Vegan Recipes and a Glo Bar Giveaway!

Life feels like it’s spinning at 6453 klicks per hour these days.

Some things are happening in our lives that I can’t tell you about just yet, but will soon. Don’t you hate when people say that? I do. I hate myself for saying that.

No one likes a tease, including me. But here I am being a tease. ;)

I can tell you it’s home and career related for us (not baby related), but that’s about all I can divulge at this time. Unless of course you get me drunk and spill the beans like I did to every breathing soul that I chatted with at the wedding. I’m a good secret keeper like that. Give me a 5.5% beer and I’ll tell you my life story.

The summer is speeding by though! Suddenly, it’s August 9th, I’m craving pumpkin like it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m in serious trouble if I don’t buy Eric a kick-butt birthday gift by the 11th. We’re also hosting some Irish family this week and capping the weekend off with another big family BBQ. The weeks are flying by!

Eric said, “Ange, don’t worry! You don’t have to get me anything for my birthday.”

Oh, what a relief. I thought I had to for a minute!

Wait. This is a trick.

I thought only women played the “you don’t need to get me anything” card. Sometimes Eric even plays the “you don’t need to get me a card” card. Clearly, he wants to test me. Or he hates my cards.

Or maybe he wants one of those sentimental homemade gifts this year.

Oh noes.

Does a homemade meal count?

I will scour Pinterest hoping inspiration strikes. If all else fails I’ll just make one of everything on my Food board and send him into a food coma until he forgets all about birthday gifts.

Yes, food coma it is.

Double Chocolate Torte, you’re next on the list.

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Cheezy Summer Pasta

This is a great recipe when you need to clean out your fridge! I just chopped up whatever veggies I had lurking deep in the crisper, mixed it with my go-to cheeze sauce, and threw in my fav cooked pasta. Add some chickpeas or beans if you are looking to amp up the protein. I love using Kamut or brown rice pasta because it’s high in protein. I can see this recipe working with many different ingredients, so have some fun and play around with it…you really can’t screw it up. Well, there was that one time when I…oh, never mind.

Cheeze Sauce:

• Click for recipe

 

Sautéed Vegetables:

• Roughly 4 cups chopped vegetables (I used 1 zucchini, 1.5 bell peppers, 2 cups grape tomatoes, 2-3 cups kale leaves)
• 2 tsp olive oil, for sautéing
• Herbamare or kosher salt + black pepper, to season
• 1-2 tbsp Earth Balance to stir in (optional)

 

Pasta

• Roughly 3 cups uncooked pasta (I used Kamut Rotini)

 

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add all cheeze sauce ingredients and process until smooth.

2. In a large skillet, add chopped onion and cook over medium heat for about 6-7 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another minute. Next, add the rest of the chopped vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, cook your desired pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

4. Add cheeze sauce to cooked veggies in the skillet and stir well. Finally, add drained pasta and stir again until combined. Stir in a tablespoon of Earth Balance if desired (I love doing this!). Heat and serve immediately. Makes about 6-7 cups. Pasta tastes best served immediately warm. If reheating, add a splash of non-dairy milk as the sauce tends to dry out in the fridge.

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I recently made this cheeze sauce for my family last week and everyone devoured it! They spread it on sandwiches and loved it as Mac n Cheeze. The kids and adults both gobbled it up!

Unlike birthday gifts for your significant other or alcohol and secrets, you can’t go wrong with this dish.

For dessert, I made something that looked much more naughty than it really was, made primarily from GROUND FLAX and a few other all-natural ingredients.

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Flax Glowballs

Inspired by 5 minute Almond Butter Chews and PInterest.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flax seeds, ground (or just use pre-ground)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground into flour
• 1/4 cup Sucanat (or other dry sweetener like white sugar), or more to taste
• 1 cup mashed banana (~2 lg.bananas)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, for rolling

Directions:

1. In a blender or spice grinder, grind the flax seeds and rolled oats into a flour like consistency. Alternatively you can use 1 cup ground flax if you do not have whole flax seeds. Add the ground flax & oat mixture along with the cocoa powder and Sucanat (or dry sweetener) to a large bowl. Adjust sweetener to taste.

2. In a smaller bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until smooth. Scoop the banana onto the flax/oat flour and combine well with a fork or spoon. This process will take several minutes to combine thoroughly.

3. With slightly wet hands, shape balls and roll in shredded coconut. Place balls on a parchment lined plate and freeze for 30-60 mins. If freezing for longer, allow to sit on the counter for 5 minutes or so to de-thaw slightly. Makes 10-12 large balls.

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I prefer to roll them in sweetened coconut because the flax balls aren’t very sweet and it gives them a nice pop of sweetness on the tongue, however unsweetened coconut works too. Freeze them for 30-60 minutes to set and enjoy!

The chopped almonds give them a little crunch too and the cup of flax lends an earthy, nutty flavour with a hint of sweetness. You know what else I love about them? They pack in a ton of healthy Omega oils that aid in glowing skin, hair, and nails. Hence the name, Glowballs. :)

Glo Bar Giveaway

This week, I’m busy baking, packing, and shipping Glo Bar orders and I thought a giveaway would be fun! I’m giving away a box of Glo Bars to a lucky reader this week because you guys just make me happy each and every day.

To Enter: simply ‘Like’ Oh She Glows on Facebook. (If you already liked my page, you are already entered!)

[I’m OK with bribes for food if you are.] :D

I will be choosing one random winner out of my Facebook fans on Wednesday. Goodluck!

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