Can you believe it’s almost January? I hope everyone’s Christmases were awesome and full of family, friends, great food and fun gifts. I wanted (so badly) to do a TBV Christmas post full of yummy festive recipes for all of you, but this week was all about catching up with my nieces and my California people while everyone is still in town.
This is a photo of my lifelong closest friends and I at our annual post-Christmas brunch. Excuse my whited-out face, but I had to share the love I have for these five!
Tonight I am headed back to NYC for a week with my best friend/college roomie Jillian. I keep saying we are going on a vacation, but it’s funny to say we are vacationing in my new home. We are going to spend New Years out there (every year I am on a quest to top my New Years plans from the previous year – one year I will learn and do something simple, I promise!) with a bunch of friends to ring in 2014 in the best way possible.
Although there has been a lot going on, my mind has been running wild with recipe ideas and other fun blog installments. First things first: if you haven’t checked out The Blonde Vegan 5-Day Cleanse Program yet, do it!!! We start cleansing on January 6th, and I know I’m not the only one who wants to feel light and amazing after all of the decadent holiday treats.
My mama and I on Christmas Day! (We’ve both hopped on the ombre train… can you tell?)
I made raw vegan peanut butter cups and pumpkin almond butter oat bars for my family on Christmas. I also made a super delicious sweet potato mash that I will be sharing on the blog this week. And while everyone else at my house was enjoying Prime Rib on Christmas, I whipped up The Blonde Vegan Salad for myself with some tofu. Here’s me making oat bars in my onesie:
One of the most exciting gifts I received this year were these “The Blonde Vegan” nutrition bars that my mom had made for me. I posted a photo on Instagram after I opened them and got a huge response from people that they would like to buy them on the blog, so maybe a new post-cleanse TBV installment will be nutrition bars! Tell me what flavors you would like, and I will get to working on that.
And all throughout the week I made lots of yummy kid-friendly vegan recipes for my nieces (including a healthy take on Jamba Juice’s ‘Strawberries Wild’), so if you have little ones stay tuned for that post coming soon.
I could talk about Christmas and being home for the holidays all day long, but for now I want to share this Vegan Orange Julius recipe with all of you. The brand Cuties Clementines got in touch with me last week and sent me a box of clementines – the last box of the season! My family has been absolutely loving them, and today I was finally able to make a super delicious smoothie recipe with them.
The smoothie was ridiculously good. My mom and I split it after our workout this morning (we went to the gym intending to run on the treadmill, but we were convinced to join my sister-in-law Kendra and our old trainer Robert for a super-intense 30 minute class that seriously kicked our butts… and then we ran on the treadmill. Felt so good.)
After the first sip my mom said, “this tastes like an Orange Julius!” I am not sure if I’ve ever had an Orange Julius, it may have been before my time, but this is exactly how I imagine one to taste. Its refreshing, creamy and citrusy and it also has a hint on cinnamon. I loaded mine up with granola as well because I was starving and it was a delicious combo.
Ingredients:
1 banana
2 cutie clementines
1 tablespoon almond butter
¼ cup dry oats (I use gluten-free Red Mills)
½ cup almond milk
½ cup water
a few shakes of cinnamon
½ cup ice
Directions:
Blend thoroughly and enjoy!
Nutrition Info:
Saddest thing about heading back to New York tonight? Leaving my beautiful niece Isabella. Thank goodness I get to see her again in a few weeks! This girl is my world.
