Livewithspirit.ca

This morning was great, by 7:15am I was running trails with some friends/clients, there was mist coming off the ground and the trails were quiet. It I feel so connected when I run trails. It also amazes me that I have more energy for running since I have up all animal products.  I keep nibbling at vegan goodies and I have tons of energy after the run.

Here are some great recipes for week 3 of Meatless Mondays, enjoy, if you have any questions email me at sheree@livewithspirit.ca

Are you noticing better energy on your meat free days ?

Breakfast 

I start many a day with smoothies, they are filling and at the same time light , since I often run in the morning I don't like a heavy feeling in my stomach. I like to use frozen fruit so the smoothie is thick like a milkshake. This one comes from Jocelyn our 1/2 marathon leader and is probably a Brendan Brazier recipe (or an adaption of). I use his Vega One product (Chai Vanilla) one scoop with some almond milk and frozen fruit makes for a great breakfast that gives me sustainable energy most of the morning.

Pre run smoothie (makes lots, is great for during the run as well)
  2-3 dates
  Banana
  1/2 avocado
  1 cup of mixed frozen berries
  1 tbsp flax meal
  1 cup coconut water
Few leaves of spinach or kale
You can throw in any other fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand...an orange, pineapple slices, peach...

Lunch

If you made the black bean salsa last week, it makes a great burritto, I layer a brown rice wrap with mixed greens, then add the black bean salsa and roll/fold. 

However here is another great recipe.

Avocado slices+ lettuce+ tomato slices on whole grain bread. Spread the slice with Dijon mustard first. Creamy and yummy.

Dinner

Dinner tonight is surprisingly yummy, It is from the blog  http://www.cheapandsimpleveganrecipes.com I am not a huge fan of Kale so I substituted organic baby spinach leaves (uncooked) the heat of the pasta cooked the spinach, I almost always have spinach on hand I use it a lot, I love the taste of spinach.

Vegan Spicy Creamy Kale Pasta

Serves 2

What You Need

• 8 ounces penne pasta
• 3/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 3 large handfuls of kale (about 4-5 cups, loosely packed, or substitute baby spinach)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons salsa (optional)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• Olive oil

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions. In a large pan, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil. Toss in chopped onions and kale, and sauté until kale has cooked down completely. In a blender, add cashews, nutritional yeast, spices, salsa, and non-dairy milk. Blend until you have a creamy consistency, adding more milk or water if too thick. Add cooked kale or organic baby spinach to the pasta pot and toss with cream sauce. Sprinkle with a dash of chili powder for some color. 

Dessert

This recipe I adapted slightly from the blog eatgood4life.blogspot.ca, it wasn't vegan as the original recipe used honey. I used brown rice syrup, but you could also use agave nectar. These too are really really good.  

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unrefined sugar ( I used coconut sugar)
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (honey was used in the original recipe)

 1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/4 cups brown rice cereal
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup oats
1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder

In a sauce pan, at low heat, combine sugar, honey and peanut butter. Heat for about 1-2 minutes stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and add cereal, oats, dark cocoa powder and flax seed meal. Press into a square baking pan lined with foil like in the picture.

Let cool to set. I normally put it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Lift out of the pan, remove foil and cut into small bars or squares. Store in the refrigerator.