Warning: The Following Recipes May Lead To Your Arrest ...

Hey there, Gnawers!  I hope each of you have had a fabulous weekend!  It seems like mine went way too fast.  It turned out to be a productive weekend jammed packed with family time.  I served lots of leftovers and got some rave reviews from my non-veggie, non-vegan family.  It seems these reviews have more weight than those of my veggie pals sometimes.  The vegan pizza, cauliflower soup, mock egg salad with endurance crackers, and black bean brownies were noted as favorites.  It was great to watch my sister shove the remainder of a brownie in her mouth after my mom asked my dad if he wanted to taste it.  Like a five year old, she did not want to share, so she shoved it in before he could get any.  Did I mention that she is 35?  I must be doing something right!

I have a few fun recipes to share from the weekend.  The first one is one I call my Island Treat Green Smoothie.  I was going to call it a Piña Colada Green Smoothie, because it pretty much tastes just like a piña colada, but I decided to go for the islandy name.  This smoothie has such a sweet blend of creamy banana, sweet pineapple, and toasty coconut that it is easy to forget that it is also full of kale!  Pretty sneaky if you ask me (in a good way).  It is also a good smoothie because it helps the body recover after drinking any alcohol (due to the hydrating effects of he coconut water and potassium boost in the bananas).  Of course, you could always add rum for a true piña colada experience ... ;)

Island Treat Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups kale, stems removed
• 6 ounces coconut milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 4 ounces coconut water
• 1.5 frozen bananas
• 1 cup pineapple
• 1-2 tablespoons flaxseed
• 3-4 tablespoons shredded coconut (like you would use for baking) - toast it ahead of time if you want to get really fancy

Preparation Instructions:

• Blend all ingredients in blender (VitaMix!) until smooth.
• Serve and enjoy!!!  

You may notice that I served this smoothie in a jar.  Guess what?  It is actually an empty Vegenaise jar that I washed.  These are great because they are the perfect size and they have a lid in case you want to take your smoothie on the go!  They are also free, and it always feels good to recycle or "upcycle" when you can!  I am trying to collect enough of these so that I can keep all my nuts and seeds in different jars too ...

Drinks were in order with the family over on Saturday afternoon.  I love the chance to show off what my VitaMix blender can do, so that is exactly what I did.  I made them the best strawberry daiquiris known to man.  You can't feel too horrible having a cold bevi when it is packed with fruit, right?!?  So delicious.

Sassy Skinny Stawberry Daiquiri  (try saying that 10 times fast)


Ingredients:

• 6 cups frozen strawberries (or just fill your blender up to the top)
• 6 ounces clear rum (adjust based on your affinity for alcohol)
• 6 ounces vodka (adjust based on your affinity for alcohol) 
• 3 packets of Stevia
• juice of 1 large lime
• lime slices for garnish

Preparation Instructions:

• Put all ingredients in a blender (VitaMix!).  Adjust amounts to taste.  
• Blend.
• Serve and enjoy!!!

It doesn't appear that we were lacking in the alcoholic beverage department in mi casa this weekend.  Not to worry ... I did cook a little bit too.  I made Creamy Sesame Greens to go with all of the leftovers that were exploding out of my fridge.  The recipe is one that I adapted from a recipe on the Whole Foods Market website.  

Let me tell you a little bit about my experience cooking these.  I decided to use Swiss chard for my greens because I have never cooked those and I wanted to branch out.  I started cooking the greens while my mom cleaned the kitchen and my sister , the cop, laid on the couch.  She must have been in the prime spot to catch the smells wafting out of my kitchen because she suddenly popped up out of no where and said, "Do you smell that?  I smell pot."  I can't make this stuff up.  I smelled it too.  As we sniffed around the kitchen, we quickly realized that the smell was coming from the pan on the stove.  I'll be damned.  Swill chard smells like marijuana.  Who knew?  Thank goodness the cop was already at my house, or that might have looked really bad!  I can just see it now...  

• *Knock Knock Knock*
• Police Officer:  "Excuse me, ma'am? We've received a complaint about the smell of marijuana coming from your residence.  Would you mind if we come in and take a look?"
• Me:  "Huh?  I am just cooking Swiss chard!  I swear!  I am newly vegan (which doesn't sound like a hippie at all) and I am trying new things!"
• *Cop spots guitar and wooden peace sign hanging from the wall in my living room"
• Police Officer:  "Riiiiiiiiiiight.  We're gonna need to go ahead and come on in, ma'am."
• *I land in jail due to my vegan pursuits*

Luckily this is not what happened!  I tried googling this to see if my sister and I were both just crazy.  I found nothing related, so the jury is still out.  Any of you ever have this experience?  It was quite strange.  Despite all of this, these greens turned out great.   They would make an excellent side dish.  Just make sure you have some Febreze around in case the cops stop by!!!

Vegan Creamy Sesame Greens

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons water, divided
• 6 cups chopped Swill chard, kale, or collard greens, washed and stems removed
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed through garlic press or finely chopped
• crushed sea salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons of water in a large skillet or medium pot over medium heat. Add greens and cook, tossing until wilted (about 5 minutes).  Drain well.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together tahini, orange juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and remaining two tablespoons of water.

3.  Add hot greens and toss to combine.  Add extra salt and pepper as needed.  

4.  Serve immediately and enjoy!!!

Well, friends, that is all I've got for the weekend!  I do want to give a little shout out to one of my favorite bands, the Sarah Mac Band.  If you have not heard of them yet, you will, and you will love them.  Trust me!  The bass player, Claire, is friend of mine from high school and college.  The band is amazing and their music is sure to put you in a good mood.  I dare you to listen to this song and tell me you don't love it.  I've been singing it around the house for the past three days.  So good. 

So why I am I talking about music and bands now??? Weeeeeeeeeell, it turns out that the Sarah Mac Band has gone vegan for about a month so far too!  Just like me, they are documenting their journey on their blog, Band Goes Green.  They have been kind enough to cite me as a resource and even called me "spunky and fun".  What's not to love, right!  You should definitely check them, their music. and their blog out.  All good things.  

Okay, Gnawers, this gal is heading out!  I wish you all the best as we embark on another week of getting healthy, staying healthy, and living life to the fullest.  Until next time ... take good care of you!!!