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Guilt Free Coconut Ice Cream Packs a Flavorful Coffee Punch


Normally, I'm a hazelnut kinda girl. But then, I've never had coconut. I bet it would be yum! This ice cream certainly looks amazing and the ingredients are simple, guilt-free and it's beautiful!

Ingredients:

2 14 ounce cans full fat coconut milk
1 cup strongly brewed Island Coconut Green Mountain Coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon coconut extract
½ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut



Cute Easter Cookies Idea


These cookies are a wonderful idea for Easter. Easy, bright and colorful. You could use any type of pretty Easter colored candies that you like. While the original uses one egg, simply sub that as needed! If Nutella is off limits for you, use your favorite chocolate or other nutty sauce.

What You Need:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups sweetened coconut
1 cup Nutella
M&M Speck-tacular Eggs (or other Easter candy)

Get the recipe here.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes Even Your Man Will LOVE



It’s not often that I say to myself ”Sister, you are a freakin genius!”. But I said that one day (out loud actually) after I came up with these most excellent chocolate beet-root cupcakes. Needing my chocolate fix without the guilt, I decided to include beautiful, anti-oxidant-rich beets in the recipe. Beets are loaded with fiber, vitamin C, and folate and their natural deep red color gives these rich chocolatey treats a gorgeous midnight-pink hue.

I knew when I licked the batter bowl clean that this recipe was going to be a winner.

Protein - 4.1g 
Carbs - 33g 
Fat - 13.6g 
Fiber 3.1g 
Cholesterol - 0g

CALORIES 300 
SERVES 10-12 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups cooked beets (about 1 1/2 tennis-ball sized beets)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima’s)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (avoid artificial flavorings)
1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup melted Earth Balance Coconut spread (or Earth Balance vegetable oil spread or similar)
1/3 cup low fat coconut milk (or almond or rice milk)

Chocolate butter-less cream frosting

11 Medjool dates (I’ve tried to use regular, but they just don’t compare…go with the Medjool)
1 Avocado
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 1-2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tablespoon of coconut milk 1/8 tsp sea salt

Now...

Cook beets by scrubbing to wash. Lightly peel any rough skin. Cut off top and bottom. Cut into 1 inch cubes and set in a steamer or if you don’t have a steamer, place in a metal colander that fits the top of sauce pot filled with about 4-5 inches of water on med high heat. Place a lid that fits the colander. Beets should not touch the water. Steam for about 30-45 minutes. (be careful that you don’t steam all your water away) Pieces should be soft when pierced with a fork. Set aside to cool completely. This step can be done the day before with cooked beets stored in the refrigerator. Place cooked beets, syrup and vanilla in food processor and pulse to mix. Then process on high for 3-5 minutes until very smooth. (so pretty…) Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Add beet mixture and coconut milk to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add in melted coconut oil and stir well with a spoon.

Line cupcake tin with paper cups or grease with oil spray and fill 3/4 of the way full with batter. (It’s OK to lick the bowl…no one is watching) Bake at 350 F for 16-18 minutes. (11 minutes for mini cupcakes) Tops should be firm to light touch. Don’t over-bake. Let cool for 15 minutes while you make the frosting. Chocolate butter-less cream frosting

Remove pits and skin from dates. This is a pain in the rump, but it affects the creamy-ness of the frosting. No matter how much you process it, you can’t get the skin smooth and it messes with the texture. Dates are very sticky, so the easiest way I found to remove the skins, is to have a bowl of water next to you and dip your fingers in the water as you peel the skin off. Try to find the dates whose skin is already loose to make it easy.

Wash and cut the avocado. Always wash fruits and veggies even if you don’t eat the skin. When you drag your knife through to cut, you’re dragging everything on the surface through the food. The perfect avocado is dark greenish black (not all black)on the outside and gives to pressure when squeezed. Cut in half all around, and twist to open. Scoop out with spoon and discard pit. Place all ingredients in the food processor, hit hi and process the bejeziz out of it until it’s creamy smooth. Then process it a minute more. Frost cupcakes when cooled. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator and consume within 4 days (not hard to do…) for best taste.

6 Ways to Substitute Eggs for Vegans


As much as we’d like to avoid using eggs in our vegan recipes, it can be a challenge. In fact, this is one of the most difficult ingredients to replace. However, there are many options to choose from that will get the job done.

What do eggs do in the recipe?

In certain recipes, eggs are almost essential. They bind ingredients together. They can be used to make baked goods rise and they also help make them light and fluffy. Another thing eggs do is to help the product form some structure and also provide extra moisture. They are especially useful while baking but are essential to certain savory dishes as well.

Egg Replacement Options


Here is a list of some of the best egg replacement options out there. You can replace the eggs in any recipe using these options.

Use Pureed Bananas

Pureed bananas are another effective egg substitute. Just place a rip banana in the blender and pulse until completely smooth and there are no lumps. A half of a regular sized banana is the equivalent of one egg.

The positive aspect of using bananas is that they are readily available. However, bananas have a distinct taste that won’t work out in every recipe. For example, if you were trying to make peanut butter cookies, the banana flavor would alter the taste.

Ground Flaxseeds

It is best to purchase the flaxseeds whole and store them in the refrigerator. When it’s time to use them, measure out 1 tablespoon of flaxseeds for every egg that you need to replace. Then, pulverize it in a blender or coffee grinder.

Transfer the flaxseeds to a bowl and add three tablespoons of water for each egg you need to replace. Add the water slowly while whisking vigorously. Whisk until the mixture takes on a gel-like quality.

Since flaxseeds are nutty tasting, this egg replacement works best when making things like whole grain breads, muffins, and pancakes. You may want to experiment to get a feel for the types of recipes you like this to be in.

Egg Replacement Product

There are several egg replacement products out on the market that are designed to be vegan friendly. Look at the packaging to make sure that it’s vegan safe and that it doesn’t contain any meat byproducts.

These egg replacement powders get mixed reviews. Some like them a lot, others don’t. They’re definitely convenient and good to have on hand. Once you get used to cooking vegan, you’ll start to learn which foods taste best with it in it.

Since there are several brands on the market, it may take a while to find one that you’re happiest with. When using, just follow the package instructions. They usually come in powder form. If you can’t get it at the health food store, you can easily get it online.

Try Tofu as an Egg Replacement

Tofu is also another option you can try if you need to find a replacement product. You can try any form of tofu but this may take some experimentation. Silken tofu seems to yield the best results. You can also use unflavored soy yogurt in the same proportion with similar results.

The nice thing about tofu is that it blends well with most flavors. Flax seeds, for example, have that distinct nutty flavor. Tofu doesn’t have a lot of flavor on its own, especially when paired with stronger ingredients. Another advantage is that it is widely available in most areas, even in the regular supermarkets.

To use, just take the tofu and blend it until smooth in the blender. Food processor also may work but it’s important to make sure that there are no lumps and the texture is as smooth as possible. To replace one large egg, use ¼ cup of the blended mixture.

You’ll need to do some experimenting to see which recipes work best with tofu as an egg substitute. It all depends on the kinds of recipes you try and your personal preferences.

Using Flour and Other Leavening Agents

You can also use pastes made from different kinds of flours and leavening agents to replace the eggs. The benefit is that most homes have these ingredients on hand. They also don’t have flavor of their own like bananas and flaxseeds do. They can blend into the batter fairly well.

It may take some experimentation to get the proportions right. Here are some options:
  • 1 tablespoon flour of any kind (try wheat flour, oat flour, or soy flour) and 1 tablespoon water for each egg.
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons water for each egg.
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch and 2 tablespoons water blended together also replaces one egg.
Finding the Right Egg Substitute

Again, as you try these different combinations, you’ll get a feel for which egg substitutes work best for which recipes. As a suggestion you may want to start with one of your favorite foods and try different egg substitutes until the flavor and texture you desire are reached.

For example, if you want to make a batch of blueberry muffins, you can substitute the eggs for any one of these substitution options. Make a note of how it tastes. Next time you make it, try another egg substitute. After trying several, think about which one was your favorite and stick with that. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to tell at a glance which egg replacement products work best for certain kinds of recipes.

Recipes to Celebrate a (Late) National Pistachio Day

Photo From OneGreenPlanet

Today was National Pistachio Day. Did you know that? I didn't. I didn't even know there was such a thing, though I guess there's a day dedicated to just about anything now days. Anyways, I can't remember the last time I had any so I decided to see what kind of recipes I could find that looked good and included pistachios (besides ice cream of course).




So in my search, the one I am going to try is actually a quinoa dish that uses plenty of pistachio nuts and another plus? It could be good both hot and cold. It uses vegan-friendly pesto with flavors derived from olive oil, pistachios, fresh basil and lemon juice. Toss some tomatoes and several other delicious ingredients and it cerainly sounds like a winner! So here we go: the Pistachio Pesto Quiona (from OneGreenPlanet). Go! Check it out and see what you think.

After all, they're delightfully yummy snack with tons of health benefits. Actually, I can't believe I haven't cooked anything with them before. As part of the cashew family, they're cholesterol free and have tons of nutrients. A single ounce serving gives you more than 10% of daily recommendations of copper, fiber, phosphorous, B vitamins and magnesium (According to AskMen). They also provide a good source of monounsaturated fat (the GOOD fat), which are shown lower LDL cholesterol (see this study).

 

Vegan Pizza Lovers Rejoyce! Cauliflower Pizza Bites

via Tatiana12


I have seen so many recipe's for cauliflower in the last few weeks that I had never seen before. I had no idea that cauliflower was so versatile!!!! As soon as I saw these cauliflower pizza bites, I knew that there was going to be an experiment going on in my kitchen before long. I'm not sure that pizza ANYTHING wouldn't taste good, but these even LOOK wonderful! Definitely the type of recipe you'd expect to see on the menu at some cute hole-in-the-wall vegan cafe in Brooklyn, or some-such place.


I'd love to hear some feedback from folks who are trying these recipes. What was your variation that made it POP? How did your children like it? Was the recipe a keeper, or a "never-again"? Any suggestions for what we should try next time? Leave a comment, and let's get this conversation rolling!

I've linked us to the recipe HERE.