Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

The best easy almond cookies. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 4 Comments

Hello there my friends!  The weekend is in sight & I’m so ready for it to arrive.  It happens to be our last weekend, sadly, with our oldest before she heads off to college.  She moves in early because she’s part of a early job program and then 5 days later all of the students arrive for their week long orientation.  As excited as I am… the sadness is creeping in a bit.

So what better way to nurse some sadness than with cookies 😉  Ha.  I’ve been making this recipe for a good long time, originally found here, but with a modification.  They are vegan, gluten free and paleo.  Simply one of the best cookies you will ever eat, simple ingredients and they seem to be virtually impossible to screw up.  Winner!

These cookies freeze nicely and I’m stashing this recipe aside for a future care package or two this fall.  Are you a fan of Italian almond cookies?  If so, brace yourself for a healthier version.

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— Knead to Cook

Instant Pot Vegan Bean Étouffée.

by Filed Under: Beans, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Pressure Cooker, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

 

Vegan bean Étouffée made in the Instant Pot.  

Happy Monday my friends!  Hoping you had a lovely and restful weekend.  As we start up with a brand new, fresh week – I’m all about making a big pot of something delicious for the week.  Bill will take leftovers for lunches, I’ll use it on nights when dinner prep is lacking.  Hey it happens to me too! To optimize this recipe, and boost up the protein substantially, I used quinoa instead of rice as the base layer.  Easy swap but substantial benefits for recovering muscles.

A friend of mine shared the inspiration for this recipe with me a few weeks ago from this cookbook.  After testing it a few times, I tweaked it and amped up the flavor.  I’m planning on making this dish a lot during the cooler months of fall and winter.  I cannot wait!
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— Knead to Cook

Easy Dill Yogurt Dip Sauce. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Dips, Gluten Free, Party Foods, Raw, Sauces, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vinaigrette, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

Easy dill yogurt sauce/dip. Vegan. Gluten free.

This has been one hell of a week.  No joke.  I got hit with some weird virus that is like someone is manipulating a crazy voodoo doll of me minute to minute.  Every morning I’ve felt good, not great.  I’ve been able to cook and prep food for clients and my family.  But then by 3 every afternoon… nausea, aches, pains, fatigue hits like a ton of bricks.  Then put that record on repeat… So today I’ve managed to eat 2 whole meals and feel decent.  May the healthy body gods be shining their light upon me.  I’m not a good sick person.  However I did manage 14.5 hours of sleep last night (insert shocking face emoji here).  Onward & upward.

I am the queen of roasting all the veggies – seriously, all the time.  I’ve been using a mixture of ACV and hummus to dress them but have been craving dill lately.  So I grabbed some fresh dill at the market Saturday and the gears went into high gear. This is not a Tzatziki but similar type of sauce.  I love this on salads in lieu of dressing, adding a drizzle on roasted or raw veggies… my husband was even dipping veggie chips into it.  Whatever floats your boat. Super easy recipe and the flavors develop nicely the next day.

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— Knead to Cook

Lentil Picadillo. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Lentils, Mexican, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 2 Comments

This is my first attempt at vegan Picadillo, inspired by a dish I had at Tocaya Organica in South Beach Miami twice last week (we couldn’t get enough).  Not having experience with this dish, I researched several recipes online and was most inspired by this one.

This dish cooked up really fast, without a lot of babysitting – which is always appreciated.  I paired it up with some quinoa I cooked up in my Instant Pot for extra protein. Brown rice would also be perfection.  This dish was really good but I look forward to adding some diced sweet potatoes/carrots in my next attempt for an extra veggie punch.

I’ve been experimenting a lot with my diet lately – I’m perpetually experimenting.  True story.  My husband took this dish as leftover taco “filling” for lunch on Wednesday and he loved it.  Balancing protein, fat and carbs in each meal will leave you satiated for a longer period of time & help squash the mid-afternoon snack attack.  He said he remained filled till he got home for dinner.  I’ll take that as a win and I’ll be adding to my lunch menu options.  I do love a good lentil dish 🙂

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— Knead to Cook

Easy Protein Overnight Oats. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Fitness., Fruit, Raw, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

Well hello there friends & happy almost 4th of July!  I hope you have tons of fun plans of being outside at the beach, lake or pool surrounded by your favorite people & of course, awesome food!  We have some super fun plans so make sure you follow me on Instagram and my stories.

About two weeks ago my good friend (who lives across the country from me) called and wanted to mix up my diet again. She’s a trainer/registered dietitian & does this sporadically.  She kept me super lean post surgery last year so count me in!  Oats.  I needed to add them back to my breakfast (I intermittent fast so this is normally around 1030 or 11 am) and I have to admit — I’ve missed oats.  I always gravitated towards them in the sweltering summer months in prior years & I’m happy again to have these.

Different additions/subtractions but I’ll share my add-ins and you go from there!  Seasonal fruit and your favorite nuts make this little Ball jar full-of-goodness perfection.  Fail safe recipe.
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— Knead to Cook

Curry Chickpea Salad. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Beans, Brunch, Dressings, Gluten Free, Indian-inspired., Nuts, Salads, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vinaigrette, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment


Curry chickpea salad.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

First, who am I blogging two recipes already this week?  Ha ha.  Okay… so on Saturday we stopped at Alchemy in Columbus, Ohio and I got a small container of their curry chickpea salad.  I was fortunate enough to find Hummusapien’s recipe online (she works with them) and was all over whipping up a batch because it was that good!  I was out of cashews (subbed out almonds) but this recipe is spot on & oh so delish.  I loved the simplicity of this recipe.  I’ve been adding a ton of turmeric to my diet for it’s anti-inflammatory properties.  Plus, hey I’m a sucker for all things curry.

This dish is packed with great nutrition.  Tons of protein and I love it for lunch or dinner in my monster green salad.  Plus, my husband loves it for lunch on bread or with burrito wraps.  I’m also thinking that this recipe is spot on for summer parties – plus you can prep it a day ahead of time to let the flavors develop.  This recipe is perfect for newbie chefs too as it’s impossible to fail.  🙂

Okay let’s get to the kitchen and get this started…
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— Knead to Cook

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment


Peanut butter chocolate bars.  Vegan. Gluten free.

Happy Monday my friends!  Happy to be home & back in my kitchen cooking.  We’ve been traveling over the past several days for a quick trip to my daughter’s university to meet her academic advisor and schedule her classes this fall.   As much fun as it was, 10 hours in the car each way was quite enough for family bonding for me.

Today was back to normal life.  Up early to hit the gym and then home to cook for clients.  My daughter shared this recipe with me a year a two ago, sadly I don’t know the original source but I’m trying to identify to him/her credit.  This is a fun, and super easy, recipe that kids and easily prepare.  It’s also a lovely cool treat as you store in the freezer or fridge.  Sweet, salty chocolatey perfection.  These are wonderful for parties, BBQ’s, a foodie treat for a friend –whatever or whenever you need a treat.  They store nicely in an airtight container for weeks on end (esp. in the freezer).
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— Knead to Cook

Easy Summer Quinoa and Chickpea Salad. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Beans, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Health & wellness, Nuts, Party Foods, Salads, Side dish, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

 

Hi everybody!  It’s me the elusive foodie, runner (not running currently), absentee blogger!  I’m here!  Isn’t summer supposed to be oh-so-relaxing?  Yeah.  It isn’t.  At least for me.  In my defense, this post was to live yesterday but my MacBook hated my SD card with the images yesterday.  Had to run to Target to get a card reader to export my images of food long gone (yep, this dish is that good) so it worked.  Heres the post. Phew!

I know I’m tardy but LIFE IS CRAZY!  Seriously within the next month I think we’re home for only a few days.  Not all of us are gone thankfully so my house and dogs are taken care of but I hate living out of suitcase but I love to explore so we do all the things and embrace with grateful hearts.

So this sweet little recipe.  Perfect with leftover quinoa.  I’ve been crazily bumping up protein in my diet lately thanks to all of my weightlifting efforts at the gym.  Uses tons of fresh ingredients from your garden or the farmer’s market so it’s super cost effective.  Great for leftovers, lunches, BBQ’s, get-togethers etc.  Keeps perfectly in the fridge for a week.  My tip is to keep the vinaigrette separate and dress prior to serving. That way veggies stay crisp and lovely!  Okay, tons of cooking to do before we leave so I need to get my boo-TAY moving.

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— Knead to Cook

Easy Spicy Peanut Tofu Bites. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Party Foods, Tofu, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

Easy spicy peanut tofu bites.  

Well hello there my friends.  I’ve missed you all so much & feel like life is moving at warp speed.  Craziness.  What happened to lazy summer days?  Well, as we settle into our summer norm, having two teenagers home with me, eating round the clock, wanting to go driving (learner’s permit) and my oldest wanting to join me at the gym but “… not so early” and cooking for clients – I seem to the be the only one stressing here. Ha.

So if you follow me on any of my social media… you know I have a big puffy heart love affair with tofu.  Yes, I was the person you are reading this not so long ago.  I hated tofu.  It was gross.  Flavorless.  And pretty much the only food that they can fry and it still tasted gross.  Until I created this recipe and my entire world changed.  In fact, it has a cult following on Instagram.  I kid you not!  Fast forward several months and my love affair has grown.  First, it’s a wonderful source of protein.  It’s incredibly versatile, taking on whatever flavors you throw at it.  This has been a recipe I go to pretty often and once you taste it… you’ll see why.

I adapted this from several different friends (two of which own restaurants) and I really hope you give it a try.

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— Knead to Cook

Scrambled tofu and black beans. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Beans, Breakfast, Fitness., Gluten Free, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment


Smoked tofu with black beans.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

Happy Monday friends!  Life, at least at this juncture, has been quite a whirlwind.  This past weekend was our first local VegFest and I was speaking there.  Tomorrow my oldest graduates and we then we get to celebrate with cherished friends/family this weekend. So much going on.  So fun, emotional and crazy.  I have my tissues ready!

I have this recipe from a few weeks ago that I neglected to share.  I’ve really been embracing tofu dishes and enjoyed the pumped up protein post workout .  I’m desperately trying to focus on protein and lower carbs lately to lean out.  This recipe is great for that.  Do you miss eggs or just want a healthier/plant-based option?  This is for you. Super easy and flexible.  This recipe is also great for adding extra leftover veggies/cleaning out the fridge 🙂  You know when you need to clean out that veggie bin?  Ha.

This tofu scramble is also great wrapped in a tortilla for lunch or dinner as well.  My husband always grabs these when I make them for lunch.  Protein from the tofu and beans is great to fuel you all day long.  Let’s get started…

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— Knead to Cook