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Easy No-Strain Cashew Milk {+ Video} + bonus flavor ideas
Are you curious how-to make delicious cashew milk? While nut milks and other non-dairy milks can seem intimidating and like far more work than they are worth, this definitely doesn’t apply to my Easy No-Strain Cashew Milk. Just two ingredients, a minute or two of blending and that’s it you’re done! Be sure to scroll down for my tasty chocolate cashew milk recipe along with a few other super tasty, fun flavor ideas.
In typical “food blogger” fashion, by way of photos and personal anecdotes it make appear that this recipe is far more complicated than what it actually is. Don’t get it twisted, this is THE MOST simple recipe I may have ever posted. Spoiler alert: to make cashew milk, you need raw cashews and filtered water. THAT’S ABOUT IT! I generally prefer to add a pinch of quality sea salt, sometimes I will sweeten it or add vanilla and I really love my homemade Chocolate Cashew Milk – but in all it’s simple glory you just need water and raw cashews.
I particularly love this cashew milk recipe, because it’s no-strain! No need to fuss with filtered or straining, no nut milk bags. Just blend and enjoy. It’s creamy, rich, silky and super versatile.
You all have known for years that I generally prefer to avoid dairy, I don’t have an intolerance or allergy, I simply feel much better without it. I do OK with some cheeses in small amounts, along with sheep and goat’s milk from time to time, but there is nothing in me that ever feels a desire to sit down with a glass of cold dairy milk. We were never allowed to drink milk as children. My mom was ahead of her time. She knew that dairy can be inflammatory, that the lactose can be troublesome for most folk’s digestion and it can also exasperate respiratory issues.
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Creamy Paleo Tortilla Soup {Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free}
This authentic, blended Creamy Paleo Tortilla Soup inspired by a recent trip to the Islands of Loreto in Mexico, gets an update thanks to grain-free cassava tortillas. If you are cool with corn, go for it babe, it’s one simple swap out, either way. The creaminess of the soup comes not from any dairy, but from the crispy tortillas strips being pureed right into the broth with everything else! Skip out on any cheese to make fully paleo or for a more authentic (and primal) version, add cubed or crumbled cotija cheese or queso fresco. Besides additional crispy tortilla strips, we like to serve ours topped with a drizzle of homemade Salsa Macha, avocado, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, Mexican cheese if we’re feeling nasty!
It’s been a busy couple of months of travel for me, but as usual, I have returned home feeling inspired, refreshed and excited to create. As I have always shared with you guys, getting away and traveling, at times, can be a disruptor to my daily routines, my healthy habits and can sometimes keep me from feeling like my best self. So, as you can imagine I especially love the trips that allow me to maintain my eating preferences, my activity level and fill me up full of magical experiences and ideas to come back and share with all of you.
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Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup {dairy-free}
This Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup is the ultimate in flavor. With aromatic spices in a creamy, rich tomato broth it’s the perfect comfort food.
I refuse to subscribe to the notion that there is a “Soup Season”. Sure, winter and fall are much more conducive to warming, comforting bowls of the steamy stuff, but there is something so cozy about soup and it can often make for a nice, one pot, fuss free meal, no matter the season.
As a lover of all things Indian-spiced I am constantly experimenting with dishes that are inspired by those very distinct spice blends. Since my husband is the exact opposite and prefers to avoid many of those spices, like the plague (he had a bad Indian restaurant food poisoning incident that forever ruined him) I dont get to play nearly as often as I would like.
On a rare night at home alone, recently, I was experimenting with a creamy garam masala spiced dish, somewhere between chicken makhani (butter chicken) and tikka masala, I was making the sauce creamy with coconut milk instead of heavy cream and as I was adding the tomatoes and broth, I found I had gone a little too far with the liquids, my sauce turned more to a soup and I simultaneously fell in love with this accidental dish. Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup. Read the rest of this entry »
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Raspberry Vinaigrette
Happy Friday, friends! I am still away on a little anniversary getaway with my husband. We’re in Palm Springs soaking up all of the desert goodness, celebrating 9 years of marriage and 13 years since our first blind date. We try for a vacation every year for our anniversary, it’s so important for us to stop the clock, step out from our busy lives and just celebrate each other for a few days. Especially since we both work from home, going away is a really nice opportunity to just be with each other, without the distractions of our work and life. We get to relax, talk, reminisce and most excitingly, nap in the middle of the day, just because we can.
I think one of the (many) things I love most about our love, is that Mark still has the ability to surprise me, even after all of these years. He’s always keeping me guessing and on my toes and he is always willing to try something I made, just to support me.
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Comforting Mushroom Soup
Something strange has happened in Southern California over the last couple of days…we had weather!! Yes, more than just sunshine and blue skies. We had violent and incredible thunderstorms lighting up the skies, pouring rain with the biggest rain drops you ever did see and heavy winds, bending those strong and sturdy palms, to and fro. It was incredible, chilly and so cozy. I miss days like this. When the skies open up and bathe us in this sweet and necessary rain, I am beyond grateful not only for the obvious, but also for the reminder and the excuse to slow down. I also find myself reminded of the importance of soul-warming, comfort food.
I have been making this comforting mushroom soup on and off throughout this winter. It’s so hearty, rich and earthy without being too heavy or indulgent. I also find that like most of my recipes, it’s also quite versatile. You can make it vegan by utilizing just the flavor of a beautiful mushroom broth and the meatiness of the varying mushrooms as the base, or you can, as we opted to here, add in some beautiful chicken stock and a little shredded dark meat chicken, for additional flavor and a source of protein for a complete meal.
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Roasted Potato, White Carrot and Garlic Soup
Hey guys! Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were perfect and amazing. After a busy final few months of the year, I decided to take the holiday time away from all the work and projects and simply enjoy my husband and our life. Really relish in the magic of the holidays, one of my favorite times of the year. We went to Palm Springs for a few days, went on hikes, to the beach, lots of walks and bike rides in the neighborhood and all that good stuff. It was a break I needed very much and I was happy to get grounded in what really matters this time of year.
I came back to it all yesterday feeling refreshed and excited for this new year ahead. I had time to get organized and focus on what my goals are for this new year. It always feels good to step away and bring an awareness and clarity to the important things in life.
I made lots of comforting and healthy food during the break, with just a little indulging here and there. We worked our way through all of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) goodies from our box from Beachgreens. With these beautiful organic Russian banana fingerlings potatoes and the unique organic white carrots, I was simply going to roast them, one of my favorite ways to enjoy veggies this time of year, but with the cooler weather a bowl of comforting soup was calling my name. I had some chicken bone broth in the freezer from one of the chickens we got from our farmer a while back, so it was perfect.
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Orange Cranberry Coconut Smoothie
This time of year while most folks are looking for holiday cookies and sweets, I find myself seeking out comforting, healthy foods that I feel good about eating. Don’t get me wrong, I do indulge a little here and there, but generally speaking I find myself craving fresh fruits and vegetables and foods that will give me the energy I desperately need this time of year.
I had an abundance of fresh cranberries on hand from our Thanksgiving feast, so I thought a seasonally-inspired smoothie was the perfect way to use some of them. We have beautiful, juicy fresh oranges ready to be picked from our tree and I always have bananas and Medjool dates in the freezer ready for smoothie-making, so this sweet and tart, creamy, vegan, spiced Orange Cranberry Coconut Smoothie was born. Read the rest of this entry »
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Creamy Power Greens Smoothie
In case you haven’t heard, it has been unbelievably hot here in Southern California, as of late! I know, I know, for those of you already dealing with overnight frosts and possibly even snow, I know you don’t want to hear about it. But, with temperatures near (and over) 100º for what seems like nearly two weeks – I am pretty much over it.
The worst part is that I have absolutely zero desire to eat or cook in this heat. Nothing is appetizing to me and in turn, when I am not properly nourishing my body with the healthy nutrients and other good things that it needs, I am left feeling tired and totally lacking in energy – it’s a vicious cycle.
Since a couple of scoops of freezing cold ice cream, as good as it sounds, isn’t an appropriate meal nor does it contain a bit of anything healthy, I decided to come up with a green smoothie, on the fly, that would satisfy those cravings but actually provide some sustenance.
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Spring Green Salad with Honey Dijon Almond Butter Dressing (Gluten-free and Dairy-free with Vegan Option)
After creating the big Tutorial Tuesday post last week for How-to Make Nut Butters, I have, as you can imagine, been finding myself needing to get very creative with all of the different nut butters I have in my fridge. A girl can only have so much nut butter on bananas or in her smoothies. I have been having a lot of fun especially, creating savory unexpected recipes with the different nut and seed butters.
I thought how wonderful a salad dressing made with a creamy nut butter sounded and I got to looking at what I had on hand to get creative with. I have always loved honey dijon dressings and those flavors all match so wonderfully with the almond butter. This dressing is thick, creamy and zingy with a bright freshness from the fresh orange juice (from our own tree, mind you). This dressing has quickly become a favorite around here. I have already made it three times since last week.
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Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette {Gluten-free, Vegan}
Last month while in my yoga teacher training program, I basically lived on salads every single day for lunch. They are such a simple thing to pack up in the morning and with all the many variations, I never find myself getting sick of it, even if you are having it every day. Some days I added grilled chicken or cooked lentils, often I would skip out on cheese, but other days I would add some crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese. I would add nuts or seeds, dried fruit or sun dried tomatoes, etc. It was quite fun and always delicious.
I started out the month by making my own dressings and vinaigrettes and then on a trip to Whole Foods in a moment of weakness and desperation, trying to save some time where I could, I bought a couple different bottles of organic dressings and vinaigrettes. Of course, as soon as I tried all of them, I realized I could easily be making these myself and I realized how silly it was to buy store-bought dressings, especially because even when organic, they have far more ingredients than they should, many of which as strange preservatives.
I had bought a yummy creamy, vegan, smokey tomato dressing that I really loved and instantly realized I should be making this myself. And often. This Smokey Tomato Vinaigrette is creamy and full of so many amazing flavors. It is of course, great on a salad, it would make an amazing marinade for chicken or fish, it’d be great on a pasta salad and it’s delicious drizzled on your favorite sandwich or wrap. I bet it would also be incredible as a marinade and/or dipping sauce for these grilled artichokes, too. Tomorrow I am sharing a yummy recipe for a plant-based sandwich alternative and this is the perfect condiment on it. So keep a look out for that. Read the rest of this entry »
