recipes

Kid-Friendly Green Smoothie (Vegan)

Total prep time: Under 15 minutes

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 green apple or 1 ripe green pear (use an apple for a tart smoothie, or a pear for a sweeter one)
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled
• ½ ripe avocado, skin and pit removed
• 1 ½ cups frozen broccoli
  Tip: For creamy sweetness, frozen broccoli works much better than fresh.
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled (or more to taste)
• 1 heaping tbsp cacao nibs or unsweetened cocoa powder
  Tip: If you use cocoa powder instead of cacao nibs, it will turn your green smoothie brown—similar to a chocolate milkshake.
• 1 heaping tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
• Approx. 1½ cups of coconut water
  Tip: You can find canned coconut water at health food stores, often in 11 fl. oz. cans that provide the perfect amount of liquid for this smoothie. If you can’t find coconut water, substitute water plus a little bit of added sweetener of your choice.
• Optional: a few fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Chop the above ingredients roughly, then blend together in a blender. Add more or less liquid depending on how thick you’d like it.

Variations for a less sweet smoothie:

• Greens substitution: a few leaves of fresh kale instead of frozen broccoli
• Protein substitution: a heaping tbsp of hulled hemp seeds or 2 tbsp soaked chia seeds instead of peanut butter
  Tip: Unlike hemp seeds, chia seeds expand in water and benefit from soaking. Soak 3 tbsp dry chia seeds in ¾ cup water. Let sit for 10 minutes or longer, shake or stir the mixture to avoid clumping, then store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
• Liquid substitution: plain water instead of coconut water
• Additions: Lots of green vegetables work well in this smoothie, such as celery, spinach, and parsley—try out your favorites.

Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

Total cooking time: Under 30 minutes

Makes 12 cookies

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Wet ingredients:

• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla

Mix-in ingredients:

• 1⁄3 cup chopped walnuts (or substitute a favorite nut)
• 1⁄3 cup unsweetened dried tart cherries (or substitute chocolate chips or a favorite dried fruit, such as cranberries)
  Tip: Even if you’re not a fan of plain dried cherries, try them here at least once because this flavor combination brings out the best in them.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Stir the combined wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the mix-in ingredients.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Form approximately 12 cookie dough balls with your hands, and place them on the baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash
with Lemon Tahini Sauce (Vegan)

Total cooking time: A little over an hour

Makes a side dish for 4, or a light main course for 2

Note: This is a great dish to serve meat-eaters who are skeptical that hearty vegan foods exist. The creamy, flavorful tahini sauce is a crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients for squash:

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 large white onion (or substitute a smaller yellow onion; white onions are milder)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp dried sage
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: ¼ cup raw pepitas, a.k.a shelled pumpkin seeds
• Optional: paprika, for garnish

Ingredients for tahini sauce:

• ½ cup tahini
  Tip: Tahini is a sesame seed paste. You can often find it in a jar in the peanut butter aisle or with Middle Eastern foods, but if you find it to be expensive or hard to find, you can always make your own from scratch. See www.gigipandian
  .com/recipes for a recipe to make tahini from scratch.
• 3 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• ½ cup water
• ¼ tsp granulated garlic (for a chunkier sauce, substitute 2 minced garlic cloves)
• ¼ tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
• Optional: cayenne to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Peel butternut squash and cut into ½-inch cubes, discarding the seeds. (Tip: If the squash is difficult to cut, pierce with a knife and microwave it for a minute or two to soften it.) Peel the onion and chop roughly. Toss squash and onion with olive oil, then spread out on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle spices on top. Bake for approximately 40 to 50 minutes, stirring once after 20 minutes.

While the squash mixture is baking, prepare the sauce. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together, then taste to adjust for salt and spice levels.

Tip: You’ll most likely have extra sauce. It’s a versatile sauce, which also works well as a salad dressing. Pour into a lidded glass jar and it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Tip: You can use more or less water, depending on preferred consistency, keeping in mind that the sauce will thicken in the fridge.

Optional touch for a tasty garnish: Toast ¼ cup raw pepitas in a dry skillet on medium heat for a few minutes, until they begin to pop.

Tip: Always watch toasting nuts, as they burn quickly.

To serve: Transfer squash mixture to a serving bowl, drizzle with tahini sauce, toss pepitas on top, and sprinkle with a dash of paprika.

For more recipes and tips, visit www.gigipandian.com/recipes.