My mom would be proud...

I made my weekly meal today. It is an original recipe, but for some reason, I feel like someone would have come up with this a long time ago. Nevertheless, I made whole wheat farfalle pasta with chipotle sausage in a pumpkin cream sauce. It was so simple to make. I sauteed vegan sausage with chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and garlic. I then added a can of pumpkin puree, light coconut milk, paprika, a touch of cinnamon, and a dash of ancho chile powder. Let that reduce, add the pasta with some salt and pepper to taste. Tah dah! It was delicious. Full of protein, healthy fats, and full of vitamins A, C, K, and beta carotene! Also, because I am crazy (and I actually like them) I added a side of oven roasted brussel sprouts. Tossed lightly in oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. It added a tangy counterpart to the creamy pasta. Also, you always need a vegetable! Plus, brussel sprouts have a bad rep; they have tons of vitamin C and B and even some protein! Like broccoli and other cruciferous veggies, it contains anti-cancer properties. So, please eat your brussel sprouts!

Of course I had to have dessert! I made a quick raw vegan dessert. It is strawberry creme pie!! First, I needed to make the crust. Simply, this is a half cup of walnuts and another half cup of pecans. I pulsed this with a teaspoon of orange zest. Once the nuts reached a course texture, I slowly added 1/3 cup of raisins. Processed that until a sticky crust was formed. I placed the crust in a muffin tin to make the cups and put in the freezer to let set up. In order to make the filling, I added one cup of cashews to the food processor. This must be a FINE powder. We are trying to make a cream and we don't want any pieces of nuts. Once the cashews reach a fine powder consistency, add a pint of chopped strawberries. This will create a thick paste. Then slowly add the juice of one orange with a dash of vanilla. Once rich and creamy, add two tablespoons of agave or honey. Finally, slowly drizzle in two to three tablespoons of melted coconut oil. This should result in a very smooth and creamy filling. Place two spoonfuls in the prepared nut cups. Place in freezer until set. Serve with some left over chopped strawberries!

This was so good! I wanted to eat three. And really, that is the best part. Although this is raw vegan and has little to no sugar and is packed full of fruit, it is high in fat. Albeit good fats, it still can be kind of damaging to that summertime waistline. So, the small portions are GREAT! This was a perfect end to a filling meal and added the acidic fruity finish to a heavy meal. This dessert has a ton of protein, thiamine, folate, manganese, omega-3 and -6 acids, vitamin C, and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Until next week, I hope you enjoyed this post!!!