Luxuriously creamy, plant-powered decadence has made its way to A Cookable Feast today. Say hello to Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake!
A milkshake for breakfast??? Yes, indeed! When it’s processed-sugar-free – and gluten-free, and dairy-free, and vegan – a milkshake is a totally valid breakfast. Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake is essentially a smoothie, but calling it a milkshake feels more whimsical.
Chickpea, Kale, and Acorn Squash Pappardelle Pasta is too good not to share!
It’s early April as I’m writing this, with an unseasonably warm temperature projected for today: 79 degrees! Seventy-nine degrees! Having grown up here in Metro-Detroit and encountered many a snow flurry this time of year, I know what an anomaly this 79-degree day is. It’s not weather that calls for a pasta dish laden with hearty greens and a creamy squash sauce. Or is it?
Soul-soothing vegan goodness – that’s Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup!
It’s March, and here in Michigan, March means mega wax-and-wane weather. We’re in the midst of a warm spell bringing temperatures in the mid-60s, which feels downright Floridian after winter’s ice and chill. Four days from now, the high is projected to be 38 degrees. Basically, the weather is ever-changing, its progression nonlinear, unpredictable. And unpredictability can feel disconcerting, especially for me of the Type A personality and lover of planning and order and checklists – and especially in these wholly unpredictable COVID times. But you know what soothes a soul in the midst of uncertainty? Soup. And Creamy (Dairy-Free) Sweet Potato, Kale, and Cannellini Bean Soup is a soup soul-soother (try saying that three times fast) of the utmost order!
Hot on the heels of summer is this rosy-hued snack: Roasted Garlic and Beet Hummus!
How rad are you going to be when you enter the next soiree you’ve been invited to with hummus in hand that is a) homemade; b) bright magenta; and c) totally delish TIMES INFINITY? You’re going to be the coolest kid up in that joint!
Packed with a roasted beet, a whole head of roasted garlic, gobs of tahini, and of course – the star of the show – chickpeas (that mighty legume!), this Roasted Garlic and Beet Hummus is not just vibrantly hued: it’s also vibrantly flavored.
Today’s post is one of my favorite kinds of recipe posts – a GRANOLA recipe post. Say hello to Pumpkin Harvest Granola!
Blustery winds, dipping temps, waning daylight – it’s official: fall is solidly here to stay where I call home in Metro-Detroit. The extended run of 80-degree days we enjoyed through September is not likely to regale us with an encore at this point (though I’ll forever be an optimist hoping for that one last scorcher of a day to pop up and surprise us). Fall’s lucky it’s so cozy and has those pretty-colored leaves swirling about as distractions from the fact that for those of us in the northern climes, warm weather is essentially dead for the next six-plus months. And as luck may also have it, fall is the perfect atmosphere in which to bake granola.
We have a new recipe today! Creamy Chocolate Cashew Butter is in the house!
Is there anything better than a homemade nut butter made from fresh-roasted cashews, unsweetened raw cacao, honey, and a hint of salt? Probably not.
This Creamy Chocolate Cashew Butter is a natural progression for me, considering one of my very foremost and original food loves: peanut butter.
I’ve been OBSESSSSSSSED with peanut butter for years and years. Whether I’ve mixed it into oatmeal or smoothies, dunked apple slices or bananas into it, or binged on it straight-up from the can (my version of mindless comfort eating), peanut butter has pretty much been LIFE for me.
I love other nut butters, too – especially cashew butter. Cashew butter, so rich and creamy – Mmmmmm. But have you seen how much a jar of cashew butter costs in stores??? I recently went to the grocery store with the intention of splurging on a jar of it – until I saw that it cost $13.99.
Because I’m still on an asparagus kick this spring, today’s post features this recipe for Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup!
Why do I think asparagus is so great, besides being delicious? For one, it’s loaded with beneficial vitamins and minerals, such as folate, Vitamin C, and Vitamin K. And according to an amazing book I read recently called Medical Medium Life-Changing Foods (which I explain more about in the Banana, Wild Blueberry, and Nectarine Smoothie Bowl recipe post), asparagus is alkalizing to the body and helps to battle cancer, inflammation, and nerve issues. HOORAY to that!
And why a vegan version of the soup? Well, I’m not vegan, but I often make vegan or vegetarian dishes because I HEART plants. When I was mentally cooking up this recipe for cream of asparagus soup, I decided to use plant-based methods for making it creamy rather than dairy-based ingredients because as much as it pains me to say it, dairy is NOT my friend at this juncture in my life (it’s never really been; I had to drink soy formula as a baby and experienced several years of intense lactose intolerance as a teen, but I was cool with the dairy for the last decade-plus – until recently. We’re definitely in a spat again.). So I’m trying to eat it sparingly and infrequently.
While I love being sans the dairy side effects, I long for the creaminess it provides to dishes. Enter the DELECTABLY CREAMY Vegan Cream of Asparagus Soup! It contains potatoes and nut butter, two ingredients that I’ve discovered are commonly used in vegan soup recipes as key components in providing plant-based creaminess.
We’ve got another smoothie bowl recipe on the docket today! Say hello to Banana, Wild Blueberry, and Nectarine Smoothie Bowl!
This smoothie bowl is truly a POWER breakfast. And I don’t know about you, but power breakfasts are what I need right now. This spring is proving to be a CRAY-CRAY-busy time for me. I’m a first-time maid of honor for a beloved friend, an experience that has been a fun and special one for me, especially since my pal is the most laid-back, total-antithesis-to-Bridezilla bride ever. But as anyone who has been in a wedding party knows, the wedding stuffs do not happen by themselves. The planning is INTENSE! I am in need of healthy, hearty fuel now more than ever.
That’s why I love this Banana, Wild Blueberry, and Nectarine Smoothie Bowl. It’s totes healthy – I mean, look at all of the goodie ingredients included in it: fruit, fruit, and more fruit, with almonds, honey, almond milk, and ground flaxseeds added for good measure (cuz they’re great for digestion plus loaded with beneficial components such as omega-3 fatty acids and fiber). All those vitamins swirling around in one bowl ~SQUEAL!~ This Banana, Wild Blueberry, and Nectarine Smoothie Bowl is a nutrient-junkie’s dream, especially since it contains the HOLY GRAIL of beneficial foods, the WILD BLUEBERRY.
I’m so excited to unveil today’s recipe for Apricot-Date Energy Balls! They are nutrient-dense, ridiculously delicious, processed-sugar-free and gluten-free little beauties! And they are so, so easy to make – just let that food processor or blender do all of the work!
If my seasonal allergies are any indication, spring is OFFICIALLY here! And with spring comes all of the wonderful, glorious outdoor activities that those of us in cold-weather climes miss out on in the winter, so YAYYYY!!!
It’s time for another super-scrumptious salad recipe! Say hello to Arugula Salad with Raspberries, Figs, and Pistachios!
This salad was born out of my desire to have an excuse to eat more arugula, because I love its delicate leaves and peppery flavor very, very much and would probably make every other post on this blog an arugula-salad post if not for variety’s sake.