​I threw this photo on FB and had some requests for the recipe; It makes me giggle because it's kind of a non-recipe dish and goes like this... 

What's in the fridge? What's in the garden? Great! That's what we're eating.

We eat this way a lot, everything in one pot/pan or sheet, short time in front of the stove, and it's delicious.

For this meal, we used a combo of sweet potatoes, bell peppers, snow peas, onions Japanese mustard, Russian kale, and broccoli spiced with turmeric, paprika, asafetida, and black mustard seeds all sauteed together and then finished the veggies with homemade roasted red bell pepper hummus and fresh basil. When you try it go for your favorite organic vegetables and the spices you love!

Now, the one thing that kicks this casual and relatively simple meal up a notch is the homemade hummus. About a year ago we gave up on the store-bought stuff and found that hummus made at home is easy, and you can make it to the exact taste and texture you like.

Some things to note
* We most often used dried beans, they are cheaper especially when buying organic. If you want to try this, soak them overnight, and then boil on the stovetop with 1/2 TBS of baking soda. The baking soda helps the beans break down more quickly so that they blend smoothly. Cool before using in the hummus. Prepping them this way makes them less gassy too. If you are using the canned variety rinse them thoroughly. 

** If prepping the peppers yourself seems intimidating you can buy them pre-roasted, but his will up the price of the finished product. You can find them in organic which I recommend because peppers on the dirty dozen list. 

***As far as texture goes, you can adjust by altering the olive oil content, or reserving some of the bean water if you used dried and adding in small increments until you get exactly the texture you desire.

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I went a little wild testing some vegan cookie recipes this weekend.

I am after all hosting Christmas eve this year and I love cookies, so I wanted to make sure I was properly prepped to do some killer entertaining, enjoy some treats and adhere to my plant-based intentions.

I had posted about being disappointed in myself over Thanksgiving, because I let the circumstances and my fear of not belonging take over my food decision making. 

I vowed the next holiday would be on my terms, while still including everyone.

So on to the Cookies!

These were awesomely easy, we refrigerated the dough for about an hour before rolling it out.

I would probably add a little vegan butter to the icing next time.

As is, the icing was great for a drizzle, but the flavor was a bit flat. I guess I just prefer a creamier frosting.

Totally kid friendly. K helped me from start to finish.

COOKIES

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup  Vegan Butter (we used Earth Balance sticks)
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
• 2-5 Tbsp Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk, add bit by bit for the right consistency  (we used Good Karma flax milk)

ICING

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tbsp Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk  (we used Good Karma flax milk)

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C)
2. Cream the vegan butter and sugar together and then add the vanilla extract and almond extract.
3. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking soda and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in by hand until crumbly. Add soy milk and mix in to create a big ball of dough. If your mix is too crumbly to form a ball of dough, add in a little more soy milk until it does.
5. Flour your hands and a baking mat and transfer the ball of dough to the baking mat.
6. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to around 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, dip a cookie cutter into flour so it doesn’t stick and cut out your cookies. Transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking tray. With the remaining dough, form it into a ball and then roll it out again and repeat.
7. If you want round cookies and don’t want to make shapes, then you don’t need to roll out the dough, you can simply tear off pieces of the dough and roll into balls and place the balls onto a parchment lined baking tray. Flour the bottom of a glass and use that to press down on the balls to flatten them neatly before baking.
8. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.
10. Prepare your decorating frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vanilla and soy milk to an electric mixing bowl. Start on low speed and gradually increase speed until smooth. If you need a little more soy milk then add it a drop at a time so that you don’t use too much. The consistency will be very sticky, almost gluey. Separate into 2 bowls. Add a drop of food coloring into each bowl and mix in.
11. Decorate the cookies and allow to set before serving.

These are my favorite!

They are super spicy and chewy,  and smell like Christmas.

Perfect for getting into that Holiday state of mind.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) vegan butter, softened We used Earth Balance sticks
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup Course sugar (Turbinado) for rolling cookies
• 1 chia egg (1 T chia seeds soaked in 2.5T water for 5 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup molasses

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1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice in a bowl and set aside.
2 Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3 Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Dough is pretty sticky
4 Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5 Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks . (We did 13 minutes and they were great!)
Note: do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.

My Journey into the world of plant based has been an amazing and  challenging adventure. My intention was to do the best I can, learn as much as possible and have fun with it.

But guess what? I practically fell to pieces over Thanksgiving, because of the butter and cream that was in EVERYTHING. I knew in advance that I was going to partake in the crab legs, but was sure I would stay plant based everywhere else...

FAT CHANCE!

​I caved, not necessarily because I was craving the old family favorites, but because I was afraid of losing belonging in my family tribe. I didn't want to stand out or be the Thanksgiving pain in the ass, who changed all the recipes to suit my needs. I totally veered off the my path to fit in. I felt out of integrity, and I got real judge-y on myself. But, oh how important it was for me to belong. This is a human condition though. I am not alone. We are hard wired to conform, at one time in history, our survival depended on it.

This is a super common catalyst for self sabotage, that shows up in social engagements., gatherings, and celebrations of all kinds. You know when Great Aunt Sally singles you out...

"Your so tiny, your wasting away, why are you eating like a bird?"

"Here have a double helping of my famous mashed potatoes, a cup of gravy, and make sure to eat all, so you don't hurt my feelings."

Well I can't say that the discomfort of standing out and being different when it comes to your health won't go away. However, you can  begin to practice:

1. The polite, but firm,  "No thank you." ( honoring your desires)
2. Prioritizing your health over aunt Sally's feelings. (boundaries baby!)
3. Arming your self with killer food ammunition that puts a smile on everyone's face and honors your health. (planning and strategizing)

Connect with me for more tips to recognize and defeat self sabotage, yummy recipes, and killer support so you can reclaim, and prioritize your bad ass self, and have the health and relationships you've dreamed about. Here's to owning it!
Jacqui@fitbodhi.com
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