Kale Chips

Full credit for this post goes to my friend Allison, who made crispy kale the other night when we went over there for dinner. She inspired me to make some at home, and here it is...! I only used one bunch of kale, and it didn't make very much (especially after I munched down the entire first pan, the second it came out of the oven). I could easily have made 4 bunches and it would be gone by tomorrow!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Pull the kale off the stem and tear into large-ish pieces (they shrink a lot as they bake). In a bowl, gently massage enough olive oil into the kale to thinly coat each leaf (for one bunch I used about 2 tblsp.).

Arrange on sheet pans so there is only one layer. I sprinkled with salt and nutritional yeast, but you could use just salt and pepper or anything else that sounds appealing!!

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Keep checking on the chips after the first ten minutes though, because you don't want them to burn. They're done when they feel brittle.

Thanks Allison!

Chocolate Birthday Cake

It was V's mom's birthday at the end of April. We celebrated by visiting V's sister and playing with her dog's puppies:

And then we ate some chocolate cake. That's right! Birthday, puppies and chocolate...sickening, really!! ;)

This chocolate cake recipe is the one that I can barely read anymore because I've made it so often that the page is spattered with grease and batter. It's incredibly easy to make and it always comes out moist and delicious! And it's vegan, which is an added perk, but no non-vegan will ever know!!

Vegan Chocolate Cake


3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tblsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
a pinch of salt


2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup of your favorite vegetable oil (not olive! But canola, safflower or grapeseed work well)
2 tblsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
In one bowl, combine all dry ingredients except for the sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients  and sugar. Pour the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk together until all lumps disappear.
Pour evenly into both pans and bake 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean!


After they cool, level the tops of the cakes with a bread knife. Fill with whatever frosting you fancy (such as this delicious buttercream)!

Green Glow

Jamie and I did a great spring cleanse last month, inspired by the book, The Seven Day Cleanse. We felt like a million dollars during it (though the last day or two were definitely challenging, ESPECIALLY as I was still preparing food for the kids!) and we've found quite a few new recipes that we continue to use regularly. One of my favourites is this green smoothie called the Green Glow. I am completely addicted to the minty taste of it, and the incredible colour that is created when it is blended!!!! Enjoy:-)

1 lime, peeled (I never have limes and always have lemons, so that's usually what I use)
4 green apples
1-inch piece of gingerroot
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/8 avocado

(I usually add a bunch of fresh spinach leaves to the juicer as well, as it hardly adds anything to the taste but increases the green health factor!!! And I also tend to add 1/4-1/2 of an avocado, because more has got to be better, right?!!!)

Put everything but the avocado through your juicer. Then combine juice with the avocado in your blender and blend on high until smooth. Enjoy