Despite what you may think, living with a food blogger is not always peachy! Aside from the new dishes, plentiful leftovers, and a freezer packed with goodies, there are dishes, messes, computer troubles, steep grocery bills, minor breakdowns, and taste-testings gone wrong.
Despite all of this, Eric’s biggest complaint is that I rarely make the same dish more than once! In the name of new blog content, I try to make new recipes so I have fun things to post for you guys, but in the process I often leave fabulous recipes in the dust.
So last weekend, we came up with a few favourite recipes from our past and I said I would make a couple off this list each week to bring back some classics!
Currently on our favourites list:
- Ultimate Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf
- 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta (probably the most popular recipe on the blog!)
- Back on Track Wheatberry and Bean Salad (or other bean salad)
- Easy Creamy Tomato Barley Risotto
- Enchiladas with ‘cheeze’
- Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze
- Baked vegan doughnuts (Eric’s dessert request!)
The Ultimate Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf, which I adapted from the Clean Food Cookbook (original cookbook recipe is here), is first on the list. Last night, I set out to make the loaf once again, but I decided to add sweet potato for a fun twist.
How can you go wrong with sweet potato? You just can’t.
Ok, maybe there was that one time.
For brevity’s sake, I won’t type out the entire recipe again, but I will tell you what changes I made for this version:
Modifications to Ultimate Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf:
- 3/4 cup grated sweet potato
- 1/2 cup raisins (instead of 1/4 cup)
- Increased toasted walnuts to 1 cup (amped up the crunchy texture!)
- Omitted carrot and apple
- Added 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
- Increased thyme to 1.5 tsp
- Added pinch of garlic powder
First version is here.
We usually have applesauce and sautéed greens on the side, but I was out of both, so I made a salad.
I sprinkled romaine with Energizing Protein Power Salad, added some chopped tomato, and homemade Better than bottled balsamic vinaigrette. It was delish!
So which version did I like better?
The first version because it held together better. Taste wise? They both taste awesome. This version had a more crunchy and chewy texture thanks to the increased raisins and walnuts.
I’m thinking about all kinds of mix-ins you could use for this recipe. I’m sure it would work with many ingredients and it would probably be amazing with fresh herbs too.
For breakfast, I started with a super green juice blend.
Cleansing Green Juice
- 1 apple
- 1 lemon
- 1 cucumber
- 1 cup Dandelion (blended in after)
Instead of juicing the Dandelion, I blended it in my Vita-mix with the juice. My juicer (Breville Fountain Juice Plus) does not juice greens well and I find it to be a waste because not much juice comes out. I prefer to juice ‘worth while’ veggies only and then blend in any greens afterwards. I feel like I get more bang for my buck this way. The clean up for 2 machines is not great though so I don’t do this often!
Not long after, breakfast was calling my name from the fridge! Don’t you love it when the breakfast fairy prepares breakfast for you?
[print_this]
Strawberry Banana Crunch Vegan Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup regular oats
- 2 tbsp raw buckwheat groats (the ‘crunch’, optional)
- 1.5-2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 banana, chopped
- Pinch cinnamon
- 2-3 strawberries, chopped
- Maple syrup, to taste
Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge overnight or for at least 2 hours. Serve cold in the AM without cooking.
[/print_this]
Yum.
Updates:
1) In case you missed it on the weekend, I have a brand new Search bar installed on the right side bar of the blog. If you have tried searching the blog before you probably were frustrated that it didn’t work well. This new one is amazing and I hope that you will be able to find things much quicker! I’m very impressed with it so far. Go check it out and give it a try!
2) My Recipes page is up to date from the past week.
3) Check out this post for a homemade & all-natural drain cleaner (only two ingredients!) that I’m loving lately.
Happy Birthday to my Best Bud Allison! She is a new mommy, a new dentist, and one of the most awesome girls I know. XO
I was thinking today how I should make this tomorrow, and now, with you posting this recipe, specially with sweet potato, I just have to!
I’ve had your lentil loaf bookmarked for a while now and I think it’s high time I got around to trying it….& with sweet potato?!?? I’ll definitely be using that add-in!!
I rarely make the same thing twice either, and that irritates the heck out of my husband! Whoops!
Could you put together a recipe category for things like salad dressings and sauces? I know I’ve read about tasty sounding salad dressings, but the only one I can ever find is the sweet and tangy dressing because it’s the only one that appears in a post title on the recipe page!
Just printed the creamy avocado pasty recipe – dinner tonight! Thanks! BTW – you really are so luminescent…completely “glowing” in the picture with your friend. That really inspires me to eat better!
I think it’s about time I give this recipe a shot! Never made my own lentil/nut loaf but they are sooo tasty I know it’s high time I try it!!! :D
I tried a variation of the lentil loaf last week. It was SO good! I am def. going to be trying this version too. Now I want to try those overnight oats. For some reason strawberries in it sounds so good right now.
Ha– that’s a funny complain to have, but you know– it makes sense!!!
I am all for bringing back the favorites. I started doing a Recipes Worth Repeating series on my blog, but somehow got busy making new things. I need to hit repeat! My family misses the winners!
The lentil loaf looks so great but a bit too time consuming for when I’m hungry RIGHT NOW. =)
The lentil loaf looks so great but a bit too time consuming for when I’m hungry RIGHT NOW. =)
I always cook new things instead of going back to the old favorites too!
My husband says the same thing! I never make the same thing twice unless he really requests it. :D
Love that you bring back some of your fave classics! I’m pretty new here, so now I get to catch up!
That lentil loaf looks sooooo good! I may have to make that for the boyfriend in the near future! Your pictures are always so colorful and beautiful! :)
Any recipe with walnuts and sweet potato in the title immediately has my attention! This version of the loaf looks soooo yummy!
That looks sooooo good! I’ll have to try it when my husband is out of town. It’s not his cup of tea, but it is mine!!!
You just took one of my favourite recipes of yours and made it even BETTER!! I didn’t even think that could be possible! Sweet potato is my new love. :)
I absolutely loved your vegan lentil walnut loaf. I only have one slice left in the freezer and need to make more soon. Your juice looks very refreshing!
I know what you mean about not making the same thing twice…
Love the addition of sweet potatoes to the lentil loaf