Clean Eating Guacamole Crostini

Creating a savory shared appetizer for non-vegans is harder than it might seem. When I was invited to a holiday networking mixer with some ladies who work in my industry I immediately signed up to bring a savory shared appetizer. I knew I didn't want to make anything obviously vegan with meat substitutes or fake dairy products. Instead, I wanted to make an appetizer that was simple and highlighted great local ingredients. This guacamole crostini honestly came out even better than I expected. I may or may not have stuffed a few pieces in my mouth before walking through the door... 

Ingredients

• 1 french baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 2 avocados
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced 
• 1/2 limes juice
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/4 red onion, finely diced
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• Cilantro, chopped

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350. Slice the baguette into 1/2" thick rounds, lightly brush olive oil on both sides of each slice and place on a baking sheet. Bake around 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove and set aside while making the guacamole.

Cut each avocado in half, removing the seed and with a spoon scoop out the pulp and place in a bowl. With a fork, mash the avocado with the garlic, lemon juice, red onion, tomato, paprika and sea salt. Evenly spread an equal amount of guacamole on each slice and top with chopped cilantro. Place on a serving platter garnishing with extra cilantro and enjoy!

Banana Cinnamon Smoothie - Clean Eating

I must admit that I'm a bit of a smoothie fanatic. I just love the refreshing feeling I get after drinking a nice cold smoothie in the morning. Being the smoothie connoisseur that I am, I've experimented with lots of different combinations and this one has to be one of my all time favorites. This banana cinnamon smoothie is simple and requires minimal ingredients but tastes amazing and is also pretty healthy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! 

Ingredients 

• 2 Ripe Bananas 
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Plain Almond Milk or Dairy Free Milk of your preference
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon 
• 1 Tbsp Vega Vanilla Almondilla Protein Power (optional)
• 1 Tsp vanilla
• 4 Ice Cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and blend till smooth. Add less or more milk as desired to get a the consistency you prefer.  

Crispy Kale Chips - The Right Way!

Before last week I can't say that I had ever tried kale. While I was at a local juice bar with a friend, I decided to buy a bag of kale chips since I had been hearing so much about them from nearly everyone around me!  So I caved in and ate my first piece of kale ever and you know what... I actually really really liked it! Needless to say, I ate the whole bag in one sitting and with the price tag on most bags of kale chips I knew I needed to figure out how to make these bad boys myself. 

This recipe can vary in a million ways depending on the topping you choose. The most important thing with this recipe is to keep the cooking temperature VERY LOW. You are really trying to more or less dehydrate the kale in your oven, not cook it! If you go any higher than 250 degrees you are going to risk burning the chips. So keep it low and slow! 

Also when using the vinegar it's going to seem like a lot, but most of that flavor is going to burn off in the cooking process. So don't worry! 

Ingredients

Curly Leaf Kale - washed and patted dry with a paper towel

1 cup Sunflower Seed Kernels - deshelled (you just want the meaty inside) 

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast 

3/4 - 1 cup White Vinegar

Sea Salt - to taste

Directions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees and spray your baking sheets with baking spray or olive oil. In a food processor/blender or with a hand blender combine sunflower kernels, nutritional yeast, white vinegar and salt. Add more vinegar if needed to get a paste-like consistency. Once you have the right consistency toss kale with the topping you just made. I had to use my hands for this part to get everything evenly coated. Once you have the kale chips coated place them on your baking sheets side by side and cook them in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until crispy.

Clean Eating Mushroom Soup

There's nothing I love more than mushrooms and dill in a soup. Not only is this soup totally delicious but also super healthy! If you want the soup to be a little more hearty chop some potatoes or other vegetables of your choice and throw them in with the rest of the ingredients. You can also cut down the calories by making your own cashew sour cream or leaving it out all together.

I found this recipe several times online from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen and made my own vegan version.

Ingredients

I large red onion, sliced

Olive oil cooking spray for cooking mushrooms, onions and garlic

3 10 oz packages fresh button mushrooms, sliced

1 clove minced garlic

1 tablespoon tamari or light soy sauce

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

1 to 2 teaspoons dillweed, divided
3 cups vegetable stock or water, (if using water add vegan bullion cube)
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup cashew sour cream or store bought brand like Toffuti
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

In a skillet, saute the onion in pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Once the onions are slightly translucent, add the mushrooms and minced garlic dusting flour over while stirring to thicken the juices. Place cooked mushrooms, garlic and onions into the crock-pot add tamari and paprika, 1 teaspoon of the dill and 1/2 cup of the stock or water with bullion cube. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Just before serving, add the lemon juice, vegan sour cream, salt and pepper, to taste, and remaining dill, if desired. Garnish with the parsley, if desired, before serving. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs in the crock-pot.