(you can use fresh ingredients, but I was throwing this together fast)
1 can artichoke hearts (rinsed)
1/4 can of chick peas (garbanzos), rinsed
6 baby carrots (or 1 full carrot, peeled)
1/2 c nutritional yeast flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
To taste:
cayenne pepper
black pepper
garlic powder
onion flakes
Options:
baby carrots/carrot sticks
spinach flour tortillas
Throw it all into a food processer until smooth.  Serve as a “burrito/wrap” in a spinach tortilla.  Or, use as a dip for carrots.

6 apples

2-3 T lemon juice

1 t cinnamon

Core and slice apples (peel them, if you don’t like the hearty “left the peels on” look). Combine apple slices, lemon juice and cinnamon in blender and blend until smooth. It may take a little stirring at first.

This makes a wonderful treat, and you wouldn’t believe you didn’t add sugar to it. We eat it as dessert! You can also add a little allspice for a change of pace. And, since the apples aren’t cooked, you still get all of the enzymes, etc, from the fresh fruit.

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/4 cup sesame seeds

A few pinches of salt

***

Shake it all up together.  Use it to top pasta, popcorn, etc.

Ingredients:
2 medium butternuts
1 apple
2 medium onions
4 TBSP vegan buttery spread (Earth Balance)
1 1/4 tsp medium curry powder
4 TBSP cake flour
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 vegetable stock cubes
3 cups boiling water
2 cups of soy milk (or coconut milk)
1 1/2 tsp salt

How to make:
Trim off the stem and blossom end of the butternut squash. Halve lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds and fibers. Cut into large chunks and carefully peel each chunk. Cut the peeled chunks into 1-inch pieces.

Peel, seed and dice the butternuts.  Peel, core and
chop the apple.  Peel the onions and chop roughly.  In a
large saucepan, saute the chopped onions in the
butter.  Add the curry powder and fry the mixture lightly. 
Add the butternut and apple and saute the mixture for
a while (about 10 minutes).  Add the flour and nutmeg and stir-fry lightly.

Dissolve the vegetable stock cubes in the boiling
water.  Add the stock, together with the milk, and salt,
to the butternut mixture.  Boil, with the lid on, over
moderate heat until the butternut pieces are soft. 
Stir the mixture occasionally.  Puree or blend until
smooth.  The color of the soup should be a deep yellow
and the texture creamy.  Serve the soup hot.
Makes 8 cups of soup.

2 quarts water
2 cups dried Great Northern beans
1 whole carrot
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
15 oz can stewed tomatoes (used crushed and add another can as needed later)
2 teaspoons oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
12 oz box elbow macaroni
–I soaked the beans overnight (the more water you use, the less cooking time the next day).

In a large pot, combine the water, beans, whole carrot, and bay leaf. Simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Add the onion, celery, tomatoes, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Simmer one hour or until the vegetables are tender. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Cook the elbow macaroni, drain. Puree half of the soup in a blender, return to pot and add the cooked pasta. (I skipped the puree step). Remove the bay leaf.

Note: the carrot can be diced before serving (it adds sweetness).  May need to add 2-4 cups more of water.  If you do, double the tomato.

1 banana

3/4 cup vanilla or chocolate dairy free milk (I prefer rice or almond)

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

***

Toss it all in a blender and serve.

Bag of frozen mixed berries (keep frozen)

Orange juice

***

Toss it all in a blender and serve.

Healthy Chocolate Cake with (optional) Chocolate Mint Topping

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup soy flour (I think this works best sifted or mixed up with a fork)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa (The store brand in the tin can in the baking aisle is great)
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup MORI-NU Lite Silken Tofu, firm (Extra firm is also fine, I find.  And it comes out to 1/4 of the block of tofu)
1 1/2 cups water, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened

For (Optional) topping:
10 peppermint patties
1 Tbsp. fat-free milk (milk is optional, or soymilk is
fine)
(Or try chocolate syrup over the top instead of the
peppermint patty topping)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (I think 375 works
best with a bundt pan in high altitude).
2. Lightly spray and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan
(or 2 8-inch round cake pans). (Again, bundt pan!)
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, soy flour,
sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set
aside.
4. In a food processor (I found a blender works
great), puree tofu with 1/2 cup of the water. Add
remaining water and vanilla, and process until mixture
is smooth.
5. Add the dry ingredients and process on high until
mixed. (I find it best to pour from the blender to a
large bowl with the dry ingredients.  You can use a
whisk or a hand mixer to blend if you don’t have a
mixer).
6. Add applesauce and process on high until completely
mixed. (I find the whisk or hand blender is great and
since there are no raw eggs, it is safe for kids to
lick the batter).
7. Spread batter into pan (or pans) and bake for 35 to
40 minutes (30 to 35 minutes for round pans), or until
a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
(I found a bundt pan for 35 minutes works best here in
the high altitude).
8. Remove cake (or cakes) from oven and let cool
completely before frosting.
9. For topping, melt peppermint patties with
tablespoon of milk (I think the milk is optional) in a
double-boiler over medium heat. Drizzle over cake.
(The topping is optional–the cake is great plain, or
even with chocolate syrup drizzled over the top).

Makes 18 servings.  I say it makes about 8-12!
Nutritional analysis: Calories 151; Fat 1.3;
Cholesterol 0; Carbohydrate 31.3; Protein 3; Sodium
240. 

3-2-1 Salad (so named because it is 3 greens, 2 beans, and 1 topping)
Can of black beans, drained and rinsed
Can of chick peas/garbanzos, drained
Can of corn (whole kernel), drained
Red pepper chopped (optional)
Avocado, cubed
Balsamic vinegar 

Throw it all (except vinegar) in a big bowl with a lid and shake (or mix well). Serve, and let people put their own amount of vinegar on top.

(you can also do red onion; balsamic is optional)

Toppings:
Container of vegan cream cheese
Container of vegan sour cream
Shake in dill, garlic powder, chives, salt, and pepper
Put in finely chopped veggies (if you can get salad confetti or pre-chopped, even better): broccoli, cauliflower, onion, carrot, celery 

Mix well and set aside in the fridge. 

Crust:
1 1/2 cups warm water
yeast packet
tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour 

Whisk the first 3 ingredients together, add in flour and knead. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then spread out on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely before topping.