The beautiful Food Network chef and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis appeared on the Today Show this morning to promote her new cookbook Giada’s Feel Good Food. Although Giada’s new book is not a vegan cookbook, I was thrilled to hear her say…
“I thought it’d be fun to do a cookbook that has juices, and vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free recipes to help people in their lives feel good – not necessarily a diet, but feel good.”
In my opinion, Giada is taking a giant step in the right direction, and I feel that she deserves some recognition for that. I was also quite pleased to hear Giada discuss scaling back on the amount of olive oil she is using in her recipes, and I also think Dr. Esselstyn would be quite pleased to hear that too!
“I now use less olive oil and less salt in daily life. Usually I would just use two tablespoons just to start out a recipe, to sometimes three to four tablespoons. Just to start! I have found that’s way too much. I’ve now reduced it down to 1/2 a tablespoon. With salt, I would usually do a couple of teaspoons, and I’ve now gone down to 1/2 a teaspoon, sometimes a 1/4 teaspoon.”
Giada also stated…
“…it’s amazing how much even just a tablespoon of olive oil can jack up those calories. I had to really scale back. And I had to retest the recipes to make sure that they still had flavor, and if they were lacking flavor in one way, I had to add it on in another.”
Giada provided several recipes on the show, and I watched her make 2 vegan recipes for Kathy Lee and Hoda. The first recipe for Chocolate Fig Bites looked scrumptious and simple to make, and I think they would be fabulous on a Thanksgiving table. The second recipe is for a Spinach, Ginger and Apple Smoothie, and it included gin! I’m posting these 2 vegan recipes for your convenience. I hope you enjoy them!
CHOCOLATE FIG BITES
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis
Makes 28 fig bites
Ingredients:
-14 ounces dried Mission figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped
-2 tablespoons creamy unsalted almond butter
-2 tablespoons water
-1 cup dark or vegan chocolate chips
-2 teaspoons coconut or grape seed oil
-Sea salt, for garnish, optional
Preparation:
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a food processor, combine the figs, almond butter and water. Blend until smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl, as needed, with a rubber spatula. Using a 1-teaspoon measure, scoop the fig mixture and roll into 1-inch balls. Place the fig balls on the prepared baking sheet.
Place the chocolate chips and oil in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a small saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Using a fork, dip the fig balls in the melted chocolate to coat evenly, allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Return the fig bites to the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, if using.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes until the chocolate has set.
SPINACH, GINGER AND APPLE SMOOTHIE
Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup water
-1 medium apple, such as Fuji or Honey Crisp, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
-1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
-1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
–1 packed cup baby spinach leaves
-1/3 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
-1/4 cup gin, such as Hendricks
-Ice to serve
Preparation:
Combine the water, apple, celery, ginger, spinach, parsley and gin in the blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Pour into glasses over ice and serve.
*Special equipment: a high powered blender, such as a Vitamix
Enjoy these recipes, and have a great day!
Debby
xoxoxo
