A Detox Drink for the Day After Halloween

For those of you without a calendar or access to the outside world, last night was Halloween. As an occasional actress and everyday costume fanatic, it’s one of my favorite holidays. For my boyfriend Nick, it is THE HOLIDAY of the year [I mean, come on, he teaches about zombie survival for a living]. Because of this, we tend to go all out: parties, candy, decorations, drinking games, festive food…you get the idea.

This year, we conspired together and decided to dress up as Margot & Richie Tenenbaum.

“I think we’re just gonna have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that.”

I’d actually started planning my costume about a month before Halloween, but it became a whole lot more popular after this amazing sketch from last week’s SNL:

Our party was so much fun, it was hard to remain Margot-stoic for the camera all night. I broke character on more than one occasion.

Notice the wooden finger on my right hand…Nick MADE that. He’s handy like that.

For our party guests, we prepared my favorite vegan chili & some pumpkin oatmeal cookies [with Enjoy Life chocolate chips added].

The chili was so delicious I ate about five bowls, along with several cookies & a taste of some vegan chai snickerdoodles made by Alicia of Big Vegan Affair [they weren’t gluten-free, but I just had to try them]. Add to that a dirty martini, some Chicago Diner nachos and a few too many pieces of vegan halloween candy & I awoke this morning looking for a dietary re-set button.

So, in the spirit of recovering from your halloween cocktails & candy overdose, here’s a yummy day after halloween detox drink made with kale & carrots to kickstart your body’s cleansing. The fact that it’s festively orange is just a happy halloween accident.

Pink skeleton approved.

Ingredients [approx. 2 servings]

8 carrots
4 kale leaves
4 celery stalks
2 fuji apples
2 limes

Juice all ingredients together for a vitamin-rich, detoxifying cocktail that’s sweet with just a slight tang. For best results drink immediately & on an empty stomach.

Make Something Monday: Pumpkin Spice French Toast

This time last week, I transformed my fall weather wishes into pumpkin waffles, hoping the spices would somehow manifest a change of temperature. Today, there’s a cool breeze and crisp autumn smell in the air, so it seems even more appropriate to break out the canned pumpkin once more. Inspired by the Vegan MoFo mastermind herself, I based my gluten-free, corn-free version of this pumpkin french toast on Isa’s recipe in Vegan Brunch. Add to that a little extra fall spice & a dash of agave sweetness & I found a recipe that perfectly satisfied my craving for fall [and, for that matter, my unexplainable recent craving for french toast].

And since I can’t seem to talk about french toast without quoting Leslie Mann’s character from The 40-Year Old Virgin, here’s this:

Ingredients

1 c canned pumpkin [preferably organic]
1 1/2 c So Delicious coconut milk
2 tbsp arrowroot powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp agave
1 tsp vanilla extract
6-8 slices Food for Life gluten-free bread*

Place all ingredients except for bread into blender & process until combined.
In a large bowl, soak bread pieces in mixture for at least 10 minutes on each side.
[For more flavorful french toast, soak pieces for several hours before preparing.]
Lightly grease a medium to large skillet with coconut oil or spray.
Fry each pre-soaked slice over medium heat until golden brown on each side.
Top with real maple syrup & a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy.

*Tidbit of Truth: The awesome thing about making this recipe gluten-free is that, while normally it calls for slightly stale bread, even the best gluten-free bread already seems slightly stale even when it’s fresh out of the package. Not hating, just saying…it’s perfect.

Relish Tray: Native Foods Pumpkin Cheesecake

relish: verb. to delight in something that satisfies one’s tastes, inclinations, or desires.

Does this photo even need an explanation? I mean look at it!

Dessert Porn: the pumpkin and the creaminess and the buttery, crumbling crust…So. Much. Yum.
But only for a limited time so if you have a Native Foods in your area, go & check it out immediately.