Tag: vegan

Hormone Balancing Cinnamon Almond Oat Milk Smoothie

So I’ve been going oat milk crazy. It totally has my vote for the most delicious cow’s milk alternative out there and I’ve literally made dozens of recipes in the last month alone using oat milk. Do yourself a favor and get your hands on some Oatly immediately! This is my go to brand of oat milk. There’s no weird aftertaste like with some other non-dairy milks and it blends into every recipe that calls for milk without changing the taste or texture. I’ve made everything from mashed potatoes to the deliciously redundant, creamy bowl of oat milk oatmeal. This stuff is the real deal. Of course, oat milk really has a chance to shine in a well made smoothie.

This recipe is adapted from the Wallflower Kitchen. It’s totally vegan and is an excellent source of plant based proteins and healthy fats, essential for balancing your hormones and alleviating some of the symptoms you might be experiencing. Best part? It tastes like a snickerdoodle! You must try this!

Cinnamon Almond Oat Milk Smoothie

ingredients

  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1 – 2 tsp maca powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups oat milk

Directions

  • Simply add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth

Rethink Clean: Restore and Maintain Good Bacteria on Your Skin

I’ve never rested my bare face on a subway pole. I have, however, held on to a subway pole at rush hour, used those same hands to swipe and accept a phone call, then placed that germy cell phone screen on my cheek for the duration of a conversation. Joseph Lister is spinning in his grave. Fortunately, the green beauty movement is hip to that. There’s a promising new generation of beauty products that seek to rescue our skin from the tech world and pollution. They’re using ingredients like lipids, adaptogens, ceramides,  and live bacteria (probiotics, yo!) to help strengthen our skin’s natural barrier, so it can function as it should. Instead of stripping away our skin’s natural defense against modern day irritants, product lines like Mother Dirt, are designed to nourish and support the ecosystem of our skin, while still delivering on what we’ve come to expect in our favorite beauty essentials. Here are some must have products from the Mother Dirt collection.

Cleanser

Less than ten ingredients, this entirely plant-based cleanser easily removes dirt, oil, and makeup without stripping, or drying out the skin. It’s suitable for all skin types and is preservative-free.

Moisturizer

This serum is a powerhouse designed to mimic our skin’s natural barrier. Start with a small drop and apply it to dry skin anywhere on your body. A little goes a long way.

Mist

This mist is my favorite! Think of this as the cherry on top of all of your Mother Dirt products. Designed to reduce our dependence on products like moisturizers, makeup, and even deodorant, AO+Mist improves the appearance of skin by replenishing essential bacteria to your skin’s natural barrier.

Shop the Bundle

The Bundle includes the cleanser, the moisturizer, the mist, and Mother Dirt’s shampoo which I didn’t include a description of because I’m having so much success with my 2 ingredient homemade herbal shampoo. If you try the shampoo, you should def tell me how amazing it is in the comments!

I Tried Huel, the Future of Food, and You Should Too

My fight against low energy rages on. I’m pretty sure the key to feeling energized isn’t in the massive amount of coffee I drink (what a wonderful world that would be). The key to getting your groove back is in a balanced diet, staying hydrated, and exercising. We’ve all gotten that memo. When I’m eating right, drinking lots of water, and exercising regularly, my body just feels better, ya know? I am absolutely determined to find that fountain of youth, y’all. As always, ambition gets the best of me, and I go totally extreme in my efforts. So this happened. I spent a long 5 days on a liquid diet, and maybe after you read this you will too. Hear me out.

I should tell you again that I’m not one of those people that lives to eat. I’m more like one of those people that eats to live. The idea of meal replacement shakes doesn’t send me running for the hills, though I tend to avoid them because of all the toxic additives that many of them contain. Then I discovered Huel. Huel is a nutritionally complete powdered food that contains all 26 essential vitamins and minerals, proteins, essential fats, carbs, fiber, and phytonutrients without all the chemical additives. I mean, they bill themselves as the future of food. Lofty claim, right? But hey, it’s vegan, it’s sustainable, it’s cost effective, it’s time saving, and you get a free t-shirt with your first order. So I thought, why not give this stuff a try.

I’m an all or nothing kind of lady. I figured if I was gonna try Huel, I was gonna try Huel, straight up, no chaser. I mixed the powder with nothing but water for the first 3 days and ate nothing else. Seeing is how I’m one of those people that eats to live I figured I wouldn’t miss food all that much. I was wrong. I’m gonna be bluntly honest here. Huel tastes like…well, imagine this: you take food, then you subtract flavor, texture, and go ahead and get rid of all that makes food indulgent or delicious in any way until you’re left with nothing but science. Then you’ve got Huel.

Ok, so I’m totally exaggerating, but if you’re expecting the future of food, think again. I will admit, however, that the taste isn’t offensive at all (it actually has a kind of oat taste to it) and the texture isn’t so bad either, but I did find myself missing food. As for my energy level, to be honest, I felt really good. I haven’t felt hungry at all and I was able to keep up with my daily yoga without feeling overly tired or strained. Full disclosure: I abandoned the whole just water thing after the first 3 days, and opted for breakfast smoothies with Huel. Best decision ever. These smoothies have been down right tasty. You can even cook with Huel, baking it into a healthy cookie recipe, or even a savory stove top dish. The website offers a variety of recipes that include Huel, so there’s that. Anyway, Huel is definitely worth a try. If you’re looking to improve your diet, increase your energy level, maintain a healthy weight, or even drop a few pounds you should give Huel a go.

Check out the video below for a look at a fabulous kitchen, a beautiful man, and some tips on using Huel.

Banana+Coconut+Cardamom Ice Cream (Vegan + Gluten Free)

I’m not sure if I could have told you what cardamom was good for if you had asked me a couple of weeks ago. It’s one of those spices that I have on the spice rack, but I never use. I spent a weekend at my bestie’s house and she spiked our morning coffee with a little bit of cardamom. I wasn’t really down with it, but I drank it anyway because coffee. To be fair, I’m not really that into flavored coffee, so it wasn’t the cardamom that threw me off. Maybe coffee and cardamom isn’t for me, but I could totally see myself combining it with something else. I started to think about recipes that might benefit from that distinct herbal, citrusy flavor. With Summer right around the corner, I decided to make some ice cream.

Dude. This may have been the best decision I’ve made in a while. Even though it was absolutely freezing in the city this weekend, this ice cream was so good that I turned the heat on, curled up with a chunky throw on the couch, watched some Netflix, and totally gorged myself on what was supposed to be enough ice cream for two servings. Don’t judge me, just try this!

Banana+Coconut+Cardamom Ice Cream

recipe from Chitra Agrawal’s Vibrant India

serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 tablespoons dried unsweetened shredded coconut, plus more for garnish
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom powder
  • 1 tablespoon bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
  • granulated brown sugar, for garnish
  • sliced almonds, for garnish

Directions

  • peel the bananas and cut them into 1/2-inch disks.  place in a glass bowl or freezer bag.  freeze the bananas for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
  • using a food processor, pulse the frozen banana pieces.  they will first get crumbly, then gooey, then look like oatmeal pieces, and then start to bunch on one side of the bowl.  scrape down the sides and keep pulsing through these stages.  eventually, the banana will become smooth and creamy resembling soft-serve ice cream.  pulse the processor until the mixture aerates and becomes somewhat fluffy, then mix in the coconut, cardamom powder, and chocolate chips.
  • you can the ice cream immediately; it will be like soft-serve ice cream, or transfer it to an airtight container and freeze until solid, like traditional ice cream.
  • serve with a healthy sprinkling of jaggery, sliced almonds, and more grated coconut on top.

Source: Dolly and Oatmeal via Chitra Agrawal’s cookbook, Vibrant India.

Try This---Add a Little Heat to Your Shake: Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie

Try This—Add a Little Heat to Your Shake: Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve been getting really bored with smoothies lately. I feel like I’ve run the gamut when it comes to all the healthy add-ins. Chia seeds, flax seeds, oats, peanut butter, you name it, I’ve thrown it in my smoothie. I’ve been feeling the need for something different. I don’t know about you, but when the weather is this cold, I crave nothing but warm things. Even though smoothies are the perfect breakfast, it’s so hard for me to get excited about a frothy cold drink in the Winter.

I started to think of drinks that make me feel warm and toasty. Of course there’s always alcohol, but I can’t very well start my mornings with a shot of smoothie. It’s too soon in my relationship with liquor to take that step, plus day-boozing totally defeats my fitness goal purposes. Then I started to think of this deliciously spicy hot chocolate that I got at the Chocolate Room in Park Slope. Um, the combination of sweet hot chocolate and chili peppers… seriously?! It’s delicious and I was determined to bring that warm, spicy flavor to my icy breakfast smoothie.

Solution: Cayenne pepper! Cayenne pepper promotes circulation, speeds up the metabolism, and improves digestion. This powerhouse spice also adds an unexpected kick of heat to your otherwise ice cold smoothie. This recipe is the perfect blend of sugar and spice. You absolutely must try this!

Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie

ingredients

  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup milk (I use vanilla almond milk)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 of a ripe (preferably frozen) banana
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • a pinch of ground cayenne pepper, to taste (but I suggest you start really small)
  • extra ice, if desired

Directions

  • place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth
  • garnish with cacao nibs and coconut shavings, if you’re super fancy

Creamy, sweet, and spicy. This recipe is everything! If you haven’t paired chocolate and chili peppers before, this is the perfect recipe to start with. You won’t regret it!

Source: betterwithcake.com