Raw Chocolate Pudding

Smooth chocolate with sinful flavor...that is vegan, raw, free of white sugar & gluten-free! Finally a rich dessert you can indudge in and not have to unbutton your jeans. This dessert only consists of 4 ingredients that you can actually find in nature, and takes under 5 minutes to make!

1 banana 

1 avocado

3 Tbs agave nectar

3 Tbs raw cacao 

Blend all ingredients in your Vita-mix, or food processor. Serve, and Devour! 

Easy enough for ya?!

Vegan Potato Veggie Cashew Soup

I was recently told this mouthwatering soup was one of the top 5 things I have made in quite a while by the family I cook for. Filled with veggies and a creamy broth (with no cream!) any vegetarian, vegan or celiac can enjoy this winter warmer! 

1 cup mushrooms, diced

3/4 cup raw cashews

6 cups vegetable broth (I used a mushroom based broth)

3 potatoes, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Zest and juice of one lemon

In your vita-mix (or any blender) blend cashews and 2 cups of veggie broth until smooth. Pour mixture into a large saucepan and add potatoes, onion, carrots and remaining 4 cups of broth. Add in mushrooms and 1/2 cup of water. Bring soup to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer till potatoes are tender. Add bell pepper and lemon juice and simmer for 3 more minutes. Serve, top with lemon zest, and Devour! 

Vegan & Gluten Free Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce

In honor of my obsessive love for asian food, and my trip planned to Japan next month, I had to make some Vegan and Gluten Free Spring rolls with a sweet plum sauce. These are perfect for a refreshing appetizer, or devour them for lunch! These can be made in advance and stored in the fridge till your belly roars. (Just beware of the avocado turning brown). 

8-12 spring roll rice paper wraps

4 cups boiling water

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

3 carrots, thinly sliced

1 cup bean sprouts

1-2 avocados, sliced

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

Plum Sauce

2/3 cup plum sauce

1 Tbs Soy Sauce (optional)

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 Tbs ginger

1 T Agave

Cook rice and prepare all vegetables. In a bowl, pour boiling water and one at a time and soak rice paper wraps till soft. Pat wraps slightly dry and fill with rice and veggies. Roll tightly, similar to a burrito (all sides should stick to each other when done), and place on a plate, not touching, or they will stick together. In a small bowl, whisk together the plum sauce ingrendietns. Dip spring rolls in the sauce & devour!

Vegan Lentil & Sweet Potato "Meat Loaf"

Lentils, Sweet Potatoes, Walnuts, and Oats. Thats all I have to say about this delicious comfort food. Pair those words with caramelized Brussels sprouts, and you have my heart. I would not even go close to brussels sprouts until I tried them this way at a restaurant in Denver, and instantly had to make up and vegan-ize their recipe, and these ones are pretty darn addictive. 

Vegan Lentil & Sweet Potato Loaf

1 Tbs coconut Oil

1 stick of celery, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 Tbs fresh minced ginger

2 3/4 cup vegetable broth

1 cup green lentils

1 large sweet potato (I use white sweet potatoes, but im sure yams would work) grated

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 cup rolled oats

Heat coconut pil in a large pot. Saute onions and celery until soft. Add ginger & garlic, and saute for about 3 minutes. Add lentils, veggie broth and sweet potatoes. Simmer until most of the broth is absorbed, and lentils are cooked (about 25 minutes). Stir in walnuts, tomato paste and basil, and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in oats ad remove pot from heat. Throw half of the mixture in your vita-mix (or food processor) and process until smooth. Stir the smooth mixture back with the non-processed mixture. Press firmly into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Brush top with either a ketchup & hot sauce mixture, or your favorite vegan smokey bbq sauce. Bake in oven 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with caramelized brussel sprout & Devour!

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
1lb brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 lemon
Coarse salt, to taste

Steam the brussels sprouts for about 6-10 minutes, or until bright green and tender. When cool enough to touch, cut each into half lengthwise. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the sprouts cut side down in the pan, and cook for about 4 minutes, allowing them to brown. Resist moving them, unless to check how much they have browned. When browned, flip sprouts to other side for about 3 minutes till slightly browned. Remove sprouts, and sprinkle with the salt, and drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Devour!

Vegan Banana Coconut French Toast

Childhood weekend breakfast plates were usually stacked high with my moms mouth watering french toast, and of course always topped with powdered sugar. And now with this killer twist on moms recipe, there is no better way to start a morning than with vegan banana coconut french toast! Plus now you wont have bread, that is grilled in goopy snot-like egg batter, i mean come on, its pretty sick! (And not in a good way!) 

1 banana

1/2 cup coconut milk (like from the can used for curry, not the "milk" milk)

1 cup rice or almond milk

2 Tbs Coconut Sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

splash of vanilla

6-8 slices of bread (I use whole grain)

2 Tbs Earth Balance

In a vita-mix (or food processor) blend together banana, coconut milk, almond milk, coconut sugar, cinnamon and vanilla till smooth. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl. Heat Earth Balance in a griddle, or skillet over medium heat. Dip bread into coconut banana mixture, and cook bread until bread is lightly brown on both sides. Serve warm with syrup, fresh bananas, powdered sugar... and then Devour! 

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

No gluten, no animal products, no crap, Hooray! Word on the street is it is going to snow tomorrow in Colorado, so for all you people living in cold places, or heck, even warm places, here is one of my favorite soup recipes! This winter favorite is filled with hearty, delicious fresh ingredients!  Freeze any left overs for that unexpected snow day (if you are able to resist devouring the whole pot)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

7 cups vegetable broth

1 cup lentils

Heat oil in a large pot. Add the onion, constantly stir until onions are softened. Stir in the tomatoes, ginger and spices and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, broth and lentils. Bring to a boil over high heat. When boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft enough to easily poke with a fork. 

Happy Birthday Gluten-Free & Vegan Style

Just because you avoid animal products, and your belly cant handle the gluten, doesn't mean that you cant celebrate your birthday in style! For my friend of mine, Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Almond Mocha Cake is the way she is raging tonight, and I bet the other guests wont even realise that its GF & Vegan!!! Chocolate Cake layered with Mocha Buttercream and layer of  almond slivers, all smothered in Almond Buttercream! Happy Birthday Darianne!

You tempted? If you live in the Denver Area, hit me up on my website, blog, or email, and a cake will be in your mouth asap! If you don't live here, you can still order baked goods, such as sweet bread, muffins etc @ www.Devourbakery.com under the menu tab!!