strawberry citrus fruit salad with maple, mint and lime

May is filled celebrations!  A month of graduation parties, showers and Mother’s day!  Serve this beautiful Strawberry Citrus Fruit Salad with Maple, Mint and Lime for a healthy and sweet treat at your next event!

Strawberry Citrus Fruit Salad with Maple, Mint and Lime ~vegan, gluten free~

I dished these up individually (because I thought they looked pretty that way!), but serve in a large bowl if preferred. I love grapefruit, but some find it a bit too tangy.  That’s why I made a quick mix of pure maple syrup and lime juice to off set the bitterness.

 Sliced citrus holds up really well in the refrigerator.  You can make this salad to enjoy with breakfast or as a snack for a few days!  Try mixing in pecans or walnuts for protein!

Strawberry Citrus Fruit Salad with Maple, Mint and Lime ~vegan, gluten free~

strawberry citrus fruit salad
 
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Makes 6 individual 1 cup servings or 1 medium bowl
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into segments
  • 2 oranges, peeled and cut into segments
  • 1 cup strawberries, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • fresh mint
Instructions
  1. Layer fruit in a medium bowl or individual serving cups. Whisk together lime juice and maple syrup, evenly pour on top of fruit salad. Garnish with fresh mint, enjoy!

Strawberry Citrus Fruit Salad with Maple, Mint and Lime ~vegan, gluten free~

Grapefruit’s amazing healing power and health benefits fly under the radar in my opinion.  They have been studied for a long time and  have been proven to lower cholesterol, normalize hematocrit levels, protect against certain cancers and rid the body of excess estrogen…that’s a lot of work for one type of fruit!

Beware, certain medications negatively interact with the powerful compounds found in grapefruit.

Check here for more info.

Strawberry Citrus Fruit Salad with Maple, Mint and Lime ~vegan, gluten free~

vegan mango lime tres leches cake

Vegan Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake

Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake ~vegan~

 You can kind of say this is a cross between a mango margarita and tres leches cake, the best of both worlds for Cinco de Mayo!  A little white flour and white sugar is used in this recipe (eeek!!!), but just a little!  This dessert isn’t overly sweet, but surely is suitable for a fiesta!  The addition of lime scented mango makes for a wonderful warm weather dessert…now, just if it was a little warmer out!  I’m not sure how it is where you live, but it certainly doesn’t feel like May on Cape Cod!

Traditionally Tres Leches Cake is made with 3 types of milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream.  I switched it up for a non-dairy/vegan version by using coconut milk, soy milk and coconut cream.  The base of this dessert, the cake is a standard vegan vanilla cake, which is soaked in the mixture of milk and topped with coconut cream.  I hope you like it as much as we do!

Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake ~vegan~

Don’t forget to place a can of full-fat coconut milk in the refrigerator or freezer!  Some people freeze the can overnight.  I’ve had luck with simply placing it in the refrigerator for a few hours.  I always use Whole Foods Organic Full-Fat Coconut Milk and don’t have trouble separating the coconut milk from the coconut cream.

Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake ~vegan~

mango lime tres leches cake
 
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Vegan Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake, a cross between a mango margarita and tres leches cake!
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
  • For the cake:
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • ½ cup all purpose white flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 + ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • For the milk mixture:
  • ½ cup coconut milk (separated from can of full-fat coconut milk)
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • ½ teaspoon pure almond mixture
  • For the coconut cream:
  • ~1 cup coconut cream separated from can of full-fat coconut milk)
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • For the topping:
  • 1 mango, peeled and diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
Instructions
  1. Place a can of full-fat coconut milk in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Gently open and scoop out coconut cream, place in a small bowl. Save milk for recipe.
  2. To make cake:
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  4. Lightly oil or spray an 8x8 cake pan with all-natural cooking spray, set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, mix together whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Make a well and pour in soy milk, oil, vanilla and vinegar. Stir until just combined, do not over mix.
  6. Pour batter in pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool. Use a fork and poke cake to create holes for milk mixture to soak into.
  7. For milk mixture:
  8. Combine coconut milk, soy milk and almond extract. Pour onto cake and let soak for at least 2 hours.
  9. To make coconut cream:
  10. In a small bowl, mix coconut cream on high with an electric hand mixer. Mix in 1 tablespoon of maple syrup at a time. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed. Evenly spread on top of cake soaked in milk.
  11. Mix diced mango, lime and zest in a small bowl. Garnish cake right before serving.

 Recipe adapted from The Witchy Kitchen

Mango Lime Tres Leches Cake ~vegan~

crock pot black bean soup ~vegan, gluten free~

After a whirlwind weekend we are finally getting back into the swing of things!  My mom, Noah and I celebrated the holiday in Boston!  We did it all!  Boston Commons, the aquarium, the children’s museum and ate our way around the city!  Oh yea, I ran a half marathon too!  I ran with one of my closest friends, we had 2+ hours to catch up!  It’s sad we need to run a half marathon together to have time to chat!

After coming home from a fast-paced weekend, I decided to make a “slow” meal, cooked with the help of my crock pot!

Black bean soup topped with fresh salsa, crispy corn tortillas and lime…

Crockpot Black Bean Soup with Fresh Salsa, crispy corn tortillas and lime wedges! ~vegan, gluten free~

Soaking beans increases digestibility by decreasing the amount of oligosaccharides, a carbohydrate that may cause gas and bloating.  Sometimes I soak my beans, sometimes I don’t…it all depends on how much time I have!  I did soak the beans for this recipe to cut down on cooking time and to bring a creamier consistency to the soup.

crockpot black bean soup
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegan
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 pound dry black beans, picked through, soaked overnight and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ white onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder (more if you like it spicy!)
  • sea salt to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • fresh salsa
  • baked corn tortillas
  • lime wedges
Instructions
  1. Soak beans overnight in ~10 cups of water, drain, rinse and set aside.
  2. In a small skillet over medium heat, saute onion in olive oil until translucent.
  3. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, remove from heat.
  4. Add beans, sautéed onion/garlic mixture, vegetable broth, water, cumin, paprika and chili powder to crock pot.
  5. Cook on high for 4 hours then on low for 2 hours or until beans are tender. Add fresh cilantro and sea salt to taste.
  6. Transfer half of the soup to a food processor/blender and puree until creamy. (you can also use a hand-held immersion blender) Mix back into crock pot with the rest of the soup and stir.
  7. Serve with fresh salsa, crispy corn chips and lime wedges. You can also top with avocado and hot sauce!

Crockpot Black Bean Soup with Fresh Salsa, crispy corn tortillas and lime wedges! ~vegan, gluten free~

I almost forgot to mention….

Not only is this a super healthy soup, it’s also budget friendly!

Serving up at roughly $2.50 per serving with toppings and all, including fancy fresh made organic salsa!