After my theFeedFeed snapchat takeover last week making this Maple Almond-Cashew Iced Latte, I wanted to immediately follow up with this post.  This is a game changer, friends.

Currently my favorite caffeinated iced drink (I was obsessed with this horcatta iced latte for awhile too), it beats any iced latte drink you can order at SBux.  Although I was thrilled that Starbucks recently started offering almond milk option, it still comes out of a carton.  Nothing compares to homemade nut milk.  Nothing!  Before you think there is no way you have time to make this, think again.  Besides the passive time required to soak the nuts (see note below re soaking), it takes about 15 minutes to make a batch which can be savored over a week of lattes. That's a pretty solid ROI if you ask me! 

Of course, you can drink the nut milk straight up.  It is so, SO delicious!  But what isn't improved with a shot (or two) of nice strong espresso?  I think you know the answer my friend.  Cheers!

In my previous post, I wrote about my family's (temporary) grain-free and dairy-free diet. Since then, we had our follow up visit with the naturopath and received an 'okay' to consume rice, oats and quinoa in small amounts.  I won't pretend to understand naturopathy at all. I don't. As a fairly science-based household (my husband is an intellectual property lawyer with a specialty in biotechnology and medical devices, while I worked nearly a decade at a global pharmaceutical company in a Finance capacity), this venture into alternative medicine is a giant leap of faith.  A leap we had not choice but to take since traditional medicine failed to help my daughter beyond full-body topical steroid cream applications to treat her eczema and absolutely nada to diagnose or treat her mild but persistent, daily stomach aches.  

I made this the other day because I had hella pumpkin puree to use up.  It's only mid October and I'm still on my annual pumpkin (and pumpkin spice) bender and I wannit in EVERY. SINGLE. THING.  

It doesn't get any more simple or nourishing than this!  This smoothie is filling, nutritious, free of refined sugar yet delightfully kissed with just a bit of sweet.  It is a perfect breakfast, post-workout snack or even a light meal.

This is a healthy, dairy-free take on the nostalgic flavor combination of sweetly acidic orange juice and creamy vanilla.  These may seem like an odd marriage of flavors for those who didn't grow up getting creamsicle popsicles from the corner store but they play so well with each other - like pb&j or chocolate & strawberries!  I really like it, can you tell? 

So when vogue.com asked me to contribute my recipe for this healthy creamsicle smoothie for a feature on their site, I gleefully agreed! You can read my wee feature here. No big deal ;) 

Sweetened black sesame paste is a mega-superstar in desserts. This is well known in east asian countries like Japan and China where it is a quintessential staple in sweet treats like ice cream, pastries, cakes and glutinous rice balls. In western culture we know how well nuts like pistachios, almonds and pecans work in all sorts of sweet applications, too many to list really. Black sesame lends a similar nuttiness to desserts although for some reason has not enjoyed the same ubiquity. The color maybe? Perhaps now is the time to give yourself to the Dark Side!

I generally abhor salad prep. I love to eat salad. But the prep, no. So much washing and spinning and trimming and seeding and cutting. But these rolls and the dipping sauce. Oh I'll do it for them. They are one of my favorite ways to eat a load of vegetables in one sitting. The filling can be quite versatile. The only 'formula' (for me) is the inclusion of buttery avocado + crunchy carrots + refreshing cucumber + something leafy. Beyond that, almost anything goes. 

"Alkalizing". What does that have to do with juice? Remember grade school science class when you learned about the pH scale - as in, vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline? As it turns out, our bodies are constantly balancing a pH too and plenty of literature informs us that bodies having a high pH (alkaline) versus a low pH (acidic) function better and are healthier.