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?
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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.
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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
This recipe looks great!
I wonder if you cooked the sweet potato ahead of time and mashed it before mixing it in if it would hold together better? I might have to experiment!
These vegan overnight oats sound yummy! Love the crunch part :).
That green juice looks so refreshing and cleansing!
When I saw lentil loaf, my heart skipped a beat b/c I remember that was the recipe that took you like 6 tries to get it right…and you went back for more…and tweaked it, again :) I cannot follow a recipe twice to save my life.
And I almost never make the same thing….why bother. It’s used content. lol
It’s so ironic though that you posted this b/c I actually re-made a dessert AND re-photographed it over the weekend. 99% of the time I never do that. In my blogging career there are probably only a half dozen recipes I’ve ever remade AND rephotographed. It just is so time consuming!
Oh and new dishes…I spent $30 bucks on dishes last week and posted about them…and got accused of having a shopping addiction. So I laughed when I read your opening line…yes, bloggers have new dishes. It’s our “job” :)
Happy birthday to your franddd! Slash loaves are my. favorite. I especially like the sound of sweet when there will likely also be a salty component:)
hahhaa how funny~my fiance told me once or twice that I never actually go back to an old recipe. that juice loooks sooo refreshing….
On an unrelated note…I made your ultimate oatmeal raison cookies last night. they are AMAZING. I was blown away! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
glad you like them!
I have the same problem! I make a lot of quick and easy recipes, but I can never seem to keep a list of them for when we’re searching. Making a list is a great idea!
I’ve been meaning to make this lentil loaf– it looks amazing. But first, I found out today that I’m back to work again (we’d been on a job freeze) so I’m off to make some baked vegan doughnuts!
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now, but never commented before.
That orange thing you added to your loaf? That would be a yam, m’dear. A sweet potato resembles a large, oblong, yellow potato. Maybe the terminology is different for our areas, but it’s one of my pet peeves; so many people can’t tell them apart! :-)
Keep the delicious recipes coming, Angela! I’m so glad to have run in to this blog.
Really? That’s odd! Why would the grocery store label it as a sweet potato?
Yams, Sweet Potatoes…..on going debate. In Canada the stores generally label the orange root vegetable Yams and the yellow, Sweet Potatoes. However Sometimes they both ring up at the till under Sweet Potato. In the US , the orange Yams are called Sweet Potatoes and the yellow ones, yams. I would have to agree that Sweet Potato would be a great name for the orange ones as they are very sweet. I have always called them Yams. Either way they are booth some of my favorite foods.
Thanks for this site, it has opened up a whole new world of healthy thinking and eating!! Your Date squares were a favorite even to my picky husband who asked last night at dinner, is this a real mac n cheese or you “special” one. I have done so much cooking and baking from your site that I have blown up my food processor. Shopping for a new one but don’t know which to pick. I want to know how many loads of dishes get done in your house? I do up to 5 on busy cooking days…………..and there is only 3 of us. Andrea
Strange, strange world we live in. Oh well. :-)
That looks interesting! And those vegan overnight nights sound exceptional :)
So happy for the new search bar, I was having to use google too!
I’m trying to train myself to incorporate a variety of fruits/vegetables into my diet. I tend to stick to the same ones… I shall begin this week with the avocado pasta I completely forgot you made :)
I’m off to make the VOO and make some drains sparkle!
Thanks for the massive post!
im drooling over the loaf right now!!!plus your pictures are always so amazing im jealous haha :)
This loaf looks amazing! I’m sure even though living with a food blogger is hard, Eric must reap the benefits more often than not!
I LOVE that recipe from Clean Food! And I like I love your idea to add sweet potato even more. I can’t wait to try out this version.
*I think I love.
I hated meatloaf as a child, but I love the looks of this lentil loaf! Maybe I will make it for my family in the near future…
oooh I must add this to my must make list! Looks delish!
Ange – I moved back home and am living next door to Allison’s parents again! Such a small world! My mom will be very excited to know she’s a new mommy :)
The lentil walnut loaf has been a staple since you first posted it. I use red lentils and they are usually mushy when they’re done so I don’t process them. I can’t wait to add sweet potato next time.
Love the search bar. so much easier to find recipes. thank you.
I LOVE lentil walnut loaf! I’ve made Jenna’s recipe for it before and would love to try yours- I love the sweet potato addition!
Kevin and I were having the same conversation. He asked when I was going to make carob cookies again and I said uhh when I can think of another way to modify them! There have also been multiple times where I’ve woken him up at the wee hours of the morning to help me with a do or die technical situation. It sure takes a lot of patience + love to be married to a blogger.
I love your lentil loaf recipe. I still have to give it a try, but it looks absolutely fab!