Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, November 21, 2016 - Lunch
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This smoothie was pretty good. It was my second attempt at this recipe, this time without the optional spinach (see earlier post). It was much better this way. The only change I might make, if I were to try it again, would be to add a little extra almond milk to thin the consistency; it was a little thick, but still tasty and filling.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

Monday, August 22, 2016
Peanut Butter Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

I did not like this smoothie at all.  It was very thick, strong on the peanut butter / banana flavor, and the (optional) spinach did not go well with the other flavors, in my opinion.  I may try it again some other time - without the spinach - but there were other smoothies from this cookbook that were much, much better.

Outrageous Granola

Saturday, April 23, 2016
Outrageous Granola (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This granola turned out perfectly. It was crunchy and delicious, and relatively simple to make. I made the granola on Saturday afternoon to eat for breakfast on Sunday. It smelled delicious as it was baking, filling the whole house with the scent of toasted oats, nuts, and maple.

I sampled some of the granola on Saturday evening, and saved the rest for later. It was great by itself, and it made a fantastic cereal - topped with almond milk - for Sunday morning breakfast.  It would also be good on top of yogurt.

This recipe is a new favorite, and it would be easy to modify the types of nuts and dried fruit to try different flavor combinations.  

Rainbow Smoothie

Saturday, April 9, 2016 - Dinner
Rainbow Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This 'rainbow' smoothie is made from a variety of colorful fruits and veggies, including blueberries, raspberries, oranges, pineapple, and spinach.  I was skeptical about spinach in a fruity drink, but I couldn't taste it -- the smoothie tasted like berries with a hint of orange.  This smoothie was very sweet, and it was more like a dessert than a meal, but it was a relatively healthy dessert, since there was no added syrup or sugar, and since it had vegetables in it.  It was very thick, so I added a little more almond milk than what the recipe suggested.

Green Smoothie

Friday, April 8, 2016 - Lunch
Green Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This smoothie was delicious!  I admit that I was not expecting to like it -- the green color is not appetizing.  The main ingredients are banana, pineapple, and spinach.  It mostly tasted like banana, and not like spinach at all.  Avocado was an optional ingredient that I didn't use this time, but I might try including it the next time I make this recipe.

Fruity Oatmeal Smoothie

Sunday, April 3, 2016 - Lunch
Fruity Oatmeal Smoothie (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

When it comes to smoothies, I tend to be a bit old-fashioned.  I've tried some weird combinations, and I usually prefer the simple fruit and milk blends (or almond milk, in my case).  I'm planning to try a few of the smoothie and shake recipes from the various cookbooks I own, and I started with this simple recipe that falls on the milder end of the smoothie spectrum.  I was a little wary of the oatmeal, so I made sure it was very well blended before tasting.

This was a good smoothie.  Strawberry-banana is one of my favorite fruit flavor combinations.  The oatmeal was detectable, but not distracting - about the same size as the strawberry seeds, with a slightly different texture.  The smoothie was tasty, but not very filling -- at least not as a lunch meal.  It would work best as a breakfast meal, or as a summer side dish / dessert.  I will probably make this recipe again, and I look forward to testing some of the other smoothie recipes as well.

Mac N Cheez

Sunday, April 25, 2015 - Dinner
Mac N Cheez (Recipe from Mayim's Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik)

This vegan Mac N Cheez recipe was relatively easy and tasted delicious!  It doesn't have the sharp cheesiness that dairy has, but it was a really good creamy cheesy-flavored sauce, made primarily from almond milk and vegan cheese.  I would definitely make this again.  

I made a similar recipe a year or two ago, but this one was simpler and tasted better, in my opinion.

Served with: steamed kale