The Treasure Chest

Love is a treasure, pure and true

A feeling that I’ve always knew

To share with someone, heart to heart

And never stray, to cheat or part

But love can be a fragile thing

And sometimes, it comes with a sting

My lover was a liar, you see

And the lies, they broke and confused me

They made me ill and full of doubt

But still, I couldn’t shake love out

For even in the darkest hour

I knew I couldn’t let it cower

So I’ll love love, with all my might

Though past experiences have been quite a fight

For true love is built on trust and honesty

And I’ll keep searching for that, with dignity

Love is pure, and love is strong

But lies, they do not belong

I’ll take my time, and choose with care

For a love that’s pure, is truly rare.

Spicey Vegan Jambalaya

Ingredients:

*3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

*1 large yellow onion, diced

*3 cloves garlic, chopped

*4 large stalks celery, diced

*1 heaping Tablespoon diced jalapeño (use more or less depending on how spicy you like things – 1 Tbsp. gives it a nice kick)

*4 cups diced fresh tomatoes (you could also use whole cherry tomatoes or one large can of crushed tomatoes)

*2 cups uncooked brown rice

*4.5 cups vegetable stock

*2 teaspoons vegan worcestershire sauce (you can find some good vegan varieties online or, if you don’t have any of the vegan stuff handy, just leave it out!)

*3 bay leaves

*1 teaspoon smoked paprika

*2 teaspoons hot sauce (I use Sriracha)

*salt and pepper to taste

*1.5 cups chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish

Instruction:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan (use one that has a tight-fitting lid)

2. Add onion, garlic, celery, and jalapeño to oil and sauté until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and cook an additional minute or two to soften them up.

4. Add rice, vegetable stock, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, paprika, hot sauce, salt, and pepper to pan and stir to combine. Cover and bring mixture to a simmer. Let it cook for 20-40 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and cooked through.

5. Stir in fresh cilantro and serve immediately. Garnish with extra cilantro.

I added roasted broccoli and a slice of avocado to top mine. I am greedy. 

Coconut Curry Lentil Leek soup

I used Leek but you could use Kale/Spinach 

Ingredients:

* 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)

* 1 large onion, chopped

* 2 cloves garlic, minced

* 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

* 2 tbsp tomato paste (or ketchup)

* 2 tbsp curry powder

* ½ tsp hot red pepper flakes

* 4 cups vegetable broth

* 1  can coconut milk

* 1 can diced tomatoes

* 1.5 cups dry red lentils

*1/2 bunch of leeks cleaned and chopped (or 2-3 handfuls of chopped Kale 

* salt and pepper, to taste

* Garnish: chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) and/or vegan sour cream
Instruction:
1. In a stockpot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and stir-fry the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is translucent, a couple minutes.

2. Add the tomato paste (or ketchup), curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.

3. Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, diced tomatoes and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 20mins add the leek and let simmer for 15 more minutes, until the lentils are very tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. {Make-Ahead: May be cooled, frozen in air-tight containers, and re-heated over medium-low heat.}

5. Before serving, stir in the kale/spinach and garnish with cilantro and/or vegan sour cream.

* Replacing the coconut milk with 1 cup of broth will result in a bright red soup with and a more pronounced tomato flavor

* Replacing the diced tomatoes with 1 cup of broth will result in a creamier soup with a stronger coconut flavor

* Replacing BOTH the coconut milk AND diced tomatoes with 2 cups of broth will result in a soup soup with a lighter consistency but more pronounced spices, because it won’t have the coconut milk or tomatoes to temper them.

It’s an imitation McGriddle

It’s just two vegan pancakes and a black bean burger. 

Vegan extra sweet pancakes:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 1/2 cup flour (I used 1 cup rice + 1/2 cup wheat flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon vanilla 

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup 

Instruction:

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk the water and oil together in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet. Stir just until blended; mixture will be lumpy.

Heat a lightly greased griddle (I use earth balance soy free butter) over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle, (I used a hamburger mold to get a perfect circle and a thick cake) and cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip, and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Black Bean Burger recipe:

Ingredients:

* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

* 
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion

* 
1 tablespoon minced garlic

* 
3 baby carrots, grated (optional)

* 
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper (optional)

* 
1 tablespoon cornstarch/ arrow root

* 
1 tablespoon warm water

* 
3 tablespoons chile-garlic sauce or Sriracha

* 
1 teaspoon chili powder

* 
1 teaspoon ground cumin

* 
1 teaspoon seafood seasoning Old Bay

* 
1/4 teaspoon salt

* 
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

* 
2 slices whole-wheat bread, torn into small crumbs

* 
3/4 cup unbleached flour, or as needed

Instruction:

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). I use a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. You could just grease the baking sheet instead. 

* Put the black beans, onion, garlic, carrots, and green bell pepper in the food prosesser (I used one with an S shape on low) you could however just smush all of this in a bowl. 

* Whisk cornstarch, water, chile-garlic sauce, chili powder, cumin, old bay seasoning, pink salt,  and black pepper together in a separate small bowl. Stir cornstarch ( I used arrow root)  mixture into black bean mixture.

* Mix whole-wheat bread into bean mixture. Stir flour, 1/4 cup at a time, into bean mixture until a sticky batter forms.

* Spoon ‘burger-sized’ mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, about a 3/4-inch thickness per mound. Shape into burgers.

* Bake in the preheated oven until cooked in the center and crisp in the outside, about 10 minutes on each side.

Spicy Fried Cauliflower

* 1 cup all purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch

* ½ teaspoon salt

* ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

* ½ teaspoon white pepper

* ½ teaspoon onion powder

* ½ teaspoon garlic powder

* ½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

* ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

* 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

* ⅓ cup hot sauce (I used  chili garlic sauce mixed with matoucks Caribbean hot pepper sauce) 

* ¼ cup unsweetened plain rice milk or other non-dairy milk

* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

* 5 cups safflower oil, or other frying oil

* 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into large florets

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the flour, arrowroot powder, salt, cayenne pepper, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Old Bay, and nutritional yeast.

2. In another bowl combine the hot sauce, rice milk, and Dijon mustard and whisk until creamy.

3. Heat the frying oil in a large dutch pot or fryer. It should be around 350°.

4. Use one hand to carefully dip a cauliflower floret into the wet mixture, then drop it into the flour mixture. Use your other hand (it should be dry) to coat it completely. Dip it back into the hot sauce mixture, and again into the dry mixture, keeping one hand devoted to wet and one to dry.

5. Carefully lower the twice coated cauliflower into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining cauliflower until you can’t fit any more into the pot. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until the pieces are golden.

6. Transfer fried cauliflower to a large plate covered with two sheets of paper towel to absorb excess oil.

7. Continue to cook the remaining cauliflower.

8. Serve hot.

7 Day Juice Fast

For those looking for a great way to detox and shed a few extra pounds! 

You should not eat any solids during this 7 Day Juice Fast Plan. It defeats the purpose of it. So stay away from any solids, you’ll be Just On Juice for seven days.
If you get headaches, or strong cravings, it is normal for the first 2-4 days. Just stay focused and stay on the juice. Make an extra Juice to drink if you feel like you’re about to cave in and eat something solid.
Drink at least 16 oz of water after each juice meal. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
Start each day off by juicing 1/2 lemon (peeled) and mix it with 12-16 ounces of warm to hot water. I do this as soon as I wake up each morning, it’s important to cleanse your digestive system and give you a good boost of energy. 
It’s recommended to have between 4-6 juices per day each consisting of 16-20 ounces. The below list is great to get you started with different juices. You can choose whichever juices you please while on your juice fast. The list takes into consideration you will try them all. So feel free to experiment you’ve got 7 days! 
Breakfasts:

Morning Glory

* 2 Apples

* 1 Cucumber

* 1 cup Blueberries

* 2 cups of Grapes

* 2 Kale Leaves

* 1″ Ginger
Jolt juice 
* 2 Apples

* 1 Orange

* 1 Cucumber

* 1/4 Lemon Peeled

* 4 Kale Leaves
Lunches: 

Mean Green

* 1 Granny Smith Apple

* 1 Cucumber

* 4 Stalks of Celery

* 4-6 Kale Leaves

* 1/4 Lemon Peeled

* 1″ Ginger
Bruschetta Tang
* 2 Tomatoes

* 1-2 Garlic Cloves Peeled

* 1 Bunch of Basil (20 Leaves)

* 1/4 Lemon Peeled
Dinners:

Sunset Passion

* 1 Beet Sliced

* 1 Cucumber

* 1 Carrot

* 1 Granny Smith Apple

* 4 Kale Leaves

* 1/4 Lemon Peeled

* 1/4 Lime Peeled
Green Machine:

* 4 Kale Leaves

* 2 Apples

* 2 Cups Spinach

* 1/2 Cucumber

* 2 Celery Stalks

* 1 Med Carrot

* 1″ Ginger

You may want to split up the 7 Day Juice Fast into two separate trips to the grocery store. You can do this by getting 12 apples, 12 cucumbers, 1 bag of celery and 2-3 bags of spinach or kale half way through the Fast.
After 3-4 days you will start to feel an abundance of energy, headaches will be gone, and you won’t be as hungry. This means you have overcome the hard part. 
It helps to take Ziploc gallon size bags and prepare your fruit and veggies ahead of time. I will put breakfast in one bag, and lunch in another bag, it cuts down juicing time in the morning.

Make sure you are coring your apples as you do not really want to juice the seeds.
You can pour any of these drinks over ice and enjoy them or drink them how they are.

Do not add salt, but feel free to add spices such as pepper, fresh mint, basil, oregano, chives, or thyme.

Shopping list:

* 12-15 Granny Smith Apples x 2

* 16 – 20  Cucumbers

* 1 Bag of Carrots

* 1 Bag of Oranges

* 6-12 Tomatoes

* 7 Beets

* 1 Garlic

* 1 Bag of Basil Large

* 4 Cups of Blueberries

* A Bag of Grapes

* 3 Bags of Celery

* 5 Big Bags of Spinach or 8-12 Bundles of Kale

* A Ginger Root

* 7 Lemons

* 2 Limes

Sweet Potato Brownie

Ingredients 

* 1 whole medium sweet potato

* 2 cups almonds (or cashews or a mix)

* 5 tablespoon raw cacao powder

* 1 pinch Himalayan salt

* ¼ cup coconut oil, melted

* ¼ cup rice malt syrup Optional: 1 tablespoon coconut flour (optional but adds to texture)

Instructions 

1) Start by peeling and chopping the sweet potato into large, rough chunks and then boil until soft (about 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the chunks)
2) Set that aside and cool and in the meantime, blend the nuts, cacao and salt until reasonably fine.
3) Put this in a mixing bowl with the coconut oil, coconut flour (if using) and rice malt syrup and mix through thoroughly
4) Once the sweet potato has cooled, mash this and then stir and fold this into the mixture.

5) Put everything into a lined or lightly greased pan and press it down firmly, and then put into the fridge or freezer 

This is my go to snack loaded with lots of protein, fibre and healthy fats to keep me going for hours. If you are going to eat all of them between yourself, family, guests etc, within a couple of days, put straight into the fridge. However, if you are planning on having them slowly over a week or two, cover and put in the freezer as sliced, individual serves. You can remove them and enjoy within just 10-15 minutes of taking them out of the freezer.