Almost Vegan Manicotti

May 4, 2010 By Amy Leave a Comment

Manicotti, like most Italian food, is a big favorite in our house. Ever since we started this vegetarian journey I have attempted to find tasty Veg Italian dishes that even my meat loving husband would love. Since we trade off on cooking duty, this means he has to come up with creative veggie dishes too. Tonight he came up with a real winner that everyone, except our toddler devoured…  it was vegetarian Manicotti, and if not for cheese lightly sprinkled on top, it would have been vegan too!

Manicotti is tubular shaped pasta made from semolina flour and water. Eggs are sometimes used to, so if you do want to attempt to make this a vegan dish, check the ingredients on your box of Manicotti. Traditional Manicotti is stuffed with cheese (ricotta), meat, and sometimes vegetables. The Manicotti my husband made tonight was stuffed with garlic mashed potatoes! We weren’t sure how it would turn out but it was SCRUMPTIOUS! It was creamy and flavorful just like cheese…

Just cook potatoes and mash with a mixer or in a Vita-Mix to get them super smooth. Use a pastry tube to squirt them inside the cooked pasta shells and then top with homemade tomato sauce (or a jar if that is your thing) and light sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese or soy cheese if you are a vegan. Bake them until the sauce is heated through and the cheese is melted. Yum!

Enjoy!

Also make sure to check out: The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook: 350 Essential Recipes for Inspired Everyday Eating

Filed Under Dinner, Featured Category Tagged With Cook Potatoes, Flour, Garlic, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Grated Parmesan Cheese, Homemade Tomato Sauce, Italian Dishes, Italian Food, Light Sprinkling, Loving Husband, Mash, Mixer, Pasta Shells, Pastry Tube, Squirt, Vegan Dish, Vegetables, Vegetarian Cookbook, Veggie Dishes, Vita Mix, Yum

How to Make Homemade Almond Milk

April 2, 2010 By Amy Leave a Comment

I am not a big fan of pasteurized milk, even organic. It just seems like milk flavored water with much of the nutrition and all of the enzymes being killed during the pasteurization process. For several years now we have opted to buy raw milk or make homemade almond milk instead. Both are much healthier and easier on the stomach. Conventional milk is not an option for me in fact as the moment I drink I get dehibilitating stomach aches. To me this means I just shouldn’t be drinking it.

Making almond milk is incredibly easy once you get your system down and my kids think it is incredibly delicious. They will drink it straight, add it to cereal, or use it to make chocolate milk or banana milk smoothies. Since I use raw organic almonds, I get to rest easy knowing that their milk, or “mylk” as many refer to it, is healthier for their little bodies and healthier for the planet. Nuts are an essential fuel for the body too. To make it I just follow these simple steps:

First I soak the almonds overnight in water. I do this because I want to deactivate the naturally occurring enzyme inhibitors that prevent the nut from sprouting until conditions are right for growth. By deactivating the inhibitors we have access to the beneficial enzymes that make the nut a living food.

After soaking I rinse the nuts and put them in a high speed blender along with 6 cups of filtered water. I recommend a Vita-Mix or a Blendtec for the best milk. I have both and they are equally awesome. Blend until smooth and creamy and then strain the milk through a cheesecloth to get rid of the brown almond skins and any leftover chunks. I end up having to really squeeze the cheesecloth to get the milk out. Then I pour the milk into a glass milk jug and put it in the refrigerator and we try to use it up within 4-5 days. We usually never have a problem drinking it all!

I also take the leftover pulp from the cheesecloth and spread it out on a dehydrater sheet and I dehydrate for several hours until it is dry and flaky. Then it goes back into the blender to be crushed into almond flour for other menu items.

Raw, healthy, and delicious!

Filed Under Vegetarian Food Tagged With Almond Milk, Blendtec, Cheesecloth, Chocolate Banana, Chocolate Milk, Chunks, Enzyme Inhibitors, Enzymes, Filtered Water, Flavored Water, Living Food, Milk Jug, Mylk, Organic Almonds, Pasteurization Process, Raw Milk, Simple Steps, Smoothies, Speed Blender, Vita Mix

How to Make a Green Smoothie

April 1, 2010 By Amy Leave a Comment

My kids and I are crazy about green smoothies. We make them a couple times daily usually. Never before has it been so easy to get my kids to eat plenty of those all important leafy greens!

You may be wondering what a green smoothie is exactly. Or maybe not, they seem to be getting really popular in healthier living circles everywhere lately. A green smoothie does not refer to being “green” in the eco sense of the word. Although they can be that too. The green in a green smoothie refers to what is in the smoothie and usually the color as well. Quite simply, green smoothies are blended beverages that combine fresh or frozen fruit and leafy greens like Kale, collard, spinach, or wild edibles. Veggies like carrots may make a cameo appearance in green smoothies as well. The genius of a green smoothie is that they are jam packed with nutritional goodness, usually in its raw life living form, and they taste absolutely fantastic! When was the last time your kids begged you for fresh spinach? Well, mine ask me daily for some.

To make a green smoothie you should start off by buying a good blender if you don’t already have one. I recommend a Vita-Mix or a Blendtec. I have used both to make my green smoothies and the whole process takes less than 2 minutes when you have a really good blender.

Next, add about two cups of greens. My favorites are spinach and Kale but you can use any. You can even use carrot tops and beet tops. Then add some fresh or frozen fruit like strawberries, blueberries, banana, peaches, mango, pineapple, apples, pears, or melon. There are so many flavor combinations you will never be uninspired. If you used fresh fruit you may want to add a handful of ice cubes and then add 1-2 cups of filtered water. Blend and enjoy!

I also give my smoothie concoctions cute names for my kids benefit like Dragon’s Elixr and Popeye’s Favorite. It makes it easy for them to tell me what they want.

This spring and summer see how much of your green smoothie ingredients you can grow yourself and drink up!

Filed Under Featured Category, Vegetarian Food Tagged With Beet, Blendtec, Blueberries, Cameo Appearance, Carrot Tops, Concoctions, Couple Times, Cute Names, Elixr, Frozen Fruit, Kale, Leafy Greens, Moustache, Nutritional Goodness, Pears, Popeye, Raw Life, S Green, Smoothies, Spinach, Spring And Summer, Vita Mix