The Veggie Gal

I know it is a funny name for an ice cream but the base of it is bananas instead of the traditional unhealthy dairy product so there you go!  Actually the bananas blend up so nicely that they resemble ice cream texture very closely and is so much more healthy for you.  Plus kids and husband LOVE this recipe and you can feel good about serving it.  I have even served it for breakfast when they kids are being picky.

This is a super simple dessert that you can adjust the sweetness to by adding or subtracting the dates that you use.  The picture listed below does not have the almond milk pictured because I just forgot but I really like the Almond Breeze brand the best but really you can use whatever type of non dairy milk you like the best.

If your dates are not super soft soak them in a little bit of the milk for about 10 minutes and pour that whole thing in the blender.  I typically buy the organic dates and the organic frozen strawberries to keep it as clean as possible.  Then just regular old bananas that have gotten super ripe which is super important!  The day before you want to make these unpeel the ripe bananas, chop them up a bit and freeze them.  I always buy two bundles of bananas when I go to the store so one bundle can get overripe and I always have them on hand.

This will work best if you have a Vita-mix or other high powered blender but I have made it in a Magic Bullet before too or you could use a food processor and just scrape down the sides as you go until it is blended well.

Strawberry Bice Cream
Makes: as much as you want

Frozen bananas (frozen the night before)
Frozen strawberries
soft dates
Unsweetened almond milk

This is an adjust as you go recipe so add the banana to the blender knowing it will be about half of the size of the serving and then add the amount of strawberries and dates you want and slowly blend in the milk to get the desired texture you like.

If you mess up and add to much milk then just add more of whatever kind of fruit you want it to taste more like, super easy!!  ENJOY!

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Tags: banana ice cream, Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, strawberry ice cream, Vegan ice cream, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

This is a super easy and pretty quick soup to throw together when you don’t have a ton of time.  The flavor is very mild and simple but you can spice it up with some creativity if you want to.  I enjoy the simplicity of it and the kids will eat it so that is awesome for me.

Don’t you love all the tv shows that claim a 5 or 10 minute meal but they have all the ingredients right in front of them all cut up and ready.  Sure many things would take 5 or 10 minutes if all the ingredients were ready for me to put together.  Well this soup only takes about 10 minutes once you have everything cut up and ready but really it takes about 30 minutes including prep but that is pretty quick for real food.

Veggie Miso Soup
Makes: about 8 servings (easy to half)

1 onion chopped (a whole rubber banded amount of green onions is great too)
4-6 shredded carrots
1/2 head shredded cabbage (kind and color of your choice)
1 1/2-2 cups frozen soy beans (edamame)
1 16 oz bag rice noodles (Chinese style) cooked in approximately 8+ cups of water
3/4 cup Miso Paste (flavor of your choice-adjust to taste)
1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
Powdered ginger to taste
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (adjust to taste-can use gluten free to keep it gluten free)
Sesame seeds
Salt to taste if needed

Chop veggies and steam in a little water to cook all the way through and not liquid is left in the pan.

While veggies are cooking cook rice noodles according to package which should only take 5 minutes once water is boiling (DO NOT DRAIN!)

Once the noodles are cooked through add the miso paste to the starchy water with the noodles and stir until blended.

Add the cooked veggies and other spices then adjust to your taste.  Garnish with sesame seeds and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy Meal, Quick vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian, Veggie Miso Soup

If you use brown rice regularly this could be a quick dish by using left over rice from the fridge otherwise it will take a little over an hour but not a ton of work. While you wait for the brown rice to cook you could make up some Black Bean Guacamole to go along with this.

I really enjoy this recipe when I cook the veggies in a little coconut oil but feel free to steam them in water to lesson the fat which is still wonderful.  I also use less spicy things in mine because I am pleasing children but experiment with this by adding as much or as little of the spicy stuff that you want to suite your taste buds.  I would probably even add a small 4 oz can of chilies to this but the kids would not like that.

Mexican Rice
makes 2 1/2 cups

2 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil (or water to steam)
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 green pepper chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4-1/2 cup corn (frozen)
1-2 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
Pepper to taste

Prepare rice according to the package directions.  While the rice cooks chop your veggies and cook in the oil or some water until tender.

Add the spices to the veggies and stir well, then cook for and additional 3 minutes.  Add the rice and stir fry for a few minutes until heated through.  Taste and adjust the spices to your liking and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Mexican Rice, Vegan Mexican Rice, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

I have been on a caramel kick lately and as usual try and find ways to make it less bad for me.  Well I have not made it healthy by any means but using vegan butter and brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup is an improvement I can live with.  This caramel is as good as the regular kind and with Easter just around the corner one you can use it to  make your own little individually wrapped candies to add to the Easter basket.

This recipe is also wonderful to make your own awesome chewy caramel popcorn.  If you like hard carmael popcorn then you can add a pinch or two of baking soda but I like mine chewy and gooey.

Soft & Chewy Vegan Caramels

1/3 cup Earth Balance
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium sized sauce pan on medium-high heat bring the Earth Balance, brown rice syrup and brown sugar to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low continuing to boil at a low level.  Stirring often cook for a 5 full minutes then turn the heat off.  Pour in the vanilla and stir well.  Pour into a pan to cool and put in the fridge once it is room temp.  Once fully set up pull out of the fridge and cut into bite size pieces.  If you prefer it on your popcorn pour onto the popcorn right after you stir in the vanilla and toss well.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Soft & Chewy Vegan Caramels, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

For my son’s birthday I was on the search for anawesome chocolate cake/cupcake recipe and had done a long and hard search.  I finally found a recipe on a website called Instructables called The BEST chocolate cake ever…that happens to be VEGAN and decided I would try it.  What hooked me was the woman who wrote it talked about never being much of a cake person and I am not either.  I figured I would give it a try and hope for the best since I was having about 15 family members come over, all of whom are NOT vegan and are leery of it.  I bought a bunch of different yummy vegan ice creams and figured if things went South with the cake we at least had those.

Well, I have to say this cake was pretty darn tasty, that coming from a person who does not care much for cake.  As usual I did mess with the recipe a little trying to make it healthier so I halved the oil and subbed in applesauce for that amount but otherwise pretty much left it alone and it was great!  I did make some cashew cream and pushed down a hole in the middle of each with a chop stick and filled that hole with the cashew cream and then topped each one with a organic raspberry.  YUMMMMMM.

Best Vegan Cupcakes!

Cake:

1 1/4  cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened coco powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup oil (I put half oil and half applesauce)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons Earth Balance
2 Tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened Almond)
2 Tablespoons coco powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews (If you do not have a Vita-Mix soak the cashews for at least an hour or better yet overnight then rinse well before blending.)
Water-start with water half way up the nuts, not covering them (amount depends on the thickness you desire-adjust as you go)
2-4 Tablespoons maple syrup (adjust amount to sweetness taste–can use a handful of dates, agave nectar or even sugar if you would rather)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (can omit if you don’t have it)

PREPARE THE CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, coco, baking soda and salt well.  Add the water, vanilla, vinegar and oil/applesauce blend and mix until it is very creamy without any lumps.  Line the cupcake pan with liners and fill each one to 1/4 inch below the top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and cool on a cooling rack for 1-2 hours until completely cool to the touch.  If filling with the cashew cream push a chop stick about 3/4 the way down the cupcake in the middle, using the thick side and swirling it around a bit to really open it up.

PREPARE THE CASHEW CREAM:

While the cupcakes are cooling make the cashew cream so you can chill it while they cool and it won’t melt inside the cupcake.  If you soaked your cashews, drain and rinse very well.  Add them to your blender along with the lowest amount of water, desired amount of sweetener, and vanilla extract.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy adjusting sweetener to taste and water as you go to desired taste and thickness, should be pretty thick but will thicken a little as it chills.

This may make a little more than you need but you can save it for something else and it freezes well too.  Put half of the amount into a piping bag with the narrow round tip or a zip-lock and refrigerate this while waiting for the cupcakes to cool off.

PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled off and the cashew cream is now cold you can make the glaze as the final step.  In a small pan bring the sugar, Earth Balance, milk and coco to a boil stirring often.  Once boiling reduce the heat to summer for 2 minutes stirring the whole time.  Remove from the heat and continue stirring for another 5 minutes then add the vanilla and stir well.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Pull the chilled cashew cream from the fridge, if in a zip-lock cut the tiniest hole in the bag to use to fill the cup cakes otherwise fill each cupcake with the cashew cream just to the top. Spread a little bit of the chocolate glaze on the top of the entire cupcake.  Put a dollop of cashew cream on top of the chocolate glaze and top with a raspberry.  (my cashew cream was a little thinner than I would like so it ran down the sides but looks pretty).  ENJOY!

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Tags: Best Vegan Cupcakes!, Dessert, vegan birthday, Vegan Dessert, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Spring is in the air and I’m getting excited for the weather to warm up and to be able to wear lighter clothes soon.  I actually have a few flowers that just popped up in my front yard so I’m buzzing with excitement.  We all need to get ready for those summer clothes right now and salads are a great way to drop a couple of pounds.

This salad is very hearty that you can just have it alone as a meal.  The quinoa is super high in protein and satisfies a big appetite.  Add what ever other Mexican flavors you enjoy like jalapenos or red onions to make it just the way you like it.

The Ranch recipe is similar to my Cucumber Cashew Ranch just minus the cucumbers and add chipotle seasoning.  It all comes together in less than 30 minutes!

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Greens of your choice
1/4 cup cooked quiona-per plate (cook according to package directions-chill if desired while making the Ranch)
Handful black beans
Toppings of your choice; olives, onions, tomatoes, avocado
Top with Chipotle Ranch Dressing (recipe below)

 Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Makes approx 2 cups dressing

1 cup soaked raw cashews (NOT roasted or salted!)
Enough clean water to just barely cover the cashews once placed in the blender or food processor
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) onion powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried parsley
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) chives
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) dill weed
1/2 teaspoon(or more to taste) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash works great since no salt is added)
pepper to taste

Make sure you soak your nuts, rinse completely and pour into your high powered blender or food processor.

Add all the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and blend until creamy.  If you are doing this in a food processor stop periodically and scrape the sides down.

Taste and adjust the spices to your liking.  If you need it to be thinner adjust the moisture with more water.

Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate until well chilled, although it can be eaten right away if you do not mind it slightly warm.

Pour onto your salad and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Quick vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

There are a ton and a half vegan cheese sauces out there and this is my version.  Not much different than most but the twist I like is the roasted bell peppers instead of pimentos that most call for.  The roasting of the bell peppers gives it a little of that smoked flavor which I think is a more cheesy flavor.  I have tried it with smoked paprika as well and that gives it a bit more smokey flavor so experiment with your flavors and see what you like best.

I have tried it without the salt and oh boy it is just NOT the same so if you are low sodium I suggest trying miso or low sodium soy sauce instead so you can keep that salty flavor.  Another fun way to play with this is by adding chipotle spices or chili powder to make it nacho flavored.  I also sometimes grind up a little bit of raw cashews along with some nutritional yeast to a nice slightly chunky powder and mix that in by hand for little tiny chunks but if you want it silky smooth just stick with the recipe below.

I use this to make a mean mac and cheese, nacho sauce for well… nachos and I make a YUMMY nacho baked potato salad that I will post next week.  I am also thinking of adding some to my already good lasagna and I love it on steamed cauliflower and broccoli but I’m sure the possibilities are as endless as regular cheese sauce!

By now from all my previous posts you can see how much I LOVE cashews as my dairy sub and this is yet another showing of how versatile these wonderful nuts are.

Vegan Cheese Sauce
Makes approximately 3+ cups

1 cup raw cashews
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon paprika
1 heaping teaspoon onion powder
1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup roasted bell peppers including the juice if using jarred (chop them up small enough to fit in the cup if needed)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-1 1/2 cups of water (depending on how thick you want the sauce-start with 1 cup and work up)

If you do not have a vita-mix like blender soak the nuts for a couple of hours to soften and rinse well.

Pour all the ingredients into the blender (starting with only 1 cup of water) and blend until perfectly smooth.  Add more water if a thinner consistency is desired).  If you are using a high powered blender you can blend until warm otherwise transfer to a pan and heat until warm and pour over whatever you desire and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick vegan, Vegan, Vegan Cheese Sauce, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

My oldest daughter found these beauties and what a score!  They are healthy, extremely filling, and help you poop.  What could be better!

You can make some amazing treats in a dehydrator and it usually only take a few mins of prep and then you just leave them to “cook” for hours like a crock pot but without killing the enzymes in them because of the low heat.  My only grip about these is you can’t cook them the night before and have them ready in the morning.  But you can have them cooking while you take a shower or something in the morning or do what we do and have them for dinner with some yummy Cheezy Tofu Scramble.

I try and avoid oil where I can so I did not use the oil that is normally called for in these and they were great.  I’m sure they are also awesome with the oil and if you want her recipe check it out at Rawmazing’s website.  Otherwise this is what I did with mine.  I actually might try and blend in a little buckwheat groats to cut down on the fat content of the flax seeds and make them a little lighter next time and I will keep you posted if they turn out well.  If you do not have a dehydrator you can cook them in your oven at the very lowest temp checking them periodically so they do not dry out.

Raw Blueberry Flax Pancakes
Makes 5, 5 inch pancakes.  

1/2 cup flax seeds (ground)
1 cup flax seeds (not ground)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup blueberries (I used organic frozen and gently folded them in at the very end so they would not bleed)
1/4 cup coconut (dried, unsweetened and unsulfered)

Mix all ingredients except blueberries together well.  Fold in blueberries and spread 5 pancakes worth of batter onto your dehydrator sheets and spread out evenly.  Dehydrate at 145 for one hour, flip after the hour and dehydrate for 30 more minutes at 114.  Serve with pure, organic maple syrup.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Breakfast, Dehydrated, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, pancakes, raw blueberry flax pancakes, vegan pancakes, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

To eat like my doctor hero’s (McDougall, Furhman and Barnard) recommend you need to think simple, whole and clean while staying away from added oils.  Well this Mexican Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream fits that bill perfectly.

I am buying bulk food to use for long term food storage and want to be sure I can actually make something with it when the time comes, plus we need to rotate the food so it stays good.  We bought 50 lbs of quinoa and sealed it in air proof bags at increments of 2 cups a piece.  I also bought 25 lbs of beans, brown rice, oats, and raw cashews so I will need to come up with other recipes to rotate that through.  As you all may have noticed I am having no problems coming up with recipes to use cashews but will be getting creative with the rest while continuing to add to the stockpile.

This recipe works great for using the stored food but better than that it actually tastes amazing if I do say so myself.  My husband actually said if he had to he could eat this every day.  PLUS it is SUPER DE DUPER good for you and won’t make you fat!

I usually make 1 cup of quinoa while I am making it and put the rest in the fridge so I can make my Quinoa Mandarin Salad with the cold Quinoa for my next meal, makes it quick and easy and we all need to consolidate time where we can.

Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream

Makes enough for 6+ (think leftovers for lunch!)

6 small sweet potatoes/yams
1/2 cup prepared quinoa (prepare according to package directions)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped (or other veggie or your choice)
1 can black beans, rinsed (or cook your own whole beans)
1/4 cup corn (organic is best with the lowest possibility of being non GMO)
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can mild green chilies
1/2 teaspoon Oregano (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or to taste)
Chili powder to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cashew Sour Cream recipe

Wash the sweet potatoes and bake at 400° in the oven for 1 hour or bake in the microwave until done, make sure to poke a few holes in them before cooking.

While the sweet potatoes cook, prepare the quinoa according to package directions.  Quiona should only take 15 minutes to cook.

Chop up the onion and cauliflower and steam with a little water until cooked through, add the spices and cook for a minute until most of the liquid is gone.  Add the rinsed black beans, Italian tomatoes, green chilies, corn, and cooked quinoa and stir well.  Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 15 minutes until it is very warm and flavors have had a chance to blend.  Taste and adjust the spices your your liking.

Cut the sweet potato in half and mash well, no need to add oils or butter here.  Pour desired amount of black bean quiona mixture on top of the mashed potato.  Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pour desired amount of Cashew Sour Cream on and ENJOY!

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Tags: Dr. McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

WHAT!?  Kale in ice cream?  YES, you read right!  Two of my 4 kids are still very young and kale is not quite a favorite food yet so I try and sneak it in where I can.  No one would think of putting it ice cream normally I know.  Normal ice cream add-ins are things like candy, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate chips and so on but I promise you won’t notice it at all and you will get one serving of greens into your diet for the day.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I still LOVE the vegan decadent ice creams on the market and do eat those on occasion but I serve this much more often to maximize our nutrient intake.  If you want to make it a little more decedent stir in some chocolate chips at the end or top it with your favorite vegan chocolate syrup but you will still be ahead.  The great thing is you could eat this every single night and not harm your health but actually improve it and it won’t add to your waist line either!  Who can say that about regular ice cream!!

Kale is best to buy organic but if can’t find it or afford it then buy the bagged kind at the regular grocery store and throw the whole bag the freezer.  You can then never worry about it going bad if you don’t use it and you can just pull handfuls from it for your smoothies.

*Make SURE you freeze your bananas 24 hours before making this or it won’t work.  *Also, make sure to plan way ahead for this, your bananas must be getting the brown spots on the outside before you freeze them or it won’t be sweet!!  Once your bananas are really ripe and browning, peel them and cut them into 4-5 pieces and put in a freezer zip lock and push out as much air as you can and freeze overnight.

This recipe is easy to half or even quarter if you want to make smaller amounts for less people or double for larger groups too.  It is really an adjust to your taste kind of thing, like most of my recipes are so experiment with different types of berries and you can even swap out the kale for spinach (other greens are stronger tasting so be warned!)

Blueberry Kale Ice “Cream”

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 handful kale (can add spinach or additional kale to taste as you build up your taste for it)
5-10 pieces frozen pineapple
Additional berries of your liking (keeping the blueberries the majority)
1/4 cup almond milk (add more to thin if needed)
Optional: 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 Tablespoon Ggound flax seeds

Blend all the ingredients together in a high speed blender (Vita-Mix is optimal) or a good food processor  making sure to push the sides down as you go.  Blend until thoroughly blended and smooth.  Serve and ENJOY!

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Tags: Breakfast, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, kale, kale ice cream, Vegan ice cream, vegan recipe, Vegetarian