Simple Mini Blueberry Muffins

Ever find yourself craving muffins but don’t indulge cause deep down you know you really shouldn’t  Well I can’t say these are completely guilt free but you can enjoy these little guys with a little less guilt. Pop one of these bad boys in your mouth and you are will be completely satisfied.

What You’ll Need:

1/4 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup soymilk

2 cups blueberries

What You’ll Do:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray. Mix all ingredients together until moistened. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are firm. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Note: If you are making regular sized muffins, bake them for about 35 minutes.

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/

Apricot Chutney

After a recent weekly trip to a new favourite restaurant in Sofia, a couple of friends decided that I needed to figure out how to make the Apricot Chutney to accompany my Chapatis when preparing Indian meals at home. So, here it is…

What You'll Need:

Dried Apricots - 450 grams (about 16 oz), finely diced
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Honey - 1 1/4 cups
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 cups
Fresh Root Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Salt - 1 tsp
Golden Raisins - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups

What You’ll Do:

Put the dried apricots and Garam Masala into a medium pot and add the honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins and water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the chutney has thickened to a fairly stiff consistency, spoon it into 2-3 clean jars and leave it to cool.

Store it in the refrigerator.

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.

Romaine 'Tacos'

Romaine lettuce leaves have a perfect boat like shape and are ideal for holding a generous scoop of my favourite guacamole. While I eat 4 -6 of these 'tacos' for a meal, they would definitely make a tasty light lunch or appetizer as well.

What you'll need:

Organic fresh Romaine leaves

Avocados

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Mangos (preferably Champagne/Atulfo)

Onions or scallions (or both)

Cilantro

Garlic

Lime

Sea Salt

Jalapeños( optional )

Prep:

Cut your Avocados and mash to desired consistency. Depending on your own preferences, mince your veggies to a size of your liking, then throw 'em all in a bowl. (See links below for Mango and Avocado Cutting tips and photos). Slice limes in half, and use a fork to juice them - directly into the bowl. I would start out with one half a lime, and add more as your taste buds require. Mix well, add salt and Jalapeños to taste. Fill your romaine shells and enjoy!

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookbasics/ss/cutmango.htm

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_peel_an_avocado/

Tabbouleh

Recently, we were visiting some friends of ours for dinner, and they served a light meal of hummus with veggies and pita. But then - there was something new. Something I had heard of before, but never tried. Of course, being a good role model for my kids(as well as a gracious guest), I took a small portion of this new and interesting dish. As we enjoyed our meal (and conversation) I realized that I went back for not only a second serving of this new dish, but also a third!

Tabbouleh is the classic bulgur salad of the Mediterranean, and man is it good. The combination of fresh herbs and spices in this dish was so refreshingly satisfying. I couldn’t wait to make this at home!!

Enjoy it with some warm pita slices or flat bread. Delicious!

What you will need:
1 cup of dry bulgur wheat
1½ cups of boiling water
1 tsp salt
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
Black pepper, to taste
4 scallions, minced (whites and greens)
1 cup of packed parsley, minced
15 fresh mint leaves, minced (if using dried mint it’s about 2 Tbs – but use fresh…it makes the dish!)
2 medium tomatoes, diced

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the bulgur is tender.

Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and black pepper and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving. Then stir in remaining ingredients. Enjoy with warm pita slices or flat bread.

Popcorn

Yay! It’s movie night at our house! There is nothings better then curling up on the couch with your family to watch a movie and enjoy a nice warm bowl of homemade popcorn. You agree, right? I’m not talking about putting a bag in the microwave and letting radiation cook my food, no way. I’m talking about good old fashion pan popcorn. I know, I know…. you don’t have time for that. My goodness, haven’t you learned anything from us? This is quick and easy. It takes just as long as the microwave does, minus the radiation, unnecessary food coloring, and TBHQ….yeah, I didn’t know what that was either. All the more reason not to eat it. Here’s a rule to eat by: Can’t pronounce it, don’t know what it is? Don’t ingest it. Period.

For now though, let’s appreciate this yummy (and much less scary) popcorn.

What you’ll need:

3 Tbs olive oil
1/3 cup corn kernels
2 Tbs butter substitute, melted
Salt

Put olive oil and some salt in pan and let it heat up on medium high. To make sure oil is heated enough, throw a few kernels in and wait for them to pop, then, add the rest and cover with the lid slightly ajar and wait and listen. Soon you’ll hear pop, pop, pop and you’re almost done. To avoid burning your pan, be sure to shake it during the whole process. When the popping slows down to one or two pops a second remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. While stirring pour butter substitute over popcorn, don’t forget to add the salt to taste.

Simple right? Really now, what did you expect from us?

Want a cheesy flavored popcorn? Well, here’s a way to change up this recipe and add some Vitamin B at the same time. After the final step, add some nutritional yeast to your popcorn and there you go! Now you can feel good about the movie snacks you choose to give your family, I know I do.

Baked Brie

Have little time for preparing a last minute get together, but you want to impress your guests? Baked brie with raspberry is simple yet decadent, and your cheese loving friends will gobble this up. Seriously...you should probably make two, or three.

What you'll need:

Brie
Raspberry jam
Pillsbury Crescent dough

Pre-heat your oven 350 degrees. Roll your dough flat onto a non-skick baking sheeting. Place brie on dough and spread jam on top of brie. Fold dough over brie and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve warm on its own or with apples and crackers.


*Those of you who have the time and prefer to make your own dough, we'll get a recipe up soon.

Snack Time. J & J Date Bars

So, you want a snack that’s sweet, but healthy....good luck with that. No, we're kidding. We’ve got something to satisfy your sweet tooth, and it’s healthy too.
J and J Date Bars are a great snack for anyone. I knew if my kids would eat them, they would definitely pass the kid test, but what about someone who is not raw, vegan, nor vegetarian? Would they like them? To find out,I did what any rational adult would do; I experimented on my friend, whose diet does not fit into the aforementioned categories. The results? She absolutely raved about these bars. After she tried the first one and loved it, I was inspired to bring her more. So Krystal, thank you for being my fearless taste tester, and without further ado, here are the recipes as promised. Oh, and don’t worry Krystal, next time I make a batch- I’ll bring some in for you.

Cashew Crunch

What you’ll need:

2 handfuls of raw cashews
Pinch of sea salt
8 – 10 dates

Grind cashews and salt in your food processor till desired consistency, I prefer mine ground into small pieces rather than chunks. Add dates and grind until the mixture forms into one large ball.

Remove and form into small bars or rounds. Eat immediately or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.

Cherry and Almond Tart

What you’ll need:

1 – 2 handful(s) of raw almonds
1 – 2 handful(s) of dried cherries
Pinch of sea salt
8 – 10 dates

Grind almonds, cherries and salt in your food processor till desired consistency, I prefer mine ground into small pieces rather than chunks. Add dates and grind until the mixture forms into one large ball.

Remove and form into small bars or rounds. Eat immediately or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.

Peanut Buster

What you’ll need:

1 – 2 handful(s) raw peanuts
Pinch of sea salt
8 – 10 dates

Grind peanuts and salt in your food processor till desired consistency, I prefer mine ground into small pieces rather than chunks. Add dates and grind until the mixture forms into one large ball.

Remove and form into small bars or rounds. Eat immediately or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.



Pecan Pie

What you’ll need:

1 – 2 handful(s) raw pecans
1 – 2 handful(s) raw almonds
Pinch of sea salt
8 – 10 dates

Grind pecans, almonds and salt in your food processor till desired consistency, I prefer mine ground into small pieces rather than chunks. Add dates and grind until the mixture forms into one large ball.

Remove and form into small bars or rounds. Eat immediately or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.

Coconut Pie

What you’ll need:

1 – 2 handful(s) raw almonds
1 – 2 handful(s) raw cashews
1 handful of raw coconut flakes
Pinch of sea salt
8 – 10 dates

Grind almonds, cashews, coconut and salt in your food processor till desired consistency, I prefer mine ground into small pieces rather than chunks. Add dates and grind until the mixture forms into one large ball.

Remove and form into small bars or rounds. Eat immediately or put in fridge to harden and enjoy later.

Variations:
Substitute dry fruit in recipes for any of your favorites; apricot, blueberry, cranberries, strawberries, you name it. These bars are versatile, so go crazy making your own creations,

Chocolate lover? Just add cocoa to create a simply divine treat...Chocolate Covered Cherry, yummy!!

And, for those of you foodies who are interested in raw recipes, these bars make an amazing pie crust.

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StRAWberry Oatmeal!

I know, I know, for those of you who are new to raw foods recipes, this seems a bit ... strange. I totally understand. But, I've been asked time and time again to provide friends with sample menu's of my daily meals, so I couldn't not post it. It's an easy and deliciously satisfying breakfast. Plus, it's also incredibly nutrient dense!

Somewhere, sometime I promise to post info on the benefits of a living foods diet, but for now...I only want to focus on taste!



Ingredients:

Raw Oat Groats - (1- 2 cups) You can purchase these from a whole foods market in their bulk section. These are what the rolled oats look like before being flattened, steamed and toasted.

Sea Salt - pinch

Your choice of sweetener - couple of tablespoons should do. Use honey, dates, or Yacon Syrup if you want to keep it truly raw. If you don't care so much, you can use Maple Syrup.

Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean - Tablespoon or two, or a half vanilla bean pod (only use if you have POWERFUL blender or food processor)

Fresh Strawberries - however many you choose. I used about three large strawberries.

Preparation:

Put raw Oat groats in a glass or stainless steel bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
In the morning, rinse well and do a taste test for consistency of groats. They should be chewy by now. If you want them softer, soak some more and test occasionally. If you have a really powerful blender or food processor (like a Vitamix or Kitchen Aid) then go ahead and drain the oats and place in blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and blend till smooth and creamy. Or, don't - you can just place the oats in a bowl and add your sweetener, vanilla and tiny pinch sea salt. Mix well. Cut up fresh strawberries and garnish. Enjoy!

Granola Love

This is one of my favorite granola recipes. It's sweet, simple and totally satisfying. Mold it into a bar and eat as is, or enjoy with some nut milk for breakfast.



Ingredients:
1/4 cup Raw Cashews
1/4 cup Raw Walnuts
1/4 cup Raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup Raw Sunflower seeds
1/4 cup Raw Almonds
1/4 cup Raw Pecans
1/4 cup Sprouted Buckwheat
1/4 cup Sprouted Quinoa
1/4 cup Raw Coconut Flakes
2-3 Tablespoons Raw Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Sweet Dried Cherries
2-3 Tablespoons Raw Honey
Pinch Sea Salt


Putting it all together:

Chop the dried cherries (optional). Chop or crush nuts to manageable chunks. Put in bowl and mix in sea salt and Cocoa Powder Stir until well distributed Mix in Honey and stir until all is thoroughly coated. Love it!

You can store this in an airtight container/glass jar, or shape into bars and store in fridge or freezer.

* Note - the amounts listed are estimates. Adjust as you go. Many raw recipes are often so simple that they don't require specifics. However, for those of you (Jessie) that like exact measurements, I am working on documenting the amounts I use when creating new recipes. Forgive me.