I Found mykind of Vitamin!

One day while searching the health food shelves, looking for a multivitamin for “older” vegans, I came upon Garden of Life mykind Organics multivitamins for 40+ Women and Garden of Life mykind Organics multivitamins for 40+ Men.

It’s a whole food vitamin supplement. I had been taking so many supplements that I wanted to pare down the amount of supplements I was taking, and roll several nutrients into a single multivitamin. I knew that I wanted my B-12 to be natural (methylcobalamin) and not the synthetic form (cyanocobalomin). I knew that I wanted a vegan form of D3, as well as some K2 that included MK-7. I also wanted the multivitamin to have the natural folate instead of the synthetic folic acid. Because I had stopped using an iodized form of sea salt  and had switched to pink Himalayan salt after the Japanese nuclear disaster, I was also interested in having the multiple include a little bit of iodine. Although I put a little kelp in my soups, frequently soak a kombu strip in soups, and absolutely love seaweed salad at a nearby Asian restaurant, I wanted a little iodine in my multiple. And, most importantly, the multivitamin had to be vegan, organic, and compact (no more than 2 or 3 per day. I had tired of taking a vitamin that required consumption of 15 capsules per day.)  Garden of Life mykind Organics multivitamins for 40+ Women filled the bill. And, they had an equivalent for 40+ males. What I didn’t know then was that it was mykind Organics cofounder Alicia Silverstone and Garden of Life who were behind the creation of this line of supplements. Alicia, you’ve done something absolutely wonderful! This is a great multivitamin supplement! It is truly my kind of multiple vitamin. So now, in addition to being an actor, a best-selling author (The Kind Diet), you have co-created a great multiple vitamin supplement! Thank you.

Fabulous Pharmacy of Mushrooms. . . Oh My!

Toadstools!  Poisonous mushrooms! That is my first memory of mushrooms. You could die from them, and my parents made sure to make me afraid of the ones growing in our yard. Certainly those beautiful red ones with polka dots are friendly? No…..they are quite deadly! When I owned my own home, all I knew to do was to make sure that if any mushrooms popped up over night, I would carefully yank them from the lawn, throw them away in a plastic bag, and wash my hands well. A few years ago, when our older Great Dane was a tiny puppy, I had gone shopping when I got a call from my husband.

“I think Valentina has found a mushroom in the yard and eaten it.  She vomited about four times, but her eyes still look bloodshot, and she’s acting funny."

I went right home, found mushroom pieces in her outside cushion, and we took her to the vet right away. Valentina had a tube put down her throat and a bunch of charcoal put into her stomach to help absorb any remaining poisons. (By the way, most Great Danes always look like they have saggy, slightly bloodshot eyes, so that didn’t go away.) I searched the yard that season and several seasons to follow, making sure there were no more poisonous mushrooms in the yard.

I can’t remember when I didn’t use mushrooms in my cooking – the nonpoisonous kind. When I began cooking, I started with white button mushrooms, and soon abandoned them for the fuller flavor of cremini, baby bellas, and portobellas. I can’t remember when I didn’t have a bottle of maitake, shitake, reishi mixture in capsules among my arsenal of natural supplements. But, it wasn’t until in the late 90’s that I came face-to-face with actual, whole, dried medicinal mushrooms. My husband-to-be and I were walking the streets of Chinatown, San Francisco, after a pleasant meal, and I noticed a Chinese pharmacy. I was a frequent customer of the Phoenix area Asian grocery stores that had a “pharmacy counter” where I could buy Quan Luong oil among other remedies. [Another story: one of my Asian ESL students offered a bit of her oil that she always kept handy in her purse to help alleviate my migraine. This oil, among other Asian remedies, soon became a regular in my medicine cabinet.] We stopped in the San Francisco Chinese Pharmacy. There was another customer before me, and I watched in wonder at the lady behind the counter as she read the prescription and proceeded to search the many shelves that lined the pharmacy’s walls, and weigh an assortment of dried materials, one by one, according to the paper which she held in her hand. Some of the ingredients were long, undulating, gracile, pointed fingers precariously balanced upon the scale, some of them indescribable, paper-thin, tenuous, filmy “wings” of dried materials, and just a few of them were recognizable to me as mushrooms. I had no idea as to which specific powers of remedy these strange-looking materials possessed, but I did sense that I was in the presence of something very powerful. Years later, when we lived in Placerville, California, I would begin to expand my culinary use of mushrooms. Raley’s, a nearby grocery store, offered a plastic-film covered Styrofoam container of a variety of mushrooms which I would frequently buy. My husband had become fascinated with the delicious flavors of those mushrooms that were prepared as a simple sauté with a little olive oil and maybe a little salt.

Fast forward almost ten years: Now, in case I cannot find the fresh mushrooms at Natural Grocer or Whole Foods or elsewhere in Austin, I have a stash of dried mushrooms that I rehydrate and use in a great deal of recipes: tofu scramble, soups, sautés – just about everything savory. My favorites are the Dried Forest Blend Mushrooms from D’Allesandro (DallesandroGourmet.com, Also at Amazon.com) and the Dried Mushrooms Chef’s Blend from lifegourmetshop.com, (also at Amazon.com). With a mixture of these two, I have: Shitake, Morel, Porcini, Bolete, Chantarelle, Oyster, and Woodear mushrooms. At this point, I’m only into buying and cooking mushrooms. (My husband says, “And I’m into eating them.”) I haven’t yet ventured into foraging for them or growing them.

I always have a supply of medicinal mushroom capsules: maitake, shitake, reishi, chaga, etc. There has been research done to validate the effectiveness of medicinal mushrooms. Some substances in mushrooms have been credited with anti-tumor and antibiotic qualities. Maitake is being researched for its power over HIV. Some of its substances appear to help patients that have undergone radiation, both to soothe away the bad effects and also to prolong life. Other mushroom substances are anticoagulant, while others lower cholesterol. “Every year researchers isolate at least 10 additional antibiotics from mushrooms. This is because mushrooms must compete against bacteria, and they are equipped with biological weapons to survive in that environment. This is perhaps the best reason for adding not one but many varieties of mushrooms to your diet. You may be effectively arming yourself against infections in the most natural way possible. Penicillin was derived, after all, from a fungus.” (Jack Czarnecki, A Cook’s Book of Mushrooms). In  a book I’ve just purchased, by Paul Stamets, Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, we learn that they may be of great use in saving our ailing world. Stamets’ book has beautiful photographs. Another book which I have just purchased is, The Fungal Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms and Lichens of North America, by Robert Rogers, RH (AHG). This book also has excellent photographs, including one of corn fungus, ustilago crameri, known as “huitlacoche” in Mexico. It is quite popular in Mexico. And, it is very popular with my husband! I think we’re becoming true “mycophiles.”

There is a great deal of information about mushrooms on the internet. One need only do a search for “medicinal mushrooms,” or “gourmet mushrooms” or “mushroom recipes”.  One of the many sites that are very informative is ChagaHQ.com. Among all the information, including medicinal qualities, history, and even recipes, for example: “Medicinal Mushrooms: Our Top Seven to Try,” (ChagaHQ.com/medicinal-mushrooms-list/). Also check out Paul Stamets on YouTube.com, including, " TEDMED talk from 2011" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXHDoROh2hA ), and "How Mushrooms Can Save Us From Ourselves", (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-9zzXuZ2h4) and many more. 6 ways mushrooms can save the world (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY)

Many Americans still suffer from “mycophobia”, or fear of mushrooms. But the Asians, and Europeans, as well as other world cultures have long revered mushrooms for their curative powers and the wonderful ways in which they can enrich and heal our lives, as well as heal our planet. Already, with study of only a few of the 38,000 mushroom species, we have begun to discover their amazing qualities. They are truly Nature’s Pharmacy.

Kudos to the UK: You have some great vegan magazines!

Congratulations, UK! You have some great vegan magazines. For one of my birthday presents, my husband renewed my subscriptions to Cook Vegan, Vegan Food and Living, and Vegan Life. Although I love my Veg News, from the United States, and have recently started buying the new Forks Over Knives magazine, I am impressed by the British vegan magazines. Practically every page in these magazines has great recipes and fabulous photographs. (I'm very biased towards photos in magazines and cookbooks to show what the final product should look like.) These magazines from the UK are beautifully formatted, colorful, well-written and jam-packed with recipes as well as with useful information.  It's like getting a new cookbook every month! I save every one!

I just got my June 2017 issue of Vegan Food and Living. It came with a separate magazine entitled Vegan Health and Nutrition. In the article "Does Meat Harm You?", by Dr. Justine Butler, I learned, "Meat contains B12, but only because factory-farmed animals are so B12 depleted that they are given supplements. Cut out the middle man, take your own!" In a following Article, " What About Vitamin B12?" by Filip Koidis, I learned that eating the bottom part of an apple (calyx) you will get a little bit of B12 (as long as you don't wash the apple too well!) Bacteria in the calyx will synthesize B12. This immediately brings back the memory of my father who ate every part of the apple, never leaving anything to throw away. (It was years later that I learned he was also getting B-17 from those apple seeds.)

The US may be catching up with the UK.  Forks Over Knives produced its first issue on March 2017. It is full of mouth-watering recipes with beautiful photos. So, the US may not be too far behind. Among the magazine's contributors is my favorite nutrition expert, Dr. Michael Greger. (My husband and I had the honor of meeting Dr. Greger at a book signing in Austin.)

The world is changing, little by little. They may still make fun of vegans in movies, but research bears out the truth that vegans (that eat seeds and nuts, among other plant-based foods) do live longer, healthier lives. For a fabulous resource for research showing this: Dr. Greger's website -- nutritionfacts.org . This website is a huge compendium of  research showing which foods actually improve and which foods hinder longer , healthier lives. The videos are short and sweet, and, by the way, funny and interesting. Dr. Greger does a fabulous job of bringing research to light and making it interesting and humorous. His book, How Not to Die, is a must-read for everyone who wishes to avoid premature death.

To Die, or Not to Die. The question is: Have You Heard About nutritionfacts.org ?

Most of us want to "not die", but do you know how?  Dr. Michael Greger can show you how.  He sifts through all of the medical literature , research etc., "so you don't have to." Sign up for emails from nutrition facts.org, and buy his book How Not To Die. My husband Tom and I went to a Book People book signing for How Not To Die. It was great. Dr. Greger is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Like me, Tom also found it very interesting and highly informative. We both found Dr. Greger to be extremely personable. After the presentation he took a great deal of time to sign books, talk to everyone, and have a picture taken with whoever wanted one. If you're not sure about buying the book, just read the introduction where he tells the story of his grandmother who in her 60's was sent home to die, entered into one of the early plant-based studies, eradicated her heart disease, and lived another 35 years (healthy!) It's the reason Dr. Greger went into medicine! There is also a small How Not To Die cookbook. Nutritionfacts.org and How Not To Die is anyone's answer to the skeptic's question : "Yes, but do you have the research to back that up?" Dr. Michael Greger does! Because of him, we do too! Sign up for the emails and read his book; it's more than a life-changer; it's a life-preserver!

By the way, the same talk he gave at Book People was done for Google Talks.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rNY7xKyGCQ
It's worth watching -- his talk is informative, interesting, and funny!
The most wonderful thing about all the research on plant-based diets is that not only can you arrest the development of disease, you can REVERSE IT!

Roasted Potato, Leek, and Fennel Velouté (Velvety Soup)

Servings: Serves about 8
Time: 1 hour or less.

The principal flavor ingredients of this soup are all oven-roasted. My love affair with oven roasting vegetables began with a simple, effortless recipe for oven-roasted broccoli. (Toss florets with salt and an oil that had a smoke point higher than 400 degrees F. Place florets on an oiled cast iron griddle and roast for about 20 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, depending on the size of the pieces. It’s done when you can get a fork through the thicker stems. The aroma in the house will tease your nose, the nutty flavor will tantalize your taste buds, and you’ll never go back.) 

The thought of roasting (and caramelizing) potatoes, leeks, onions and fennel in the oven is a no-brainer for you once you’ve begun oven roasting broccoli and cauliflower. Oven roasting brings out delicious flavors in almost every vegetable. The fibrous leek, onion and fennel of this recipe are tamed in the oven and their flavors end up softly integrating with the creamy smooth potato, transforming the mixture into a velvety smooth, soft pillow of flavor that glides across the tongue.

Once the mixture is pureed to a slightly lumpy texture and gently heated through, it is complete.  (Be careful not to process too long, as potato can get gummy, if over processed.)  This soup is fast, and (o la la!) so flavorful! Slice, toss, bake, puree - - et, voilà!
It quickly became a favorite in our house!

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, ½ - inch slices, cleaned of sand (See instructions.)
2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cut into ¾ -inch chunks
¼ cup + ¼ cup (1/2 cup divided) oil (Sunflower, grapeseed, and avocado oils have smoke points above 400 degrees F.)
2 fennel bulbs (reserve a few of the smaller fronds for garnish)(save the rest for juicing/smoothies)
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt, divided ½ tsp + ½ tsp (more, later, to taste)
Fresh black pepper
2 cups warm vegetable broth
2 cups unsweetened warm soy or almond milk

Optional Garnish:
In a small frying pan place:
1 TBSP oil
1 tsp dry thyme, (or ½ bunch fresh thyme)
½ lb. sliced Cremini mushrooms, stems removed
Cook on medium heat.  Place on paper towel to absorb any remaining moisture, and set aside until soup is ready to eat.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Slice leeks into half lengthwise, then cut 1/2 – inch slices.  Place in bowl of water and swish around with your hand until you are sure the sand/dirt has been washed away. Drain. Place in clean bowl with potato chunks, pour ¼ cup oil and mix oil, potato chunks and leeks together with ½ - tsp salt to coat completely. Place sliced potatoes and leeks on one baking sheet (that is lined with parchment or oiled. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Roast potatoes and leeks for 15 minutes.

While potatoes and leeks are roasting for 15 minutes, prepare the fennel and onions. Slice the fennel bulbs -- top to base, in 1/2 inch slices Cut onion into ½ inch slices. Toss fennel and onions  with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to coat completely. Place on the other baking sheet just like you did with the potato-leek mixture.

When the potatoes and leeks have roasted for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and flip with a spatula.  Return to the oven on the upper rack, and place the fennel and onions on the middle rack.

Roast for 10 minutes, then remove the fennel and onions, flip, and roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Potatoes should be tender at this point. Fennel and onions should be a bit caramelized. Remove from oven.

If you wish, reserve a few pieces of fennel for garnish. Place potato-leek and fennel-onion in the bowl of food processor along with warmed milk and broth. Pulse a few times, so that it’s creamy but still chunky. Do not over-process.  Thin with water, if needed. Warm on stove until heated through. (This will blend flavors nicely.)

You can also transfer all ingredients to a soup pot and blend with a submersion blender (instead of with a food processor) making sure to leave the mixture chunky.

Add salt and pepper if needed, ladle into bowls, garnish with sautéed mushrooms, fennel pieces, and fennel fronds, and serve! Bon appétit!

Recipe for Spicy Asian Tofu Sandwich with Asian Sriracha Coleslaw

A few years ago Kerby Lane Café (Austin) offered on their summer menu an exquisite vegan sandwich. It was scrumptious. I was disappointed to see it taken off the fall menu, so I worked on copying it, and came up with a version that my husband liked even better.  So, I waited for the next round of summer offerings, sure that I would see the sandwich again at Kerby Lane Café It had been extremely popular, even with the non-vegan customers as well as the servers. Finally, this last summer, it reappeared on their seasonal menu.  They had changed the recipe, and I was devastated. The sandwich was flavorless, the bun had been changed to a boringly bland submarine sandwich bun, and the tofu and coleslaw were tasteless. I ordered it once, and that was enough! Thank goodness I had already worked up a recipe that we enjoy -- I'm tempted to offer it to the person who designs the menus, and to the chef at the restaurant. If you make your own ciabatta rolls, you can make them whole wheat, which is even better, but if you're in a hurry, you have to stick with a white flour ciabatta roll. (I'm lazy about making ciabatta -- you have to make the "sponge" a day or two before you make the bread, and I'm always in a hurry to make (and eat) this sandwich!) The preparation of the tofu is a useful recipe for baking tofu for any recipe. The recipe calls for mirin, which is available in the Oriental Foods section of your supermarket.  For Lake Chapala, you can find it at Superlake .If you don't have it at the moment, you can use a substitute (See below recipe.) Sriracha sauce is an Asian Hot Sauce sold everywhere in the U.S. and In Mexico.  Just look for the red sauce with the rooster on the clear plastic bottle in the Asian section.  It's pretty spicy, so if you've never tried it, you may want to taste it before making this recipe. I am not a fan of horribly spicy food, but I love the flavor of a little sriracha.  It really makes this dish! For ciabatta at Lake Chapala, both SuperLake and WalMart sell them.  If you are in Guadalajara, you can find them at Mega, next to Costco across from the Galerias Mall. Unfortunately I haven't found a ready-made whole wheat ciabatta ...yet!

Spicy Asian Tofu Sriracha Slaw Sandwich

Serves 4

Slaw:

·                     1/3 cup mayonnaise

·                     1 – 2 teaspoons sriracha (2 tsp. makes it very spicy, ½ tsp. makes it mild)

·                     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

·                     fresh ginger, grated

·                     1 tablespoon rice vinegar

·                     2 cups cabbage

Sandwich:

·                     slices of pan-fried or baked soy sauce tofu

·                     4 ciabatta rolls

·                     Slaw (See recipe above.)

Tofu:     (See “Marinated Asian Tofu Recipe” below.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.                   In a bowl whisk together mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon sriracha, salt, ground ginger and rice vinegar. Taste. If you would like it spicier add more sriracha. Stir in cabbage slaw. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2.                   Cook tofu – pan fry with ¼ cup soy and ¼ cup water, or bake (Preferred method: For an even tastier tofu, see Marinated Asian Tofu recipe below.)

3.                   Slice the ciabatta rolls in half and grill/toast. (I use a Panini grill.) Put tofu slices onto the bottom half of a roll, spoon sriracha slaw on top. Top with remaining half of bun. If desired, add extra sriracha sauce.

4.                   For ease of preparing, cut the buns diagonally in half before you add the tofu.  Then place tofu and cut again, matching the diagonal cuts on the ciabatta.  After placing the slaw, and top bun, gently “saw” through the sandwich so everything in the sandwich  separates easily into two pieces.  Place a toothpick or two to hold it nicely together. 

5.                   Serve immediately.

Marinated Asian Tofu

ä       1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed

ä       ½ cup mirin (see possible substitutes below)

ä       3 Tablespoons tamari/soy

ä       2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

ä       1 Tablespoon sesame oil

ä       1 - 2 teaspoons Asian Chili sauce (Sriracha) (2 tsp. makes it pretty spicy!)

ä       1 or 2-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and minced

ä       2 large cloves of garlic, smashed, or very finely minced

Prepare marinade.  Combine all marinade ingredients in a wide shallow bowl.

For Grilled tofu: Cut the tofu widthwise into four equal slices.  Marinate for an hour, flipping over after 30 minutes. Grease a stove-top grill pan (preferably cast-iron) with vegetable oil.  Preheat over a high flame for about 3 minutes.  Use tongs to distribute the tofu slabs evenly onto the grill.  Gently use the tongs to press the tofu into the grill ridges, to get nice dark lines.  Cook for 3 minutes on one side without lifting, then turn the slabs 90 degrees to create a crosshatched pattern on the bottom of the tofu.  Cook for 2 minutes, then flip over and cook for another 2 minutes. 

For baked tofu:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the tofu widthwise into eight equal parts.  Marinate for one hour, flipping after 30 minutes.  Place the tofu on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Flip over and bake for another 10 minutes.  Place in the broiler for about 3 more minutes for extra chewiness.

In a Hurry? – If you have no time to wait for the one-hour marinade, place the tofu slices and marinade mixture in a frying pan.  Fry at  low - medium temperature until it begins to brown a little bit. (The marinade will have evaporated and carmelized/browned  the tofu a bit.)

Subsitute for mirin:

1 tbsp of vinegar and one of sugar (dissolved in the vinegar) for 2 cups of sushi rice.

OR: White grape juice mixed with lemon juice or lemon zest

OR: Try plain rice vinegar, add a bit of sugar, and a bit of apple juice to taste. It should come close to mirin.

Recipe for Carrot Soup with African Spices.

Carrot Soup with North African Spices

This carrot soup recipe from the cookbook, Field of Greens, has the aromatic spices of the East.  It’s a favorite. Use a food processor to slice the carrots and the sweet potato. It is important for the flavor of the soup to toast the cumin and coriander seeds and then grind them.

Ingredients:

5 cups               Vegetable Broth prepared with 10 thin coins of ginger root

1 TBSP              Olive oil

1                      Onion, medium sized, thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 cups)

1-1/2 tsp          Salt (divided into 1 tsp. and 1/2 tsp.)

2 cloves             Garlic

1-1/2 tsp          Cumin seed, toasted and ground

1 tsp                 Coriander seed, toasted and ground

2 tsp.                Grated fresh ginger

                        Cayenne pepper

2 lbs.                Carrots, thinly sliced, about 7 cups

1                      Sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced, about 1 cup 

1/2 cup            Fresh orange juice

1/2 cup            Crème fraîche (Vegan) (See below.)

2 TBSP             Coarsely chopped cilantro

 

·         Make stock and keep it warm.

·         Heat the olive oil in a soup pot and add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sauté over medium heat until it begins to release its juices, about 5 minutes, then add garlic cumin, coriander, ginger, and a few pinches of cayenne.  Cook until the onion is very soft, about 10 minutes, adding a little stock if it sticks to the pan.

·         Add carrots, sweet potato, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 quart stock.

·         Bring to a gentle boil., then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the carrots are very tender, about 15 minutes. 

·         Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth, using a little extra stock if needed.

·         Return to the pot, add the orange juice, and thin with stock to the desired consistency. 

·         Season with salt to taste and, for additional heat, a pinch or two of cayenne. 

·         Garnish each serving with a swirl of crème fraîche and sprinkle with cilantro.

 

Makes 9 to 10 cups

From: Field of Greens, by Annie Somerville

Crème Fraîche (Vegan)

There are two parts to making vegan crème fraîche. Make the Crème Cheeze, then liquify it a bit more to make the crème fraîche.

Incredible Almond Crème Cheeze

From Vegan Vittles

¼ cup raw (unroasted) whole almonds, blanched and peeled

1 cup water

2 TBSP. fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP. cornstarch

1-1/2 TBSP oil  (olive, avocado, etc.)

1/2 tsp. Nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

• Grind almonds to a fine powder in an electric seed mill or coffee grinder.
• Place ground almonds in a blender with ½ cup water.
• Process the mixture on medium speed to create a smooth, thick cream.
• Add remaining water along with the lemon juice, cornstarch, oil, yeast flakes, and salt, and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
• Pour the blended mixture into a 1-quart saucepan. Place saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer. Remove saucepan from the heat, and let the mixture cool.
• Beat the Crème Cheeze well with a fork, wire whisk, or electric beater. Transfer it to a storage container, and chill in refrigerator. The Crème Cheeze will continue to thicken as it chills and will become very firm.  It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
• Important: if you are using the Crème Cheeze, as Crème Cheeze, prior to serving, mash and beat the crème cheese again with a fork, wire whisk, or electric beater until it is smooth and creamy.

Yields: about 1 cup

Note: If you are blanching the almonds, make sure they are dry before you grind them.

 

Crème Fraîche

1 cup Almond Cream Cheese

2 1/2 TBSP almond, rice or soymilk

1 tsp of lemon or lime juice

 

Directions:

• Mash and beat the crème cheese again with a fork, wire whisk, or electric beater until it is smooth and creamy.
• Mix together Almond Crème Cheeze, non-dairy milk, and lemon/lime juice. and enjoy over your favorite recipes.

 

This healthy alternative to dairy can be used for sweet and savory dishes.