Pomegranate seeds add beautiful color and juicy flavor to this simple grain salad balanced with peppery arugula and crunchy bits of celery.

Serves 4
Ingredients

1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup hazelnuts
3 cups packed baby arugula
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Fresh herbs, chopped

Directions

Bring the salted water to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, toast the bulgur in a medium skillet over medium heat until fragrant and nutty, about 4 minutes. Stir in the bulgur, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until lightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap nuts in a clean dish towel and rub them together to remove skins. Set aside until cool enough to handle, and then chop them.

Transfer the bulgur to a medium bowl and fluff with a fork. Add the olive oil, chopped herbs, arugula, pomegranate seeds, celery and hazelnuts. Season with pepper, to taste.

Enjoy

Apples, beets and walnuts tossed together create this salad of harvest celebration.

Ingredients
Apple Vinaigrette

1 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
A dash of apple cider vinegar
A grinding of cracked black pepper
A pinch of coarse salt

Roasted yellow beets

3-4 yellow beets, well-washed & trimmed
Olive oil
Fine sea salt

Carefully wash beets. Trim off the tops and bottoms. In a large…, place one layer of aluminum foil and one piece of parchment over the foil. Place beets in the center. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and a splash of tap water. Cover with one layer of parchment and top that with one layer of foil. Wrap edges tightly to make a sealed package. Place in 300 degree oven and roast until fork tender.
(1 1/2 hours depending on the size of your beets)

Let cool.

Directions


Make dressing: Whisk together apple juice, canola oil, mustard, apple cider. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Peel beets and slice into rounds. Set aside

Cut apple into slices.

Toss beet and apple slices with dressing, coating well. Add walnuts and parsley

Green smoothies are simply a fruit smoothie with fresh or powdered greens added. They are easy to make, exceptionally nutritious and one of the best ways to increase your greens intake significantly. They also crowd out the desire to eat less nutritious foods. With the right mix of fruit and greens they can be sweet enough to satisfy sweet cravings and provide the real nutrition that your body is craving. Best of all, they are a simple and delicious way to clear out toxins!

Yield: One 16-ounce smoothie

Ingredients:

2-3 large sheets of kale
¼ cup parsley (firmly packed)
1 frozen banana (or fresh banana + ice)
2/3 cup pineapple chunks
1-2 Medjool dates
1/4 or 1/2 tsp spirulina powder
Water

Method and preparation:

Place all ingredients in blender and add water up to 16 oz. Mix until it reach the proper consistency. Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite sandwiches! When you are in need of a quick but healthful sandwich, give this one a try .

Ingredients

2 slices of your favorite bread (toasted, if preferred)
1 ripe avocado
Thinly sliced Red Onion
4 slices ripe tomatoes (thin slices)
About 1/4 cup alfalfa sprout
Vegenaise or any mayonnaise of your choice
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
Put the sandwich together and enjoy this nice and healthy sandwich!!!

Frangipane is a fragrant, moist filling made with ground nuts or nut paste such as almond paste.

Ingredients

Frangipane:
1/4 cup vegan butter at room temperature
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/4 cup silk tofu
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 tsp almond extract

Crust:
7 oz of puff pastry
3 pears
1 tbsp unrefined sugar (optional)

Directions:

For the frangipane, beat in a bowl the vegan butter and sugar with electric mixer until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add silk tofu, beating until mixture is well blended. Stir in almonds powder and almond extract.

Preheat oven to 200 ° C (400 ° F).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum. On a lightly floured work plan, roll out dough to 3 mm (1 / 8 inch) thick. Cut the dough into 4 circles or squares of 15 cm (6 in.) Prick dough several times with a fork. Set aside in freezer.

Wash the pears and slice them. Spread the frangipane evenly on each disk of dough.
Arrange the pears slices in a circle with a lap. Sprinkle fruit with sugar.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until pears are golden and the bottom of the dough cooked.
Serve warm. Garnish with chopped pistachios if desired.

The recipe comes from Veganize It…Don’t Criticize It!. Im not really into fake cheese but I had to give it a try. I was really impressed by the taste of the sauce. It really remembered me the mac and cheese i used to eat when I was a kid. Give it a try!!!

Ingredients

Cashew Mix:

3/4 cup Raw Cashew Pieces
1/8 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Water

Sauce:

1 16 oz. package Macaroni
6 TBSP Vegan Margarine
6 TBSP Flour
1 1/2 cup Soy Milk
1/2 TBSP Mustard Powder
1 1/2 cup MimicCreme
1/2 cup Cashew Mix
1/2 tsp Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper (To Taste)
1 10 oz. block Follow Your Heart Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup Breadcrumbs

To Make The Cashew Mix:
This mixture will yield slightly more than needed. You only need to measure out half a cup. I just plan to make a little more because my food processor seems to eat a little of whatever I make in it.

Soak the cashews in slightly salted water for 2-3 hours. Drain well, then throw in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Blend for 5-10 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally, until the cashew has a very smooth consistency. Add a little more liquid if needed.

Measure out a 1/2 cup of the mixture, and set aside.

To Make The Sauce:
Cook Macaroni noodles until just Al dente, drain well, toss with a touch of canola oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a whisk, in a large sauce pan, melt the Earth Balance over medium-high heat. And flour, salt and pepper, and whisk together. Pour soy milk and MimicCreme in gradually while constantly stirring. Continue stirring until the mixture begins to boil. The sauce should have thickened up quite a bit at this point. Add the mustard powder and the cashew mix, and mix in well. Reduce the heat to medium, and add 1/3 of the “cheddar”, stirring constantly. You’ll know it has mixed in well when the sauce takes on an orange-ish color, and the cheese has almost completely melted. Repeat process twice more until all cheese has melted in. It should take about ten minutes. Taste to see if more salt is needed. Turn of heat, and mix in Macaroni.

Transfer the mac & cheese to a large, greased baking dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes, then let it cool before digging in….which of course I didn’t do.

A few weeks ago, we went to “Expo Manger Santé” and there was a food demonstration of a citrus vegan raw cheesecake from Prana (a Montreal based-company). The cake was awesome, simple, easy to make and so good that I made another one yesterday. I really like this recipe because it don’t use Tofutti. This cheesecake will satisfy everyone, it’s worth trying. It’s simple and requires no cooking.

Here’s the recipe

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups of raw almonds
1/4 TSP of vanilla
1/4 TSP of sea salt
12 Medjool dates, pitted
2 TBSP of raw coconut oil, cold-pressed

Filling
3 cups of cashews, soaked for 15 minutes and drained
1 1/2 cups of almond milk
1 cup pf fresh lemon juice
2 TBSP of lemon zest
3/4 cup of Agave syrup
1 TSP of vanilla
2 pinches of sea salt
3 TBSP of lecithin, soy or sunflower
3/4 cup of raw coconut oil, cold-pressed

Directions
Put the almonds, vanilla and the sea salt in a food processor until the almonds are finely chopped. With the food processor still on, add the dates and coconut oil. Stop the food processor once the dough sticks. Line the bottom of a springform pan 9 1/2 inches with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan, taking care to push the dough up onto the edges of the mold. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Mix all the ingredients in a Vitamix or a powerful blender until it becomes a creamy texture. Cover the crust with the filling. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and serve!!

To keep it raw, garnish it with fresh blueberries or garnish it with this blueberry topping

Ingredients

1 1/2 pints (3 cups) blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP vegan butter
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP cornstarch

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, and cook until berries break down, about 4 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 min.

These cakes are just wonderful. Eat them alone or as a side dishes.

Adapted from A la distasio

Ingredients

1 zucchini, grated
1 potato or 1 sweet potato, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 parsnip grated
1/3 cup firm tofu, grated
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 TSP of olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Mix all ingredients. Place a pancake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 200 ° C (400 ° F) about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.

I topped it off with some fried plantain sticks

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp grated ginger
4 cloves of garlic
5 cups water or veggie stock
2 cups of roasted sweet potato puree
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup cooked black beans
¼ cup chop coriander
2 tsp salt, add more if you use water instead of veggie stock
2 tsp black pepper

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until tender. Add in the garlic and ginger, cook for about 2 minutes. Add in the veggie stock, sweet potato puree and coconut milk. Stir well. Add the remaining ingredients. Let the soup simmer on medium low for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Roasted sweet potato
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pierce the sweet potatoes a couple of times with a fork and roast on a small baking sheet until soft, about 50 minutes. To reduce cooking time, cut your potato.

Plantain sticks
Cut your plantain in julienne and soak them in salt water. Strain it and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Deep fried and sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

I suggest you to do it in winter to accompany dishes like pot-au-feu or a stew. It is also great for breakfast.

Ingredients
75g (1/2 cup) flax seeds
75g (1/2 cup) sesame seeds
2TSP active dry yeast
475 ml (2 cups + 2TBPS) lukewarm water (36C/97F)
2TSP sea salt
500g (3 1/2 cups) spelt flour

Directions
1. Grind flax seeds and sesame seeds with a coffee grinder.

2. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water and add salt.

3. Gradually add the flour and ground seeds, stirring with a wooden spoon. When the dough starts to be more difficult to work, continue with your hands about 5 minutes until smooth and homogeneous preparation (dough will be sticky)

4. Cover and let stand 1 hour at room temperature

5. Punch down your dough and fold the dough 20 times

6. Cover and let stand 1 1/2 hour at room temperature

7. Punch and fold the dough another 15 times

8. Cover and let stand 1 hour at room temperature

9. Fold the dough about 5 times. Shape it like a big ball

10. Place the ball on a pizza pan and flatten

11. Let the bread rise 45 to 60 min near the oven away from drafts.

12. Place a container with hot water in the oven and preheat to 240C (450F)

13. Make a few incisions about 2 cm on the top of the loaf with a sharp thin blade. Lightly flour.

14. Bake and cook for about 15 minutes at 240C (450F) and about 20 min at 200C (400F). Do not open the oven door during cooking. Remove bread from oven and let cool on wire rack to room temperature (if you can wait that long!) or at least till it’s only barely warm so it will easily slice.