What To Do With Your Lettuce- Part 2

As we continue on with this series, part one was about freezing your herbs with oil (Read the last post if you missed). This time, we are going to talk about all that lettuce I planted.

I am not going to lie, I have never grown lettuce before and had no idea what I was really doing.  I read online how to cut the lettuce so it would continue to grow. How you can achieve this is by cutting the outer leaves and leaving about an inch of the crown.  This will allow your lettuce to keep growing.

But, what if I don’t feel like eating my lettuce right away. What can I do with it so it won’t spoil?

What You Need:

Lettuce

Bowl

Veggie Cleaner

Paper Towels

Water

 

 

What To Do:

1. Rinse your lettuce according to your veggie cleaner or if you don’t have one, just rinse your lettuce to get rid of excess dirt.
2. In the bowl, put a folded piece of paper towel covered in water (the paper towel, not the bowl) on the bottom.
3. Add the lettuce in the bowl, pile them so they have some room to breathe.
4. Put a damp piece of paper towel to cover the lettuce.  Make sure you rewet this paper towel once it gets dry.
5. When you’re ready to eat it, it will be waiting! Just don’t go too many days otherwise your lettuce will not be that great.  I did this overnight and only had to rewet my paper towel once.  The lettuce was still crunchy and fresh tasting.

It was so nice to have lettuce that I grew.  I know where my food is coming from (my mini garden haha) and I control what I feed my plants.  #nogmo #nopesticide  Bam! I feel like a real adult!

 

Vegan, Gluten Free Banana Bread

I am loving being able to eat bananas again! And I have been wanting to make banana bread for weeks now. I still haven’t been able to successfully reintroduce eggs back into my diet but using a vinegar/”milk” base in baking has helped.

What You Need: 

1/4 Cup Soy Milk (or any “milk” preference)

1/2 Teapsoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Cup Vegan Butter, softened

1 Cup Brown Sugar

3 Large Extra Ripe Bananas

1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Cups Gluten Free Flour

1 Teapsoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 Teapsoon Salt

1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon (I know this is a lot, you can definitely half it but I love cinnamon)

Coconut Oil Spray

What To Do:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan generously with coconut spray.

In a small bowl, mix the soy milk and vinegar. Let it sit for a few minutes. It will start to curdle a bit and thicken up. That’s what you want it to do!

In another small bowl, mix together your dry ingredients and set it to the side.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the bananas and blend really well, until there are only small chunks of banana left. Add in vanilla and the milk mixture.

Slowly add in the dry mixture, about a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until all the ingredients are blended together.

Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. You want to make sure the center is cooked! I’m still getting used to my new oven so it took a bit longer.

Enjoy xoxo

Vegan Pasta with Butternut Squash “Cheese”

So this delicious recipe was actually a mistake. I wanted to make cubed butternut squash, roasted in the oven but it was way too hot in my apartment to turn the oven on. So in skillet, I added the butternut squash with vegan butter. The butternut squash did not hold its shape but instead it started to become mushy. I went with it and added in some frozen broccoli. After tossing it in the pasta, it had a very similar texture to macaroni and cheese. So it felt like I was eating mac n cheese but really was eating butternut squash. This recipe is a must try!

 

What You Need:

Cubed, Butternut Squash

1/2 stick of Vegan Butter

Salt

Pepper

1 Tablespoon Dried, Crushed Garlic (can use less but I really enjoy it)

1 Teaspoon Dried Ginger

1/2 cup of Soy Milk

Lentil Pasta (you can use any kind you like)

What To Do:

In a skillet pan, add 1/2 the amount of vegan butter in to melt. Place in butternut squash and season with salt and pepper. Place a cover on top and stir every so often. Add in other seasonings. When the squash gets soft, it will start to fall apart. Continue to mash it until it is completely cooked. Add in 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli and cook until soft. Toss with pasta and serve warm.

Enjoy xoxo!

Buffalo Cauliflower

I love anything that is made with buffalo sauce, especially chicken wings. I’ve heard that people have used cauliflower instead of chicken to lighten up the recipe. This recipe is simple to make and equally as delicious!

What You Need:

1 Head of Cauliflower, chopped

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Gluten Free Bread Crumbs

Buffalo Sauce

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on a cookie sheet. Toss the cauliflower in the oil with salt and pepper. Top with a sprinkle of bread crumbs, (I used about 1/4 of a cup). Cook for about 40-50 minutes, flipping once, until the cauliflower is soft.

In a sauce pan, heat up the buffalo sauce and add the cauliflower in. Mix until all the cauliflower is covered in sauce. I love hot sauce so I used more but start with 1/4 cup and add more until you get the desired taste you want. If the buffalo sauce is too spicy for you, add in some local honey before you add get cauliflower. Enjoy!!

Creamy Vegan Avocado Basil Gluten Free Pasta

What a mouthful haha but this creamy vegan pasta is amazing! You have just the right amount of healthy fats without all the bad junk. With a hint of lemon and a kick of crushed red pepper, you can’t go wrong.

What You Need: 

2 Ripe Avocados

1/2 cup Fresh Basil Leaves

2 Whole Garlic Cloves, peeled

1/2 lemon, squeezed

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1/3-1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Broccoli, florets (2 small heads)

10 Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half

Gluten Free Pasta

What To Do:

In a pasta pot, boil water and cook gluten free pasta.

In a skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil with the broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cook until it is soft but still a little crunchy.

In a food processor (or blender), add the avocados, basil, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, coconut milk, and spices. Blend until all the ingredients are smooth and silky.

In the skillet pan, add the broccoli, pasta, and sauce. Heat until all the ingredients are warm and incorporated together. Top with the sliced cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy xoxo

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone! I hope we are all enjoying the day and spreading love throughout. I made a healthier version of a chocolate mousse that feels decadent but is made from healthy fats.

 

What You Need:

1 Ripe Avocado

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Melted, Dark Chocolate Chips

1 Tablespoon Honey

1/4 cup Coconut Milk

Pinch of Salt

Raspberries or Strawberries

Whipped Cream

What To Do:

In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients until you get a creamy consistency. Put into prepared mini cups and put in the refrigerator until cold. I left mine in the refrigerator over night. When chilled, top with whipped cream and your favorite berry. You won’t believe how decadent and rich this tastes!

Enjoy xoxo

Vegan Heart Pancakes

Everywhere you go, all you see is a massive amounts of hearts and roses, etc. The cool thing would be if we celebrate love all the time and not on one designated day. Either way, I love anything love related and played around with my pancake recipe to try and make them fluffier and vegan.

It sounds a little crazy to add vinegar to pancakes. I was a little nervous at first. I didn’t want the flavor to affect the pancakes. I used apple cider vinegar because it is a sweeter vinegar and really good for you. A little chemistry lesson here (sorry it’s the teacher in me). When you mix an acid (vinegar) and a base (baking powder), a chemical reaction occurs. You have heard of the volcano experiment where you mix together baking soda and vinegar, the chemical reaction happens right away and forms carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide produces lots of bubbles and boom, volcano. Well, baking powder has baking soda in it but needs to be heated to form that chemical reaction with the bubbles. When you mix in the vinegar, you will see some bubbles (that’s the baking soda) but what you won’t see is the pancake mix getting air bubbles incorporated into it. When heated, it will produce fluffier pancakes. Okay lesson complete… back to baking.

What You Need:

1 cup Gluten Free Baking Flour

1 tablespoon Organic Cane Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Coconut Oil

1 cup Soy Milk

1/2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Organic Red Food Dye (4 drops)

Coconut Spray

What To Do:

In a mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients. Mix to incorporate the ingredients. Then add all your wet ingredients and mix. You will notice when you add the vinegar, it will bubble a bit. Don’t worry! We have had our chemistry lesson 🙂

In a skillet under medium heat, spray with coconut oil. I made my pancakes into hearts but you can make any shape you want. I didn’t have any heart cookie cutters so I free-handed it. The first  ones were lopsided but I eventually got the hang of it.

I topped mine with vegan butter and real maple syrup, not the processed kind that is just chemicals.

Enjoy xoxo