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!

Drool Worthy Food! March 24, 2011

Sorry I have been so MIA lately! Between taking care of a 2 month old and trying to start a business, I have my hands full! I have a ton of pictures waiting to be edited and many many drafts waiting to be finished and posted to my blog. I am hoping to get to them soon and I am hoping to have time to start writing my daily food journal again, but In the meantime, I wanted to give you a peak into some of the food from other bloggers that I cannot wait to make myself!!

 

These chocolate peanut butter pretzel tartlets by Manifest Vegan look to die for! If I were not making so many darn cheesecakes I would be all over this in a second!

 

Raw chocolate covered strawberry milkshake by Sarma, owner of Pure Food and Wine in NYC looks so refreshing and yummy! This is a dessert I would not feel bad in indulging in!

 

Mounds was one of my favorite candies as a kid! I cannot wait to try this much healthier version by Elana’s Pantry!

 

Now that I have a dehydrator, I cannot wait to try out this raw young coconut yogurt by Choosing Raw!

 

 

I have been playing around with raw “rice” dishes lately. This spicy veggie raw “stir-fry” by Rawmazing looks like a lot of work, but I have a feeling it will be completely worth the effort!

 

That is all for now! I will post more soon!

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.

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?

 

Cheesecake!!!!! January 10, 2011

During our pre-vegan days, Eddie and I really enjoyed making cheesecakes. It became our signature dessert and we made darn good cheesecakes! The cheesecake we ended up making the most was a peanut butter cup cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust, layer of peanut butter cups, and the creamiest plain cheesecake layer you ever tasted. We even perfected how to bake the cheesecake without cracking it!

 

Over the holidays Eddie started making his cheesecakes again for some friends as a Christmas present. He has wanted to try a vegan version for awhile, but I have been resistant. There is NO WAY a vegan cheesecake would even compare to the original… or so I thought!!!

 

Well, we were bored the other night so we decided to bake something. Eddie decided to veganize his famous cheesecake recipe and I decided to try my hand at a raw cheesecake. After a bit of research, we both had our recipes in hand, and off to the store we went to get the needed ingredients. We spent the rest of the night baking away.

 

These were the results:

 

Eddie’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

 

  Katie’s Raw Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

 

As you can see by the photo of Eddie’s cheesecake above, it turned out AMAZING! Not only did it look amazing, it tasted amazing! It was so close to real cheesecake I could hardly tell the difference. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this cheesecake was. Unfortunately, the recipe is an “Eddie original” and I cannot share it with you today on this blog. We will, however, definitely be using this recipe over and over and over again and we are eager to try different versions! Chocolate Mint anyone? How about a turtle cheesecake? cookie dough? dulce de leche? The possibilities are endless!

 

As for my raw cheesecake, it also turned out extremely well. It does not really have the taste of traditional cheesecake but it has a super creamy texture and a really great taste of its own. The adapted a recipe from the Vegetarian Times. It was super easy to make and I can see doing different variations of this cheesecake as well. It would be really easy to adapt this recipe to make a chocolate cheesecake or a mint cheesecake. The only change I would make next time is to double the filling recipe so you have a thicker filling than crust. I have reprinted the recipe for you below. Enjoy!

 

Some notes about the raw cheesecake:

 

1. The original recipe said to soak the nuts for the crust, I did not do this, I prefer the crust to be crunchy and was afraid soaking the nuts would make it too soft.

2. I used lemon juice in my recipe but the original recipe calls for lime juice, use whatever you have on hand or prefer.

3. For the filling, I blended it in my high speed Vitamix to get a super smooth texture. If you don’t have a Vitamix, use a food processor instead and add 6 tablespoons of water.

4. I used vanilla bean powder in my recipe, if you don’t have this, just use the seeds from one vanilla bean pod.

5. For the crust I used brazil nuts because the is what I had on hand. The original recipe calls for macadamia. I think it turned out great with brazil nuts but I will use macadamia nuts next time.

6. I doubled the filling in the recipe below.

 

 

Raw Cashew Cheesecake

Adapted from The Vegetarian Times

Serves 12

 

Printable Recipe

 

3 cups cashews

2 cups macadamia nuts

1/2 cup medjool dates

1/4 cup dried coconut

3/4 cup coconut oil, warmed

1/2 cup lemon or lime juice

1/2 cup raw agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder

3 cups mixed fresh berries, such as raspberries and blueberries

 

1. Place cashews in a separate bowl and cover with cold water. Soak nuts for 4 hours, then rinse, drain, and set aside.

2. Pulse macadamia nuts, dates, and coconut in a food processor to a sticky crumb-like consistency. Press crust mixture into pie or tart pan.

3. Place cashews, coconut oil, lime juice, agave nectar, and vanilla bean into a high-speed blender and puree until smooth. If using a food processor, add 6 tablespoons water. Pour mixture onto crust, and freeze 1 to 2 hours, or until firm. Remove from freezer, slice while frozen, and transfer to serving platter. Defrost in fridge 1 hour, or on countertop 30 minutes, top with berries and serve.