Vegan Cacao Buckwheat Pancakes with Carob Chips

1 cup Buckwheat pancake mix (I used Arrowhead Mills)
1 1/2 cups Water (or your choice of plant based milk)
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup Cacao powder
1/3 cup Carob chips
2 tsp Maple syrup
Coconut oil

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread coconut oil over griddle, cast iron skillet, or pan and turn heat on to medium. Pour pancake batter onto griddle, making each pancake about 4-5 inches in diameter. Flip pancakes every 4 minutes, or as needed, in order for both sides to fully cook. Add more coconut oil to the griddle, pan, or skillet as needed so that the batter does not stick. Serve with maple syrup. Makes 12 pancakes.

Ube Coconut Ice Cream

2 ¼ cup cashew milk, frozen
1 ½ cup cashews
½ cup water
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup coconut cream
2 tbsp ube powder (purple yam that has been grated and dehydrated into a powder)
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Borage flowers (to garnish)

Add cashews and water in food processor and blend until smooth. Add banana and cashew milk and blend until smooth. I froze the cashew milk beforehand so that it would have a thicker texture. Add vanilla extract, coconut oil, ube powder, and blueberries. Blend until the mixture turns a light purple tint. Ready to serve. If you would like your ice cream to be more solid, store it in the freezer for several hours or as needed. I poured mine into a cake pop pan and left it in the freezer overnight. In the morning, I left it out for 10 minutes, scooped it out into a bowl, and garnished with borage.

What is Ube?
Ube is a root vegetable that is native to the Philippines. It is a bright purple color, and its relatives are taro and the Okinawa sweet potato. It is sometimes referred to as “purple yam.” In Filipino culture, ube is often used to make sweets and desserts. Ube has been around for many millennia and has been used throughout time as a laxative, treatment for fevers, hemorrhoids, gonorrhea, leprosy, and tumors, and a way to rid parasitic worms from the body.

What else can you make with ube? Check out this delicious vegan breakfast recipe for Ube Chia Pudding!

Vegan Miso Soup with Bok Choy and Mushrooms

5 cups water
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
Leaves of 1 large stalk of bok choy
3 tbsp white miso paste
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Optional: 1 tsp to 1 tbsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you’d like it)

Boil water in a large pot. Place mushrooms in boiling water then simmer for 5 minutes. This will create a mushroom broth. Place the white miso paste in a small bowl and add some of the broth into the bowl. Whisk the miso paste and broth together until smooth, then add to pot. Add bok choy and two cloves of minced garlic. Cook on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Pour into bowls, add remaining garlic, and sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if you would like it spicy. Enjoy! Makes 2-3 servings.

Ube Chia Pudding

6 tbsp chia seeds
2 cups cashew milk
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 ½ tbsp powdered ube (purple yam that has been grated and dehydrated into a powder)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a medium glass bowl. Store in fridge overnight. Before serving the next morning, stir well. Eat with toppings of your choice. I used carob chips, coconut flakes, and blueberries, and it sure was tasty! Makes 2 servings.

If you are making more or less servings, use this ratio:
1 cup cashew milk: 3 tbsp chia seeds
Multiply this ratio by the number of servings you are making.
For example, if I want to make 3 servings, it would be:
(1 cup cashew milk x3): (3 tbsp chia seedsx3) = 3 cups cashew milk: 9 tbsp chia seeds.

What is Ube?
Ube is a root vegetable that is native to the Philippines. It is a bright purple color, and its relatives are taro and the Okinawa sweet potato. It is sometimes referred to as “purple yam.” In Filipino culture, ube is often used to make sweets and desserts. Ube has been around for many millennia and has been used throughout time as a laxative, treatment for fevers, hemorrhoids, gonorrhea, leprosy, and tumors, and a way to rid parasitic worms from the body.

Strawberry Nice Cream Pies

I am honored to be the Featured Millennial Chef this week on Millennial Kitchen, an excellent source for healthy recipes and more. Millennial Kitchen, run by Andrew Davis, leads the food revolution for the Millennial generation, and invites us all to join in. Andrew exemplifies the networking abilities of the Millennial generation by connecting with LivingFoodLove to unite our creative powers under a common goal – guiding our generation’s attention towards healthy eating habits. Andrew and I came up with the idea of creating a LivingFoodLove specialty recipe that you can find only on his website. View the recipe here on Millennial Kitchen.

Vegan Peach Kale Salad with Korean Style Dressing

6 oz kale, chopped
½ cup peaches, chopped
1 serving of Korean Style Salad Dressing
1 apple, diced

When I make this salad, I use my hands to mix all of the ingredients together. When I experience this direct, tactile connection with my food, I feel grateful for all of the energies that have come together to make this food that will nourish my loved ones and myself. I also direct my good energy into the food by thinking positive thoughts and setting the intentions for the meal I am preparing. When I practice mindfulness while cooking, I am able to relax in the present moment and truly enjoy the work that I am doing. With each breath, I am in love.

Korean Style Salad Dressing (Vegan)

1/4 cup liquid aminos or tamari
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 leaves of green onion, chopped
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp golden sesame seeds
1 tbsp maple syrup, agave, or honey

Using a small whisk or spoon, mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a small bowl. Place on top of a bed of greens and enjoy!

Strawberry Lavender Ice Cream with champagne grapes (Vegan)

Recipe for the Strawberry Lavender Nana Ice Cream:
1 frozen banana
3 tbsp cashew butter
8 strawberries
1 tsp lavender
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix strawberries, banana, and cashew butter in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp lavender and pulse. Scoop the mixture into a cake pop tray or popsicle tray. Store in the freezer overnight. After you take the nana ice cream out of the freezer, let it sit for 5 minutes, then scoop it out and sprinkle the remaining lavender on top.

Recipe for the Lavender Vanilla Nana Ice Cream:
1 frozen banana
3 tbsp cashew butter
1 ½ tsp lavender
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix banana and cashew butter in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add vanilla extract and 1 tsp lavender and pulse. Scoop the mixture into a cake pop tray or popsicle tray. Store in the freezer overnight. After you take the nana ice cream out of the freezer, let it sit for 5 minutes, then scoop it out and sprinkle the remaining lavender on top. Enjoy!

This nana ice cream was made with 100% organic ingredients, lavender from Lavender Feels Forever, and lots of love ❤

 

Summer Squash Noodles

​Preparing summer squash noodles for lunch

Kale Lovin’

I love kale! What’s your favorite kale recipe? Share with us in the comments 😀