Vegan Yack Attack's Protein-Packed Dessert for Breakfast Smoothie!

Thank you Vegan Yack Attack for putting together several of my favorite things! Smoothies, chia seeds, chocolate, and frozen bananas. This was the perfect quick snack while I was busy crafting all afternoon! It reminds me of a shake my parents used to make with bananas, icecream, and slim fast powder: but WAY healthier!

For the recipe I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and about 3/4 cup of almond milk. YUMMY

Here's the recipe

Explorations of Tofu: Part 1 of 5

I love edamame. In my opinion it is the best soy form. That said- Tofu is definitely not my all-time favorite food, I used to eat and drink a lot of soymilk and tofu. But as I discovered almond milk I also realized that tofu wasn’t my only option in vegetarian cooking. That aside, I’ve been getting some twitter requests for some tofu recipes, so I’d love to share a few of my favorites. Maybe while I show you how versatile it is, I’ll remember why I loved this forgotten food in the first place. Expect 5 recipes over the next week and a half, in between, I'll be mixing in a few vegan/gluten free/sugar free/soy free recipes too!

Breakfast

I used to be a firm believer in when I give something up; I needed to give it up. I didn’t like meat, so why would I want meat substitutes? Dairy replacers didn’t bother me because if you have an allergy- why would you give up French toast? But as I’ve started to give up gluten, dairy, and eggs I do find myself missing certain things.

I used to eat scrambled eggs and Greek yogurt every breakfast, I always felt great with the burst of protein right in the morning. Now that I’m not listing that as an option I usually go for smoothies and granola. I’ve been interested in the idea of scrambled tofu, but I never found a recipe that quite made it taste enough like eggs.

Then it hit me: I’m not TRYING to make scrambled eggs. I’m making scrambled TOFU so it WILL taste different and I need to get a handle on that.

So ladies and gentlemen, please step forward and this scrambled tofu recipe:

Spiced Scrambled Tofu

1 package of soft or medium tofu

2 large leafs of kale torn into small pieces

1 small zucchini diced

2 tsp of turmeric

2 tsp of mustard seeds

1 tsp of paprika

2 tsp of onion powder

2 tsp of garlic salt

2 tbsp of coconut or olive oil

1.              Puree tofu with spices.

2.              Heat up oil on skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini.

3.              Saute for 2 minutes then add tofu.  Stir and let cook for about 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.              Once the tofu starts to brown, add kale and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
5.              Serve immediately with fresh ground pepper.

Anna Mae’s Power Cookies

 

Anna Mae is my friend. She’s vegan and watching her on some camping and other adventures, I realized that being vegan doesn’t mean just salads if you're out and about. Last time I saw her we went to the Lotus Festival- I went searching to buy some vegan treats and she busted out these vegan and gluten free “cookies.” She made them very simple but let me know she jazzes them up for her boyfriend.

The idea of chickpeas, applesauce, and oatmeal instead of flour, butter, and sugar sounds weird- but trust me it’s great. If you don’t like the taste of chickpeas I highly suggest adding a tablespoon of peanut or almond butter. It doesn’t overwhelm the recipe, but it kind of cancels out the bean-y taste.

If you are allergic to gluten or are avoiding gluten completely, make sure you get gluten free oats! I bought a giant thing of Quaker Oats a few months ago at Costco, and although I’m avoiding white flour and a lot of gluten- I’m also try to be resourceful and I refuse to waste the food!

My favorite version of this recipe is the basic recipe + agave, vanilla, cinnamon, almond, butter, mashed banana, vegan chocolate chips, raisins, and chopped walnuts. I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting though, zucchini and carrots- I’ll let you know if I have a breakthrough in deliciousness!

These cookies are a perfect replacement for protein bars. I take these everywhere now! Work, the zoo, amusement parks, and the movies. Hope you enjoy them!

Anna Mae’s Power Cookies

Basic Recipe:

2 cans of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1 cup of applesauce

1 cup of oatmeal

2 tbsp of oil

2 tsp of baking powder

2 tsp of baking soda

Any amount of optional ingredients*

1.              Preheat oven to 350, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2.              Blend chickpeas and applesauce in blender until smooth.

3.              Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.

4.              Spoon onto cookie sheet in heaping tablespoons and bake for 30-35 minutes.

* Optional Ingredients:

1 tbsp of agave

2 tsp vanilla

Sprinkle of cinnamon

2 tbsp of almond or peanut butter

1 mashed banana

½ cup vegan chocolate chips

½ cup raisins

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup chopped nuts

2 tablespoons of cocoa powder

Gluten Free Corn Pancakes with Beans and Kale

This breakfast was another “what do I have in my kitchen” recipe. It was a Sunday and I thought I wanted something brunch-y and I still wanted to feel good after. This was the perfect strange combination for me.

For the Beans and Kale- you could use any kind of beans. I was planning on black beans and I apparently ran out. After a quick search I discovered a can of white beans I forgot about. Yum! Since the beans were salted- I soaked and rinsed them a few times, and found I didn’t need any added salt at all. After deciding to just add a little pepper, I was particularly please when Brian asked what I seasoned them with because they were so good. I occasionally need to remind myself that sometimes simple is better!

Gluten Free Corn Pancakes

1-½ cups of masa

½ cup corn meal

2 cups boil water

¼ coconut oil (My favorite but you can use any kind)

Egg replacer for 2 eggs

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ agave nectar

1.     Boil the water

2.     Mix masa and corn meal

3.     Add water to masa mixture and stir just until combined

4.     Add other ingredients stir gently.

5.     Cook like pancakes, I melt a little more coconut oil in a pan and fry them up.

6.     Add more agave like syrup for eating!

White Beans and Kale

1 Can of White Beans

3 Leafs of Black Kale (torn up into bite size pieces)

Olive Oil

Pepper

1.              If the beans have salt added, rinse them really well. Heck- even soak them for a few minutes. Drain them and put them in a pot on medium heat.

2.              After a few minutes add a little oil and the kale.

3.              Sautee until kale has softened in texture.

Kale Chip Recipe

Tortilla chips are my weakness. Hah, who am I kidding? One of my many weaknesses. But I love the crunchiness and yum. This kale chip recipe is not a replacement for my beloved chips, but it will sometimes make that craving go away. It’s nice to know there are vegetables that can taste enough like junk food to get that craving to go away without leaving you that horrible stomachache later.

My aunt explained this recipe to me a couple months ago, and I always forgot about it. I happened to drop by one day while she was making them and I tried a couple. It was as if a light bulb went off in my head. I understood what she was talking about. These were fabulous!

Kale Chips

A few leafs of green kale

Melted coconut oil

Salt

Pepper

1.              Preheat oven to 400

2.              Tear up the kale into small bite size pieces. Pour a small amount of coconut oil over the kale. Mush up everything in your hands to coat the kale in the oil.

3.              Sprinkle with salt and pepper

4.              Bake for 8-10 minutes for a single layer, or 10-12 for a few layers. Make sure to toss them halfway through cooking if there is a lot of overlapping.

5.              Keep an eye on them for when the edges go brown, but not the whole leaf. ENJOY!

These are very delicate, and very delicious warm. Hope you like them!

I have tried this recipe with black kale- it works but the green kale works much better for this recipe. Anyone else have any simple chip recipes?
 

Adventures of the Corn Dog into My Belly

I started eating a vegetarian diet very young. I never liked meat, but looking back on what I did enjoy is pretty scary. I would eat cheeseburgers from McDonalds (not even real burgers at a BBQ, I thought those were gross!), tuna salad, and corndogs. Not hotdogs, I never liked hotdogs, but yummm corndogs and the rest of the icky processed food I enjoyed.

I never even considered vegetarian corndogs until I was at my friend Lauren’s house and she offered me Morning Star’s mini corndogs. Oh my gosh, so delicious. But as I am foraging into this vegan adventure- I read the ingredients: milk, eggs, corn syrup, sugar, hydrogenated oils, and enriched bleached flour. A bunch of stuff I’m trying to cut out!

So while I was searching for a name for a blog, I was getting discouraged, because a ton of my ideas were taken by dead urls, twitters, or advertising sites. I finally thought “Happy Herbivore” would be great! I plugged it in, and the first thing I see? “Popular Recipes: Vegan Baked Corndogs.” Okay so the name I was stoked on was taken- but I had inadvertently come across what I didn’t even realize I was longing for.

Here is Happy Herbivore’s recipe for VEGAN baked corndogs.

I tried it with Smart Dogs (Not gluten free, but still pretty healthy), almond milk, corn flour instead of the whole wheat pastry flour, and agave instead of raw sugar. Pretty good- but because I had changed the flour around I added more almond milk and the texture of the batter was a bit off. They tasted pretty good... but my corndogs were hideous.

Not to be discouraged, I noted that the Happy Herbivore suggested that a Twinkie pan makes cuter corn dogs. While searching Amazon, I noticed that not only did they have a pan, but they also had a pigs-in-blanket cooker "Appetizer Maker" that had great reviews. About $25 later I had one on it’s way to me.

When the "Appetizer Maker" arrived I was so excited I pulled it out right away and needed corn dogs that second. I wanted to try a slightly different recipe so this time I tried a recipe from the mini book that came with the “Appetizer Maker.” It called for egg, milk, cornmeal, salt, flour, baking powder, and sugar. So I mixed egg replacer, vegetable broth, cornmeal, salt, gluten free flour, baking powder, agave, cinnamon. It was okay, Brian thought it tasted exactly the same as the previous one. But we both agree they were cuter!!

A little overflowed but who doesn't love the corn mixture!

So today, determined to end this war or corn dogs, I tried combining what I liked from the separate recipes, learn from my gluten free mistakes and finally make the ultimate gluten-free-sugar-free-vegan corn dog recipe.

On the dogs . . . I have been using Smart Dogs for a while since I originally just cut out white flour. However, now that I’m moving towards gluten free I haven’t found any vegan and gluten free dogs at my local grocery store. After some research I found that www.soyboy.com and Tofupups are vegan and gluten free but I haven’t tried either yet. Have any of you?

Vegodactyl Vegan Gluten Free Sugar Free Corn Dogs

1 ½ egg recipe

2/3-cup cornmeal

4 tbsp coconut flour

2-teaspoon baking powder

1/2-teaspoon baking soda

A dash of paprika

A dash of dry mustard

A dash of onion powder

A dash of black pepper

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons agave

A sprinkle of cinnamon

1/3 cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/3 cup water

4 veggie dogs cut into thirds (If you want gluten free, here is where you need to be careful!)

1.            Grease Appetizer Maker with a little coconut oil or prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. To Preheat Appetizer Maker or oven to 450.

2.            Mix all dry ingredients together. Add vegetable broth, coconut oil and stir well. Slowly add water until batter is just combined and all lumps are removed.

3.            If cooking in an Appetizer Maker place a little batter in the cavities, place the dog on top and a little more batter on top. Cook according to the directions.

4.            If cooking on a cookie sheet, dip the dogs and place on parchment paper, if necessary add a little more batter to the top.

5.            Bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Caramelized Onion and Kale Pizza

I think pizza is a very personal thing. Before I started my vegan adventure, I loved Papa John’s website where you could specify “light” or “heavy” cheese, sauce and toppings. So because of that giving a pizza recipe is very tough! I’ll post approximately what I use and please adjust to what you love.

I purchased a cornmeal crust for this recipe because I was feeling lazy and hungry and didn’t want to take the time to try a recipe that might be awful. Maybe next time I’ll try a recipe.

For the cheese I went to buy Daiya mozzarella because it is amazing and delicious, however Whole Foods was completely sold out, and none of the other mozzarellas they carried were vegan so Brian suggested we try the pepper jack because it “would probably be exactly the same thing.” It wasn’t but it was delicious.

Tonight was a silly night when we went to choose the tomato sauce. While Brian was loudly commenting on how we had to buy the canned sauce because it was cheaper, I noticed Shia Labouf was shopping right next to us. I giggled. I love tomato sauce, I think it is wonderful and I don’t mind buying the plain stuff because I always add a ton of garlic, onions and sometimes-chopped tomato and basil to it. But I thought it was funny that we were so loud about buying cheap sauce next to a movie star.

For the toppings on this one I used kale and caramelized onions, yum! Make sure you put the kale underneath the onions, or it’ll get very crispy. (I’ll do a recipe for kale chips soon. Super delicious.) Spinach can absolutely be substituted. Ugh- just do whatever makes you happy. This is what I did:

Caramelized Onion and Kale Pizza

1 8” pizza crust

¾ cup tomato sauce (more or less to your liking)

¼ cup of shredded vegan pepper jack (or more)

2 big leafs of black kale shredded into small pieces

1 medium red onion (Thinly sliced)

1 clove of crushed garlic

Coconut oil

1.              Preheat oven to 425 or whatever your crust suggests.

2.              Put a little oil in a skillet on low heat.

3.              Add the onions stir till they are covered in oil. Stir occasionally for the next 15 to 20 minutes.

4.              While the onions are going heat up the sauce, add the crushed garlic. Add a few onions too if you want.

5.              Spread the sauce over the pizza crust.

6.              Arrange the kale over the sauce.

7.              Sprinkle the cheese over the kale.

8.              Add the caramelized onions to the top.

9.              Bake for about 12 minutes, until cheese has melted.

10.           Let cool for a few minutes, slice up and enjoy!