The Veggie Gal

I know it is a funny name for an ice cream but the base of it is bananas instead of the traditional unhealthy dairy product so there you go!  Actually the bananas blend up so nicely that they resemble ice cream texture very closely and is so much more healthy for you.  Plus kids and husband LOVE this recipe and you can feel good about serving it.  I have even served it for breakfast when they kids are being picky.

This is a super simple dessert that you can adjust the sweetness to by adding or subtracting the dates that you use.  The picture listed below does not have the almond milk pictured because I just forgot but I really like the Almond Breeze brand the best but really you can use whatever type of non dairy milk you like the best.

If your dates are not super soft soak them in a little bit of the milk for about 10 minutes and pour that whole thing in the blender.  I typically buy the organic dates and the organic frozen strawberries to keep it as clean as possible.  Then just regular old bananas that have gotten super ripe which is super important!  The day before you want to make these unpeel the ripe bananas, chop them up a bit and freeze them.  I always buy two bundles of bananas when I go to the store so one bundle can get overripe and I always have them on hand.

This will work best if you have a Vita-mix or other high powered blender but I have made it in a Magic Bullet before too or you could use a food processor and just scrape down the sides as you go until it is blended well.

Strawberry Bice Cream
Makes: as much as you want

Frozen bananas (frozen the night before)
Frozen strawberries
soft dates
Unsweetened almond milk

This is an adjust as you go recipe so add the banana to the blender knowing it will be about half of the size of the serving and then add the amount of strawberries and dates you want and slowly blend in the milk to get the desired texture you like.

If you mess up and add to much milk then just add more of whatever kind of fruit you want it to taste more like, super easy!!  ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: banana ice cream, Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, strawberry ice cream, Vegan ice cream, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I have been on a caramel kick lately and as usual try and find ways to make it less bad for me.  Well I have not made it healthy by any means but using vegan butter and brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup is an improvement I can live with.  This caramel is as good as the regular kind and with Easter just around the corner one you can use it to  make your own little individually wrapped candies to add to the Easter basket.

This recipe is also wonderful to make your own awesome chewy caramel popcorn.  If you like hard carmael popcorn then you can add a pinch or two of baking soda but I like mine chewy and gooey.

Soft & Chewy Vegan Caramels

1/3 cup Earth Balance
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium sized sauce pan on medium-high heat bring the Earth Balance, brown rice syrup and brown sugar to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low continuing to boil at a low level.  Stirring often cook for a 5 full minutes then turn the heat off.  Pour in the vanilla and stir well.  Pour into a pan to cool and put in the fridge once it is room temp.  Once fully set up pull out of the fridge and cut into bite size pieces.  If you prefer it on your popcorn pour onto the popcorn right after you stir in the vanilla and toss well.  ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Soft & Chewy Vegan Caramels, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

For my son’s birthday I was on the search for anawesome chocolate cake/cupcake recipe and had done a long and hard search.  I finally found a recipe on a website called Instructables called The BEST chocolate cake ever…that happens to be VEGAN and decided I would try it.  What hooked me was the woman who wrote it talked about never being much of a cake person and I am not either.  I figured I would give it a try and hope for the best since I was having about 15 family members come over, all of whom are NOT vegan and are leery of it.  I bought a bunch of different yummy vegan ice creams and figured if things went South with the cake we at least had those.

Well, I have to say this cake was pretty darn tasty, that coming from a person who does not care much for cake.  As usual I did mess with the recipe a little trying to make it healthier so I halved the oil and subbed in applesauce for that amount but otherwise pretty much left it alone and it was great!  I did make some cashew cream and pushed down a hole in the middle of each with a chop stick and filled that hole with the cashew cream and then topped each one with a organic raspberry.  YUMMMMMM.

Best Vegan Cupcakes!

Cake:

1 1/4  cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened coco powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup oil (I put half oil and half applesauce)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance
2 Tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened Almond)
2 Tablespoons coco powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews (If you do not have a Vita-Mix soak the cashews for at least an hour or better yet overnight then rinse well before blending.)
Water-start with water half way up the nuts, not covering them (amount depends on the thickness you desire-adjust as you go)
2-4 Tablespoons maple syrup (adjust amount to sweetness taste–can use a handful of dates, agave nectar or even sugar if you would rather)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (can omit if you don’t have it)

PREPARE THE CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, coco, baking soda and salt well.  Add the water, vanilla, vinegar and oil/applesauce blend and mix until it is very creamy without any lumps.  Line the cupcake pan with liners and fill each one to 1/4 inch below the top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and cool on a cooling rack for 1-2 hours until completely cool to the touch.  If filling with the cashew cream push a chop stick about 3/4 the way down the cupcake in the middle, using the thick side and swirling it around a bit to really open it up.

PREPARE THE CASHEW CREAM:

While the cupcakes are cooling make the cashew cream so you can chill it while they cool and it won’t melt inside the cupcake.  If you soaked your cashews, drain and rinse very well.  Add them to your blender along with the lowest amount of water, desired amount of sweetener, and vanilla extract.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy adjusting sweetener to taste and water as you go to desired taste and thickness, should be pretty thick but will thicken a little as it chills.

This may make a little more than you need but you can save it for something else and it freezes well too.  Put half of the amount into a piping bag with the narrow round tip or a zip-lock and refrigerate this while waiting for the cupcakes to cool off.

PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled off and the cashew cream is now cold you can make the glaze as the final step.  In a small pan bring the sugar, Earth Balance, milk and coco to a boil stirring often.  Once boiling reduce the heat to summer for 2 minutes stirring the whole time.  Remove from the heat and continue stirring for another 5 minutes then add the vanilla and stir well.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Pull the chilled cashew cream from the fridge, if in a zip-lock cut the tiniest hole in the bag to use to fill the cup cakes otherwise fill each cupcake with the cashew cream just to the top. Spread a little bit of the chocolate glaze on the top of the entire cupcake.  Put a dollop of cashew cream on top of the chocolate glaze and top with a raspberry.  (my cashew cream was a little thinner than I would like so it ran down the sides but looks pretty).  ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Best Vegan Cupcakes!, Dessert, vegan birthday, Vegan Dessert, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

WHAT!?  Kale in ice cream?  YES, you read right!  Two of my 4 kids are still very young and kale is not quite a favorite food yet so I try and sneak it in where I can.  No one would think of putting it ice cream normally I know.  Normal ice cream add-ins are things like candy, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate chips and so on but I promise you won’t notice it at all and you will get one serving of greens into your diet for the day.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I still LOVE the vegan decadent ice creams on the market and do eat those on occasion but I serve this much more often to maximize our nutrient intake.  If you want to make it a little more decedent stir in some chocolate chips at the end or top it with your favorite vegan chocolate syrup but you will still be ahead.  The great thing is you could eat this every single night and not harm your health but actually improve it and it won’t add to your waist line either!  Who can say that about regular ice cream!!

Kale is best to buy organic but if can’t find it or afford it then buy the bagged kind at the regular grocery store and throw the whole bag the freezer.  You can then never worry about it going bad if you don’t use it and you can just pull handfuls from it for your smoothies.

*Make SURE you freeze your bananas 24 hours before making this or it won’t work.  *Also, make sure to plan way ahead for this, your bananas must be getting the brown spots on the outside before you freeze them or it won’t be sweet!!  Once your bananas are really ripe and browning, peel them and cut them into 4-5 pieces and put in a freezer zip lock and push out as much air as you can and freeze overnight.

This recipe is easy to half or even quarter if you want to make smaller amounts for less people or double for larger groups too.  It is really an adjust to your taste kind of thing, like most of my recipes are so experiment with different types of berries and you can even swap out the kale for spinach (other greens are stronger tasting so be warned!)

Blueberry Kale Ice “Cream”

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 handful kale (can add spinach or additional kale to taste as you build up your taste for it)
5-10 pieces frozen pineapple
Additional berries of your liking (keeping the blueberries the majority)
1/4 cup almond milk (add more to thin if needed)
Optional: 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 Tablespoon Ggound flax seeds

Blend all the ingredients together in a high speed blender (Vita-Mix is optimal) or a good food processor  making sure to push the sides down as you go.  Blend until thoroughly blended and smooth.  Serve and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, kale, kale ice cream, Vegan ice cream, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

This Thanksgiving has snuck up on me quickly and I am just not prepared to come up with some new dinner/dessert spread this year!  Life can become so busy that you don’t realize that time has slipped away and you are all the sudden expected to create a grand meal for you family on Thanksgiving and whoops, uh what it is next WEEK!  Well, this happens to the best of us and when it happens you go into your recipe arsenal and look for familiar things that you know your family will love.

I created this “new” recipe last year and it was a huge hit.  I actually have been dreaming of it since last year and figured it would be something I made along side of a new creation but because my mind has been elsewhere there are not new creations floating around up there right now.  Well, that’s ok because this pie is awesome enough to be a familiar re-run that everyone will welcome with open arms.

For me this is a perfect blend of Thanksgiving dessert flavors, rich and creamy cheesecake and a subtle sweet/spicy pumpkin all swirled together atop a rich and buttery graham cracker crust, then topped with the sweet and tart cranberry sauce.  UGH, so freakin good!

**FYI, I figured I would start to mention the brands I buy just in case you are new to vegan eating and are not sure what to get.  I am by no means endorsing any of the brands (unless I say so).  If I love something I will add it to my substitution page and say so.   I bought New Morning Organic Cinnamon Grahams and they are pretty darn good and I used Toffuti’s non-hydrogenated vegan cream cheese (in the yellow tub).  I also used Silk’s non flavored creamer and I usually buy the organic Florida Crystals vegan sugar.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry Sauce
Serves 6-8

Crust:
1 1/2 c ground graham crackers (**see above for brand)
5 Tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread
(If your graham crackers are not very sweet you could add 1/4 cup of sugar)

Cheesecake part 1 cream cheese:
2 tubs of cream cheese, softened (** see above for brand)
1 cup sugar (** see above for brand)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons lemon juice
2 eggs worth Ener-G egg replacer
1 pinch cardamom

Cheesecake part 2 pumpkin: this makes enough for 2 cheesecakes so I freeze the second half for the next time I make one or you can use it for your favorite pumpkin recipe.  
1 can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring (or vanilla)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons vegan creamer (**see above for brand) (or full fat soy or almond milk)  If you can’t find anything just omit it
2 eggs worth Ener-G egg replacer

Cranberry Sauce:
6 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 cup of sugar
1 cup orange juice (I used orange pineapple blend since that is what I had)
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon lemon extract or zest of 2 lemons
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan then mix in the graham crackers and sugar if using.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a pie tin or spring-form pan then set aside.

For the cheesecake part 1 mix up the egg replacer equaling two eggs per the box instructions but making sure to really whip it up well.  One trick I have found it pouring in the water, stirring then let it sit for a minute then whip well.  Then in a medium bowl mix softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, cardamom & egg replacer liquid with a hand-mixer or a tabletop mixer to whip it well then set aside the bowl.

For the cheesecake part 2, prepare the egg replacer per box instructions then in a medium bowl mix the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, maple flavoring, cardamom, salt, sugar, creamer and egg replacer liquid with a hand-mixer or a tabletop mixer to whip it well then set aside the bowl.

Pour half of the cheesecake part one onto your prepared crust.  Pour half of the pumpkin mix into a storage bowl and freeze for the next time you make this cheesecake.  Then talk half of what is left and place it in dollops across the top usually a tablespoon amount at a time separated by about a half inch.  With a butter knife swirl the two together making sure to make it pretty .  Repeat this process with the rest of each part.  I do it in two parts because you would have too much pumpkin to make a nice swirl doing it all at once.  If you want it a to be a little thicker and taste more cheesecake-ish then just split the pumpkin filling into thirds, then you have enough for 3 of them!

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until the sides begin to pull away and it starts to crack a bit, it will be a little lose in the middle but that is ok.  Allow to cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for 3-4 hours to set up well.  I usually make it the night before so it is ready for dinner the next day or you could do it the morning for dinner too.

Prepare the cranberry sauce an hour before you want to eat your cheesecake.  Place all the ingredients into a pan and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes stirring well so you don’t burn it.  Then mash half or more of the cranberries with a fork and remove from the burner to cool until you eat.

When you are ready to eat it use a wet butter knife to loosen the sides of the cheesecake, re-wetting when needed.  Do the same for when you slice it making sure to wet the knife between each piece so that it does not break apart or pull up half of the slice.  Top with cranberry sauce if desired and ENJOY!  YUM.

Back to Top

Tags: Dessert, Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake, vegan pumpkin cheesecake, vegan pumpkin pie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

The benefits of having your own food dehydrator are great!  These wonderful little un-ovens can make tons of delicious and healthful treats, help you store your garden harvest so it doesn’t  go to waste, help you build your food storage supplies and allow you to retain the nutrients of foods that would be lost during cooking.

Dehydrator

Now I am not a raw foodist but I do appreciate the teachings of that lifestyle and believe there is enormous value in trying to eat as much raw food as you can.  We all know that the soil our food is grown in is depleted in nutrients and is only getting worse so we need to keep as much of what is available as we can.

Obviously growing your own food in soil that you have enriched naturally is the best and you can reap more health rewards by doing so.  Saving as much of your harvest (or store bought if you need to) for use in the winter is a wonderful way to save money and increase your nutrient intake.  If done right you can start to store more for longer term use and know that as food prices start to sky rocket you are eating healthier and cheaper food than you can buy.  If you employ a quality dehydrator you can increase your intake of nutrient dense food while making all kinds of wonderful dishes.

Raspberry Fruit Roll-up

I do not have an affiliation with the company Excalibur who makes the type of dehydrator I chose to buy.  I only can tell you my experience with my own dehydrator and you can choose for yourself.  I did some research before buying a dehydrator and chose the Excalibur because of the reputation it seems to have all over the internet   I read tons of reviews and compared other machines and decided this one was the right one for me.  Now it is much more expensive than some of the others on the market but the quality and longevity made it worth it to me and I won’t have to replace it every year or two.

There are literally thousands of recipes you can make with a dehydrator and that is just in the vegan world.  You also can dry flowers and other arts in the machine so keep that in mind.  I will start to post some of the recipe I have made with my dehydrator and put them all in the “dehydrator” category so if you are looking for vegan dehydrated foods you can just go through my list.  There are so many wonderful recipes out there on the internet you could look for a year and probably not get to the end.  Pintrest has some awesome ones that I have yet to try but will be doing so soon.

Various Fruit Roll-ups

One word of caution,  my dehydrator does put off a little bit of heat and since you are drying food for hours at a time it can get toasty in the room it is in.  I like to use it in the fall and winter since it is chilly during that time of year and it is doing double duty, heating my kitchen and making my food.  In the summer I might put it in a room in the basement, in the garage or even out on the covered porch if I want to make things and not heat my house.

If you do decide to buy a dehydrator because you want to store your food and keep the nutrients and enzymes intact you should look up all the particulars that go along with it.  Some that I have learned so far are; never heat above 115° to keep all the enzymes and nutrients in the food (above that starts to kill them), store your food in air tight containers to prevent bacteria growth, I prefer to use my food saver to pull out all of the air and then I seal that in Mylar bags to keep them from the light, store the food in a cool, dark and dry place.  Rotate your food so you keep the freshest food (you can store food anywhere between 1 year and 30+ years!), when re-hydrating be sure to use the liquid since all the nutrients are in that liquid, when drying keep it thin to shorten drying time.  Now of course there are tons of other “rules” but these are the basics and are all pretty simple.

I have added some picture of the wonderful things I have used my dehydrator for which include, flax crackers, coconut flax cracker, vegetables, soups I have made from those vegetables, banana pancakes, fruit roll ups, dried apples, sweet lemons and bananas, flax pancakes, raw pizza, and kale chips .  I will continue to make things with it and will post as I go along to share.

Re-hydrated Soup

Coconut Flax Crackers with cashew cream and berries

Kale Chips

Cheezy Kale Chips

Blueberry Flax Pancakes

Dehydrating Bananas

Dehydrating Meyer Lemons

Banana Pancakes

Dehydrated Apples

Flax Crackers

Back to Top

Tags: Dehydrator, Healthy Meal, Nutrition, raw food, Vegan Dehydrator, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

As promised I am posting my Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.  These babies are so good we eat them for dinner quite often along side of the Cheezy Tofu Scramble.  The great news is every single person in our house loves these so I always know they are going to be a hit.  The extra great news is every single guest to our home who has had them loves them and will always ask for seconds.

The recipe for the crepes is basically the same as the Oatmeal Waffles but with more water to thin the batter.  That being said, like the oatmeal waffles, they can be a little soft in the middle.  When cooking these make sure to press down on the done side to squeeze out the batter.  They take way longer than a normal flour crepe but are so worth it so be prepared.  Plus, they are much higher in fiber and good nutrients that are missing in typical flour.  I thank Dr. Neal Barnard for the amazing oatmeal waffle recipe because I have now used it for not only the Oatmeal Waffles but for Oatmeal Pancakes 3 Ways and now Sweet Oatmeal Crepes.

Because the crepe part can take a bit of time I make them ahead of time and put them in the oven to keep them warm on the lowest temp.  These keep well in the fridge for leftovers (if you have any) and put together well for lunch the next day.

~NOTE~This is a 3 separate recipe meal so make sure you read this WHOLE thing before you get started so you can pre-make what is needed!!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes
Makes: approximately 8 large crepes

2 cup rolled oats
2 1/2 cups water (add more as it sits and thickens if needed)
1 medium banana
1 tbsp raw sugar, or other sweetener
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkle or two of cinnamon (optional)

Filling

Sweet Cashew Cream mmm mmm mmm 
Sliced bananas
Chopped or sliced fresh berries of your choice
Chopped nuts of your choice (pecans are a great compliment-use a small amount-there is a enough fats in the cashew cream)
Ground flax seeds (a small sprinkle)

Topping

Berry Sauce

Make sure you have soaked your cashews for the cashew cream-read the recipe before you start this one!  Make the cashew cream and berry sauce before you make the crepes so it can chill in the fridge while you make the crepes.

For the crepes place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Let stand a few minutes; if batter becomes too thick, add enough additional water to make batter easily pourable and thin enough to make a thin crepe.

Pour into a heated large skillet and rotate pan around right away to spread the batter to the edges making a thin crepe.

Cook until the edges start to come up and it can easily be flipped over.  (Tip-spray your spatula with some cooking spray on both sides so it does not stick and rip the crepe when you flip it)

Cook the second side while periodically pressing down on it to spread it thinner and make it cook through completely.  Cook until it is well browned on each side, it will look like it is not fully cooked but that is ok it will dry out a bit in the oven and soft is good.  Store in the oven until you are ready to put them together.

Chop the fruits and nuts.  Lay out one crepe on a serving plate, spread desired amount of cashew cream length wise down the crepe.  Top with chopped fruits and nuts and sprinkle a small amount of flax on top of that.  Spread a thinner amount of cashew cream on top of it all so it will stick when you roll the crepe.

Roll the crepe tightly and top the crepe with Berry Sauce and/or pure maple syrup then ENJOY!

Sweet Oatmeal Crepes Sauces

Back to Top

Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Dr. Neal Barnard, Sweet Oatmeal Crepes, Vegan Crepes, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

In preparation for my post of sweet oatmeal crepes I am posting this Berry Sauce.  I use this sauce all the time in many things and since it is not exclusive to the crepes I thought it should have its own posting.

I have had many people ask how I make this wonderful sauce and once they hear how super simple it is they are excited to go home and make it for themselves.  All you need is berries of your choosing (fresh or frozen work equally), sweetener of your choice and a splash or two of water.  Then you can pour this scrumptious liquid over anything you can think of.  I have used it for my raw cheesecake, rice pudding, oatmeal waffles or pancakes, cakes, muffins, on sweet socca and mixed with frozen bananas for a yummy vegan ice cream that is actually healthy.

If you want to make it thick use less liquid or add in some chia seeds as you blend and it will thicken right up, plus you get the added benefits of more fiber and healthy omega’s.

Berry Sauce

Fresh or frozen berries of your choice
Sweetener of your choice (I like stevia or agave nectar the best-or a combo of both) date paste works well too but does give it a date taste
water
chia seeds (optional if you want to thicken it)

Put desired amount of berries and sweetener into a blender and mix, adding water slowly to desired consistency.  Pour over something delicious and ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: berry sauce, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Vegan, vegan berry sauce, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I’m Baaaack!  I know I have been away a little bit longer than I said I would be but besides going to Alaska for over two weeks we had a personal tragedy in our family.  My ex husband and father of my two oldest children passed away.  He had long standing health problems but we honestly did not expect this at the time that it happened.  It was a very difficult time for us all and I needed the time away to help my children through it and deal with his passing myself.

I decided to post this recipe because he had a MAJOR sweet tooth and after trying my Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping at our daughter’s high school graduation party he decided he loved cashew cream. I am posting this in his honor. “Hello Newman” – Jerry Seinfeld

Organic strawberries are frequently on sale this time of year and I highly suggest using organic only for this recipe. Not only are the better for you because they are not covered in pesticides, herbicides and other horrible chemicals that turn them into little chemical bombs in your body they taste a thousand times better!

These Strawberry Shortcake’s with Cashew Cream are super quick (lazy) and easy because I use the low fat Bisquick mix but obviously you can do homemade and make them  healthier by using whole wheat flour and so on but if you want a quicky recipe this works really great and they taste A-mazing!!

Strawberry Shortcake with Cashew Cream

Makes 4 shortcakes

Desired amount of strawberries, sliced (organic tastes best and does not require you to sprinkle sugar on it to take away the bitterness)

1 cup Bisquick mix

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk

Cashew Cream topping (Click through to get the recipe on another page)

Heat the oven to 425°.  Stir Bisquick mix with 2 Tablespoons of sugar and the milk until just blended.

Drop 4 even spoonfuls onto a cooking sprayed cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool until able to handle.

Using a downward angle to make a bowl, cut the top off the cakes.  Fill with desired amount of Cashew Cream and strawberries, place the top on and repeat  then ENJOY!

Back to Top

Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I bought a cantaloupe that was not ready when I was in the mood for it so it sat on my counter for a few days and then a few more because by then I was feeling a bit lazy about cutting it up. Then finally, I woke up to the smell of very ripe cantaloupe so I knew I could not put it off anymore. Well, I waited too long and it was a bit too ripe and a little too soft but was not bad by any means. Hmmm what to do with it? Cantaloupe Smoothie!!

I cut it up, froze half of it (for future use) and used the other half to make us some very refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothies. I was not sure if the over ripe taste would make it taste bad but mixed with other fruit and almond milk it was pretty darn tasty! Plus, I love smoothies because you get so much in one cup that you just would never really be able to eat in one sitting so this adds to my growing smoothie list.

This is not an exact recipe because I just made it taste and texture so you can do the same. It is in the order of amount from most to least.

Cantaloupe Smoothie

Ripe cantaloupe
Almond milk
Banana (I used some left over frozen bananas but fresh works great too)
Frozen pineapple
Frozen mango

Put into a great blender (I use my vita-mix for a perfect blend) and blend until very smooth, pour into a dazzling glass and ENJOY! Quick and Easy

Back to Top

Tags: Breakfast, Cantaloupe Smoothie, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, smoothie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian