Hearty kale and white bean soup

Ah tis the season for hot soup and warm sweaters! Last night I was in a soup mood, so I decided to throw together this soup, which turned out to be really great. 

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 small chopped yellow onion 

• 4 cloves garlic 

• 3 cups chopped kale 

• 1 roma tomato, cut into chunks 

• 5 medium baby bella mushrooms, sliced 

• 1 box/quart of low sodium vegetable broth 

• 1 tbsn fresh rosemary 

• 1 tbsn dried parsley

• 1 tbsn dried oregano 

• 1 roasted red pepper, cut into slivers 

• 1/4 cup hummus (I used homemade hummus, but store bought would work as well)

• 2-3 tbsn tomato paste (depending on how much tomato taste you like) 

• 1 can white beans 

• 1 cup fully cooked brown rice 
• salt and pepper to taste

1- Saute the onion and garlic in a dash of avocado, canola, or coconut oil (all can withstand higher temperatures) until onions are translucent. You may need to add water if they veggies start to stick. 

2- Add the kale, tomato and mushrooms. Once the kale looks soft and bright green add the vegetable stock as well as the remaining ingredients. Stir well. 

3- Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Enjoy! 

Banana chai pie

This summer I made so many raw pies with berries, nectarines, peaches, and basically anything in season. When I went to the food store yesterday they had organic bananas on sale for 99 cents that were bruised. I got 8 bananas for a buck! Sad but true: it made my day. So, I decided to make myself a sweet banana cream pie. Then decided cause it was winter I would spice it up and make the icing chai.

Alrighty, Here is the ingredients for the bottom crust:

• 1 1/2 cups raw pecans 

• 1 3/4 cup shredded coconut 

• 15-20 medjool dates

1- place pecans and coconut in your food processor until the mixture is finely ground. Then add the dates (about 5 at a time). Add enough dates until the mixture is sticky, but not sticking together. You want the texture to be "crust like" not soft. Press the mixture into a pie pan of your choice.

2- Now cut up about 4 or 5 medium ripe bananas. Layer them so that they cover the crust with one layer of banana.

 Now for the icing:

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1 cup raw cashews
1 tbsn pure maple syrup (or 2 if you like it super sweet)
2-3 dates
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of cloves 

3-Place all ingredients in a high powered blender (such as vitamix). Add more coconut milk if the blender is struggling. Blend until nice and creamy.

4- Pour the creamy goodness evenly over the pie until it covers. You should have enough to just cover.

5-Sit back and enjoy with a cup of warm tea :)

** the pie is great right away, but its even better chilled in the fridge overnight! Also, make sure to keep in the refrigerator so that it doesn't spoil!