This past fall I had the privilege of taking a 10 year college reunion vacation with my college roommates/best friends. We decided on Portland because it was a new place for all of us and one that we have heard great things about in the past. For the first time in my life, my high expectations were truly exceeded, Portland was MAGICAL. If you know me well, you know that I am quite shy and that I don’t often talk to strangers, well not Portland Danielle, I was having full on conversations with uber drivers, feeding the homeless with our leftovers from various dinners, asking baristas what their favorite drink was on the menu, actively looking for an opportunity to meet the members of my favorite band, Ages and Ages, and smiling while walking in the rain … Portland. Was. PERFECT! We stayed in the cutest AirBNB along a street packed with culture, unique shops, vegan and vegetarian restaurants, a kombucha bar and a double decker bus that was actually a tea place! We stayed up late doing nails, sipping tea, chatting and acting like we did when we all lived together. One of my roommates Traci is an incredible artist and she documented the joy of that trip perfectly in one of her daily drawings. She creates a Daily “Quipple” which is an inspirational drawing or quote and if you sign up, it gets delivered to your inbox every single day! In college she would literally document every single day with drawings of “us” that we housed in “the book.” This was one of her inspirations for creating the Daily Quipple! Please check it out, she’s AMAZING! Click on the picture to see more of her amazing work and to learn more of her story!!
Anyway, back to food. My other roommate/best friend, Olivia, found this great smoothie place for us to have breakfast at and we went every day while we were there. I ordered the same smoothie each day and have been dreaming about that smoothie since our trip to Portland. It has been my mission to recreate it as best as I could... so, today, I decided to and.. WOW, I did it! This is my dedication to Portland, my soul city, and one that showed me one of the best vacations of my life!!! Cheers to soul friends, soul cities, health and happiness!
Ingredients (makes one large or two small smoothies)
1 frozen banana ½ cup frozen strawberries 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk 1-1.5 T creamy peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 acai packet (can be found at Trader Joes in the frozen aisle) Sprinkle of raw hemp seeds Directions to enjoy right NOW!
Directions to Make Ahead
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I always love a good recipe that sneaks in vegetables and other nutritious ingredients without sacrificing any of what we all crave. These brownies are inspired by the leftover sweet potato that has been sitting on my counter since last weekend + a strong craving for chocolate! My friend Dave got me interested in Cacao powder and I decided to give it a try in these brownies as well and they turned out GREAT! The best part of these brownies is that they are AMAZING as leftovers straight from the fridge. They take on a fudge like quality and can be enjoyed all week!
Ingredients 1 cup almond flour ½ cup of Cacao Powder (or cocoa powder) ¾ cup of coconut sugar or white sugar 1tsp baking powder 2 flax eggs (2T ground flax + 6T water) ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk ¾ cups of chocolate chips (make sure they are vegan) ½ cup coconut oil ½ tsp vanilla extract ⅓ cup creamy almond butter 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato **see notes Directions
NOTES *** These brownies are moist and fudgy, they may look like they are not done, but they are! Make sure you let them cool completely before cutting, eating and enjoying. ** SUPER EASY Sweet Potato Mash
For those of you who don’t know, I come from an amazing and rather large extended Italian family. My great grandma, Nana, and grandma, whom we call Mima, along with my mom and all of her five brothers are amazing cooks! When I was growing up we used to gather at Mima and Papa’s house for weekly Sunday dinners where we almost always had pasta. I loved Spaghetti dinners so much and these dinners have always been some of my favorite childhood memories. Before I left for college many years ago, I asked my Mima to show me how to make her marinara sauce. She told me that fennel was the KEY to the tanginess, and that red wine really added depth of flavor. I hope you enjoy this simple Red Wine Marinara sauce that is even BETTER the next day and therefore perfect for your Make Ahead of Monday needs! Bon Appetit!
Ingredients
½ yellow onion chopped 2 cloves of garlic minced 1T olive oil 4 - 16oz cans of organic tomato sauce 2 tsp crushed fennel seed (or more for taste) 2 - 3 T of dry red wine 2 tsp dried basil or 4 tsp chopped fresh basil Dash of salt 
Directions
I have a very fond memory of going to Chicago with my cousins from Arizona, my sister and my mom and grandma a few years ago. We stopped at Eataly and enjoyed an Italian lunch and then wandered around the sweets floor. We happened upon a drink that featured basil and blueberries and I never forgot how refreshing and energizing that made me feel. I decided to recreate it at home and have been making it ever since for a healthy source of immune boosting antioxidants. I usually make this in the summer when I have an abundance of fresh basil in my garden and when fresh blueberries are in season, however, in light of the Coronavirus and flu that have us all feeling panic, I thought that it would be a good time to share this tonic. Blueberries are some of the most nutrient dense berries and I love using wild blueberries because they are even richer in antioxidants!! (see article)
Even though most of us are not headed into our normal work routine this week, I thought I it was still important to share a recipe in hopes that it could be helpful for your week(s) ahead at home. Taking care of our bodies is so incredibly important during this time of uncertainty. Stay healthy everyone! 
Ingredients (makes one tonic) 1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries ¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves Juice from ½ of a lemon 1 cup of filtered water 2 ice cubes Directions Place all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high until juice like consistency is achieved. Enjoy immediately or assemble in the evening, store in the fridge and re-blend in the morning. 
Valentine's day is right around the corner and I always try to do something special for my sweetie. He loves when I make breakfast so I began experimenting with using warming gingerbread spices in pancakes and it turned out wonderfully! I can’t wait to make a double batch for him on Valentines morning and to save the leftovers for our week ahead! We found that these are best served with a drizzle of maple syrup but you can get creative with berries, or powdered sugar! We hope you enjoy these Gingerbread spiced pancakes!
Ingredients
½ cup of almond milk ½ tsp apple cider vinegar 1 egg whisked 1 Tbsp molasses ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree 1 Tbsp coconut oil or other vegetable oil ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder ¾ cup of oat flour (to make your own, add rolled oats to a blender and blend on high until flour forms) ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ⅛ tsp cloves ⅛ tsp nutmeg
Directions (makes 6 pancakes)
Recipe inspired and adapted from Minimalist baker (gluten free protein pancakes) 
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
My most favorite recipe for pancakes is actually one of the healthiest versions I have ever come across. These Peanut butter Protein Pancakes from Minimalist Baker have been our go-to ever since I first found the recipe about a year ago. However, when I made them for my family, my sister said she did not like the peanut butter taste. That got me thinking about possible modifications to this recipe. Today I found a solution that we loved, I adapted this recipe to eliminate the nut butter and added … you guessed it, PUMPKIN! :-) Hey, it’s still fall so I’m allowed to eat as much pumpkin as possible right? These still contain protein from the ground up oat flour and the added egg! They are also gluten free, and CAN be made vegan if you prefer. These pancakes last 3 days in the fridge, and are great reheated for your Make ahead of Monday needs! Ingredients ½ cup of almond milk ½ tsp apple cider vinegar 1 egg whisked (or one flax egg if making vegan) 1 Tbsp maple syrup ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree 1 Tbsp coconut oil or other vegetable oil ½ tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder ¾ cup of oat flour (to make your own, add rolled oats to a blender and blend on high until flour forms) 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice ¼ tsp cinnamon Directions (makes 6 pancakes)
Recipe inspired and adapted from Minimalist baker |
AuthorI am a music teacher, professional musician and a vegetarian. I created this site with the mission to share recipes that make life a little more organized, and enjoyable! Archives
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