Raaah! Vegan Monster Cookies

So I did a search for Vegan Monster Cookies and the results were bizarre. I found recipes for healthy cookies (sugar free, gluten free, etc.) and for links to the actual Cookie Monster. After some work, I found this recipe from The Healthy Everythingtarian. I made a few tweaks to it and am super pleased with how they turned out. I have to work with the recipe a little more because they became super crunchy after cooling. I’m a firm believer that all cookies should be soft and chewy, never crunchy.

Oh, and for the record, these are far from healthy. I added extra fat by including peanut butter…but I suppose it’s the good fat. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbls chia seeds
• 1/4 c water
• 1 c oatmeal
• 1 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c vegan butter
• 1/4 c solid coconut oil
• 1/4 c peanut butter
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2/3 c vegan chocolate chips
• 1/3 c sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Combine chia with water, set aside
2. Add dry ingredients together, set aside
3. Cream together sugar, butter, oil, peanut butter and vanilla
   

   This machine is magical. Seriously.

   

4. Now, slowly add in the dry mixture. Once combined, fold in the chips and seeds

5.  Put tablespoon sized drops onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes

BBQ Tempeh with Roasted Veggies

Dinner tonight was incredibly simple and would satisfy any meat eater’s appetite.  First, I roasted some veggies which were coated in garlic infused olive oil and baked at 400 F for 30 minutes.

For the BBQ tempeh, I took a package of tempeh, sliced in half, then in half again leaving me with 4 thin slices. I steamed the slices for 10 minutes, let cool, then coated them in a BBQ sauce. I baked them at 375 F for 10 minutes then added more sauce and cooked for 10 more minutes. Overall the tempeh was good but I feel like it’s missing something. I think I need to season the slices more prior to adding the sauce. Enjoy!

Raw Dessert Bites (take three)

The final type of raw bites I made were these chocolate covered peanut butter ones. I wrote down the wrong recipe for the coating, so it got a bit messy, but these taste delicious! I only used peanut butter and definitely recommend using almond in there too. I think it would be nice to play down on the peanut flavor by adding in another dimension. Overall, this was my most favorite bite out of the three. Try this out soon and let me know what you think!!

Ingredients

center:

• 1/3 c peanuts
• 1/4 c peanut butter + 2 Tbls (almond or pb)
• 3 Tbls agave
• 1/4 c oats

chocolate:

• 3 Tbls peanut (or almond) butter
• 2 Tbls agave
• 2 heaping Tbls cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1-3 Tbls almond milk

Directions

1. Process center ingredients, form into balls and place in freezer

2.  For the chocolate coating, blend all ingredients until smooth. Remove pb balls from freezer, dip in the coating and place on a lined cookie sheet. Return to freezer to let coating set

Raw Dessert Bites (take two)

The second bites I concocted were from This Rawsome Vegan Life. I’ve never used dates before and realize now that I need to squeeze the pits out. Oops. I am hoping no one that I shared these with chipped a tooth. I liked these bites, but not as much as the others. I rolled mine in cocoa, coconut and a combination of the two. They seemed a bit earthy tasting. Definitely a great energy boost though!

Ingredients

• 1 c oats
• 1 c mix of cashews, walnuts, peanuts and pecans
• 1/4 c cocoa
• 2-3 scoops of chocolate hemp protein powder
• 3 Tbls agave
• 1/2 c soaked dates
• 1/4 c water (or more/less as needed)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1/8 c coconut oil
• Cocoa/coconut for rolling

Directions

1. Process all dry ingredients

2.  Add remaining ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into balls and roll in desired topping

Raw Dessert Bites (part one)

Technically these are balls, but I’ve been told “raw balls” is an unpleasant description for food. I made 44 balls, I mean bites in total. The first batch was a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Averie Cooks blog. These turned out great! I used all agave because I ran out of maple syrup, but next time I may try with maple to give it a richer flavor. I will definitely make these again. It was so simple and totally delicious.

Ingredients

• 2/3 c raw cashews
• 1/3 c oats
• 3 Tbls Agave
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c chocolate chips

1. Blend dry ingredients together

2. Add in agave and vanilla, mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and form into little balls

Granola with Peanut Butter and Coconut

With a title such as this, drooling is acceptable if not expected. I feel like this recipe will be made on the weekends for many years to come. I am a peanut butter lover and adding coconut only makes my mouth water more. I didn’t deviate from the recipe much, I just played around with the liquid sweetener due to what I had on hand. Please make this right now and be sure to share with others. That’s the best part

Ingredients

• 3 c uncooked oatmeal
• 1/2 c ground flax
• 1/2 c wheat germ
• 1/4 c unrefined coconut oil
• 1/2 c agave
• 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 c creamy peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 225º F
2. Combine all ingredients and spread out onto a large ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool completely before eating

Peanut Butter Filled Hiatus

So I’ve been without internet for the past 8 days [total first world problem]. Honestly, it hasn’t been that bad, mostly due to the fact of having a “smart phone.” I’ve been able to keep up with what’s what on Facebook and e-mails, but a few other internet activities have taken a backseat; blogging being one.

I made two amazing dishes last weekend. One was a quinoa salad with roasted veggies and a spicy peanut dressing. The other was a peanut butter coconut granola. I’ll be writing about the quinoa dish first. It is fantastic. The quinoa has such a nice, nutty, crunchy texture (I used an organic tri-colored quinoa) and the roasted veggies ups the ante on earthy flavor. Concluding the dish with the spicy peanut dressing is pure genius. I didn’t follow the recipe to a T, but close enough. Be creative. Have fun in working with this one!

Ingredients

• 1 c uncooked quinoa
• 2 c green shredded cabbage
• 1 c cauliflower florets
• ½ onion, diced
• 4 medium carrots, sliced

For the dressing

• ¼ c peanut butter
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3 Tbls bragg’s aminos
• 1 Tbls maple syrup
• 1 Tbls red wine vinegar
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbls water to thin

Directions

1. Cook quinoa, Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes
2. Roast the veggies, preheat oven to 450 F, roast cauliflower, carrots and onion until fork tender (15-20 minutes)
3. For the dressing, mix peanut butter and maple syrup together and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Add remaining ingredients and taste (I like a lot of added heat!)
4. Next add the roasted veggies to the quinoa. Pour the dressing in and mix well. Eat cold or hot.

 

Roasted Veggie Bowl

Tonight I made Oh She Glows’ Roasted Buddha Bowl. Rather than making the dressing, I used Trader Joe’s Goddess dressing (see below). I was surprised how filling this meal was with no grain. Although, it may be nice to serve atop some whole wheat soba noodles. I definitely encourage you trying this meal out. It’s incredibly healthy and very easy to make!

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp and 2 tsp olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Dressing of choice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
3. Dry the chickpeas off with a towel and place on lined pan. Coat with 1 tsp of oil, toss and season with pepper (you can use salt, I prefer not to since I’m using canned beans)
4. Add the broccoli and cauliflower florets to the other lined pan. Coat them with 2 tsp of oil, toss and season
5. Cook for 15 minutes, then give everything a quick stir
6. Keep an eye on the chickpeas, remove when they turn golden brown. Cook the cauliflower and broccoli an additional 10 minutes or until tender
7. Coat with TJ’s Goddess dressing

Lentil Loaf

The Fat Free Vegan blog has an abundance of great recipes. I saw the No-Fu Love Loaf pop up in my feed and couldn’t wait to make it. Since I was riding solo over Easter, I thought this would be a nice treat to make. Plus, it will make for great leftovers throughout the week. The only changes I would make to the recipe is I would add in some sautéed onion next time and possibly less basil.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c brown lentils
• 1 c vegetable stock
• 1/3 c water
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 3/4 c bulgur
• 1 c water, boiled
• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1 c rolled or quick oats
• 3 Tbls amino acids
• 2 Tbls nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbls ground flax meal
• 2 Tbls Worcestershire
• 2 Tbls tahini
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Black pepper to taste

Topping:

• 3 – 4 Tbls ketchup and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Combine the lentils, vegetable stock, 1⁄3 cup of water, and bay leaf in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender. Next, add the bulgur and boiling water, cover, and cook for another 8 to 9 minutes. Once everything is ready, it should look like this

2.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a loaf pan with parchment

3. Before adding the remaining ingredients to the pot, remove the bay leaf. Add remaining ingredients and transfer to a loaf pan

4.  Spread with topping sauce and cover the dish with foil. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 7 to 8 minutes. Let the loaf sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting

Vegan Easter Brunch

My family isn’t super religious, but we always celebrate the Christian biggies, like Christmas and Easter. I find it a bit awkward this holiday, sitting at home alone working on graduate statistics. I decided to get a little more festive and ran around town today to see what was open. After grabbing a few necessities, I headed home to make this awesome brunch of fruit, toast with jam, skillet fried potatoes and a cheesy tofu scramble. I didn’t use any fancy recipes, just threw everything together and tasted as I went. Below is my best attempt at putting recipes together for the scramble and taters. Happy Easter to those celebrating and Happy Sunday to those who aren’t

Easy, Cheesy Scramble

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed
• 1/2 tube of *Teese mildly spicy cheese
• seasonings to taste (I added some Tabasco and garlic and onion powder)

1. Break the tofu into small crumbles and cook on med-high heat
2. As water evaporates, add seasonings and Teese (*This was my first time trying Teese out. It’s alright. I think it’s pretty gross on its own, but heated up in a wrap, as a dip, or in scrambles works nicely)
3. Cook until hot and liquid has evaporated

Skillet Fried Potatoes

• 3 baby red potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced

1. Start by frying the onion and pepper in a generous amount of oil
2. Once soft, after about 5 minutes or so, add potatoes. Cook and as they start to brown, cover. Stir every so often, add water if necessary to prevent sticking