Ginger Lemonade

I love to drink this through the cold and flu season. The lemon, ginger and apple cider vinegar have many health benefits with vitamin C, probiotics and inflammatory properties - overall they provide a nice boost to your immune system.

I make a few jars of this at the start of the week and then just grab one a day.

Ginger Lemonade

Ingredients:

3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp liquid stevia
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (with "the mother" for the probiotics)
1 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced
32 ounces of water

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a 32 oz jar and add the water. Let sit in the refrigerator until ready to drink. The ginger flavors permeate the drink more the longer it soaks.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Having fallen in love with golden milk chia pudding last year, I can't believe I was this slow in trying chocolate chia pudding. Now that I have tried it, I am in love with this version, too. Some folks blend their pudding ingredients, but I like the consistency of the chia seeds as they remind me a bit of tapioca pudding. So I just mix mine up and keep in the fridge for a really good snack, addition to breakfast, or a dessert when you want something a little sweet.

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup

3 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup chia seeds
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Pour the wet ingredients (soy milk, vanilla, and maple syrup) into a container big enough to hold 3 cups.

Add the cocoa powder, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon and whisk vigorously to completely combine. Let it sit in the refrigerator to set (takes a few hours). Check the pudding a couple of times while it is setting up to give it another stir and then once it has thickened, enjoy!

If you use a large mason jar, you can shake it instead of stirring.

Vegan Cheeze Crackers

We love this recipe from Minimalist Baker and make these crackers all of the time for snacking, adding to soups, etc. I have adapted the recipe just a tad and these come out great every time. They are addictive and really do taste like the cheez-it crackers you can buy at the store. I often double the recipe so they will last a bit longer, as my family tends to eat them up quickly.

It is kind of cool to be able to make your own crackers at home and is a fraction of the cost of buying them prepackaged, which is a win-win.

Vegan Cheeze Crackers

Ingredients:

4 tbsp nutritional yeast
6 tbsp corn meal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp Earth Balance Spread (or your favorite vegan margarine)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cold water (or more; add water a little at a time until a ball of dough forms)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine. Then add the vegan margarine, olive oil, and a 1/4 cup of the cold water. Pulse to combine and add more water a little at a time until a ball of dough forms. You don't need to knead the dough, but use your hands to shape it into a disk.

Put the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut out small shapes such as triangles or squares. I use a chopstick to make a small indent in the middle of each cracker. Put the crackers on baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through.