Snack - English Muffin with PB, hemp seeds

I recently bought a bag of Nutiva's hemp seeds. I've used hemp protein powder before in my smoothies and I've found that I'm not a big fan of it. But... the seeds themselves are pretty darn tasty and hemp seeds actually contain all essential amino acids, making it a complete plant protein! In case you were unaware, essential amino acids are those which the body cannot make and therefore must obtain from food sources (like hemp seeds, and flax, too!). If you'd like to know more about hemp seeds, check out the Body Ecology website.

Lately I've been getting bored with my usual granola breakfast, so I've been switching it up with some delicious gluten-free english muffins (made with almond meal, and are yeast-free) topped with either peanut or almond butter and a sprinklin' of hemp seeds. Great stuff! 

Flying Apron's Ginger Wheel cookies - VeganMoFo #11

Another awesome gluten-free recipe from the Flying Apron baking book. The recipes in the book make such large quantities, so I cut this recipe in half. Still made a ton of cookies!

Peanut Lime Tofu Salad - Vegan MoFo #10

I've really been enjoying romaine lettuce lately. It's a great source of vitamins A and K, so that's what's up on the nutrition front, yo. Pretty exciting, isn't it? 

• 1 pkg. extra-firm tofu, prepared your favorite way, I marinate mine overnight in peanut marinade then sautee
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• red bell pepper, sliced
• 2 scallions/green onions, diced

Dressing

• 1/4-1/2 cup peanut butter
• 4 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. Tamari
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 - 1 cup vegetable broth (or water)

Combine all dressing ingredients in small saucepan and heat on low until peanut butter is melted. Mix well. Let cool. 

Toss dressing with the salad just prior to serving. Yum! Garnish with chopped peanuts and lime wedge!

African Sweet Potato Stew

This is one of my favorite stews to make! That's because it has my favorite ingredient in it --> peanut butter!!! I do love sweet potatoes quite a bit, to be fair. 
I first found this recipe in the Vegan Planet cookbook by Robin Robertson. I've just tweaked it a bit, adding more cinnamon and broth, specifically. I've seriously made this recipe soooo many times that the binding on my book is coming unglued... right at this recipe's page.
Serve this stew with some brown rice or quinoa for added fiber-y goodness. 

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil or canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced (1 tsp.)
• 1 tsp. ginger (I use pureed from jar if I don't have fresh ginger root on hand)
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can chickpeas, rinse and drained
• 1 14-oz. can organic diced tomatoes, do NOT DRAIN
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2.5-3 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper 
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• crushed peanuts for garnish and lime wedge (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, cover, and cook until softened, ~5 minutes . 
2. Add bell pepper, cover, cook another 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, cook another few minutes. Add the spices, ginger, and brown sugar, stirring constantly until mixed.
4. Add sweet potatoes and stir.
5. Stir in canned tomatoes, veggie stock, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered until vegetables are cooked, about 30 minutes. 
6. Add the beans and peanut butter, stir until PB is melted and mixed into stew.
7. Garnish with chopped peanuts and lime, optional. Serve!

Apple Pear Crumble

Keeping with the fall season theme of my past few posts, I present to you the tastiest dessert chock-full of my favorite fall-time fruits: apples and pears!

For this oat and almond based crumble, I used organic Golden Delicious apples and organic Bartlett pears. Sooooo tasty! 

For the crust/base, I used a mixture of oats, oat flour, and almond meal. I'm sure you could substitute another kind of nut for the almonds, like pecan, hazelnut, etc. 


What you'll need:
adapted from Gluten Free Hope's Maple Peach Crumble

• 3 organic apples, sliced thinly
• 1-2 pears, peeled, sliced

• 1/2 cup almond meal (I just put 1/2 cup almonds in the food processor and pulsed until coarsely ground)
• 1/2 cup GF oats
• 1/2 cup GF oat flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
• 1/2 cup sucanat
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, plus extra for sprinklin'
• 1 Tbsp. flax meal
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, Earth Balance, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (or more butter)
• Poured over top: 
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup

Oat and almond base.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. 
2. Melt vegan butter in microwave, then add 1 tsp. vanilla, stir.
3. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients, along with the coconut oil. Press into bottom of a lined 9x9 inch pan. 
4. Take your sliced fruits and arrange them however you like on top of the base. 
5. Now, mix the apple juice and maple syrup together. Pour over the top of apples and pears. Sprinkle with more cinnamon!
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. 

*** Serve with coconut ice cream, or eat as is! ***

Roasted Squash Seeds

One of my favorite things about cooking squash is the tasty little bonus of roasted seeds! Rich in iron, protein, magnesium, and copper, these seeds really hit the spot when you're looking for a savory and salty yet healthy snack. 

After removing the seeds and stringy-ness from the inside of the squash, place the seeds in a bowl filled with water. 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the strings from the seeds and rinse. 

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan with 2 tsp. salt.

Boil the squash seeds for 10 minutes. Drain. 

In a small bowl put 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil (or canola) along with some garlic powder and salt (3/4 tsp.), or to taste. Toss the seeds in oil mixture. Place seeds in a single layer on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes. 

Vegan Baked Beans

On those nights when I'm feeling too tired to cook a meal, we usually eat canned baked beans with some of those frozen waffle fries and steamed broccoli. Suuuuper healthy, I know (sarcasm)! So I thought I'd try making some of my own baked beans, here at home, with no can in sight (except for the tomato paste can, hehe). It is definitely a lengthy process, mainly if you're using dried beans, which I did. It is also wayyyy cheaper to go the dried bean route. However, you can use canned beans for this recipe as well (I haven't actually tried it out myself yet, though, so don't hold me to it)!

If using dried beans: 1.5 cups dried northern white  or navy beans

Not sure which bean is which? Check out this handy little bean guide.


The Night Before you plan to make the beans…

Rinse your dried beans under water just to make sure they’re extra clean. 

Now, place them in a large glass bowl and cover them with filtered water. Place in fridge overnight. The next day, rinse the beans and drain.

Now, bring a large pot of water to a boil along with the soaked beans. Once at a boil, cover, and reduce heat to med-low for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beans are mostly cooked. Drain, transfer to large baking dish.

If using canned beans:

       3 cans white northern beans or navy beans

       (each can has about 1.5 cups of beans I believe)

The rest of the ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

¼ cup maple syrup

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. molasses

4 Tbsp. tomato paste, mixed with 3/4  cup water

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

½ tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir the tomato paste mixture, maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, salt, pepper, and other spices together in small bowl and set aside.

In large baking dish (where the beans should be right now!) add the sauce mix and the chopped onion. Mix until well-combined. Cover dish with tin foil and bake in preheated oven for 2-3 hours. Stirring occasionally. Remove cover and cook an additional 20 minutes. Add water if beans begin to look dry.