Chocolate Chip Cookies (vegan)

I don’t think there is anything more classic than a good old chocolate chip cookie. And no one loves a good chocolate chip cookie more than I do. But lately, I’ve been noticing this “problem” I’ve been having. I can’t stand the taste or smell of eggs - even when it’s baked, or especially baked.

You think I’m making this up, but it is 100% true.

Perhaps my tastebuds really have shifted since we’ve been on the journey to more healthy eating and living. I actually can’t even remember when the last time eggs were in my refrigerator. It’s been that long.

The other day, I was craving chocolate chip cookies something fierce. I ended up baking these and made way too many. 42 to be exact. Which is much more than I can eat alone. Thankfully, my husband has a whole office full of people to share with, so I sent a large container with him to work. I low-key felt like a mom sending sweet treats to school for a birthday. It was funny.

The best part about these is that there are no funky ingredients. I don’t have to make an egg replacer or figure out where to buy one at. It just uses every day ingredients that I can find in my fridge and pantry on most days.

Now, you can switch out the hazelnuts if you want to and just have chocolate chips, but I personally love the crunch of a good hazelnut. And, honestly, I have hazelnuts to spare - there are so many in my freezer that I don’t know what to do with all of them! (Hint: I made Nutella with some of them, and you can find the recipe in my pantry favorites ebook!)

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped*

• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips*

*If you choose not to use hazelnuts, just use 1 cup of the chocolate chips instead

What to Do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350º F and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2) In a large bowl, mix the sugars, oil, butter, applesauce, and vanilla together
3) In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients
4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
5) Fold in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts
6) Chill the dough for 10 minutes
7) Scoop up TBSP sizes of the cookies and place on prepared cookie sheet.
8) Bake for 13-14 minutes, until golden brown

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I seriously can’t stop eating these, so I need to share!

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Fav Ever Vegan Lasagna

I have had this post in my draft folder for two years now. TWO WHOLE YEARS (ahem, and a few months)! I am so excited to FINALLY be able to share this vegan lasagna with you. I’m leaving the text below as it was because, well, it’s more or less relevant to my life, and the instructions are the same anyway.

School is back in session, and sometimes I'm out of my house for about twelve hours each day. The commute each way is about 45 minutes, I get there an hour early, and depending on the day, I stay pretty long afterward as well to grade and prep so that I can "sleep in" the next morning. My poor husband, though extremely supportive of me, has started missing my homemade food. It was a whirlwind summer with a lot of traveling and guests that left literally zero extra time to prepare my home for the school year. Those first few weeks, I was just waiting for the long weekend so I could get some meal prep done (but hey, at least my classroom stayed organized!). I decided to take some time early one Sunday morning to get some stuff baked for the week, and I defaulted to one of our favourites: vegan lasagna. 

It doesn't take too long to make - the baking part takes the longest. It just requires four main elements: tofu ricotta (which I mix with spinach), cashew cream sauce, tomato sauce and lasagna noodles, of course. 

If you, like me, have had bad experiences with the dairy-free version of this classic comfort food, rest assured that this one is actually pretty darn delicious. The first time I made it, my husband didn't even miss the cheese!

This lasagna freezes well, and you can even assemble and keep it in the fridge for a few days before baking if you need to plan ahead!

I actually pursued this lasagna hard. I remember having a terrible vegan lasagna experience and I never wanted something like that to be recreated in my kitchen. The kicker is that this bad experience was almost 15 years ago and I still remember it vividly. So I am very excited about this one and that it tastes great!

You can use your favorite tomato sauce and noodles for this! I like the kind of noodle that you cook first before baking. The texture is just nicer to me. Plus, your sauce goes a bit further I find and you’ll have a saucier lasagna - which I prefer!

The recipe for the lasagna is for a pan that is smaller than 9x13, but I’ve included some changes for that size in the notes.

Best Ever Vegan Lasagna

What you need:

• 1 recipe of Vegan Tofu Ricotta (possibly 2 for 9x13 pan) 

• 2 cups spinach (4 cups for 9x13 pan if double the ricotta)

• 1 recipe of Cashew Cream Sauce

• 1 package lasagna noodles of your choice

• Your favourite tomato sauce (more for 9x13 pan)

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350ºF

2) Prepare the ricotta and cashew cream sauce. 

3) In a large bowl, mix spinach and ricotta well.

4) Begin layering by adding about 1 cup of the tomato sauce to the bottom of your baking dish. Top with noodles.

5) Add layer of ricotta and top with more sauce.

6) Drizzle cashew cream sauce 

7) Repeat layers (steps 4-6) until finished. Add a final layer of noodles and sauce

8) Bake covered for about 30 minutes. Add the rest of your cashew cream sauce to the top and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Then broil, watching carefully, until top is a beautiful brown (Make sure you can broil with the pan you use)!

9) Let the lasagna cool for 15-20 minutes (very important so it doesn't fall apart!)

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Don't you just love a good lasagna? 

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Simple Green Smoothie

I’m back with some more smoothie goodness! This time we have a new color coming up to Maple Alps - green! Yes, I’m here with a green smoothie.

The first time I had a green smoothie, I was in high school. When they became more popular, I counted it as old news. ;-)

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Some tips for green smoothies:

1. Blend the greens in the milk before adding in the rest of your ingredients. This will help avoid bits of leafy greens you’ll end up chewing in your smoothie.

2. If you don’t use your greens fast enough, you can freeze them so they don’t go bad! I actually like to make packets with all the smoothie ingredients for quick mornings some seasons.

3. Spinach and kale are both great to use - kale has a stronger taste though, so you decide what you prefer!

This recipe will make enough to share with your favorite friend - or you could just enjoy it on your own, I suppose. I’ve been know to add flax/or chia seeds (chia seeds pictured below) to my smoothies for some fiber too. I know someone who even puts spinach in this smoothie! It’s optional for you, however. Just know that you can’t actually taste it if you choose to add it (chia seeds you will be able to feel the texture).

By the way, we do not add any ice to our smoothies, because we find that it takes away from the creaminess of them (that, and we never have ice on hand!). Instead, we use frozen fruit to achieve a similar effect. Feel free to use a few blocks of ice if you prefer, however.

Simple Vegan Green Smoothie

what you need:

• 2 cups non-dairy beverage (I use soy milk)

• 1 large banana (use a frozen banana for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 cup fresh spinach or kale

• 1/2 cup cubed mango (use frozen for a thicker smoothie)

• 1/2 cup cubed peach (use frozen for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

• 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

• 1/2 inch fresh ginger (optional)

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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Spinach + Artichoke Flatbread (vegan)

Well, Instagram has done it again! This post is brought to you by my IG page, after you all wanted the recipe for dinner I made earlier this month! According to my story, I made this yummy artichoke and spinach flatbread and we enjoyed it on the deck with some homemade lemonade for dinner. It was all great. And the weather was perfect, thanks for asking. Well, you all asked for the recipe, and since you asked, you are now receiving. The power of overwhelming me with the question on social media, hehe! This flatbread is seriously simple for summer, and can easily be grilled too!

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This recipe uses my favorite Alfredo sauce recipe. My mom used to make a very similar one, and I definitely had to keep the tradition of homemade Alfredo alive. It just doesn’t taste the same out of a jar. Plus, this one is vegan, so a much better option that still tastes yummy. I decided to go with a creamier sauce rather than the typical tomato-based one (or plain olive oil) I often see on flatbreads.

I’ve also had this almost obsession with artichokes lately and have been eating them up. I don’t hesitate to pick up a jar while browsing the aisles of the grocery store. Seriously so much yum! It’s not just the taste, it’s the texture too! Just. So. Good.

But I needed something to put them on. A few years ago, we went to this amazing Italian-Indian fusion place and had this delicious naan pizza with Indian inspired toppings. It was so good.

Enter naan.

Seriously, writing up this post is making me hungry, so I’ll get to the point.

You can use any naan or flatbread you want. If you want to do this on a pizza crust, by all means, do so! There probably won’t be anything left over once you serve this up!

And pro tip: eat it outside. It’ll make you feel fancy.

Spinach + Artichoke Flatbread

what you need for the Alfredo:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews

• 1 TBSP all-purpose flour

• 1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes

• 1/2 cube vegan seasoning (I have used this one from amazon)

• 1 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth

• about 2 tsp dried basil

what to do:

1) Add first five ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Add mixture to pot, add basil, and bring to a slow simmer - constantly stirring until thick

what you need for the flatbread:

• Your favorite Naan bread or flatbread

• 1, 6oz. jar of artichoke hearts

• 3 1/2 cups fresh spinach

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 TBSP olive oil

Optional garnishes:

• your favorite shredded vegan cheese (optional)

• roasted red peppers (optional)

• red chili peppers (optional)

• sea salt to taste (optional)

what to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 425ºF (I do so with a pizza stone in there - optional!)

2) Mix the garlic and olive oil. Brush mixture on one side and put the bread oil side down on a prepared pan (or on pizza stone) Bake for about 2 minutes and set aside.

3) Put the remaining garlic and oil mixture into a pan. Add artichokes and spinach and cook until spinach starts to wilt, being sure to not overcook the spinach. Remove from heat.

4) Top naan with Alfredo sauce and artichoke mixture.

5) Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top (optional) and place in oven.

6) Bake for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and if you want, broil the top for a minute.

7) Garnish with some red chili, red peppers, and sea salt.

8) Cut and serve fresh! Enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Smoothie (vegan)

Have you ever just craved something sweet but didn’t want all of the calories? Well, I have a treat for you today! Seriously!

You didn’t think I was going to start sharing smoothies and skip out on my favorite dessert ingredient, did you?

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We love having popcorn and smoothies and Saturday nights, and this is our usual go-to for it. It’s sweet, creamy, tasty, and hits all the right spots. Plus, it isn’t one we usually have in the mornings, so it feels like an extra special treat.

This recipe will make enough to share with your favorite friend - or you could just enjoy it on your own. I’ve been know to add flax/or chia seeds to my smoothies for some fiber too. I know someone who even puts spinach in this smoothie! It’s optional for you, however. Just know that you can’t actually taste it if you choose to add it (chia seeds you will be able to feel the texture).

By the way, we never add any ice to our smoothies, because we find that it takes away from the creaminess of them (that, and we never used to have ice on hand!). Instead, we use frozen fruit to achieve a thicker smoothie. Feel free to use a few blocks of ice if you prefer, however.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Smoothie

what you need:

• 2 cups non-dairy beverage (I use soy milk)

• 1 large banana (use a frozen banana for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 TBSP cocoa powder

• 1 TBSP peanut butter

• 2 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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