What I'm Loving Lately

Here are a few things I've been enjoying the past couple of weeks ; )

Recipe: No-Bake Sweet Christmas Cocoa Peanut Butter Cookies

Confession: I am not a baker. And I tend to veer towards the uncomplicated recipes (aka less than 10 ingredients). That's just me. If you can relate, you will enjoy today's recipe. These are the easiest cookies you will ever make! AND they're vegan and gluten-free. But not taste-free so don't you worry ; ).

What I'm Loving Lately

Dry brushing. I'm hooked on it. I've been dry brushing my entire body every night before I have a bath and have seen great results. All you have to do is purchase a brush, preferably with all-natural bristles (I like this one) and spend five minutes a day brushing your skin, always towards the heart. (Watch a how-to video here.) When you dry brush you stimulate your lymphatic system, exfoliate dead skin, help to reduce cellulite and get rid of toxins in the body. At first it kind of hurts but the more you do it, the more you feel like you're scratching an itch and it will feel good ; ) After I finish my little nightly ritual I slather coconut oil on my body to moisturize. Try it, you won't regret it! It literally takes five minutes and dry brushing is the cheapest and easiest thing you can do to keep your skin looking healthy and young : ).

Zesty Quinoa Salad

It's the Canada Day long weekend this weekend and I've got the perfect salad for a barbecue today! I obtained this recipe from All Recipes but I put a little twist on it. And by "twist" I mean I simply added an avocado ; ) It's so easy to make and tastes delicious. Oh and it's vegan AND gluten-free. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or more
• 1 1/2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 5 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 
• 1 avocado

Directions:

1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and water has been absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Whisk olive oil, lime juice, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes together in a bowl.

3. Combine quinoa, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions together in a bowl. Pour dressing over quinoa, toss to coat. Stir in cilantro and avacado and season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator.

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Carrot, Lentil + Raisin Quinoa Salad

It's Easter this weekend and I was wondering what type of vegan, gluten-free dish I could make for Sunday dinner that I hadn't made before and luckily I came across this carrot, lentil and raisin salad on Deliciously Ella last week which sounded, well, delicious ; ). I decided to test it out a couple of days ago first before I shared it with family. It was super-easy to make and quite tasty so if you're looking for a healthy and hearty salad to serve for Easter I highly recommend this one. Below is the recipe. (All measurements are for the raw ingredients.)

You will need:
 - 3/4 of a cup of quinoa
 - 3 carrots
 - 1/2 a cup of lentils
 - 1/2 a cup of raisins
 - 1/2 a cup of pine nuts
 - 1 large butternut squash (I used a yam because there was no squash at the grocery store)

For the dressing:
 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil
 - 2 tablespoons of tahini (I bought this from Planet Organic)
 - 1 teaspoon of tamari (I also bought this from Planet Organic)
 - 1 lime
 - salt 

Directions: 
- Start by pre-heating the oven to 190 C, then peel and cut the yam into bite-sized chunks. Place them on a baking tray with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper (you can also add rosemary if you like.) Bake for 30 minutes until soft
- Cook the quinoa in 1.5 cups of water for approximately 15 minutes and at the same time cook the lentils. You can add a bit of apple cider vinaigrette if you want, while they start to cook, to add some flavor
- Once the quinoa and lentils are cooking, place the raisins in a cup of warm water and let them soak, this will make them juicier
- Peel and grate the carrots using the fattest holes on a cheese grater
- Finally, make the dressing by mixing the olive oil, tahini, tamari, lime and salt with a fork until smooth
- Place all the ingredients into a large salad bowl, mix with the dressing and enjoy!

  
Happy Easter! I hope you all have a great long weekend!

xo

My Favorite Quick & Easy Recipe: Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Top photo via Eat, Live, Run on Yummly (what it's supposed to look like)

I've had this blog for almost four years now and this is the first recipe I've ever posted! To be honest with you, I'm not a very good cook (just ask my poor fiance who has had the "pleasure" of taste-testing my edible disasters) but I'm getting better! I'd say I've gone from a terrible cook to an okay one in a very short period of time. Ever since I changed my vegetarian diet to a vegan and gluten-free one due to health reasons, I've had no choice but to learn how to make healthier meals, or starve ; ). Right now I prefer fast, easy, and uncomplicated meals due to my busy schedule (and lack of skills) so I was excited to come across this vegan and gluten-free Mexican rice and bean casserole online because Mexican food is my absolute favorite and I swear I could eat chips, salsa and guacamole every single day and not get sick of it. This recipe is tasty, delicious, healthy, quick, easy and cheap to make! It's one of my faves. Here's what you'll need:

 For the casserole:
- 1 cup brown rice, dry
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce (I used a bit much this time, make sure it's a smaller can than the one in my photo!)
- 1 4-oz can diced green chilies 
- 1 14.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a 9" x 13" dish, combine the rice, broth, beans, tomato sauce, green chilies, cumin, chili powder, salt and garlic powder. Stir well then cover tightly with tin foil. Place in oven and bake for 90 minutes.

For the guacamole:
- 3 ripe avacados
- 1 roma tomato
-  2 tbsp onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 squeezed lime

Directions: Mash together in a bowl.

Serve the guacamole on top of the casserole and enjoy! 
(And remember not to use too much tomato sauce, like I did.)

(You can also add some gluten-free tortilla chips. I dip them in the casserole and guac and it's heavenly.)

My Super Smoothie Recipe

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

1/2 cup frozen mangos

1/2 banana

1/2 cup or 1 cup (depending how thick you want your smoothie) of almond milk
1 tbsp aloe vera juice (very good for the skin)

1 tbsp of chia seeds (soaked in water first, preferably overnight)

1 tsp maca mix (maca x-6, black and red-purple maca) powder

1 tsp camu camu berry powder

1 tsp protein powder (I use Sun Warrior, which is vegan and gluten-free)

1 scoop of Daily Greens powder

1 tsp spirulina powder

Toss into a blender and blend. Pour into a glass or to-go cup and enjoy ; )

Now that I'm eating all healthy and stuff, I've been drinking this super smoothie every morning for the past couple of weeks now. I take it to work in a to-go cup. I find it's a great and easy way to start my day because all the vitamins and nutrients in the smoothie give me a ton of energy! It's also chock full of anti-oxidants. I know the liquid kind of looks like something you'd find in a baby's diaper but believe me, it tastes great!! I gave you the average measurements I use, but feel free to play around with how much of each ingredient you put in, I don't put too much protein powder in my smoothies because I find if I do it starts to taste funny. You can purchase the powders at healthy food stores, I bought most of them from Planet Organic which I seem to visit quite frequently now. Do you make smoothies at home? I'd love to hear what you put in them!