There are many who believe the vegan diet is limited, boring and, um, limited. Trying to explain the abundance of food choices isn’t always easy—and sometimes it’s not a conversation ye old vegan types may want to enter into.
As a tribute to all of the incredible vegan foods that the earth has blessed us with, I wanted to share an interview with long-time vegan Moby, who stopped eating animals and animal products more than 20 years ago.
This is also a great video to watch if you’re considering making your New Year Resolution a vegan one, but are concerned your food choices may be lacking.
The holiday season seems to bring out my fondness for sweet stuff. Today, I’m totally infatuated with the recipe book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. In particular, their vegan peanut butter pillows.
While I’m headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch (or three), I thought I’d share the recipe…
Before you whip up your own tray, here’s a great bit of health info, courtesy of reader Dr Brett Hill: You may want to think about swapping the peanut butter for some other form of nut butter. Peanuts are prone to get infected with a carcinogenic mould (aflatoxin). This means they are either at risk of this mould or have been sprayed heavily to remove it. Either way another form of nut butter (such as almond, cashew or hazelnut) might be a better choice.
Vegan Peanut Butter Pillows
Makes 2 dozen cookies
For the Chocolate Dough
½ cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons nondairy milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons black unsweetened cocoa powder or more regular unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Filling
3/4 cup natural salted peanut butter, crunchy or creamy style
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons soy creamer or nondairy milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, nondairy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa pow¬der, black cocoa powder if using, baking soda, and salt. Mix to form a moist dough.
2. Make the peanut butter filling: In another mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together peanut but¬ter, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of the soy creamer, and vanilla to form a moist but firm dough. If peanut butter dough is dry and crumbly (natural peanut butters have varying moisture contents), stir in the remaining tablespoon of nondairy milk. If dough is too wet knead in a little extra powdered sugar.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment pa¬per.
Shape the Cookies
1. Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough into twenty-four balls (try dividing dough in half, then each part in half again and roll each portion into six balls). Scoop a generous ta¬blespoon of chocolate dough, flat¬ten into a thin disc, and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Fold the sides of the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll into a smooth ball between your palms. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat with remaining dough. If desired, gently flatten cookies slightly, but this is not necessary.
2. Place the dough balls on lined bak¬ing sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and let the cookies stand for 5 minutes before moving them to wire racks to com¬plete cooling. Store cookies in tightly covered container. If de¬sired, warm cookies in a microwave for 10 to 12 seconds before serv¬ing.
Morsels
If unsalted peanut butter is all you have, be sure add salt to the peanut butter mixture.
From the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Copyright © 2009
I’m not quite sure why I’m researching cookie recipes in the middle of a seven-day fast … but anyway, I had to share this delicious-looking vegan recipe from The Daily News, courtesy of Baby Cakes NYC.
Gifting vegan goodies such as these to friends and neighbours is not only a nice thing to do over the holidays, it also shows others just how unlimited, and great tasting, the vegan diet is. Enjoy!
Serves: 36
Ingredients
6 tablespoons homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups evaporated cane juice
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free,
all-purpose baking flour
¼ cup flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla and cane juice. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum. Using a rubber spatula, carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until a grainy dough is formed. Gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
3. Using a melon baller, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the portions 1 inch apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to help them spread. Bake the cookies on the center rack for 15 minutes, rotating the sheets 180 degrees after 9 minutes. The finished cookies will be crisp on the edges and soft in the center.
4. Let the cookies stand on the sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely before covering. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
5. Slather a generous dollop of your favorite frosting between two of these cookies and you’ve got your newest addiction, a BabyCakes NYC cookie sandwich.
If we vegans get tired of talking protein, we can always switch the subject to iron. One of my favourite ways to ensure I get a good amount of iron is by drinking blackstrap molasses (stir a teaspoon or two into a cup of warm water).
This by-product of sugar cane processing is also packed full of other nutrients that are beneficial, no matter your diet of choice.
Check out some of these health-boosting benefits:
• As many a meat eater may tell you, animal meat is loaded with iron. What they likely won’t mention is that blackstrap molasses provides more iron for less calories and is totally fat-free.
• When you’re pregnant or menstruating your need for iron increases. Two teaspoons a day gives about 15 per cent of the daily recommended iron intake. Add raw green to your diet to really pump up your iron.
• Blackstrap molasses is a great source of calcium. Calcium is essential to life (and doesn’t come from cows milk as the marketing hype suggests). I recently heard that, besides strengthening bones, calcium binds and removes toxins from the colon and helps with prevention of migraine attacks.
• It’s also an excellent source of copper and manganese and a great source of potassium and magnesium.
My blackstrap molasses of choice is from Wholesome Sweeteners. It’s fair trade, organic and of course, vegan.
If drinking molasses isn’t your thing, check out these delish-looking gingerbread cakes from fab recipe site Vegan Yum Yum, just in time for Christmas. When I make my batch, I’m going to substitute crushed flax instead of the egg replacer. I’m also not into margarine, so will check out some more natural vegan alternatives.
Gingerbread Cakes
Makes 9 small layer cakes
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Molasses (unsulphured, like Grandma’s brand)
2/3 Cup Hot Water
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Ener-g Egg, optional
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1 lb Confectioner’s Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Zest from 1 Lemon
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl until well combined.
Prepare two 8×8 baking pans as follows: grease the pans with margarine. Lay a square of parchment paper down in the inside of the pans, cut to fit the bottoms. Grease the paper as well. Use some of the try mixture you just made to flour the pans, shaking/tapping out any extra.
Whisk molasses and hot water together.
Cream the margarine and sugar. Whip the mixture with the optional Ener-g egg until light and fluffy.
While Thanksgiving may be an American tradition, I’m including it on my yearly calendar because I love the idea of expressing gratitude for all of the amazing things that fill my life (and even the not so amazing — because you learn from those, right?). I’m a big believer that anything we give out (whether it be gratitude or even the not-so-nice-stuff) comes right back at’cha.
So, in celebration of this wee American tradition (November 26), I’m sharing a pumpkin cheesecake recipe from Rachel Fracassa, via one of my fave social sites, Welikeitraw.com. Now this is definitely something to give thanks for! YUM.
Oh, and I say skip the Tofurky (yech) and get straight to dessert because this is one sweet snack that is actually good for your health. Bless you, raw food!
Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 Cups Pecans
- 1/3 Cup Raisins
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- Salt
Filling
- 1/2 Cup Soft Dates, pitted and packed
- 1/2 Cup Agave
- 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
- 2 Cups Cashews, soaked 2 hours, drained
- 1/2 Cup Young Coconut Meat
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, warmed to liquid
- 1/2 Cup Irish Moss Paste
Pumpkin Topping
- 3/4 Cup Pumpkin, chopped
- 1/4 Cup Carrots, peeled and chopped
- 6 Tablespoons Water
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 1/4 Cup Dates, soaked
- 1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
Directions
- To make the crust: In a food processor, process pecans, raisins, cinnamon, and salt until the mixture begins to stick together. Press the crust mixture evenly in the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan.
- To make the filling: Process the dates, agave, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. Add the pumpkin, cashews and coconut meat and process until completely smooth. Add the coconut oil and irish moss and process until well incorporated. Pour the filling onto the crust.
- To make the topping: Place the pumpkin and carrot along with the water and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the dates and pumpkin pie spice and blend again until smooth. Spread the pumpkin topping evenly on top of the filling.
- Chill at least 3 hours before serving
Servings: 8
Notes
- If you don’t have Irish Moss, don’t fret. You can make the cheesecake without it, but serve it straight from the refrigerator.
- If you have an aversion to eating raw pumpkin, peeled carrots can be substituted for pumpkin at any time.
- To make a pumpkin drizzle instead of topping, replace the dates with 2 tablespoons of Agave.
So soy milk is out. What to pour over your oats now? Well, the answer is simple—and so much more delicious and nutritious than any supermarket packaged non-dairy milks that are often laden with preservatives and goodness knows what else.
Making your own almond milk at home takes a small amount of preparation, and not only leaves you with great tasting milk, but also the peace of mind knowing exactly where it came from.
As with any recipe, you can change this around to suit your specific taste. Even add some raw cacao for a chocolate drink like no other. Here is the basic recipe I use to make my very own fresh almond milk. Enjoy!
Raw Almond Milk
1 cup of soaked raw almonds
Spring water for soaking
3 cups of spring water (for actual milk)
3 to 6 pitted dates
• Almonds are best soaked overnight in a refrigerator, but if you’re in a rush, soak for a couple of hours and you’ll still be on your way to making a fabulous milk. Be sure to rinse them before using.
• I usually soak the dates in spring water for half an hour or so, but this isn’t always necessary if you’re using soft dates.
Blend the soaked almonds with the spring water until smooth. Then strain that mix through a strainer or cheesecloth (I find a strainer much easier to use). You can also save the left over pulp to sprinkle over cereal or use in baking recipes. Waste not, want not!
Place the almond milk back into your blender, throw in the dates and blend until smooth.
And, voila, there you have it, fresh almond milk. If you prefer a thinner or thicker milk, simply add or take away water as desired. Your milk will last in the refrigerator for about three days. Be sure to shake before using.
To make vanilla almond milk
Add the seeds from 1 vanilla bean or a natural sweetener such as agave or stevia.
One last tip: You can also add your almond milk to a green smoothie recipe to make it that much more delicious.
Pics courtesy of www.thehealthyeatingsite.com
