Peanut Butter Quick Bread.

I have no idea why she calls this "quick" when you make your own yogurt... but it sure is good. I never, ever thought about making my own mayo - til I saw this recipe and thought - why not? It'd be cool to add one more thing I can do from scratch. 

It's a yummy, yummy bread. I double this bad boy and freeze the other loaf for when I want the yumminess but don't want to work for it. Plus, the sweet mayo makes double what you need for one loaf - so why wouldn't you double? I omit the candied ginger. It was good, but not worth going out and buying just for this. And I have yet to find another recipe to use it for... though I haven't really looked. Stick with the chocolate chips or go without. Still yum.

Non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup Soymilk Sweet Mayo (recipe below or use soy yogurt) 1/2 cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter
1 cup plain soy or other nondairy milk
2/3 cup raw sugar {or 1/2 cup agave nectar}
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup candied ginger, finely chopped or 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with spray.

In a medium bowl, combine mayo, peanut butter, milk, sugar/agave, and extract until emulsified.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to over mix. Fold in chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Loosely cover with foil if it browns up too quickly while baking.

Place on a wire rack, still in the pan, for about 15 minutes before transferring directly to the rack, and letting cool completely before slicing or storing.

Sweet Soy Mayo

1 cup unsweetened soymilk
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (replace with some/all fresh lemon juice if you fear the acidity)
1/4 cup canola or other mild-flavored oil
3/4 teaspoon packed lemon zest, optional
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch (I weigh this, and find that you need to not pack the starch if measuring it)

Combine soymilk and vinegar in a medium bowl, let curdle for a few seconds.

Add the rest of the ingredients and with an immersion blender, combine and blend for one minute.

Heat in microwave for one minute: keep a close eye on it to make sure the mixture doesn’t bubble up to make a mess in your microwave. Blend again.

Heat in microwave for one minute again, blend again.

Heat one last minute, let stand to cool.

Once cooled, stir with a fork as a skin will form.

Transfer into an airtight container.

Store in fridge. Stir again before using. Enjoy chilled.

Yield: 1 generous cup

found on have cake, will travel blog

her real soy mayo and aioli, yum!

Chocolate {Chip} Brownie Waffles.

Yum! These were a beast to get off of the iron. It's probably a combination of a few things; I didn't use oil, maybe because I used wheat flour, maybe because I didn't cook long enough... or maybe because my waffle maker is a piece. But, they still tasted yummy! And that's all that really matters! They ended up working better for me as pancakes. We ate with sliced strawberries and whipped cashew cream. Totally more of a dessert but I balanced out the meal with Shrek Shakes.

2 cups whole wheat flour {calls for: all-purpose flour}

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups almond milk {calls for: soy milk}

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup vanilla or plain soy yogurt

1/3 cup applesauce {calls for: canola oil}

2/3 cup shy of agave nectar {calls for: sugar}

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips, chopped coarsely {i omitted}

2/3 cup pecans, chopped coarsely

nonstick cooking spray

Preheat your waffle iron. Have a heat-proof silicone spatula on hand to help remove the hot waffles when ready.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a large bowl. Form a well in the center of the sifted ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy milk, water, soy yogurt, canola oil, sugar and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients. Use a wire whisk to combine all the ingredients. Just before everything is fully blended, fold in the chopped chocolate chips and pecans. Combine until the ingredients are just moistened; do not overmix.

When the waffle maker is heated and ready to go, spray with cooking spray. Pour batter in and bake according to waffle iron directions. The waffles should be lightly browned. Use a spatula to carefully lift the waffles onto a cutting board. Separate with knife and serve immediately.

Veganomicon
by: Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
page 74-75
makes: 14 to 16 waffles
time: 30 minutes

Belly Biters:

the kids & i: YUM!

Beanball Subs.

Yum, yum... eat'em up, I think I'm in love. This stuff makes you not miss the meat or cheese one bit! After typing it all up - it looks like it takes forever to cook... but it doesn't! The hardest part is just making sure you have all of the ingredients. Time savers: make the pine nut cream earlier in the day. Use a jar of marinara. Make, bake and freeze a double batch of beanballs for later.

1 recipe Beanballs {below}
1 recipe (4 cups) Marinara Sauce {below}
1 recipe Pine Nut Cream {below}
4 hoagie rolls, split open
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, well washed

Prepare the recipes of the first three components. Preheat oven to 350*F. Place Beanballs in a casserole dish and top with about 1 cup of marinara and all of the pine nut cream. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until pine nut cream is lightly browned.

Spread more marinara sauce on one side of each roll and distribute the Beanballs evenly among the sammiches, layering the spinach leaves over them - it'll wilt some. Top liberally with more marinara sauce. Close your sammiches, slice in half on the diagonal, and serve.

YUM! And they're almost even better the next day.

Beanballs
1 (20-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons steak sauce or tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for frying or baking
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced finely
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 375*F.

Mash the kidney beans in a mixing bowl until no whole beans are left. You don't want them to be completely smooth, you should still be able to recognize that they are kidney beans. Add the soy sauce, steak sauce/tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic, lemon zest, bread crumbs, wheat gluten, and herbs, and use a fork to mix everything together. Use your hands to kneed the mixture for about a minute, until everything is really well combined and firm.

Roll the bean mixture into walnut-size balls (I use a cookie scoop so they're all uniform). But don't make them too big; smaller makes for the best texture.

Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil {i spray}. Place the balls on the sheet and then drizzle them with a little more oil, to coat {i spray a liberal coat}. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom, then flip them and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven.

Time Saver: Double this up, freeze what you don't use. And have them quick and ready for another time.

Marinara Sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
a whole bulb of peeled roasted garlic, smooshed
roasted red pepper, chopped

Preheat saucepan over medium-low heat. Add water and garlic to steam-fry for about a minute until fragrant, being careful not to let it burn. Add the remaining ingredients, cover, and raise the heat a bit to bring to a simmer. Add the roasted garlic. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted red pepper and warm through.

Pine Nut Cream
1 pound soft silken tofu
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1 garlic clove
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
white pepper

In a food processor, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula, until a cream paste forms. Add the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Veganomicon

Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

page 99

Snobby Joes.

I loved these. The kids not so much. Which I totally don't understand what-so-ever because it's full of stuff that they love. I'm not going to just not make them again - they were that good. I haven't had RR's Sloppy Veg-Head Joes in a long time... so I'll have to decide between the 2 which I like best. Both yummy and healthy. I had the leftovers for lunch in my wraps with peppers, sprouts, tomatoes and avocado. Yum.

1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 medium-size yellow onion, cut into small dice
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chile powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
4-6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns, sliced in half horizontally

Pour the lentils and water into a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done, pre-heat a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Steam-fry the onion and pepper in water for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute for a minute more.

Stir in the cooked lentils, chile podwer, oregano, and salt. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup to taste and the mustard, and heat through.

Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can't wait. We like to serve these open faced, a scoop of Snobby Joe on each slice of bun.

Veganomicon
Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
page 98-99

Carrot Cream Soup.

I have mixed feelings about this soup, and almost didn't post it because I'm not sure if and when I'll make it again. The kids weren't fans... I thought it was pretty good considering it's so healthy. It's just in serious need of some spices and herbs. So, froze half of it and am gonna post it so it will remind me to work on it later.

20 carrots, washed, peeled, and cut into large chunks

{I used 10 because I get those big fatty ones from Costco}

2 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

3 onions, peeled and chopped

2 cups soy milk

2 cups water

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root {optional}

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon dehydrated vegetable instant soup mix or VegeBase

1/4 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup raw almonds

Add all the ingredients except the nuts to a pot and summer on low heat for 20 minutes. Then puree the cooked soup with the nuts in food processor or blender until smooth.

Disease-Proof Your Child
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
page 181

Whipped Banana Freeze.

These are yummy, and a nice change from our normal shrek shakes. A great way for my kids to get their good fat and calcuim.

bananas, peeled & frozen (one per person - mine weren't frozen)
frozen strawberries or blueberries (optional)
1/4 cup unsweetened soy/almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon of ground flax seed per person
1 tablespoon of crushed walnuts per person

Cut up frozen fruit into small peices. Put the soy milk, bananas, and vanilla into a blender and blend until smooth. Sprinkle ground flax or crushed walnuts on top. {I just pulsed them in after everything was already smooth}

Disease-Proof Your Child
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
page 211

Fuhrman Fudgecream.

With this whole new lifestyle change - I've always wondered how we'll get around the icecream thing. I just figured that'd be one of my 10% things... and I'd have to just deal with the belly ache. 

Not so Joe. Enter this awesome stuff. All healthy ingredients and it's awesome. The cashews are one of the tricks that vegans get their creamy into something. And it totally works in this. 

I put them in old baby food containers and have little individual portions for my kids... and me.

Oh, and if anyone knows me - knows how much I love me some banana icecream with brownies from Coldstone... this just so happens to be the greatest compromise ever for me! ;)

I'm not saying it's going to totally trump regular icecream or frozen yogurt... I'm not crazy (least I don't think so!). But I am saying this is a guilt-free way to do it! Trust me, Coldstone will still always have a special place in my heart and my belly!

2 ripe bananas
1 cup cashew nuts
2 tablespoons carob powder (or cocoa powder)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk (i love the unsweetened vanilla flavor)

Blend ingredients together in blender or food processor. Pour into containers to freeze. Yum!

{This recipe was originally made for fudgsicles, but those are far too messy for me. To make the messy pops you follow the above, minus the milk and spoon into ice pop trays to freeze.}

Disease-Proof Your Child
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD
page 208

Pesto Sandwich.

When I made this pasta, I knew I had to try the pesto in a sandwich. I knew it'd be yummy. And it was!! We ate them for lunch with leftover black bean soup. I froze half of it to use for the pasta or more sandwiches. Probably more sandwiches...yum...

basil-cilantro pesto {below}
2 slices of bread, toasted
sprouts
tomatoes, sliced
avocado, smashed

Spread some pesto on one side of the bread, smashed avocado on the other. These are used as glue to hold everything else in. Then put sliced tomatoes and sprouts on one side... and close er up. Yum!

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free oil substitute

Place the basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor and blend until pasty, scraping down the sides occasionally. With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in the oil substitute. Blend until relatively smooth and no large chunks of almonds are left. If you don't have a food processor and are using a blender (i did this so i didn't have to get out the big food processor), then just add the olive oil at the end, since many blenders aren't equipped with and opening to drizzle into.

Veganomicon, pg 214

makes about 1 cup

time: 10 minutes

Cilantro-Corn Chips

I tried these from GreenSmoothieGirl to find a healthy alternative for Shayne's chips and salsa. I love them, but Shayne wasn't convinced they were "chip-like" for salsa. They're for sure crunchy, but a little delicate and don't give that crunchy/crisp like biting into a chip. But they're still yummy to snack on.

4 cups corn (fresh or frozen)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 large anaheim pepper

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 bunch cilantro {i use half, Shayne's not a huge cilantro fan}

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Mix all except the flax in a blender until smooth, then add flax slowly. Spread in thin layers on teflex sheets in the dehydrator. After several hours, turn and score into large triangles. {I've skipped this step and just break them up when they're done} Finish drying until chips are crispy - usually 24 hours. {Fills 3 trays in my dehydrator} 

Lentil Stew. {The Kind Diet}

This stuff is really, really good. So simple and so filling. From the ingredients you wouldn't think it was anything spectacular... but it's scrumpy. First time I made it I pureed it... because my kids always eat better when they don't know everything they're eating. Next time I didn't, they ate, and I liked the way it tasted better. It's from The Kind Diet. It works awesome in the crockpot too! I usually amp up the spices and veggies... and love using sweet potato instead of regular.... and added kale.

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 tablespoons olive oil {i omit and steam-fry}

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 large onions, cut into chunks

2 celery stalks, diced

1 carrot, sliced

1 potato or sweet potato*, cut into chunks

1/4 cup shoyu

5 cups vegetable broth

3 tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups brown lentils

5 big leaves of kale*, chopped

2 slices of your favorite bread, cubed

extra-virgin olive oil {i omit}

Combine the garlic powder, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, and basil in a small bowl. Heat the oil {i omit the oil and just add a little water on the bottom of the pan to steam-fry} in a large soup pot (you'll be adding a lot of liquid later, so make sure it's big enough) over medium-high heat, and add the garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and potato. Stir in half the seasoning mixture and the shoyu. Cook, stirring frequently, for 7 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Add 5 cups of water, the broth, tomatoes, and lentils. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid askew for 30 minutes. Add the remaining seasoning mixture, and cook for 20 minutes longer or until the lentils are soft. Meanwhile, pan-roast the cubed bread in a dry skillet until nice and toasted. Ladle stew into the bowls, and garnish with croutons and a drizzle of olive oil {i omit the drizzle... and usually don't cook the croutons}.

*my additions

The Kind Diet - Alicia Silverstone