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Paleo

Dairy Free, Dessert & Treats, Food, Gluten Free, Local Love, Paleo, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

RAW RED VELVET VEGAN BROWNIES

Chocoholics, this recipe’s for you! I’ve actually had these Raw Red Velvet Vegan Brownies in development since last spring and am so thrilled to finally share it here at JustineCelina. With everything happening regarding ingredient accessibility due to COVID-19, I rejigged my editorial recipe calendar to prioritize recipes I already had in development made with pantry staples, sturdy produce and simple ingredients — and I knew I wanted to push this one to the top of the list for publication! While I wouldn’t normally publish a more indulgent recipe like this as we head into summer, lately I find myself looking for simple ways to indulge my cravings at home — and these insanely delicious brownies have definitely satisfied my sweet tooth during quarantine! Sometimes, you just need a brownie — am I right?!

I believe you can treat yourself and nourish yourself at the same time — and my Raw Red Velvet Vegan Brownies are a perfect example of that philosophy. They come together with just 8 simple, plant-based, antioxidant packed, anti aging, brain and immune boosting ingredients (yes, including beets!) — and they’re truly one of the most decadent brownies I’ve ever tasted. These easy, no-bake brownies are earthy, fudgy, nutty and brimming with beautiful natural sweetness — plus, they’re free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar. If you’re looking for a fuss-free, fresh, veggie-centric twist on the traditional brownie that comes together in less than half an hour, you’ve come to the right place! The best part? If you have a well-stocked pantry and a beet or two on hand, you can probably make these delicious vegan brownies right now! Who’s ready to whip up some raw, spring-inspired treats?

May 21, 2020 by Justine

Dinner, Fall, Food, Gluten Free, Lunch, Paleo, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian

SUMAC ROASTED CARROT APPLE SOUP

Happy Sunday, friends! There’s something synonymous about autumn and a big, velvety bowl of puréed soup, isn’t there? It’s no secret that I love a good puréed soup here at JustineCelina — in fact, this recipe is the fourth one I’ve published! But his fall, I’ve channelled globally inspired flair and a unique, fruit-forward flavour profile into one of my favourite seasonal staples. The changing leaves and cooler temperatures always invoke a desire to spend my Sundays puttering away in the kitchen in a cozy sweater — and that’s exactly how this recipe came together! A jar of sumac arrived in my PC Insiders surprise box last month and I was eager to experiment, but we were running low on groceries — so I combined a handful of seasonal ingredients to create a simple fall soup that allowed the sumac to shine. We enjoyed it for dinner alongside a salad with a delicious glass of late harvest Riesling. After sharing it on Stories and receiving many requests for the recipe, I knew I wanted to bring it to the blog this autumn!

My Sumac Roasted Carrot Apple Soup is a fruity, exotic twist on an autumnal classic — where seasonal produce staples of carrots, apples, onion and garlic are generously seasoned with sumac and simple spices, roasted to perfection and pureed with creamy cashew milk, vegetable stock, fresh ginger and zingy lemon. This ultra simple, ultra nourishing, family-friendly fall soup is vegan, gluten and refined sugar free and comes together in just one hour with twelve ingredients, including seasonings! If you’re ready to celebrate the height of Canadian apple season and bring some Middle Eastern / North African flair your kitchen, pop out to your local grocery store, pick up some dried sumac (it’s available at Superstore in the bulk section, as well as part of the PC Black Label collection!) and let’s get to work! Sometimes all it takes is a new ingredient to reignite your passion for local, seasonal produce.

October 6, 2019 by Justine

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dessert & Treats, Food, Gluten Free, Paleo, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

HAZELNUT OATMEAL GOLDEN RAISIN ENERGY BITES

Lately I find myself craving simplicity in all areas of life, including what I fuel my body with. My no-bake Hazelnut Oatmeal Golden Raisin Energy Bites are reminiscent of your favourite cookie, elevated with a healthy, plant based, protein-packed, antioxidant-rich spin! This incredibly easy recipe comes together in just 10 minutes with 9 intensively nourishing ingredients — including fibre-rich quick oats, omega-packed flax meal, my new favourite vanilla protein powder, Bulk Barn’s decadent hazelnut butter (my most recent culinary obsession!), scrumptious golden raisins, pure Canadian maple syrup, creamy vanilla extract, Himalayan pink salt and a kiss of cinnamon. As always, they’re free free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar — and absolutely delish!

I’ve been really inspired in the kitchen lately and have so many recipes I’m excited to share this season, but these golden balls of energy have become a staple (if you follow along with my Stories, you’ll know how many times I’ve whipped these up recently!). I love to meal prep a batch on Sundays to ensure I have a quick snack or post-workout fuel whenever I need it. Sometimes I even make a double batch and freeze them! In fact, I’m headed out to finish photographing the second part of my Spring 2019 Lookbook this afternoon and have a few tucked away in my bag for a quick, nourishing snack on the run. Add the ingredients to your grocery list and whip these tasty little bites up today for a wholesome, nourishing, family-friendly snack you can enjoy all week! Join me today for my new favourite energy bite recipe and a chat about sustainability, zero-waste and the little changes I’ve been making to reduce my environmental impact.

June 5, 2019 by Justine

Breakfast, Dairy Free, Food, Gluten Free, Paleo, Smoothies & Juices, Spring, Vegan

VEGAN CARDAMOM CARROT CAKE SMOOTHIE

This year, one of my goals is to get more of my tried and true recipes out of my recipe box and onto these pages. I currently have 50+ recipes in my archives and am always whipping up something new, but eventually I will get around to sharing them all (I’m also working on a fun recipe-based project, set to launch later this year!). My Vegan Cardamom Carrot Cake Smoothie is an ancient recipe hailing from my pre-blogging days when I used to just post my recipes on Instagram with pictures I took on my iPhone. It became a fast favourite in our kitchen that we eventually forgot about during the process of starting JustineCelina and deep-diving into recipe development. Earlier this year I pulled this recipe out of my archives and threw it back into testing so I could finally publish it this spring — and I’m so glad I did, because this rediscovered gem has become a staple!

My Vegan Cardamom Carrot Cake Smoothie tastes exactly like carrot cake batter but is packed full of heart healthy, anti-aging, digestion-aiding ingredients. Gorgeous heirloom carrots, hearty pear and fresh ginger combine with frozen bananas, pineapple, gluten free quick oats, vanilla protein powder, creamy cashew milk, dried apricots, a splash of bright lemon and a medley of warming, anti-inflammatory spices to create a nourishing, spring-inspired smoothie. The next time you’re craving the essence of carrot cake, indulge in this sweet and spicy smoothie to treat yourself to some incredible health benefits!

May 5, 2019 by Justine

Appies & Sides, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Paleo, Roundups, Salads & Bowls, Smoothies & Juices, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian

17 HEALTHY RECIPES TO KICK START 2019

After an indulgent holiday season (and a few too many batches of Homemade Dairy Free Coconut Rum Eggnog!), I always look forward to getting back on track in January. This week, I’ve been searching my recipe archives for my healthiest seasonal recipes — and thought you may be doing the same, which prompted the idea for my 17 Healthy Recipes to Kick Start 2019 roundup! On our first grocery run since being home from our holiday celebrations, I was highly amused to find the lettuce cooler and produce aisles completely depleted at my local grocer. Hey, you’ve gotta give the people what they want, right?! Today I’ve rounded up 17 of my healthiest, freshest, plant-based recipes incorporating all the gorgeous seasonal produce available to us in early January — from breakfast through dinner!

Although I do my best to maintain my plant-based diet and fitness regime over the holidays, I firmly believe in balance — you better believe I indulged in my fair share of treats as well! As someone with dairy and gluten sensitivities, I find my digestion can easily get thrown out of whack when I’m not being as mindful while I’m eating, drink and being merry with family and friends (and that’s totally okay!). My favourite ways to kick start my metabolism and get things running smoothly again is by treating my body to lots of colourful fruits and veggies, juices and smoothies, hearty salads and bowls, plant-based entrées and simple, wholesome soups. I also aim to keep my snacking to a minimum and give the baking and the booze a rest (you won’t find any snacks, baking or cocktail recipes in this roundup). And this year, we’ve also decided to have our first dry January! If you’re in need of some fresh recipes to help fuel these first few weeks of 2019 with intention, you’ve come to the right place — pour yourself a mug of herbal tea and come peruse my all-time-favourite, nourishing winter recipes! Continue Reading

January 3, 2019 by Justine

Fashion, Gluten Free, Local Love, Paleo, Salads & Bowls, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

SUMMER BOUNTY SALAD WITH SASKATOON CIDER VINAIGRETTE

Welcome back for another seasonally inspired RECIPE, beautiful people! I’m currently typing to you from my impromptu outdoor office at my childhood home in rural Alberta on this gorgeous August afternoon. The bees are buzzing, the butterflies are fluttering and the sweet scents of summer crops are lingering on the country air — it’s the ideal setting to publish my Summer Bounty Salad with Saskatoon Cider Vinaigrette, don’t you think? If you’ve been reading JustineCelina since last summer you may remember the delicious, clean Wild Saskatoon Berry Crumble I came up with after a friend let us forage their farm to take advantage of the plentiful crop. It was saskatoon overload (in the best way possible!) so I took the opportunity to work on a few more saskatoon themed recipes — but because of my intensive testing process I wasn’t able to publish them before the season ended. Excited to bring those recipes to the blog this summer, we headed south in search of fleeting saskatoons and canola — and we ended up finding a beautiful field of canola (annual photos coming soon!) with wild saskatoon bushes growing alongside it. Honestly, what are the chances?!

My Summer Bounty Salad with Saskatoon Cider Vinaigrette is inspired by the abundant seasonal produce and herbs available at our local markets (and in the wild!) at the height of summer! This colourful, local, ultra fresh salad can be on your table in 15 minutes and is brimming with incredible, heart-healthy, antioxidant-rich superfoods and nutrients. Straight from our Alberta farms to your table, a vitamin-infused bed of baby spinach and arugula showcases a striking mosaic of freshly picked saskatoon berries, garden peas, shredded golden beets, crisp radishes, fresh mint, sunflower seeds and scallions — dressed with a punchy Saskatoon Cider Vinaigrette celebrating Alberta’s favorite berry. Enjoy this feel good salad as a light, plant based entrée whenever you’re in the mood for something quick and nutritious, or as a beautiful accompaniment to grilled fish (it’s great with with trout or salmon), meat or tofu!

August 8, 2018 by Justine

Dinner, Food, Gluten Free, Local Love, Lunch, Paleo, Soups, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

TRUFFLED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH CRISPY SAGE

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since I shared a pureed soup here at JustineCelina! And would you believe I’ve never actually published a butternut squash soup recipe? Butternut squash soup is a staple recipe in many kitchens during the cooler months — ours included. Although my Autumn Harvest Soup with Roasted Squash Seeds (published back in my early blogging days!) includes butternut squash, it also features a medley of fall produce — including apples, carrots and rhubarb. So, my standard butternut squash soup recipe remained unpublished over the years — you see, as a food blogger, these staple recipes often remain in my archives because I don’t think they’re exciting or unique enough to share. But, this winter I experimented with one of my favourite gourmet ingredients to really elevate this recipe — and here we are!

Today I’m thrilled to bring you my Truffled Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Sage — a luxurious, sophisticated twist on a cold weather classic. With just 10 ingredients, this creamy bowl of vegan comfort is a breeze to whip up and makes a great light lunch or accompaniment to dinner. Hearty butternut squash is oven roasted with onions, fresh sage and garlic — then blended into velvety goodness with vegetable broth, coconut milk, fresh ginger and a touch of heat. To finish things off, it’s infused with an indulgent drizzle of White Truffle Oil (my most recent culinary obsession!) and garnished with crispy sage for a restaurant quality soup you can enjoy at home. Thanks to a couple of elevated ingredients, this isn’t your traditional butternut squash soup recipe — but I guarantee you it’s just as simple to prepare! If you’re in the mood for some nourishing comfort food with gourmet flair to help endure these last few weeks of winter, I have just the recipe — and I’m also sharing my favourite source for high quality, affordable White Truffle Oil!

February 27, 2018 by Justine

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