a collection of vegan recipes

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warming up to quinoa


Although these dreary days are slowing turning into warmer, spring ones, I'm still working on getting over my winter blues. I've never been a big fan of quinoa (gasp in astonishment here), but lately I've been experimenting with ways to make it please me. The other day, I had a warm quinoa/tomato/kale salad, which wasn't all too bad. I have a feeling quinoa would be pretty good risotto-style; I don't seem to mind it when it's coated in something else altogether. This morning, however, I felt confident enough to try the ever-so-popular-on-Google-searches apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa! Gotta admit, I was hesitant to add the raisins, as I've never done so before to any porridge, but they definitely made the meal. (And maybe you've noticed that cooked bananas are an indispensable component of any porridge- no need for sweeteners when I've got these babies on hand!)

Serves 1

1/8 cup cooked quinoa
approx. 1 cup almond milk
1/2 banana, mashed
1/2 apple, diced
1 tbsp raisins
vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, coconut flakes, etc.

Cook the already-cooked quinoa in the almond milk. When it expands to desired consistency, add the remaining ingredients and heat until the banana caramelizes, and the apples and raisins soften (if you so desire). Enjoy topped with coconut flakes, walnuts, or whatever else tickles your fancy.

nutrition (entire recipe):
268.0 kcal
fat 5.2g
carbs 55.4g
protein 5.4g

no better way to wake up on a rainy saturday


Fruit in the morning is my favourite. Especially bananas. I've been feeling pretty down in the dumps lately, I feel like I'm about to come down with something, but it's only hit me 3/4 of the way. It's a pretty crappy feeling. I resisted the urge to gobble down some snickerdoodles and decided to prepare myself a lovely fruity "cereal-less" bowl instead. And now I'll move on to my favourite chocolate-kiwi-kale smoothie, and I'll be set for the day!...hopefully.

Although this so-called "recipe" is basically just throwing a bunch of the fruits you have on hand into a bowl and topping them with non-dairy milk, here's my combo this morning:

Serves one

1 banana
1 plum
1 nectarine
6 strawberries
handful of blueberries
1 cup of non-dairy milk (or yoghurt)

Dice the fruit, toss in a bowl, and feel free to garnish with nuts, toasted buckwheat groats, coconut, peanut butter, or agave. Get creative! ;)

lick yo lips pumpkin spice mocha


As you can probably already tell, I've got an abundance of leftover pumpkin and I'm not afraid to use it! On with the pumpkin recipes, shall we?

For a little over a one cup serving

3/4 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (eg. coconut- yum), or more
1/2 banana
about 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, or add until desired thickness
vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, etc.
1-2 tbsp cacao powder
sweetener, to taste

Dunk everything in your blender and combine until smooth and frothy. One word: nom.

raw pumpkin pie porridge

I always do this. I start eating clean, I feel clean, I feel great, and then I go and eat 3 muffins in a day (despite cravings for fresh fruit and veggies) and I wonder why I've got a stomach ache and a sore ego. And so then I resolve to start eating more living foods again- I keep that up for a while, and the same thing happens. Oh well, that's life. Either way, today was muffin day. I'm not feeling so fly on the whole; maybe my lack of clean foods lately isn't helping me fight off this bug that seems to be taking over my body. So, I decided to blend up some raw, healthy porridge to have ready for the next few days in case I'm too bed-bound to prepare anything else!


Enough for 3 small servings, but top them off as you wish!

1 + 1/4 cup soaked buckwheat* (measured after soaking)
3 oz non-dairy milk (a little over 1/4 cup)
1/2 large banana
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 tbsp ground flax
1 tbsp chia seed
vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice etc.
sweetener, to taste

In your blender or food processor, combine 1 cup of the soaked buckwheat groats (reserving the remaining 1/4 cup) and the remaining ingredients, processing until smooth. Stir in the leftover groats. Sprinkle with some coconut, walnuts, and more fresh/dried fruit. Eat it up, and/or refrigerate the leftovers.

*For some simple, uncomplicated help with soaking, click here!

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EVERYONE THINKS OF CHANGING THE WORLD, BUT NO ONE THINKS OF CHANGING HIMSELF.
leo tolstoy

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nutrition (1/3 of recipe):
168.5 kcal
fat 3.3g
carbs 22.4g 
protein 5.6g

chocolate & vanilla kale smoothie variations


When you can't decide on breakfast, have it all - a saying I live by. The other day, I decided to have raw crepes, raw buckwheat cereal, a smoothie, and a raw bagel with avocado mash for breakfast. 

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EAT BREAKFAST LIKE A KING, LUNCH LIKE A PRINCE, AND DINNER LIKE A PAUPER. 
adelle davis

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Okay so maybe I haven't been entirely true to that statement lately-- I feel as though I've been dining majestically at all meals. But hey, who's to judge? Either way, part of today's breakfast included some smoothies that I never thought of trying before. You see, usually when I think of smoothies, I think of loading in everything I can to make it the most nutrition-packed green goodness possible. I guess "keeping it simple" never crossed my mind, even though I've heard claims that the simplest smoothies are, in fact, the tastiest. Halfway through my blending this morning, I decided to pour out some of my original smoothie into a cup, and add a few more ingredients to the rest to test out a few new flavours. The verdict? Heaven. And for those of you who aren't completely in love with kale (yet) like I am, great news: You can't even taste it!

Note: don't question the kiwi, just throw it in. You can thank me later ;)

The recipes: 
Make one cup of thick smoothie each, or 2 cups thin (if you dilute it with some more milk)

Basic vanilla shake

1 cup kale
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cardamom
sweetener, to taste

Chocolate kiwi shake

1 cup kale
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 banana
1 kiwi
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cacao
pinch of nutmeg
sweetener, to taste

Blend together, pour into glasses, and savour the deliciousness. 

sweet & sour portobello "steak" and cauliflower/carrot mash


Based off Quiche-a-week's delicious recipe. Details to come!