Recipe: Banana-Mocha Green Smoothie

Start your day tomorrow with this delicious nutritional powerhouse -- it's that good!Two helpful ingredient tips:

• Get as much if not all organic as possible (including the Plant Fusion protein, of which there is a conventional and organic variety)

• Organic chia seeds can be particularly expensive -- look to buy in bulk to save, or try Costco (they recently have been carrying Nutiva brand at a great price point)

Recipe: Banana-Mocha Green Smoothie

Serves:

Two servings

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (love 365 brand from Whole Foods)

• 1.5-2 cups chilled coffee

• 2 bananas

• A handful of ice cubes

• 1 scoop Garden of Life Grain Free protein (chocolate variety)

• 1 scoop Plant Fusion protein (chocolate variety)

• 1-2 tbsp Vitamineral Green by Health Force •2 tbsp chia seeds

• 2 tbsp cacao powder

• 1/2 - 1 tbsp moringa powder

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend completely and drink away!

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Recipe: Flourless Chocolate Torte with Ganache and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Crumbles

My mission was to create a Passover-friendly dessert that was also dairy-free. You would never know this rich, dark, fudgy chocolate torte is both gluten-free (flourless and without any leavening agents, so appropriate for Passover) and dairy-free... but it is.According to my taste testers, it was a hit (and I will say I liked it myself too!). The inside is kind of like a ridiculously chocolatey, dense brownie. It's definitely a recipe I'll go back to again and again for different occasions... or for no occasion at all... and it's very versatile in terms of what you can embellish it with on top (or even in the middle, though I didn't do that this time) or how you serve it. Here's what I did this time around:Flourless Chocolate Torte with Ganache and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter CrumblesWhat You Need:

• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate (dairy-free - just check that the ingredient list doesn't include any milk products) - you can also sub in some dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate

• 1 c Earth Balance butter substitute, with 1 tbsp separated

• 3 tbsp coconut oil (virgin, unrefined), separated

• 1 c turbinado sugar

• 1/4 white sugar

• 1 c unsweetened cocoa powder (dairy-free - just check that the ingredient list doesn't include any milk products)

• 6 large eggs

• 1 tbsp coconut milk (either from a carton or can - if from a can, make sure to shake/stir contents thoroughly first)

• 1 tbsp honey

• 2 tsp vanilla (separated)

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven (middle rack) to 375 F.

2. Prepare 9-inch springform pan with coating of coconut oil. Line bottom with parchment paper, and coat over it with oil as well. (Note: you can also make this recipe with an 8- or 10-inch pan, but you'll have to adjust baking time accordingly and of course the thickness of your finished product will vary as well).

3. Place 2/3 of the chocolate, 1 cup of Earth Balance (minus 1 tbsp) and 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a double boiler - you can make your own with a heat-proof bowl resting over a saucepan containing about an inch of simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). Stir the mixture often until the chocolate and Earth Balance are fully combined.

4. Transfer melted chocolate mixture to a large bowl; add turbinado and white sugars and mix well.

5. Add eggs one at a time, and whisk each well before adding the next. Stir in vanilla.

6. Using a sifter or fine colander/strainer, sift the cocoa into the bowl and stir until just combined.

7. Pour the batter in the pan and bake for about 40 minutes (doneness can be gauged based on when cake has risen and a thin crust has formed on top). Remove from oven when done and cool for 30 minutes in pan.

8. For the ganache, melt remaining third of chocolate, 1 tbsp of Earth Balance and 2 tbsp coconut oil in double boiler. Once melted/combined, remove from heat and stir in coconut milk, honey and remaining vanilla. Cool ganache mixture to lukewarm.

9. Once torte is cooled in pan, remove sides of pan and invert torte onto plate/platter (the bottom of the torte will become and remain the top). Lift off bottom of pan and carefully peel off parchment.

10. Slowly pour ganache onto center of cake top (do in quarter amounts to make sure you don't pool too much on at once) and gently spread out to edges in an even layer with a spatula. You can let some drip down the sides, as the drips will harden in formation (which I think looks nice!).At this point, this flourless chocolate torte is good to go as is! But, read on for a little something more...

11. I purchased two packages of Justin's peanut butter cups.These dark chocolate peanut butter cups are also vegan - and DElicious. I froze them and then smashed them into pieces with a rolling pin to sprinkle over the top of the torte. You can also use fruit or any other sweet garnish of your liking!

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Once you've completed topping your torte, it helps to refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before serving - makes slicing a little easier - but room temp is fine too. And if you have leftovers, cut up small pieces/slices and freeze them in individual plastic baggies - they can be eaten right out of the freezer, or slightly thawed. But for how tasty this is, don't expect leftovers to last TOO long!This was plenty rich, so I served it as is. But - in addition to what you top the torte with, you could also plate it with ice cream (coconut milk ice cream for dairy-free!) or non-dairy whipped cream (more on that later...) to keep it dairy-free.

Cold & Spicy Sesame "Salad"

Particularly when it comes to cooking (vs. baking), I like to look at recipes as a framework or starting point from which you can make adjustments or customizations to suit your taste preferences, dietary needs, ingredients you have at hand, etc. It can be tricky depending on what it is you're making, but this spicy sesame "salad" is a pretty fool-proof recipe that is easy to tweak. I've made it a couple of times now - a little differently each time - but have enjoyed the finished product of each attempt equally.It's teeters between light and hearty, and is quite filling and satisfying - thanks to the hefty dose of fiber and protein from the whole grains and vegetables. The hot sesame oil and Thai chili add a decent kick to this, so if you don't like spicy food, eliminate the pepper and use regular sesame oil instead of hot.What You NeedVegetables/Noodles

• About 5 cups shredded/chopped vegetables(This time, I went for a mix of julienne yellow and red peppers, finely sliced green onion, chopped broccoli, edamame beans, chopped red cabbage and shredded carrots. Other possibilities include zucchini, squash, tomatoes, tofu, bok choy, bean sprouts, etc.)

• 8 oz whole wheat linguine, cooked

• 2-3 tbsp sesame seeds

Dressing

• 5 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp water

• 3 tbsp natural peanut butter

• 2 tbsp hot sesame oil

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 tbsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tbsp honey*NOTE: to truly make this recipe vegan, swap out the honey for agave

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 minced small red Thai chili pepper, seeds and ribs removed (a green chili or habanero also does the trick)

• 1/3 cup peanuts

What You Do

1. Cook noodles according to instructions on package.*NOTE: Since this is a cold dish, when I drain the linguini in a colander I run cold water over the noodles as well to stop the cooking process and reduce the heat.

2. Prepare vegetables and combine in a large bowl.

3. Puree all of the dressing ingredients - minus the peanuts - in a food processor until smooth.

4. Add peanuts to food processor and blend until finely chopped.

5. Combine vegetables, noodles, dressing and sesame seeds in a large bowl, and toss to distribute the dressing evenly.

6. Refrigerate to chill, and then devour!

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Recipe adapted from PinchofYum.