Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Coconut Bars May 27, 2012

 

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend! We had a nice little get together and BBQ at our house on Sunday. It was the first of (hopefully) many outdoor shin-digs at our new house! We had a ton of fun grilling veggie burgers, chatting with friends, letting the kids get soaked in the kiddie pool, and enjoying the sunshine! One of my favorite parts of the day were these lemon-coconut bars. They are so so good! Nobody could tell they were vegan or gluten-free!

 

There are two things that make these bars unique. The first is that the filling has tofu in it! So not only are these bars much lower in fat the the real deal, they are also much higher in protein! For those of you trying to avoid soy, you can try subbing coconut cream in for the tofu. The second unique thing about these bars is that the shortbread crust has no butter OR margarine it it! Instead I use a mixture of coconut oil and coconut butter. For those who have never used coconut butter before it is heavenly! I highly recommend it! It is great in smoothies, used as a butter substitute, or just spread on a piece of toast with a drizzle of agave and sprinkling of cinnamon! YUM!

 

Anyways, back to my bars…

 

Gluten Free and Vegan Lemon-Coconut Bars

by Katie Barlow

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

 

Ingredients (24 bars)

For the crust

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 2/3 cup organic powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup coconut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling

• 1 cup silken tofu
• 2 cups organic cane sugar
• Zest from 3 lemons
• 2/3 cup lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• coconut flakes (to sprinkle on top)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350degF and lightly grease a 9x13inch baking pan.

For the crust

Pulse the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor.

Add the coconut oil and coconut butter a tablespoon at a time and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add the mixture to the baking pan and press firmly into an even layer.

Bake for 20 minutes (you want the crust to be slightly under-done because it will continue to bake with the filling).

Remove from oven and let cool.

For the filling

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and well mixed.

Pour the filling over the shortbread and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the center is firm.

Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Allow the bars to cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before slicing into bars.

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Whole Wheat Meyer Lemon Cake May 13, 2012

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mother’s out there! I hope your day was special! Mine sure was! The hubs took the baby in the morning so I could sleep in, which was marvelous! Then he made me this for breakfast. YUM! Sooo good! After breakfast we took Harper to the pool and she had so much fun! Finally, we ended the day with a lovely dinner that Eddie and I cooked for his mom! For dessert, we made this whole wheat meyer lemon cake. 

 

I. Love. This. Cake.

 

Whenever we make this cake I eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes all in the same day. And it just gets better as it ages.

 

I wish I could take credit for this cake, but I cannot. Eddie made this for me for my birthday, and I have been hooked ever since.

 

This recipe is adapted from the recipe over at the Always With Butter. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Whole Wheat Meyer Lemon Cake

by Katie Barlow

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert vegan vegetarian meyer lemon cake

 

 

 

 

Ingredients (8-16 Servings)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup organic unbleached cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• Juice from 1 meyer lemon
• Zest from 2 meyer lemons
• 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or vanilla extract)
• 2/3 cup tofu

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil and flour a cake pan

Place the tofu in a blender and blend until creamy. Add water until the consistency of the tofu is that of sour cream. Set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, cream the coconut oil and sugar

Add the ground flax seeds, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla and mix

Gradually mix in dry ingredients

Fold in creamed tofu and pour batter into pan.

Bake 35-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes then remove cake from pan by flipping upside down onto a rack and cool completely.

Serve with fresh blackberries.

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Banana-Cinnamon-Spinach Smoothie May 2, 2012

 

How can something so simple be so tasty? This is currently one of my all-time favorite breakfasts! Only 3 ingredients and it keeps me full for hours! I absolutely love love love bananas! Anytime I am clamoring for some ice cream or a milk shake, I just whip up one of these babies (sometimes without the spinach) and it always satisfies my sweet tooth, but in a guilt-free super healthy sorta way!

 

Make sure to use ripe bananas for this smoothie to get the most flavor and sweetness. You want your bananas to have lots of brown spots on them!

 

Enjoy!

  Banana-Cinnamon-Spinach Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Raw, Fat Free

 

Ingredients:

3-5 bananas (depending on how hungry you are)

1-2 big handfuls of baby spinach

1-2 dashes of cinnamon

2-4 dates (optional but adds a nice sweetness!)

Ice

 

Directions:

1. Add the bananas, cinnamon, spinach, and dates (if using) to the blender and blend until smooth.

2. Add desired amount of ice (the more ice you use the thicker and colder the smoothie will be but remember ice also waters down the smoothie a bit so you will lose some flavor).

3. blend until smooth and enjoy!

Cherry Chocolate Teff Muffins May 1, 2012

 

Ahhhhhh….it is amazing how life happens and before you know it four months have just flown by! Well I am back and with a really yummy recipe. I got the idea for these muffins from this recipe here on the Wholefoods website. However, I wanted to make mine vegan (of course) and sugar free. To do this I replaced the eggs with flax seed and the sugar with date paste and Vanilla Sunwarrior protein powder. I was a little skeptical of how it would turn out but was surprisingly pleased! You can of course, substitute the  protein powder for stevia, which I think would work well also.

 

These muffins are earthy, surprisingly moist, with just the perfect amount of sweetness from the chocolate chips and tartness from the dried cherries. The combination of the date paste with the protein powder makes these muffins decadent enough to be eaten as dessert but healthy enough to be enjoyed guilt free as a breakfast on the go. I am really happy with how they turned out and this is definitely a recipe I will make again!

 

One note on this recipe, it does call for a little bit of whole wheat flour but if you are gluten free you can probably easily substitute a gluten free flour blend and add 1 tsp of xanthan gum!

 

 

 

   Chocolate Cherry Teff Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

(Vegan, Sugar Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or a gluten free flour blend)

1/2 cup almond flour

1 scoop Vanilla Sunwarrior Protein Powder (optional, you can replace this with stevia or just omit)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dates, soaked in boiling water for about 15 minutes

2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with 6 tablespoons of water

1/2-3/4 cup water

1/4 cup coconut oil

8oz dried cherries

1 cup mini chocolate chips (I used the Enjoy Life brand)

 

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350degF and grease your muffin pan.

2. Soak your dates and mix your flax seeds with water.

3. In a medium bowl combine the teff flour, whole wheat flour, almond flour, protein powder (or stevia), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix to combine.

4. To make the date paste, place the soaked dates in a blender and add just enough of the soaking water to cover the dates. Blend until smooth. Add the date paste to a separate large bowl.

5. To the date paste, add the ground flax seed mixture, 1/2 cup water, and coconut oil, and mix to combine.

6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined. If the batter seems too dry add the extra 1/4 cup of water.

7. Gently fold in the dried cherries and chocolate chips.

8. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

9. Remove from oven and let the muffins sit for 5 minutes, then take them out of the muffin pan and cool to room temperature.

Happy New Year! And How to Satisfy Those Chocolate Cravings Without the Guilt. January 9, 2012

Happy New Year! Did you miss me? Well I am back! And I am hoping that you will be seeing a lot more of me! I plan to continue to post yummy and healthy cruelty free food but I am going to start posting a lot more about some other things that are very important to me as well. These topics include:

 

Attachment parenting

Homeschooling

Eco-Friendly Living

Building a positive body image

Spirituality/ finding inner peace

 

And other topics that I find important to my lifestyle. I hope you are excited, because I am!

 

Today is a simple post about this dessert that I have been devouring every single day for the last week! If you love dark chocolate this will quickly become your favorite thing on the entire planet! I am obsessed!

 

 

This recipe is adapted from the The Rawtarian. Her version is here. This fudge is awesome because:

 

1. It is single serving

2. It is quick and easy to make

3. It is low in sugar and fat

4. It is insanely yummy!

 

Just a warning though, this is definitely your dessert if you like rich and very very dark chocolate. If you like chocolate more on the sweeter or milky side then this dessert may not be for you.

 

Oh and another warning, be careful about consuming this dessert right before bed because boy does it give you a jolt of energy! Whew I was practically spinning in circles the first time I ate this! Both my husband and I had the hardest time falling asleep!

 

Single Serving One Minute Raw Fudge

Vegan, Raw, Gluten Free, Soy Free

Makes 1 Serving

 

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon raw honey or agave

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

 

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a large cup or bowl and stir with a spoon until well mixed. This may take awhile so be patient.

2. Eat slowly and take small bites, savoring each rich chocolaty mouthful!

Banana-Chia Soft Serve and Granola parfaits October 10, 2011

 

All I have to say about this recipe is Oh My Gosh YUMMMMMMM! This parfait is decadent enough to be dessert yet healthy and filling enough to be breakfast! The banana chia soft serve is so sweet and creamy it is reminiscent of soft serve frozen yogurt and pairs perfectly with the crunchiness of granola! I know fall is among us and most of you are probably craving warm breakfasts like my pumpkin oatmeal so here is my suggestion for you: Eat this with a nice steaming hot cup of coffee or tea because you need to try this now! Cold weather be darned!

 

You might have noticed that I used chia seeds in a lot of my recipes. Chia seeds have more uses than just for chia pets! Chia seeds are very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (even more so than flax seeds!) and are full of anti-oxidants! Chia seeds also provide fiber as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. Talk about SUPERFOOD!

 

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when you put them in a liquid, they turn into gel. It is great for making puddings and soft-serve ice creams because it makes liquid very thick and gelatinous.

 

To make a basic chia gel:

 

1 cup liquid: water, juice, non-dairy milk

1-3 tablespoons chia seeds

 

Place the liquid and chia seeds in a container with a lid and shake to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to half an hour to thicken. The more chia seeds you use, the thicker the gel will be. This gel is now ready to be used in smoothies, in puddings, or drink it as is!

 

Banana-Chia Soft Serve and Granola Parfait

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Can be Raw

 

Makes 2 Servings

 

1 cup almond milk (or other non-diary milk of choice)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 scoops Sunwarrior vanilla protein (optional but highly recommended!)

3-4 bananas, cut into pieces and frozen

Your favorite Granola (to keep it raw use raw granola!)

 

1. Add the almond milk, chia seeds, and protein powder (if using) to a blender and pulse a few times to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to overnight to allow the chia seeds to gel.

2. Blend in bananas, adding a few at a time, until you have a very thick and very creamy mixture (a Vita-mix or Blendtec work the best for this)

3. Use your favorite clear glass or bowl or wine glass and spoon about an inch thick layer of soft serve. Top with granola and repeat until you have used all the soft serve. Makes enough for two servings.

4. Drool, and then devour!

Decadent Gluten Free Vegan Brownies March 4, 2011

These brownies are insane!!! Rich, gooey, intensely chocolatey, everything you could want in a brownie. You would never know these are vegan, let alone gluten free! We make these brownies almost every time we have company for dinner because they never disappoint! Vegans and Omnivores all RAVE about these brownies.

 

There are a couple secrets that make these brownies so rich and fudgy. First, I use Authentic Foods Bette’s Featherlight Rice Flour Blend for the gluten free flour. This flour is super-fine and makes the dough extra creamy and smooth and leaves no funky taste. All you taste is rich chocolate! You can find this flour at Whole Foods or order it on Amazon.

 

The second secret is using coconut cream. Coconut cream is different than coconut milk. Coconut milk is what you get when you buy a can of coconut milk at the store and shake it really well. To get coconut cream, buy a can of coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand), and DO NOT SHAKE IT! Open it up and the extra thick

paste-like cream at the top of the can is the coconut cream. You only want this part! Scoop it out into a measuring cup and use it in the recipe. What will be left in the can after you have scooped out all the coconut cream is a thin milky watery substance, this is the coconut water that separated out of the coconut milk. I like to save it and use it in smoothies.

 

Now go get yourself to whole foods and buy some gluten-free flour and a can of coconut milk and make these brownies NOW!!

 

  Decadent Gluten Free Vegan Brownies

Yields an 8" square pan

Printable Recipe

 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Authentic Foods Bette’s Gourmet Featherlight Rice Flour Blend
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Thai kitchen full fat coconut cream (The thick part scooped out of the top of an unshaken can of coconut milk)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

 

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 8" square brownie pan.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the coconut cream, vegetable oil, sugar and vanilla.

4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Pour into your prepared pan — the mixture will be somewhat thick, so use a spatula or your fingers to make sure the mixture is distributed evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake 15 minutes if you like really gooey brownies, 20 minutes if you want them to be a bit firmer — the top will be set, but a tester should still have a bit of fudgy goo instead of set crumbs.

7. Remove from the oven, let cool, and devour. Like most brownies, these are best when they’ve set for at least an hour.

Quick and Dirty Tofu Yogurt! February 16, 2011

 

Before I became vegan, I ate yogurt almost every day. One of my favorite meals to eat for breakfast was a breakfast parfait with yogurt, granola, and lots of fresh fruit! Yogurt is not only tasty, but since it is chock full of probiotics, it is also very good for you. These healthy bacteria help with digestion and can even help prevent disease. When I became vegan my yogurt consumption quickly plummeted. Of course, soy yogurt is readily available at any grocery store, but it is at least twice, sometimes three times the price of regular yogurt! There are other sources of probiotics available besides yogurt. One of my favorites is Kombucha, especially the GT brand. Kombucha, however, is also a very very expensive habit, one I only partake in occasionally. There is also fermented soy, such as miso, and fermented vegetables, such as Sauerkraut, but I have never really developed a tasted for either. So what is a vegan girl to do in order to get her dose of healthy bacteria?

 

Make her own yogurt of course! This recipe is so simple, has very few ingredients, and is cheap! The most expensive part of this whole recipe is buying the probiotic tablets but you do not need anything fancy, even these will do! The other thing you will need is warm place to incubate your yogurt. In order for the bacteria to multiply it needs to sit in a temperature of about 100degF for 6-8 hours. There are several ways to achieve this:

 

1. Make yogurt on a warm summer day. I have set my yogurt out in the sun during a day that was at least 80degF with no wind with beautiful results. Of course, this method is pretty useless right now for most of the United States since we have been getting hit with some of the coldest weather on record, but when the weather permits, it is one of my favorite ways to make yogurt!

2. Use a dehydrator set to 100degF. This is my preferred method, then I can have yogurt any time of the year!

3. If your oven has a “warm” setting you can use this. I have not tried this before but as long as it does not get over 115degF, it should be fine.

4. A yogurt maker. Another method I have not tried and probably my least favorite as you have to spend money for a contraption that only serves one purpose, a purpose that can be filled several other ways as listed above. However, this method is very useful for those who have no need for a dehydrator but would still like to enjoy yogurt during those cold winter months.

 

The recipe below is for mixed berry yogurt but you make all kinds of flavor variations. Some I can think of off the top of my head include:

Banana

Peanut Butter

Chocolate

Peach

Vanilla

Pina Colada

 

What is your favorite flavor of yogurt?

 

  Quick and Dirty Mixed Berry Tofu Yogurt

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

 

1 block silken tofu

2 cups frozen mixed berries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 packets Stevia or sweetener of choice

3 probiotic capsules, powder removed and capsules discarded

 

Directions:

 

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

2. Incubate yogurt at 100degF for 6-8 hours.

3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Valentine’s Day! February 15, 2011

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! We kept it low key. With a newborn baby in the house we do not really have time to do anything elaborate! We stayed home, of course, and just had a simple dinner. Although, I would have loved to come up with some elaborate five course dinner, it was just not going to happen this year! We did, however, find time to make cheesecakes!!

Raw Vegan Chocolate Covered Strawberry cheesecake

 

  Vegan Cookie Dough Cheesecake

 

Both turned out really well and tasted delish! I wish I could share the recipes with you, but for now these yummy pictures will have to do.

 

How did you celebrate your Valentine’s Day?

 

Our Anniversary Dinner from Mary’s secret garden February 10, 2011

Yesterday, February 9th, 2011 was my 3rd wedding anniversary. Three years ago, my husband and I spent the most amazing fun-filled week with our closest friends and family in Manzanillo, Mexico. We had a very small and intimate ceremony that I will never forget.

 

My husband and I are not extravagant celebrators. We do not do gifts and we usually just celebrate by going out to a nice dinner. With a newborn at home, we could not go out to eat this year so we decided to order from our favorite restaurant and have a nice dinner at home. We ordered food from Mary’s Secret Garden, a restaurant I have blogged about here. This is, in my opinion, one of the best vegan restaurants out there. Mary is a Goddess in the kitchen and her raw and cooked food is absolutely delicious. I have tried almost everything on the menu and have yet to be disappointed!

 

When dining at Mary’s, I usually get one of her raw dishes. Her raw cheeses and sauces are absolutely divine. Her raw tostada is one of my favorites. She even has a secret raw menu that includes a raw onion bagel and a raw burger that are not listed on the  regular menu. I have had both and both are delish!

 

 

This time, however, I decided to go with something cooked. I got the falafel wrap, one of the few things on the menu I had not tried yet. It is Mary’s house-made falafel, with lettuce, tomato, and bell pepper wrapped in a spinach tortilla with Mary’s house-made vegan tzatziki sauce, served with a side salad. This was really really good, although I have to say Mary’s Spanish Burrito and Burger are still my favorite cooked things on the menu. No one does a burrito or burger quite like Mary does!

 

 

My husband opted for Mary’s famous burger done Mary’s style! That means it has avocado, tempeh bacon, and Mary’s secret sauce added to it. This burger is as close to the real thing as I have ever tasted! The side that comes with the burger changes weekly. This week it was served with a side of macaroni salad. Eddie also got one of Mary’s raw smoothies. This one had banana, hemp milk, pistachios, and mint. YUM!!! I love this smoothie so much I had to steal a couple of sips!

 

 

And of course, we had to get dessert! What is a celebration without dessert? Mary has a cake special at her restaurant that changes weekly. This week was a new flavor: Almond raspberry cake. I have to say I was a little disappointed when I heard that the cake did not have any chocolate on it! I am a sucker for chocolate and have tried Mary’s chocolate peanut butter cake, chocolate mint cake, and chocolate raspberry cake. All were absolutely fabulous. I have to say though, one bite of this cake and I was in heaven. It was so so good! I did not even miss the chocolate!

 

 

And the best part of the whole meal….my little Harper slept through the entire thing and I got to spend a few precious quality moments with my husband!