Desserts!

Well, my friends, I am not allowed to upload any more pictures.  Quel horreur, mes amis!  So, I think until I have the time+energy to mess around with that stuff, I'll be linking you to my Tumblr (which you should visit anyway ;) ) for my pictures, and posting the recipes here.
Oh, gosh, I'm writing this at 4:41 in the morning.  I will be leaving at 7 for my traditional Thanksgiving Day race (I'm so excited), and I guess I was just too anxious to sleep... (?)  So, thus, I am typing this, in order to stall on doing my french homework...

I give you desserts!

Up first is CCK's crustless pumpkin pie, which I gave a crust, and topped with some raw whipped cream.  I made two servings, and divided that recipe into two ramkins.  For the crust I mixed together 3 tbsp oatmeal, 1 tbsp whole wheat flour, and 1 tbsp applesauce, and baked it for about 12 minutes at 350, until firm.  Then I added the pie (doubling pretty much all of the seasonings), and using baking blend stevia. 

These babies were a chocolateglobofgoodness :D  I used PB2, and sugar free maple syrup for the agave, but no changes other than that.  Woooowww...

I wasn't too big on the texture of these blondies, but it may have just been my flour.  However, the flavour was excellent.  I used applesauce for the oil, and skipped the frosting since it doesn't freeze too well.

WHOLLYFREAKINGBANANAS This cake was excellent.  Seriously.  Good.  Gooooood.  I essentially fifthed the recipe, so I used 2 dates, 1/5 banana, and 3 tbsp of pretty much everything else.  The only actual changed were to use applesauce for the oil, and instant coffee powder + water for the coffee.  Topped with more of the raw whipped cream from above.

Oatmeal ATTTTAAAAAAAACK!

So, here's what I did... made a quadruple batch of Bottomless Oatmeal, and just reheated the stuff every day, with a different flavour each day!  It worked out great, and oatmeal tasted normal.  Saved sooo much time too!  I also added a splash of almond milk when reheating, to loosen it up a bit.

 

#1: Pina Colada.
Pineapple, cinnamon, stevia, reduced fat shredded coconut, sunflower seeds

#2: Mocha
Instant coffee powder, cocoa powder, banana (roughly mashed), vanilla extract, low fat shredded coconut

#3: Loaded PB and J
Granola (actually leftover oatmeal cookie crumbs!), frozen banana, frozen strawberry, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar free strawberry jelly, peanuts

#4: Banana Split
Frozen banana, frozen strawberry, fresh pinapple, cinnamon, stevia, dark cocoa powder, vanilla extract

#5: Peach Pie
Cinnamon, nutmeg, frozen peach, mashed banana, cinnamon, walnuts, sugar free maply syrup, butter extract

#6: Banana Peanut butter
Banana, peanut butter, vanilla extract, dark cocoa powder, stevia

#7: Chai
Instant coffee powder, mashed banana, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla extract, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

#8: Orange
Chopped glow orange, walnuts, maple syrup, vanilla extract

#9: Sweet Potato and Cranberry
Mashed sweet potato, dried cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar free maple syrup

#10: PB and J
Strawberries, banana, peanut butter, sugar free maple syrup, vanilla extract

#11: Blueberry and Chia
Frozen blueberries, chia seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, flax seeds, dried goji berries, sugar free maple syrup

Corn Salad and ... Date-Coffee Pancakes

Well, I'm still catching up here, so I couldn't manage to dig up a picture for the salad.  Perhaps my camera ran out of power or something..

 

 

Anyhoo, I couldn't give you a post without pictures, now, could I?  So, thus, I give you pancakes and corn salad.  Which TOTALLY makes sense.  Right?  Right.

 

 

Pancakes adapted from The Tolerant Vegan

 

In a small bowl, mix together:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 tbsp baking blend stevia
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 1/4 cup chopped dates

Make like you normally make pancakes.  Makes 2, 322 calorie servings

 

Corn Salad adapted from One Green Planet

 

Mix together:

• Cooked corn from 2 ears
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips, cooked on a panini press
• 1 small onion, sliced, cooked on a panini press
• 2 tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 tbsp vegetable broth
• a splash of cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• chopped fresh oregano
• liquid smoke
• 1 cup red kidney beans

 

What's Up In My Kitchen - Recipe Round-Up (Finally!)

Ok, go glance at this article.  It will make you smile.

Blended chia pudding: if you don't like the texture of chia pudding, just blend it!  Makes all of the lumps go away, and it has the texture of yogurt.  Here, topped with piles of granola.

 

Made a batch of tofu feta.  Only this stuff is better than your normal tofu feta, because it's a LOT firmer.  Changes: 1/3 cup agar flakes, 3 tbsp olive oil (I ran out).  Wow, this stuff was good on a salad!

 

Pancakes... Mmmm... Sans frosting and raisins (which I left out and added a few pepitas), these make 2 292 calorie servings.  And the servings are HUGE!  I wanted to make the frosting, but forgot to chill my can of coconut cream... :(

 

 

 

Roasted Veggie Salsa - my first shot at homemade salsa.  I would recommend using less lime juice, but otherwise I loved this recipe.  Oh, and I used hatch chilis instead of jalapenos.  Because I have ALWAYS wanted to use those things...

 

Quinoa/Adzuki bacon.  Dang, this stuff smelled SO good in the oven.  Changed: cooked the beans, cooked up 1/3 cup quinoa to replace the buckwheat, Italian seasoning instead of thyme, and no oil.  It was a bit crumbly, but that was OK by me.

 

As for lunches... well, I've made a wrap with peaches, basil, lettuce, avocado, and sugar free blackberry jelly - yum!  Lots of fruit!

 

 

 

My other wrap has been peaches (can you tell I like peaches?) with the tofu feta, bacon, lettuce, and avocado.  Again, yum!  (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)

 

 

 

Another new b-fast food: banana bread in a bowl.  Blendm, let sit for 45 minutes or so, and it's like ice-cream for breakfast.  Did I mention you should top it with chocolate (which turned out very good, by the way!)

 

 

 

 Salad dressing!  Good for using up a surplus of basil... Fat free and creamy basil blast for your salad!

 

And, finally, 100% whole wheat strawberry pepita muffins (adapted from Chocolate and Carrots)!  Mix:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup pepitas

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup stevia baking blend

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup chopped frozen strawberries

 

Pour into muffin tins and bake (I have only a mini muffin pan - this made 24 muffins, 250 calories for 7 muffins.  Bake for about 17 minutes for mini muffins, probably 27 for regular)

 

 

What's Up Wednesday #7

Meh.  Sorry I wasn't blogging much last week... work just has me exhausted!  On both Thursday and Friday, I worked out in the morning for an hour, ate breakfast, went to volunteer at a food pantry for 3 hours, then went straight to work from 11.30 to 3... then I got to come home and make lunch... and cook dinner for M and I about an hour later.  And then Saturday was workout for 2 hours and work for 4.5 hours... yeah, that's why I've been MIA for the past few days.  Not to say I haven't been enjoying myself, I've just been too tired to blog!
But I'm back, now... for another week.  Then I'm off for a vacation - I'm so excited!  I'll be doing college visits/touristy stuff, so I'll see how that goes.  Lots of vegan eats where I'm going, so that shouldn't be hard.  But I can't not cook for an entire WEEK.  I mean, I am going to DIE.  ;)

Anyhoo, enough about my troubles...

Interesting two sentence article.  Totally made me laugh...

And I've decided to try to use fresh instead of canned tomatoes.  We'll see how long that lasts... but the principle is fairly simple.  You core the tomato, then cut a shallow X in the bottom of it, just to break the skin.  Dunk it in boiling water for ~45 seconds to loosen the skin, and voila - it comes right off!  Then you cut into fourths, work out the core/seeds with your hands, and plop them in your blender (Mr.V!).  Blend until desired consistency is reached - I made 'crushed' tomatoes, and used them in soup.  I could actually taste a very suttle difference.

Lemon banana pancakes! Used a flax egg, bananas in place of blueberries, regular stevia extract, and applesauce instead of oil. Comes out to around 280 calories for the entire recipe, and it's mighty big, my friends!

Have you heard of the new cookbook Vegan a la Mode?  It looks FAB.  And I really want it!  There's a giveaway for it over on Averie Cooks... and if you win, can we share? ;)

Lotsa Low-Cal Vegan Pancake

Sorry the pics are bad... I dunno WHY the stupid colour is off.  But I was in a rush this morning, and didn't really have time to fiddle with things...

So, anyhoo, here's the promised single serving, 10 minute, low cal (about 240 for the entire recipe), vegan pancake recipe.  This, I'm thinking, will be the base for sooooooooooo many other recipes \

Adapted from Soul Shine Vegan

Mix together 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt.  In another container mix 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp flax meal, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract.  Pour the dry into the wet, and mix well.  Add any additional ingredients now.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Cook like normal pancakes: pour into a pan or something (I used the flat side of my panini press), and cook until firm on one side; flip and repeat.  Serve.

For this variation, adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie, I added chopped strawberries, bananas, and chocolate chips, and dipped the finished pancakes in my tofu sauce!  So easy, and so yummmmyyyyy!

Kind-or Sort-of PB Chocolate Pudding

Mmmmm... smatterings of chocolate.

 And peanut butter.

Adapted from Oh She Glows and Chocolate Covered Katie

First up, spray a large ramkin with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, mix 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp mashed banana, a small pinch of salt, 2 tbsp almond meal, and 2 tbsp shredded coconut.  Freeze for a few minutes.
Blend together 1/3 cup silken tofu, 2 tbsp PB2, 2-3 tbsp stevia, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and a few tbsp soy milk, to hold things together.  It should be pudding like.  Spread on top of the chocolate layer. 
Melt a handful of vegan chocolate chips, and spread over the tofu layer.  Freeze until solid, and top with cookie dough balls - just shape these into balls, and replace all oil with banana/applesauce.

Sweets: Cookies, Pudding, and Pizzert!

Yum!  I have been doing a lot of sweet cooking/baking recently, as well as normal cooking.  I don't really have any recipes, but I'll just post a list of links.

First up, the Pizzert.  Can I say HOW AMMAZINNNGGGGGG this is?  It's FABULOUS.  Like, I think I will be having this for breakfast for the next few weeks.  Yeah.  It's good.  By Chocolate Covered Katie, the genius for sweets.  Each pizzert will come out to ~250 calories, toppings added in.  It's a lot of food for 250 calories ;)
So far I have made cinnamon + banana + chocolate chips ; cinnamon + banana + pepita;

Secondly, I made Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Balls, which were gooood as well.  I followed the recipe to a t, only adding stevia and omiting the sprinkles (the only ones I saw had partially hydrogenated oils... boo hoo)

Lastly, I made HHL's Peanut Butter Banana Pudding.  Yes, it's tofu based.  Yes, it tastes awesome.  No, you can't taste the tofu.  At all.  Seriously.  I made a half batch, used PB2, sugar free maple syrup, and a splash of soy milk.  Blend it all together, and mmm mmmmm.  Yum, high protein puddin'!

Tropical Salad

This was super light... and fun to make/eat.  The macadamias were a real treat!

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Base: iceburg lettuce
Stuffs: chopped banana, pinapple, mango, macadamia nuts, shredded coconut
Dressing was a bit of tofu mayo mixed with balsamic vinegar, mirin, and agave nectar.

That's it.  Honestly!