In talking to my mom and sister today, I noticed we vented continuously about feeling stressed, crunched for time, strung out, etc. My mind raced as I listened to all their stresses and tallied my own. That’s been the trend for me this week settling back into a busy schedule at work, catching up with housework, Christmas shopping, menu planning, and stressing over my gift list making sure I don’t miss anyone. I keep trying to remind myself that I hardly have any reasons to feel stressed without kids, my shopping list is probably a joke compared to parents! I love this time of year for the cheer, decorations, and family and it seems just stupid to let all the shopping stress and planning madness get in the way of all the goodness. But I did gift myself with a splurge to make my breakfast smoothies a little more festive and indulgent – Sun Warrior Ultimate Raw Vegan Protein in chocolate.
It’s definitely a more expensive protein powder compared to pea or hemp protein, so I don’t buy it regularly. But the flavor is such a treat compared to hemp that can be gritty blended with certain fruits and veggies and lacking in flavor. I blended the Sun Warrior with a banana, a bunch of kale leaves, a heaping spoonful of Vitamineral Green, carrots, and a pinch of stevia for a hearty breakfast to go.
Co-workers always ask if I’m drinking sludge. Why yes and it tastes better than their instant, sugared oatmeal. :-)
Since I’m stretched a bit thin at work and recovering from a vacation, I’ve been trying to keep it high-raw and simple this week. I threw together a huge dinner salad one night packed with hemp seeds, broccoli sprouts, and dressed with Gena’s Carrot Miso Dressing.
The leftovers also made a great lunch the next day.
I’ve also been craving soups since it’s cold here. And wine, but let’s stay on topic. I threw together my Tempeh Miso Soup adding spinach for a quick, hearty, and warming dinner.
Hit the spot when outside was in the 30s and the leftovers also worked for lunch the next day.
But I’m still trying to maintain higher raw and satisfying meals in our winter weather which can be a challenge. That usually means a raw creamy hemp sauce coating lightly steamed hearty veggies for me. And I came up with a new one packing a slightly spicy mustard flavor with a savory tang.
Creamy Hemp Mustard Dressing
- 1 cup shelled hemp seeds
- 1 tsp. mustard powder
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup water
Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture. Use as a dip or dressing. Makes 2-4 servings.
I just love the chunky Dijon mustard from Trader Joe’s, great in raw coleslaw and to use in quick salad dressings.
The sauce is very thick and gloppy, perfect for coating lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
The sauce was great by itself, it didn’t need added salt or pepper for me.
It adds a rich creaminess to the hearty and filling chunks of broccoli and cauliflower.
And the leftovers were also great cold for lunch.
loving the dressing and those big, huge, peppercorns…love that shot. I can feel my sinuses opening from here :)
Try that dressing if you haven’t yet, it’s a great combo of sweet and savory. Great to serve as a dip too.
I applaud your ability to eat cauliflower :D
Thanks, but it’s tough to eat raw for me unless pureed into a smoothie or raw soup.
I’ve never tried Sun Warrior, but man do people seem to love it.
It can be tough to avoid major stressing during the holidays– every year, it’s my goal to just enjoy the season…and then every year, I end up stressed out anyway :-)
It’s a great protein powder for being raw vegan, very smooth and just the right amount of flavor without being too sweet.
So true on holidays, I always worry about getting the right gifts, meal planning, and forgetting to get a gift for someone.
Yum! I’m a huge mustard-lover and am getting really bored with my same-old-same-old Green Godess dressing! I’m excited to make this and try it out!
Stress is probably the most talked about subject, well maybe 2nd next to relationships. It is strange, in theory, because stress is what we should and want to have the least of in our lives, and yet it occupies so much of our lives.
It’s good that you’re taking care of yourself with good food and tastey dressings. I love Gena’s dressing, that one in particular. Good for cold and flu season!
So true on stress, it seems to consume discussions with friends and family lately. Life is just getting more complicated and chaotic I guess, seems crazy for me to feel stressed without kids and a crazy family schedule.
I’ve made that dressing so many times now I have the recipe memorized. But it’s so easy and I always seem to have the ingredients on hand.
Love some of these recipes. Only problem is hemp seeds are like gold in Australia.
Really really expensive. That container you have of them in your picture would cost 100’s of $$$ here.
I might have to use a substitute.