Frosted B-raw-nies

My kids love anything with a chocolate flavor, especially when they know it's secretly good for them. One of my favorite quick "desserts" to make them are these Frosted B-raw-nies. They are great right out of the fridge and even better frozen. I'll be adding these to my boy's school lunches tomorrow. I'm pretty sure they'll eat them first!

You can find the recipe at http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/recipes/recipe-brawnies/ or in Dreena Burton's book, Let Them Eat Vegan. 

I love the recipe as is, but this time I subbed the agave for maple syrup and added ground flax seeds to the nut mixture for some added Omega 3's.

Roasted Cauliflower Wings

One of my favorite spicy treats are Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, but sometimes I want them but don't feel like going through the process of battering them. I know, that's not that big of a process, but still. It takes time. So I decided to try them out as regular roasted cauliflower, just a little jazzed up. They were way better than I expected. 

If you prefer your cauliflower soft, don't cook them as long. I still wanted the chewiness of a "wing", that's why I let them roast beyond doneness.

You'll need:

1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets and then cut in half

1.5 c hot sauce

Preheat oven to 450F. Pour the sauce in a bowl, then dip each piece of cauliflower in the sauce, making sure to coat them evenly. Lay the coated pieces on a roasting pan, making sure they have enough space between them to cook evenly. Roast the cauliflower for 10 minutes and then turn each piece over. Be careful, they will be delicate and can fall apart. Brush more sauce on top of each piece before placing the pan back in the oven. Roast for 10-15 more minutes, or until desired texture is achieved. Serve with cashew ranch, it's a match made in heaven. 

Vegan Zuppa Toscana

A few years ago, when I would frequent Olive Garden, I loved ordering the soup and salad combo. It was always a toss up between the Minestrone and Zuppa Toscana. Usually Zuppa Toscana won out, and just recently a thought flickered into my head telling me to recreate the soup. Just a lot healthier and of course, vegan. It was actually really easy to put together, but is definitely not a "healthy" soup. Save this one for when you are feeling indulgent or when you want a really hearty soup that will leave you satisfied.

I chose to use this homemade veggie sausage recipe from Yumuniverse, feel free to use your favorite.

You'll need:

2 c cooked veggie sausage
4 russet or yellow potatoes, cubed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 c veggie stock
1 c thick nut milk, I used homemade cashew
1/2 package veggie bacon, cooked (optional, but worth it, can use tempeh bacon for a gf option)
5 stalks de-stemmed and roughly chopped fresh kale (spinach would be great, too)
coconut oil for sauteeing

Cook your veggie bacon and sausage (large crumbles) in a large stock pot, seperately in the coconut oil. Set aside. Saute the onion, in the pot, until translucent then add in the garlic and saute for an extra minute. Deglaze the pot with the veggie stock then add in your potatoes. Cook on medium until potatoes are almost tender, then add in the veggie sausage, half of the bacon and the kale. Add in the cashew milk and season with salt and pepper. Once the soup is ladled into bowls, top with the extra veggie bacon. Enjoy! 

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

I'm always looking for an easy breakfast for my kids. I usually make double batches of waffles, pancakes or muffins on lazy days but that can get boring.  A few years ago, before we cleaned up our diets, a quick breakfast I would give the kids was a popular, store-bought "breakfast cookie" that I thought looked healthy. I was incredibly wrong. They were full of GMOs, trans fats, artificial colors and flavors, and a whole mess of chemicals. My version of breakfast cookies contain none of that and are made with only 7 ingredients. They're also naturally gluten free. Add the delicious glaze if you feel the need to indulge a bit, they are tasty either way.

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

For the cookie

1 c ground oats (can be ground in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder)
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
1 c nut butter (I used PB)
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (my favorite is real salt)
3 ripe, smashed bananas 
1/3 c dark chocolate chips 

For the glaze

2 T maple syrup
2 T cacao
1 tsp coconut oil
2 T peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 350F. Mix the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined. Add in the salt, ground and whole oats, stirring until incorporated, then fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon 1/3 c batter onto baking sheet, making large, round cookies, 2-3 inches wide. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. (sometimes I broil them on low for a minute to get a golden color on top) 

Let cool on a wire rack before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze, I used a double broiler, added all of the ingredients to the bowl and whisked until combined. Spoon the mixture into a ziploc bag, snip a tiny corner off the bag for piping, and decorate the cookies in whatever pattern you like.

This recipe makes 10 large cookies.

Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

My husband is in love with spicy food. He puts jalapenos on almost everything. So needless to say, he is always asking for dinners with a little more kick. These buffalo cauliflower bites are one of his favorite things, seriously, he asks me to make them daily weekly. I'd like to say these are healthy, but the cauliflower really doesn't rule out the high salt content, so we limit how many of these we eat. 

You could definitely lower the heat factor of the sauce by adding in some coconut oil or vegan margarine. I love serving the bites with some cashew ranch and organic celery.

After cutting up the cauliflower, you'll thoroughly cover them in a simple batter and then bake the pieces.

You'll need:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
1 c flour (whole wheat, brown rice, chickpea, etc)
3/4 c nut milk or water (I use cashew milk)
2 t garlic powder
1 c cayenne based hot sauce

Let's get started!

Preheat your oven to 425F. In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, nut milk and garlic powder together. Dredge each piece of cauliflower in the batter and lay on a sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned, and let them cool for 5 minutes. Add all of the pieces to a large bowl and then pour hot sauce on top. Gently mix the cauliflower around until all are covered with sauce. Pour the cauliflower back onto the sheet pan and bake for an additional 5 minutes. 

Tropical Green Smoothie

Iron is essential in keeping our bodies healthy. It strengthens our immune systems, treats insomnia and helps with concentration. It's also a key factor in preventing anemia. What you may not know is that for our bodies to absorb Iron properly, Iron-rich foods (plant based ones, like whole grains, beans and veggies) should be accompanied by Vitamin C rich foods when eaten. When digested together they form a compound that makes the Iron more absorbable. This Tropical Green Smoothie gives you the best of both world.

I recently bought a case of oranges and had planned to juice them all. But then I got to thinking about how Iron needs Vitamin C  to be absorbed and then this smoothie was born. I was very surprised at how tasty it was because I put a lot of spinach in it. But the sweetness of the fruit really mellowed out the bitterness of the greens.

You'll need: 

2 c fresh, baby spinach
2 bananas, fresh or frozen
1 c pineapple, fresh or frozen
1 c freshly squeezed orange juice (I hand-squeezed 3 oranges)

Let's get started!

Blend the orange juice and spinach until smooth. Add in the fruit and blend until creamy. This makes about 3 cups.

Raw Cheesecake with Almond and Cacao

This cheesecake is delicious and easy to make. It's perfect for when you want something sweet but don't want the naughty feelings afterwards. Made with no gluten, no oil and no refined sugar, you'd think it would taste bland and boring, but that's definitely not true. Dates, almond butter and cacao give this little cake an enormously scrumptious flavor. A dehydrator isn't necessary and all you need is a blender, food processor and a freezer. 

You'll need:

Crust

1 c raw cashews

1 c raw almonds

1 c soft, pitted dates

2 T cacao powder

Filling

2 c soaked, raw cashews

2 T raw almond butter, like Artisana

1/4 c lemon juice

1/2 c date paste* or raw coconut nectar, such as Coconut Secret

1 c water

1 t vanilla bean powder or 2 t vanilla extract

1 t cacao powder

* date paste: 2 cups pitted and softened dates blended with 2 c water

Let's get started!

To make the crust, pulse the almonds and cashews until they are broken down into small pieces. Add in the dates and cacao and pulse until combined and the mixture holds its shape. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a spring-form pan, or for mini cakes, press into the bottom and sides of a muffin tin. 

To make the filling, blend all of the ingredients except the cacao powder until smooth and silky. Pour all of the mixture, except 1/4 c, over your crust. Add the tsp of cacao to the leftover mixture and blend until combined. 

Now comes the fun part. With a spoon, drizzle the filling over the cake, in lines. Try to get them as close together as you can. They definitely don't have to be perfect, because you are about to mess them up.

Now, grab a toothpick, or a skewer, and use it to make perpendicular lines through the batter, changing direction every line (up and down).

After you've finished decorating your cheesecake, cover it and place in the freezer for 4-5 hours to set. Let it thaw out for 15 minutes before cutting. The cheesecake can be stored in the freezer for up to two weeks. I usually cut it up and store slices individually for easy access. 

Baked Gluten-Free Falafel

When my husband lived in Turkey, he picked up a fondness for falafel. Falafel wasn't really in my meal rotation… until I made these. They are a healthier version of traditional, but just as tasty. And they were a hit with the whole family! I made a tzatziki sauce to drizzle on top I just switched coconut yogurt for the greek). I also topped them with a salad of tomato, cucumber, lemon juice, salt and pepper. We used bibb and romaine lettuce along with pitas to wrap the falafel in. 

You can find the recipe for the Quinoa and Kale Salad here (pictured below)

Baked Gluten-Free Falafel

You'll need...


3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 cups soaked overnight
3 Tbsp chickpea or brown rice flour
1 Tbsp cumin
1/4 c chopped parsley
1 tsp coriander
1 small onion
4 garlic cloves
5 green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Let's get started!

Preheat your oven to 375*. Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor until it becomes a thick paste. Remove and scoop into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse until a paste forms. Mix thoroughly with the chickpeas. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and press flat to make a disc. Lay onto a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping once, or until both sides are brown. Makes around 25.