PROTEIN BITES

ALMOND COCONUT PROTEIN BITES

1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 c honey
2 T coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 cup oat flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 serving protein powder
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together.  Scoop onto cookie sheets and chill.  Store in fridge or freezer.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BITES

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 T honey
1 T peanut butter
1/2 T unsweetened coconut flakes
add water as needed, will vary depending on protein powder used

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Use a fork to smoosh it together. Add just a little bit of water at a time until mixture is moist enough to form a ball.  Divide 1 serving into 3 balls and roll in coconut flakes.

HOW TO COOK BEANS

Heard on a podcast it is always good to soak beans first and rinse them after cooking to help with flactuation.  Also always rinse them from a can.  I like to always add dulse to my beans as well.  You can't taste the flavor and it is suppose to help as well.

GARBANZO BEANS:
Soak for at least 8 hours.  Rinse and add enough water to cover.  Add 2 garlic clove (or garlic powder), 2 bay leaves, 1/2 - 1 T kosher salt
Stovetop: 20-50 minutes
Instant Pot: 4 cups water and high pressure 12-20 min

PLANT BASED CHEESE SAUCE

CHEESE SAUCE
Yum!  Easy to make.  Takes about 35-45 minutes to make.  Freezes good.

2-3 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces
1 large carrot, chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup water, reserved from boiling vegetables
3 T nutritional yeast
2 T lemon juice
1.5 T olive oil (I only use 1 T and used avocado) - next time try without any
2 tsp salt
1 jalapeno, stem removed - didn't add
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 cayenne powder - didn't add

Start by bringing a pot of water to boil.  Once boiling, add chopped veggies and cook until fork-tender (around 10 minutes).  Transfer veggies with a slotted spoon to a blender - SAVE 1 CUP OF THE WATER

Allow the veggies to cool for 15 minutes.

Next add everything else to the blender and process until smooth and creamy.  Keeps wells for 1-2 weeks in fridge.


CHEESE SAUCE
Javan said he likes this more than real cheese.  Lots of steps so I usually do the top one.  This one is darker than the one above and looks more like cheese.  Works really good for mac & cheese also freezes well.

2 cups water
3 medium white potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup garbanzo beans
1/4 cup aquafaba (bean water from the garbanzos)
1/4 to 1/2 cup cashews

2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp paprika
pinch red pepper flakes

Peel and cut the potatoes. 

In a medium pot, add the potatoes and carrots and about 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Boil for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender. Set aside to cool until it can be handled. 

Add the potatoes and carrots and the cooking water to a high-speed blender. Add the salt, garbanzo beans, aquafaba, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Blend well for a minute, until smooth. 

Add the remaining ingredients and blend for a couple minutes, until the cheese sauce is uniform, glossy, and silky smooth.

Use on vegetables, chips, pasta, etc. Store covered in the fridge for up to three days.

ALTON BROWN LENTIL SOUP

ALTON BROWN LENTIL SOUP
We all really liked this.  Scott just started eating plant based so I did 1 can (15 oz) chicken broth and the rest vegetable broth that I made myself (frozen vegetable scrapes boiled down and some vegetable concentrate added)

Alton Brown Lentil Soup
https://www.food.com/recipe/alton-browns-lentil-soup-369791?utm_campaign=yummly&utm_medium=yummly&utm_source=yummly

2 tablespoons olive oil - didn't add
1 cup onion (chopped finely) - any onion will work
½ cup carrot (chopped finely) - used 1 cup
½ cup celery (chopped finely) - used 1 cup
2 teaspoons kosher salt - did 1 kosher and 1 iodized
1 lb lentils (culled & rinsed)
1 cup tomatoes (peeled & cubed)
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart vegetable broth
½ teaspoon coriander (ground) - at the end used 1 drop fennel and sprinkled in more cumin 
½ teaspoon cumin (ground)
½ teaspoon grains of paradise (ground) - can substitute black pepper/cardamom

with salt, sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in hot olive oil.
add the broth, tomatoes, lentils and seasonings.
bring to a boil.
reduce heat and cover, cooking about 35-45 minutes.
blend if desired (I do not blend).

CHOCOLATE BLACK BEAN SMOOTHIE

CHOCOLATE BLACK BEAN SMOOTHIE
You would never know there are black beans in here. So good. Even Abagail would drink some of it.

I doubled the recipe.  We all had plenty with some leftover.  I added cooked oatmeal to the leftovers and added some more spinach for breakfast the  next day.  Yum!  I think pumpkin would be a really good addition to this as well.

Put all the ingredients in a blender

1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen cauliflower (you can use fresh but it might not completely blend up as well) - I used spinach because I didn't have any frozen cauliflower
1/2 cup black beans
1-2 medjool dates, pitted (didn't have any on hand so used some blue agave maybe 1 T)
1 cup almond of other plant based milk
1 T hemp seeds or flax seed meal or chia seeds
1 T cocoa powder (I used dark)
1 tsp or less of cinnamon

Can sprinkle cocoa nibs over the top if desired.  Could also top with dairy free spray whip as well but not necessary.