
Christmas is tomorrow which means last minute shopping, preparations for Christmas dinner and tidying up the house so it won’t look like an indoor tsunami. Christmas morning will be just as busy with friends and family coming over and gift unwrapping. So you’ll need a quick and easy breakfast to prepare for the family before the clock strikes gift opening time. Ginger is the featured ingredient for our gingerbread waffles and eating ginger is quite possibly the best gift you can give yourself and here’s why.
Ginger, much like turmeric is powerful in antioxidants and it also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. The substance found in ginger is called ‘gingerol’ and it gives ginger its therapeutic properties. Ginger is commonly used to aide in digestion, reduce nausea and help fight the flu and common cold during winter months. Ginger is also used to kill bacterial infections, fungal infections, prevent stroke and heart disease, cure stomach ulcers and treat gastrointestinal reflux disease, manage and treat diabetes, prevent cancer, support the immune system and reduce pain associated with conditions such as dysmenorrhoea. Another great thing about ginger is how wonderful it tastes! It’s also very versatile you can add it to a curry sauce, sushi roll, morning green smoothie or tea. While we’re on the topic of teas please allow me to recommend the Bigelow lemon ginger herbal tea w/ a squeeze of agave syrup for sweetness, it is SUBLIME!

Gingerbread Waffles
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose, whole wheat or gluten free flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed for egg
- 2 tsps molasses
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup soy, almond or macadamia milk
Directions:
Combine and mix dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar. Add two tablespoons water to ground flaxseed and allow it to sit for one minute to create a flaxseed egg. Add the flaxseed egg, molasses, vanilla and milk then mix until all the flour lumps are blended. The consistency should be that of a thick smooth batter. Add more milk if needed. Base the waffle maker with oil, preferably coconut oil or vegan butter. Allow the waffle to cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.
Source: https://draxe.com/10-medicinal-ginger-health-benefits/
The smell of fall is in the air, and nothing says fall quite like a warm bowl of soup. Today’s special will not only warm up your hands but also your heart. I’ve always wanted to type that. Anyway, this soup is one of the best if not THE BEST soup i’ve ever had. I found this recipe in a vegetarian cook book that my sister was going to store away, but before she boxed it up she let me have a read. I snapped some photos of the recipe and I tweaked it (like I do every recipe I find) and it turned out AMAZING! There are quite a few super foods in this recipe that I could focus on and relay the benefits to you but it’s fall and a girls got to finish her school work. On my website (or below this post) will be photos and links showing you the benefits of eating squash, pumpkin seeds and maitake. Maitake, also known as “Hen of the woods” is a mushroom that is indigenous to North America, Japan and China. You can usually find this mushroom in the autumn months and they are mostly at health food stores or online. Although maitake has been used in Japan and China for thousands of years, it has only recently gained popularity in the states. The nomenclature that is “Hen of the woods” is derivative of it’s taste, some say it tastes like chicken which is perfect for vegans like myself.




https://wildfoodism.com/2014/09/29/5-unique-health-benefits-of-the-maitake-mushroom/
Autumn Squash Soup w/ Croutons
Serving size: 4
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 large peeled and cut sweet potato
- 1 medium size peeled and cut butternut squash
- 1 medium size peeled and cut acorn squash
- 1 tbsp honey or agave for the vegan version
- 1 fresh garlic clove
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 stock cube of vegetable or roasted vegetable bouillon
- ¼ cup cut yellow onion
- ¼ cup fresh maitake mushroom
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ tsp onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper
- 1 tsp cinnamon and cloves
- 2 fresh sage leaves, rosemary and thyme
- loaf of french bread or wheat bread for the vegan version
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
Soup Directions:
- Add sweet potato, butternut & acorn squash, garlic clove, onion, maitake, onion & garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, honey/agave cloves & cinnamon. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and bake on 500 degrees for 30-40 minutes until tender and slightly toasted. Add vegetable bouillon cube to ½ cup of warm water and stir until the cube dissolves.
- Once the vegetables are done take them out and let them cool for 5-10 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables, fresh sage leaves, rosemary and thyme to a blender or food processor along with coconut cream and vegetable stock. Blend until smooth and creamy, add water if needed.
- Transfer soup to a slightly oiled pot. Keep the heat on low so the soup won’t bubble. Cover the soup and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add pumpkin seeds and coconut milk swirl for garnish.
Croutons Directions:
- Cut the bread in any shape desired for your croutons. Drizzle the bread with olive oil, garlic powder and crushed peppers then bake in the oven for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.
Tokyo_CHOP—-
I briefly went over why Jackfruit is one of the healthiest and versatile fruits you can eat when I made the ‘Jackfruit carnitas on corn tortillas’ (see recipe HERE). Jackfruit promotes hair growth, clears skin, decreases wrinkle production, builds immunity, increases energy levels, improves digestion, maintains blood pressure, regulates blood sugar, improves eyesight, relieves asthma and prevents cancer, night blindness and ulcers. It doesn’t stop there Jackfruit also aids in bowel regularity, thyroid health anemia, colon cancer, prevents bone loss and lowers the risk of heart disease. You can find out more about the benefits of jackfruit HERE but you can find out how to make delicious dishes out of jackfruit here on this website!

Jackfruit whether cooked or uncooked is extremely delicious and nutritious. Although quite an odd looking fruit the flavor of jackfruit has been said to taste like juicy fruit gum and vice versa. The reasoning for the similar flavor is likely due to the chemical ‘Isoamyl acetate’ which is sometimes referred to as banana oil or essence of pear. That chemical is extracted from ripened fruits and then commonly used in bubble gum to give gum that salivating juicy flavor. So in essence ripened jackfruit is just as satisfying as gum but it doesn’t have that pesty aspartame like most gums have. It may be hard to come across fresh jackfruit at your local grocery store because it’s a tropical fruit, also known as the national fruit of Bangladesh. Try international markets or farmers markets. It’s more common to find canned, dried or packaged jackfruit. You can find them in some health food stores and online. The Jackfruit Company makes prepackaged jackfruit in a variety of flavors and you can do a store locator to find one near you HERE. Overall, jackfruit is used to make tuna melts, pulled pork sandwiches, tacos, crab cakes, meat balls and pizza toppings! The fresh jackfruit is tasty in tropical smoothies with banana, pineapples and coconut milk or dried as a snack. Once you try this recipe you will never go back to animal sandwiches. I PROMISE.
BBQ Pulled “Pork” Slider w/ Homemade Chips
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 can of “Native Forest Organic Young Jackfruit” or any organic canned jackfruit in a brine
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp diced white onion
- ½ tsp minced garlic and serrano or jalapeno pepper
- 1 tbsp cracked pepper & smoked paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder, garlic powder, ancho chili powder or chipotle chili powder
- 1/8 tsp smoked salt or sea salt
- 2 drops of Liquid Smoke Natural Mesquite
- 1 tbsp smoked olive oil or olive oil
- 12 mini slider buns
- ½ ripened avocado
- 1 cup broccoli slaw
- ¼ cup “Tessamae’s Organic Creamy Ranch” or any Vegan Ranch
- 2 tbsp “Annie’s Vegan BBQ Sweet & Spicy Sauce” and or “Famous Dave’s Devil’s Spit BBQ Sauce”
BBQ Chips
Recipe Ingredients:
- 2 potatoes sliced 1/8-inch (Yukon Gold or Idaho Potatoes)
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt & black pepper
Pulled Pork Directions:
Open canned jackfruit and drain. Pat the jackfruit dry to absorb any liquid. Once dry cut off the hard base of each jackfruit. When the bases are cut off, use a fork to press down on the jackfruit, they should then look like a pinkish form of shredded beef. Set aside your shredded jackfruit. In a bowl add your dry ingredients. Cracked pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. In a separate bowl add your wet ingredients. Lemon juice, vegetable stock and hickory liquid smoke. Dice up the garlic, onions and pepper. Add oil to a skillet set on medium to low heat then transfer the onions, garlic and pepper. Cook for until fragrant.
Transfer jackfruit to skillet, toss and cook for 1 minute before adding liquid ingredients. Let the liquid absorb into the jackfruit as it’s cooking. Add the dry seasoning and continue to toss and cook jackfruit. After 3 minutes of cooking jackfruit add your vegan BBQ sauce of choice. Continue to toss and cook until the sauce sticks to the jackfruit. You can add more BBQ sauce when plating the sliders for a extra burst of flavor. For the slaw simply add broccoli slaw, vegan ranch and mashed ripened avocado together then mix. Toast the mini bun sliders in an oven set to 325 degrees. Drizzle olive or coconut oil on the flat side of the bun and toast for 2-3 minutes.
BBQ Chips Directions:
Thinly slice potatoes (1/8-inch). Add potatoes to a bowl of water and let sit for 5 minutes. Soaking the potatoes will remove the starch so the potatoes with be more crispy! You’ll start to see a white film over top the water and potatoes. Drain and wash the potatoes then pat them dry to absorb the water. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the potatoes and then sprinkle the corn starch on both sides. Lastly, season both sides of the potatoes with salt and pepper. Add them to a lightly oiled pan and pop them in the oven on 400 degrees for 5 minutes on both sides (10 minutes total). You can add any flavoring you’d like. Maybe make some smokey BBQ chips with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder, chives and a dash of cinnamon. Once done add some more seasonings on top!
If you’re like me you enjoy a highly seasoned dish here and there. If you’re really like me you enjoy a spicy dish 24/7 365! Well, not only are spicy dishes salivating to the taste buds they also speed up the metabolism which aids in weight loss. Studies show that both spicy foods and flavorful foods help with weight loss and appetite control. (See studies HERE and HERE) Capsaicin, which is the phytochemical that gives peppers their spice, activates the sensory neurons in the endothelial tissues. Once the capsaicin activates our bodies neurons it triggers a metabolic affect. So that sweating sensation you feel when you eat spicy food is just your body sweating off the pounds. Capsaicin-rich diets have shown favorable effects on atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver, cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension and stroke risk. Certain foods and spices can prevent against gastrointestinal worms and parasites (see list HERE).
There are contradicting studies on whether or not spicy foods cause or worsen heartburn and gastrointestinal ulcers. Dr. Arnold Levy, a gastroenterologist in Washington and vice president for education of the American Digestive Disease Society is quoted as saying “people with chronic heartburn are likely to have less severe symptoms if they stay away from spicy foods, but this alone won’t diminish the episodes of heartburn. For ulcer patients, he said, avoiding acid-stimulating foods is important, but there is no evidence that eating spicy foods will slow the healing of ulcers.” Spice can range from mild to insane. Obviously not everyone can take every level of spice, so I added a Scoville Pepper Chart below so you guys won’t burn your mouth off cooking with me.

Eating certain spices will make you crave less sweet foods. Your taste receptors will pick up on all notes of flavor thus making you feel more satisfied. Cinnamon helps balance blood sugar, which can keep people feeling satisfied for longer. Unlike table sugar cinnamon contains nutrients like calcium, fiber and iron. Serrano, black pepper, turmeric and ginger also support your health and weight loss goals when ingested. All of which are in this delicious dish!
Checkout this delicious recipe for veggie chili and the benefits of using turmeric HERE.
Vegan Tikki Masala
Recipe Ingredients:
- ¼ cup peeled canned chickpeas (non-BPA lined can)
- 1 block of extra firm tofu cut in cubes
- ¼ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp shallot
- 1 ½ tbsp organic coconut oil
- 1 tsp minced ginger and jalapeño or serrano peppers
- ¾ cup brown basmati rice
- Naan bread
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut cream
- 2 tbsps Hot Madras Curry Powder
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, ground cardamom and smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper
- Tarragon for garnish
Directions:
Boil brown basmati rice in 1 ½ cup water. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Blot the tofu to take out the moisture. Cut the block of tofu into cubes. Season the tofu with 1 tbsp of Hot Madras Curry Powder and drizzle with ½ tbsp of coconut oil. Bake the tofu until brown (about 20 minutes). Once the tofu is done add remaining coconut oil to a skillet on low heat. Cook shallots, garlic and ginger until fragrant.
Transfer the tofu, jalapeño or serrano peppers and tomatoes to the skillet and cook together for two minutes. Pour in unsweetened coconut cream and add allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper & red pepper flakes, ground cardamom and smoked paprika with the 1 tbsp Hot Madras Curry Powder. Stir in all of the seasonings. Add chickpeas and simmer on low heat for five minutes. While it’s simmering heat up the naan bread with a little coconut oil in the oven until crisp. Serve with rice.
I went over the benefits of eating avocados in a previous recipe post,(see here) but you can never sing the praises of avocado too much. In that post I stated that avocados are loaded with healthy fats and all B vitamins except for B12, you find B12 in mostly meats and dairy products. Avocados are high in antioxidants which protect your body from free radicals (pollution, germs ect). Avocados are also great for pregnant women because they contain calcium, iron, potassium, and choline which help build the fetuses brain. The healthy fats found in avocado build the fetuses membrane and allow the mother to gain healthy fat. Avocados contain folate acid which is a key prenatal nutrient. Folate produces and maintains new cells in the fetus. It can also increase the absorption of the antioxidants you pair your avocado with by 2.6 to 15-fold. Some fruit and vegetables are “fat soluble” meaning that you have to pair fat with your carrots, apricots or kale in order for the nutrients to be activated. A 2005 study shows that eating a said avocado and carrot salad enhances your absorption of the carotenoid. You’re allowing avocado, a healthy fat to aid in the absorption of nutrition (see study here). Avocados have wonderful effects on the heart as well. Studies show that avocados reduce total cholesterol levels significantly, reduce blood triglycerides, lower LDL cholesterol by up to 22%.Increase HDL (the “good”) cholesterol by up to 11% (see studies here). In closing, avocados aid in weight loss due to its fiber content, increase heart health, supports development in the prenatal stage, activates the vitamins and minerals it’s paired with and it’s super nutritions and delicious! Avocados pair well with anything. Salads, breakfast sandwiches, sushi rolls, in smoothies and desserts! Don’t just stop there try avocado oil, top it on food as you would with olive oil.
Avocado Egg Rolls w/ Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce
Egg Roll Ingredients:
- 2 just ripe hass avocados
- Vegan egg roll wraps
- 1 lime
- 5 cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup red cabbage
- 1 diced celery stalk
- ¼ cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup diced jalapeños
- 1 green onion stalk
- Dash of sea salt and ground pepper
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbs flour/cornstarch
- 1 cup pure olive oil or avocado oil
Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 diced garlic clove
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Sriracha
Directions:
Cut avocados into medium size chunks into a bowl. Add diced cilantro, red cabbage, jalapeños, celery, green onion and carrots to the avocado. Add ground ginger, pepper, salt, soy sauce and a squeeze of lime juice to the mix then do a light toss. In a bowl mix together your water and flour. This will make a vegan paste to bind the ends. Grab your egg roll wraps and lay them flat in a diamond formation. Add the avocado mix in the middle horizontally. Once that’s added pull the bottom point halfway up, just enough to cover the avocado line. Add the water and flour mix to the top corner flaps to seal the roll. Fold the left and right corners inward and then roll to the top. It doesn’t have to be perfect as long as it’s sealed. There are usually directions on the back of the egg roll wrappers as well. Once they’re all rolled heat canola oil on medium temperature and toss them in once the oil is hot.
Sauce Directions:
Stir ketchup, Sriracha, pineapple juice, rice vinegar, diced garlic and toasted sesame oil together. Add ingredients to a skillet on low heat and stir in sugar. Stir until sauce thickens.






