Mint Matcha Chia Pudding

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
If you forgot to wear green today, just make sure you eat you greens! It’ll make up for it, promise.

Has anyone ever tried the Moroccan Mint Latte from Urth Caffe? Well, if you’re in an area near one of their locations, please get your booty over to try one.

I swear it tastes just like mint ice cream (minus the chocolate), and I’m talking the non vegan full fat dairy kind. That used to be my favorite ice cream growing up as a kid, and was one of the things I always wished to veganize when initially changing my lifestyle.

This this pudding was inspired by the Moroccan Mint Latte from Urth Caffe +  the ice cream. I cannot say that this recipe tastes like the ice cream, so please don’t expect it to, but it’s flavor is definitely reminiscent of it. Try adding cacao nibs to make it mint chocolate chip, yummy!

Mint Matcha Chia Pudding (GF)

Ingredients

• 2 cups non dairy milk (Optionally raw; I used almond and coconut)
• 2-3 medjool dates
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• 4 mint leaves (adjust to taste)
• A handful of kale, destemmed
• 5.5 tbsp chia seeds
• Toppings of choice (berries are great!)

Directions

1. Blend your non dairy milk, dates, vanilla, mint leaves, kale and matcha together until smooth.
2. Pour into a 32 oz mason jar, and add the chia seeds. shake vigorously to combine.
3. Shake every fifteen minutes for the next hour, then stick your mixture in the fridge overnight.
4. Remove from the fridge, and give it a shake or stir.
5. Pour it into a bowl or cup, add your toppings of choice, and enjoy!

Spent Grain (Oatmeal) Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Show some love to your little friends, too! Give them the gift of a healthy treat, considering their nutrition and health as much as you consider yours.

I whipped up this recipe specifically to make use of the spent grain from all of the beer my brother brews. Yes, he brews beer, and yes, it’s pretty awesome, but I hate to see so much of the ingredients go to waste. It is the same to me as leftover pulp from fresh juices, you don’t want to waste that goodness!

Slightly off topic of the recipe, but has anyone ever brewed beer or been around the process? The smell is so unpleasant for me. It reminds me of pet stores I used to go to as a kid (breaks my heart).

Anyways, there are always so many oatmeal peanut butter dog biscuit recipes out there, and there are also spent grain dog biscuit recipes that include eggs as a ingredient. Why not try and veganize this? I mean, even if the biscuit isn’t presentable, dogs will eat it anyways, and I’m sure of it. So, I gave it a shot. To my surprise, it was a success, and all of the dogs that got to partake in the taste test agreed.

If you don’t have spent grain, by all means, use oatmeal! I have not tried it, but I am almost certain it will work just fine.

Spent Grain or Oatmeal Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Adapted from 17 Apart 

• 4 cups spent grain (dried) OR 4 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unsalted creamy peanut butter
• 2 flax eggs*
• 1/4 cup mashed sweet potato

*Flax Eggs: Mix 2 tbsp flax seed meal with 6 tbsp water, and let it sit for about 10 minutes to fully thicken.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
2. In a large bowl, combine your flax eggs, peanut butter, and sweet potato until thoroughly combined.
3. Slowly add in the flour, and mix until it is uniform before adding in your spent grain or oats.
4. Roll out the dough onto a  floured surface to about 1/4″ and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. You won’t get clean edges, so you can smooth the edges out with your fingers and some water if desired.
5. Line the cookies up on baking sheets. The cookies don’t expand, so you can bake them fairly close together.
6. Bake in oven at 350 F for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 225 F and continue baking the cookies for 2 hours.
7. Remove from the oven, cool, and share with your little friends!

The dried cookies will keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container and you can even freeze them in ziploc bags.

Green Almond Banana Smoothie

Loving my gorgeous Glass Dharma straw!

I keep my recipes sweet and simple, so that they can appeal to all people and can be made fairly fast for those who don’t have much time in the kitchen.

Recipe (Served 3)

• 4 frozen bananas
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup homemade nut milk
• 2 leaves kale, stems removed
• 1 tbsp raw almond butter
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 fresh vanilla bean

Blend and enjoy!

Rainbow Summer Rolls + Peanut Sauce

Today I am going to share a recipe that I love because of the fact that it is so versatile and actually really fun to make. All you need is a blender/food processor, a knife, a cutting board and a bowl of water.

I suggest laying out all of the ingredients and letting everyone that is going to join you for dinner make their own rolls. It is a chance for you to connect with others on a level far different from how you would during a normal day-to-day conversation. Connection with others, I have learned, is a large part of living your health. You get the chance to share yourself and what you love, and maybe even open the minds of others to ideas that they had never previously considered. In connecting with others, you not only get the opportunity to learn more about them, but you also get the chance to learn about and connect with yourself.

You can use any rice paper, small or large, square or round: you choose. I used large round rice paper. For the vegetables and herbs, I focused on getting the most color I could into the rolls, as I wanted to both create a great presentation and to pack in the nutrients.

Customize the vegetables and herbs to your liking. Choose what you love, what you are craving, what you have on hand or what you have always wanted to try! Anything goes, you can’t go wrong here.

Here are the ingredients I used:

• Purple cabbage
• Pea sprouts
• Asparagus
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Red bell pepper
• Basil
• Mint
• Cilantro

Directions:

1. Slice the vegetables long and thin, at about the same length for uniformity.
2. Remove the rice paper from the packaging. Immerse the paper into a bowl of warm water for 5 seconds, and 5 seconds only. Remove and place on your plate. Make sure the water is not too hot or that you do not soak the paper too long, as it will become mushy and hard to work with.
3. Fill your rolls with your vegetables at the bottom of the paper, then roll then right up. Think mini burrito! The end of the roll will seal on its own.

Peanut Sauce
Adapted from Sprouted Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw creamy unsalted peanut butter (or almond)
• ¼ cup cilantro
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• ¼ to ½ inch ginger root
• 2 tbsp agave nectar or 2 medjool dates
• 3 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp organic coconut milk
• Red pepper flakes to taste

The directions are simple: put the ingredients into a blender or food processor and run until smooth. If the sauce it too thick for your liking, add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I did, and I hope that I have inspired you to make a healthy choice!

xo, Jasmine

Green Protein Smoothie

The antioxidants and phytonutrients in leafy greens are vital in your diet!

Not only are you giving your body the best defenses for disease, but you are also providing a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimum health and fitness.

Recipe:

• 1 cup filtered water
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup kale, stems removed
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp vanilla or plain protein powder
• 1 tsp organic coconut oil 
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract

Blend and enjoy!

Banana Berry and Melon Smoothie

This was my choice combination for my daily smoothie!

I know it defies proper food combining rules, but I suggest you consider being a bit of a rebel because you must try out this mix.

Banana Berry and Melon Smoothie
(Served 2)

• 3 frozen + 1 fresh banana2 cups watermelon
• 1 cup fresh mixed berries
• 1/2-1 cup romaine or iceberg lettuce, chopped

Blend, and enjoy!

Infused Watermelon Cooler

You need this Infused Watermelon Cooler right now, you really do!

This is a quick and simple recipe post that I just had to share. It’s super easy to make and one of the most refreshing beverages you’ll have, I promise!

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1/2 large watermelon
• Slices of lemon (or any citrus)
• 1/4 cup basil leaves

All I did was juice and strain 1/2 of a large watermelon, and steeped slices of a small Meyer lemon and basil leaves in the juice for a few hours. The flavors infuse into the sweet melon flavor, and the result is out of this world. Try this out, and let me know what you think!

Gluten-Free Almond Butter Granola

Granola is one of my favorite recipes to create and make in the kitchen. You can put anything and everything you want in it to customize it to your taste, or what you are craving at the moment. You can put any nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruit, nut butters, extracts, oils, you name it! You are the chef here, and the power is in your hands!

Some people are unaware of how easy granola is to make, and turn to pre-made store bought granola instead. These are actually filled with refined sugars, fats, preservatives, lots of sodium and chemicals some of us cannot even identify. After you make this recipe, you will never again have to buy granola from the store! It is so sweet and simple, you will think you were crazy for never trying it before! It is also a great way for you to use up an extra ingredients you may have lying around in your kitchen or pantry.

Need some ideas to use this granola?

• Use it as cereal! Plop it in a bowl with some fresh berries and homemade nut milk! My favorite type of nut milk is hazelnut milk, but it is so pricey to make!
• Put some in a Ziploc and take it on the go for a snack when you need a pick me up during the day and don’t have access to quick and healthy choices.
• Top your smoothies or smoothie bowls with it! This is awesome with banana based smoothies, I love the combination.
• Experiment, and let me know how you think of using it!

This recipe was created based on what I had at home. I make my parents a smoothie every morning, but they were complaining that they wanted more texture in their breakfasts as they felt “liquids” caused them to never feel satiated. So, I created this granola and topped their smoothies with it. The granola was gone in a week, it was unbelievable! My parents are now hooked on granola, and they asked me to try and make a fresh batch each week.

Gluten-Free Almond Butter Granola

Adapted from Oh She Glows Lightened Up Summer Granola
Ingredients

Dry:

• 2 cups gluten free rolled oats (I use Trader Joe’s)
• ½ cup raw walnuts, chopped
• ½ cup raw almonds, chopped
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds (Grind whole flax in high speed blender)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• ¼ cup organic coconut sugar
• ¾ tsp kosher salt (optional)
• ½-1 tsp cinnamon (fresh ground if possible)

Wet:

• 1 tbsp organic coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 3 tbsp almond butter
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp maple extract

1. Preheat your oven to 325F.
2. Line your desired baking pan (with a lip/raised edges) with parchment paper. I suggest this over foil as the granola is less likely to stick to it.
3. Combine all of the wet ingredients in one bowl, and all of the dry ingredients in another (large) bowl.
4. Microwave the wet ingredients in the bowl for a minute.
5. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients.. Make sure you stir thoroughly so that all of the flavors combine.
6. The granola will be chunky and clumpy, but that is alright! As it dries out in the oven, it will break apart.
7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
8. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes before eating. You can add in chocolate chips or dried fruit once it is cooled if desired.

This will store in an airtight container for 2 months.

I hope all of you enjoy this granola recipe!

Comment below with your favorite granola recipe!

Breakfast Power Smoothie

This is the perfect way to start any morning. I love the medley of the ingredients in this smoothie so much, and I cannot wait to try it again. the best smoothies are always the “unplanned” ones. These were the only ingredients I had on hand so I tried out the combination, and it blew my mind.

Super sweet and healthy all at the same time, why wouldn’t you try this?

Filled with a berryliscious antioxidant boost that will keep you fueled until lunchtime.

Recipe (Served 2)
2 frozen bananas
1 cup mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)
2 leaves of kale
1 cup mango
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup almond milk (raw & homemade is best)
1-2 cups water
Hemp seeds as desired

Blend and devour!

Sweet Vegan Hawaiian Buns + Raw Berry Chia Jam

If I were to pick one food that I used to enjoy on a daily basis that I not do not eat, as it is not vegan and essentially, it is horrible for your health, I would choose King’s Hawaiian Bread. Every morning (seriously, every morning) my dad would cut up a few slices of the bread for us while I made us each a large glass of warmed whole fat chocolate milk with Hershey’s syrup. We would dunk the bread into the milk, and call that breakfast. Gross, I know.

I can’t believe I used to eat that, let alone that my father would encourage it. Man, have things changed. I will not even come close to any of that chemical laden, fat filled (you get the point) atrocity.

I actually got to thinking, could I create a healthier version of these rolls? Well, I got to recipe testing, and I came up with this. I used whole wheat flour and tamed the sweetness a bit of what I remember the original bread to have, so I made these a bit more palatable for my current taste in sweets, and more enjoyable if I do say so myself.

As for the chocolate milk? Well, I dropped that idea all together, and decided I would try out a new mixture of flavors. I wanted to make this a bit more “sophisticated” so instead of a chocolate milk, I opted for a Raw Vegan Berry Jam. Well, the jam seriously put the chocolate milk to shame. I wish I had been pairing my hawaiian bread with jam all of this time! I love the mixture of flavors, its such a great “treat”, when in reality, its so much damn healthier for you than what you would buy in stores.

My family absolutely loved these recipes, especially together, and I hope the same goes for all of you who try it as well.

Without further or do, I give you, Sweet Vegan Hawaiian Buns + Raw Berry Jam!

Sweet Vegan Hawaiian Buns

Yields 12

• 2 tbs flax meal
• 6 tbs water
• 1 cup fresh pineapple juice
• 1 (1/4 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp organic pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3 cups + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (you can  sub with AP or experiment with gluten free flours)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbs organic coconut sugar
• 1/4-1/2 tsp ginger powder
  

1. Mix together the flax meal and water. Set aside until thickened.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In the meantime, stir together your pineapple juice, yeast, vanilla and coconut oil into a large bowl.
4. In another bowl, mix 3 cups flour, coconut sugar and ginger.
5. Mix your thickened flax into the wet mixture, making sure to stir well. Once combined, begin adding in your dry ingredients 1 cup at a time until thoroughly combined.
6. Cover your bowl with a towel, and place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until it has almost doubled in size.
7. Knead your dough with the remaining 1/4 cup flour. If you feel the dough is too moist, add more flour until consistency has improved. Separate the dough into 12 even balls, and place on the baking sheet. Cover once more, and allow it to rise for another hour. In the meantime, pre-heat your oven to 350 F.
8. Place the buns in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow it to cool  once removed from the oven before slicing and filling with jam.

Raw Berry Chia Jam

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 3 strawberries (with stems)
• 1 tsp meyer lemon juice
• 1/4 cup blackberries
• 2 tbs chia seeds
• 6 medjool dates

1. Process the berries and lemon juice in a high speed blender (or food processor) until smooth.
2. Add in the dates and blending until the machine runs smooth.
3. Place the mixture into a large bowl or jar (make sure it is larger than the volume of the mixture), and stir in the chia seeds.
4. Refrigerate your jam for at least an hour (overnight is desired).Enjoy! xx