14 Apr 2016
by marisashealthykitchen
in Cooking With Kids, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: avocado, vegetarian, basil, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, comfort food, cucumber, garbanzo, garlic, healthy lunch, olive oil, olives, oregano, pasta, pasta salad, peppers, picnic, planetbox, quick and easy, red wine vinegar, sides, spring pasta salad, tomatoes, vegan, vegan pasta salad, vegan picnic, vegan planetbox, vegetarian pasta salad
Today really felt like SPRING! So amazing outside!!!!! While we were playing outside I got the idea to make a pasta salad! It just felt right, so seasonal and perfect! LOVE!
I normally make things on a large scale but this was just for my kids’ lunch and husbands’ dinner 😉 So if you want to make this bigger, double or triple the recipe! This salad will taste great right away but also will get more tastier as the flavors get to mingle in the fridge! Yum!

Spring Pasta Salad
1/2 a box of pasta (1/2 pound) elbow or other
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 cup bell peppers, diced
1/2 a cucumber, diced
1/2 a can of black olives, quartered
1/2 a can of chickpeas
1/2 an avocado, chopped
1/8-1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste
1. Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to the pox.
2. While pasta is cooking prep and chop all the veggies and place in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and give a good stir.
3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and cool for a few minutes. Then add to the bowl and stir to incorporate.
4. Chill further and enjoy!
And here it is as lunch for my littles 🙂 Fun!!!

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09 Feb 2016
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes
Tags: avocado, avocado curry, basil, bell pepper, brown rice noodles, carrots, cashew, cashew curry, cauliflower, coconut curry, coconut milk, Coconut-Cashew, Coconut-Cashew Veggie Curry, curry paste, diced tomatoes, gluten-free, no sugar, Not Your Sugar Mamas Salted Caramel Raw Chocolate, raw chocolate, red curry paste, rice noodles, sweet potatoes, tofu, Veg Whole 30, vegan curry, vegetarian curry, vegetarian tofu, vegetarian whole 30, VegWhole30, whole30
I just had the most amazing month of eating! I completed the Veg Whole 30! Felt a bit cliché doing a January cleanse, but I loved it! And did it with a group of amazing women, and that always makes everything so much more fun 🙂 The Veg Whole 30 is no-grains, no-dairy, and most importantly No Sugar (of any kind, including stevia and maple sugar!) ! I did eat legumes/soy (which the traditional Whole 30 eliminates) as I wanted to make sure to get enough Vegetarian Protein.
I feel really good and am going to keep this rolling by doing 100 Days of Real Food. I primarily eat this way, but not so strict! So inspiring and excited for more 🙂
As I slowly come off my Whole 30 month I am excited to add things like Rice Noodles and non-refined sugar sweeteners back into my life!!! I used to make a ton of curries and I was inspired to start off with this yummy take on curry! I cooked so much this last month, I feel newly refreshed and inspired in the kitchen!
Michael doesn’t always love coconut milk so I made it a coconut-cashew sauce and it was delicious!!!! I have to say though that after not eating grains for a month, I was SO full after eating this! Very satisfying!!!
I also enjoyed a few pieces of Raw Vegan Not Your Sugar Mamas Salted Caramel Raw Chocolate! Yum! It had been a while 😉

Coconut-Cashew Veggie Curry over Rice Noodles
- 1 can Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup cashews, plus more for topping
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped
- 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 a bunch of fresh basil, chopped
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1 package of extra-firm tofu, cubed
- red curry paste
- salt
- rice noodles (brown or white)
- Soak cashews in water for 30 minutes-overnight. Drain and recover with water in a Vita-mix or other blender. Add coconut milk and blend. Add diced tomatoes and blend till smooth.
- In a large pot brown the tofu and remove for later use.
- In the same pot add coconut mixture above and 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of red curry paste to a large pot over medium heat and whisk. Add chopped veggies (minus the basil and bell pepper) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes (or until cauliflower and sweet potato are cooked). Add the cooked tofu, bell pepper, basil, avocado and salt to taste. Stir to combine and heat for another 3-5 minutes.
- While the curry is cooking, boil water and cook noodles according to directions.
- Plate noodles and curry over top. Top with some cashews. Super enjoy! 🙂
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10 Jun 2015
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, apple cider vinegar, avocado, choosingraw.com, dressing, dulse, garlic, green, herbamere, kale, kelp, lemon, miso, mushrooms, Nama Shoyu, nori, nutritional yeast, olive oil, portobello mushrooms, quick and easy, raw, salad, spirulina, tamari, vegan, vegetarian, white miso, Worsterchire sauce
I love all Kale Salads and this one was especially deelish. Not everyone is into sea vegetables, but this dressing manages to be chockfull of them without anyone being the wiser, super healthy goodness! They add such a great saltiness to this already super creamy dressing.
Kale Caesar with Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

2 heads of Kale
Chop up or tear pieces of Kale. Massage the dressing into the kale with your hands and top with mushrooms. Yum! Enjoy 🙂
Avocado Sea-sar Dressing (vegan, almost raw, gluten free, soy free)
Recipe from choosingraw.com
Yields over 1 cup
1 large Hass avocado
1 tsp vegan Worsterchire sauce
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Juice of two large lemons
3 tbsp mellow white miso
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp spirulina
1 tbsp nori, kelp, or dulse flakes (or a mix of all three, which is what I used)
3/4 cup water (or more if needed)
*2 tbsp olive oil (optional)*
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender till smooth. The olive oil is totally optional, but it lends a little added creaminess and richness to the dressing.
Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
3 1/2 cup portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup agave
2 tablespoons Nama Shoyu or Tamari
2 tablespoons Herbamere
3 tablespoons herbs of choice – I used oregano and bail
Blend all ingredients except mushrooms for about 10 seconds. Place the marinade, along with mushrooms, in a large plastic container or zipped bag and seal well. Toss around until well coated. Refrigerate and let sit overnight, tossing to coat from time to time. Strain the mushrooms out prior to serving, but reserve the marinade to use as a salad dressing for another time.

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08 Jun 2014
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: avocado, avocado pasta, basil, black pepper, comfort food, cook pasta, creamy, garlic, green, lemon juice, lemon zest, pasta, pignoli, pine nuts, quick and easy, sauces, spinach, vegan, vegetarian
Sometime you just want a home cooked meal but haven’t planned anything and haven’t gone shopping to cook. The kids are always well fed but sometimes we get left a little behind 😉 This is a great meal that took literally the time to boil pasta to create with all ingredients I always have at home. Super simple and deelish, the best!

Creamy Avocado Pasta
4 servings
2 avocados
Juice of 1 lemon + lemon zest to garnish
1-3 garlic cloves, to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/2 cup Fresh Basil or Spinach
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb of pasta
ground black pepper, to taste
Pine nuts, for garnish
- Boil water and cook pasta in a large pot
- In blender or food processor combine garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil and process until smooth. Add avocado, basil, and salt and blend until creamy
- When pasta is done, drain and mix with sauce. Garnish with lemon zest, black pepper and pine nuts. Serve immediately.
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15 Jan 2014
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: avocado, caesar, caper, Cashews, dip, dressing, garlic, green, kale, kale salad, lemon juice, miso, nutritional yeast, pignoli, pine nuts, quick and easy, radish, raw, rice vinegar, salad, vegan, vegetarian
Back to the Kale Salad! YUM! This one is so creamy and deelish it will please even people who think they don’t love kale. This dressing can be used with any other salad or even as dip!

Kale Caesar Salad
2 large bunches kale, stems discarded, chopped
Caesar Dressing
1 bunch red radishes, sliced super thin
3 tablespoons capers
1/2 ripe avocado, chopped
- Massage Kale and Dressing in a large bowl. Use your hands to massage and make sure to really get in there to soften the kale and evenly distribute the dressing.
- Add radishes, capers and avocado and toss.
Caesar Dressing
2 cups water
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup cashews
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons dark miso
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- Place all the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend till creamy.
- Chill until ready to use and shake well.
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23 May 2013
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: avaocado, avocado, chery tomatoes, comfort food, corn tortilla, garlic, grape tomatoes, jalapeno, mexican, onion, quick and easy, red pepper, romaine, soy, taco, tempeh, vegan, vegan taco, vegetarian, whole grain tortilla
We love tempeh and tacos so this was a perfect dinner for us! I have made tacos with soy crumbles before but decided to grate tempeh this time and it was sooo good! YUM!


Tempeh Tacos
Makes 4 – 6 servings
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 8-ounce packages tempeh, grated
4 tablespoons Mexican seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
12 whole grain or corn tortillas
avocados, romaine lettuce, and jalapeños for add-ins
- Sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapeño in olive oil until soft. Add tempeh and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Add seasoning, salt, and water. Cook the mixture 10 to 25 minutes, until enough liquid evaporates.
- Fill each tortilla with 2 or 3 tablespoons of tempeh mixture and your choice of add-ins.
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02 Jan 2013
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: asian, avocado, brown rice, cooking wine, cremini, greens, kale, mirin, mushrooms, olive oil, quick and easy, rice, rice vinegar, sriracha, Stir-fry, wok

Quick, the kids are sleeping! This dinner was a perfect combination of healthy, delicious and fast! Leftover brown rice and a quick mushroom and kale stir-fry in the wok. Yum! The avocado was amazing on the side. First off, doesn’t avocado make everything taste better? and then with the sriracha in the kale the avocado was a nice cooling element.
Quick Mushroom & Kale over Brown Rice
- 8 ounces mushrooms any type, sliced (I used cremini mushrooms)
- bunch of kale, destemmed and chopped
- cooked brown rice
- olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons
- mirin, 1/4 cup
- rice vinegar, 1/8 cup
- white cooking wine, 1/4 cup
- sriracha, a few dashes depending on how spicy you like it
- 1 avocado (optional)
- salt, to taste
In a wok or large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the kale, mirin and white wine. Using tongs toss to coat and keep cooking kale to cook it down (3-5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes till they become soft. Add sriracha and salt to taste. Plate over brown rice and slice avocado on the side.
Enjoy and if possible sit down and relax by the fire your amazing husband built while you cooked dinner 🙂 

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21 Mar 2012
by marisashealthykitchen
in New York Highlights, Raw Desserts and Treats, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: Angel’s Nachos, Apple Cranberry Pie, avocado, Babies Blessing, Baby Shower, Black Bean-Pumpkin Seed Burger, black beans, Brunch, Candle 79, Cannoli, chipotle, chocolate, Coconut-Mint Frappe, comfort food, dessert, entertaining, Guacamole Timbale, Home-Style Pancakes, lemon-caper sauce, Live Sweet Potato Parfait, maple, oyster mushrooms, Party, polenta fries, quinoa, raw, salad, seitan, Seitan Picatta, Steamed Dumplings, Stuffed Avocado Salad, vegan, Vegan Baby Shower, vegetarian, Wild Mushroom-Squash Risotto
Candle 79 is one of the best restaurants ever as far as I am concerned! It’s on the UES so a bit of a hike for us, but makes the ultimate date night spot. Romantic, Cozy and deelish!! Check out my review from 2009.
But I went there for a very different reason recently. I had my fabulous Babies Blessing Brunch Party there. SO much fun, a bunch of beautiful girlfriends and the best food to celebrate the almost arrival of our little kiddos 🙂 Benay, the manager, was amazing in helping me set up this event and everything went super smooth. The food of course was deelish!
My mom made fabulous favors: Super cute planters all prepped with organic soil and seeds and a super cute flower on top 🙂 So perfect!!
Thanks ladies! Such a great day to celebrate!!!

We had a great menu!
APPETIZERS

Guacamole Timbale
chipotle black beans, caramelized onions, cucumber-jicama salsa, tortilla chips, ranchero sauce

Steamed Dumplings
seitan, shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, sesame-soy-ginger sauce
Angel’s Nachos
corn chips, mozzarella, tomatoes, refried pinto beans, chili-grilled seitan, guacamole, salsa, tofu sour cream, romaine lettuce
ENTRÉE

Stuffed Avocado Salad
baby greens, quinoa, zucchini, cucumber, radishes, black beans, toasted pumpkin seeds, grape tomatoes, chipotle-avocado dressing

Black Bean-Pumpkin Seed Burger
mixed lettuces, avocado, polenta fries, chipotle ketchup

Home-Style Pancakes
seasonal fruit, cranberry butter, gingered maple syrup

Wild Mushroom-Squash Risotto
cashew cream, pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs, frizzled leeks

Seitan Picatta
creamed spinach, grilled potato cake, oyster mushrooms, lemon-caper sauce
Check out my version of this famous dish 🙂
and then Dessert 🙂
Live Sweet Potato Parfait
nut granola, huckleberry ice cream

Cannoli
vanilla cream filling, coconut-chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate sauce

Apple Cranberry Pie
toasted oat crumble, french vanilla ice cream, berry
coulis, candied almonds
There were lots of fabulous beverages going around. I was super happy to have ordered the Coconut-Mint Frappe avocado, coconut water, agave, mint, lime. AMAZING!! I have been craving this drink ever since!

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12 Sep 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: avocado, braggs, carrot, kale, lemon, Nama Shoyu, onion, quick and easy, raw, red onion, red pepper, salad, sunflower seeds, tamari, vegan, vegetarian
I recently had a not so great Kale Salad at a restaurant. The menu ingredients sounded fabulous but with Kale you need to massage it a bit with your hands so it “wilts” and this one wasn’t. Here is my take on it, yum!!
We like a lot of kale salad and it keeps really well for a few days. But if you don’t want as much just half the recipe.
Avocado Kale Salad
- 3 heads lacanato kale, chopped
- 1 avocado
- 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3-4 tablespoon Braggs, tamari or nama shoyu
This is just a base…Combine and Massage the avocado, lemon juice and braggs into the kale. Then add whatever is fresh, you have in the house or love in a salad.

The Base - before adding the toppings
I added — raw sunflower seeds, diced raw red onion, shredded carrots and diced red pepper.
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14 Aug 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in New York Highlights
Tags: avocado, burger, comfort food, hampton's, lentil, non-dairy cheese, reuben, sandwich, soy, soy cheese, sweet potato, tempeh, vegan, vegetarian, walnut
I was super excited to read about Babette’s in East Hampton. They offer many different vegan dishes. When we went we were happy to get an outside table but I was a little astounded by the prices for the kind of food it was. But hey, its the Hamptons, I get it. The Lentil Vegetable Walnut burger with avocado and soy cheese was decent, but we liked the one at Banzai Burger better. We also had the vegan Tempeh Reuben which was super yummy. The sweet potato fries and smoothies were good too 🙂 I would go back but maybe try some of the other vegan options. I love that there are many! Fun!


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