Festive Brussels Sprouts Soup

November 23, 2015September 26, 2019 / livelycravings / Leave a comment

Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever came up with Brussels sprouts soup but I was moving and I didn’t want to fill my fridge so I used what I had. Amazing! It was devoured and loved. I knew that I had to share this soup idea. I originally used my own chicken broth but I don’t have any this time. I brought this soup to share with others so to be on the safe side I made it vegan. For my protein I like assortment of mixed canned beans or lentils or quinoa or with whatever you have. I named it Festive brussels sprouts soup because it has a lot of red and green.

Oil ( coconut oil or olive oil)

1 diced onion

2 diced celery

3 garlic cloves

4 diced carrots

2 diced red peppers

1 liter broth

3 cups water

4 cups cut in half Brussels sprouts

salt

Dried Parsley to taste

Pepper

Prep the vegetables. In a large pot fry the onion for a couple minutes then add celery and fry for a couple more minutes. Add carrots, garlic, pepper and parsley, fry for a few more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

This makes a lot so half the recipe if it’s not feeding a lot of mouths. This is enough to feed my family twice and a little extra for my lunch.

Prepping takes a while so trim and cut the brussels sprouts in advance.

Awesome Healthy Brownies

November 12, 2015May 24, 2016 / livelycravings / 2 Comments

It sounds weird but it’s totally awesome and worth trying it out to prove it taste totally normal. I love making desserts that I can have seconds and eat without feeling guilty. Lowering the sugar content is the first place to start. Feel free to substitute some of the ingredients, thats the fun of it, making it the way that suits you. I have a feeling that these brownies will be famous once people try them!

1 3/4 cup cooked pureed green lentils

1 cup pureed pumpkin

2 eggs ( flax egg or chia egg ) 2 Tbsp ground flax or chia with 6 Tbsp of water

1/2 cup coconut sugar or another sugar

2 Tbps maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp arrowroot flour or tapioca flour
2 Tbsp coconut flour or flour of your
Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup cacao powder (raw cocoa) or cocoa powder ( I mix them together)

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Parchment paper a 9X11 pan.

Follow instructions on the lentil package. Puree the lentils and split the batch in half which will give about 1 3/4 cups. In a large bowl, prepare the flax or chia egg and let sit for 5 minutes. Blend in the sugar, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, pumpkin and lentils. Mix in the dry ingredients, then fold in half the walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter in the pan and top with the rest of the nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake for about 32 minutes, until a tooth pick come out almost clean. It is very important to cool the brownies completely in the fridge. The inside of the brownies are very gooey when warm and set when cooled.

Someone told me you can bring your old Halloween pumpkins to Wild at Heart and they feed some animals. It’s a nice idea!

Maple seeds and nuts

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 / livelycravings / Leave a comment

This is the quickest snack or treat to make when headed out the door and realize “shit” I should bring something. I have you covered, this will make people think you went out of your way and really it took you an easy 10 minutes. Nothing against making energyballs but the tedious task of rolling sometimes gets to me. Plus there is only one bowl and spoon to wash. It makes a great vegetarian alternative to breakfast and tops well on many dishes or muffins. Organic pumpkin seeds are twice the price so I occasionally splurge. Bulk barn is more affordable. I buy most of my nuts at Costco. Maple seeds and nuts are also an alternative to candy.

Maple syrup

Cinnamon

If you want another spice

Salt

Raw shelled Pumpkin seeds or Pecans. Other nuts work too.

Preheat oven to 350

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Wet seeds or nuts in a bowl with maple syrup and sprinkle cinnamon and or spice. I sometimes let them marinade.

Roast pumpkin seeds till some start browning about 6-7 minutes. Take out of oven and stir a little, it’s easier to eat when they are clumped together. They are so hot that they continue to cook so if you want to move the parchment paper to a cool spot to stop them cooking or let them hang out on the pan to cook a little more.

OK we should go over shelled pumpkin seeds. I find boiling them first helps the chewing process but I still find them to hard to chew.

I hope you had a nice Halloween and you enjoyed some pumpkin seeds. I moved so it was a little overwhelming. I finally have unlimited internet so all I need is time to sit.

I’m wishing everyone health and happiness!