Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

I’ve been on a Kind Diet kick lately and decided to play around with the Peanut Butter Chocolate pie recipe. The pie is incredibly rich, but so delicious. I don’t know how anyone would be able to tell it’s vegan.

Ingredients

• Ready made pie crust (I used a whole wheat crust from Wholly Wholesome)
• 10-12 oz vegan chocolate chips
• 1/2 c soy milk
• 1 c peanut butter
• 1 box silken firm tofu
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 c maple syrup

1. I baked my frozen pie crust for a few minutes, according to package instructions. After baking I put it in the fridge to cool while I made the chocolate layer
2. For the base chocolate layer, use a double boiler to melt chips. When chips are melted, slowly whisk in soy milk. Reserve 1/4 c of the chocolate and pour the rest into the cooled pie crust. Place in the fridge for at least an hour

   

        3.  Once the chocolate layer has fully cooled, create the peanut butter layer by processing peanut butter, tofu, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour on top of chocolate layer. Return to the fridge for a few hours

       4.  Prior to serving, melt the reserve chocolate (I just microwaved mine for 15 seconds). Drizzle over pie. Place in fridge so chocolate sets…or serve right away

Quick and Easy Vegan Granola Bars

I consume a lot of granola bars. My weekly intake can get rather spendy, so I’ve been on a mission to find a superb granola recipe. The recipe from Food52 is good, but way too sweet for me. Not sure what I can do about that…I do love the texture and consistency though. I just wish there was a way to limit the sweetener and still have the bars keep their form. It’s definitely a great bar to try out as it was simple and didn’t require an insane amount of ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c rolled or quick oats
• 1 c raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 c raisins
• 2/3 c peanut butter
• 1/2 to 2/3 c agave
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

1.  Combine oats, seeds and raisins, set aside

2.  Combine agave and peanut butter in a small dish. Once creamy enough, add to oat mixture. Stir well. Press into a lined pan

3.  Cover with some foil, press again very well, then let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours (mine sat overnight)

Product Review: Plant Fusion Protein Shakes

I started working for a wonderful business up in Walker, MN called The Green Scene. It’s a quaint and cozy shop, plump full of wonderful organic, vegan, gluten free, locally made, natural and green products. I love that in a town of under 1,000, I can get some fresh hummus, vegan deli goods, dairy free ice cream and cheese, and I even stumbled upon a plant protein powder. I’ve been training for a half marathon and enjoy starting my morning with a protein drink. I am really pleased with the Plant Fusion brand. It was a trial run and I will definitely be going back for more!

To make my drink, I added 1 frozen banana, 1 packet of chocolate Plant Fusion powder and 12 oz of water. Next time I may use almond milk to make it richer.

Vegan Lasagna

Of all the recipes I’ve explored, I’ll be completely honest in admitting that I’ve never once made a lasagna dish. A few months ago I did a spin on a mexi-lasagna, but that was with tortilla shells, not lasagna noodles. There is something about the long wavy noodles that has kept me at bay. Well, it was time to work through this silly fear and dive into a recipe by Isa (modified by Vegan Iowan). I spruced it up by adding some Daiya cheese slices, because what’s lasagna if it’s not filled with ooey, gooey cheesy goodness??

I can’t say how much I love this recipe. It is incredibly simple, quick, and so delicious. My boyfriend loved it, my parents loved it, and I am sure you will love it too!

Ingredients

• 8 oz lasagna noodles
• 1 jar pasta sauce (I used Newman’s garden mix)
• 1 block tofu
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbls dried basil

1. Cook the lasagna according to the package
2. Next, make the tofu mixture. Press liquid out of tofu then crumble into a bowl. Add nutritional yeast through basil and mix well (I used my hands)

      3.  After the lasagna has cooked, I preheat my oven to 375. Then, in a 9 x 13 pan, layer sauce, noodles, tofu, cheese; repeat

4.  Cook for 20 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered

Italian Style Soup with Kale, Quinoa, Chickpeas and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I threw together a simple soup with just a few ingredients: a carton of veggie broth, a can of chickpeas, a few sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, kale, quinoa, garlic and Italian seasoning. I sautéed a tablespoon of garlic in a little oil and then added some veggie stock and about a cup of quinoa. Once the quinoa was cooked, I added a bunch of kale which I had sautéed in a separate pan with the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic.

I simmered everything together for about 15 minutes.

 

 

 

Raw Banana Split

I love freezing bananas and making “ice cream” out of them. I recently tried out a raw banana split recipe. It was ready in minutes and tastes delicious! Next time I make this, the only thing I will do differently is omit the cocoa from the ice cream portion. It gets to be a little rich for me.

Ingredients

Banana ‘ice cream’

• 3 frozen bananas, sliced
• 3 Tbls cocoa
• dash of salt
• water for blending

Hot fudge

• 2 Tbls cocoa
• 3 Tbls melted coconut oil
• 3 Tbls agave
• dash of salt

Toppings

• walnuts
• sliced banana
• sliced strawberry

1. For ice cream, blend everything together in a bullet/blender/processor
2. For hot fudge, whisk everything together until thick and gooey

Who Doesn’t Love a Healthy Cookie?

A delicious healthy cookie is hard to come by. You either need to eat 10 to feel satisfied or you eat one and it tastes as flavorful as cardboard. Oh She Glows has a recipe for a fantastic vegan healthy cookie bite. The oats and almond leave you feeling full and the chocolate and coconut bring a mouthful of flavor. You must try this recipe out!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 large, ripe bananas, mashed (I used 2 small)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 1 c rolled oats
• 1/3 c almond meal (ground almonds)
• 3 Tbls coconut, shredded & unsweetened
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 c chocolate chips

1. Mash banana(s) and add vanilla and olive oil
2. Preheat oven to 350 F
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add dry to wet
4. Once everything is well mixed, form into balls or scoop teaspoon sized dollops onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown

Mostly Raw Taco Salad

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my parents, die hard meat eaters, enjoy a mostly raw dinner. Seriously. Tonight I made a raw taco “meat” along with some lightly sauteed veggies and black beans. Salad toppings included salsas, cucumber, avocado, and an avocado dressing. Rule of thumb, if my parents go back for seconds, the dish is a hit!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/2 c raw walnuts
• 2 Tbls lemon or lime juice
• 1/3 jalapeno, with seeds
• 1 tsp cumin

Pulse everything in a bullet/blender. Serve with favorite toppings!

Jelly Donut Cupcakes

My friend asked me to bake something for her church bake sale and I thought Isa’s Jelly Donut Cupcakes would be a perfect treat. I had never made them before, so there’s always a risk in how they’ll turn out. Isa’s recipe recommends they sit out for at least 24 hours. Well, I made it about 24 minutes before sampling one. That’s not too bad, right? The only thing I could’ve done better is add more filling. Other than that, these are great. I suggest you go out and buy a copy of Veganomicon so you can get this recipe, along with hundreds of other must try eats.

Filled half way then dolloped with some strawberry jam

Morning after, dusted with some powdered sugar

heaven!

Italian Tempeh with Garlic Broccoli and Rotini Pasta

I made a pasta dish last week for my boyfriend which I felt was a huge flop. I’ve been wanting to redeem myself and was finally able to with this meal. I am pretty happy with it. Next time I would steam the tempeh before simmering in the sauce. Depending on my audience, I’d also spice it up a bit with some red pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 box whole wheat rotini noodles
• 1 pkg tempeh, cubed
• 2 Tbls tomato paste
• 2 Tbls tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 c vegetable broth
• 5 cloves of garlic, divided
• 2 small heads of broccoli, cut into florets

1. Start on the tempeh by steaming it for 10-15 minutes. Transfer tempeh to a dry skillet
2. Whisk paste, tamari, seasoning, red wine vinegar, broth and 2 cloves of garlic. Add to tempeh. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Let cook for about 8-10 minutes
3. While tempeh is simmering, start on your broccoli. Saute 3 cloves of minced garlic. Once fragrant add the broccoli and 1/2 c water or vegetable broth. Cover and steam until bright green and tender
4. Next you can start working on the pasta. Get some water boiling and cook until noodles are soft
5. After the tempeh has simmered, transfer to a bowl and mash half of the cubes. Wipe the skillet clean and add a little oil. Return mashed/cubed tempeh mixture to pan. Cook for about 5 minutes
6. Drain the pasta and add to the tempeh. Serve with broccoli and extra sauce