30 days of GOOD FOOD

30 days, 30 recipes. if you miss a day, double up on another. no big deal. ingredients should be mainly plant-based, dairy-free, and “clean.” we’re talking greens (and other things from the ground), milk from a nut instead of an animal, and whole grains rather than refined. think fresh and not processed. so start your research and make your shopping list. nows the time to try that vegan salad dressing you heard about or those raw almond butter cookies you saw on the internet. maybe you try some hemp seed in your oatmeal one morning. whatever it is thats new for you--take a photo, list your ingredients and SHARE it. this is going to be oh so fun! it’s a veggie party and everyone is welcome--just let me know if you or a friend wants into the FB group. and oh yeah, our hashtag is #30daysofGOODFOOD....yum on.

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Pancakes

makes about 15 pancakes 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups light (canned) coconut milk 1 6-ounce container plain, nonfat Greek yogurt 1 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 tablespoons honey In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add milk, yogurt, vanilla and honey, whisking until smooth. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour batter into rounds. Let cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Serve with butter, syrup and fruit.

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

So I was going to double down yesterday, but alas ended up doing so today to make up for Fridays skip… So I just made some homemade almond milk. Mmmmm and srsly- so easy! The only downfall is that since almond milk is so readily available and it’s not a huge cost savings to make on your own, there may not appear to be much motivation to do so-but the homemade stuff is soooo creamy and delicious and since it happens to be easy and not require a lot I have a feeling we will be making our own often in the future.

Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk

Grocery List 1 lb raw almonds (costs roughly $3.99) 4.5 C water Flour Sack if you like it sweetened like we do 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 swirls agave

Soak your almonds over night or 8-12 hrs-drain

Put in blender with water (if doing a full pound I’d recommend doing in two batches to make a bit easier).

Blend on high or liquify for about 20 seconds.

Put a strainer over a bowl (this photo from after my first blending batch)

Top with a flour sack and pour blender contents. You’ll hear the liquid start to drain through. The strainer isn’t a fully necessary step just gives your contents something to sit on…

Pick up the flour sack and squeeze all the milk out. This takes roughly 30 seconds to a minute…not long.

If sweetening-add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 3 swirls the size of the bowl of agave (or just play around with it to taste) stir up or quickly reblend. Pour into container and it’ll last about 2 wks in the fridge.

I cheated and tasted mine with some frozen girl scout thin mints ;)

Then as a bonus- take the left-over almond meal from the flour sack and lay out on a baking sheet. Bake for an hr at 350–it’ll start to clump up, drizzle with agave and eat with almond milk as a cereal or add to your favorite granola. I’m also going to look into a face/body scrub DIY – if I find a good one. I’ll post that too ;)

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

ahhhh, sweet savasana.... i easily hung out at the "gas station" for a good 20 minutes tonight + after re-fueling i had enough energy to whip up a vegan mac + cheese! i ended up taking pieces of recipes from here + there. (oh she glows + cooks dot com have extended versions.) we don't have any cashews in the house so i decided to omit those + mix up a few of the ingredients. it ended up being easier than easy + tasted cheezier than cheesy! we loved it + plan on making it time + time again...with variations here + there, of course. ;) MAC-NO CHEESE (V) (GF if you want it to be) 2 cups of cubed butternut squash pot of H2O salt + pepper 1 tablespoon of miso 1 tablespoon of tahini 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast 2 teaspoons of paprika 1 cup of the "squash water" 1.5 cups of pasta (whatever kind you ♥...we went brown rice shells) another pot of H2O breadcrumbs for your crust/topping. you could certainly omit the breadcrumbs if you're GF or anti-bread--i'm trying to get Frankie on my dairy-free side so we went for whole wheat breadcrumbs this time. :) 1. fill your pot with your squash + cover with water. bring water to boil + then simmer for 15-20 mins until the squash is nice + soft. (you can also steam or bake it!) 2. once cooked through, drain + place in blender with miso, tahini, salt, pepper, paprika, nutritional yeast, and "squash water" ...which is just a cup of water from the pot that the squash boiled in (vegetable broth would work here as well). 3. boil water + pasta while you preheat the oven to 350. 4. blend all of your ingredients until it looks like Kraft Mac. :D 5. mix with pasta + transfer to glass dish. top with breadcrumbs of choice or go naked! it really is yummmmy all by its lonesome. 6. bake at 350 for 15-20 mins. if you want your crust to be extra crispy, mix your breadcrumbs with some Earth Balance in your blender and use that as the topping....not as healthy, but you'll get a few more vegan-questioners on your side. 7. take out when it looks delish + top with salt + pepper. this was so easy--and yummy even without the cashews! totally tasted "cheesy" + really hit the spot. ill add peas or broccoli next time! tonight we had asparagus + greens on the side. kids will absolutely love this dish!! ♥

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

All organic veggie lentil soup! Super easy & nutritious! Fresh ingredients are always better... But canned/frozen always works too. - mixed lentils (2 cans worth) - pinto beans (1 can) - corn (1/2 can) - zucchini/squash (1 green, 1 yellow) - carrots (1-2 stalks) - kale & mustard greens (1 1/2 cup chopped total) - garlic cloves smashed (3 cloves) - veggie broth (2 cups) - diced tomatoes (1 can) - dash of cumin - pepper flakes (add more to ur desired spice level) - dash of black pepper & sea salt - dash of garlic powder Combine all ingredients except for greens and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 10 min & add kale/mustard greens. Simmer for 5 min... And voila! Ready to eat solo or with some whole wheat bread to dip. Top with some shredded cheese if you prefer :)

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Carrot Ginger Dressing/Dip

Grocery List

1 large carrot, peeled + roughly chopped 1 large shallot, peeled + roughly chopped 2 TBS ginger (freshly chopped or ginger juice) 1 TBS sweet white miso 2 TBS rice wine vinegar 1 TBS roasted sesame seed oil 1/4 C grapeseed oil 2 TBS water

Pulse the carrots, shallots + ginger pieces in a food processor (or blender) until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides + add miso, vinegar and sesame seed oil. Whiz together and while it’s blending, slowly add grapeseed oil + water.

Drizzle on any salad and eat as a dip for fresh veggies. Easy peasy.

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

GREENVILLE SMOOTHIE

I gave up sugar for lent (including fruit, yikes!) but my body woke up begging for fruit today, so I listened (after all, listening to you body is way more important than imposed rules sometimes). It's a busy day of homework and editing so I grabbed a delicious lunch smoothie from Greenlife Asheville. Try putting these ingredients together at home! Green as green and sweet as sweet could be! Banana Mango Pineapple Coconut Water Spirulina

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Everyone should have at least one good smoothie (or smeezy peezy as we called them in ’02 at our ha well smeezy peezy par-tays) concoction in their quiver. This one has been the damiano crew’s for the past few years…

Smeezy Peezy/Morning Standard Smoothie

Grocery List Sambazon – original smoothie packs (1 per persons worth) Fresh strawberries Banana Frozen mango + blueberries Three handfuls spinach 1 TBS hemp seeds 1 TBS flax seeds 2 tsp bee pollen (we buy local pollen from whole foods) 1 TBS vanilla protein powder 1 tsp vanilla extract Splash OJ And almond milk until its the consistency you want-roughly 1C per person’s worth

Mix all together in a blender and blend away-any frozen or fresh fruits work, play with your portions to figure out how many of which fruits works well for your tastes and however many smoothies you’re making. Enjoy!

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Easy Sunday night dinner:

Peanut noodles with tofu and vegetables!!

8 oz. linguini 16 oz. frozen stir fry veggies 1/4 c. Sugar 1/4 c. Creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper Tofu, pan fried or baked Chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro for garnish (optional) 1. In a 4-qt Dutch oven cook linguini, adding veggies during the last 2 minutes, drain 2. For peanut sauce, in a small saucepan combine sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, water, oil, garlic, & crushed red pepper; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. 3. In large bowl, combine linguini w veggies, peanut sauce, and cooked tofu, toss to coat :) if desired garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro. This is the best peanut sauce recipe I've ever used!! Yumm.

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Day 6 was a breeze! I started with a smoothie, refueled with an avocado wrap, and came home to a homemade, vegan, whole wheat, veggie pizza! The new-to-me part was the whole wheat, homemade pizza dough! I made it earlier this week and had it to ready to go when we got home from snowboarding last night...alert, ALERT....vegan pizza is total comfort food. :) WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH (V) 3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 1 1/2 cups warm water 1 T dry active yeast 1 t agave (or honey or sugar...) 1 T olive oil 1 T sea or Himalayan salt + seasonings if you like/have em (basil, oregano, etc.) 1. In a large bowl, dissolve agave (honey or sugar) in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy. 2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour until dough starts to come together. Take the dough out of the bowl and transfer to a flat surface floured with the remaining flour (ie: the counter). Knead until all of the flour (and your seasonings) has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 3. When the dough is doubled feel free to divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight little dough ball and allow to rise for additional 45 minutes, or until doubled. 4. I bake my dough on a pizza stone, but a cookie sheet works great. Just make sure you corn meal your stone or olive oil your pan. 5. First, I put my dough in the oven for 5 minutes at 500 degrees and then lower it to 425 and add my sauce, spinach, daiya (cheez), and extra veggies. I then put the topped pizza back in at the lower temp for an additional 8-10 minutes. This ensures that my dough is nice + crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and my veggies are nice + happy. This recipe makes 2 thin-crust pizzas....but is also great for breadsticks, calzones, stromboli's, whatever your little Italian heart desires! Enjoy!!!

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Tonight's dinner: hummus and homemade pita chips and beet and quinoa tabouli!

Keegan roasted the whole head of garlic in tin foil in the oven for the hummus, which I've never done before and it was delicious! It gave the hummus more of a nutty flavor and took away a little of the bite, I would recommend trying it if you have the time. He also seasoned and baked his own pita chips! Now for the tabouli. You need: 1 cup quinoa 2 c water or veggie broth (I used broth) Sea salt 1 large beet 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes 1/4 c red onion, finely chopped 3oz. feta cheese (optional) Pepper Juice of one lime or lemon 6 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp chopped mint 1. Cook the beet. The recipe said to cook it whole, peel and dice later (I assume so you don't cook all the nutrients away, but I missed that part and peeled and chopped mine and then cooked it; it certainly cooked faster, and it was still delicious. 2. Cook quinoa in veggie broth or water, fluff, remove from heat and toss in beet - it gives it a beautiful pink color! 3. Add the cherry tomatoes (halved), feta (crumbled) and red onion (diced) 4. Prepare a vinaigrette by combining the juice from the lemon or lime, sea salt, pepper, parsley and mint - dress the salad and top with toasted pine nuts! This salad was so delicious!!! Highly recommended. :)

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Started my morning off easy with a smoothie:

1. Chobani greek yogurt 2. Fresh strawberries, fresh peaches, and bananas 3. Protein powder 4. Ice Mix it all together and your on your way

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Lunches for days..... Peanut Noodles: 1 lb. gluten free quinoa spaghetti pasta 1 C shredded carrot 1 C chopped scallion 1 thinly sliced red bell pepper Sauce: 1/3 C smooth peanut butter 1/4 C tamari, gluten free soy sauce 2 T rice vinegar 3 T sesame oil (I didn't have any, so I used peanut) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used fresh grated ginger, about 2 teaspoons) red pepper flakes flax seeds Cook spaghetti according to package directions. In a large bowl, mix sauce ingredients together until smooth. Drain and rinse noodles, then add to sauce. Toss in vegetables and sprinkle with flax seeds and red pepper. This is the first time I've made this. After tasting it, it's a little saucy, so adding some steamed broccoli or another vegetable would be recommended, as well as using less tamari maybe? Otherwise delish! And easy to make ahead for lunches.

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Good morning! We started our day off this morning with our first homemade smoothie. We're custom to pouring a glass of some kind of superfood from the grocery store before leaving for work, but thought since we have the time this morning, we'd customize it a bit. 1 orange 1 banana 1/2 C Coconut Milk A splash of orange juice 1 scoop Super Green Fruit & Veggie Ice While preparing, I had a drooling partner down at my feet, one of our pups, Keith. I swear in a past life, he was a vegetarian. He LUVS the fruits and veggies we allow him. I didn't want to leave him out, so we made him and his sister Tina a little smoothie as well : ) 1 banana 2 heaping tablespoons goat's milk yogurt 1/2 C water Ice

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers: 2 cans cannellini white beans, drained 1 large sweet potato (about 2 c) 2 tbsp tahini 2 tsp maple or agave syrup 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (or another fav spice) 1/4 c. Wheat flour Plentiful panko crumbs Oil for pan (I used sunflower) 1. Bake sweet potato, peel, place in large mixing bowl 2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl, mash beans and potato together 3. Mash in seasoning and flour - season to taste. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist, but you should be able to form a patty, add more flour if needed 4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan at high heat 5. Form a patty and coat in panko crumbs - give them a good thick coating. Drop patty in pan and cook until browned on both sides (you could also bake) 6. Transfer cooked patties to a paper towel, cool a few minutes 7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings! I used avocado and lettuce. Note: this patty does kind of fall apart as you eat it, but that's okay because it's so yummy! Keegan said "This is the best veggie burger I've ever had!" :) and that's a side of my first ever kale chips on the plate too! This has been my fav recipe of the 30 days so far!

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

So meant to make this two days ago, but got around to it tonight and it was good. I think because I didn’t rinse my noodles inbetween boiling and tossing, it gave them a semi-starchy texture/taste…but :) we all 3 ate it up.

Ginger Zucchini Pasta

Grocery List: rice noodles (i used a white rice noodle – spaghetti style) 1/2 block firm tofu, drained and cubed into bite-sized pieces 2TBS coconut oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 2 zucchinis, halved and sliced thinly 1 tsp minced garlic shoyu to taste 4 tsp ginger [i use ginger people] sesame oil to taste

Cook pasta, according to directions. Meanwhile in a cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, saute onions until soft in coconut oil. Once soft, add zucchini w/ a pinch of salt and garlic, saute 2 more minutes. Dash w/ shoyu to taste. Toss w/ pasta, ginger juice, sesame oil and serve!

[i forgot to get a photo of ours, but here's rwd's portion] ;) he gave me the ‘mmmmmmmmmm’and ate it all up!

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

So last night I hosted mama’s night – a monthly: venting, let’s eat good food, drink wine, let our babes play, and ask all the weird questions about our children or our own bodies that aren’t socially acceptable to bring up over coffee necessarily ;) group of some of my friends who are mamas of bebes ranging from currently preggo to just over 2 yrs old…. So knowing that a lot of them feeding 2, breastfeeding, or just constantly worn out – I wasn’t comfortable going full on vegan dinner ~ so I went with dessert. mmmm, my favorite. This one is super easy and tasty and I could make earlier in the day while rwd took his nap.

Apricot Coins

1C carob chips 1/8C maple syrup 40 dried turkish apricots 40 raw almonds

In a double broiler (or I used a glass bowl on top of a pot) heat carob chips + maple syrup until heated through. Cover and turn off heat for 5-10 mins allowing chips to fully melt. Meanwhile, using the bottom of a cup, flatten apricots to 1/4″ thick. Spread melted carob/syrup mix on top of apricots + press raw almond in the center. Voila. Couldn’t be quicker or simpler. Allow to harden (either at room temp if you’ve got the time, or chilled if you’re in more of a rush). The protein and vitamin E in the almonds is an added bonus to this delicious and not too sweet treat. Enjoy!

[30daysofgoodfood-blog]

Quinoa Taco Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup quinoa cooked in two cups water (I use a rice cooker to do this; here's how.)

Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. Scoop into a bowl. Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, as needed Juice from 2 juicy limes Sea salt, to taste 2-3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro or parsley 1 half small red or purple onion, diced fine 1 small yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced fine 1 cup roasted corn kernels (I used frozen, roasted on a cookie sheet for 6-7 minutes, then cooled) 1 large head of crisp romaine lettuce, washed, dried, sliced crosswise Gluten-free tortilla chips 1 large avocado, pitted, peeled, diced

DIRECTIONS:

Drizzle the cooked quinoa with extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat. Squeeze on fresh lime juice and toss again. Season with sea salt, to taste. Add in the fresh chopped cilantro, diced red onion, diced yellow pepper, and roasted corn kernels. Stir lightly to distribute. Taste test for seasoning adjustments. Line four salad bowls or plates with the fresh romaine. Spoon the quinoa salad on the center of the lettuce. Add the diced avocado to each plate. Tuck in a few tortilla chips around the edges. Serve with an extra lime wedge. Serves 4.