Tag: dairy free

Plant Protein Powered Breakfast Cookies!

Plant Protein Powered Breakfast Cookies

These cookies make a great breakfast or snack on the go.  Pair a couple of these with some fresh fruit and you have a delicious and nutritious start to the day!  Need a compact quick energy source while out on a hike or bike ride?  These will definitely do the trick.  Chock full of goodies like wheat germ, flax, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds, these babies pack a protein punch!  Not to mention the vitamin E, zinc, omega 3’s, and iron they bring to the party too!  You won’t miss the oil, eggs, or dairy here.  If you tend to be pressed for time, double the batch and freeze some of the baked cookies for when you need something quick on the go.

INGREDIENTS:

DRY
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2  cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

5 Medjool (or 10 deglet noor), chopped

1 handful dried cranberries

WET

1 flax egg (1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons water)

1/2 large ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3-1/2 cup sucanat (or organic brown sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons almond milk

DIRECTIONS: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.  Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Next, add the wet mixture to the dry one in the large bowl.  Mix well with a wooden spoon to combine.
  3. Drop by spoonfuls onto 1 or 2 parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans after 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Once they cool, if you want to put some  in the freezer for future use, now’s the time.  Otherwise, if you leave them out they’ll be all gobbled up before you know it!  Enjoy!!

 

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Fresh Berry Tart

This berry tart is fantastic!  A tasty, crumbly nut crust, cashew date cream and fresh berries.  That’s it!  Its quick, easy and makes a great dinner party or potluck dessert with plenty of “WOW!” factor.  Want to take it to the next level?  A vegan lemon curd beneath the berries would be out of this world!

Vegan Berry TartNutty Tart Crust

3/4 cup roasted, unsalted nuts (you can use pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, whatever you like)

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/4 cup light, neutral oil (grape seed oil is like canola, without the GMO risk) see note after directions

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Process the dry ingredients (nuts, oats, flour and cinnamon) in a food processor until it becomes a coarse meal.  Transfer to a bowl and mix in the oil and syrup.
  3. Press the crust mixture firmly into a 9″-10″ tart pan or pie plate.
  4. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack

Note: Melted coconut oil could be used in place of the oil mentioned in the tart crust, but I would advise against it, only because it will harden at room temp and become solid as a rock once refrigerated!  This may make eating (let alone slicing) the crust a bit of a challenge.

Date Sweetened Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews (if you have time, soak them in water for 1-2 hours prior, then rinse well).

2-3 Tablespoons dates (double check for pits!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place cashews in a blender pitcher.  Add enough fresh water to just cover the nuts.  Add dates and vanilla, blend until it becomes a smooth cream.  Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.  Can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator.

Once the tart shell is cooled, we can assemble this baby!  

Spread and even layer of your sweetened cashew cream over the bottom of the completely cooled tart shell.  Rinse and pat dry the berries, then arrange on top of the cashew cream any way you fancy.  I started from the center and made concentric circles with some berries I had left over from the night before.  You could use different fruits like kiwi, or mango for more color and variety.  Have fun and get creative!

When you are ready to serve, get ready to hear the “Oooh”s and “Ahhh”s!  Slice, serve and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yummy Nutty “Truffle” Bites

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Well, the big V day will be here before we know it. (Valentine’s Day that is, Feb.14th)  Why not show your sweetheart how much you care by giving him/her a sweet treat that is actually GOOD for their heart.  These do pack a bit of a calorie punch (with all of those nuts), but they also pack in fiber, calcium, vitamin E and other nutrients that you can’t get with candy.

The ones pictured here were actually made by my (almost) 9 year old son this morning. He wanted to bring something to school for snack that was going to fill him up, give him energy and not take forever to eat.  There is playing that needs to be done at recess too, you know!  These worked out great; way better than a granola bar and easy enough for a child to make.  Can’t get much better than that!

They also provide a great opportunity to get creative.  Not a fan of almonds? Fine, try pistachios.  Love dried blueberries?  Go ahead, throw them in the mix! Have fun with it! The original recipe that gave us the foundation for these was found in Chef AJ’s book Unprocessed.  But we have since made  some of our own changes.  Enjoy!

YUMMY NUTTY TRUFFLE BITES

INGREDIENTS

about 2 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw walnuts

1/4 cup almond butter

1/3 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup dried cherries or dried apricots (or a little bit of both!)

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Place the coconut in a small dish  and set aside Place all ingredients (except the coconut) in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse for a while, until everything is chopped pretty finely and sticks together well.  Take a tablespoon at a time of the mixture and roll into a tight ball (If they are not compact, they’ll fall apart easily.).  Roll the balls in the coconut and place in an airtight container.  That’s it!  Store in the refrigerator or just dole them out right then and there.  Enjoy!

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Best Ever Blueberry Coffee Cake

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There is no exaggeration in the title of this recipe!  Seriously, the best coffee cake I have tasted…ever!  Sweet, moist and delectable with just enough blueberries to make it interesting, without getting too mushy.  Don’t skip the topping.  It really makes it.  The struesel-like finishing touch melts a bit to create a phenomenal, lightly crispy and sweet layer.  If you prefer not to use store bought vegan sour cream, there is a quick and easy recipe to make your own at the end of this post.  So brew a pot of your favorite warm bevvie and enjoy!

This recipe is my veganized/healthier version of one found at http://www.cdkitchen.com

INGREDIENTS:

TOPPING:

2 T extra virgin coconut oil

5 T organic sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

COFFEE CAKE:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup organic sugar (evaporated cane juice)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegan sour cream

2 flax eggs (2T flaxseed meal, combined with 6T water)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Using a fork, combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix until ingredients are all incorporated and resemble cornmeal or slightly wet sand. Set aside for later.
  3. Use medium size bowl and a wire whisk to combine the dry ingredients (flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt).  Set aside.
  4. In a separate large bowl, use a mixer to beat together flax eggs, vanilla and vegan sour cream.
  5. Gradually add in the dry ingredients (about 1 cup at a time).  Beat until the mixture is smooth.
  6. Spread batter into the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the blueberries on top.  Gently scoop a little of the batter over the berries, just enough to cover them without making purple batter or sinking your berries to the bottom of the dish. Finally, sprinkle the topping over the batter.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until a clean toothpick or cake tester  inserted into the middle of the cake comes out dry.
  8. Cool slightly, slice, serve and enjoy!  Best served warm or at room temperature.

VEGAN SOUR CREAM:

1 box Mori Nu Silken Tofu

2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Toss all ingredients into the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Ta da!  Vegan sour cream!! 

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Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

Holy cow are these cookies good!  If you love lots of chocolatey-oaty, sweet and crunchy goodness then this is the cookie for you.  It is also a great back-to-school treat you can share with the kids, without any guilt since the only things these little gems lack are eggs, butter, oil and soy.  To make them wheat-free, try substituting the whole wheat pastry flour with oat or barley flour.  These also freeze very well, so why not make a double batch and freeze some to enjoy later!  

A Helpful Note: The dough is a lot easier to manage if you can let it chill in the fridge for about an hour or so before baking, but this isn’t necessary.  Here I use applesauce and prune puree (baby food prunes).  If you only have one of the two on hand, it’s no problem.  Just as long as you end up with 1 cup of fruit puree, whether in the form of applesauce, prunes or a combo.  Mashed bananas may also work in a pinch, though I haven’t tested that substitution yet.  

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup water 
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
  • 1/2 cup prune puree or baby food prunes 
  • 3 Tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
  • 1/2 cup sucanat or light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup evaporated can juice or raw sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup wheat germ
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  •  2 1/2 -3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
  • 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, or roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate
  • 1 cup raw pecans, chopped

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.  Place oven racks at 2nd and 5th positions.
  2. Combine water, flaxmeal, applesauce, prune puree and sugars in a large bowl and beat well.  Beat in vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Gradually add dry mixture to wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
  4. With a wooden spoon, stir in oats, cherries, chocolate and nuts.
  5. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight, if desired.
  6. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a parchment covered baking sheet.  Press to flatten slightly.
  7. Bake 10-12 minutes.  Rotate baking sheets half way into baking time.  Rotate 180 degrees and switch racks that the baking sheets are on, to insure even baking.
  8. Cool on baking sheet for 5-10 min., then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling…if you can wait that long.  🙂

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Creamy, delicious brown rice pudding!

I was so excited when we came up with this recipe today, I couldn’t wait to share it with you!  We eat oatmeal around here for breakfast almost daily.  This rice pudding makes a great warm breakfast cereal for a little change of pace.  You can also serve it cool, or even as a dessert.  It is so versatile.  If it looks a little thick once it has cooled, just stir in a little non-dairy milk, and it should be fine.  Also feel free to experiment a little yourself.  I really like the apples, currants and walnuts that we used today, but raisins, cranberries, dried apricots, bananas, pecans, almonds would all work really well too.  Get creative!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, etc.)

1 teaspoon vanilla

cinnamon, to taste

1 apple, peeled and chopped (small dice)

1 handful raw walnuts, chopped

1 handful dried currants

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan at medium heat and stir.  Bring to a simmer and lower heat.  Simmer for about 15-20 min., stirring occasionally.  Serve warm or cool.  

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