Carrot Cake Smoothie

 

Yesterday after we could barely make it out of our driveway because of the snow, we headed over to my moms who made this delicious Carrot Cake Smoothie for us. 

I love Carrot Cake but I don't love that a single piece is packed with so many calories and topped with a sugary, heavy cream frosting. I want to eventually try a recipe to make raw vegan carrot cake bars, but in the meantime this smoothie satisfied my cravings. 

This smoothie is for my fellow dessert lovers out there who need some sweetness in their life, plus it's fully raw vegan. Happy Dance! :) :) :) 

Carrot Cake Smoothie

Serves: 3 

Ingredients: 
2 Carrots
1 frozen Banana
2 Cups of cashews
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2" piece of ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
1 cup water
3 medjool dates

Blend everything in a high speed blender. add more water if you don't like it super thick. I ate this one with a spoon it was so thick. 
Enjoy. 

Banana Cream Pies

"Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale." -  Elsa Schiaparelli

Hi Guys. hope you all had a good Tuesday. 

Just wanted to say a quick Happy birthday to my Dad today. That guy is 58 years old, going on 20. :p  I haven't eaten red meat in about 15 years and he is still always offering me hamburgers and pork, as if I'm ever going to start eating it again. 

I wish I had a vegan Birthday cake recipe in honour of his birthday but... all I have are these banana cream pies. 

This recipe is actually one of the first recipes I tried when I became vegan and it really made me realize just how well cashews micmic anything dairy. By now I'm so used to eating cashew based everything that I don't even like the taste of dairy products. Since I've been so obsessed with Nice cream lately I haven't been making these but I'm thinking it might be time to try a baked version... hmmm. I'll let you know how they turn out. 

 Vegan Banana Cream Pies

makes 6 medium sized
5 minutes to make 
1 hour to freeze

Ingredients 

crust 
 1/4 cup walnuts, 
1/4 cup almonds 
10 dates. 

Filling : 
1 banana, 
1 tsp of coconut oil, 
1 cup of banana dessert tofu , 
1/2 cup cashews - soaked for at least an hour 
3 tbsp of maple syrup  
1 tsp of vanilla. 
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice 

Instructions :

blend crust ingredients high speed in blender 
fill cupcake liners 1/4 full
blend filling ingredients high speed in blender until mixture is smooth 
pour filling over crust 
freeze for at least 1 hour 
enjoy 

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheeze Cakes

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” 

― Roald Dahl

   In my opinion, my mom makes the most delicious cheesecake, it's not your traditional style of cheesecake it's a lighter, more fluffy consistency with pineapples mixed in. As I'm writing this I'm thinking I am going to have to come up with a vegan version of her cheesecake because what a shame it would be to never get to eat that recipe ever again.

  This recipe is not light and fluffy but is still absolutely scrumptious. In celebration of fall and pumpkins this was my very first baked cheesecake I've ever created (I've made tons of raw versions). I never follow recipes so it's always a nice surprise when they turn out well on the first try, and these ones did! yay!

I hope you find them as easy to make as I did. 

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecakes

*Makes 12 medium sized cheesecakes
*30 minutes prep time
*30 minutes bake time

Ingredients 

Base 

1/2 pack Oreo Cookies 

1/4 cup coconut oil or vegan butter

Cheesecake filling 

150 grams (about 1 cup) dessert tofu

1 cup cashews soaked for at least 2 hours 

3 tablespoons of sugar 

1 tsp lemon zest 

2 tablespoons of lemon juice 

pinch of salt 

2 tablespoons of flour 
1/4 cup water

Pumpkin Pie Filling 

Store bought pumpkin pie filling, 

1/2 cup milk 

3 tablespoons of flour

Instructions  Base 
Line cup cake tins with liners
blend oreos and butter/oil 
pat base into the bottom of cupcake liners and put into fridge while making the rest of the cheesecake 

Cheesecake Filling 

blend all ingredients into a high speed blender for a few minutes or until everything is smooth. 
Pour cheesecake over the Oreo crust about 3/4 full. Make sure to leave enough room for about a spoonful of pumpkin filling. 
store in fridge while making the pumpkin pie filling. 

Pumpkin Pie Filling 

mix milk and flour into the pumpkin pie filling. 
put a spoonful of filling into the top of each cheesecake. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins

take out of oven and let them cool off 
put them into the fridge to set overnight or for at least a few hours. 

Enjoy 

Follow me on instagram @amandamariegomes

My Week in Pictures #1 +Plus Vegan Gravy

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah Winfrey

Happy Friday Everyone :) 
Mid October! crazy how time is flying... This week was Canadian Thanksgiving, so I ate a lot of salty & fatty food. Believe it or not, not all vegan food is healthy. I did balance it out by drinking juice the whole day before so I guess thats ok right! 

This week I  am super proud of myself. I studied Portuguese almost everyday, sat in my splits for 5 mins a day (I'm almost touching the ground again) and blogged at least 3 days. I have a habit of starting things with tons of enthusiasm and motivation and stopping after a couple weeks so instead of going for a couple days at full speed I'm doing a little bit everyday. Consistency is key. 

I spent Thanksgiving Monday with my family. Since I couldn't eat most of what my family was making, I made my own stuffing, gravy and pumpkin cheesescakes. I wanted to share the gravy recipe with you, because it is soooooo easy and yummy. I actually made it again to put on roasted potatoes after thanksgiving! 

Easy Vegan Gravy 

*Makes 1-2 servings 
10 minutes 

2 tbsp flour 

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tsp rosemary 

1 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp oil or vegan butter

heat oil, and vegetable broth on a medium setting for a couple minutes

turn down to low and add the onion powder, rosemary, and flour.

mix well

*make sure the liquid isn't super hot when adding the flour, otherwise it will clump up.

Enjoy 

Follow me on instagram @amandamariegomes

Apple Pie Nice Cream With Caramel Date Sauce

"If something is wrong, fix it. But train yourself not to worry, worry fixes nothing" - Ernest Hemingway

Hello and happy Tuesday!

  For thanksgiving this week I made gravy, stuffing, pumpkin cheese cake and apple crumble (all vegan and delicious).  *All recipes coming soon. 

I had an abundance of apples from the crumble I made, so I thought why not try an apple pie nice cream. I've had two massive guilt-free bowls already, and I totally wouldn't feel bad about having another. 
 I have no doubt there is going to be many more nice cream recipes on this blog because I am just soooo happy my life long dream of eating ice cream everyday is coming true. 

      Apple Pie Nice Cream with Date Caramel Sauce

Serves 1 

5 mins to make 

Apple Pie Nice Cream 

2 frozen Bananas

half frozen apple 

1 tsp Cinnamon 

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. 

Clean out the blender before you make the date sauce

Date Caramel Sauce

10 dates

1/4 cup water

Blend in blender until smooth

pour over nice cream 

Enjoy 

Follow me on instagram @amandamariegomes 

Black Forest Nice Cream

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it" - Henry David Thoreau

You know what I like about eating raw? is that it forces you to eat whole foods, and you know that your not putting tons of chemicals and preservatives into your body. 
   When I went vegan I did not want to be buying store bought substitutes that are probably not super healthy for you. so i chose to make my own raw sour cream, cashew milk, and cream cheese (totally awesome recipe coming soon) That way I know exactly what is going into my food.

 If you asked me the question, what food would you eat for the rest of your life, if you could only choose one? it would have to be ice cream. The smooth, sweet, creamy flavour is just too good to resist. and guess what?!?! you can make a really healthy one with no added sugar, no chemicals, and no dairy that tastes just as good and it's raw... winning! 

Black Forest Nice Cream 

*serves two 

2 bananas

12 pitted cherries 

1 tbsp of cacao powder

blend all ingredients together. Top with a cherry. 

Enjoy 

Pacific Northwest Bars

"You'll never go anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that" -Roald Dahl 

Today is a typical Pacific Northwest rainy day, so I wanted to share my PNW bars with you. I called these PNW bars because of the abundance of raspberries in the summer here. Super thankful my favourite fruit is grown right in my home area.  
    I'm thinking of doing a raw vegan day once a week to see how I feel only eating raw foods... thank goodness I'll still be able to eat these guys. These were one of the first raw vegan desserts I have ever made and turned out so delicious.

Oh also, I wanted to tell you guys I am spending Christmas on a beautiful island in BC called Hornby island, with my husbands family. I can't wait to take tons of pictures and do some baking with my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law who are all amazing in the kitchen!

Pacific North West Bars

*makes about 12 depending on the size of your muffin tins  

Bottom layer - Crust 

cocoa 

dates

almonds

Middle layer 

3/4 cup cashews soaked overnight
1/3 cup maple syrup 
2 tsp vanilla 
1 cup raspberries
1 tbsp non dairy milk (I like cashew milk)

Top Layer - Raspberry Chia Seed Jam 

1/2 cup raspberries 
1/4 cup maple syrup 
1/4 cup chia seeds

blend all the crust ingredients - divide & press them into the bottom of cupcake liners. set aside in fridge while you make the middle layer. 

blend all middle layer ingredients. Pour over the date crust evenly & fill up to the top. 

Freeze for at least 2 hours. 

for Raspberry jam - Blend all ingredients together. pour into container and store in fridge until your ready to serve the bars. 

Once ready to serve take out of fridge - spread the jam over top of the bars and enjoy. 

enjoy. 

Follow me on instagram @amandamariegomes

Quick Apple Crumble

Of all things said or written, perhaps one of the most beautiful is - "the meek shall inherit the earth" But how long can they remain meek after they are given the power and glory - Nan Witcomb 

    
This weekend was quite the busy one. I spent it going from family dinners, to a fashion event, to a football game. I love these kind of weekends where it is so jam packed I know I've truly spent it well. 
There was a bit of time on Saturday where I was craving something sweet and autumn-y  and chose to make a vegan apple crumble. 


To me there is nothing better than making food to share with loved ones, but home alone with a craving I managed to only make one quick bowl for myself. I would definitely make this again except perhaps next time scooping out the center of the apple and filling them with crumble before baking them. or perhaps in a large baking pan, either way I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 


*this one can also be made raw. 

Quick Vegan Apple Crumble For One

1 Apple 

1/2 Table spoon lemon juice

1 table spoon flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

crumble :

1/4 cup coconut oil 

1/2 cup oats

4 table spoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamom 

Mix all ingredients for apple filling - Mix well 

Mix all ingredients for crumble

Fill small bowl or mug with apple filing and top with crumble 

Microwave for 2 minutes 

   Raw Vegan Apple Crumble 

1 apple 

1 table spoon lemon juice 

1 table spoon brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon almond flour

1/2 cup oats

3 table spoons of maple syrup

1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

For raw crumble I would mix all crumble and filling ingredients together so that you get full flavour in every spoonful. 

Enjoy