Recent Eats part 2

Here are a few pics of some recent meals I've made. I'm notorious for whipping stuff up without a recipe, and not keeping track of amounts, so unfortunately I don't always have a recipe to post. Sorry! :( One day I'll get better at that! 

Vegan chili with cashew sour cream:

Vegan mint ice cream bars )based on this recipe, then dipped in a mixture of melted coconut oil, raw cocoa, and maple syrup:http://bettyrawker.com/2013/02/20/vegan-mint-ice-cream/): 

  

Thai noodle salad with tofu:

Kale chips:

Mac n "cheese" with broccoli used this recipe: http://boldvegan.com/creamy-vegan-mac-and-cheese/):

Grilled smoked "gouda" and tomato sandwich with homemade Caesar salad (used this recipe for the cheese: http://vedgedout.com/2012/10/22/smoked-coconut-gouda/): 

Avocado sushi with tempura veggies:

"Fish" tacos:

Enchiladas with a "cheesy" sauce:

Apple cinnamon pancakes with tofu "bacon":

Butter chickpeas (like butter chicken, but veganized):

Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Here's a great way to get some greens and hemp hearts into your kids if they can be finicky like mine are. They won't even know what's in them :)  I've used sprouted flour in the recipe as well to increase nutrition, but if you do t have any, you can substitute with whole wheat flour. 

You will need:

1.5 cups almond milk (I used original)

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 large, ripe banana

1 large handful of baby spinach (about 2 cups)

1/8 cup pure maple syrup

3 tbsp oil (I used grapeseed)

1/4 cup raw cocoa

1 cup sprouted whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt 

Combine first 8 ingredients (almond milk through cocoa powder) in high speed blender and purée until smooth. 

Combine the remaining 4 ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients from the blender and stir until all the dry ingredients are absorbed into the wet mixture. 

Heat frying pan on medium heat and cook pancakes as you normally would. These take a little longer to cook because of the banana and spinach. 

I used a non stuck pan to cook them without any oil, and I also cooked some in coconut oil. They both came out fine, so the choice is yours! :) 

Mini Pizza Biscuits

This morning I saw a recipe for mini pizza biscuits going around Facebook, so naturally my mind started devising a vegan version. Took a shot at it, and they turned out well :) I'm sure that this recipe could be played around with quite a bit to make different versions. 

You will need:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp dried basil

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast 

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella style daiya 

1 Tbsp ground chia seed

2.5 tbsp warm water

3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

16 slices veggie pepperoni, chopped 

Warm pizza sauce for serving.

Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 24 cup mini muffin tin.

In a small bowl or cup, combine the 1 Tbsp of ground chia with the 2.5 Tbsp warm water. Set aside. 

In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, basil, and Italian seasoning. Add in the daiya and the chopped veggie pepperoni slices and give it a few tosses. Add in the soy milk and chia egg, and stir until combined. Dived evenly between the 24 muffin cups, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from tin and serve with warm pizza sauce. 

 

Thanksgiving Dinner

Dessert (Pumpkin pie parfait)

My dinner plate:

Which consisted of:

Veggie bake:

Stuffing:

Caramelized onion and brussel sprouts with toasted pecan and dried cranberries:

Mashed potatoes baked in a muffin tin:

Orange infused cranberry sauce: 

Mushroom gravy: 

Buns: 

Turk'y cutlets: 

Recent Eats

I cook so often without a recipe, that I often end up with delicious meals, but no recipe to post on my blog. I need to work on that! Haha. Here are a few pictures of recent foods I've made but didn't record recipes for. 

Vegan Taco Bake

Calzones

One Pot Pasta with a Chik'n Cutlet

Vegan Black Forest Cake

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Medallions

Yam Gnocchi with a Basil Butter Sauce

Quinoa Greek Salad with Breaded "Scallops"

Vegan BLT Pizza

Vegan Chik'n Noodle Soup with a Homemade Biscuit and Homemade Caesar Salad

Vegan French Toast

Chocolate Cupcake with Real Raspberry Icing and a Sugar Decoration

Homemade Breadsticks

Homemade Spinach and Basil Infused Fettuccine with Cashew Alfredo and a Grilled Portobello

3 ingredient cookies... Well 8 ingredient in my case!

I'm sure most of you have seen the recipes for these 3 ingredient cookies using mashed bananas and oats. This is my interpretation :) I often use recipes like this to incorporate healthy foods like hemp hearts and chia seeds into my kids diet. They are quite picky right now, so I'll take any chance I can get! They aren't super sweet, and may not satisfy an adults sweet tooth (like mine which is waaaay off balance right now), but they are great for kids. You could even add some chocolate chips for an extra treat :) 

1 cup quick oats

2 ripe bananas (medium)

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1/4 cup raisins

2 tbsp ground chia seeds

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of sea salt 

Preheat oven to 350. 

Mash bananas until smooth. Add all other ingredients and mix until combined. Spoon onto cookie sheet (either greased or lined with parchment paper), using a tablespoon (should make about 16 cookies). Slightly flatten cookies using a fork and bake for 15 minutes at 350. You want them to be firm and just starting to get a golden brown hue to them. Once cool, store in an airtight container. 

Taco "Meat"

Here's a great alternative to using the prepared soy based "ground beef" products. 

You will need: 

1 cup walnut halves

8 medium mushrooms

1 small onion

2 tbsp oil (I used grape seed)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (depending on your palate)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp smoked sweet paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I used clubhouse)

1/4 cup water (more or less)

1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)

Grind walnuts in food processor until they look like coarse bread crumbs. Set aside in a bowl. 

Next, roughly chop onion and quarter the mushrooms and add to food processor. Chop until they are roughly the same consistency as the walnuts. 

In a pan, heat the 2 tbsp of oil on medium high, and add the onion and mushroom mixture. Basically you want to cook the water out of the mushrooms since they contain so much and you don't want a soggy "meat". Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add the walnuts. Add in the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of the water. You may not need the full amount or you may need more, depending on how dry your mix is. Add it a bit at a time until you have a moist, but not soggy mixture. Cook until you start to get a nice brown crust forming on the bits of walnut onion and mushroom. 

Now add it to taco or burrito shells and add your favorite toppings! :) I topped with lettuce, tomato, and my new favourite sauce which is vegenaise and salsa mixed together :)