Christmas Recap

It is so hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas (or holidays) filled with family, friends, and lots of delicious vegan food!

With a Christmas tree upstairs, I don’t do a tree in my place, but I did do a bit of decorating for the first time. 

So glad I remembered where I’d tucked away these snowflakes that my late Grandma made years ago! 🙂

I’m officially done one third of my Natural Nutrition program and enjoying a nice break from my studies. Which gave me time to sneak in a couple days of baking before Christmas Day. The week before, I’d made these Peppermint Bark Raw Brownies to share at work.

Monday, Jem and I had our annual Christmas Baking Day. We like to turn on some Christmas music and make a few different goodies at once, mostly to share with family and friends over the holidays. Since I made the switch to vegan, Jem is lovely enough to let all our choices be vegan. This year we choose to make Thin Mint Cookies, Pumpkin Blondies,  Chocolate Chai Shortbread, and Coconut Sugar Cookies (from Vegan Food Gifts). (The links will take you to the original recipe, but I did make some changes, which I will share with you in later posts.)

(Please ignore the non-vegan red sprinkles on Jem’s cookies.)

And Christmas Eve I baked a Cranberry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (this one, but with fresh cranberries added), and Christmas morning I baked fresh Herb Drop Biscuits. These were my contribution to my family’s Christmas brunch.

I’m feeling completely spoiled from Christmas! This is all the vegan/cooking/baking-related stuff I was lucky enough to receive.

Can you detect any themes? Seems as though my family has figured out that if I get kitchen stuff and Lush stuff, I will be a super happy camper!

Not sure if I’ll have another post for you before the end of 2013, so just in case I miss it: have a very Happy New Year! See you in 2014!

P.S. – I am so excited about my new Crockpot, but have never used one before. Does anyone have any favourite or tried-and-true vegan slow-cooker recipes they’d like to share?

Also, I’d love to hear about your favourite moment or favourite gift from this year’s holidays!

Pumpkin Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins

I am so excited to finally share these Pumpkin Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins with you! Two years ago when I first tried The Best Pumpkin Muffins from the Post Punk Kitchen they became an instant favourite. I made them constantly all of that fall and winter. Last winter I was so busy trying new recipes, that I only revisited these a couple times, and never took any photos. Now its pumpkin season once again and I have fallen in love with these muffins all over again.

Through the many times I’ve made them, The Best Pumpkin Muffins has slowly morphed into something healthier and a little different: my Pumpkin Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins. I use whole grain flours, a lot less sugar and oil (and healthier versions of both), more molasses and pumpkin, and the cranberries are never optional. While the PPK’s pumpkin muffins lived up to their name, I have to say that I enjoy them even more with the changes I’ve made. I hope you do too!

Pumpkin Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins (Yields 12 Muffins)
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup chickpea flour (besan)
¼ cup brown rice flour
½ cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp sea salt
1 ¼ cups pureed pumpkin
½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk or water
¼ cup molasses
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans (optional)

Notes:
– Please don’t be scared away by the somewhat lengthy ingredient list; one third of it is spices. The recipe is really simple and comes together quickly.
– If you don’t have chickpea or brown rice flour, you can use all whole wheat but your muffins will be a little denser and you may need a little bit of extra milk or water.
– For a special treat, I highly recommend trying these with a ½ cup of vegan dark chocolate chips instead of the nuts. You won’t be disappointed!
– For some an extra pop of ginger, toss in a couple tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
In a smaller bowl whisk together the pumpkin, milk, oil, and molasses.
Stir the cranberries and nuts (if using) into the dry ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
Use a ¼ cup measuring scoop to scoop batter into a lined or lightly greased muffin tin.
Bake for 20-23 minutes.
Enjoy!

In case you’re wondering, these muffins freeze amazingly well, though I usually have a hard  time having extras to put in the freezer.

These little guys are so moist and flavourful they really don’t need anything else! (Though a little smear of Earth Balance probably wouldn’t hurt.) Yum!

I’ve shared this post with Healthy Vegan Friday #70 and Wellness Weekends.

You May Also Enjoy:

Pumpkin Cornbread Waffles

Pumpkin Cornbread Waffles

I recently came up with these Pumpkin Cornbread Waffles, after a failed search for a pumpkin waffle recipe that suited my tastes, my pantry, and my love of whole grains. I stumbled upon a recipe for similar waffles, and was really disappointed to see that it used cornbread mix (which I’ve never bought and didn’t have). So, I adapted a tried and true waffle recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking into these gems. I couldn’t have been happier with how these turned out!

Pumpkin and warm spices is always a perfect match. What really makes these is the amazing texture (or ‘mouthfeel’ if you don’t dislike that word as much as I do) that the cornmeal gives!

Pumpkin Cornbread Waffles (Yields 6 small waffles, using ½ cup of batter each.)
3 tbsp ground flax seeds
½ cup warm water
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp coconut sugar
1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
¼ cup coconut oil, melted

In a medium bowl, whisk the ground flax and water together.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and spice.
Add the pumpkin, milk, and coconut oil to the flax/water mixture and whisk to combine.
Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.
Cook in a waffle maker, according to its directions.
Top with maple syrup or your favourite toppings, and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy my new favourite waffles as much as I am!

I’ve shared this post with Allergy-Free Wednesday #93, Healthy Vegan Friday #69, and Wellness Weekends (Nov14-18/2013).

You May Also Enjoy:

Blueberry Corn Pancakes, Apple Cinnamon Ginger Waffles, Chickpea Flour Omelette

Green Smoothie Challenge: Day 0.5

Have you read about our Green Smoothie Challenge: Preparation?

Rather than fully start the Green Smoothie Challenge yesterday, we used the day to ease into it a bit. When choosing a start day, we didn’t realize that we would both end up with (non-challenge-approved) leftovers from a pre-planned dinner out on Saturday night, and Jem didn’t know that she had an impromptu late Thanksgiving dinner to go to on Sunday night.

So, yesterday, Jem had the Chocolate Covered Blues Smoothie for breakfast, and then ate regularly for the rest of the day. She did include 30 minutes of elliptical in her day. I ended up having one and a half smoothies, a serving of soup, and some hummus and raw vegetables, and rounding it out with some non-challenge-approved foods. The photos below show what I ate for the day.

I started the day at 6:30am with a Chocolate Covered Blues Smoothie. I choose to start with this one because it is very similar to my favourite smoothie of frozen blueberries, Chocolate Vega One, greens, and almond milk. I used only half a banana (because I really don’t like them), choose 1 tbsp of hemp protein powder for the flax/hemp/chia option, used 1/2 cup of my Greens Puree in place of the spinach, and didn’t add the water. The smoothie turned out the perfect texture for me, and I really enjoyed it, even though I was freezing!

Jem had the same smoothie for breakfast, except she used a full banana as the recipe states.

To help warm me up, I had a hot cup of orange pekoe tea with vanilla creme stevia right after I finished my smoothie. Yes, this tea has caffeine in it, but a lot less than the coffee I usually have every morning. I figured it would be a good stepping stone to the next week without any caffeine. And I didn’t have any coffee for the whole day!

After a 30 minute walk to work, I had a few almonds and one piece of the fig date bread pictured below.

At noon I had 1 1/2 cups of the Cheezy-Smokey-Spicy Vegan Black Bean Soup and a piece of toast. I really love the taste of this soup, but just like last time I made it, I’m not really a fan of the texture. Right now it is about half pureed, but I may try fully pureeing it before I have any today.

We did make some changes to the soup, so I’m going to write our version below.

Cheezy-Smokey-Spicy Black Bean Soup 
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, finely diced and seeds removed
2 carrots, diced
1/2 large zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cans low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp liquid smoke
4 cups water
2 tbsp tahini
3/4 cup nutritional yeast

In a large pot over medium heat, water sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add the carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, chipotle pepper, and spices and cooking stirring for a couple of minutes. Add black beans, liquid smoke, and water, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for at least 10 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast and tahini. Pulse a few times with a stick blender to desired consistency.

Around 4pm, I had another small meal of hummus with raw cucumber, carrot, and yellow bell pepper. I also had the other piece of my fig date bread and some green tea.

At 5pm, I had another 30 minute walk from work.

For dinner, around 6:30pm, I had a small bowl of leftover pasta from the night before.

Around 7:30pm I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes of yoga stretches.

After my workout, I made an Apple Pie Green Smoothie, and drank about half of it. Then I had some lemon ginger herbal tea with stevia to warm me up. I liked the taste of the Apple Pie Smoothie, but didn’t like the texture. My blender probably just isn’t powerful enough to blend the apples smoothly. It was drinkable, once I blended it with ice, but next time I think I’d use applesauce in place of the full apples.

I was also drinking water throughout the day, and made it to a grand total of 11 cups! This includes herbal tea, but doesn’t include the water in the smoothies and other food I ate.

Looking forward to starting the challenge off for real today!

Green Smoothie Challenge: Day 1

My Most Made Recipes

 

Vegan MoFo 2013 – Post #12

I don’t have a lot of time today for a post, as I should be spending the day studying for a test I have tomorrow, so I thought I’d just share with you some of the recipes I’ve posted about that I actually make repeatedly. The number is actually pretty small. There are just always so many new and interesting recipes to try that I find it difficult to repeat past ones, even when I really loved them. The ones that I do repeat are usually the ones that were really quick and easy, in addition to tasty.

 

I make these Chickpea Flour Omelettes all the time! They are quick, easy, very filling, and easily adaptable to whatever vegetables I have on hand. My favourite fillings include spinach, peppers, something spicy like pickled jalapeños or red pepper flakes, and a bit of Daiya Cheese.

And for a variation, I’ve made these Vegan Scrambled ‘Eggs’ a few times since I discovered them.

 

 

I’ve been making these Easy Hot & Sour Refrigerator Pickles on and off all summer long and they always disappear very quickly! I mostly just eat them as snacks.

 

It isn’t a recipe, but I am pretty much obsessed with falafel salads and wraps. (Seriously, search my blog for ‘falafel’ and you’ll see one pop up on almost every What I Ate Wednesday post.) I used to use Casbah Falafel mix, but now I’ve been using the Baked Falafel Burgers from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way. Staples in my falafel salads are cucumbers, peppers, either hummus or tahini sauce, and (lately) Sriracha.

These Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from Veganomicon are a big hit with my family and I. I love the texture and taste from the oat flour and the recipe is really easy. The small batch means you won’t be taking cookies in and out of the oven for hours, and you won’t have too many leftovers to tempt you in the following days.

This Lower-Fat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from Veganomicon has been repeated quite a few times in our household, and is a big hit with omnivores and vegan (just me) alike. You can also see it here, with the addition of raspberries!

This Basic No-Mayo Coleslaw is (in my humble opinion) crunchy, tangy, coleslaw perfection. I make this quite a lot, both for myself and as a contribution to family dinners. My mom and sister have also requested the recipe and made it a few times! 🙂 I find it seriously addictive, in a good way, and it never lasts long.

And last, but certainly not least is my Avocado Toast with Balsamic Vinegar. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. I make this all the time, at all times of day, and I always thoroughly enjoy it! Hearty crunchy whole grain bread (I prefer Silver Hills), rich creamy avocado, tangy balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, and a punch of spice from the black pepper! Yum yum yum. I think I know what I’m having for lunch today.

Veganomicon: Blueberry Corn Pancakes

Vegan Mofo 2013 Post #10 – It only took 17 days, but I’m finally halfway there! Looks like I may just make it to 20 posts!

I’ve never been a huge fan of pancakes, but recently this recipe in Veganomicon for Blueberry Corn Pancakes caught my eye when I was looking for something a little different to make for breakfast one morning. Isn’t it great that 2 years later and I’m still always discovering new things in Veganomicon?! I’m in love with a recipe for Blueberry Corn Muffins from The Joy of Vegan Baking, so I knew the flavour combination was a winner.

I loved these pancakes and will be making them again! The combination of blueberries, lemon, and cornmeal gives these a great natural sweetness and the cornmeal makes for an awesome texture. Just as it says in the book, they have a “little crunch and a wonderful mouthfeel”. These just feel like a perfect summer pancake. Light, bright, fruity, with just a touch of lemon.

P.S. – I think I’m starting to realize that I actually do like pancakes when they are thin, I just really dislike big fluffy doughy ones.

I did make a few minor substitutions like I do:
– I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup chickpea flour in place of the all purpose flour. The batter also ended up really runny, so I ended up adding another 1/4 cup whole wheat flour.
– Most of the recipes in Veganomicon call for a specific type of nondairy milk. This one called for soy, but I used unsweetened almond milk.
– I replaced the canola oil with melted coconut oil.

I think the only thing I would change next time is to drop the blueberries into the individual pancakes, instead of mixing them with the batter. The batter is quite runny (which makes for nice thin pancakes), so the blueberries just end up on the bottom and it was difficult to try and get a good amount in each pancake.

You May Also Enjoy:
Vegan Scrambled ‘Eggs’

Smoked Tofu Benedict with Mushrooms and Arugula

Blueberry Blackberry Chia Jam

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread

Vegan Mofo 2013 – Post #8 – Now only 2 posts behind, and almost halfway through. I may actually make it!

I don’t know if you remember, but awhile back I posted about the amazing Lower-fat Banana Bread recipe from Veganomicon. Well, I recently stumbled upon this variation on that recipe, and it was a definite must-try! I usually add chocolate chips to my banana bread, but Herbivore Triathlete had the genius thought of also adding raspberries!

Banana bread + dark chocolate + tart berry goodness = love!

When making this Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread, I made the same minor changes that I mentioned in my previous post, except that this time I replaced the all purpose flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour, and 1/4 cup chickpea flour.

 

 

You should give this a try!

You May Also Enjoy
Lemon Coconut Energy Bites

Vegan Dark Chocolate S’mores Brownies

Cranberry Orange Cardamom Muffins

 

What I Ate Wednesday #138

 

Vegan MoFo 2013 #6 & What I Ate Wednesday #138

Falafel Salad – Green leaf lettuce, broccoli sprouts, yellow pepper, cucumber, lemon juice, Sriracha, falafel burger, and hummus.

A baked potato with hummus, Sriracha, yellow pepper, broccoli sprouts, and Daiya cheddar. With a Field Roast Frankfurter.

Quinoa, lime juice, Vega Antioxidant Oil, pickled jalapeños, cucumber, and yellow pepper.

Part of a raspberry lime mini-loaf with almonds and walnuts.

Chocolate Blueberry Oats – I made these as overnight oats, but really didn’t like them cold, so I warmed them up a bit. Just oats, chia seeds, blueberries, cocoa powder, and unsweetened almond milk.

Toasted Silver Hills Squirelly Bread with avocado, lemon dill hummus, Sriracha, broccoli sprouts, and spinach.

You May Also Enjoy:
What I Ate Wednesday #137
What I Ate Wednesday #109: Salad Love 
What I Ate Wednesday #136: Vegan In Victoria
What I Ate Wednesday #130

More Waffles from Healthy Happy Life

Vegan MoFo 2013 – Post #1

It’s Vegan Month of Food time again! This is my second year participating and I’ve decided to focus this year on posting reviews and photos of other peoples’ recipes that I’ve tried (from both cookbooks and online). Here it goes. 1 down, only 19 more to go!

Previously I wrote a post about some delicious Pumpkin Spice Waffles from Kathy over at Healthy Happy Life. I haven’t made those ones again since, but I have tried two of her other waffle recipes: Apple Cinnamon Ginger Waffles and Blueberry Citrus Whole Wheat Waffles (which I actually turned into chocolate chip waffles). Yum!

I’m a sucker for anything that involves cooked apples and these Apple Cinnamon Ginger Waffles are no exception. They certainly did not disappoint! The combination of apples and cinnamon is always great, but the addition of ginger and candied ginger in these waffles make them something really special!

What I Did:
I doubled the recipe.
I substituted half of the spelt flour for oat flour. Just because.
I only like and buy green Granny Smith apples, so thats what I used. I used half of a large one, diced small.
I did include the optional chia seeds, but left out the optional almond butter and orange zest.
I substituted the mashed banana with apple sauce: 1/2 cup for the doubled recipe.

Another morning I used the Blueberry Citrus Whole Wheat Waffles to make a special breakfast for my nephew and I: chocolate chip waffles. I followed the recipe, except that I left out the citrus zest, diced oranges, and blueberries. I also left out all of the optional ingredients. We ate our chocolate chip whole wheat waffles with a quick berry sauce similar to my Instant Cranberry Sauce and Blueberry Sauce.

Instant Mixed Berry Sauce
2/3 cup frozen blueberries
2/3 cup frozen blackberries
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp ground chia seed

Place berries in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup and defrost in microwave until berries break apart when you stir them. Stir and break up the berries with a fork, until mostly broken up. Stir in maple syrup and ground chia seeds.
Enjoy on your favourite waffles, pancakes, french toast, or oatmeal.

I really liked these whole wheat waffles and can definitely see using them as a base for all kinds of add-in combinations!

You should definitely head on over to Healthy Happy Life and make some waffles!

What I Ate Wednesday #134

You know the drill by now. What I Ate Wednesday #134. Random vegan meals. Enjoy!

Hummus & Veg Sandwich – Toasted Silver Hills bread with roasted red pepper hummus, cucumber, spinach, and lots of black pepper.
Coleslaw (cabbage, Vega Antioxidant Oil, red wine vinegar, black pepper, Dijon mustard) with a falafel burger, red pepper hummus, and cucumber.

Yogurt Bowl – So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Yogurt with blueberries, hemp hearts, chia seeds, and raw cacao nibs.
Spinach Burger (from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way) on toasted Silver Hills bread with roasted red pepper hummus, Sriracha, and coleslaw (same as above).

Chickpea Wrap – Chickpeas mashed with balsamic vinegar, italian seasoning, and black pepper, with Daiya Jack Wedge, and cucumbers.
Brown Rice Fruit Salad – Cooked brown basmati rice, sucanat, vanilla extract, cinnamon, blueberries, peach, and hemp hearts.

Potatoes & Salad – Roasted yellow flesh potatoes (olive oil, Greek seasoning, and paprika). Salad is romaine lettuce, cucumber, orange pepper, pickled jalapeños, red grapes, and balsamic dressing.
Brown Rice Fruit Salad 2 – Cooked brown basmati rice, cinnamon, sucanat, pineapple, blueberries, and hemp hearts.

Chick’n Strips & Salad – Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers, my Easy Hot & Sour Refrigerator Pickles, and salad (romaine, red pepper, avocado, lime juice, Vega Antioxidant Oil).
Red grapes, blueberries, hemp hearts. Half of a Raspberry Lime Mini-loaf (based on this recipe).

Chickpea Flour Omelette – with yellow pepper, green pepper, spinach, pickled jalapeños, and Daiya Cheddar Wedge.

Like what you see? You may also enjoy What I Ate Wednesday #128, #129, or #130.