I am so thrilled to have Dreena here to share her new cookbook with you today!
In 2011, I started a little blog called Virtually Vegan Mama and began experimenting with plant-based cooking. I found a cool product- which is not even in production anymore – and used it to make my first-ever recipe for Vegan Fettuccini Alfredo. I received the dreaded “Anonymous” comment stating how I should have made my own cashew cream sauce instead of using a prepackaged brand. Almost immediately I received a comment coming to my defense.
Here it is:
“As a mom with kiddos sometimes you DO need the shortcuts. Not that you need to explain that or anything else to ‘anonymous’. That was a rude comment, when you are doing something good here sharing a recipe and also healthful information about eating vegan, and also Julieanna’s work. I rarely post on blogs, but because I often get these ‘anonymous’ comments myself, I just wanted to throw some fellow blogger and vegan mama support your way.”
And yes, it was Dreena who took the time to write this awesome comment. At the time, I was floored and so honored and so grateful. I was like, “I can’t believe this famous cookbook author just came to my defense, how cool is that?!?!” And as I got to know Dreena virtually over the next couple of years, it solidified my initial feeling about her. She is not only a talented vegan recipe developer and author, she is an amazing person.
I’ve done plenty of reviews over the years and I’ve seen first-hand how Dreena will take the time to actually connect with her readers and fans. You cannot say this about a lot of authors, but the fact that she is accessible to her fans and takes the time to connect with them is so important in my book!
Pure Voice is about sharing the heart-felt stories of others and If anyone can inspire us to “find our balance”, it is Dreena. Thank you for sharing a little bit about yourself with us today. Take it away Dreena…
“I’ve been mothering for 12 years now. I’ve been writing cookbooks even longer, and blogging about 8 years. Through these years, I have been asked many times – both in my personal life and through online acquaintances – “how do you do it? … how do you find the balance?“.
My short reply is often “I’m not sure there is any balance“. We may wax poetic about how us moms can “have it all”, but is that really true? Can we? For me, motherhood and working has always been more of a juggling act than a balancing act. With all the demands of family and work-life, something has to give – eventually a ball is going to drop.
While I hardly have all the answers, I have found a few things that work for me. First, I do love my work. It feels meaningful and creative and purposeful. I wouldn’t work as hard as I do if I didn’t have this connection and passion. Second, I respect my burnout. When I have had too much, I break from blogging or social media. I only blog about once a week, because that’s really all I can maintain right now. Third, I respect my sleep. I have always been an early bird – early to bed, early to rise. So, I don’t abuse that. I shut off from momputing by about 8:30pm. Here’s the embarrassing confession: I’m in bed most nights by 9:30. I know, plant-powered partay! Well, I’m often up at 5:30 or 6am, so it’s my rhythm. Sleep is critical for maintaining our serenity as mothers, and I have had periods of torturous insomnia after having children – which could be a whole post on its own. So, I do my best to respect my rhythms and try – try – not to be hard on myself. Fourth, I exercise. I don’t run miles or endure long, exhausting workouts. For my body, just small spurts of daily exercise works best. So, 20-30 minutes a morning of yoga, weight-training, or rebounding (I hope to post about that soon)! Fifth, I feel whole foods help energize and stabilize me through the day. My diet is about 80-85% whole foods. I’m not perfect, I enjoy my treats. I love my chocolate. And there you have my sixth coping mechanism.
There are many things I know I should do more. I know I should meditate, have more “me” time like spa visits (ahhhh!), get out for girls’ nights, and also get away to food and veggie conferences more often. Maybe in time. I’m sure I could fit in even 10 minutes of meditation a day, that might be the best place to start.
As for “finding the balance”, that may forever remain elusive … at least until our children are much older and independent – and by that time I will likely miss the noise and chaos of my current days.”
And Dreena sure gets it done – even with all the noise and chaos – and here’s the proof!
If you are looking for a family-friendly plant-based recipe cookbook, this is it. The recipes included in this book are wholesome and delicious. With over 100 recipes there is a ton of variety to choose from. Dreena also share her tips, tricks and advice for dealing with picky eaters, stocking your pantry, and menu planning.
Here is just a sampling of some of the recipes:
- Blueberry Lassy Muffins
- Chickpea Salad
- White Bean Guacamole
- Artichoke Sunflower Burgers
- Ta-Quinos
- Saucy BBQ Chickpeas + Green Beans
- PB Pudding w/ Berrylicious Swirl
- Lemon-Kissed Blondie Bites
- Fudgesicles
- Red Lentil Hummus
- Cinnamon French Toast
- Baconut
- Crazy Brownies
- Creamy Artichoke Dip
- Easy Being Green Smoothie
- No-Bake Granola Bars
- Protein Power Balls
- Creamy Fettucine
Yum, right?
You are super luck today because I am sharing TWO of Dreena’s recipes from her new book. And let me tell you, both recipes were easy to make and flaw-less!
First up are these fabulous No-Bake Granola Bars. These are simple, nutritious and delicious. A total hit with my kiddos and I have been instructed to NEVER buy store-bought again.
- ½ cup brown rice syrup
- ¼ packed cup coconut butter (see note)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup oat flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
- 11/2 cups natural brown rice crisp cereal
- 3 tablespoons nondairy chocolate chips (optional)
- Line an 8" × 8" pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over medium/medium-low heat, add the brown rice syrup, coconut butter, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cinnamon. Stir until well combined and the coconut butter has melted. Add the rolled oats, and stir through, allowing to cook for 2–3 minutes in the low heat. Add the oat flour and shredded coconut, and stir through.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Swiftly stir in the cereal and transfer the mixture to prepared pan. Press mixture evenly into the pan (using a nonstick spatula or piece of parchment paper). Wait just a minute, and then sprinkle on the chocolate chips and press those into the base. Refrigerate until fully chilled (at least ½ hour), then cut in squares or bars.
Coconut butter works well here because it is so dense and helps bind the bars.
Because coconut is not botanically a nut, these are also perfect for school lunches.
However, if you want to substitute a nut butter, choose one that is very dense, like cashew butter.
Idea:Try some of these flavor variations:
•Raisin-spice:
Stir in 3–4 tablespoons raisins, omit the chips, increase the cinnamon to ½ teaspoon, and add ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoon of allspice.
•Cranberry–pumpkin seed:
Stir in 3–4 tablespoons of dried cranberries and substitute pumpkin seeds for the coconut.
•Cocoa-hemp:
Substitute 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds for the coconut, and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (when mixing in the oat flour). Keep the chocolate chips, oh yes!
And what’s a plant-based cookbook without a mouth-watering veggie burger? We love veggie burgers at our house and this Artichoke Burger did not disappoint. This recipe was very easy to make and didn’t require any fancy ingredients. It was also super flavorful and the whole family enjoyed it. And guess what the best part is? It doesn’t fall apart!! I hate veggie burgers that don’t hold together and this one doesn’t disappoint on any level. Make this one for dinner tonight!
- 2 cups artichoke hearts (see note)
- 11/2 loosely packed cups cooked and cooled brown rice or potatoes
- (see note)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ loosely packed cup fresh Italian parsley (see note)
- 1 tablespoon mild miso (ex: chickpea or brown rice)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ rounded teaspoon sea salt
- 1 medium clove garlic (see note)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill or parsley
- 1½ teaspoons chickpea miso or other mild/light miso
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½–1 small clove garlic (optional; see note)
- 1 cup plain nondairy yogurt
- ½–1 tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup seeded, roughly chopped cucumber
- Dash pure maple syrup (optional)
- In a food processor, add the artichoke, rice, nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds, parsley, miso, mustard, sea salt, garlic, black pepper, and vinegar and puree. Once the mixture is coming together, add the oats and pulse through several times. Refrigerate for an hour if possible (so it’s easier to shape the patties).
- Scoop the mixture and form burgers. I scoop generously with an ice cream scoop, roughly ⅓–1/2 cup.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 5–7 minutes, then flip and cook another 4–5 minutes, until golden. Serve with fixings of choice (see serving suggestions).
- In a blender, add the dill, miso, sea salt, garlic, yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Add the cucumber, and process briefly to incorporate but not fully smooth out. Add more salt to taste, or a touch of maple syrup if desired to sweeten ever so slightly for kids. Serve!
Potato Note: Instead of leftover rice, you can use 11/2–13/4 cup precooked, cubed, red or yellow (waxy) potatoes—but thetechnique is different. Potatoes can become gummy when pureed in a food processor. So, if using, add the potatoes last, after the oats. Simply pulse the potatoes until they are just evenly worked through the mixture. Do not over process.
Garlic Note: I’m conservative with the garlic for the kiddos, but you can use more if you like.
Fresh Herbs Note: Fresh parsley adds a nice flavor element, but you can also deruse fresh basil.
Serving Suggestions: Top with Tzatziki Sauce
I am so excited that Ben Bella Books is allowing me to giveaway one copy of Plant-Powered Families to you! Thank you so much to Dreena and Ben Bella Books for allowing me to share a little about Dreena and her fabulous new cookbook!
This Giveaway is now closed. =)
Congrats to Kathy T. on winning this awesome giveaway and thanks to all who entered!
Disclaimer: I was given this book to review for this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
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I work from home (blogging/crafting), homeschool, cook heLthy meals for my family, and have an 8 year old and 2 year old. I definitely have no balance! Lots of juggling, lots of undone laundry.
Honey recently posted…My First Order from Culture Pop Quilling Papers
I am self-employed & work 70+ hours a week. My children are grown, but because of circumstances have had to move in with my son and his family. I try to make food that my grands will eat that is healthy for them. How do I feel? My life is a mess, but I am trying to continue to eat right to maintain my health while working on moving forward.
My kiddo is grown and on her own. I was extremely fortunate to be a stay at home mom when she was little, and then I worked part-time during her high school years. I have mad respect for those mamas working 40 hours (or MORE!) a week outside the home. I sometimes felt like I was drowning just trying to keep up with Scouts, soccer, PTA etc.
All three of my children are grown. But it seems as though I’ve never had an empty nest! At my age my daughter helps bring balance to my life.
I have four grown children and never have even felt the need to do it all! I do see how social media can make today’s mothers feel like they could be doing more/better/etc.
Right now, I feel overwhelmed. I’m finding it hard to balance my work commitments with my family activities and my personal activities. It seems nutrition always falls by the wayside when we get busy. I’m actively searching for balance.
Your post really resonated with me. Balance is something I am struggling with right now as I have just switched my family to a plant-based diet and and am finding that food prep is taking more of my time as I adjust to new ingredients and recipes. I find that whenever things feel out of balance, I need to take a hard look at priorities and give myself permission to let other things drop for a time .
Since I went plant-based nearly four years ago, I feel SO much better than I did my entire adult life. Balance? That’s something I work on constantly. I tend to get focused on one thing, then neglect another. But as the Beatles say, it’s gettin’ better all the time.
Thanks for a great giveaway!
My “little” ones are out of the house now but back then I was a single mom, going to school full time for my PhD, and most days I just took it one day at a time, but no, it wasn’t always easy to feel balanced. But there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Bitter and Murky recently posted…The good, the bad, and the ugly
How do you feel? Are you a mother working from home or outside the home? How do YOU do it all? Do you feel you have “balance”?
I am constantly rushing – always exhausted. With 3 kids in scouting, 2 in band, 1 in soccer, church for us, and my husband working a fulltime job with crazy hours, we’re always on the go. I’m currently not working, and just finished my spring semester of college so I can start applying to Nursing Schools. I don’t know how i get it all done, but I know i don’t have that perfect balance yet in my life!
i don’t actually have any human kids, just furry ones. But the recipes I’ve seen posted from this sound good for my style of cooking and my husband’s taste in food!
Sorry but I am not a mother of children but I do cook for a child. I am a stay home woman since I am on a sick leave. Evendough I stay home I sometime finds it difficult to prepare all the meal because I am not always feeling well and I have to cook separate meals. My husband is not vegan but the child I cook for eats vegan.
Jessica Eagle recently posted…Salade de brocoli rôti & pomme avec sa vinaigrette au citron & tahini
I am about to be a single mother of a toddler girl who brings so much joy to my life. I work full-time and am in the process of completing my BA degree part-time. I try to find “balance” in my life by remembering to take time to relax and by reminding myself to appreciate all the beauty in my life!
I am not a mother, but I definitely don’t feel like I have balance in my life. I’m working hard at it though!
Those granola bars look divine. I’d love to win a copy of the cookbook!
I’m a SAHM, but don’t have a paying job. I do maintain a blog. Our daughter is almost 2 and we have a second due in July. My whole focus revolves around my daughter and I know it will only get worse with having two. In that respect I do not think I am balanced. At the end of the day I find myself too exhausted to do anything for myself and my personal goals. I do get frustrated with this at times, but I know it won’t always be this way and I will eventually be able to do things for myself.
Celeste recently posted…Three Sides for Memorial Day
I have chronic health issues that have been extra stressful lately, so I have no balance. I try to keep myself grounded with working on art when I can, but there isn’t always time for that with all my appointments.
Thanks for this wonderful giveaway. The book is full of so many amazing recipes… I’m having a hard time deciding what to start with.