Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

How to make sun tea.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Fruit, Vegan, Wheat Free

Today was our first really hot day, therefore I immediately thought to make some sun tea. Super easy and I love having a pitcher in the fridge for a cool treat instead of water. I’m going to share the basics with a bunch of different options that you can take. Sun tea is super easy to make so fear not, you can totally do this!

So let’s get started…

Into a pitcher, add filtered water. My pitcher holds about 1 gallon of water.
For each gallon of water you want to add 8 tea bags.
I did complimentary flavors of mint and ginger. Please experiment and use flavors you love.
Because I went with mint – I added a sprig of fresh mint from my garden to the pitcher as well.
Allow the tea to sit in direct sunlight for 3-6 hours.

Once the tea is done, remove the tea bags and you may wish to add sweetener. If you do, you can add agave, honey (if you use it) or a simple syrup. Simple syrup is made by heating equal parts sugar and water to the stove over low temp. Stir until the sugar is melted. Allow to cool and you can add as much to your tea as you prefer. We drink it with some fresh lemon and muddled mint leaves with ice. Your choice! Store leftovers in the fridge.


Some other flavors that work really well together:
Fennel and lemon
Turmeric and lemon
Lemon with basil leaves
Breakfast tea with lemon
Mint and ginger
Turmeric and ginger
Berry tea with lemon
Green tea and citrus (orange or lemon slices) or lemongrass
Oolong with a fruitier/berry tea

Can’t wait to hear what combinations you create! Enjoy.

x~

— Knead to Cook

Banana-free protein smoothie. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins

Happy May dear friends. We’re back from Italy and had the best time. Happily also brought oldest home (she was studying abroad this semester). So this momma is happy to have all my chicks under one roof again… especially in the same timezone!

I’ve been working a lot and not blogging at all… sorry for that! I did shoot this smoothie a few weeks ago and neglected to post. I have a lot of people who can’t eat bananas and want a good vegan smoothie. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I am lately.

Ingredients:

1 cup of unsweetened vanilla nut based milk
1/4 cup of water
2-3 cups of organic baby spinach
1 tbl of your favorite nut butter
1 scoop of your favorite plant-based vanilla protein like Vega Sport
1 tbl of chia seeds
1 tbl of raw cacao powder
1/3 cup of crushed ice

Topping:
Cacao nibs
Chia seeds
Hemp hearts
Granola

Into your blender add all of the ingredients (minus toppings). Blend until creamy. Pour into a big glass and top if desired. Enjoy! This smoothie often goes to work with me and fills me for about 4 hours. 🙂


— Knead to Cook

Dark Cherry Zucchini Protein Smoothie. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Fitness., Fruit, Gluten Free, Raw, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 5 Comments

Dark cherry zucchini protein smoothie.

Good morning my friends and happy Monday!  Its the beginning of a whole new week so let’s get it started off on the right foot.  This smoothie is so good and has been my go-to for the past 2 weeks.

One of the most common concerns when going vegan is of course, where do you get your protein.  A great protein powder helps boost post workout along with providing your essential and non essential amino acids, BCAA’s that recovering muscles need.  This smoothie is so good and can fool any kid-detective looking for spinach in his/her smoothie.  Zucchini blends down to a creamy texture.  Plus zucchini has anti-inflammatory properties, high potassium, helps digestion along with being a great source of B vitamins.  Plus I find smoothies are easier to digest after a workout so my stomach is happier.  I hope you give this recipe a try and report back letting me know what you think.  This recipe makes one big smoothie (for me) or two smaller (for kids).  Enjoy!

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— Knead to Cook

My daily go-to Green Protein Smoothie. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 6 Comments


I hate to begin a post with an apology but I have 2!  First, I’m sorry I’ve been relatively MIA on posting. Getting back into a working groove, standing for hours post knee replacement has been taking me time.  Second, the lighting today, due to an ice storm, isn’t working with me so the pics aren’t my best but hey you’re here for the recipe after all, right?

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— Knead to Cook

Homemade Easy Reishi Hot Cacao. Vegan. Adaptogen.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Health & wellness, Vegan, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Reishi hot cacao has taken social media by storm.  Reishi (red) mushroom consumed on a regular basis, has been shown to enhance the body’s immune system, improve circulation and optimize health conditions.  It’s an adaptogen that also helps treat anxiety, high blood pressure, insomnia (it can cause vivid dreams), hepatitis, bronchitis and asthma.

My naturopath brought it to my attention and I loved it.  However the popular brand was quite spendy and I knew I could come up with an equally potent & superb product.  I’ve been making my own for about 3 months now and have loved it.  The recipe is super simple, almost too easy but it demands documentation for all of you who want to make a more economical version.
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— Knead to Cook

Homemade Chocolate Nut Milk. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 2 Comments


Homemade chocolate nut milk.

I’ve been on a homemade nut milk kick lately & I’m making no apologies for it. I’m the girl who always has something soaking in my kitchen. Since my husband ordered me my nut milk straining bag (okay, refrain from laughing) but seriously, this thing is critical for making nut milk —-it made the process a dream!  This is the bag I got. I was excited to use it and it didn’t disappoint.

I made two batches of milk (different combination of nuts this time) but once I got on the second batch I got the brilliant idea to make a cacao (duh add chocolate) version.  OHHHHH my goodness why haven’t I done this before?  It came out of my Vitamix (frothy and hot) and honestly the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.  So simple.  You control the level of sweetness versus the sugary commercial versions.  I’m quite smitten with this version.  Not overly chocolatey but just the right amount.  Okay, okay… let me get this recipe started and oh HAPPY FRIDAY!
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— Knead to Cook

Almond Walnut Milk and Everything Bagel Pulp Crackers. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Party Foods, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 6 Comments

 

Homemade almond walnut milk & everything bagel wet pulp crackers.  Hi my friends!  Okay, so we survived Stella Superstorm/Nor’Easter blah blah blah.  We ended up with about 8 inches of fresh powder with a good inch of ice.  Super fun.  I won’t complain because my entire family was home together with no commitments or jobs on the agenda.  It was heavenly, I won’t lie.

More updates… So after a very thorough investigation/research – my daughter had narrowed her college search/applications down to 10 schools.  She has finally signed on the dotted line and is committed to university!  So excited.  So yesterday we did all things registration/booking dates for meeting her counselor and registering for classes, booking orientation week, ranking dorms, doing her school ID, choosing her meal plan & she actually has found her roommate.  We also got her bedding etc. last weekend.  What the what?  We’ve gone from zero to finished in a hot second.  Phew!

So I stocked up on all my nuts last week and figured I would make some milk over the weekend.  I wanted to do a combination of walnuts and almonds with cinnamon.  It came out great and I made crackers with the residual pulp (sans dehydration). No waste and lots of goodness.

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— Knead to Cook

Good Karma Foods Flaxmilk Chocolate Smoothie.

by Filed Under: Best Vegan..., Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, Raw, Smoothies, Snacks, Sponsored, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 31 Comments

Lately, I’ve been sharing my favorite vegan, plant-based foods here on my blog.  Good Karma Foods flaxmilk and yogurts are just two of our favorites.  Recently, I have the opportunity to try out Good Karma’s flax protein milk.  First things first… it has 8 grams of protein per serving AND tastes so incredibly creamy!   I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of watery milks.  If you want a luscious smoothie – you need a creamy base to start and this milk is perfect!  Plus packed with Omega 3’s… this one is a winner!

Good Karma Foods flaxmilk is packed with 1200mg of Omega 3’s.  Free of the most common allergens like dairy, soy, & nuts.  It has as much calcium as dairy milk.  The flax with protein only has 70 calories per serving in their unsweetened flaxmilk.  The flavor is extremely neutral and can be used in both savory as well as sweet recipes, like my smoothie recipe.

Good Karma Foods is based out of beautiful Boulder, Colorado and they were the pioneers to developing a flax seed based milk.  They are passionate about healthy eating and living -which is why I believe in such an incredible company and their products.  They also have an incredibly creamy drinkable yogurt that we’re obsessed with and a creamy yogurt that is unbelievable.  Okay so enough of my babbling on… let’s get to the recipe AND a sweet giveaway!

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— Knead to Cook

The BEST vegan dairy products!

by Filed Under: Best Vegan..., Beverages, Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Okay, okay… I’ve been MIA this week.  Working on a lot of things in the background (one very exciting opportunity in June!) but I’m back with my next installment of favorite vegan products.  This vegan cheese post was so wildly popular, this is going to be a series of my favorites each week mmm kay?  Great.

So I will digress for a moment.  I’ve been off from my private “cheffing” (yes, I know not an actual word) while my main client is traveling on spring break to Hawaii.  So I’ve been doing a lot of family things… like cooking for them – ha!  Lunches with my daughters.  Road trips.  Lots of fun things.  But this weekend was proved to be a wild ride.  I won’t get into specifics, but that WOW, dreamy university with the 5 year masters program in psychology acceptance came in on Friday night WITH a sweet academic scholarship!  Okay, I’m trying to keep it together and breathe here.  Then on Saturday… I got a huge, I mean HUGE food blogging job. I’m SO overwhelmed with gratitude!

Okay so let’s get this vegan dairy post rolling…
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— Knead to Cook

Fruit Sparkling Chia Seed Drink. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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If you follow me on Insta-stories or my snapchat (kneadtocook), you know I’ve been seeing a registered dietician for the past several months.  She has been changing my view on food, macro nutrients, when and how to eat and fuel all my fitness activities.  My biggest change or revelation is increasing my plant based fats.  Adding tons of them to my diet.  I’ll admit, before now I’ve been fat phobic but after crazy results, dropping 10 lbs., I’m embracing this new eating style.

So increasing fats? Why?  Well the fat myth after much research has been debunked.  Clean and healthy fats, like chia, hemp, avocado, nuts, seeds are good for your hormonal balance, don’t spike insulin levels like sugars do, keep you satiated longer, hair and nails beautiful etc.  This summer I went super low fat and my hair, skin and hormones were a mess…. needless to say I’m enjoying the fats lately.

So I do eat more fats, and less calories.  Fats take longer to break down in your body and require much more energy – hello increased metabolism.  A great resource is Eat Fat, Get Thin by Dr. Mark Hyman.  Other benefits to eating this way… well paired up with my intermittent fasting – eating more fats allows me to exhaust my glycogen stores much faster and burn fat for energy on my runs/cross training/lifting days.  We all have infinite fat stores so we won’t ever bonk while working out.  Becoming fat adaptive has allowed me, with the right fuel, to run 17 milers with no gels, Gu’s or any other carb fuel.

So I created this festive drink to keep you powered up right through the holidays and beyond.  Takes a few minutes to make and you can sub whatever juice you love.  I teamed two of my favorites in this recipe.  Plus, these are super hydrating and great post sweaty workout. Hope you give this one a try.
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— Knead to Cook