Holiday Post!: Patriotic Pasta Salad.

Happy flag day, friendzies! Hope everyone has enjoyed the day. Here's a quick and easy little vegan addition to a family BBQ--simple to make, easy to take, and of course yummy. Enjoy! 

               Patriotic Pasta Salad. 

        So nice and festive--and all those fresh flavors!

Ingredients

1. One serving macaroni noodles, prepared and drained

2. 1 T white wine vinegar

3. 3" chunk of daikon radish, thinly sliced

4. Small handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced

5. 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

6. Onion and garlic powders to taste

Method

1. In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: tastes the best when allowed to sit for a while...the flavors mingle and the overall taste is so superior to when it is enjoyed right away. 

French Fry Oatmeal (no I'm not kidding...!)

Ok...before you read the title of this post and go "THAT IS DISGUSTING!" hear me out. You like french fries (I'm assuming...I mean, WHO DOESN'T?!). You like oatmeal (now this one's a given). Why not combine the two?! And BOY DID I...! Behold, my friends: my new favorite lunch.

French Fry Oatmeal.

YUM ALERT!

French Fry Oatmeal; Vegan, Gluten-free. Serves One.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup oats of choice (I used oat bran)
2. 1/4 tsp EACH onion powder and garlic powder
3. black pepper to taste
4. 1 teaspoon bragg's liquid aminos
5. 1 cup water

Method

1. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, mix oats and all spices (including pepper). 
2. Add water and aminos and let sit for about 10 minutes, until most of water is absorbed.
3. Microwave on HIGH power for two minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't overflow!
4. Remove from microwave and top with unsweetened ketchup. DEVOUR! 

Cinnamon "sugar" toast. Aka "sick food".

As a young child, I was sick A LOT. And I'm not exaggerating--I was a chronic "croup" sufferer and frequent tummy-trouble survivor. Luckily, I gre out of the croup and the stomach issues subsided after I went vegan (go veg, friends!). I have been sick only twice total since I've been SOS-free plant based! Hoorah for whole foods! 

However...there is a pretty nasty stomach flu going around at the rink this week, and because I practically live there (again--no exaggeration! ❤️), I was one of the unlucky persons who caught this flu bug...NO FUN! 

After a VERY ROUGH DAY yesterday and an equally trying night, I'm feeling quite a bit better today...still very weak and achy (and STOMACH achy...😷), but definitely better than yesterday. 

It was a good sign that this morning when I woke up I was ABSOLUTELY STARVING--couldn't keep much in yesterday 😣--so I knew I needed to eat...but what TO eat?! That is always a very tricky question when coming out of a stomach virus...various things SOUNDED good (like new recipe testers for my cookbook!), but I knew I should probably stick to easily digestible and relatively bland...fun fun. 😞 

And then a lightbulb went off!--only after literally just STARING in my fridge and cupboard for, oh, 30 minutes...!--I suddenly remembered what I used to love when I would get sick as a kiddo--warm toast with butter and cinnamon sugar. Before you gawk-of course I modified it to be "The Fit Vegan Ginger"-friendly 😉👍 

So here we have a new "sicky food" fave--"Cinnamon 'Sugar' Toast". Enjoy (sick OR well! 😂😃😋)

            "Cinnamon 'Sugar' Toast". 

        Sweet and cinnamon-y heaven. 

              A bite out of perfection! 

"Cinnamon 'Sugar' Toast"; Vegan, Gluten-free option. Serves one. 

Ingredients 

1. One slice sos-free vegan bread (can use gluten free if needed...I use "Sami's Bakery" millet loaf...mmm!)

2. Cinnamon to taste

3. 1/4 tsp stevia powder

Method

1. Place bread slice on a microwave-safe plate and nuke 30 seconds (this subs for the "butter"--the bread gets all soft and squishy...yummmmm!). Remove immediately and sprinkle with desired amounts of cinnamon and stevia. 

2. Broil on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove, nuke for 30 more seconds, and enjoy. 

Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich: Orange-Vanilla Cookie Dough.

It's a rare thing when I don't want oatmeal for breakfast. So rare, in fact, that before I made this sandwich, I can honesty say I can't remember the last time I DIDN'T have oats for brekkie. What can I say?! I love my oats. Mmm. However, this Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich has easily become a new fave. Super easy to make, nice and filling, and packed with protein, this is a yummy addition to a smoothie breakfast or a mid morning (or afternoon!) snack. 

        Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich. 

Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich; Vegan, Gluten-free option. Serves one. 

Ingredients

1. 1 English muffin of choice (I used Ezekiel brand. Food for life makes a gluten free brown rice muffin, if you need gluten free.)

2. 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3. 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

4. 1/2 packet stevia

5. One small orange

Method 

1. Toast your muffin. I did this in my broiler oven. 

2. In a small bowl, mash your chickpeas with some water. Add a little at a time to avoid making it too soggy. You want it workable, not runny. Add your vanilla powder and stevia. Stir well. 

3. Spread your "cookie dough" on your English muffin toasts. 

4. Peel the orange and slice in half, width ways. Arrange slices on English muffin, over cookie dough. 

5. Place muffin on a foil-covered cookie sheet and broil on high for 3-4 minutes, or until orange is beginning to crisp up. 

                         So Good!

Gingersnap Oatmeal.

One of my all time favorite sweeteners is blackstrap molasses. In fact, I think of it more as a supplement than a sweetener. This stuf is a total suoerfood, in my opinion. It supplies so much iron it's not even funny. And that taste. Who doesn't love molasses?! 

This oat bowl is heaven. Literally like devouring a healthy Gingersnap cookie. Perfect for breakfast...or any time of day for that matter...

               Gingersnap Oatmeal. 

Gingersnap Oatmeal; Vegan, Gluten-free. Serves one. 

Ingredients 

1. 1/2 cup oats of choice (I used oatbran)

2. 1 cup water (2 if you are following my "double your grains!" technique, explained in a previous post)

3. 1 T blackstrap molasses

4. 1/2 tsp powdered ginger, plus extra for garnish

Method

1. In a small soup pot, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir in oats. 

2. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 3 minutes or until mostly cooked. Stir in molasses and ginger and continue cooking until desired thickness is reached. Pour into a bowl, top with ginger, and EAT! 

             Heavenly. Pure perfection.