YOU GOTTA LOVE RAW VEGAN EGG NOG

You asked for it. No, really; you asked me to make a raw vegan egg nog recipe.. so I did. And dang, I sure am glad. This is delicious, warming, smooth, sweet and satisfying all at once. My dad agrees.

I wasn't actually planning on making anything today because I had a late night last night and meant to get some studying done today. Last night I went dancing with my lady friends and then we headed to an artsy shin dig in a sketchy area of downtown (rent is cheap so the poor artists flock there) I was wandering around the streets of downtown in my pimpin' jacket (it's giant, it's green, it's fake fur), a homemade turban to keep the rain off my glasses, and I was a little bit ahead of my friends... I am pretty sure I was mistaken for a homeless male drug addict. Milestone.

ANYWAY, I don't know where I was going with that, let's get back to decadent drinks and find that holiday spirit.

Although as a kid I loved egg nog because it was sweet and creamy and rich; as I grew older and made the choice to be vegan, this beverage became one of the first things took off my "I want this" list. Safe to say it was moved over to the "Never again" collection of foods. I think we all know it's not even remotely healthy, but we should also acknowledge that the stuff you buy in the grocery store is just weird. I mean, I'm sure the original homemade kind was a bit better; but now the generic variety is totally processed and totally suspicious.

There is really no reason to guzzle the milk of another species (mixed with the potential fetuses of ANOTHER species, mixed with processed white sugar) when you have this recipe! Seriously, check out the ingredients on egg nog next time you're tempted to buy it. Then think about what they really are. Yuck. 

OKAY I AM SORRY I'M BEING ALL WEIRD AND NEGATIVE TODAY. I personally don't tend to dwell on the ickiness - it's a word, shhhh - of animal products, and instead like to focus on the positives of healthy whole foods and plants. I guess my mind is trying to balance it out in this post. Ultimately I am not here to preach or tell you how to live your life and what to eat. I am merely here to humbly provide some simple, easy-to-make, mind-boggling delicious recipes. I hope you can appreciate and understand that. No time for haters up in here.

I am hoping these photos look okay to you, because I edited them on my tiny little lap top screen instead of the large monitor I usually use. The colour is also funky on my lap top screen so my fingers are crossed that these pics aren't terrible. Please forgive me if they look gross. I just realized how completely trippy it is that I am writing this in my bedroom right now, just typing out my thoughts as they come into my brain, and soon YOU are going to read them! And probably think "Wow, who IS this girl? She's lost it. I'm outta here."

But wait! I made you egg nog!

RAW VEGAN EGG NOG

1 cup pecans
3 cups water
1 cup dates
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Blend it all up. Use hot water if you want a warm drink. It should have the consistency of egg nog but if it's too thin, add more dates or pecans. If it's too thick, add more water. Change the spice amounts as you like. Mmm... This will serve around 4 people.

salad is superior

Your food should make you sing and dance, and want to share your joy with the world. My food does! =)

Every time I make a green smoothie, I want to take a picture of it and show it to everyone 'cause they're so beautiful, health-giving and delicious! It's the same for salads. They're always SO gorgeous and green.

So here's some pictures =) This salad had kale, some bell pepper, tomato, pecans, a little bit of tofu, and I topped it with hemp seed and dried cranberries. The dressing was just miso, water and garlic, blended. YUM!

banana bread

This is a family recipe and I remember many good times in the kitchen as a little kid, with my mom whipping this up in the Kitchen-Aid. I wasn't tall enough to see over the counter in the big, whirling metal bowl but I knew that it's contents were always delicious, and if I was lucky that day - I'd get a spoonful of the batter =) Banana bread was my favourite, topping cookie dough!

The secret is to use overly ripe bananas: I'm talkin' brown, slimy bananas. They have the most flavour. My mom usually would wait til they were pretty brown then stick them in the freezer until she had time to make the bread. Yesterday, we just had some really ripe nanners kickin' around so I used those.

Obviously, I also veganized the recipe... Earth Balance wasn't around 50 years ago.
The WORD "vegan" wasn't even in existence until 1944!
Anyways, this bread is truly delicious, it's crispy on the top and over-loaded with nuts and cinnamon, while the bread itself is SUPER moist and flavourful. MMM! You can make it fairly healthy too!

Moist Banana Bread: makes one loaf 

1 cup mashed bananas

1/2 cup vegetable "shortening"

1 cup brown sugar/raw sugar or other sweetener 

1 t cinnamon and nutmeg mix

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 1/4 cups flour 

2 Tb ground flax mixed with 1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together until you have a pretty smooth batter. Try it! Yummaaayy. Pour it into a loaf pan.

Now if you want to totally step up the whole game: roughly mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 t cinnamon, 1 Tb olive oil and 1/3 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle this on top of the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, doing the tooth pick test to make sure it's ready. Let it cool for around 20 minutes and then slice and enjoy with loved ones!

Banana Pecan Rice Pudding Pie

(from eat, drink & be vegan)
 If you like rice pudding, you will want to inhale this dish! It is so creamy, sweet and comforting, it is surprising that whole-grain brown rice is used instead of white rice. The sliced bananas add natural sweetness to the pudding, and the sugar-pecan sprinkle topping… well that makes it even more ridiculously delicious!

Pudding Mixture:
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
2/3 cup coconut milk (regular or lite for lower fat)
¼ cup brown rice syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ – ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
¼ tsp sea salt (rounded)
3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice (see note)
1 cup ripe (but not overripe) banana, sliced (one small-medium banana)

Topping:
¼ cup pecans, crushed
3 tbsp unrefined sugar (see note)
¼ – ½ tsp cinnamon
couple pinches sea salt
½ – 1 tsp organic canola oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, first combine the arrowroot with a few tablespoons of the coconut milk. Whisk through until the arrowroot is fully dissolved and incorporate. Then, add the remaining coconut milk, and stir through. Whisk in the brown rice syrup until mixed through. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and then stir in the brown rice and sliced banana. Transfer mixture to a lightly oiled (wipe bottom and sides with a smear of canola oil) 9 ½” glass pie plate. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients, working mixture with your fingers until a little crumbly. Sprinkle topping over rice mixture. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until bubbly and thickened. Remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes or longer. (The pudding will thicken more as it cools.) Spoon out mixture into bowls and serve, surrounded by a little vanilla non-dairy milk if you like.  Serves 4-6.

Note: Cook your brown rice in advance. Some night that you plan to have brown rice with your dinner, cook an extra cup or so. Then, store the 3 cups of extra rice in the refrigerator, and you can put this recipe together in a snap… in fact, you can make this dish the night before then bake first thing in the morning.

Note: Coconut milk, either lite or regular, gives a buttery richness to this pudding, though you can use any non-dairy milk you like, including rice, soy, almond, or oat milk. If using vanilla non-dairy milk, you may not need as much brown rice to sweeten the mixture.