Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

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

Lucy Let’s Go Blog Post: Lemon Basil Creamy Pasta. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian-inspired, Lucy Let's Go Post, Nuts, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Lemon Basil Creamy Pasta. Vegan and gluten free.  Time to transition to lighter & brighter flavors that channel spring, right?  Although it hasn’t been a really snowy winter, not at all here on the east coast, I’m ready for longer, brighter & warmer days ahead.  One of the flavors that is always reminiscent of spring, for me, is the brightness of lemon.  I knew a lovely pasta dish topped with a luscious and healthy creamy sauce would be perfect to share with you all.

This pasta dish would be perfect for your spring brunches, girls lunches, family dinner or for your Easter celebration.  This sauce is so easy to make plus the creamy texture comes from cashews, soaked, versus heavy cream.  The sauce has a lovely cheese-based flavor thanks to the nutritional yeast, tartness from the fresh lemon juice with a tangy flavor from the Dijon.  Then for an extra punch of flavor I added some fresh basil leaves, which also adds to the brightness to the dish.  This sauce can be prepared ahead of time to save time and just topped on your freshly cooked pasta.  I prefer wide noodle pastas for this substantial sauce. Bon appétit friends.

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— Knead to Cook

Pancake Mix Baked Dark Chocolate Donuts. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Snacks, Valentine's Day, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Yogurt 4 Comments

Pancake mix baked dark chocolate donuts.  Vegan & gluten free.

Happy Monday!  So the new week is here and I was in a rush for a quick & easy snack item for my kids before they got home from school.  I picked up a vegan & gluten free pancake batter to try at Home Goods last week & in my rush today – I thought I would try to whip up a baked donut recipe using the batter.  Turns out… it worked perfectly and could double as breakfast too!  Now I did douse half of the donuts with melted dark chocolate but you can easily omit & serve with powdered sugar or maple syrup for breakfast.  I also made these in mini form but they would totally work in normal sized donuts.

Now I’ve only tried this with the mix I have but I don’t see why any pancake mix wouldn’t work.
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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

Spinach and basil ricotta baked lasagna. Vegan. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vinaigrette, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Spinach & basil ricotta baked lasagna.  This recipe is both gluten and dairy free – along with being completely vegan.

As you all know, I’ve been experimenting quite a bit with vegan lasagna lately.  I made my own tofu ricotta here and as wonderful as it turned out – this one has taken first place.  I recently tried Kite Hill nut-based ricotta that I picked up at Whole Foods.  I was so excited to try it.  My first recipe was this Ricotta Mousse.  My daughter devoured the entire thing!   My faith had immediately been restored in ricotta that wasn’t dairy based.  Next up, I started pondering my next recipe, after all I had bought a case of it because we loved it so much.  What to do?!

Spinach and basil ricotta is very classic combination in Italian cooking.  I knew I wanted to go down that road but stuffed shells or lasagna.  My family voted… & lasagna it was.  And from there this super easy recipe was born.  Don’t stress the quantities, but taste as you go and adjust to your preference.  The joy of cooking is the flexibility that you have unlike in baking, which is more exact.
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— Knead to Cook

Vegan cheeses that don’t suck. Really.

by Filed Under: Best Vegan..., Cheese, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Notable mentions., Nuts, Product Review., Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Vegan cheeses all suck, right?  They don’t melt.  They taste horrible.  Ummmm….  No!  Today I’m sharing the best of the best out there & these vegan cheeses will convert even the most hard-core cheese lovers.  Trust me, I’m a reformed dairy lover converted over to the favorites I’ve named below & I’m not sad at all!

Now this has been a 3 year journey of many, and I mean MANY, sub-par even disgusting (actually making me sick), pathetic excuses for “vegan cheeses”.  Each of these named below are staples in our kitchen & we use them for grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza and lasagna or stuffed shell recipes.  I’m going to share my tips and tricks for the ooey gooey cheeses below that will have you swoon.
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— Knead to Cook

Banana walnut muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Banana walnut vegan & gluten free muffins. These muffins were inspired by a recipe from the Minimalist Baker.  In my house of 5, I’m constantly in an uphill battle with making healthy snacks to have on hand.  Breakfast on-the-go before school, pre or post workout fuel, snacks with lunch or after-school.  Sound familiar?  I’m always on the hunt for new recipes to work with & after the day I had yesterday (sore from my Monday TRX workout then falling on my run)… I wasn’t in the mood to get creative in the kitchen.  I wanted a tried and true recipe and this recipe hit that target.  I did make some modifications as noted below.

These muffins are packed with protein, omegas and fiber.  Each one has about 326 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7.2 grams of protein and sugars at 12 grams.  These muffins will rival your favorite coffee shop counterpart but without the overload of fats/sugars and gluten/dairy.

These muffins are perfect food gift ideas for friends, new moms or someone in need.  Hearty and quite filling.  

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— Knead to Cook

Vegetable chickpea savory pancake/omelette. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Beans, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Running/Races, Salsas & Guacamole, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Vegetable chickpea pancake.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

Happy President’s Day!  I will admit I was due for a long, restful weekend after many busy weekends. The weather on the east coast warmed up, unseasonably of course for PA, to around 70 and we spent most of our time outside enjoying.  AND if you follow me on Insta or Snap – you know we celebrated our oldest daughter’s 18th birthday.  We even got to run/ride on trails yesterday and it was heavenly.  Today, after an aggressive TRX HIIT workout  I kicked off my Monday with a bit of a departure from my normal tofu pudding breakfast.  Lately, I’ve been craving more savory foods & this chickpea pancake was perfect.

This was my first attempt at making a chickpea pancake/omelette type recipe and after a failed first attempt… the second one was a winner.  I’ll share my lessons learned below.  The flavor profile of this was very Mexican in nature.  I’m looking forward to experimenting more with different seasonings and veggies.  I topped this one with avocado, tomatoes and lots of hot sauce.  I’m seriously smitten with my latest creation.
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— Knead to Cook

Banana Walnut Oats Instant Pot. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Nuts, Pressure Cooker, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Banana walnut steel cut oats for the Instant Pot. Oh how I love my Instant Pot & steel cut oats.  Seriously, they are the easiest breakfast going and oh so healthy.  I love making a big batch earlier in the week and have them for quick snacks or breakfasts on the go.  My daughter warms a bowl up before heading out to school and eats hers on the bus.

Steel cuts oats are nutritional powerhouses.  Per 1/4 cup of steel cut oats – they are packed with 7g of protein, 4g of fiber and 10% of your daily allowance for iron.  They take forever to digest in the stomach -helping keep you fuller longer without snacking all morning long.  These oats prep so easily and make for super simple mornings all week long.  I spoon 1/2 cup into reusable containers and warm in the morning.  Top with your favorite berries, nut butter or seeds and you’re good to go!

Let’s get this started & oh Happy VaLEnTiNE’s Day!!
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— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Ricotta Mousse. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Nuts, Party Foods, Raw, Running/Races, Snacks, Valentine's Day, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Chocolate ricotta mousse (vegan and gluten free).  Sharing one more decadent, super easy, recipe to prepare for Valentine’s Day tomorrow.


I’ll admit, I normally don’t get wrapped up in all the to-do surrounding Valentine’s Day. I’m more of a practical mind & we just wrapped up Christmas gift-giving, right?  Plus my focus has been hard and fast surrounding my oldest, who turns 18 this week, university decisions and all that.  How did I ever get this old so quickly? Ha.

I do normally get tiny, albeit thoughtful, presents for my girls and my husband.  I found these super cute felt envelopes at Target and instantly was smitten.


I filled them with fun little goodies from lip gloss, vegan chocolates etc.  I did buy several things for my husband but I can’t share quite yet as he reads my posts.  But today, I also picked up some of his favorite snack items (think nut/berry/seed blends to snack on, seaweed wasabi strips etc. and a cute Valentine to leave in his car tomorrow morning for his drive to work.  I like the thoughtful little presents that spread love.

As for dinner… I don’t really like going out to restaurants that aren’t vegan.  PLUS going out on the busiest day of the year – getting less than adequate service, being overcrowded and sub-par food isn’t our style.  SO… I’ll be cooking at home for my entire family. Not sure of the menu yet.  May go super cheesy and make heart-shaped pizzas or some other themed dinner.  Who knows.  But this will be on the dessert menu for sure.  I whipped this up on Saturday to test it out and my daughters couldn’t wait to dive in.  They both loved it.  It reminds me of a cannoli cream filling… & we all know that can’t be a bad thing.  Totally vegan and gluten free.  I was happy I special ordered a case of this vegan ricotta from a local market.  Toppings are optional.  Enjoy!
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— Knead to Cook