Green smoothies are so popular and for good reason—you’re one glass away from feeling great and getting a healthy boost of vitamins and micro-nutrients! It is not always easy to find time to sit down and eat a whole bunch of greens every day, but making a green smoothie is a quick way to get a wholesome dose of nutrition. Trust me; your body will thank you.

It is a lot of fun to change things up and add a variety of ingredients to my daily green smoothie, but in today’s video I share with you how you can make a green smoothie and one recipe I really enjoy.

Share YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/XL3Omq7mc_E

No matter what you add to your smoothie, remember greens are always the star!


Green Smoothie Recipe (serves 2, large)
2 ½ cups filtered water
1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped into 2 inch pieces
2 packed cups kale
½ cup baby carrots
½ cup frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, pomegranate)
1 tsp. flax seeds
1 lemon, peeled (or juice of 1 lemon)
1 clementine orange, peeled
1 banana, peeled

Directions:
Using a high powered blender, blend water and romaine lettuce. Add remaining ingredients and blend for approximately 1 minute. Enjoy!

A Few Other Ingredients I love to add to my Green Smoothies:
Spinach
Celery
Cucumber
Grapefruit

To Print, Email, or Text recipe click here.

Do you have any favorite green smoothie recipes to share? I’d love to hear about them! Any suggestions on ways to get more veggies into your diet and your kids?

With love, gratitude, & big delish sips of green goodness,
Wendy Irene

Hello & Welcome!

Thank you so much for the love and well-wishes for my son over the past two weeks! It means so much to us. He is starting to feel a lot better. To be honest, the recovery from having his tonsils and adenoids out was tougher than I anticipated. It took him almost the full two weeks to want to eat again. I suspect we will be making up for lost time soon, and I’ll be trying hard to keep up with feeding him.

It is crazy, now when I walk into my son’s room at night to check on him I have to put my finger under his nose to make sure he is still breathing. I've never had that problem before. I was so used to him snoring, the silence feels odd, but I know it’s a good sign. He is almost his normal self again, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Onto today’s recipe…

Today is all about delicious fresh bread. Do you love fresh bread? I thought you might. :)

A couple of weeks ago I shared a simple way to make your own oat flour.

How to Make Oat Flour

Today I’m sharing with you a fast bread recipe that is perfect for using the lovely, healthy flour you made. If you haven’t made it yet, what are you waiting for? It’s so easy!

This Oat Bread recipe is designed for a bread machine, although I am sure you can make it by hand. The oat bread recipe is great for the express or rapid setting on your bread machine- on my machine that means fresh bread in
under an hour! Not only will your home smell like delicious homemade bread, you can feel confident knowing every ingredient in the bread you are feeding your beautiful body, and your loved ones.

Lately, I've been on a bread making marathon. If you walk into my home there is a pretty good chance you’ll hear the bread machine cranking away on the counter. As much as possible, I use homemade bread for my children’s
sandwiches or morning toast. The bread machine is a miracle worker for a busy Mom (or Dad) that wants to feed their family fresh bread without a lot of effort. You simple add the ingredients to the machine and push start. 

Experimenting with my bread machine by creating new breads is something I really enjoy. Search the shelves of your local grocery store for ingredients you want to try. My creations don’t always turnout but don’t be scared to try new things, it is part of the fun. 

If you’re making bread on the weekend you may even have time to watch a movie while the bread machine does all the work. Some of the movies we've seen recently and really enjoyed are: August Rush (a top favorite!!), Argo, Hotel Transylvania (laughed a lot), and the documentary Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead (eye opening and inspirational). Have you seen any good movies lately? Let me know, we love movie ideas!

Have a great day, friends! Take a deep breath; can you smell the bread baking?

*Add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order listed

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2Tbsp. hot water
2 Tbsp. oil (olive oil & vegetable oil both work)
2 Tbsp. Turbinado sugar or Agave Nectar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups bread flour
1 cup oat flour
5 tsp. fast rising or bread machine yeast

Directions:

Add the hot water, then oil to the bread machine.

Next add the sugar and salt.

Add the bread flour and oat flour. Make a well in the center of the flour, and carefully add yeast to the well, making sure it does not come into contact with the liquid.

Select the express or rapid setting on the bread machine for a 1.5lb loaf. Push start.

To Print, Email, or Text recipe click here.

With love, gratitude, & homemade goodness,
Wendy Irene

When I awoke this morning the sun was starting to pour through the windows, while a half moon still hung brightly in the sky. It was a beautiful scene. I said a quick prayer, starting with a thank you for the beauty outside my window, and then asking for guidance to be the person I want to be today- to remain calm and stress-free, to live in the moment, to appreciate the gift of life today, and to fill my day with joy.

Spring sun brings renewed hope. I look forward to growing flowers and fresh herbs. I can’t wait to feel the sun beaming warmth on my skin. It is the perfect day to smile, feel cheery, and spread the happiness.

Today’s Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake is a recipe created specifically for a special weekend brunch. With the chaos of life, rushing to sports and weeknight activities, we don’t always have time to sit down and enjoy a slow relaxed dinner together. The weekend can be the perfect time to make up for some of that quality time with your loved ones. It is less important when exactly you spend quality time together, just that you do.

Celebrate life and love!

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup white granulated sugar
½ brown sugar, packed
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup vanilla soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
For the Filling:
1 cup blueberries
2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
For the Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, gently whisking to sift ingredients.

In another large mixing bowl, add soy milk and cider vinegar, stir and allow to rest for 2 minutes. Next, add the canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas to the soy milk mixture. Whisk together until well combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl and gently stir just until combined. Add batter to the cake pan.

Bake for approximately 50 – 55 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Filling:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine blueberries, lemon juice and sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until blueberries are beginning to pop open and release some of their juices.

Set filling aside to cool.

Once the blueberry filling has cooled, slice the banana cake in half. Cover one of the banana cake halves with blueberry filling and place the second one back on top.

For the Glaze:
In a medium bowl stir together confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice until combined.

Glaze will drip down the sides of the coffee cake, so you can put the coffee cake on a wire rack with tin foil or a pan underneath to catch the excess glaze. The other option is to line the edges of a cake platter with parchment strips to catch the glaze drippings, and then remove the strips when the glaze has hardened.

Poor the glaze on top of the coffee cake in the center. Spread glaze gently over the top allowing some glaze to drizzle down the sides. Give the glaze a few minutes to set and harden slightly, then serve.

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Thank you for joining me today, friends. May your day be filled with delight!

With love & gratitude,
 Wendy Irene

This past weekend we had one amazingly beautiful, sunny day! I can’t tell you how much the sun boost our spirits. My family is so excited for spring. We have visions of gorgeous flowers and herbs surrounding our patio. This is really our first time having a yard we can make into a garden haven.

On Saturday, we jumped in the car and opened the sunroof to let the rays poor in. The temperature didn’t matter to us; we just wanted sun, glorious sun. We were on a mission for supplies to create our own compost area to use the many fruit and vegetable scraps we have. At Home Depot we found a compost bin that was a pretty good price.

When we returned home my husband worked hard digging a flat area for the compost bin. Not too close to the house so that we can smell it, and not too far away so we still have convenient access. Our yard is pretty sloped so my Hubby even dug a little step we hope to line with rocks and make into a mini rock staircase.

It probably sounds a bit silly being so excited about composting, but it is really important to me to teach our children to take care of the land and our planet. I remember my Nana composting on Long Island and her gardens were breathtaking, so I’m hoping somewhere inside of me I can summon her gardening genes! Happiness can be found in the little moments taking care of plant-life.

Sunday the weather turned cloudy, and we experienced periodic rain. It was the perfect day to get cozy, stay home, and bake cookies. To be honest, I can’t believe it has taken me this long to create a vegan peanut butter cookie recipe. I loved peanut butter cookies as a kid, and to this day they are still my brother’s favorite treat. I definitely thought of you when making these, little bro. The cookies are soft and chewy, full of peanut butter goodness.

Sending home baked love your way!

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
3 Tbsp. water
¼cup + 2 Tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup turbinado sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. If desired, line a baking sheet with a silpat.

In a small bowl, make a flax egg by combining flaxseed meal and water. Stir and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to sift ingredients together.

Add the turbinado and brown sugars to the flour mixture. Whisk to combine.

In another medium bowl combine wet ingredients, peanut butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract, stir.

Add the flax egg to the peanut butter mixture and stir.

Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine.

Roll peanut butter cookie dough into balls about the size of a rounded tablespoon and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Gently press down peanut butter cookie dough ball with a fork.

Bake for approximately 8 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on pan for at least 10-15 minutes before gently moving to a cooling rack, to prevent breaking.

Let cookies cool completely and firm up before serving.

Add a chocolate surprise to the center of the peanut butter cookie.

Make a thumbprint in the raw peanut butter cookie dough ball. Add 4 non-dairy chocolate chips and press dough closed around the chocolate chips. Bake without pressing down dough with a fork.

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To Print, Email or Text Recipe click here.
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Wishing you a delightful day filled with peaceful moments!

With love & gratitude,
 Wendy Irene

p.s. It has been a dream of mine for a while now to have a shop that features some of my favorite products. I’m thrilled to share with you my new Amazon Affiliate page. The links are affiliate links so should you purchase something through these links you will be supporting this site. Thank you!

Mother Nature fooled me. I thought spring was coming, but as I sit in my low lit, warm, cozy office a gentle snow fall is happening outside. By the time you read this, it very well may no longer be snowing but it’ll still be a good time for a delicious, flavor filled healthy bowl of soup.

When I pulled my daughter out of her car seat for pre-school this morning, she carefully stuck out her tongue to catch the snowflakes floating by. With her eyes clenched closed and her tongue still out she said, “Look Mom! The
snow likes me.” Those are the moments as a parent I live for... when your heart melts to a puddle on the floor no matter what the temperature outside.

Of all the recipes I have created lately this soup is one of my top favorites! It wasn’t pre-planned. Inspiration simply whispered to me as I perused my cupboards looking for something to make for dinner. The flavor of the roasted apples, onion, garlic and squash is divine.

The white pepper gives the soup a wonderful but not overly powerful kick I really enjoy. Did you know white pepper is one of my new favorite spices? I highly encourage you to give it a try. I’ve been adding to everything, including salads, yum!

I hope this flavorful soup warms you heart, body and soul, and nourishes you from the inside out with its delicious gifts from nature.

Ingredients:
32oz (2lbs) Butternut Squash, peeled & cubed
1 large sweet onion, peeled & cut into 8 wedges
1 head garlic, peeled whole cloves
2 pink lady apples (or your favorite kind), peeled & cubed
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ + ½ tsp. white pepper
¼ + 1 tsp. salt
32oz (1 QT or 946mL) low sodium vegetable broth


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with foil to prevent sticking, if desired.

Spread butternut squash, onions, garlic and apples evenly onto 2 baking sheets.

Toss first pan in 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 salt and 1/8 tsp. white pepper. Repeat for the second baking sheet.

Roast vegetables for 35 – 40 minutes.

In a food processor, puree roasted veggies.

Add butternut squash puree to a large soup pot. Stir in low sodium vegetable broth, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. white pepper.

Heat to desired temperature, or when soup begins to bubble.

*To Print, Email, or Text Recipe click here.

With love, gratitude, and delicious spoonfuls,
 Wendy Irene

Hello Hello Beautiful Soul!

How is your week going so far? Are you taking lots of deep, healing breaths? 

Do you know what makes me feel good and keeps me going strong all week? Eating healthy foods that nourish my body. When you nourish your body with love and good healthy food, you simultaneously nourish your soul.
 
I love to bake but have been consciously thinking about how fast white flour can sneak into our diet. This week I thought I would share with you a super simple way to make your own oat flour. It is extremely economical and very easy to do.

Why should you make oat flour? 1 cup (80grams) of oats has about 10 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. By adding oat flour to some of your favorite recipes you can boost its nutritional value.

Here is how it’s done!

Yield: 4 cups of rolled oats makes approximately 3 1/3 cups oat flour

Ingredients:
Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread oats evenly onto a large baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Add baked oats to a food processor. Grind into a flour consistency.

Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

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Baking with oat flour may require a little bit of experimenting, but that’s the fun part. As a starting point try substituting 1/3 of the flour in a recipe with oat flour.

Let me know if you come up with any recipes you like using oat flour. I’d love to hear about them!

Have a peaceful day and happy healthy baking!

With love & gratitude,
  Wendy Irene

Kids love dip! And so do Moms and Dads…

Finding new ways to entice my kids to eat healthy foods is part of my job description. You know how it is with kids, one day strawberries are their favorite food, and the next day they hate them. Life with kids is about dancing with the flow, and staying on your toes.

Serving a delicious dip is a great way to jazz up a veggie platter making the veggies more exciting to eat. It also makes a great sandwich spread. We eat a lot of hummus and guacamole in our house, but sometimes a change of pace is much needed. The caramelized onions add a rich and delicious flavor to this plant based French onion dip. The onions are sautéed slowly over low heat, maximizing their flavor.

A few weeks ago, I watched someone prepare French Onion dip on Food Network, and I remember thinking to myself, gee I’d like to create a vegan version.  I wanted something rich and creamy, and what is creamier than a perfectly ripe avocado? Voila! This simple but delicious recipe was born. It will take your veggies, chips, and
sandwiches to a whole new level.

Get ready, the smell of slow cooked onions is going to take over your house and make it smell great!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large Vidalia Sweet Onion, finely chopped
¼ + 1/8 tsp. salt
¼ +1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 avacodo, ripe


Directions:

Heat a large saute pan over medium-low heat, no higher than 5. Add olive oil, chopped onion, ¼ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. white pepper.

Saute onions, stirring occasionally until they take on a deep caramel color. Approximately 40 minutes.

Allow onions to cool.      

• If desired you can prepare the onions the day before. Scrap onions and all remaining oil from the pan into a bowl. Cover and refridgerate.

Once the onions have cooled, add the onions and all remaining olive oil from the pan to a food processor or high powered blender. Add avacodo and a pinch (about 1/8 tsp.) of salt and white pepper. Pulse to a smooth consistency.

Serve with chips, pita bread, or your favorite veggies. This dip also makes a fantastic sandwich spread.

*Optional Garnish – reserve a dollop of caramelized onions to place on top of the dip when serving.

To Print, Email, or Text Recipe click here.

With love, gratitude & happy dipping,
 Wendy Irene

Making your own granola is really easy! Give it a try; I’m certain you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The benefit of making your own granola is knowing exactly what you are eating, and feeding to your loved ones. Somewhere inside me I never feel great when my kids start eating too many things from a box, like cereal and crackers. It is an easy trap to fall into.  Life is busy and it seems more convenient, but my intuition speaks to me, and then starts to yell at me when enough is enough.

Lately, I’ve been doing my best to make my own bread and snack foods that I can feel good about feeding to my family. Bread machines are miracle workers if you ask me! It takes surprisingly few ingredients to make homemade versions of things, than the sometimes long lists you read on food labels. The freezer is your best friend for making things ahead of time and having it ready to go on the days that are chaotic. Pick your least busy day, turn on some relaxing music, and prepare food you can feel good about serving to the people you love. It simultaneously nourishes the soul.

I guess developing this recipe kind of makes me a granola Mom… something to feel good about. I’m off to make a double batch.

Enjoy the string of moments that make up your day!

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
½ cup cashews, broken into smaller pieces
1 Tbsp. flax seeds
½ cup raisins
¼ cup sunflower seeds
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. canola oil
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup agave nectar, light
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: oats, cashew pieces, flax seeds, raisins, sunflower seeds, salt and cinnamon, stir.

In a medium microwave safe bowl add vegetable oil, peanut butter, and agave syrup. Microwave for 20 seconds, and then stir. Microwave for another 20 seconds and stir well again so that the peanut butter is melted and the wet
ingredients are incorporated.

Add vanilla to the peanut butter mixture and stir.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and stir.

Spread granola out evenly on the parchment lined pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once half way through.

Let cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

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To Print, Email, or Text Recipe click here.
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Everything tastes better when it is made with love!
 
With love, gratitude, and crunchy granola bites,
 Wendy Irene

Cookies for you, Valentine!

Valentine’s Day can bring up a huge range of emotions, which is why dark chocolate is the perfect accompaniment to the day, don’t you think?

Actually, Valentine’s Day holds a very special place in my heart. My husband and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day… ahhemm 13 years ago! 

It’s a day I’ll never forget. We went and watched a terrible movie at our college campus theatre. In fact, the movie was one of the worst we have ever seen, but that only added to the magic of the day. Every time we look back on it, we laugh.

I remember returning to my dorm room that night totally giddy and on cloud 9. I think somewhere in me I knew divine force was working in my life, and that a very special star had aligned when I met him. I still get goose bumps
thinking about it.

Now I am happy to say, we have a couple of more beautiful souls that have joined us to celebrate Valentine’s Day and they love cookies, and chocolate!

I hope these chocolate hearts add to your day! Share them with your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, or anyone you think could use a little extra love in their day. Couldn’t we all?

Know that you are special, you are loved, and you deserve a life of joy!

Yields: approximately 21 large hearts

Ingredients-

Cookie:
¾ cup (12 Tbsp.) Earth Balance, vegan butter substitute
½ cup cane sugar
¼ cup soy milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
½ cup coconut flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Topping:
¾ cup semi-sweet non-dairy chocolate chips, divided ½ cup + ¼ cup


Directions:

In a large bowl, cream earth balance until light and fluffy. Add sugar and continue to mix. Beat in soymilk and vanilla.

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients: salt, coconut flour, cocoa powder, and all-purpose flour. Whisk gently to sift.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the earth balance mixture, stirring until combined.

Form dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

When the dough is done chilling allow to rest at room temperature for a few minutes to make it easier to roll out.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat, to prevent sticking.

Roll dough onto a lightly floured surface, about ¼ inch thickness. Cut out desired shapes with a cookie cutter or knife. Carefully place onto the baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 8 – 11 minutes depending on size.

Allow cookies to cool completely before adding chocolate topping.

For the Chocolate Topping-
 
In a microwave safe bowl add ½ cup chocolate chips. Microwave for 20 seconds, and then stir well. Repeat until chocolate chips are melted. Approximately 1 minute in total.

Add remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips to melted chocolate, and stir well until melted in order to temper the chocolate.

Using a butter knife apply melted chocolate, covering half of the cookie.

Place on parchment paper and refrigerate until chocolate topping has hardened and set.

Store in an airtight container.

To Print, Email, or Text Recipe click here.

To Gift:

Line a box with red tissue paper and gently stack cookies.

Bonus:

Add a favorite quote, or a few touching words.

With love, gratitude, and a whole lot of heart,
 Wendy Irene

Sundays are a day I like to lounge around the house, unwind, turn off the phone and computer, spend quality time with my family, and occasionally make a special dinner. Having a quiet day is essential to my happiness. I love the idea of Sunday dinner, where you spend a little more time and love making a meal for your family. It is great to do it on a day you don’t have a million places to go, and you can really relax, get creative, have a glass of wine (if you’re like me) and be present.

While I was making homemade pasta and sipping a glass of red wine I felt transported to Italy. A favorite memory came to mind of little Old Italian ladies making pasta at a small rest stop in the country side of Italy. As much as possible, I tried to tune everything out and really enjoy the moment. 

The homemade raviolis are delicious, and bursting with love. The bean and artichoke centers make the ravioli both satisfying and filling. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! 

Put your cute apron on and get into a blissful groove.

Serves: 4 (approximately 40 ravioli)

Ingredients:

Pasta Dough-
1 cup semolina flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. water, room temperature

Filling –
1 can (15oz. / 425g) cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
½ cup Williams-Sonoma Pizza Sauce Artichoke & Garlic
1/3 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds (vegan mozzarella cheese alternative)
1/8 tsp. white pepper
 1/8 tsp. salt


Directions:

For the pasta dough add the flours, salt, olive oil, and ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. water to a bread machine or mixer using the dough hook. Mix for 10 minutes.

While the dough is mixing make the ravioli filling. To a food processor, add cannellini beans and artichoke and garlic pizza sauce. Pulse into a paste and scoop into a medium size bowl. Alternatively, mash beans and sauce by hand.

Stir Daiya Mozzarella style shreds into the bean mixture. Add salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Set aside.

When the pasta dough is done mixing, divide dough in half working with half at a time.

Roll dough to approximately 1/8inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch wide strips.

Place mounds of filling (approximately 1-2 tsp. in size) in the center of the dough strips, spaced 1 inch apart.

Using a pastry brush and a small amount of water, slightly dampen the edges of the dough and in-between filling mounds.

Slice pasta dough in-between the filling mounds, and stretch dough around each filling mound, crimping the sides and front with your fingers.

Place onto a sheet of parchment paper while making the rest of the raviolis.

Repeat procedure with the second half of the pasta dough.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water boils, add a pinch of salt. Carefully place ravioli into boiling, salted water and cook for approximately 10 – 15 minutes (mine took 14 minutes to cook).

Serve drizzled with olive oil, marinara sauce or extra artichoke & garlic sauce.

To Print, Email, or Text recipe click here.

Thank you for this moment together. Wishing you a wonderful day!

With love, gratitude, and delicious bites,
 Wendy Irene