My environmentally conscious friends already know that the carbon footprint of the dairy industry has become an increasingly hot topic over the last decade. When examining a product’s environmental footprint, we must consider variables like greenhouse gas emissions, water use, chemical runoff, and soil degradation. No matter which plant-based milk you enjoy drinking (my favourite is cashew milk), you can cut out an entire chunk of the process that eats up resources and produces greenhouse gases by making your own plant milk at home.

When buying store-bought nut milks, you have to deal with all the crazy ingredients manufacturers like to add to increase shelf life. Though I love drinking a homemade almond milk, straining the pulp from the liquid is more trouble than it’s worth. Homemade cashew milk, however, is a completely different story. It is super easy to make, creamy, and absolutely delicious! Because the nuts blend entirely into the water, cashew milk retains all of the fiber and nutrients present in the nuts.

Ready to make your own? Try my three-ingredient recipe:

Print Recipe

Best Cashew Milk

A delicious and creamy plant-based alternative to dairy milk.

Prep Time4 hrs

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Cashew Milk, Plant-Based Milk

Servings: 5 cups

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preparation

• Soak the cashews in water for at least four hours (overnight is best) in the refrigerator.
• Drain the cashews and rinse thoroughly.

Blending

• Add cashews, water, and vanilla extract to the blender.
• Blend on a high setting until all the nuts are completely blended.
• Store the milk in a covered glass container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Cashew milk should keep for 3 to 4 days. 

As you can see, this recipe is super easy to follow. Cashew milk is packed with nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, and zinc. If you’re trying to move toward a zero waste lifestyle, this cashew milk offers a great solution for your milk needs — no plastic required. Just get your cashews from the bulk section of your grocery store and bring your own jar! Did I mention that there is absolutely no straining required?

Interested in the sustainability of different milk options? I highly recommend this BBC article!

Aloha, friends! Happy Saturday! Since I knew this week would be super busy, I made an effort to meal-prep all my meals. One of my favourite snacks is a chia pudding. Chia seeds are super healthy (though, at the moment, I can’t quite remember why — something about them acting like a scrub brush in your colon). In my opinion, the best way to enjoy them is in a form of a chia pudding. There are many different recipes floating around the internet, but today I’m sharing the most zingy, fruity, and delicious one — Lemon Raspberry Chia Pudding.

Many grocery stores carry chia seeds, but if you prefer shopping from the comfort of your home, Thrive Market is a great place for discounted health products. You can also purchase a bigger container of chia seeds from Amazon — this is a very affordable option.

Print Recipe

Lemon Raspberry Chia Pudding

Though this pudding is sweet, it has a very low glycemic index.

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword: Chia pudding

Servings: 1 jar

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Chia seeds
• 1 lemon zest
• 2/3 cup almond milk (coconut milk tastes great as well)
• 1/4 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Instructions

• Combine your chia seeds, lemon zest, and almond milk in a small bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to thicken up. When the pudding reached the desired consistency, scoop it into a mason jar and top with raspberries.

Notes

You can also mix the raspberries into the pudding before transferring it into your mason jar.

Those following my #20for2020 journey might have guessed that this checks off my “Try a new recipe” goal for the month. If you end up trying this recipe out, let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram. I would love to see your creations! Looking for more recipes? Click here to see what else I’ve been making.

I seriously cannot imagine Christmas without mince pies. Living in the States at the moment, it can be quite hard to find mince meat. Thanks to the World Market, I was able to get couple of jars this year and jumped right into baking! This is also the first Christmas of my gluten free journey. I decided to simply substitute the plain flour for gluten free rice flour and it worked! 

Without further ado, here’s the recipe:

Print Recipe

Gluten Free Mince Pies

Adapted from a recipe by Mary Berry.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 12 pies

Calories: 1276kcal

Ingredients

• 175 g Gluten Free Flour
• 75 g Cold Butter (cubed)
• 25 g Icing Sugar
• 1 large Orange Zest
• 1 Egg
• 1 jar Mince Meat

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 200˚C (390˚F).
• In a food processor, mix flour and butter. Add icing sugar and grated orange zest. Stir in beaten egg. Wrap the dough in a cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
• Lightly dust your workspace with icing sugar. Roll the dough to thickness of 1-2 mm. Use an 8 cm (3 in) fluted cutter to stamp 12 rounds. Using the rest of your dough, cut out your favourite shapes (I love stars and trees) for the tops of your pies.
• Line each hole of a muffin tin with one of the rounds and prick the bottom of each with a fork. Fill with mince meat and carefully place the tops on.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar.

Notes

You may also top your mince pies with grated marzipan.

This is seriously the quickest and most fool-proof recipe for Gluten Free Mince Pies! If you decide to give them a try, I would love to hear about it!

You can also check out my Recipe section for some more delicious treats!

Hey y’all! Today I decided to share my most favorite Nutella recipe! Being from Europe, I’ve always loved Nutella. I can eat it straight from the jar, I can put it on my toast, I can bake with it, I can cook with it ( …. well … not really :D). Even if you don’t care for Nutella, you have to try this recipe!!!!

Fudgy Nutella Brownies

Ingredients:

1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2  1/4 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3/4 cup Nutella
3 large eggs
1 egg white
1  1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1  1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180°C). Butter your baking dish (I use 9×13).
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
3. Add sugar and keep stirring for about 2 minutes. Don’t let it boil.
4. Remove from the heat and add Nutella.
5. Pour butter mixture in a bowl, mix in cocoa powder, egg white, eggs, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract.
6. Add flour and chocolate chips.
7. Spread into your baking dish and bake for 35 – 40 minutes.
8. Let it cool before cutting!

If you decide to try this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment!