Take Time Out of Your Hectic Life to Enjoy this Summer Holiday
Happy Times and the 4th of July
The 4th of July is a time to celebrate our country's independence from Britain. For many people, this holiday is all about barbecues, picnics, and enjoying time with family and friends. However, if you choose to eat a whole food plant-based diet, the 4th of July can be tricky. Most of the food typically served on this holiday is not whole food plant-based. Luckily, there are plenty of delicious WFPB options that everyone can enjoy. From BBQ tofu skewers to watermelon salad, plenty of recipes will make your 4th of July celebrations special. See the recipes below!
Health Benefits of Being Outdoors
It's no secret that spending time outdoors is good for your health. There are numerous health benefits associated with being outdoors. For one, outdoor activity can help to improve your cardiovascular health by increasing your heart rate, clearing your lungs, and promoting blood circulation. It can also help to strengthen your muscles and bones. The fresh air and vitamin D from the sun can help improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and alleviate symptoms of depression. Exposure to natural light also helps to regulate our sleep cycles. So make sure you spend at least some time outside this 4th of July.
And Now for the Recipes
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Tofu cubed skewer BBQ
Ingredients for the Sauce
2 tbs grated fresh ginger
6 minced garlic cloves
6 tbs coconut aminos
2 tbs date syrup
4 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 tbs sesame oil (I use this cold-pressed sesame oil)
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Cook all ingredients in a small saucepot. This Xtrema 1 qt Traditions saucepot is perfect! You can get it right now for their end-of-the-season sale.
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Ingredients for the Kabobs
Cubed Tofu
Mushrooms
Onion
Zucchini
Pineapple
Cherry Tomatoes
Peppers of any color or all colors
Any other vegetable you can think of
Instructions
Use metal skewers and alternate tofu with different fruits/veggies onto the skewers. Brush the glaze on the tofu kabobs. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the kabobs. Cook on the bbq grill and rotate every couple of minutes until tofu is lightly seared and veggies are soft. This will take about 15 minutes.
Zucchini grilled
Instructions: Cut zucchini into 1/4 lengthwise spears. Brush with lemon juice and sprinkle spices on. I pretty much put garlic and cayenne on everything. Try it, you might like it!
Put on the outdoor or indoor grill and cook until soft.
Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
12 yellow potatoes (I used small to medium)
2 cups diced onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups dill pickles chopped
11” Versa Wok (Comes with a Lid)
Instructions
Cover cut up potatoes with filtered water and bring to a boil. Turn stove to simmer, and simmer about 20 minutes or until they are as soft as you like. I like my potato salad potatoey (I am sure that’s a word), so I cook them until pretty soft. Drain water from potatoes. Let cool a bit.
Add the onions, celery, and pickles and mix with a spoon.
Set mixture aside.
Dressing
1 12 oz package of silken tofu
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup of mustard (I use this because there is no yucky stuff in it)
1/8 of a cup of dill pickle juice (roughly…add more or less as this is what determines the thickness of the dressing).
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Blend all of the ingredients together. Pour into the potato mixture. Mix thoroughly with a spoon. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Makes about 8-12 servings. I definitely won’t judge you if it only gives you 1-2 servings.
Corn on the Cob
(Make sure you get organic, so as to avoid the GMOs…even then it may be iffy…so I don’t recommend eating it more than once a year, if that).
Take the husk and silk off of the corn. Put filtered water in the bottom of the pan. Place a steamer basket in the bottom of a shallow pan. (If you have the Xtrema Versa wok this is perfect)! Boil the water then reduce the heat to simmer. Add the corn cobs to the basket and steam for about 15 min.
Next, you can either eat steamed or bring it to the BBQ grill and grill for about 5 minutes.
I know you probably want butter, but that is where a healthier alternative lies. It is Oleolux (below) and is so tasty. This is one of the recipes that Johanna Budwig used. Johanna Budwig took care of cancer patients that the doctors had given up on. She led many people to recovery. I used her program when I was first diagnosed with my own cancer…for 5 years actually. With that said, I would not hesitate to recommend this healing oil mixture to anyone, whether sick or well.
Oleolux
Ingredients
1/2 cup cold-pressed flax oil (I get mine here)
1 cup cold-pressed coconut oil
1 Medium Onion
10 cloves garlic slightly mashed
Instructions
Put the flax oil in a covered dish big enough to also add the coconut oil to it. I like to freeze it for the last half an hour before pouring my mixture over it.
Melt the coconut oil in a pan. Slice the onion and cook on low heat until it is transparent (about 10 minutes)
Crush the garlic with the back of a spoon. Add the garlic to the coconut oil and onions.
Remove from heat. Let cool a bit. Take your bowl of flax oil out of the freezer. Put a strainer over the flax oil bowl and pour the onion, garlic, and oil into a colander. Set the garlic and onions aside. You can put on top of your zucchini (YUM), or just eat while you are waiting for dinner (I’ve done that)! Set some of the oil aside for your corn. Refrigerate the rest of the oil. This can be used in place of butter for savory dishes.
Baked Beans
Ingredients
3 tbs coconut oil or water
2 cups chopped onion
2 tbs chopped garlic
1-2 large jalapenos (I use the seeds for spice in mine) (It is totally ok to leave these out if you don’t like spicy).
1 1/3 cup tomato paste
1 cup vegan Worcestershire Sauce (I used Portlandia Vegan Worcestershire because it is organic and has no sugar or yucky ingredients).
1/3 cup date syrup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tbs smoked paprika
4 14 oz cans Northern White Beans
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt coconut oil in a 3.5 qt saucepan, or simmer water. Saute’ onion, garlic, and jalapeno in the coconut oil. I saute’ in water and it works just fine. Turn heat off. Add the 4 cans of beans.
In a separate dish mix together the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, date syrup, mustard, and paprika.
Slowly stir the sauce into the bean mixture and onion. Make sure everything is coated with the sauce.
Cover the pan, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
This recipe will serve 6-8 people. If you are having a crowd, you will probably need to double or triple the recipe and use the Versa Dutch Oven. I think I will quadruple this recipe next time. My family loves these. I used to hate baked beans. These are nothing like what I remember. I really enjoyed my bowlful, but it was not enough for more with our big family!
Watermelon Stars with Blueberries
Watermelon, Blueberry, and Banana Salad with Sprigs of Mint
Ingredients:
1 Whole Watermelon
1 pint of Blueberries
3-4 cut-up Bananas (You can always sub out the bananas for coconut for the white, or even add both).
Fresh Mint Leaves
Instructions: This one is easy. Just chop up all of the ingredients except the mint, and put them in a pretty bowl. One fun alternative is to cut the watermelon into stars. You can even keep the watermelon half intact, and hollow it out so you can put the fruit in there. Add mint to the top for a nice garnish.
Healthy Grain-Free Black Cherry Pie
Ingredients for Crust
3 cups almond flour
1 cup arrowroot flour
4 tbs coconut oil liquid
6 tbs lukewarm water (add 1 tbs at a time until consistency that you want.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Take the dough out and put it between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Roll out until it fits in your pie plate. This should make enough dough to add hearts and stars. Bake the pie shell at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out to cool, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients for Pie Filling
4 bags of 10 oz. frozen black cherries
4 tbs date syrup
3 tbs arrowroot flour
2 tsp almond extract
Instructions
Boil all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer until thick.
Once the pie filling is cooled off, pour the mixture into the pie shell. Put in the oven until pie shell is golden brown. Take out of the oven and serve with vanilla nice cream.
Xtrema 2.5 qt Saucepan
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Watermelon Yonanas
Ingredients
1. 1 c. frozen seedless watermelon chunks
Chocolate Chips (Made with Date Paste)
Instructions
1. Insert frozen watermelon into Yonanas machine
2. Pipe Watermelon sorbet into popsicle molds
For your first layer, pour the mixture evenly into popsicle molds, about 3/4 of the way full. Use a popsicle stick to spread the chocolate chips randomly into this layer. These represent your watermelon seeds. Freeze for about 1-2 hours or until frozen.
While this layer is setting, make the coconut layer.
Coconut Yonanas
Enjoy a little island magic when you a add rich and creamy coconut milk to sweet bananas! Coconut Yonanas is a vacation in a bowl!
Ingredients
1. 2 frozen over-ripe bananas
2. 4 frozen coconut milk cubes
Instructions
1. Make the Coconut Milk Cubes in advance: Freeze coconut milk in ice cube trays overnight. TIP: Do not shake can of coconut milk. Skim coconut from the top of the can to fill ice cube trays, leaving remaining coconut water. This will help create creamier coconut cubes. Make the Coconut Milk Cubes in advance: Freeze coconut milk in ice cube trays overnight. TIP: Do not shake can of coconut milk. Skim coconut from the top of the can to fill ice cube trays, leaving remaining coconut water. This will help create creamier coconut cubes.
2. Slightly thaw your bananas and coconut cubes prior to putting them through your Yonanas maker.
3. Insert one frozen banana
4. Add two frozen coconut milk cubes
5. Alternate remaining ingredients
Take watermelon layers out of the freezer. Pour about 1-2 tbs of the coconut layer onto the watermelon layer. Freeze for another 1-2 hours.
While this layer is setting make the kiwi layer.
Kiwi Yonanas
Enjoy the sweet citrus-like flavor of kiwi in this two-ingredient green nice cream recipe.
Ingredients
1. 2 frozen over-ripe bananas
2. 1 cup frozen kiwi chunks
Instructions
1. Slightly thaw your frozen fruit prior to putting it through your Yonanas maker.
2. Insert 1 banana
3. Insert 1/2 c. frozen kiwi
4. Alternate remaining ingredients
When the coconut layer is frozen, pour 1-2 tbs of the kiwi layer on top. Freeze for 1-2 hours.
To remove from molds, run under lukewarm water and wiggle the stick around a bit to loosen, before giving a gentle pull.
Red/White/Blue popsicles
Red Fruity Layer
1/2 of fresh watermelon
8 oz fresh strawberries
2 scoops raspberry powder
Instructions
Blend all ingredients together. Pour into popsicle molds (1/3 of the way full) Let freeze for about 2-4 hours. I carry these popsicle molds in my store or you can get the rocket popsicle molds.
White Pina Colada Layer
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk (I used full fat)
1/2 of a large banana
1 cup of pineapple
Instructions
Blend all ingredients together. Once the red layer is frozen, fill the mold another 1/3 of the way, and then put it back in the freezer. Wait another 2-4 hours.
Blue Spirulina Blueberry Layer
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk (again, I used full fat coconut milk)
2 scoops of blue spirulina powder (Click on the red link and use code Carrot15 for your 15% discount)
1 pint of blueberries
Instructions
Blend all ingredients together. Add the final layer. Freeze another 2-4 hours.
To remove from molds, run under lukewarm water and wiggle the stick around a bit to loosen, before giving a gentle pull.
And last, but certainly not least! S'mores Coffee for the perfect end (or start) to an amazing day with family and friends outdoors, or hiding indoors with your pup. This makes a really nice indulgence for anyone anywhere!
Final Thoughts
I hope you all have had an amazing time reading this. It was a fun blog to write. If you have any comments or have tried any recipes, or just want to say hello, I would be thrilled!
Taking time for fun is a very important part of a healthy life journey! I look forward to hearing from you!
