Spiced Carrot Cake Smoothie. And...he got in!

No more waiting. If you remember my post back in October, I have been waiting for a major decision regarding our future.

He's in! Mr. Vedge has been accepted into Cornell's hospitality program, which starts this May. We're moving to freeze-your-ass-off land (Ithaca, upstate NY) for one year! But, hey Philly, we'll be back...this is our home and this is where we want to own our first business together.

With both of our families here, we'll still be visiting Philly often, and you can expect me to be checking out the vegan eats here whenever I do. I plan to pile in as many trips to Vedge and other local haunts as possible on my weekends here, and of course you know that I'll always have recipes for you, new product reviews, and yes, the yoga scene in veggie-plenty Ithaca is quite something.

On with the smoothie...

Walnut-Lentil Pate

Walnuts. You can always find raw walnuts in my stash. They are known to relieve stress, high in Omega-3's, and I just plain enjoy them in salads and spreads. Lately I have been soaking them prior to use, because soaking stimulates the germination process, increasing the vitamin content and making them easier to digest. (I've been reading too much of this book lately). More importantly, walnuts are a prime ingredient in carrot cake...

Spiced Carrot Cake Smoothie

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 banana, frozen in chunks
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded (add more if you like!)
• 3 tbsp raw walnuts, soaked in water for 4 hours or overnight
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1 heaping tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of sea salt


Drain and rinse your soaked walnuts. Shred your carrot. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You may have to blend longer than usual until nuts are smooth, depending on your blender.

Makes 1 large smoothie.

Drinkable carrot cake...Be sure to taste before pouring into glass to check that the texture is smooth and frothy, the nuts should blend very easily into this. I think they give it some body and richness. This is more of a creamy nut milk (because that's  mostly what it is) with a nice veggie bonus thrown into the mix.

A.M. Smoothies...I used to struggle with smoothies in the morning because I felt like I needed a warm breakfast. Now, I'm out of my oatmeal habit and in the game with energizing, cleansing green smoothies or chia seed smoothies that stick with me (if I still feel hungry I usually munch on a piece of sprouted toast later on). I still love my oatmeal but nothing wakes you up faster than introducing a lively glass of hydrating greens.