{CHIA SEEDS}

Chia seeds aren't really a recipe, but i thought they might be worth posting. They are pretty much a super food. They don't really have a taste at all, and kind of look and feel like poppyseeds. When they absorb water, they look like little frog eggs. (Don't worry they're not that gross) Just a few of the many good things about them: they are the number one source of Omega 3 fatty acids, even more than flax seeds. This Omega 3 helps circulation and the heart. The omega 3s break up the lipids which cause blood clots, varicose veins, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, and high triglycerides. Besides this aspect of them, they help diabetics by slowing blood sugar spikes. They have 3 times the antioxidants than blueberries. The fiber in chia seeds helps with digestion. In 2 ounces of milk there are 120 milligrams of calcium. In 2 ounces of chia, there are 600 milligrams of calcium. That means chia has 5 times the amount of calcium than milk! The other aspect of chia seeds, is their ability to fuel endurance activity such as running, which is why i love them so much. They have 2 times the potassium as a banana which means more electrolytes than in Gatorade. The seeds absorb up to 30 times their weight when put in water so they are great for keeping hydrated during athletic events and just throughout the day. The other reason why they are so good for endurance sports is because the chia gel (formed when you soak the seeds in water) causes a slow release of carbohydrates, which slowly convert to glucose that your body can use for energy.

The way that we've been eating them is by putting them in our green drinks in the morning. For four people you would soak 1/4 cup chia seeds in a little water while you make a normal spinach fruit smoothie. Then, after the seeds have soaked for about 5 minutes (soaking time isn't very important because the seeds absorb any stomach liquid as well so they are affective even if swallowed dry) anyways after they have soaked, blend them in with the green drink and enjoy. You can also just stir a spoonful of the seeds into an 8 ounce glass of water, let it sit, then drink it up. You will be hydrated and energized for the rest of the day!

{RAW OATMEAL COOKIES}

This picture doesn't do these justice! They are really good (I probably just shouldn't post until I get a good picture, but then it might never happen...) Anyway, fun to try and I've made them several times since I found the recipe here (I'll be checking her blog lots- good stuff to try!) They are a great after school snack!

1.5 to 2 cups rolled oats
1 c. pitted dates, chopped
1 c. raisins
1 t. cinnamon

• Place oats in glass bowl with cinnamon, stir together until mixed.
• Chop dates into a semi-fine mush (I used a food processor)
• Add dates to oatmeal mixture
• Add raisins (just so you know, I'm NOT a big raisin fan and I still love these)
• Oil your hands with coconut oil, water, or cooking spray and mash together (might take a while).
• Once the mixture is a dough like consistency, form them into golf ball size rounds and flatten them into a cookie.
  
• They are ready! Just you try to stop eating them!
  

{CROCKPOT ENCHILADA CASSEROLE}

This is so easy to make! I throw it together before church or when I've got a busy afternoon, and then every body is happy at dinner time! I also like it because even if I haven't been shopping in a while, I still have all of these ingredients. I got the original recipe from my friend Shelly and just substituted an extra can of beans for the chicken and simplified the rest. We usually serve with avocados and mexican rice, but it would also be great (although not low fat) with vegan sour cream.

1 Onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. oil (I used veggie broth)
10 oz. can enchilada sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
small can of chopped olives
1/2-1 can green chillies
salt to taste
pepper to taste
8 corn tortillas
1 can ranch style or chili beans
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• Saute onion and garlic in water, veggie broth, or oil.
• Stir in enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, olives, and chillies.
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Mix beans and corn together in a bowl.
• Place 2 tortillas in bottom of slow cooker. Layer 1/3 of sauce mixture, then 1/3 of bean mixture on top.
• Repeat above step two more times, and then top with 2 tortillas and any extra sauce.
• Cook on low 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4.
  

{CABBAGE PITAS}

This isn't really a precise recipe, so just play with it. We really like these, and they're great for summer time. (We hit 90 degrees today.) I'm not sure where the original "recipe" came from; my mother-in-law makes it.

1/2 head cabbage, grated

1 large carrot, grated

raw sunflower seeds

vegan mayo (I use fat-free Nasoya Nayonaise)*

vegan plain yogurt*

a few squirts mustard

cayenne pepper to taste (be careful)

• Mix all ingredients.

• Serve on whole wheat pita or flatbread with whatever sandwich fixings your heart desires. (I like avocados, tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers . . . really anything I'd put on a veggie sandwich.)

*I have used just Nayonaise, just yogurt, and nothing at all. Just depends on what I've got on hand, and how moist I want it.

{GARLIC BREAD SPREAD}

Last night we had company. I made this pasta (with bow-tie noodles) and this french bread. I made a garlic spread for the bread that turned out really good. Sorry, no picture.

1/4 c. vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. dried parsley

1 T. nutritional yeast

• Mix well.

• Cut loaf of French bread lengthwise.

• Spread with thin layer of garlic spread.

• Cut bread into pieces of desired size, but don't cut all the way through.

• Place loaves onto cookie sheet.

• Broil until top is golden brown (5-7 minutes).

{GINGERSNAP COOKIES}

I can't believe these haven't been posted on here before. I think my brothers eat about 6 of them every day- they are seriously good!

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. ginger

1 t. cloves

1 t. cinnamon

1/4-1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1/4 c. + 2 T. baby food prunes (1 small Gerber container)

1 c. sucanat

1 1/2 T. water

1/4 c. molasses

• Mix sucanat, prunes, molasses, and water.
• Add the spices.
• Add the flour.
• Refrigerate dough for a few hours (if you can wait that long!)
• Roll into ball, dip the top in sugar (evaporated cane juice)
• Smash with your hand and put on lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

(Well, I just turned a perfectly fat-free cookie into a very not-so-fat-free one.  But, oh my!  It's delicious with this coconut cream on it!)

{LEAFY GREENS}

Leafy greens are so important! Here's a great short article about what they can do for you. Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to get enough!

{BLACK BEAN BROWNIES}

These are somewhere between brownies and fudge, and my kids loved them! I came across the recipe here. The banana taste was a little strong, so we used baby food prunes instead and they turned out great.

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. baby food prunes

1/3 c. agave nectar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

1/2 to 1 c. rolled oats, processed slightly

• Combine all ingredients, except the oats, in a food processor or blender. (I used a blender this time, but will definitely use a food processor from now on. It was too hard to clean the batter out of my blender.)

• Mix in oats.

• Poor batter into slightly greased 8x8 pan.

• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The batter was TASTY!!

*I added a bit more cocoa powder last time and halved the cinnamon, and we liked that variation.

{"CAFE RIO" BLACK BEANS}

These are really good in taco salad! Squeeze a little lime on top, and voila! (Marian found the original recipe here.)

I'm posting pressure cooker instructions. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just adjust the liquid amount and cook the beans as you normally would.

1 lb dry black beans, rinsed and sorted

1 c. tomato sauce/juice/whatever

3 1/2 c. water

1/2 large sweet onion (or 1 regular onion), chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 T. salt

1 to 2 T. cumin (depending on desired spiciness)

• Put all ingredients in a pressure cooker.

• Cook on high pressure, 50 minutes, natural release.

{LEMON GLAZE}

This is a slight variation from the one I did for the carrot cupcakes. Today I used it on cinnamon rolls!

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 to 1 1/4 c. evaporated cane juice

1/2 lemon (I just threw the whole thing in--peel and all)

1 t. vanilla

• Blend all ingredients until very smooth.

Notes: I also added a few drops of yellow food coloring today, just for fun.

This makes a lot. I'm freezing what I didn't use today.

{GARLIC PARMESAN BREAD STICKS}

I made this pizza last night. We were having company, and I was a little worried one pizza wouldn't feed us all, so I decided to make breadsticks as well. I just used the pizza dough recipe, rolled the dough, cut it into strips, sprinkled garlic salt and vegan parmesan on top, and baked them at 500 for 10 minutes. They were great. We dipped them in both the roasted garlic sauce and a store-bought marinara.

I've made this a few times now; we love them! I actually don't add quite as much flour to the pizza dough recipe, and they turn out much lighter and better. I also cook them for less time than the pizza. I'm not sure the exact amounts I use, but try this:

1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 T. honey

1 T. yeast

1/2 t. salt

2 T. applesauce

1 c. comfortably hot water

1/4 to 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

• Mix first group of ingredients.

• Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

• Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour. Dough should be pretty sticky and barely workable.

• Spray hands with Pam, if necessary, and knead dough and roll onto a sprayed cookie sheet.

• Sprinkle top with garlic salt, nutritional yeast, and/or vegan parmesan.

• Use pizza cutter to cut dough into strips. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.

• Bake at 500 for 7-8 minutes.

{BROWNIES}

I found the original recipe for these on McDougall's website, changed a few things, and this is the end result. We're always up for brownies!

Dry Ingredients:

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/3 c. cocoa powder

2 t. baking powder

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. chopped cashews or walnuts (optional)*

Wet Ingredients:

2 c. blended prunes*

1 c. sugar (or whatever you use)

1/4-1/2 t. stevia (or 1 c. sugar...)

2 t. vanilla

4 T. Ener-g Egg Replacer mixed in 1 c. water*

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Mix blended prunes and sugar together in a separate bowl.
• Stir in vanilla.
• Mix egg replacer and water together and whisk until frothy.
• Add to sugar mixture and stir to combine.
• Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until mixed.
• Try not to eat all the batter.
  
• Spoon into a lightly greased 9x13 pan or two 8x8 square pans.
• Bake for 30 minutes

*The walnuts in this are great- I just have to chop mine up super tiny so they disappear, otherwise my family rebels.

*To make the prune mix, put 3 cups of water in the blender and add 1 to 1.5 cups of dried prunes until the water hits the 4 cup mark. Blend until smooth. Use 2 cups for the recipe, and then you can freeze the extra or just put it in the fridge to use later. It's a great fat replacer! You can also just buy baby food prunes, but when you are using 2 cups you'd have to buy 8 because they come in 1/4 c. containers.

*Ener-g egg replacer is available at most health food stores. You can also order it on Amazon. It's way cheaper than eggs and it works great! This is what you're looking for:

{CHEEZ SAUCE}

This is not a new recipe; I just decided to post it separate from the Mac & Cheez to make it easier access. We use this sauce on pasta, pizza, veggies, grilled cheez sandwiches, etc. (The original recipe is here.)

1 c. water

1 potato

1 carrot

1/3 c. raw cashews
1/4 c. pureed white beans

1 T. miso

3 T. sesame seeds (1 T. tahini)

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. dijon mustard

1/3 c. nutritional yeast

1/8 t. pepper

1/4 t. paprika

1 t. salt

• Peel and chop potato and carrot (I actually don't peel them anymore) and boil them in 1 c. water.

• Meanwhile, place all other ingredients in a blender.

• When the potatoes and carrots are tender, add them, with their water, to the blender.

• Blend until very smooth.

Note: Marian and I once used white beans instead of a potato. I've also substituted leftover butternut squash for the carrot. Both worked great.

{A 3-YEAR-OLD'S THOUGHTS ON DAIRY}

My 3-year-old is very interested in knowing what is or is not good for her body. Tonight we had pizza. She was dipping hers in cheez sauce. We had the following conversation:

Mariah: This cheez sauce is good for my body. Most cheese sauces have sugar in them, so they're not good for my body.

Me: Actually, most cheese sauces don't have sugar in them. They have cows' milk. And cows' milk isn't good for your body.

Mariah: But it's good for cows' bodies.

Enough said . . . .

{DROP BISCUITS}

These are really quick and easy; they're great with soup. The original recipe is here.

2 c. whole wheat flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. applesauce

3/4 c. cold soymilk

• Mix dry ingredients.

• Add applesauce and soymilk.

• Mix to make a soft dough.

• Allow to sit for 2 minutes.

• Drop on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

• Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

*I usually make 9 biscuits.

{HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SYRUP}

I got this recipe from my friend Diana. It is great for a sweet treat!

2 T. cornstarch

4 T. water

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 c. water

1 c. sugar or 3/4 c. honey*

dash salt

• Mix cornstarch with 4 T. water. Set aside
• Put cocoa, 1 c. water, sugar, and salt in saucepan
• Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Keep stirring.
• Using a whisk to stir, slowly add cornstarch mixture to boiling cocoa mixture. You probably won't need all of it, just add enough to thicken. If you make it too thick, just add water until you reach the right consistency.

I put this on sliced bananas with chopped pecans (or walnuts, almonds, etc.). It would also be good on ice cream.

* I made this with a half cup evaporated cane juice and 1/4 t. stevia and it worked great. I tried it with 1/2 t. stevia and no evaporated cane juice, and it didn't taste as good, so I'll have to mess with it more.

{FRUIT SYRUP}

This was our Valentines' Day breakfast. I made a raspberry syrup to go on the French toast. It turned out really good. I'm going to post what I did, but you can do the same thing with any fruit/fruit juice of your choice. This made 2 cups of syrup.

2 c. fresh raspberries

1 c. raspberry-apple juice concentrate

1 1/2 T. corn starch

1 smidgen stevia*

• Put fruit and 1/2 c. juice concentrate in small saucepan.

• Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until boiling.

• Meanwhile, whisk corn starch and stevia into remaining 1/2 c. juice concentrate.

• When the fruit mixture is boiling, slowly add the concentrate-corn starch mixture.

• Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until syrup is thick.

*1/4 t. stevia is equivalent to 1 c. sugar. So, this was probably about the same as 2 or 3 T. sugar.

{CHEEZY TWICE BAKED POTATOES}

Ok. I actually was not crazy about the end result of the seasoning I chose for this one. It was good, but not wow-fabulous. I'm posting it anyway, though, because I think it's a good idea, and I want someone else to play with the seasonings and come up with something fabulous. You can find the original recipe here.

My 19-month-old loved them; my husband liked them; I thought they were ok; and my 3-year-old did not like them. They were maybe a little too sweet for me? So, I think next time I'll not use nutmeg, but maybe dijon mustard or dry mustard powder instead for a cheesy spice? I don't know. Maybe some cumin? Paprika? Please, someone experiment with this one and come up with something! I think they could be delicious.

I'm going to post what I did; you can play with it and let me know what you come up with.*

4 potatoes

1/2 butternut squash, steamed

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

2 T. fat-free vegan butter substitute

1 t. garlic salt

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

pinch nutmeg

soymilk

• Bake potatoes at 450 for 1 hour.

• Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise, and scoop insides into a bowl.

• Add steamed butternut squash.

• Add nutritional yeast, butter flavoring, and spices.

• Mash together, adding soymilk to desired consistency.

• Scoop potato/squash mixture back into the potato skins and place them on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish.

• Sprinkle tops with nutritional yeast and pepper.

• Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.

*I tried this again with some revisions and liked it a lot better.  I'll leave the original recipe, in case it's somebody's favorite, but here's the revised recipe:

4 potatoes

1 c. steamed butternut squash

1/4 c. roasted garlic sauce

3/4 c. non-dairy milk

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 pinch paprika

• Bake potatoes at 400 for 1 hour.

• Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise, and scoop insides into a bowl.

• Add steamed butternut squash.

• Blend remaining ingredients.

• Add blended mixture to potatoes and squash.

• Scoop potato/squash mixture back into the potato skins and place them on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish.

• Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

{MINT CHOCOLATE CAKE}

I found this recipe in a save-the-animals vegan mailer (original recipe here). Saving animals is not my primary reason for being vegan, but the mailer did have some recipes with potential. I just tweaked this one slightly to make it lower fat; I also added salt to the cake, and the icing was a little bitter, so I added some sweetener.

{Chocolate Cake}

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1 c. evaporated cane juice

1 pinch stevia (I was shooting for 1/8 t., or the equivalent of 1/2 c. sugar)

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. prune baby food

1/2 T. baking soda

1 1/2 T. white vinegar

1/2 T. vanilla

1 1/2 c. cold water

• Preheat oven to 350.

• Combine and mix dry ingredients until blended well.

• Add wet ingredients and mix until smooth.

• Pour batter into a lightly-oiled 9x13 baking pan.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes.

• Let the cake cool completely before frosting with icing (below).

{Mint Chocolate Icing}

1 10-oz. bag vegan chocolate chips

1/3 c. soymilk

1 T. peppermint extract

2 T. evaporated cane juice (I added this because the grain-sweetened chips I used made the icing kind of bitter. You may not need to add it, depending on the kind of chocolate chips you use.)

• Melt the chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat.

• Add the soymilk and peppermint extract.

• Stir continuously until smooth.

• Allow to cool slightly before icing cake. (I only used 2/3 of the icing for one cake.)

{CINNAMON ROLLS}

My friend (thanks, Heather!) gave me the great idea of making cinnamon rolls using my normal bread recipe. I tried it out the last time I made bread. Fabulous!

Here's what I did:

I used the bread recipe I normally use (using the *wonderslim and lecithin and egg replacer, making 6 loaves)(see link above).

I divided the dough into 6 loaves, as usual. I formed 5 sections into loaves, and kept one section out. I rolled that section out really thin, and lightly buttered it with vegan butter, then I put an evaporated cane juice/cinnamon mixture and raisins on it. I rolled up the dough with the raisins on it to form a "loaf", which I cut into 9 sections to make the rolls. I put the rolls into a greased square baking dish. I let the cinnamon rolls rise the same amount of time as the bread loaves in their pans, then I let them rise for 5 extra minutes while I put the bread in the oven and started it cooking. After 5 minutes, i put the cinnamon rolls into the oven with the bread, and let them cook together for 25 minutes.

For the frosting, I made a glaze out of evaporated cane juice powdered sugar, soy milk, and a tiny bit of butter. Next time, I think I will try it without the butter, and if it needs a butter flavor, I will just add Butter Buds or something. My mom made these, and added honey when she put the raisin/cinnamon/sugar mixture on. She also didn't add any frosting at all, because her family ate them straight out of the oven before she had a chance to put frosting on them.

*wonderslim: prunes, water, lecithin granules, or prune baby food

{SHEPHERDS' PIE}

Our cousin, Lucy, just shared this recipe with us. It's yummy!

{Mashed Potato Topping}

6 medium potatoes

1 T vegan bullion

soymilk

salt and pepper to taste

{Filling}

1 medium onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 c spinach, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (I blended these.)

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 c cooked lentils, slightly mashed (1 c dried)

1/2 t basil

1/2 t salt

1 T soy sauce

{Layer on top of Filling}

2 cans green beans

1 can corn

{Sprinkle over Mashed Potatoes}

2 T nutritional yeast

freshly ground pepper

• Cook lentils.

• Boil potatoes in water & vegan bullion until soft.

• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute onions and garlic until soft.

• Add the carrots and cook until soft. (Add water as needed.)

• Add the spinach, tomatoes, mashed lentils, basil, salt, and soy sauce.

• Allow to simmer, uncovered, until the liquid cooks off.

• In a large bowl, mash together the potatoes, soymilk, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

• Preheat oven to 350.

• Pour lentil mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.
• Layer with corn and beans.
• Layer with potatoes.
• Sprinkle nutritional yeast and pepper on top.
• Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Note: I think next time I'll try cooking the whole lentil mixture at once in the pressure cooker. I'll let you know how it goes. I think I will also broil the whole thing for 5 minutes or so after it bakes, so the top is a little crispy.

Pressure Cooker Instructions:

As promised, I tried cooking the filling in the pressure cooker. It worked great! The only thing you may not like as well is the really soft carrots. If you don't want them that soft, just steam the carrots separately.

• Put all filling ingredients plus 1 1/2 to 2 cups liquid (including tomato liquid) in pressure cooker. (Do not precook lentils; use 1 cup dry lentils.)

• Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes, natural release.

• Follow assembly and baking instructions above.

{PICO DE GALLO}

This is one of our favorite meals. It's amazing how good simple natural foods can taste when they are flavored right! (The picture is of my daughter's plate- she wanted me to take a picture of hers)

10 roma tomatoes

1/2 onion

1 bunch green onions

1 bunch cilantro

1 1/2 t. garlic (or a little more if you love garlic!)

1/2 T. apple cider vinegar

juice of 2 limes

salt to taste


brown rice
black beans
avocados
corn
pecans
tortilla chips

• Chop everything up and combine it in a bowl.
• Serve with brown rice, black beans, avocados, corn, pecans, and chips

{BLUEBERRY FLAX SMOOTHIE}

I got this recipe off of Dr. Fuhrman's website. It is really delicious!

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

3/4 c. soy milk*

1 T. flax seeds

3-6 dates (depending on how big they are)

• Put ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

*You can use other kinds of milk (I used rice milk today)- it will just change the texture slightly depending on the thickness of the milk. I also add more milk sometimes. It blends easier but then it's less like icecream, so it just depends on what you feel like.

In case you forgot how incredibly good blueberries are for you, I got the below info from Dr. Fuhrmans' website too. They are really good for your heart and also for diabetes. Eat up!

One cup of blueberries contain 80 calories and a whole pint gives you about 225 calories. Like all other foods, the calories in blueberries come from its macro nutrients - 56 grams of carbohydrate, 1.5 grams of fat and 2.7 grams of protein. But it is blueberries' micro nutrient content that packs the most impressive wallop. Blueberries are packed with tannins, anthocyanins that have been linked to prevention - and even reversal - of age related mental decline and anti-cancer effects.

The flavanoids in blueberries -- catechin, epicatechin, myricetin, quercetin, ankaempferol -- are a mouthful of strangely spelled words, but more importantly, they are extremely valuable for superior health. And remember, phytochemicals are not optional nutrients; they are essential for normal function of your immune system.

{AVOCADO WHIP CREAM}

My daughter wanted gingerbread cake with applesauce and whip cream for her birthday. I decided to mess around with Avocados and soymilk and see what we could come up with. It kind of tasted like pistachio ice cream! It worked well for this dessert and I think there are a lot of things that you could use it for in place of whip cream. I'm not a huge fan of the soy whip cream which is why I wanted to try something new. It's far from being perfected because I've only tried it once, but it was good enough to use it again and maybe mess around with it to come up with other versions. It's not lowfat but still healthier than most other options. It does have a green tint but it looks pretty in real life (I know the picture doesn't look great!)

1 1/2 c. soy creamer

1 avocado

1/8-1/4 t. stevia (equal to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar)

• Put all ingredients in blender and blend (I used the sauces button on my Blendtec)

*You might be able to whip more air into it if you blend it longer but I didn't really experiment too much because of time. We weren't using it right away, so I stuck in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then when we were ready to eat I blended it up one more time.

{ CORN CHOWDER }

Mom added some stuff to this recipe, and we like it as well or better than the original:

water to saute
1/4 c. sweet red pepper, finely diced
1 c. onion, chopped


3 c. potatoes, diced
1 c. carrots, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped


3 c. water
1 T. Better-than-Bullion no Chicken broth (or vegan broth powder)
1 t. Mrs. Dash, Spike, or other herb blend
1 t. garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 t. salt


3 1/2 c. frozen corn
2 c. non-dairy milk

• Saute onions and sweet peppers in water until onions are transparent.
• Add potatoes, carrots, and celery, and continue to saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add water, bullion, salt, and Mrs. Dash.  (The water will barely cover the potatoes.)
• Simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through.  Stir often to prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Blend non-dairy milk and 1 1/2 c. corn until very smooth.
• Just before serving, add remaining 2 c. corn and the cream mixture and heat through.  Do not boil.

I don't remember where we got this recipe. (Joanne?) It's a good one. I made some changes to the original to make it thicker (more chowder-like). I'll put the original recipe in parenthesis.

1/4 c sweet red pepper, finely diced (1-2 T)

1/2 large onion, chopped

6 c potatoes, peeled and diced (3 c red potatoes)

3 c water

1 T vegan "chicken" bullion or powder

1 t Mrs. Dash, Spike, or other herb blend

1 t salt

3 1/2 c frozen corn

2 c soymilk

• Saute the onions and sweet peppers in water in the bottom of a large pan. Cook until onions are transparent.

• Add the potatoes and continue to saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

• Add the water, bullion, salt, and Mrs. Dash. The water will barely cover the potatoes.

• Simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Stir often to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

• Blend soymilk, 1 1/2 c of the corn, and 1 c of the cooked potatoes in a blender until smooth and creamy. (The blended potatoes are not in the original recipe.)

• Just before serving, add the remaining 2 c corn to the broth and vegetables. Simmer until the corn is hot.

• Add the cream mixture and heat through. Do not boil.

Note: For an even thicker soup, add 1 T cornstarch to the blended mixture.

Pressure Cooker Instructions:

I made this last night in the pressure cooker. I changed some of the liquid and spice amounts. (The changes are bolded below.) It turned out great! I also made these biscuits.

1/4 c sweet red pepper, finely diced

1/2 large onion, chopped

6 c potatoes, peeled and diced

1 c water

1 T vegan "chicken" bullion or powder

1/2 t Mrs. Dash, Spike, or other herb blend

1/2 t salt

3 1/2 c frozen corn

1 c soy/rice milk

• Put all ingredients, except the corn and milk, in the pressure cooker.

• Low Pressure, 1 minute, quick release.

• Blend 1 1/2 c. corn, 1 c. milk, and 1 c. cooked potatoes/onions/peppers until very smooth.

• Add blended mixture and remaining 2 c. corn to soup.

{GARLIC LEMON DRESSING}

This is a very easy and very healthy salad dressing. And it's delicious! (Laura, are you the one who found this one? Where?)

1 can white beans, undrained

2/3 c lemon juice

1 t salt

1 t pepper

6-8 garlic cloves

1/8 t stevia

• Blend all ingredients until very smooth. Chill before serving.

{GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE}

Eliza found this one on Fat Free Vegan. Don't be fooled, though; it is NOT fat free. It is, however, delicious. It even got husband approval, which is no small task at my house.

{Beans}

2 quarts water

1 T salt

1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot.

• While the water is heating, cut up the beans.

• Add the salt and beans to the boiling water.

• Cover and cook for 6 minutes.

• Drain beans in a colander, and spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking.

• Let them sit and drain in the colander.

{Sauce}

10 oz. mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

2 T flour

3/4 c vegetable broth

1/2 to 1 T orange juice concentrate (original recipe calls for sherry)

3/4 c soy creamer

• Trim and discard mushroom stems, and chop mushrooms into small pieces.

• Saute mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper until mushrooms are very soft. (Mushrooms exude enough juice that you don't need to use water, oil, or spray.)

• Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms, along with the orange juice concentrate.

• Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens.

• Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick (about 5 to 10 minutes).

{Topping}

2 slices whole-grain bread (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 slices)

1 T Earth Balance margarine (optional)

1/8 t salt

1/16 t freshly ground black pepper

3 oz. French fried onions

• Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly.

• Pour into a bowl and add the onions.

• Stir to combine.

{Assembly and Cooking}

• Preheat oven to 425.

• Spray 9x13 casserole dish and pour in the beans.

• Pour sauce over beans.

• Top with the onion mixture.

• Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Note: If you're not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately. Allow everything to come back to room temperature before topping the casserole; bake it for about 20 minutes.

{ALCOHOL-FREE WASSAIL}

(Photo plagiarized from here.)

Wassail has been around for a long time. The term started out as an old English saying, "Was hal," which means, "Be hale," or "Be of good health." We have a family holiday tradition of "wassailing." We sit around, sipping wassail, and make toasts to each other, the new year, etc. Here's the recipe.

3 cans apple juice concentrate, prepared normally

1 can orange juice concentrate, prepared normally

1 can pineapple juice concentrate, prepared normally

1/2 c lemon juice

6 cinnamon sticks

15 whole cloves

• Mix all ingredients and simmer for a while. (We just put it in a crock pot and let it warm all day. It smells terrific!)

{ZUCCHINI PIGLETS}

This is a fun way to eat zucchini. Cut the zucchini in half and then slice into thin slices (about 1/4 inch thick). Spray a pancake griddle (or frying pan) with cooking spray and spread the slices out. Sprinkle them with nutritional yeast and a little garlic powder and then cook them for about 20-25 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

{HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE}

This is the recipe that our mom always made at Thanksgiving when I was growing up, and it's one of my favorites.  As soon as I start seeing cranberries in the stores, I start craving this.  I like it way better than the canned version.

The ingredients are simple:

1 12-oz bag of cranberries (can be fresh or frozen)
1 can frozen apple-juice concentrate
1/4 can frozen orange-juice concentrate*
(1 drop stevia)

• Combine cranberries and juice concentrate in medium saucepan

• 
  
  Heat over medium to medium-high heat, stirring every once in a while.  The juice will melt, and after about 5-7 minutes the cranberries will start bursting (you'll hear the little popping noises - it's my favorite part!).
  
  

Reduce heat and simmer on low (stirring occasionally) until it reaches desired consistency:

It will also continue to thicken a little bit as it cools. 

*I think the original recipe calls for one of the extra-large cans of apple-juice concentrate, and no orange juice concentrate, but we like it with the extra orange flavor.

**I like it tart, but you can add a little sugar if it's not sweet enough for you.

***This would probably be really good with the rolls in the last post.

{WHOLE-WHEAT AND HONEY PULL-APART ROLLS}

(I forgot to take a picture of the rolls after they were out of the muffin tins)

This recipe is the same as our whole wheat bread, with a few changes to make it more roll-like.

2 c plain soymilk
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
4 c whole wheat flour

• Mix well and allow to sit for at least one hour (up to over night).

Proof (in measuring container with remnants of above honey):
2 T yeast
in 1/2 c warm soymilk

Add:
yeast + soymilk
2-3 c whole wheat flour
1 T egg replacer

1 T butter buds
2 t salt

• Knead on speed 2 (Bosch) for 8 minutes
• Allow dough to rise double. Punch Down.
• Allow to rise double again.
• Divide dough into 24 equal parts (half (2), half again (4), half again (8), thirds (24)).*
• Divide each roll into 3 equal balls and put all 3 balls into 1 muffin space of a greased muffin tin.
• Repeat for 24 rolls.
• Allow to rise.
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

*You could probably stretch this recipe to make 36 smaller rolls. I just wanted to cook them all at the same time, so I wanted them to fit into 2 muffin tins.

{ SWEET POTATO PUDDING }

Mom made up this whole-foods variation of the original recipe:

1 c. water

1/4 c. raw almonds

1/4 c. dates (packed in)

1/4 t. vanilla

1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 c. cooked sweet potatoes

• Blend water through pumpkin pie spice until very smooth.
• Add and blend sweet potatoes.

And here's the original:

This recipe is from pcrm.org. It has lots of cancer fighting beta carotene in it. We call it pumpkin pudding at our house, because one of my children thinks he doesn't like sweet potatoes. We've made it twice in the last few days and he's loved it both times. Hmm... now I have to go eat some because this post made me hungry!

1 c. cooked sweet potatoes

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice (optional)

1/2 c. non dairy milk

1/3 c. oats

1 T. maple syrup

• Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.
• Serve with cinnamon and nutmeg (We like ours warm).

{PUMPKIN CHIP MUFFINS}

These are a great fall time treat. Pumpkins (even canned) are loaded with vitamins A, C, K, and E, they have tons of antioxidants, and are high in magnesium, potassium, and iron. I love making healthy snacks!

2 T. Ener-g egg replacer + 1/2 c. warm water, whisked (or 4 eggs)

2 c. honey (or sugar)

1 16 oz. can pumpkin

1 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (or oil)

2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 T. baking powder

1 T. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. salt

2 c. vegan chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Beat eggs, honey, pumpkin, and applesauce until smooth
• Combine dry ingredients and add to wet mixture
• Fold in chocolate chips
• Fill muffin tins 3/4 full
• Bake for 16-20 minutes

*I like using mini muffin pans for this, because then they are just bite size and perfect for after school snacks. You do have to adjust the cooking time (12-13 minutes usually works for me.)

*I don't always use honey- this last time we used 1/2 c. agave nectar, 2/3 c. sucanat, and 1/2 t. stevia and it worked great.

*These are better than the picture looks! I'm not a food photographer.

Note from Rebekah: We love these. I always make them with 1 c. honey and 1/4 t. stevia. It works great!

{HALLOWEEN... (A LITTLE LATE)}

The fireman picking out his loot

I meant to post about Halloween a couple days ago (thanks Angela for the suggestion) but I ended up in the hospital having a baby instead. Now that we're back and settling in I thought I'd share what our family does- but I don't really have any great ideas. If you have any, I'd love to hear!

I am not a huge fan of Halloween, just because of all the junk and all the scary evil stuff. But I do love that the kids get to dress up and be something fun for a couple of days. I don't see an easy way to have my children avoid all the candy that comes around this time of year, but we do try to limit it. One of our favorite healthy treats during the fall are pumpkin chip muffins*. If I have those around, it satisfies everyone's need for treats and lets us forego some of the less healthy stuff. We try to always take healthy treats to friends and neighbors (like if we get "booed") so that we don't have to buy or make junk.

As far as trick-or-treating goes, we go and have fun and then when we get home the kids get to pick out 10 pieces of candy to keep. We might have to increase that number in the future, but it has worked great so far. They never complain, because that's actually a pretty big pile of candy if you think about it- especially when people are handing out full size candy bars. My 5 year old kept saying this year (after picking out his 10 pieces) "I get to eat all of this?" We then let them choose when they want to eat it, so if they eat it all in one day that's their choice.

One thing we do always try to do is explain why we prefer to eat healthy, and why the "junk" doesn't make us feel good. Before my daughter's class Halloween party this year, I reminded her that she tends to get a stomach ache if she eats too many treats and she will probably be happier if she only chooses a few things. I have no idea what she ended up eating, but at least she was reminded. In the end it's their choice but I hope they are learning along the way.

*I just went through the blog and couldn't find the recipe for the pumpkin chip muffins. I thought for sure I had posted it before. I will get that on here soon, because they are good!

{BLACK BEAN CHILI}

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and I think she got it from a Cooking Light magazine. I omitted the olive oil, but everything else is the same. We usually just eat it on tortillas instead of as a soup, and I always make the guacamole to go with it because it's just not the same without it!

1 c. chopped onion

1 bell pepper chopped (any kind you like)

2 t. chili powder

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. dried oregano

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chillies

2/3 c. uncooked barley

1/4 c. water

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 14 oz. can vegetable broth

• Sautee onions and bell pepper in water.
• Add ingredients in order listed.
• Simmer until barley is cooked (about 40 minutes)
• May require more water (I have never needed more, but we like ours thick)'

Pressure Cooker Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients in the pressure cooker.
• Cook on low pressure for 2 minutes.
• Quick release.

*Guacamole:

Avocados

tomatoes

lime juice

onion

cilantro

salt

• Mix together in a food processor.

*I just put in random amounts- last time I think I used 2 avocados, one tomato, juice from 1 lime, a little bit of red onion, cilantro, and a dash of salt. I also add a tiny bit of stevia (you could use a different sweetener) just to counteract the lime juice and it turns out really good.

{TEX MEX BURGERS}

These are from Dr. McDougall's August 2006 Newsletter.

1 15oz. can cannellini (or great northern) beans, drained and rinsed

1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs

1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chillies

2 green onions, chopped

1 T. egg replacer mixed in 1/4 c. warm water (2 eggs)

1/4 c. cornmeal

lettuce

avocados

salsa

whole wheat buns

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place the beans in a medium bowl and mash slightly. Stir well.
• Add bread crumbs, green chillies, green onions, and egg replacer mixture. Mix well.
• Put cornmeal in a shallow bowl.
• Form the mixture into 5-6 patties, each about 1/2 inch thick. Dip each side in cornmeal and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each side.
• To serve, place some shredded lettuce on the bottom bun, put the burger on the lettuce, top with guacamole and salsa.

*I usually double the recipe and use the extra for lunches. They also freeze and reheat well on a grill.

{MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS AND OTHER MCDOUGALL RECIPES}

I was so excited to find these links! Dr. McDougall has great articles and recipes, but his website is not very user friendly (in my opinion). These are links to clickable lists of his Maximum Weight Loss recipes and one for his normal vegan recipes that he sends out with his newsletters. I don't know if the lists are all inclusive so you may still be able to find more recipes on his website, but there are tons on here and it's so much more convenient. I think I'll be using them a lot more now!

McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss recipes

McDougall's normal vegan recipes

*You can read about McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss program here. It's a strict plan to make the pounds come off fast and to get to your optimal weight goal.

{BAKED PENNE FLORENTINE}

This recipe is from Dr. Mcdougall's website. My whole family liked it so I consider that a success.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6-8

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta

10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used fresh spinach)

1/4 c. vegetable broth

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c. raw cashews

1 3/4 c. water

1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. white miso

2 t. lemon juice

1/4 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. cayenne

1/2 c. whole wheat bread crumbs

• Drop the pasta into a pot of boiling water and cook until just barely tender, about 6 minutes.
• Drain, place in a bowl and add the spinach. Mix well and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place the onion and veggie broth in a medium frying pan.
• Cook, stirring occasionally until onion has softened. Set aside.
• Mix the cashews in a food processor or blender and process until finely ground.*
• Add half the water and blend until smooth.
• Add the remaining water, cooked onions, beans, soy sauce, miso, lemon juice, mustard and cayenne.
• Process until very smooth.
• Pour over the pasta and spinach and mix well.
• Transfer to covered casserole dish.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Cover and bake for 45 minutes, let rest 5 minutes before serving.

*I did all the mixing of cashews through the cayenne in one step in my blendtec, and it worked great. If you are using a food processor, it might overflow if you do it in one step.

*I used the whole box of noodles (13.5 oz.) and then adjusted all the ingredients accordingly. This would have worked fine, except I still put it all in the same casserole dish. I would not recommend doing that. It didn't cook that well in the middle, and although we all still liked it, it would have been better if I had spread it out into one normal size and one half size dish since it was about one and a half times the recipe. Now I know for next time!

*This may be prepared ahead and refrigerated until baking time. Add about 15 minutes to the baking time.

{PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES}

The original recipe for these cookies comes from the fatfreevegan blog, and can be found here. (Thanks for another great recipe!) I found them when I was looking for a new cookie that Loren (and the kids) could take to work to keep them from coveting other people's treats. These cookies turned out way more "normal" than other vegan cookies, and since the only fat in it comes from the peanut butter (and the chocolate chips if you add those--but who's counting?), they are nearly guilt-free, which is good, because I ate about 20 cookies just by "sampling" the dough. I made only a couple of changes to the original recipe (I don't have pastry flour or brown sugar). Here's the recipe I used:

mix together:

1/2 c peanut butter (I use the kind that has only peanut butter and salt--no added extras)

3/4 c evaporated cane juice

3/4 c mashed banana (don't be nervous)

in separate bowl combine:

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking powder

1 pinch of salt

vegan chocolate chips to taste (I add mine after I shape the cookies--3 per cookie--I pretend it keeps the fat count down, or at least more predictable)

Add flour mixture to peanut butter mix a little at a time until blended. Do not overblend. Drop by tablespoon onto pans. (Add chocolate chips). Flatten with a fork.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, or until bottoms are golden.

{ROASTED GARLIC BROCCOLI PIZZA}

My friend, Sarah, posted a delicious looking garlic chicken pizza recipe on her blog. I decided to try to make a vegan variety, using her roasted garlic idea for the sauce. (The roasted garlic is really the only thing that's the same, but I still give her credit for inspiring the idea.) It turned out so yummy! Definitely a success!


*ROAST THE GARLIC EARLIER IN THE DAY!

• To roast the garlic (something I had never tried before), just peel off the outside paper stuff of a whole head of garlic (not a clove). Wrap the whole thing in foil, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Unwrap and allow to cool. Then you can just squeeze out the garlic.

{WHOLE WHEAT CRUST} (same as here)
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. honey
2 T. applesauce
1 T. yeast
1/2 t. salt
1 c. comfortably hot water

• Mix together, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.

• Add 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, knead, and roll out onto pizza stone or pan.

{ROASTED GARLIC SAUCE}
1 c. soymilk
1/2 c. cashews
1 head of garlic, roasted
1/3 c. nutritional yeast
1/4-1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/8 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. paprika

• Blend all ingredients until very smooth.

{TOPPINGS}

roasted garlic sauce
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. parsley
1/2 t. oregano
1 c. broccoli, steamed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
olives, chopped
slivered almonds
pineapple tidbits
vegan parmesan cheese

• Spread sauce over crust. (I only used half the sauce on the pizza. We used some of the other half for dipping sauce, and I think I'll use the leftover on pasta).

• Sprinkle basil, parsley, and oregano over sauce.

• Spread remaining toppings over pizza, and sprinkle parmesan on top.

• Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes.