First of all, how unreal is the color of this spirulina?! I love how colorful plant-based food can be.

Moving on- this is perfect as a sweet start to your morning, or a healthy substitute for desert. Don't let the bright blue fool you, there's lots of cacao hiding in there!

​With only a few simple ingredients, this can easily be made in just a few minutes. Enjoy!

1. Let 3 - 4 bananas freeze overnight. Make sure to peel before freezing. If you like your bowls thick and frozen, then also freeze the yogurt the night before, too.

2. Once bananas are frozen, break up into chunks in mixing bowl with 500 gm (one tub) of coconut yogurt.

​3. Add 2 - 3 cups of cacao nibs depending on your chocolate preference.

4. Pour 1 cup of coconut milk. If you like thicker bowls, use less milk.

5. Add about 1 cup of dates. If you want it sweeter, then use more.

6. Liberally pour spirulina over mixture. I didn't measure, but as you can see from the photos- i covered the entire mixture with the powder.

7. If you want it even sweeter, add a dash of vanilla extract and coconut sugar. This will make it taste more like nice cream than a smoothie bowl.

8. Blend until your liking, and add your favorite toppings!

I hear people say a lot that one of the hardest things for them to give up when turning vegetarian or vegan is SUSHI. 

The good news is that you don't have to give up the flavors completely just because you're only eating plants now. 
And the even better news is that this Vegan Sushi Bowl offers a lot healthier options to a more traditional sushi set up. 

I loved having this bowl on a hot summer day, as it's filling- but not cooked and heavy feeling. EVERYTHING about it is plant-based, including the cauliflower sticky rice variation. 

It's gluten free, soy free, and dairy free- so I think your belly will be pretty happy afterwards :)

Serving good for 2 people

1. The sweet potatoes will take the longest, so start by cutting one sweet potato into the size/variation that you like. Put on baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes at 210 C. Let potatoes cool when finished.

2. Once potatoes are almost done, start on the cauliflower sticky rice. Dice or shave cauliflower with cheese grater, and put in frying pan with coconut oil, sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of ACV. Cook for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring. Once it's a somewhat soft, then at 2 - 3 cups of coconut milk and about 1/2 cup of tapioca flour. Stir continuously until milk evaporates. If it needs more of a sticky texture, add more tapioca flour. It will turn into a sticky mass, when it does- remove from heat completely and let cool. It's gets sticky the cooler it gets. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

3. As the potatoes and rice cool, start on the bowl. Add spinach (or greens of your choice), pickled red cabbage (or another pickled veggie), avocado and thinly sliced mango (people usually like the thin slices because it reminds them of the fish texture. If that grosses you out, then go with cubes). Add nori strips and bean sprouts.

4 Only once potatoes and and rice have cooled completely, then add to the bowl. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top (or hemp seeds). Spice with wasabi, or another hot sauce of your choice. I try to stay away from soy, but if you have to have it- then add soy sauce, as well.

5. To eat, mix it all up like one big sushi salad. Or (like I did), use the strips of nori to make mini sushi rolls of your own , while also eating the greens and toppings like a salad. Enjoy!

As most people know by now- eating green smoothie bowls does NOT mean that they have to be bitter or gross in order to get all those rich nutrients which dark greens (like kale) offer. 

A great way to sweeten your greens is by adding something like mango, pineapple, or even a sweet apple. I used mango in this one, because I'm living in Australia right now- which means the mangos here are pretty good. 

If you're living some place with other native sweet fruits, PLEASE substitute the mango for what makes sense to you geographically. I'm sure it will taste better that way :)

1. Freeze 3 bananas and 2 large mangos overnight. Make sure to take skin off of each first. 

2. Once frozen, break up bananas into chunks into large mixing bowl or blender. Add frozen mango. 

3. Add kale to your liking (I used one entire bag), and two super ripe/soft avocados.

4. Pour about 2 1/2 - 3 cups of coconut water over mixture. 

5. Add maca if you have/like it. I used about 3 tablespoons. 

6. Blend together until creamy and smooth. 

​7. Pour into bowl, and add toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Since living in Asia on and off for years on end, I've fallen in love with Asian cuisine even more than before.
​Unfortunately, sometimes the yummiest dishes aren't always the healthiest.

However, now that I have a kitchen- I can recreate things with my own flare, and more nutritious substitutes as well.

This cauliflower rice dish is a great way to satisfy those Asian cravings without succumbing using to MSG, soy, or an excess of salt. 
It's made of up literally ALL plants, and quite a hearty and delicious meal.

1. You'll need two frying pans here. Coat LIGHTLY with olive oil, add a heavy coat of seseame oil on top. 

2. Frying Pan 1 will use the veggies that take a little longer to cook. For that one- you'll finely chop, or shave entire head of cauliflower. Add snow peas (I cut mine in halves), and asparagus (I cut in about fourths). 

3. Add garlic to the first mixture. I went heavy on the garlic with 4 big cloves. Lightly salt, and add a chopped chili and a dash of sriracha if you like spice. Add a bit more sesame oil on top of the mixture, then begin cooking on a low heat.

2. Frying Pan 2 will have chopped kale (I used an entire bag), chopped mushrooms, and bean sprouts. Again, I went heavy on the garlic with 3 big cloves in this mixture. If you like spice, add chopped chilis and a dash of sriracha. Add a bit more sesame oil on top of the mixture.

3. Begin cooking Frying Pan 2 on a low heat once the mixture in Frying Pan 1 has begun to soften a bit. Once it soften, turns heat up to medium with Frying Pan 1. The kale especially cooks quickly, and you want to make sure you retain as much as the nutrients as possible. 

4. Once the "rice" mixture in Frying Pan 1 has more of soft texture (like actual rice), then turn up the heat to medium with Frying Pan 2 for about 3 - 5 minutes only. Then, add Frying Pan 2 mixture to Frying Pan 1. Mix altogether on low heat.

5. Add more spice, salt, or sesame oil as needed. I like spicy- so I used about 4 fresh chilis, as well as about a tablespoon of red chili powder. 

6. Once it's spiced and mixed, serve and enjoy!

This one is actually scary it's so good. Be prepared for a super rich, desert-like smoothie bowl that's also chock full of nutrients. 
​The Nutter Butter Bowl is great on it's own as a healthy pudding option for the holidays.
Or, it can easily be a hearty breakfast smoothie bowl topped with granola, sliced almonds, berries (or other fresh fruit), and additional cacao nibs. 
Keep in mind, I was just playing in the kitchen again with this one. So measurements are estimates, not exact amounts.
​

These are estimate amounts I just used to make mine. This will probably make about 6 smoothie bowls.

1.Freeze 3 bananas overnight. Once frozen, break up in chunks in mixing bowl.

2. Add 3 heaping table spoons of nut butter.

3. Add roughly 1 1/2 cups of cacao nibs.

4. Add about 450 mg of non-dairy yogurt. 

5. Include roughly 1 - 1 1/2 cups of non-dairy milk. The more milk there is, the less thick the mixture will be.

6. Add about 2 cups of dates. I broke mine up a little before to make sure there weren't any rouge pits in there. 

7. Add about 1/4 cup Maca powder, and a few table spoons of hemp seeds. 

8. Spice with cinnamon and nutmeg to your liking. I loved this addition, because it gave the bowl a more holiday feel. 

9. Blend to the consistency that you prefer. 

10. Eat as is, or with toppings of your choice!

Look, I'll be real- I had a hard time labeling this one, because this was a total on a whim concoction that can't quite be defined other than DELICIOUS.

It looks and tastes more like sorbet than it does ice cream, but because there's yogurt and coconut milk in it- it doesn't really qualify as a traditional sorbet.

Before we dive in, you should know that I didn't measure ANYTHING in this recipe because I was just playing around in the kitchen. So, all amounts are rough estimates.

1. Freeze berries and bananas overnight. Make sure to peel bananas before you freeze them. 

2. Next day, break up bananas into chunks. Add bananas and berries to mixing bowl. 

3. Add coconut yogurt. I used a 500 mg tub, but I ate some before, so it wasn't quite full. Oops.

4. Pour about 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk and cacao nibs over mixture.

6. Add a dash of maple syrup to sweeten and vanilla extract to sweeten.
 
8. Blend until creamy. 

I know what you're thinking, that doesn't look like a burrito. And you're right, it doesn't! But guess what, I'm not a food blogger. So when the tortilla got stuck to the tin foil when I unwrapped it out of the oven, I wasn't about to make another one just to make it picture perfect. Good thing is that although it looks like a mess, it tasted heavenly. Plus, I know you all aren't going to judge me on this, right? You're just here for dank food, and for that, I LOVE YOU. 

Just a quick disclaimer before we dive in. I'm a California girl, which means I love my Mexican food. But since being vegan, I've realized that it's really tough to have authentic Mexican food that's all plant based. This burrito is hardly authentic Mexican cuisine.

But it did satisfy those hearty cravings for me, and I hope it does for you too.

1. Cut sweet potatoes into chunks. Use oil olive, salt, paprika and smoked paprika to your liking. Roast in oven at 210 C. I bake for 40 - 45 minutes, but please cook to your liking.

2. Boil water for quinoa. Cook according to the ratio on the bag of the quinoa you choose. This usually takes about 25-30 minutes. Leave on low heat to stay warm.

Once potatoes and quinoa have about 10 - 15 minutes left, then you can start on the rest.

3. If you're making your own guacamole, now's the time. If you have pre-made guacamole, then skip this step. 
-Cut up 2 avocados. Dice half tomato and red onion to your liking. Crush garlic.
-Add mixture together, and mash.
-Add salt, pepper, and cilantro.
--Squeeze half lime over guac to preserve, and for added zest.

4. Dice yellow and red bell peppers with yellow onions. Add to frying pan with fresh spinach. Include fresh chilies and jalapeños if you like spice (we use two red chillies and 2 jalapeños). Spice with paprika, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Squeeze half of lime over veggie mixture. Cook with olive oil on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or to your liking.

5. Wash and drain black beans, and pour into small pot. Dice pickled jalapeños and sliced black olives. Add them to black beans. Cover mixture with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor (we used about 3/4 C). For more spice, add cayenne pepper. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. 

6. Once everything is cooked, then lay your wrap onto a square of tinfoil. Spread thin layer of hummus or creamy cashew cheese onto wrap. This will give the burrito more of a stick/wet texture similar to cheese. 

7. Add all beans, quinoa, potatoes, and veggies to the wrap. Fold up the wrap like a burrito, and cover with tin foil. Bake in oven at 150 C for roughly 25 mins. The longer you bake, the crispier your wrap will become (like a tortilla chip). 

8. Unwrap from foil (hopefully your's doesn't fall apart!). Squeeze lime to burrito as you like, and cover with guacamole. Option to add hot sauce here if you still need more spice.

This is a great combo of a few recipes we've already made.

Check out my Chia Pudding and Granola posts if you'd like to make the entire parfait from scratch.

If you tend to have a sweet tooth in the morning, this is a great option to curb that sugar craving in a healthy way.

​Plus, there are heaps of nutrients within this mixture, so you'll feel not only satisfied, but also ENERGIZED throughout your morning. 

-See recipe for Chia Pudding first
*this must set overnight

-See recipe for Granola next 
*this takes about 20 minutes to prepare, including baking time

​-Once Chia Pudding and Granola are finished, make sure both are set and cool

-Choose glassware of your choice
*I like stemless wine glasses, or mason jars

Eat as is, this baby is perfect!

If you're looking for added protein at the start of your day, then include more nut butter, hemp seeds, and/or other nuts.

If you're looking for more fiber at the start of your day, then lay off of the dried fruit, and go a little lighter on the granola. Add more fresh fruits on top, instead.

To be honest, I can't believe I'm even writing a "recipe" for this, because it's SO DAMN SIMPLE that's kind of hilarious.

However, I actually do get a lot of questions about how to make it- so I thought, why not?

This is a great option for a quick, simple, yet HEALTHY start to your day.

​Combine it with your favorite granola (or make your own!), fruits, or eat as it is. 

-Use 3 tablespoons of chia per 1 Cup of liquid

-Mix together

-Add spices or cacao powder to mixture if you'd like extra flavor

-Let mixture sit overnight in refrigerator 
​
-Eat once chia seeds gelatinize enough to create a thick, pudding consistency

I know there are plenty of granola/muesli options out there. But here's the thing: it's SO EASY and affordable to make big batches of your own!

I love to make personalized mixes of your own depending on which fruits are in season.

It's also just nice to know EXACTLY what's going into each batch, considering how much excess sugar and/or preservatives are usually added to store-bought options. 
​
I'll include a variety of options for ingredients that you can play around with based on your liking, as well as your budget. 

​FINAL TOUCHES:
-Let granola cool
-Once cooled, add chia seeds and dried fruits
*if you add dried fruit before you bake, it might get too sticky