Vegan Chocolate Pudding with Avocado and Walnuts:

This chocolate avocado pudding/mousse is definitely one of my favorite desserts. It's rich and decadent without being too sweet. It's also much healthier than your run-of-the-mill chocolate dessert, and you can make it in less than 10 minutes.

For another delicious avocado pudding recipe, check out the one that Kari posted this weekend. (I'm highly entertained that we were craving the same things while on opposite sides of the world). She used blackberries and strawberries in hers, which looks amazing.

Ingredients:

1 large avocado (about 1 1/2 cups), sliced

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup almond milk 

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tbsp. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup*

1 tsp. agave nectar 

A few pinches of nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Blend the avocado, almond milk, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, and agave in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add in the agave nectar and a few pinches of nutmeg, and continue blending for another 15 to 30 seconds.

2. Garnish with another pinch of nutmeg, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and walnuts.

*Hershey's original chocolate syrup is vegan. If you are going to use another chocolate syrup, make sure it is vegan. Also, if you would rather not use the chocolate syrup, substitute another half a tablespoon of cocoa powder and another teaspoon or two of agave nectar for the syrup.

A Simple Summer Snack:

Hey everyone! Here's a simple and healthy recipe for a snack or light lunch. I utilized some of the season's best ingredients here. (I think by now, it's pretty apparent that I love tomatoes and avocados). If you love these veggies as much as I do, this recipe's for you. Add a little sriracha to the mix, and you've got yourself a little snack party. 

Ingredients:

1 large yellow tomato, diced

1 small white onion, thinly diced

1/2 an avocado, sliced 

2 tbsp. hummus

2 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. Sea Salt

1/4 tsp. dried cilantro (1 tsp. fresh)

Dash of cayenne pepper

Serves 2.

Total Cook Time: 5 minutes. 

Instructions:

1. Add the diced tomatoes and onion to a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, sea salt, cilantro, and cayenne. Toss to coat.

2. Split the tomato mixture into two servings, top each with half of the avocado slices and 1 scoop of hummus. Serve with tortilla chips (optional). 

Vegan Leftover Rice Bowls:

This is pretty much just a combination of ingredients that I had leftover from making tacos and fajitas the other night, but it's delicious all the same. Feel free to experiment with leftover veggies, beans, or rice that you may have in the fridge as well.

I have intended to post more often, but I've been experiencing technical troubles.  Every time I want to upload pictures to Blogger, I have to restart my computer. It's been a pain, especially considering the fact that, as of late, there are generally 10 Word documents and 12 Firefox tabs open on my computer, all of which are usually things that I'm actually working on at the moment. Oh well. Life goes on. :)

Another reason is that I've been enjoying leftovers a lot more. They're so convenient. I threw this together for lunch, and I loved every bite. Hope you like it as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1  yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 white or red onion, sliced

1 portobello mushroom cap, sliced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup salsa  

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil (divided + more if necessary)

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

A few dashes of Kosher salt

A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Sriracha (optional, to taste)
A few slices of avocado

Serves 6.

Total Cook Time: About 25 minutes. 

Instructions:

1. While your cooked rice is still in the pot, add 1/2 tbsp. of the olive oil, a dash or two of salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Stir in the 1/2 cup of salsa and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring to coat.

2. Next, add the remaining 1/2 tbsp. of the olive oil, to a large skillet. Stir in the peppers, onion, and garlic. Season with another dash of salt, paprika, cayenne, and lemon juice. Cook on medium-high heat until the veggies start to get tender, about 7 minutes.

3. Stir in the mushrooms and add any extra seasonings to taste. Continue cooking on medium-high heat until the veggies are cooked through and a little charred, about another 3 minutes.

4. Serve the rice in bowls topped with the cooked vegetables,chickpeas, and avocado. Drizzle the sriracha over top.

Enjoy :)

Vegan Nachos & Nacho "Cheese":

Well, this is lame. I think I'm going to stay in, rent The Holiday, and watch it on repeat by myself all night. Haha. At least I ate well today. I made nachos with "cheese" sauce, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, and avocados. I also made sweet rolls with cinnamon buttery spread. ♥

Clearly, daylight savings time has become my arch enemy in getting good pictures these days. It has also been particularly gloomy for Florida lately. Needless to say, it's frustrating. Oh well, the  nachos tasted amazing anyways. You can also add in diced onions, black beans, bell peppers, and/or tempeh for more variety. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 ripe tomato, diced

 1 avocado, sliced

1 jalapeno, sliced

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro

Tortilla chips

1 cup nacho cheese (see recipe below) 

Hot sauce (to taste)

Instructions:

Lay the tortilla chips out on a plate or casserole dish. Toss the diced tomato with the olive oil and cilantro. Drizzle the tortilla chips with the cheese and hot sauce, and then top them with the tomato, avocado, and jalapenos. 

Vegan Nacho Cheese: 

1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp. sesame tahini
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 tsp. chiles, minced
1/4 tsp. miso (optional)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Whisk the almond milk, tahini, nutritional yeast, chiles, miso, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in the flour.

2. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer until it thickens, another 10 minutes, whisking often.

3. Remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes. It should thicken a little more.

Vegan Baked Broccoli Pasta in Avocado Cream Sauce:

So anyways, I used gluten free quinoa noodles for this recipe. They were good!  This recipe is relatively quick, and it's just so comforting!

How's everyone's weekend? I'm about to make lunch for my friend and I, and then we're heading over to UCF for the homecoming game. The weather is perfect: 77 degrees with a high of 81. It's a beautiful day to be a Knight, but then again, it's always a beautiful day to be a Knight. Unfortunately, this may be my last UCF tailgate for awhile, but I do plan to return one day with a big RV.  (I'm always jealous of people with RVs at tailgate).  Have a good day and enjoy! ❤

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups small shells, cooked according to package instructions
1 1/2 cups broccoli, cut into medium-sized florets
1 cup yellow onion, diced or sliced
1/2 cup avocado
1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. olive or canola oil, divided
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped)
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt (probably a little more, to taste)
Dash of black pepper
Dash of paprika

Serves 2.
Total Cook Time: 35 minutes. 

Instructions:

1.  Cook the pasta according to package directions, strain, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the pasta back to the pot that you cooked it in, and stir in 1 tsp. of the oil and a dash of salt and black pepper.

2. Add the avocado, almond milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and garlic to the food processor. Process until it's smooth and creamy.

3. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large saucepan, add the remaining 1 tsp. of oil, the broccoli, and the diced onions. Cook on medium-high heat until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. (You may want to add a little more oil if it begins to stick).

4. Stir the cream sauce and the broccoli/onion mixture in with the pasta. Add the paprika, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

5. Add the pasta to a casserole dish, cover, and bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Avocado Hummus:

Oh man...I really just love avocados. They're good with everything, and they're so healthy! So here's what I put together for you today:

Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted and halved
1 (16 oz.) can chickpeas, drained
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. red onion (to keep the avocado from browning)
2 tbsp. olive or canola oil
1 1/2 tbsp. sesame tahini
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)

Instructions:

Add of the ingredients to your food processor, and pulse until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Top with pine nuts and serve with tortilla chips.

PS: the weather was just so perfect the other day that I couldn't resist going for a hike: ❤