Brownie Bites

Finding healthy snacks in the stores seems to be close to impossible, unless of course all I want to eat is fruit and veggies.  Which don’t get me wrong that’s the best food ever, but let’s face it I have a sweet tooth and a craving for chocolate now and then, okay more like all the time.  So I need a treat that is healthy, gluten free and tasty.  Not hard if you are in control of the ingredients right?  Right!

What You’ll Need:

1 ½ cups of peanuts (or whatever type of nut you prefer)

Pinch of sea salt

13-15 dates, pitted

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

What You’ll Do:

Put nuts and salt in food processor, process until finely ground.

Add remaining ingredients and process until all mixed.

Remove brownies from the food processor and press into a square shape.  Cut into small bite sizes, enjoy or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.

Zucchini Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauce

In my effort to cut gluten out of our diet and do something with all the zucchinis in my garden I decide to try out zucchini pasta.  I’ve had it a time or two before but for whatever reason this time I really enjoyed it more than ever.  So here is it zucchini pasta, a healthier way to eat!

What You’ll Need:

2 pounds zucchini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Fresh Tomato Sauce (recipe to follow)

Use a vegetable peeler to cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons. Peel off several from one side, then turn the zucchini and peel off more. Continue to turn and peel away ribbons until you get to the seeds at the core of the zucchini. Discard the core. You can also do this on a mandolin, adjusted to a very thin slice.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the zucchini and salt. Toss and stir the zucchini while cooking, for two to three minutes, until softened and beginning to turn translucent. Adjust salt and add freshly ground pepper to taste, and transfer to a serving dish. Serve, topping with tomato sauce

Fresh Tomato Sauce

What You’ll Need:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ medium onion, diced about 1 cup

½ dried basil

Salt and Pepper

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup dry red wine

1 ½ pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 bay leaf

Heat oil in medium sauce pan, add onion, basil, ½ teaspoon salt and a few pinches of pepper.  Saute until onion is soft, about 7-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add red wine and simmer a minute or two, when the pan is almost dry add tomatoes and bay leaf.  Reduce to low and cook for 30 minutes.

Greek Orzo Salad

This salad is easy to make and delicious.

 

What You’ll Need:

Dressing:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 cup olive oil

Salad:

6 cups vegetable broth

1 pound orzo

2 cups red and yellow teardrop or grape tomatoes, halved

1 7-ounce package feta cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

What You’ll Do:

Whisk vinegar, lemon juice, and honey in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Bring broth to boil in large heavy saucepan. Stir in orzo, reduce heat to medium, cover partially, and boil until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large wide bowl, tossing frequently until cool.

Mix tomatoes, feta, basil, and green onions into orzo. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Add pine nuts; toss. Serve at room temperature.

Cinnamon Coconut Milk Yogurt Fruit Dip

I use to make this recipe with cow’s milk yogurt, but haven’t made it in a long time.  Until, that is, our most recent summer visit to Connecticut.  My sister needed something to bring for ‘snack day’ at work.  I gave her a few options, and wouldn’t you know… she loved the sound of everything.  So I chose my old favorite and it was settled.  I was in the kitchen for the rest of the evening preparing snack for tomorrow’s ‘snack day’. Oh don’t feel bad - we all know the kitchen is my favorite room to be in!

The Results? When she came home from work the next evening, she was so excited to tell me how much people loved the snacks.  Especially the fruit dip she brought! I was beaming as she told me how they ate every last bit.  They even resorted to dunking the brownies in the dip when the fruit was all gone! Not a bad idea actually.   

Anyhow, I was so thrilled about my sister’s reviews, that I decided to make it again for an upcoming family BBQ.  Only this time, I ‘veganized’ it by using the coconut yogurt.   The results? Well, when I went to pick up my plates at the end of the day – there was nothing left.  That’s a great sign! 

 

Now I really don’t believe we need to add sweeteners to fruit - it’s already so sweet and delicious by itself!  But sometimes, I like to change things up a bit and make them even more special.  Well, this is the dip that does it!  Enjoy. 

What you need:

1 cup of coconut milk yogurt

2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Lots of fresh fruit

Mix ingredients well and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve with lots of fresh fruit.
 
*If you can’t find coconut milk yogurt you can substitute with soy yogurt.

**If you are interested in making a simple homemade raw vegan coconut yogurt, here is a link from a newly discovered favourite blog that’ll tell you how.

 
http://www.choosingraw.com/greek-yogurt-raw-vegan-style/

Salad Rolls

Salad Rolls are a healthy alternative to spring rolls. They make a great appetizer, snack or the perfect lunch. I made these this weekend and they turned out just great. Quick and easy with so much flavor. What more could you ask for?

The great thing about salad rolls is really you can add any veggies (or even fruit) that you like. So what are you waiting for? Get moving and make some salad rolls!

What You’ll Need:

1 package of baked tofu (I liked the teriyaki one)
1 cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into thin strips
2-3 medium carrot, shredded
1 mango, cut into thin strips
Salad greens
Large round rice paper wrappers
Dipping Sauces of choice (I like the Sweet Chili sauce and Plum sauce) or better yet stay tuned for our peanut sauce

What You’ll Do:

Soften 1 rice paper wrapper by immersing in warm water until soft (about 10-20 sec), carefully remove and place flat on a large plate or cutting board. Be careful not to let the paper fold on itself when removing the wrapper from the water.

Place veggies in the middle of the wrapper, making sure not to add too much. Roll rice paper as you would a burritos, tucking in the sides, it should stick to itself easily. Repeat for the remaining wrappers.

Cut in half and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Vegan Banana Bread

I haven’t had banana bread in years. It’s just not one of those things I ever think about making. But, I had a few over ripe bananas and my freezer was already well stocked with frozen bananas…. so I figured -why not?

All of my old recipes called for milk and eggs, so I made a few modifications and came up with a new version that is just as tasty. This version still had to go through the same old trusted and true taste test procedures though, my kids! I called my ‘taste testers’ to the kitchen to report for duty. Two thumbs up!

What you’ll need:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)
1/2 cup vegetable Oil
Ener-G, 5 tablespoon water + 3 1/2 teaspoon powder)
1/3 – 1/2 cup vegan-buttermilk - combine 1/2 cup soymilk with 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar.
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

What you’ll do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Mix bananas, oil, and buttermilk in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the banana mixture with the large bowl containing dry ingredients, and stir well. Add the Ener-G Egg Replacer, and stir well again. If using walnuts add them now.
Pour into a greased 9x5 inch bread pan.
Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a knife in the middle comes out clean.

Variation: Add chocolate chips for a banana chocolate chip treat.

Sushi? Oh Yeah!

Simple, elegant, and delicious, Sushi definitely makes the 'top 10 favourites' list for both of our families!

But, before we get to the recipe and preparation, allow us to clarify something that you may be asking....

"Isn't this a vegetarian/vegan recipe site, and doesn't sushi mean raw fish?"

Great question, and here is our answer:

"While there are many types of Sushi that include raw fish and seafood (Sashimi), there is also a wide variety of vegetarian/vegan friendly Sushi."

We usually prepare the following types:

Onigirizushi - rice with other ingredients rolled into a ball.
Nigirizushi - hand formed Sushi.
Makizushi - rolled Sushi, which is the type you see in the photos.
Inarizushi - rice stuffed into fried tofu pockets.

Regardless of the type you make, all you have to do is choose your favourite veggies and make a variety of rolls. We used a combination of Avocado, Carrot, Baked or Fried Tofu, and Cucumber in the photos shown. The possibilities are endless. Once you get the hang of making Sushi, it will be a quick and satisfying meal!

Ingredients for Sticky Rice:

3 cups Sushi Rice

4 cups Water1/3 cup Rice Vinegar

3 Tbsp Honey (or sweetener of choice)

1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Nori - seaweed sheets either toasted or dried
Soy Wraps - the light green sushi in picture above

Filling Ingredients:

Carrots, shredded or sliced

Avocados, thinly sliced
Baked or Fried Tofu, sliced

Cucumbers, remove seeds and slice thin

Preparation:

Cook rice in rice cooker with water.
While rice is cooking, mix rice vinegar, honey, and salt in small saucepan on low heat 'till combined. Set aside.
When rice is done, transfer to wooden, stainless steel, or glass bowl.
While still hot, pour rice vinegar mixture over rice and fold with wooden spatula, being careful not to smash the rice.
If you can use a fan while folding the rice, it will makes rice shiny and sticky. If you can't, just fan it manually, i.e, with a mock paper fan.
When cool to touch, wet hands, (not dripping, but just wet) form rice into tennis sized balls (- a bit) and lay out on top of Nori sheets....conveyor belt style.
Wet your hands again, getting any rice off, and spread the rice balls out gently with your finger tips pushing the rice out in all directions until nori is covered just right. Use the photo below as a gauge for just how much rice to use (I used a little too much in this roll).
Place your fillings a little lower then in the middle (closer to you), then roll 'em up using two non - rice covered hands.
If you need help with the rolling part, you can use a bamboo mat, sold at most Asian markets.
Once your sushi's are rolled up nice and tight, slice them into even circles with a clean, sharp, and slightly damp knife.
You may need to clean your knife in between slices, as rice will stick to the knife and will make it difficult to cut the Sushi neatly.

P.S. Sushi makes the perfect lunch for your kiddos to take to school! Ours love it and request it(more like demand it) weekly. Several of their friends always try to make a 'trade' with them for a piece of their Sushi or Inari, I don't think they are too successful though!




Here is our method to making it an easy and quick lunch to prepare in the morning when your time is - let's say.... limited.

When you make it for dinner, make sure you set aside a good amount of Sushi Rice in a container after rice has cooled sufficiently. We like to leave it out (in the container) overnight because we dislike like the consistency of the rice after it has been refrigerated. We did some research on this, and have learned that the rice will not spoil in that short amount of time due to the added vinegar. We also save time by storing any left over carrot slices in water in the refrigerator, so they're all ready to go in the morning.

We use the rice and chopped veggies to prepare a roll or two for each kiddo -including our husbands :) and we make sure to fill up a pouch of Inari with rice, or else we'll here about it later.

Don't forget the Soy Sauce (we use Bragg's liquid Amino's). Put some in an air tight container and their lunch is set.

Sushi Tips

If the rice doesn't stick to Nori, or roll does not stick together when rolled, you most likely did not use enough vinegar in your rice. The rice should be very sticky, annoyingly so. Keep a small bowl of water close by when preparing your sushi. You'll need to wet your hands frequently during the process, as it prevents the rice from sticking to your hands.

If your roll is too thick, or does not hold together well, you probably used too much rice, or packed it down too tightly. The rice should be spread on the nori and should not cover the nori completely. You should be able to see nori between the rice....use just a bit less then the amount shown in the picture above.