Meal Plan January 13-19

Glad everyone enjoyed the meal plan so much!  It was one of my top posts of all times!

Anyways – here’s what’s on schedule for this coming week! 

Monday – Burger, Homemade Fries & Salad (I’m making myself these Lentil Walnut Burgers)

Tuesday – Chicken Soup with Homemade Bread ( Vegan Irish Soda Bread)

Wednesday – Family Dinner

Thursday -  Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole with asparagus and probably salad  - in the recipe – will sub unsweetened almond milk for milk & use the non condensed milk version.  

Friday – BBQ Pork and Veggies (peppers, onions and zucchini), roasted sweet potatoe (served with sweet chili sauce) – I will likely skip the pork and have BBQ tofu (marinated in hoisin sauce)

Weekend sometime – Turkey with all the Fixins – probably everything here – we went for dinner at people’s houses for Christmas and missed out on Turkey Leftovers!

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Other things I’m making for a successful week – So a bunch of girlfriends and I are doing the 90 day Bikini Body Mommy Challenge – it’s a free online workout challenge and we are officially done week #1!  It’s hard work – but I’ve seen results in the first week – WOOO!

To keep myself eating ok – I need to do prep on the weekend – so I will me making;

Kale Chips (sorry the recipe is a little wacky on here – but hopefully you can read it)

Quinoa Coconut Granola Bars

Some kind of hummus – (likely will be making the curry/raisin one which I love to eat with carrots)

My friend Tasha’s low fat Granola to go in cultured coconut milk yougert!

PS – if you are ever looking for Dairy Free Snack ideas – check out this post – huge list (with links!)

Hope you are enjoying these meal plans!!

4 Ingredient Potato Salad (VEGAN)

 

I am trying to blog more – I really am!  I’ve been updating sections of my blog, and am thinking of doing a total blog overhaul in the next little bit to clean it up, add things like PIN IT buttons and just to give it new life!   Please let me know if you have any suggestions!  If anyone has any tips on moving from blogger – wordpress please contact me!!!

 

Ok moving on!

We were so lucky this summer to head out on our friend’s boat.  We spent the day out on the water enjoying the sunshine and the company – we even got to see some Orca whales towards the end of the evening – even though I’ve lived on the coast my whole life, I have never seen Orca’s up close and personal – check out a few of the photos I took!  Amazing!

Plus there was an incredible sunset that night…

Amazing. 

Anyways onto the food!  We had a BBQ on the boat and our friends made this awesome potato salad that I had to share!  With only 4 ingredients – it’s easy as can be!

 

4 Ingredient Vegan Pesto Potato Salad

2lbs potatoes of choice – cut into cubes

3/4 cup Veganise Pesto Mayonnaise

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 cup frozen peas

Optional – daiya cheddar shreds.

 

Directions

Boil potatoes until soft about 10 minutes

Put frozen peas into a strainer

Pour the potatoes and the hot water over the peas

Let potatoes and peas cool.

Once cooled – add veganise and lemon juice (and any extras you choose – I added 1/4 red pepper and chives for added color and crunch – but it’s great as is also!)  Mix together.

Add salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Our friends also added daiya cheddar shreds which added even more creaminess to this – but totally optional!

 

There you have it – super simple and perfect for a BBQ or potluck – or a quick easy addition to dinner!

Lucky us – we got to enjoy this while gazing at this beautiful view.

Hope you enjoyed this quick and easy recipe!  Coming up in the next few days – a post about a few of my new favorite (and not so favorite) things!

Much love,

Jessica

Fiesta Quinoa Salad

Well hello…

It’s been SO long since I posted an actual – made by me recipe – I actually don’t know where to start!

Ever since having baby boy (3.5 months ago now) I’ve been struggling with finding inspiration to eat healthier – as many moms/busy people know – sometimes, you have to grab and eat whatever you can just to fill the void.  On top of that, I just had 0 inspiration to create or play around with recipes! (or even cook if I’m being honest) 

The other day during nap time, I was flipping through documentaries on Netflix and found “Forks Over Knives” watched it and proceeded to watch the Engine 2 Diet documentary afterwards and felt totally inspired by Rip.  I felt so inspired.  Plant strong… ok I can do this!  Not saying that I’ll follow it 100% but I will try to make “plant base”choices as much as possible. 

So guess what – I’ve been making recipes like crazy (kale, lemon and cilantro sandwhich – YUM).  And I even created one of mine own – check out this beauty.

Fiesta Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups water or broth
• 1 can corn drained
• 1 can rinsed and drained black beans
• 1/2 purple onion diced
• 5 tomatoes diced (seeded if you want it less runny)
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro (or more if you are a cilantro loving fool) – washed, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1 TBSP chili powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• Lime and zest from 2 limes
• Salt to taste

Directions – cook quinoa in water (broth) as per package instructions.

Toss together all ingredients and let sit for a few hours for the flavours to mix!

Done and done!  This makes a large portion perfect for a BBQ or pot luck!

Would be awesome;

• stuffed into a pepper and baked
• Served with lettuce for lettuce wrapped
• with avocado added
• with nacho chips

There you have it – a recipe from yours truly!

Hope you are all well!!  Loving the facebook interaction as always! Thank you for your support and I hope to start creating a bit more!  Summer and sunshine is always a good inspiration too!!

And a baby picture just for fun! Isn’t he the cutest!?

Ohhh I could just kiss those lil cheeks !

Sundried Tomato Dairy Free Pesto?

Hiya!

What’s shaken folks?

How about a little pesto recipe that is easy, flavourful and dairy free?

I know you want it?

 

Sundried Tomato Pesto (Dairy Free)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/4 cup raw or toasted almonds

1/2 (or more) packed basil

1/2 cup chicken broth (or veggie)

2 TBSP oil – I used grape seed

1/4 cup sundried tomato in oil – rinsed of excess oil

1 TBSP nutritional yeast (optional)

1 clove of garlic (or more if you are a garlic lover)

Process all ingredients in a food processor! – You will probably have to scrape down the sidesa few times to get everything processed!   Yum that’s it!!  Add more liquid as required – this made a fairly thick pesto!

 

Now what to do with it you ask?

• I roasted a bunch of my favourite veggies, and tossed it with them and some pasta and topped with chicken.
• As a base for pizza instead of tomatoes sauce
• Spread for sandwiches
• Dip for crackers/veggies
• Spread on burgers
• Spread on chicken/fish/tofu
• Thinned out and used as a salad dressing
• Coating for kale chips (mmmmmm must try this!)
• Inside a lettuce or rice wrap

Now that summer is here, I’m hoping to do more cooking and start getting recipes out to you guys! I’ve had TONS of emails (thank you) encouraging me to get back into blogging, I’m so sorry for my absence – I lost my blogging mojo a bit – but hopefully I’ll be back soon!

 

Any recipe requests out there?  Also, any great ideas for Arugula?  I was gifted a big bag of garden fresh stuff, but haven’t used it much!?   Thank you!! 

 

Hope you guys  are all doing well!  My posts on facebook haven’t been reaching everyone – so if you’d like to make sure you receive all my posts – please sign up through  email!!   The link is at the very top of my page on the right hand side!! Thank you bunches for your support!

Much love,

Jessica

Curried Millet with Greens

Happy first day of summer!  I don’t know where you guys all live, but here – the weather is sub par to normal “Summer” weather!   I had a few hours off yesterday and was feeling cold to the bone – I wanted something creamy, filling, thick and with a spicy kick!

Drool….

Curried Millet w/Greens

1 tsp. oil

1 onion diced

1 clove garlic minced ( more if you love garlic flavour)

3 TBSP curry (I used mild spiced curry)

1 cup millet

1 red pepper sliced into short strips

2 cups chopped cauliflower

2 cups chicken broth

1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas

1 can full fat coconut milk

3 TBSP  (or to taste) fish sauce (sub 1.5 tsp. soy sauce for vegan)

1 TBSP sugar (or to taste)

5 cups packed greens!

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DIRECTIONS

• Sauté onion & garlic in oil
• Add in curry powder and millet (I find toasting the curry powder and millet adds to the flavour).
• Add in the rest of the ingredients (except greens)
• 
• Simmer on medium low for 30 – 40 mins or until millet has softened
• Taste – you may need to add in more fish sauce and or sugar – depending on your taste buds
• Final step – add in greens just before serving!

 

NOTES

• You may need to add extra water/broth  - depending on how thick you would like it.  It thickened up overnight!  
• I say add fish sauce and sugar to taste because everyone likes their flavours different – I am a huge fan of the salty – so it may be too salty for other’s taste buds!!
• All curries taste different and have different spice levels – so be sure to do lots of taste testing!

 

Hope you enjoyed this recipe!  I know I’m looking forward to the left overs!

Dairy Free Hollandaise Sauce

So being dairy free – do you remember the smooth, creamy, buttery taste of hollandaise sauce? Don’t worry, I won’t make your mouth water for nothing!

When I lived in Kelowna, I used to go on Sunday’s with friends to a place called the Jammery for Eggs Benny!   They would do English Muffins w/cream cheese, apricot jam, ham, eggs and hollandaise sauce – it was TO DIE FOR!!!! 

So I was thinking about that – mouth watering and decided to try out a recipe and see what happened?    Now it’s been a long time since I’ve tasted hollandaise – but I felt like it was close!

This recipe is by no means good for you!

Dairy Free Hollandaise Sauce

1/4 cup dairy free margarine

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp turmeric ( I added more but I love turmeric!)

1 tsp lemon juice

Whisk together all ingredients over medium heat!   Add salt to taste.  Depending on the coconut milk you use, you may need to add some thickener to it – I added about 1 tsp sifted cornstarch.   Continue whisking together until everything is combined and warmed!

I served over a peice of dairy free toast (which I cut the corners off of to make it look pretty), sautéed kale  and of course with a perfectly poached egg!

It was oozy and delicious and perfect for a lazy weekend treat!

Sorry it took me awhile to post – but I hope you enjoy this recipe!!   Next time I will recreate the Jammery’s recipe with dairy free cream cheese and apricot jam!! Mmmm!!

xo Jessica

Mason Jar Key Lime Pie

So I was watching the news this morning – and they mentioned key lime pie!   KEY LIME PIE (drool).    As they made it, they named off a bunch of ingredients as I whizzed together an almost raw, gluten free, dairy free Key Lime Pie (vegan too if you switch out the honey for another sweetener).

For the Crust

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup coconut

3 medjooled dates (pitted)

3 tsp maca powder

Pinch of sea salt

Whiz all crust ingredients together in food processor.   The crust will not be solid when finished, it’s more crumbly!    If you want it more solid, use more dates.

Use 2 heaping TBSP per mini mason jar

 

For the Top

2 ripe avocados

Juice of 1 – 2 limes – if you are using actual key limes you will have to use a few more.  A little under 1/4 cup lime juice.

Zest of one of limes

1-2 TBSP honey or sweetener of choice (or enough to your taste)

Put all top ingredients together in food processor and whiz together until smooth.  Taste and adjust flavors as needed.  You may like it sweeter, or want more lime or lime zest at this point!

Spoon 2 TBSP on top of crust. 

Awesome breakfast or snack – plus it freezers awesome (and will help avocado stay green– so would be a great snack to send with the kids in their lunch kits – as it should be thawed by lunch time!

And of course there is something special about mason jars!  I don’t know why but I love them – they range up there in my favorite things with sharpies, bath and body works and lululemon

Enjoy!

Jessica

ps.  Thank you to the news this morning for inspiring this recipe!! It was tasty!

Allergy Guides–US and Canada

Hey guys!
Thank you for all the new likes on Facebook!  I cannot believe I am almost at the 1000 mark – that is INCREDIBLE! 
I recently had to travel across the country and while travelling had to eat out quite a bit – that got me thinking that a list f allergy guides may be very helpful – so I will update this post when I find new allergy guides and you will be able to find it above under Dairy Free Resources.  This guide will be a work in progress.
Please send me an email if you find a new guide that is not listed  and I will add.  As I do not live in the US, this list will likely have many more Canadian links.
*please note – THIS IS ONLY A GUIDE… it is important to check these guides often, as they may change – and these are only a guideline – always ask to double check. I hold no responsibility for any of the below charts – this is strictly information I have found online. 
CANADA
A.
B.
C. Chillis
D.
E.  Extreme Pita
F.
G.
H.  Harvey’s
I.
J.
K.

• Keg
• KFC

L.

• Lee's Famous Chicken

M.

• Moxies
• Milestones

N.
O. Olive Garden
P. Panago
Q. Quiznos
R.
S. Swiss Chalet
T. 

• Tim Hortons
• Taco Del Mar (not an allergy guide, but tells you which items are vegan aka dairy free)

U.
V.
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
UNITED STATES.
A.
B.
C.

• Chilis
• Chipotle
• Chick Fil A

D. 

• Dairy Queen
• Dairy Queen (part 2)

E. 
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K. Keg
L.
M. McDonalds
N.
O. Olive Garden
P. Panera
Q. Quiznos
R.
S. Subway
T.  Tim Hortons
U.
V.
W. Wendy’s
X.
Y.
Z.  ZPizza
Thanks to Steph at a Life without Ice Cream for her help with the list!

On my plate

Morning!

So I mentioned on facebook that I am doing a post about how to gain weight while being dairy free – as per a readers request.  I don’t want to half ass the post – so I am taking some time and doing research on it – keep your eyes open for it next week!

I just uploaded the photos from my iPhone and didn’t realize I had so many meal photos!!   I know a few of you newly dairy free friends are having a hard time figuring out what to eat – so maybe these will help you out!   Just a snippet of my eats as of late!

I’ve been on a healthy eating kick lately – and feeling awesome!

Snack plate – one of my favourites!  Green peas, tomatoes & carrots.   Gluten free crackers, smoked salmon and guacamole (I only ate about 1/2 the guac and salmon!!)

 

Salmon – pan fried with BBQ spices.   Roasted veggies and black quinoa that I cooked with chicken broth and dried mushrooms.

 

Trout with BBq spices, steamed kale and asparagus with a grain medley from Costco – also cooked with mushrooms and chicken broth.

Smoked salmon, dairy free cream cheese with cucumbers on toast.   and a few olives.

Another snack plate – hummus, veggies, pickles, rice crackers and canned fish

Blackberries, multigrain cibbattta bun with mayo, nooch and cucumber

Green smoothie – mangos, mixed frozen fruit, orange juice, spinach and loads of macca

Lunch yesterday – steamed kale, chickpeas with oil & vinegar dressing & sweet potatoes fries.

Apparently I only take pictures of my food if it’s fish?  I also eat chicken and tofu!!

These meals are all pretty healthy, but I assure you sweets/treats were eaten too!  I try to keep my main meals as healthy as I can – but no one is perfect!! 

Hope this helps anyone struggling with what to eat!!

What was baked!

Hey guys!

Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?  Time flies when you are having fun!!  This has been a whirlwind kind of week.  My husband finished his masters degree on Tuesday (YAY), I had a surprise party for him Friday, tonight is my Christmas party and the hubby’s parents are coming to stay with us for a week – so as you can imagine, life is busy (but wonderful)…

I’ve had a few emails regarding surviving over the holidays being dairy free.  I highly recommend taking a look at my Dairy Free Survival Guide for ideas and also my post, Challenges of Being Dairy Free is a great one with tips for what to do where!   These posts and a few more can always been found at the top of my blog under Dairy Free Resources.  

Moving on – I have been terrible at taking food photos – so bear with me.    I wanted to compile a list of all the things that I baked this Christmas!!

Ready?

• Mama Pea’s No Bake Snowball Cookies – easy, fast and gooey!  I love them, the hubby thought they were too oatmeal.
• Dandelions on the Wall’s – Allergy Free Fudge. (OMG). So good! Made two batches – one I melted some peanut butter and swirled in and the second I added super finely ground espresso beans!  SOOOOOOOOo good!!
• Made a double batch of the Chocolate Love Affair Cookies!
• Oh She Glow’s Egg Nog Biscotti’s – which have become a favourite around here!
• Haven’t’ made these yet, but I may!!  Of course sub the butter for either DF butter or coconut oil! Low Fat Gingerbread Cookies.
• I also made Caramel Chocolate Goodies.  Super easy caramel recipe – I have used it for a few things including – turtles (caramel and chocolate covered pecans) and caramel popcorn with peanuts and peanut clusters!!  Best Caramel Recipe I’ve found!
• Still on the list to make – probably for Christmas dinner - Sinless Sticky Toffee Pecan Pudding!!  Droooooooooooool.    Funny story – before becoming dairy free and when I lived in Calgary, I often went for “dinner” at Earls, and actually only would eat a sticky toffee pudding…  It was warm and drippy and had a caramel lattice on top that was crunchy and sticky – such a great combo!!
• Peanut Butter Cups – of course!!  I had one of my Special Olympics girls say they were the best peanut butter cups EVERRRRRRR!!  hehe  

I baked 2 other kinds of cookies – a gingersnap and a banana snicker doodle -  they were just ok though and I want to only give you the best of the best!!

What are you/did you bake this Christmas?

Mom’s Oat Bran Muffins Revised

First off – DFB is close to hitting a pretty incredible milestone – 750 page views away from 100,000!!!! That is SO crazy – blows my mind and totally humbles me. 

Thank you, thank you!

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Moving on………

Awhile back I posted a recipe for my FAVORITE muffins in the whole wide world!  My mom always made them and they are so tasty, but they weren’t dairy free (and they had shortening in them).  She had made them dairy free a couple of times but now they are off travelling for 6 months, so I had to revise them for myself…

Long story short… this is what I came up with and they are fantastic!

Mom’s OAT BRAN MUFFINS
(with Dairy Free Betty alterations)

300 DEGREES FOR 20 MINUTES
MAKES 45 MEDIUM MUFFINS

2 CUPS BOILING WATER
2 CUPS BRAN
PUT IN A BOWL 1 AND LET SOAK

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5 CUPS FLOUR

5 TSP BAKING SODA
1 TSP SALT
PUT IN BOWL 2 TOGETHER

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3/4 CUP SMASHED BANANA

1/4 CUP OIL (I used grape seed)

2-3 CUPS SUGAR – BROWN & WHITE MIXED
4 EGGS (Vegan Option – 4 TBSP chia with 8 TBSP water)
4 CUPS ALMOND MILK + 4 TBSP VINGEAR
4 CUPS OATS

1 TBSP PUMPKIN PIE SPICE  (I like them spicy)

4 PEELED AND LARGE GRATED CARROTS + 1/4 CUP MULBERRIES (I ran out of dried fruit)

other options - 2 CUPS RAISINS OR ASSORTED OTHER THINGS
IE: SHREDDED CARROT, BANANA, DRIED APRICOT ETC.
Into bowl # 3

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MIXED ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND BAKE

Hope you enjoy!!

They are perfect to toss in the freezer and then pull out for lunches! 

Better Late Than Never…

Well hello!

So glad you enjoyed the Salmon Chowder recipe. It turned out better than I expected and  I really enjoyed the creaminess of it (I miss creamy being dairy free)! 

Well as many of you know, it was Thanksgiving here awhile back – and I have yet to do a post about it!!  I didn’t take tooo many pictures since I was busy cooking, but I thought I’d show you the ones that I did – (and attach some recipes!)

While cooking – I decided to play with my camera a bit, and thought these pears were a great subject!!  I wish their was a better background – but this picture totally makes me say “awwwh”!

Anyways…

The table was set for 8 of us (and a sweet little baby girl)!!

Dinner was prepped as much as possible before.

I made homemade cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

1 bag of fresh cranberries

1 cup of water (or orange juice for more flavour)

1/2 cup sugar

cinnamon and orange zest to taste

Boil all ingredients for 1/2 hour or until desired consistency!!  It will gel up more once cooled!

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Our friends were in charge of appies, bread, and dessert!

The appie was incredible!!  Artichoke and Green Olive Dip!   I wish I could have eaten more it was awesome, but I was too busy cooking!!  It was gone FAST though!!  

Then there was the rest of the menu.

Turkey (of course)

2 types of bread pudding – cranberry spice and onion

Stuffing (may have been from a box? I haven’t ever tried to make it from scratch!)

Mashed Potatoes (I used chicken broth instead of milk!)

Sweet Potato Casserole.

I sort of used Angela’s recipe – but I tweaked it a bunch – it was fantastic!!

There were soda biscuits and fresh bread brought by friends too!

I also made a salad, roasted veggies and pan fried Brussels sprouts!

I’m sure I am missing something – but it was quite the feast!

For dessert (no picture ) a friend made a vegan blackberry and a vegan pumpkin pie!! (I don’t like pie – but the blackberry was to die for!).

It was a fantastic night with fantastic friends!

 

Thanksgiving is such a great time – it’s always fun to  have a big group of people enjoying a big huge meal!!

 

Also as promised – I finally got some picture of the Northern Lights – they are very rare around here (I’d never seen them before)!! Thank you to Y. for these pics!   We were at an end of summer beach fire and all of a sudden the sky lit up!

Beautiful hey? I’d never seen anything like it!!

Hope your day is going fantastic!! 

More recipes coming from me next week!

PS.  Dairy Free Caramel Apple Recipe?  Yes please!