Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Can you all believe it’s SNOWING here in Toronto today? Anyone who knows me (or even anyone who’s met me for more than 30 seconds, at any point between October and April) knows how much I hate winter. As soon as the tiniest hint of spring arrives, I’m ready to throw out the old and usher in the new: I pack up the boots and scarves; I fold up the heavy blankets; I even enjoy a bit of spring cleaning.

We’re far off from true spring right now, but that didn’t stand in the way of some recent spring cleaning. The other day, I spied a can of black beans that had been waiting patiently for someone to use them—and these vegan Black Bean Burgers sprang to mind. I was absolutely delighted with the final results. Not too spicy, firm and crispy on the outside, with a great mix of black beans and veggies. And no oil added!

I know you’ll love these, too. To check out the recipe, head over to the Attune Foods blog. And don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

In the meantime, I hope the weather is better where you are.

I’ve got a new Facebook page–and I hope you’ll visit me there! I’m perpetually grateful to all of you who’ve “liked” my Diet, Dessert and Dogs page, but it’s time to move on. With a new cookbook on the horizon and lots of other cool sugar-free, anti-candida and allergy-friendly offerings in the works, I wanted a Facebook page that reflected all of that (along with DDD too, of course!). To keep it simple, this one is just called “Ricki Heller,” and I’ll be posting all the same things I now do on the DDD page (which will be shut down on August 31, 2013).  So please hop over to the new page and “like” it so you won’t miss out when things switch over this summer!

Hard to believe, but today is the HH‘s and my 16th anniversary! (Wait, how is that possible? I still feel as if I AM sixteen–well, internally, anyway. Externally, it’s more like, “where did those 16 new wrinkles come from?” or “how did I suddenly acquire 16 new aches and pains in my knees?” or “sixteen new gray hairs?! Wahhhh!!!”.  Okay, I guess that every kind of “sixteen” tends to creep up on you).
Click here to read more about our relationship (and pizza). . .

Thanks for visiting Wellness Weekend again this week! I love, love, LOVE all the good-for-you dishes you share here each week. 

Last week featured some amazing coconut waffles, Italian kale chips, Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Granola, Grain-free Cinnamon scones, and all kinds of yummy Easter treats. Totally delicious!

Newsy tidbits:

• Did you win the signed copy of Wild About Greens? Head over to the contest page to check–and please email me if you won! If you’d still love the book anyway, you can buy it from amazon.
• Lexie’s Kitchen is giving away Molly’s Suds natural cleaners! These all-natural cleaners sound fantastic. Details are here. Until April 6th.When I first changed diets, I dreaded dinner invitations because I knew there’d be nothing for me to eat. No more! Here are my tips for how to handle those invites gracefully--and so you can enjoy the meal!
• There’s an AMAZING recipe contest going on over at Go Dairy Free–win a $500 gift card for Williams Sonoma, and more! All the details here. Until May 17th.
• Summer is almost here! Is your skin ready? This week on the Balanced Platter, I share tips on how to eat for glowing, healthy skin.
• Wellness Weekend has its own Pinterest board! Now you can find all your favorites in one place. Check it out here (and be sure to follow!)

Do you have a blog linky event or giveaway you’d like me to mention? I also will occasionally mention new courses that bloggers offer their readers. Send me an email with the details to dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom and I’ll include three or four each week. Please note that I cannot always accommodate all requests.

PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR GIVEAWAYS OR CONTESTS TO THE LINKYS BELOW–THEY ARE FOR RECIPES ONLY.

This Week’s Picks:

In honor of not one, but TWO greens-related posts last week, I thought it only fitting to make the theme here a green one, too.  And so, green veggies it is!

Dandelion Greens and Mushroom Soup from Rebel Grrrl Kitchen. Dandelion greens are one of my faves, and I don’t have them often enough!

Lupini Bean and Brussels Sprouts Slaw from Wayfaring Chocolate. Hannah uses a rare bean for this slaw. I’ve tried lupinis once–bet they are great in this dish!

Dill-icious Kale Chips from Rock My Vegan Socks.  Another flavor of kale chips–never too many, I say!

And This Week’s Readers’ Choices:

Readers’ Choice, Savory:

Lentil Bread from Awaken Your Taste Buds. I love the simplicity of this bread. So cool how it works!

Readers’ Choice, Sweet:

Super Safe Carrot Cake from What Smells So Good. Carrot cake for everyone–yay!!

Thanks for joining in and sharing all your healthy, sugar-free and vegan recipes. I love seeing what you whip up each week! And I hope you’ll also share on twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Here’s How to Participate:

The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.

1. Simply link up a vegan recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients. This means any good-for-you whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome! No-no’s include white flour or sugar, highly processed foods, or animal products. Definite no-no’s include: cane sugar (evaporated or otherwise), sweeteners ending in -itol, margarines, or faux meat products.Items like vegan protein powder, grain or bean flours, or coconut milk are fine even though they are technically “processed,” since they either contain a single ingredient, or could technically be made at home. Also, please note that this is a vegan recipe event. A minor ingredient with a vegan option is fine, but if the main ingredient is intended to be meat or other animal product, your recipe likely belongs in a different link up event.
2. This is a recipe event. Your blog post must contain a recipe.
3. You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link up any posts you have previously shared at an earlier Wellness Weekend event.
4. Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page.
   
5. You may submit up to three recipes, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE.If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
6. Please mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
7. Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to promote your posts and the event, I like to occasionally tweet, mention on Facebook, or pin your blog post(s). On occasion, I will repost your photos in the following week’s Wellness Weekend as well. If you prefer that I NOT use your photos or links, please let me know in the comments below, or send an email to me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link. I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BEFORE POSTING!

And now. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!

DDD READERS: It May Be Time To Update Your Subscription!

I know that many of you, like me, read your favorite blogs via Google Reader. Well, if that’s how you keep up with DDD, be warned that Google Reader is closing down as of July 1, 2013! (I know–boo hoo).

I am always so grateful for your visits and your comments on the blog and I don’t want you to lose touch! To ensure that you continue to receive notices whenever I add a new blog post–or to get updates on the new cookbook or other happenings here at DDD–you can easily subscribe via email.  That way, you won’t miss a thing!  Just click here to receive every new DDD post right in your Inbox.

Thanks so much for reading. (And if any of you know of other good readers to use, please feel free to share in the comments!).

© Ricki Heller 2013.

After my post on Wild About Greens the other day (and don’t forget to enter the giveaway here!), I thought I’d extend the Greens Love one more day. So today’s post is all about my very favorite leafy green in the bunch. . . KALE!

As you may remember, I’ve aimed to consume more greens each day ever since my osteopenia diagnosis way back in 2008. And it made a huge difference–just check out my progress report, here.

I was besotted with kale from the first taste back in nutrition school in 2003.  Raw, cooked, shredded, rolled, blended into a green smoothie. . . it’s all good!

[Kale salad, anyone? Clockwise from large photo: Kale Salad, Fully Loaded; Uber Healthy Kale and Seaweed Salad; Crazy Simple Kale Salad; another variation of Kale Salad, Fully Loaded.]

That’s why I’m so delighted to take part in this launch party for the new ebook, Crazy for Kale, which I received last week. (Note: I was not compensated for this review and I am not an affiliate. I was not asked to write something positive about the ebook; the opinions here are all my own.).
Click here to read more about Crazy for Kale, and my top kale recipes . . .

For those of you celebrating Easter, I hope you have a great long weekend and enjoy your holiday! There are some great last-minute recipes in a previous roundup post. 

For those of you celebrating Passover, I hope you had a great start to the holiday! If you’re looking for more Passover friendly recipes over the next few days, you’ll find a whole bunch in that roundup post as well.

As always, your recipes blew me away last week. Since I barely had time to sleep, let alone cook on my own, I just drooled over your dishes instead: Almond Butter No-Bake Bars, Better Than Nutella Cheesecake, Savory Cous Cous, Peanut-Free Tagalongs, Smoky Carrot and Cabbage Salad, and so many more! Check them all out (and 34 more!) here.

Now that major book work is done, I had time to lift my head from the keyboard and look around blogland a bit more. Here’s what’s been going on.

Newsy tidbits:

• Do you sometimes feel like sugar controls your life? I’ve been there (and sometimes, I’m still there). Could you go two weeks without sugar and see what happens? A new course from functional nutritionist Andrea Nakayama, “You’re Not the Boss of Me: Control Your Blood Sugar Before it Controls You,” examines issues of blood sugar, getting control of sweets cravings, and detoxing from sugar with a 2-week program with live support. I’m delighted to be part of this course (I developed all the recipes and will offer insights into the emotional and psychological aspects of sugar addiction). To listen to a free audiotape about Why Blood Sugar Matters, or to learn more about the course, check out Andrea’s website, here (early bird discount applies until April 1st).
  
• Sonnet from For the Love of Food is giving away a prize pack of savory teas! Totally intriguing, right? I hadn’t heard of these, either, but they sure do sound good. To read Sonnet’s description of the teas, learn more and enter the giveaway, check out Sonnet’s blog. Ends this Sunday.
• If you’re anything like me, mornings can be hectic, and it’s not always easy to prepare a good breakfast. Here are some of my best tips for breakfast on the go.
• The “Orange Foods” blog event continues over at The Blissful Chef with a month of orange recipes! If you love porridge but are trying to cut down on grains, I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes for grain-free “porridge.” Head over to Christy’s blog to check out the recipe!
• There’s a great Dairy-Free Chocolate Easter Bunny (and more!) roundup over at Go Dairy Free. If you’re looking for allergy-friendly treats this Easter, check it out!
• I’m giving away a SIGNED, PERSONALLY INSCRIBED COPY of Nava Atlas’s Wild About Greens! For a sample recipe and to enter, see this post. Ends at midnight, Wednesday, April 3rd!
• Wellness Weekend has its own Pinterest board! Now you can find all your favorites in one place. Check it out here (and be sure to follow!)

Do you have a blog linky event or giveaway you’d like me to mention? I also will occasionally mention new courses that bloggers offer their readers. Send me an email with the details to dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom and I’ll include three or four each week. Please note that I cannot always accommodate all requests.

PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR GIVEAWAYS OR CONTESTS TO THE LINKYS BELOW–THEY ARE FOR RECIPES ONLY.

This Week’s Picks:

I’ve been blending like mad since I finally got my repaired Vitamix back from the company (did you know they will take it back, fix it, and then ship it back to you for free if it’s still under warranty? I love my Vitamix!!).  Naturally, this week’s picks all focus on the theme, “raw & blended recipes”:

Raw Spicy Garden Soup from Gluten-Free Cat. This would be a perfect first course for any meal, but especially with warmer weather coming up.

Fruit Tray Smoothie from Gluten Free Easily. Shirley shows us a great way to repurpose party leftovers!

Chocolate Cherry Basil Smoothie from Sweet. Smart. Vegan. Oooh. . . I’m drooling just at the thought of those flavors all melding together. Mmm!

And This Week’s Readers’ Choices:

Readers’ Choice, Savory:

Raw Sunflower Seed Butter from Small Footprint Family. I love making my own nut butters, and happy to see you all like the idea for seed butter, too!

Readers’ Choice, Sweet:

Fudgy Sweet Potato Brownies from The Healthy Maven. These hardly need an introduction–I mean, they’re brownies! And fudgy! With sweet potato!

Thanks for joining in and sharing all your healthy, sugar-free and vegan recipes. I love seeing what you whip up each week! And I hope you’ll also share on twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Here’s How to Participate:

The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.

1. Simply link up a vegan recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients. This means any good-for-you whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome! No-no’s include white flour or sugar, highly processed foods, or animal products. Definite no-no’s include: cane sugar (evaporated or otherwise), sweeteners ending in -itol, margarines, or faux meat products.Items like vegan protein powder, grain or bean flours, or coconut milk are fine even though they are technically “processed,” since they either contain a single ingredient, or could technically be made at home. Also, please note that this is a vegan recipe event. A minor ingredient with a vegan option is fine, but if the main ingredient is intended to be meat or other animal product, your recipe likely belongs in a different link up event. 
2. This is a recipe event. Your blog post must contain a recipe.
3. You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link up any posts you have previously shared at an earlier Wellness Weekend event.
4. Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page. The post must contain a recipe.
5. You may submit up to three recipes, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE.If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
6. Please mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
7. Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to promote your posts and the event, I like to occasionally tweet, mention on Facebook, or pin your blog post(s). On occasion, I will repost your photos in the following week’s Wellness Weekend as well. If you prefer that I NOT use your photos or links, please let me know in the comments below, or send an email to me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link. I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BEFORE POSTING!

And now. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!

Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to Diet, Dessert and Dogs via email. (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”).

What was the inspiration for Wild About Greens? How did the book come about?

For a long time I kept the two paths pretty separate, but I find that my skills as a food writer, designer, and visual artist are merging, and they intersect in a number of ways. I used my experience in writing recipes to create Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife , a faux-1950s cookbook in which the “recipes” and altered ads comment on contemporary relationships and issues still faced by women. I’ve also started a series of artworks under the umbrella title of “Meat Science,” all of which comment on the ethical dilemmas and environmental disasters caused by animal agriculture — which ties in neatly with my vegan ethics. In my artwork, I like to use humor and irony to explore difficult subject matter.

Newsy Tidbits:

• Are you craving spring the way I am? Check out these 6 spring salad recipes, over at Fitalicious.
• Are you a fan of tahini? (For me, it was an acquired taste). Now I love it–and here’s a whole post comparing types of tahini, with lots of recipes. Thanks to Dreena Burton for the post.
• Get the book for free! My friend Stephanie has written an ebook, Golden Angels, about her experience losing her beloved Golden Retriever Buddy Girl. The book contains 13 essays and 13 accompanying recipes. It’s a great book for anyone who’s lost a loved one, and she’s donating 10% of all sales to the SPCA until May 31st.  And tomorrow, Friday, March 22, she is giving it away for free on amazon.com! Be sure to check it out then.

Do you have a blog linky event or giveaway you’d like me to mention? I also will occasionally mention new courses that bloggers offer their readers. Send me an email with the details to dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom and I’ll include three or four each week. Please note that I cannot always accommodate all requests.

PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR GIVEAWAYS OR CONTESTS TO THE LINKYS BELOW–THEY ARE FOR RECIPES ONLY.

This Week’s Picks:

This week’s picks all focus on the theme, “sweet stuff”:

Maple Glazed Nuts from Bit of the Good Stuff. A perfectly healthy sweet snack! And nuts contain so many good-for-you fats.

Very Berry Rhubarb Pie from My Munchable Musings. I love rhubarb! Combined with berries, this gives you a perfect level of sweetness in a healthy dessert.

Raw Chilli-Cinnamon-Sea Salt Chocolates from Bite-Sized Thoughts. How incredible do these look? And CHOCOLATE! (need I say more)?

And This Week’s Readers’ Choices:

Readers’ Choice, Savory:

Gluten Free Vegan Whole Grain English Muffins from Tessa the Domestic Diva. If you’ve been missing English Muffins, try these babies from Tessa.

Readers’ Choice, Sweet:

Raw Banana Coconut Cream Pie from The Tasty Alternative. I do miss bananas! If you can have them, this pie sounds spectacular.

Thanks for joining in and sharing all your healthy, sugar-free and vegan recipes. I love seeing what you whip up each week! And I hope you’ll also share on twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Here’s How to Participate:

The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.

1. Simply link up a vegan recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients. This means any good-for-you whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome! No-no’s include white flour or sugar, highly processed foods, or animal products. Items like vegan protein powder, grain or bean flours, or coconut milk are fine even though they are technically “processed,” since they either contain a single ingredient, or could technically be made at home. Also, if you render a recipe vegan-friendly by adding a vegan option to your ingredients, your post will be good to go! Definite no-no’s include: cane sugar (evaporated or otherwise), sweeteners ending in -itol, margarines, or faux meat products.
2. This is a recipe event. Your blog post must contain a recipe.
3. You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link up any posts you have previously shared at an earlier Wellness Weekend event.
4. Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page. The post must contain a recipe.
5. You may submit up to three recipes, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE.If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
6. Please mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
7. Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to promote your posts and the event, I like to occasionally tweet, mention on Facebook, or pin your blog post(s). On occasion, I will repost your photos in the following week’s Wellness Weekend as well. If you prefer that I NOT use your photos or links, please let me know in the comments below, or send an email to me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link. I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BEFORE POSTING!

And now. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!

Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to Diet, Dessert and Dogs via email. (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”).

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service after clicking on the affiliate link, your purchase will help to support this blog via the small compensation I receive.

[Sometimes, you just want a dish that's quick and easy--no fuss.  I've decided to offer a mini-post every once in a while, for a dish that comes together incredibly quickly or else is so simple to make that no recipe is required. Here's today's "Flash in the Pan." (For other FitP recipes, see "Categories" at right).]

Some people love surprises. Me, I’m not a big fan of the unexpected. Well, let me rephrase that: I’m not a big fan of the unexpected when I’m the one being surprised.  If someone else, on the other hand, is treated to an unforeseen birthday party, or engagement ring, or earwig, well, then, I just lurve surprises!

Case in point: some of you will recall my snowbound trail-walk with the Girls a couple of weeks ago, which I reported on Facebook.  It was the afternoon following (yet another) snowstorm**, and I’d spent the requisite 27 minutes bundling myself in layers as protection from the cold: two pairs of socks; long underwear topped with thick corduroy pants; cotton undershirt under cotton turtleneck, under fleece-lined sweater.  On top of that, I added a pair of thick rubber galoshes, a padded ski jacket, a pair of thin gloves underneath a pair of thick gloves, a fleece hat topped with earmuffs for good measure, and my hood.  Oh, and let’s not forget my sunglasses, huge contraptions that I wear over my regular glasses (really).

Looking like some bizarre Alaskan zombie, I somehow managed to ease myself out of the car and waddle my way along the trail, which was still blanketed in pristine snow that had clearly not been trod by anyone else that day.

The Girls always love these walks, so I’m happy to provide them.  Besides, it’s kind of fun to watch Chaser scampering and leaping, bunny-like, through the snow whenever she’s off-leash. On that day, however, she was doing something different: not just leaping and prancing, but diving face-first into the snow, burying her entire head in it, over and over, at 2-foot (3/4-meter) intervals. Then she’d surface, nose covered in powder, sniffing the air as if a steak were sizzling nearby. What was up with that?  I couldn’t help but laugh as I recalled a documentary the HH had been watching a few nights earlier about foxes, who thrust their snouts into the snow in order to seize their prey.  How funny, I thought. Tee hee hee. . .

And then, it happened.  Chaser dove head-first into the snow and came up with. . . a mouse! A LIVE MOUSE.

IN. HER. MOUTH!!

What followed could have come straight out of a National Lampoon vacation movie. I started shrieking like a banshee: “Drop it! Drop it! DROP ITTTTTT!!!!” as I sprinted (well, more like shuffled, zombie-like) through the snow toward her, arms flailing like a flag in a hurricane.  And, to her credit, she did drop it.

The mouse stumbled across the path (by this time a bit wobbly), aiming to scoot back into its burrow.  By now Elsie had figured out something was afoot, and came charging; she too, grabbed the tiny rodent in her muzzle and held it aloft for me to admire, the mouse’s feet and tail flapping uncontrollably. And again, my horrified shrieking, “DROP IT!!!” as I leapt to grab The Girls’ collars and prevent any further nose-poking of the mouse across the snow. By now my voice was pretty hoarse and my face was pretty darned red.

But as I threw myself forward, I lost my footing and crashed down–thwack!–rather ungracefully onto the snow (luckily, the depth of the snow, combined with my natural padding “back there,” saved me from injury). Before I could regain my composure, the mouse went berserk, zig-zagging across my legs. All I can say is that I’m glad there was no one else around to see what ensued as I struggled to get up, legs jerking like loose wires in an electrical storm, still shrieking (shrieking even more!), still clinging for dear life to the Girls’ collars so they couldn’t dive in for Round Two.

Finally, with all three of us panting and our hearts racing, I steadied myself, once again upright and watched as the mouse ambled back to safety under the blanket of snow.  Frankly, I am still not sure which one of us was more traumatized by the experience.

So as you can see, I don’t react too well to unexpected, er, “visitors.” Needless to say, we won’t be back to that particular trail as long as the snow remains on the ground.

Now, when I receive an unexpected surprise from food, well, that’s a whole ‘nother story. This spread (or dip) came about, for instance, as a serendiptious discovery because we had run out of fresh produce. What with all the book edits, I’ve had not time for grocery shopping. (I know, boo hoo for me. Okay, cue violins). The only green ingredients left in the fridge were a few limp stems of fresh cilantro, half a cucumber from our CSA, half a lime and that neglected chunk of the HH’s brie cheese, cowering way at the back. I decided I’d create something based on all the nonperishable ingredients in the cupboard that I’ve been hoarding saving for a day just such as that one. I rooted around to find a can of black beans and some almond butter. I could work with that!

A quick whir in the food processor and my slightly unconventional black bean dip was made. We ate it with leftover corn chips from our previous nacho night along with the remnants of the cucumber. The following day (after a trip to the grocery store), I smeared it on a raw collard leaf, added grated carrot and sprouts, and had a fabulous raw collard wrap.  If you’re looking for a high-protein snack or light meal, this is a great recipe.

And–don’t let it surprise you–you may just discover that you love it.

** I’ve officially dubbed this  season “The Winter that Refused To Leave.” I mean, really, Mother Nature? This isn’t funny any more.

I’m linking this recipe to Megan’s Whole Food Fridays.

DDD READERS: It May Be Time To Update Your Subscription!

I know that many of you, like me, read your favorite blogs via Google Reader. Well, if that’s how you keep up with DDD, be warned that Reader is closing down as of July 1, 2013! (I know–boo hoo).

I am always so grateful for your visits and your comments on the blog and I don’t want you to lose touch! To ensure that you continue to receive notices whenever I add a new blog post–or to get updates on the new cookbook or other happenings here at DDD–you can easily subscribe via email.  That way, you won’t miss a thing!  Just click here to receive every new DDD post right in your Inbox.

Thanks so much for reading. (And if any of you know of other good readers to use instead, please share in the comments!).

Never miss a recipe–or a comment from The Girls! Click here to subscribe to Diet, Dessert and Dogs via email. (“We love subscribers, Mum. . . almost as much as we love treats!”)

Last Year at this Time:  (gluten free; ACD  All Stages Stage 2 3 and beyond Maintenance)

Two Years Ago: Happy Hemp Two-Bite Brownies (gluten free; ACD Stage 3 and beyond)

Three Years Ago: Ten Things That Make Me Happy

Four Years Ago: Marvelous Maple-Flax cookies (gluten free; ACD  Maintenance)

Five Years Ago: Katie’s Creamy Aspara-Dip (gluten free; ACD  Stage 3 and beyond)

© Ricki Heller, Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Hello everyone! Are you tired of winter yet? (Or, if you live in the antipodes, are you tired of summer?–nah, didn’t think so!).

As I count the days until the end of winter, one of the things that always perks me up is checking out your recipes for Wellness Weekend. Thanks, again, for a fabulous array of delectable choices last week!

Newsy Tidbits:

• Whoo hoo! I just found out that my ebook, Good Morning! Breakfasts, is nominated for Best Gluten Free Cookbook over at Triumph Dining’s “The Best of Gluten-Free” Awards. I’d love your vote for the book if you are so inclined! Just head over here and skip to “Stores and Reslources,” where you’ll find the category for cookbooks.
• I’m still working like mad on book edits, but you can find some of my new recipes on VegNews, where they’re featuring three sweet treats, all with a secret ingredient that you’d never expect. See the article here.
• For those of us on a special diet (and methinks that’s the majority these days!), here are Five Easy Ways to Serve Guests on a Special Diet from my friend Amy.
• Win a ticket to Canada’s largest Gluten-Free Expo! Gluten-Free Makeup Gal is giving one away, here. Ends March 16th.
• Bob’s Red Mill is giving away a four-package low-carb flour kit! Win four types of flours. Enter here, until March 19th.
• Another new recipe–one that will help chase away those winter blues–is this very green, very fresh Creamy Broccoli Salad with Garlic Crunch Topper over on the Attune Foods Blog. This is a salad that will remind you of spring even though it’s delicious all year round.

Do you have a blog linky event or giveaway you’d like me to mention? I also will occasionally mention new courses that bloggers offer their readers. Send me an email with the details to dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom and I’ll include three or four each week. Please note that I cannot always accommodate all requests.

PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR GIVEAWAYS OR CONTESTS TO THE LINKYS BELOW–THEY ARE FOR RECIPES ONLY.

This Week’s Picks:

I can’t wait for spring! As I mentioned this morning, I’ve been dreaming of green lately. So this week’s picks all focus on the theme, “Gimme some Green!”:

Santa Fe Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers from Practical-Stewardship. Love the mix of ingredients in the filling!

Roasted Acorn, Beet, and Satsuma Salad with Almond Sesame Dressing from Vegan Richa. Richa recommends baby kale for this salad–sounds perfect to me!

Suran (Yam) and Malabar Spinach Curry from Cooking with Siri. Such a great idea to include spinach in your curry–all in one flavor AND nutrition.

And This Week’s Readers’ Choices:

Readers’ Choice, Savory:

Five-Ingredient Sesame Nut Crackers from Food & Yoga for Life. Easy to make–and sound so good!

Readers’ Choice, Sweet:

Decadent Dark Chocolate Fudge from Healthy Life Lessons. I swooned a little when I read about this fudge. And it’s only got 4 ingredients.

Thanks for joining in and sharing all your healthy, sugar-free and vegan recipes. I love seeing what you whip up each week! And I hope you’ll also share on twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, too!

Here’s How to Participate:

The event occurs once a week, starting Thursdays at 8:00 PM my time and running until the following Monday at midnight.

1. Simply link up a vegan recipe you made (and posted about) that contains health-supporting ingredients. This means any good-for-you whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.)–but any fresh, real food is welcome! No-no’s include white flour or sugar, highly processed foods, or animal products. Items like vegan protein powder, grain or bean flours, or coconut milk are fine even though they are technically “processed,” since they either contain a single ingredient, or could technically be made at home. Also, if you render a recipe vegan-friendly by adding a vegan option to your ingredients, your post will be good to go! Definite no-no’s include: cane sugar (evaporated or otherwise), sweeteners ending in -itol, margarines, or faux meat products.
2. This is a recipe event. Your blog post must contain a recipe.
3. You may link up older posts from your archives as long as they contain a link to this post. Please do not link up any posts you have previously shared at an earlier Wellness Weekend event.
4. Please link the post with your recipe, NOT your blog’s home page or another event page. The post must contain a recipe.
5. You may submit up to three recipes, but please follow the guidelines for each one individually. ONLY ONE THUMBNAIL FROM EACH BLOG POST, PLEASE.If your post contains two suitable recipes, link up once and people will still see all your fabulous recipes when they click on the linky.
6. Please mention this event and include a link back to this post so that others can find all the recipes posted!
7. Feel free to use the blog badge, above (or see the left sidebar of this page–if you need the html code, let me know and I’ll send it to you). Many thanks to Adrienne of Whole New Mom for setting up the badge code for me!

PLEASE NOTE: In order to promote your posts and the event, I like to occasionally tweet, mention on Facebook, or pin your blog post(s). On occasion, I will repost your photos in the following week’s Wellness Weekend as well. If you prefer that I NOT use your photos or links, please let me know in the comments below, or send an email to me at dietdessertdogsATgmailDOTcom. Thanks!

I will reluctantly remove any links that don’t comply. I apologize, but I will no longer be able to leave a comment telling you that I’ve removed a non-compliant link. I hate to have to remove links! PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES BEFORE POSTING!

And now. . . what have you been cooking up lately? Please share!

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Are you starting to crave green like I am? It’s around this time of year that I grow weary of squash and root veggies and instead start dreaming of all things green (well–given my anti-candida crusade–the exception there is mold, of course). This creamy broccoli salad that I created for Attune foods is a perfect example. It’s a vegan and gluten free recipe that’s easy, quick, and yes, very green.

One of my favorite vegetables that works in any season is broccoli. It’s great cooked, roasted, in soup, raw or as a vehicle for your favorite dip.  In this salad, the brilliant emerald hue heralds spring, and the combination of creamy dressing and crunchy, garlicky topper creates a stellar culinary experience.

Head over to the Attune foods blog to check out the recipe, and get a little early taste of spring!

(PS Book edits continue apace. . . I should be breathing normally again next week. Thanks, all, for your patience!).