, beets, radishes, roasted sweet potatoes and other root vegetables, cooked asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots
  • Super food add-ons: broccoli sprouts (Potomac Sprout Co. is my favorite!), lentil sprouts, bean sprouts, hemp seeds, goji berries, mulberries
  • Chopped herbs: basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, oregano, mint
  • Fruit: berries are my go to but sometimes apples, pears or peaches fit the bill! Avocados are a great substitute for cheese (and they’re a fruit!)
  • Fermented Food: chopped sauerkraut, fermented beets (Farmhouse Culture), or kimchi. Adding these to your salad will enhance digestion and leave you feeling less bloated.
  • Protein: lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, chicken, salmon
  • Crunch: roasted chickpeas (Chickpeatos and Saffron Road are my top two brands), sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews
  • Dressing: check out over a dozen dressing recipes below, most of which include the all-star ingredient – GARLIC! My favorite brands of store-bought dressing are Tessemae’s and Bragg’s.

In the next post, I will be sharing 16 supercharged salad recipes, so you have some ideas for how to make this happen…and keep your salads exciting!

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

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On May 27, 2017

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, How To, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor, Tips & Tricks, Vegan, Vegetarian

I just finished up teaching a two-part series about Healthy Meal Planning Made Easy at the Institute for Integrative Health. We had a great time and made some tasty recipes. I love showing how eating well can be easier, more fun, and delicious, and these classes are the perfect opportunity for me to do that.

I summed up my top healthy meal planning tips from week #1 in this post and shared links to over a dozen simple recipes, including the mason jar salad and tropical-inspired smoothie we made and sampled during the session.

In class #2, we focused on batch cooking, my favorite gadgets, the ultimate food storage guide, and my top tips for eating healthy on the go. Batch cooking is a technique of preparing larger quantities of simple foods that can be mixed and matched throughout the week. I love what Nutrition Stripped has to say about strategies for how do this in her Batch Cooking 101 blog post.

We kicked off the class with a sample of one of my favorite new packaged foods – Swapples – which is a new spin on a traditional waffle. Swapples are gluten-free, vegan, and paleo and can be used as the base of or topping for just about any meal. We tried the Tomato Pizza version, which I’d recommend dipping into marinara sauce!  For the “eating on the go” part of class, we also sampled one of my favorite real food snack bars – an Almond Cranberry Everbar.

We had fun playing with our food and making this easy 10-minute white bean, tomato and zucchini noodle saute. Two brave volunteers came up to help me spiralize the zucchini into noodles and did a great job! Want to get your own spiralizer? Check out this one.

Since one of the main concepts I wanted to introduce was batch cooking, we talked about how to use quinoa two different ways – one savory preparation and one sweet. If you prepare a big pot of plain quinoa (let’s say you cook 4 cups) at the beginning of the week, you can use it for a number of different dishes. If you’ve ever made a mistake cooking a batch of quinoa and ended up with a giant mass or unevenly cooked pieces, read this post that reveals the SECRET to cooking perfect quinoa…every time!

You can use it as the base of grain bowl like this Sweet Potato, Edamame & Quinoa Bowl that was a BIG hit. You could substitute it rice in a stir fry, toss it into a soup or stew or on top of a salad, or use it to make a breakfast bowl. Think of the quinoa as a substitute for oatmeal. Since it’s already cooked, this is a great way to save time in the morning. I’m going to experiment with other versions of this recipe that combine different ingredients, but this is a simple one to start with, so I hope you’ll give it a try!

Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

This tasty and easy breakfast is a great way to use leftover plain quinoa.

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 pinch ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 apple (diced)
  • 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

  1. Combine all ingredients except apple and walnuts in a small saucepan on the stove over medium low heat, stirring until heated through and quinoa begins to thicken, about 8-10 minutes.

  2. Pour into bowls and top with chopped apple, walnuts, and, if needed, a light drizzle of maple syrup.

You can also top this dish with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped almonds or hemp seeds.

White Bean, Tomato & Zucchini Noodle Saute

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On May 10, 2017

In Anti-Inflammatory, Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Detoxifying, Gluten-Free, How To, Products I Use, Recipes, Savor, Vegan, Vegetarian

Pasta was my favorite food group growing up.

Whether it was Spaghettios, Beefaroni, or buttered egg noodles or angel hair, I LOVED all things pasta. I’ve come to upgrade my preferences these days and prefer protein and fiber-packed lentil pasta, brown rice pasta, or the easiest and most nourishing choice out there…

Zucchini noodles!

AKA “zoodles.” 🙂

You can buy zucchini noodles at a lot of grocery stores for convenience, BUT it’s so much cheaper (and way more fun!) to make them yourself. The simple gadget you use to make them is called a spiralizer.

I did a video about how to use a spiralizer when I JUST started making videos a few years, so don’t mind the less than stellar quality! I plan to update this with a better version soon, but it makes the point, so I’m keeping this one here for now.

https://youtu.be/XbLHyAY_KRI

You can eat the zoodles raw or lightly saute them, which is what I did for today’s recipe. If you eat them raw, I find that it helps to let them “sweat” on a paper towel for about 10 minutes before adding them to a salad, so they stay crunchy.

I had some garlic, cherry tomatoes and leftover cannellini beans that I wanted to use up, so I decided to toss all of them together to come up with this dish. Something like this takes just a few minutes to put together, so it’s convenient if you’re in a time crunch. Using fun kitchen toys like a spiralizer is also a great way to include your kiddos in the meal-making process. If you make cooking fun, they (and you!) will be more likely to want to do it instead of feel like you have to do it.

You can modify this recipe based on other ingredients you have on hand. Adding asparagus would be a great idea this time of year, since that is in season. Even though I didn’t use it this time around, I’m going to add some fresh basil the next time I make this dish because I think it will really make it pop and add another layer of flavor and color. I add leafy greens to my meals as often as possible!

White Bean, Tomato & Zucchini Noodle Saute

This quick and easy dish comes together in minutes and is a great way to highlight spring and summer veggies!

  • 2 zucchini (spiralized)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
  • 1 cup cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
  • Pinch sea salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (torn)

  1. Use your spiralizer to make zucchini noodles with your zucchini. Cut them with scissors, so you don’t have one long noodle.

  2. In a large saute pan, add olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant. 

  3. Add cherry tomatoes, cannellini beans, and a pinch or two of salt and saute for about 5 minutes. Add zucchini noodles and saute for 2 more minutes or until heated through. Taste and add additional salt, if needed.

  4. Pour contents of pan into two bowls and top with basil leaves and lemon zest. 

I like to top any kind of pasta with my favorite paleo parmesan cheeze made with cashews and nutritional yeast. Here is the 3-ingredient recipe for that!

Vegan Carrot Cake Smoothie

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On April 28, 2017

In Clean Eating, Dairy-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nourish, Paleo, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan

Since I’ve been feeling better, I’ve been back in the kitchen experimenting with recipes. My most recent hit was this vegan, gluten-free carrot cake muffin topped with creamy cashew icing. If you haven’t already tried it, you totally should!

It’s been a while since I posted a new smoothie recipe, but since I was already tinkering with the ingredient profile for carrot cake, I thought I’d try coming up with a carrot cake smoothie.

Some recipes come together easily, and after one or two attempts, it ends up tasting good. This smoothie took about six attempts before I came up with something that I really liked! I have to give a shout out to my friend, Kat Downs, who writes the awesome blog, Crunchy Kat, for being willing to be a recipe tester for me! She will be featured in my next blog post, so I’m really excited for you guys to meet her.

In the meantime, give this tasty carrot cake smoothie recipe a try. You might be surprised to find that it contains a secret ingredient you won’t even taste that will give you an extra serving of vegetables. When I think of upgrading what I eat, this is one of the easiest ways to do it!

Vegan Carrot Cake Smoothie

If you like all the flavors of carrot cake as much as I do, you’re going to love this creamy, dreamy smoothie!

  • 1/2 cup carrots (peeled and chopped)
  • 1/2 zucchini (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons raw cashews
  • 1 Medjool date (pit removed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pinch nutmeg
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 piece frozen or fresh pineapple (Trust me, this makes a difference!)
  • 1 frozen banana

  1. Add all ingredients through almond milk to the blender and blend until smooth.

  2. Add frozen fruit and blend until creamy. 

For some reason, I find that the smoothie turns out a bit creamier when you combine all ingredients besides the frozen fruit FIRST and then add it, but you can totally just blend everything at once. That’s just my preference 🙂

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