Chilled Cucumber Soup.

Spring means green food...naturally! This springy soup is sure to please any critic--sweet, refreshing, super quick...a perfect addition to any salad and sandwich meal. 

           Chilled Cucumber Soup. 

                            Yum. 

                  And oh so lovely! 

Chilled Cucumber Soup. Vegan, Gluten-free. Serves one. 

Ingredients 

1. One large cucumber, chopped

2. 2 cups raw spinach leaves

3. 1 cup almond milk

4. 6 oz. silken soft tofu

5. Two fresh basil leaves

6. 10 drops watermelon flavored liquid stevia

7. 10 drops coconut liquid stevia

8. "Nogurt" and dried basil for topping

Method

1.  Blend all ingredients in your high speed blender until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Ssrve chilled, garnished with Nogurt (previous post) and dried basil, if desired. Enjoy!

Holiday post!: Christmas Cucumber-Cranberry Salad.

Christmas is my favorite holiday to make special good for: I adore the colors, the flavors, the warmth, and especially the love and effort that everyone puts into cooking around this special holiday. I always love to cook, but during this season I reeeeeaaaallllyyy love to cook-there's a certain joy, a certain excitement about cooking for the holidays...it's wonderful! And you guys surely know by now that I'm super sappy when it comes to holiday food...I love holiday themed recipes! 

With that said, this is a super fun, super healthy Christmas salad that can be tossed together in literally 5 minutes for a delicious and BEAUTIFUL Christmas dinner addition. The colors make this dish suitable for a table centerpiece, and the flavors make it uber drool-worthy. Serve this stunning salad to really impress your fam this holiday season! 

  Christmas Cucumber-Cranberry Salad. 

        Told you it was pretty. I know! 

Christmas Cucumber-Cranberry Salad; Vegan, Gluten-free. Serves one. 

Ingredients

1. One extra large cucumber, chopped 

2. 1 cup fresh cranberries

3. One packet stevia

4. 1/2 tsp ground ginger

5. 1 T vinegar of choice (I opted for coconut!)

6. 5-10 drops liquid stevia

Method

1. Wash cranberries and place in a medium size bowl. Cover with packet of stevia and mix around well. 

2. Combine sliced cuke, stevia-doused cranberries, ginger, vinegar, liquid stevia, and mix well until combined. 

3. Sprinkle with extra ginger for garnish and serve. 

Recipe note: you can also garnish this with fresh mint...beautiful! 

Veggie Delight Burrito.

Burritos. Just the word ignites a passionate love inside of me. I love burritos. As I always say, the bigger the better when it comes to these babies! And boy, this one is big. Really big. 

                Veggie Delight Burrito. 

                 Told you it was big. 

Veggie Delight Burrito; Vegan, Gluten-free option. Serves one. 

Ingredients 

1. One EXTRA LARGE wrap (I used a lavash bread)

2. One medium cucumber, sliced

3. 1/4 cup sliced onion

4. 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

5. Handful cherry tomatoes, halved

6. 1/4 of a green pepper, slices in strips

7. 1/2 T white vinegar

8. Black pepper to taste

Method

1. Lay out your wrap and layer on veggies in the order listed. Drizzle vinegar over too and sprinkle with pepper. Done! Eat up!

Asian Plate

As you all know by now, I absolutely love Asian food. It's my favorite. In fact, I look for excuses to cook Asian! Yesterday was no different. I was working on history homework before lunch (reading about Asia, as a matter of fact)...and that's all it took for me to crave Oriental food. I told you, I'm a sucker for all things Asian! I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. It's not only totally delicious, but it's very visually appealing to. Nice spring colors! Hope you enjoy!

Asian Plate. Yummmmmm.

Asian Plate; Vegan, Gluten-Free. Serves One.

Ingredients

For the Cucumber Sushi

1. One medium cucumber (mine weighed 8 oz.)
2. 1 mushroom, sliced into VERY thin strips
3. 1/4 avocado, sliced into VERY thin strips
4. small handful of carrots (I used pre-cut "matchsticks")

Method

1. Wash your cucumber and slice off the ends. Slice it in half, lengthwise. 
2. Using GREAT caution, slice very thin strips with either a sharp knife or a mandolin slicer, if you have one available. I just used a knife.
3. Once you have all your cucumber sheets ready to roll, begin placing small handfuls of veggies inside, in the order you wish.
4. Carefully roll into sushi and add to plate!

Note: DO NOT OVERSTUFF YOUR SUSHI. It is better to add to little and get a nice looking roll then to overstuff and have it fall apart. It is totally fine if you have ingredients left over-just make a side salad to go along with your meal!

For the Sesame Tofu

1. 3 oz. firm tofu 
2. 1 T Bragg's liquid aminos
3. sesame seeds for sprinkling

Method

1. In a shallow bowl, place 1 T aminos. Take your tofu slice and slice it in half lengthwise (should end up being about 1/2 inch in thickness). Press into aminos and let marinate for about 10 minutes. Flip and press. Marinate 10 more minutes. 
2. While marinating, heat a non stick pan over medium heat. Once tofu is marinated (aminos should be pretty much absorbed by now...if not, marinate longer), slice into tiny cubes and throw into pan. Cook about 3-4 minutes, or until heavily browned and fragrant. Flip and repeat.
3. Add tofu to plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

For the Spicy Carrot-Ginger Paste

1. One medium carrot (mine weighed 4 oz.), washed, peeled, and chopped
2. 2 tsp spicy brown mustard
3. 2 tsp fresh minced ginger
4. water, as needed

Method

1. In a mini food processor, combine chopped carrot, ginger, and mustard. Process until combined. Add a splash of water, scrape down sides, and process again. Repeat this until a paste forms. Add to plate and sprinkle with more sesame seeds, if desired. 

Note: I didn't measure the water because the amount you will need varies on the moisture content of your veggies. It's pretty flexible. You just want to make sure you add just enough to make a paste.  

Cold Cucumber-Watermelon Salad with Pine Nut-Mint Pesto

Everyone loves a good salad. Especially if that salad has veggies AND fruits. Super yum. This is a nice, quick meal that is not only filling, but very hydrating and refreshing. Both cucumber and watermelon top the charts as having the highest water content of any fruit and vegetable. So this is what you eat after those super sweaty long runs in 95 degree heat (I'm looking ahead to the summer...it's actually snowing as I type this!). Cool, crisp, refreshing, delicious, and quick. What more could you ask for?

Cold Cucumber-Watermelon Salad with Pine Nut-Mint Pesto

Cold Cucumber-Watermelon Salad with Pine Nut-Mint Pesto; Vegan, Gluten-Free. Serves One.

Ingredients

1. 10 oz. fresh watermelon, cut into chunks
2. 1 medium cucumber (mine weighed 7 oz.), sliced, then halved
3. Dried Basil, for garnish
4. 1 T raw pine nuts
5. 2 Cups fresh spinach leaves
6. 2-4 fresh mint leaves
7. 1 T apple cider vinegar

Method

1. Arrange watermelon and cukes on a large plate (or in a large bowl). Sprinkle with dried basil.
2. Add remaining ingredients to a mini food processor and process until finely chopped. Top salad with pesto and serve chilled. 

Note: You can add as much or as little mint as you want. If you want it really minty, add all four leaves. If you just want a touch of minty-ness, add only 2.