Vegan Artichoke Holiday Dip!!!

I have always had a love affair with artichokes, it all started as a kid when my mom used to steam them and me and all my brothers and sisters would each get a little bowl of melted butter to dip the leaves in, and then it was a fight for who would get to eat the heart.  Ok, so now looking back maybe the butter was the highlight, but since then I have always loved anything with artichokes.  When I first got married, I used to put them in everything, pasta, pizza, salad, my husband finally had to say, "I need a break from artichokes, seriously."  So I hadn't really been using them as much as I like, but then I saw the dip on Christmas Eve...
THE Holiday dip, as I call it because it truly is the epitome of the holidays, warm, comforting, rich, fattening, and oh so yummy. (I could go on but I think you get the idea:)  My mom used to make this dip and serve it with a wheat cracker, I guess since the actual dip is so unhealthy that a wheat cracker is the only justifiable thing to eat it with.  Yes, I am calling this a holiday dip because for your health (and my waistline :) I can only make this a couple times of year, but oh my when it is here, watch out this is ADDICTING!!!  I always remember having this as a kid during the holidays and it couldn't even cool before I was eating it up. So, when I decided to give up dairy I thought this was gonna be something I always saw at the Christmas party and just had to deal with looking at it, but this year after seeing it at my grandma's I thought, I am gonna make my mom's artichoke dip, it shouldn't be difficult to veganize!  Well, it was sooooo worth it and I think I may have perfected the recipe on the first try!!!  The key to this recipe would be the type of vegan mayo you use, I have fallen in love with Veganaise by Follow Your Heart because it is not too oily and the taste is just right.  They sell large size jars at Whole Foods and it is the only place I can find, currently.  This is one of the simplest dishes to put together, you just put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix up; I actually just mixed it up in the dish I cooked it in, which saved me a extra dirty dish and who doesn't love less mess, especially when all the family is coming over?!? This was a total hit with everyone even my 1 year old was loving it, a girl after my own heart!  Make this as little or much as you like, just remember it is a TREAT, so live a little and enjoy!!!!

Nana's Artichoke Holiday Dip

1 1/2 -- 2 14 oz. cans artichokes hearts (chopped course) depending on how chunky you want, I prefer more artichokes, but you can always cut down the amount if you want.
1 cup Veganaise by Follow Your Heart (this is how much I used, but my next batch I will attempt to use 3/4 cup and see if that works as well, will let you know!!)
1 8 oz. tub of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 cup Daiya Cheddar Cheese

Mix together and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to all those that I love out there and all those that are enjoying my blog, I hope your day was amazing!!!   So, the dust is finally settling in our house and the babes are sleeping peacefully...  Just wanted to reflect on what an amazing Christmas this has been, I am truly blessed to have so much love and happiness around me!!  I am not going to post a recipe today, but I have a bag full of treats for you this week because we had an amazing VEGAN spread over here today!!! So stay tuned, I made the yummiest dip that definitely rivaled my mom's and my daughter (and everyone else) was banging it up!!!
   I was not sure if I was even going to be up for the challenge to cook today because I caught a bug or rather some nastiness from a can called spaghettiNO's (if you know what I'm saying.)  Ok, I am sure you are all a bit confused since I do have a blog with the name vegan in it and if you ever read labels, yes there is DAIRY in that crap!! Well, call me a dummy because I was unprepared this past weds with the kids at work and had no food, I found this at work, so I thought what the heck one can shouldn't hurt.  Well, if I said I was "veganish" before; I've realized once again that I hate eating animal crap (because if you get right down to it, thats what it is in one form or another), so here I am saying my formal goodbyes AGAIN!!!  I hope this will be the last...  I have to send a huge thank you to my sis in law, Elise, because not only did she come and watch my kids while I slept off this terrible poisoning but she arrived with the only cure that when I finally could eat again, was the only thing I could stomach, Soup good old Vegan Bean Soup with noodles, tomatoes, lentils, mmmm.... it was lifesaving... Thanks sis (and it was her bday, she rocks:)  
   Sooo.. to sum up the holiday, thanks everyone for the support and hope you keep reading and trying out the recipes, I made an adjustment to the flour in my sugar cookies, so check out the revision and stay tuned I will have pics and recipes soon!!!  Merry Christmas again!!

P.S. I didn't send out Christmas cards this year, (total slacker), so if you didn't get you are not Alone:)  peace and love to everyone!!!

Berry Good Shakes!!!!

Ok, so my hubby has been bugging me about putting on our number one meal/dish/everything of our day, which would begin with our morning shake!!!  I can honestly say that it has been an evolution to find the perfect balance of everything and have it taste delicious and the kids eat it too!  Let me start by saying, when I first met my husband he was always having some type of shake or protein drink when he woke up, I always passed on this because I was never a big breakfast type of person especially some drink chalked full of healthy stuff, I mean really?!? But then he started adding fruit which got me a little bit interested, still having to drink it was more like a chore and trust me he never stopped hearing me complain;)  When we found out we were expecting for the first time, I knew that I had no choice but to find a way that I could drink and get all those nutrients my baby needed as well.  So, here we are 3+ years later and we feel as though it couldn't get any better than this!!! It is our morning ritual to have our shake, which literally takes 5 mins to get ready and served.  I already know the argument about not having enough time, but once you start and see how you feel, it is worth it and takes no more effort than cereal, toast, or whatever!!!  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you don't want to start your kids off with a bunch of processed junk do you?  In our house we have one rule (well we have way more than that, but in regards to breakfast, if you drink your shake you can have it!)  Put it this way, I know that if my kids have drank this they have gotten the goods, anything above that is a bonus!!

We have always used plant milk for our shake and usually not soy milk because as "veganish" people we already get a lot of extra soy in our diet, so we usually do rice, but almond, coconut, hemp, these are all good options.  We purchased a Blendtec about 2 1/2 years ago and it has been the best purchase, I think it really makes a difference to have a good blender and the investment is totally worth it, especially if you use it everyday!!  The fruit we buy frozen except bananas (but a tip, we do freeze a few peeled bananas so if we run out and this prevents them from going bad!!)  When I visited my sister overseas she was sweet enough to buy me fresh fruit (love you sis:)  and they were amazing!!!! On this trip they called me the "shake pusher" because I made these every single morning for everyone and I gave you some major guilt if you tried to turn it down:) Point being if you can buy FRESH!!!  The added supplements we use are flax seeds (give you all your omega three fatty acids) or chia seeds (give omega 3 as well), brewers yeast (gives you all your B vitamins and tons of energy), smoothie mix which has a whole bunch of goodness in it (from my sis in laws shop: www.hotboxfitness.org) and fresh Kale!!!  We drink this every morning and it always puts my body on track, you feel like a million bucks after you drink this!

Berry's Morning Shake (makes 2 servings)
3-4 cups Plant Milk (depending on the consistency you want)
1 cup Blueberries
1 cup Strawberries
1 cup Kale (we freeze ours so it lasts longer)
1 banana
2 TBSP. Flax Seed or Chia Seeds
1 TBSP. Smoothie Mix (get this at www.hotboxfitness.org and check it out, its the BEST WORKOUT you can get!!)
1 TBSP. Brewers Yeast (get this at www.hotboxfitness.org too!!, best price and best place:)
1 tsp. hemp seed
dash of Cinnamon
agave to taste

Blend all together and Enjoy!!!!