(healthy?) chocolate chip cookies

No, I probably wouldn't say healthy...there's still a whole cup of brown sugar! But they are healthIER, and delicious, and vegan.  That's right, no eggs.  Only coconut oil, applesauce, and my husband's own flour creation.

I love to bake. But, how do you bake as a vegan, right? Wrong! I've found so many recipes for awesome baked goods with a healthy twist.  Usually I am fine to accept that healthy baked goods will taste like healthy baked goods, if you no what I mean... :/  And every once in a while, I feel the need for some good old comfort food.  And these are the chocolate chips cookies that do the trick!  Enjoy

the recipe:

Here is the recipe I started with.  And if you like to follow recipes strictly, read no further and this recipe will do you fine...However, I'll also include the variations we came up with.  

1 c brown sugar

¼ c maple syrup

½ c oil

¼ c applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

dash nutmeg

1½ c chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, syrup, and oil. It will become smooth and even in consistency after a little while; don’t skimp on this step!
2. Beat in vanilla and applesauce.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Add dry mixture to wet; mix well.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Form into 1″ balls (or whatever size you prefer) and bake on greased sheets at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes. I found 7 minutes to be perfect for a soft center. *Don't be alarmed but these spread out a ton, and ended up flatter than a pancake...Still delicious though!* 

I thought these were almost too sweet; next time we will probably only do 1/2 cup brown sugar and compensate with some extra honey or something.  

Instead of the 1/4 cup maple syrup, we did some combination of honey and agave, so you don't get the maple-y flavor, but it's a little more natural.  

As far as that vague "oil" that it calls for, I chose coconut oil.  Healthy, but runny.  

Unsweetened applesauce worked perfectly, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg, all stayed the same.  

Flour -- we had been wanting to try almond and oatmeal flours for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity to experiment.  We just threw a bunch of almonds and oats into our blender and blended till it was as fine as we could get it.  Even though we used two cups of this flour, I think it didn't absorb the same way as real flour or something, so we had to add almost a whole extra cup of flour (we used buckwheat flour, but whatever) in order to get the dough to be firm enough. 

breakfast at kelsey's

vegan waffles

If any of you have ever tried to find a good vegan pancake or waffle recipe, you know how difficult it can be.  We've tried all sorts of healthy combinations: flax seed, applesauce, whole wheat flour, oats, etc...And our pancakes or waffles always turned out as dense as concrete! Nothing like the light, fluffy ones you would think of.  As healthy as they were, it just wasn't worth it.  So finally, FINALLY, we found this simple, basic, {not-quite-so-healthy}, but much more delicious recipe for waffles! 

the recipe:

1 cup flour (I do any combination of white wheat flour,  spelt flour, buckwheat flour, or brown rice flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
berries, to taste, optional
chocolate chips, to taste, optional
1 cup nondairy milk (I use almond milk)
1/2 cup applesauce

Topping:
1/2 cup frozen berries
sugar to taste

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with berries or chocolate chips, if using. Mix the wet ingredients in a different bowl. Combine and mix until just mixed up.
2. Preheat waffle iron and spray with some nonstick oil (or wipe down with some oil). That's important cause they stuck like crazy to the iron when we made them.
3. Cook according to the waffle maker's instructions.
4. For the topping, microwave the berries and sugar until warm and mushy. I like to use this topping with some coconut oil, but I also like using agave nectar as a syrup.  

hardly-meatless sandwich

I love a good, warm sandwich, and even vegans need an easy to-go lunch or go-to dinner. My sandwiches are fancy and filling.  I call it "hardly-meatless" because once you add all the toppings, this sandwich is so thick and flavorful that you would not even want any meat!!

the recipe:

2 slices of your favorite bread (toasted)
hummus
avocado
sprouts
tomato
cucumber
mushrooms
green peppers
green onion
red onion
radishes
spinach
cilantro
salt & pepper to taste

Toast your bread, spread a generous amount of hummus and avocado, and do your best to pile up all the toppings! Seriously, I really have every single one of those ingredients on my sandwich, but I'm not going to lie, it's a challenge to balance it all! :)

manic monday

Mondays are crazy enough already, you shouldn't have to spend more than 30 minutes on dinner.

portobello lettuce wraps with pineapple chutney

1/2 cup pineapple chutney

1 lb baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups cooked couscous*

8 romaine lettuce leaves

Saute mushrooms in a large skillet, until soft, add the soy sauce and garlic.  Meanwhile, cook your couscous according to the instructions.  Combine mushrooms and couscous.  Spoon mixture onto a lettuce leave and top with chutney.

*Couscous is about the quickest easiest pasta to cook in the world, seriously! Boil the water, add the couscous, take off the heat, let it sit for 5 minutes, and fluff.  Done. 

pineapple chutney

This is a great condiment to have on hand, so I make the whole recipe, then use it on anything and everything until it's gone...

1/2 diced yellow onion

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 jalepeno peppers, seeded and diced (or a small can of diced green chiles)

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 fresh pineapple, diced (or a can of diced pineapple)

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

salt to taste

Melt a tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet and saute onions until tender.  Add ginger, jalepeno pepper, and cumin, and cook for another 4 minutes.  Add pineapple and remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the cilantro and salt. 

Makes 1 1/2 cups

copy cat

I really did make this for dinner tonight.  I even took pictures of it....they just didn't look anywhere as nice as the pictures on this blog, which is where I got the recipe anyways.  So, I admit, I'm a copy cat tonight.

Anywho, I have been so excited to make this meal.  It is one of my favorites! I think this was actually one of the first real vegan meals we ever tried, way back, almost a year ago, when we started changing our diet.  And once we tried this, we knew we could still to the whole vegan thing no problem! This is one vegan recipe that you will be amazed by! The cheese sauce is quick and easy, and it can replace cheese in plenty of recipes.  

Enough talking.  Enjoy!

Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

family friendly friday

meatless sloppy joes

This is a great recipe to make for a big family.  We make the whole recipe for just the two of us, then eat sloppy joes all week long.  And don't you worry about not getting enough protein! Lentils have the third-highest protein content in the legume family (after soybeans and hemp).  I promise you will be pleasantly surprised by this sweet and spicy dish.

 

the recipe:

1 lb brown lentils
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
1/2 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper

Cook lentils according to instructions. Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes, until mixture reaches desired thickness.  Drain lentils, and add to sauce.  Serve on toasted buns. 

tip of the day

oregano

Oregano is the "pizza herb" of southern Italy that we're all familiar with.  But, you probably didn't know how good it is for you! Oregano is high in antioxidants and in {the overlooked} vitamin K.  It is also a great source for iron, magnesium, and fiber. It can even be used to cure stomach and respiratory ailments, and will make your sore throat feel better.  So don't be dainty! 

the recipe: 

cooked carrots

Now, I know there are no measurements for this recipe, and that's because the spices are "to taste" and the rest is determined by what's in my fridge or how many people I'm feeding.  

sliced carrots

diced onion

oregano 

salt and pepper

water

Fill the bottom of a large skillet with about 1/2 inch of water, and bring to a boil.  Add carrots, onion, oregano, and salt & pepper.  Cover and simmer until carrots are tender.