black bean collard wraps

Three things I love: mexican food, hummus, and collard greens, all wrapped up into what I like to call: collarditos.

I got some beautiful collard greens at the farmers market this week so I have made several different kinds of collard wraps. And I still have some left! I think that means tonight I'll make miso soup with collard greens and.... what do you think, mushrooms?

Anyway, I wanted to make a mexican version of the collard wrap, like a burrito, or "collardito" if you will. I started with a black bean hummus which I have made several times but I don't think I have shared the recipe! So here it is, hummus with a mexican flare:

• 1 can of black beans
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder

Place everything into a food processor and blend until smooth! Easy as that! Now you have another hummus recipe right at your fingertips! This dip is great with corn chips so save the extra for snacking!

Now for the collarditos. Along with the hummus you will also need:

• 5-8 collard leaves, depending on size and how much filling you make
• veggie filling: I sauteed some onions with grape tomatoes and 1 cup of corn kernels
• avocado
• hot sauce of your choice

Start by de-stemming the collard leaves. Lay the leaf lighter side up, so the stem sticks up in the middle of the leaf. Carefully shave the stem down until it is as close to leaf thickness as possible.  

Now layer on the hummus, veggie filling, and avocado. Roll the collard leaf like a burrito, tucking in the ends first and rolling away from you. 

Top it off with some hot sauce and you are good to go! I served mine with a little brown rice as well, to fill up the hubby :)

deconstructed sushi salad

As you have probably guessed, based on earlier posts, I love sushi. I have played around quite a bit with vegan versions of brown rice sushi, quinoa nori wraps, tofu musubis, and most recently sweet potato sushi. But all of these are a little time consuming.... which is why the deconstructed sushi salad was born. It really isn't deconstructed, considering that it was never constructed in the first place, but you get the picture.

This dish is awesome because there is no cooking (except for the rice, which I cooked ahead of time anyway), and no tedious rolling or constructing of a sushi roll! It is all thrown in a bowl over lettuce! And what better to dress it with but my cirtus soy dipping sauce that I most cleverly adapted into a dressing by simply adding 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil!

deconstructed sushi salad + citrus soy dressing

• red leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
• brown rice, cooked and cooled
• fresh veggies, chopped or sliced
• tofu, cut 
• furikake (seaweed and sesame) 
• or you can cut a sheet of nori into small strips 
• citrus soy dressing
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/4 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp orange juice
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

For the dressing: put everything into a little jar, lid it, shake it up. 

Layer your salad however you want, or just toss it all together, but this is what I did:

lettuce

brown rice

fresh veggies; avo, cucumber, carrots

tofu

furikake (or nori) and dressing! 

*note: dressing recipe makes enough to dress two salads

Seriously fresh, filling, and no rolling required.

smashed garbanzo salad sandwiches

Lunch time can be a repetitive time. The same veggie wrap as yesterday? Break the boredom with this easy sandwich alternative that can be prepared ahead of time and ready for the whole week. It's also so adaptable! Try it with different veggies and curry spices, or kalamata olives, basil, and tomato for an Italian twist.

This isn't one of my recipes though... The original recipe is from the brilliant simple veganista. I have made all of her chickpea salads and they all make for a great lunch! I made these sandwiches two weeks ago too! Tom and I have just moved to Oahu and are living out of our suit cases in a tiny studio and I made these right before we moved out of our place on Maui. I probably won't be creating anything of my own in the kitchen for a little while because we don't move into our own place until July first. Until then, I am trying to eat healthy on the go and improvising with the little space that we have. Good thing there is endless surf, a great hill to run up, and I just got a bike to trek around the city! Summer of fitness here I come!

Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, are packed with protein and fiber to keep you fuller longer. Paired with whole grain bread and fresh veggies, this turns into a complete meal!

smashed garbanzo salad

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 1 Tbsp tahini
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon or lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Ruth's roasted veggie soup

This recipe comes from my beautiful sister-in-law, Ruthie. She is a full-time mother of two and the creator and visionary of Tap In, a lifestyle brand. Ruth has definitely tapped into something amazing with her roasted veggie soups. This night we made a roasted broccoli and cauliflower soup but feel free to try out an assortment of other veggies! Carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or even roasted tomato and garlic soup! This recipe is a great soup guide that can be adjusted and adapted to your liking, or to whatever veggies are in your fridge.

• 2 small heads of broccoli 
• 1 head of cauliflower 
• or your choice of other veggies, enough to cover a cookie sheet
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
• salt and pepper 
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 can coconut milk

Roughly chop broccoli and cauliflower and place in a large ziplock bag.  Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper to the bag, seal and shake to coat veggies. Spread the veggies out on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 20-25 min (depending on the vegetable, you might need to roast for a little longer).

Meanwhile, on the stove top, saute the onion and garlic with the other Tbsp of olive oil until soft and transparent.

Add roasted veggies, sauteed onion and garlic, and 4 cups of veggie broth to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and transfer to soup pot. Add the coconut milk and heat to serve! Ta-da! 

It's easy, fast, versatile, and super healthy! What more could you ask for? Thanks Ruth for the great soup inspirations!

Maka by Mana

Well, it's official, I'm unemployed. I have worked my last shift at Maka and I am all packed up and ready for life on a new island! Oahu here we come!

A quick update: I have lived on Maui for nine years now. I just finished my second year of school at UH Maui College, completing my prerequisite classes for the Food Science and Human Nutrition program at UH Manoa on Oahu. My husband, Tom, and I just moved out of our house and are packing up our cars to ship over! A new chapter or our lives is about to begin with a new island to call home. We are both super excited for the adventure and nervous for life in the big city. It will be a big change from slow and sleepy Maui!

I have been working for the past six months in a new restaurant in Paia: Maka. It's owned by Mana Foods, the best grocery store in the world. Maka is a "Live & Raw Foods" restaurant with a completely vegan and gluten free menu. I am so lucky to have been working in the kitchen since it opened; learning, adapting, and improving with this amazing restaurant!

I have been so inspired by the recipes I have learned from Maka that I make them at home and use them as a guide for new creations. I finally went in and ate as a proper customer rather than a kitchen employee and wanted to share my experience. If you ever find yourself hungry and on Maui's north shore, dip into Maka by Mana and get nourished.

Along with daily flavors of coconut kefir ice cream and pies are daily soups. Today we were pleasantly refreshed with a cup of chilled Thai butternut soup to start our feast.

The next course was quite the spread; Kiawe chili with cashew sour cream, coconut cream cheese stacker with house made sour kraut and raw rosemary bread, and the yet-to-be-release raw tacos!

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the juice bar! Complete with killer combo juices, superfood smoothies, local wheatgrass shots, and local Big Wave Kombucha on tap! 

These raw tacos aren't on the menu yet but because we are VIP, we got a little sneak peak ;) 

And then, just when we thought we couldn't eat anymore.... pitaya coconut kefir pie. We obviously ate it. 

Check out Maka by Mana on their website, Facebook page, or on instagram @maka_by_mana. And don't miss out on this goodness if you are in Paia, you'll regret it! 

breakfast cookies

As I have expressed many times before, breakfast is my favorite meal. I just love getting up in the morning and nourishing my body first thing. And drinking coffee. Morning rituals help me get out of bed and prepare me for the day ahead. Every breakfast should be packed with macronutrients, vitamins, and fiber (and coffee, of course) to get you going and keep you going.

I made these cookies for our staycation in Kaanapali last weekend. They are great for a breaky on the go, an after surf snack, or with an afternoon tea. (And did I mention they are especially good with morning coffee?) They are not too sweet, not too heavy, but filling and delicious.

This recipe is adapted and expanded from the Savvy Naturalista.

breakfast cookies

• 1 cup pineapple juice (or almond milk, applesauce, or other fruit juice)
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 2 bananas (or 4 or 5 if you are using teeny tiny apple bananas like I had)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2  cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the pineapple juice and chia seeds. Set aside. Mash the bananas and mix in the coconut oil, maple, vanilla, and salt. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (oats, flour, and baking soda). Add the chia seed mixture to the banana mixture. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet, about half at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Now fold in the raisins and sunflower seeds.

Spoon cookie dough onto a lined cookie sheet. Shape the cookies with the back of the spoon, they won't expand or even change shape in the oven so you can have them close together. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are just getting golden.