Gogi Berry Balls (superfood cookies)

This is truly one of favorite recipes. It will give you energy and it high in nutrients. I made a batch of these when I ran Ragnar and it kept me going. I also eat these when I am pregnant because they taste so good and keep me going throughout the day.

2/3 cup agave nectar

1/4 soaked goji berried

1/2 cup cacao nibs (I use chocolate chips)

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup raisins

10 pitted dates

5 dried black mission figs

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup cocoa or carob powder

1 cup unsweetened coconut

Add all ingredients, except coconut, in a food processor and process until it is as creamy as you can get it. You can add a little water if necessary but don't add too much or it won't roll into balls. Next roll in coconut and chill in fridge or freezer for 30 min before serving.

Vegan Homemade Noodles

I have worked on tweaking this recipe to truly taste and feel like the homemade noodle I grew up with. This recipe has no eggs and uses Spelt or whole-wheat flour. I add it in a "Non-chicken" noodle soup base which I will post someday soon.

2 cups spelt or wholewheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs gluten (for binding)

2 Tbs Flax soaked in 2 Tbs water (egg substitute)

1/3 cup water

1 tsp olive oil

Mix the flour, salt and gluten in a bowl. Add the flax, water and olive oil. Knead until smooth and elastic. Let sit for 20 min. Now either roll out onto a floured surface and cut in thin noodle strips or use a pasta machine on 1/16 th inch thinness. Add these noodles to your soup and let them bowl for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. I have also air dried these on the side of a bowl and used them later. They never last long in our house.

Vegan Miso soup (not traditional :) )

I made this raw, because I was nursing a sick child back to health. I used my awesome blender. This could be done in a normal blender or in a pan and then blended or not blended at all. It's pretty flexible, but oh so easy! If you don't have a blender that you can use to heat your soup to just warm and not cook the garlic, then you can press the garlic in last (if this is important to you) and then let it sit for a few minutes to warm it.

I added the following to my blender:

5 1/2-6 cups of water

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

6-8 baby carrots

4 cloves of garlic (though less if it's your first time and you don't need it for healing :)

1 small onion

1/2-1 inch ginger or 2 TBS minced ginger like "Ginger People" minced ginger

3 heaping TBS of yellow miso (you could use any miso though)

2 heaping TBS bouillion (I used the homemade raw veggie boullion I made)

2 TBS Nama Shoyu/Braggs Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce

Turn on the blender until it is warm and not hot. Unless of course your blender doesn't work that way. Then do the garlic like I suggested and smear the miso at the bottom of the bowl (1/2 TBS) and then pour the soup into the bowl.

Enjoy! We surely did!

Yerra Moolee (Yellow Coconut Rice)

My family loves Indian food which was introduced to us by a friend from India. Here is a family favorite.

2 cups finely chopped onions

2-3 Tbs oil (enough to saute your onions in)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 Tbs ground or crushed fresh ginger root

2 green chilies (anaheim or jalepeno, if you're brave)

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 Tbs ground coriander

3 cups coconut milk (2 cans will do)

1 1/2 tsp Salt

2 Tbs minced fresh coriander leaves or 1 Tbs dry(optional but wow what a flavor!)

2 cups potatoes

1 cup cauliflower

1/2 cup peas

Serve over:

4 cups cooked rice (Basmati is the best)

This can be a fast recipe if you do the following:

Cut up cauliflower & potatoes and have them steaming or boiling?(not my favorite method) while you are working on the sauce.

Also, start cooking the rice.

Now, heat oil and saute the onions until soft, reduce heat and add garlic, ginger & the chilies for another 2 minutes. Add turmeric and coriander, stir rapidly for another 15 seconds and add coconut milk and salt. Turn off the heat and let the ingredients sit to allow time for flavors to blend. Do not cook the coconut milk or it will turn sticky and slimy (not good). Add the steamed veggies and the peas (you can add them frozen and they will turn that pretty green and be the perfect texture).

Your rice should now be done. You are ready to serve!

Salsa Verde

I am part of produce buying co-op. Sometimes I get a Mexican pack full of peppers, cilantro and tomatillos. This is the recipe that I make with the above ingredients.

1 lb fresh tomatillos, husked, softened in a pan of water, then chopped

1-2 fresh green chilies (jalepeno or serrano), deseeded and finely chopped

1 green bell pepper or large mild pepper like Anaheim or pablano, deseeded and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Salt to taste

I put the ingredients in a blender until smooth. This makes a large batch so I freeze what I cannot eat now. This is good with chips or in taco and tortillas.

Energy Bar (Yummy Snack)!

A friend of mine, who is also my visiting teaching partner, shared this recipe with me. She competes in bike rides and use this bar instead of Goo or power bars from the store. We like it for a snack and after a good run. My husband said it was addicting because of the rice puff crunch!

Energy Bar

Slightly warm these ingredients in a pan until they become mixed and more liquid:

1 cup of peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter

3/4 cup of honey or agave

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Mix in blender or food processor and add to above:

1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, almonds, or walnuts

1 cup dried fruit (apples, apricots, dates, raisins, craisins, or strawberries for example)

4 cups brown puffed rice

Mix all ingredients together and press into a 13 x 9 inch pan. I put plastic wrap over it and use a a cup to make it really smooth and compact. Refrigerate until firm.

You can cut into squares and wrap it individually if you want energy bars on the go. My family eats it out of the pan but I plan on taking it to snack on during the Ragnar.

Basic Fruit Smoothie

I taught a nutrition class and have had a lot of requests for a smoothie recipe. This is my favorite smoothie which makes 5 cups. One non-vegetable or fruit eater told his wife he would have this for breakfast every morning! It is so energizing and refreshing!

Fruit Smoothie

1 cup water

1 cup of greens (spinach or kale)

2 cups of fruit (I use a frozen blend of strawberries, pineapple, melon, peaches and blueberries)

1 ripe banana

Add the ingredients in the order listed. I recommend defrosting your fruit before mixing in the blender if you do not own a high power blender (BlendTec or VitaMix). The banana is the sweetener and adds a smooth texture. It is a must. Most grocery stores sell nice fruit blends. In the summer I use all of the fresh fruits growing in my yard. Go ahead and experiment. You can make the exact same mixes you see in the Smoothie stores if you pay attention to their ingredients.

Some fruits that are great to use:

Apricots

Peaches

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blueberries

Pineapple

Kiwi

Mango

Nectarines