First blog post- I couldn’t find vegan hacks like mine anywhere else, so I figured I would make my own blog!

I didn’t grow up with vegan or even vegetarian parents, and only went vegan a few months ago.  I tried to look up simple yet delicious vegan recipes, but I found that I either didn’t have the majority of the ingredients on hand, or my omnivorous boyfriend would just turn his nose up at them.  So, I started experimenting with my own recipes.  It was the most fun I’ve ever had, and even my boyfriend liked them!  So I figure that if a strictly beef and bread kind of guy liked my creations, that maybe other people will as well.  Enjoy!

Easy vegan pumpkin cookies

These pumpkin cookies are easy to make, moist and delicious but be careful! They go fast!

what you will need-

2 cups flour (I used white but brown rice flour makes a great substitute if you are gluten free)

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and cinnamon) in a small bowl.  Use a fork to combine and to sift.  Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a larger bowl or a mixing bowl.  Combine throughly.

Spoon in the dry mixture until the wet and dry ingredients are completely mixed together.

On a greased cooking sheet, spoon tablespoon sized dollops 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are crisp.  Allow to cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet then finish cooling on wire racks.

enjoy!

note- these cookies are incredibly moist,  it if you prefer them crunchier you can cook for a longer period of time, just be careful not to burn them!

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

With only six ingredients and no fancy kitchen equipment needed, the hardest part of this of this recipe is waiting for it to sit in the fridge overnight!  It might be my new favorite treat!

What you will need:

1/3 cup chia seeds

4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

3-4 Tablespoons of maple syrup 

I tend to find it easier to pre measure all my ingredients and have them in small containers. Especially because I can put all the food containers away and clean off any measuring tools and put them away before I start to cook.  That way i don’t have as much clean up after I’m done cooking.  This is obviously completely optional, but I find that it makes clean up easier in general.

First, put the chia seeds, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl.  Using a fork, sift and combine the dry ingredients completely.  Keep stirring until all the clumps are gone and the mixture is uniformity combined.

Next, mix in the almond milk and maple syrup.  Mix completely, until you think that you have over mixed it pretty much.

Place in a clean glass container.  Let it rest overnight.

When it looks like this it’s ready!

You can enjoy it plain or add toppings such as blueberries, coconut flakes, or pretty much anything vegan!

enjoy!

Note- if the texture is not to your liking, simply put it in a food processor or blender.  It will have the consistency of regular pudding.

Chocolate oatmeal with pistachios, blueberries and avocado

 

I can never get enough oatmeal, and it’s so versatile that the flavor possibilities are pretty much endless!  Okay, I know chocolate, pistachios, blueberries and avocado might sound a little out there, but it’s one of my new favorite breakfasts!

What you will need:

1 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 tsp. Unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp. sweetener of choice (I prefer Splenda )

Avocado

blueberries

pistacios

First, heat the plant milk on the stove on medium high heat.  Once it’s boiling, add the oats, cocoa powder, sweetener of choice and cinnamon.  Lower heat and allow to simmer for about five minutes, until cooked.

Take the avocado and cut in half.  Set the side with the seed aside.  While the skin is still on the avocado half, cut slices lengthwise.  Take a spoon and scoop out the slices.

Place cooked oatmeal in a bowl, top with pistachios, blueberries and avocados and enjoy!

Sweet and smokey butternut squash

This has a steak house type taste, with smokey flavors and spices!  It’s  vegan and is easy to make at home.  With only seven ingredients and almost no kitchen tools required  it’s sure to become one of your favorite twists on butternut squash.

what you will need-

l/2 butternut squash

2 TBSP coconut oil

1 tsp liquid smoke (I like hickory flavor the best for this recipe)

2 TBSP maple syrup

1 1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

First, pre heat the oven to 400 degrees.   Wash the butternut squash well and cut in half.

Scoop out all the seeds.  Set aside for now.

In a separate small bowl, mix the maple syrup and liquid smoke until combined as wet ingredients.  In a different small bowl, measure and mix the dry ingredients (garlic powder, chili powder and paprika).  Mix with a fork for the best combination.

Melt the coconut oil by itself and leave it separate from the other ingredients.

Line a glass baking dish with tin foil and put some coconut oil on the foil.  Place the squash as pictured.  Drizzle the melted coconut oil on top.  Next, drizzle the wet mixed ingredients.  Sprinkle the spice mixture on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until tender, flipping half way through so that the skin is now facing up.

Vegan bacon flakes

Why are these called vegan bacon flakes?  Because using coconut flakes as a base gives it such a nice crunch!  It’s smokey,  savory and makes a wonderful salad topper!  Plus, it’s an easy recipe that requires five ingredients and about 20 minutes.

What you will need-

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (slightly underfill the cup)

1 TBSP soy sauce

3/4 TBSP liquid smoke

1/2 TBSP maple syrup

1/4 tsp. paprika

Directions–

Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl,  mix the soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup and paprika together.  In a separate and larger bowl, place the coconut flakes.  Next, slowly drizzle the wet mixture on top of the flakes.  Stir to make sure all the flakes have been covered.

Next, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Use Pam or coconut oil to grease the baking sheet. (You can also use parchment paper)

Put coconut flakes on top of the pan, making sure to spread them out so that they are very thinly lined up.

Cook for 15-20 minutes.  Making sure to flip at least every five minutes and to move some of the flakes from the edges to the center.

This is makes sure it comes out even!  Watch very closely after the first 10-12 minutes to ensure the flakes don’t burn!  They are thin and can burn easily.

enjoy!

They are PERFECT salad toppers too!

Sometimes, presentation really is everything when you are trying to eat healthy

I really didn’t understand how important presentation could be until I went vegan and tried to be committed to eating healthy.  I didn’t understand why it seemed so hard at first.  I mean, yes, I was trying to go from a junk food filled vegetarian diet to a health food vegan diet pretty quickly.  That was a huge change, but I didn’t think that an educated adult would really struggle to make healthy choices as much as I did, especially in the beginning.

Anyone who has ever tried to make big life changes knows it’s difficult to stick to those changes.  It also rarely happens on the first try.  I didn’t understand how much the appearance of food influences us on concious and subconscious levels.  Watching documentaries about food made me aware of how food companies spend so much time and effort on brand colors, package colors, food photo shoots with inedible food doubles because they photograph better.

The point was driven further home when I would ask my omnivorous boyfriend to try something I made.  The first few dishes I tried were very simple, but I didn’t worry about how the food looked.  So he wouldn’t want to try the vegan dishes because he admits that he hates 90% of vegetables.  I started putting them on pretty plates and making sure that the food always looked really beautiful.  He tried every dish without hesitation.  He didn’t like all of them, but he didn’t resist trying any of them.

When I find myself eating junk food or just not always eating as healthy as I should I remember this and do everything I can to make my meals and snacks as pretty as possible.  It makes it so much easier to stick to eating clean and healthy if you are making it as enjoyable as possible on every level.

Here are a few things that helped me-

Buy cute plates and use sauce holders to hold dipping sauces or just to separate snacks to make grazing easier.

Or- get creative and use natural snack holders like sliced bell peppers

They make great and colorful edible snack holders!

This would be a really adorable appetizer or snack!  

(Tip– if you make this, save the top.  Then, cut off the stem and place it back into the hollowed out pepper upside down.  If you place the slices of the other colors of pepper on that they will sprout out like in this picture instead of being the same height as the holder pepper.)

Don’t forget to use lots of colors!  I love putting all different colors of vegetables in my rice dishes.  It makes it pretty as well as nutritious!

Interesting shapes can also make food look beautiful and make your meal or snack feel special. 

Cookie cutters can make really cool shapes out of pretty much any fruit or vegetable.  A knife also works really well but is a bit more difficult.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and to make your healthy vegan food something that you feel lucky to get to eat!

Three ingredient double chocolate oatmeal

Double chocolate oatmeal really doesn’t get any easier than this.  Three ingredients and five minutes are all you need!  It’s vegan, delicious, easy and another great excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast!

what you will need-

1 cup chocolate cashew milk

1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1 tablespoon mini vegan chocolate chips

Put the chocolate cashew milk in a pot and heat on medium high heat.  Once it begins to boil, add the oatmeal and bring down to medium heat.  Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put the oatmeal in a bowl, and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Enjoy!

Easy vegan applesauce cake

This cake is very easy, extremely moist and delicious, oh and it’s vegan.  It’s a quick and easy recipe using ingredients you already have in the kitchen, so it’s great for when you want a quick and easy dessert.

what you will need –

1/3 cup coconut oil (and a little extra to grease the baking pan with)

1 1/2 cups applesauce (unsweetened)

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Use a small amount of coconut oil to grease the baking dish with.

Put the coconut oil and applesauce into a microwave safe bowl.  Measure and set aside the sugar.  Measure walnuts (if you are using them) and place them in their own bowl. Set aside for now.

In a separate bowl, measure and put in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Use a fork to stir the dry ingredients together.  This will sift and combine all the dry ingredients.

Place the bowl with the applesauce and coconut oil in the microwave.  Microwave for a minute, until the coconut oil is melted (or at least mostly melted).  Remove from microwave.

Using a mixer (or hand mixer), blend the applesauce and coconut oil completely.  Add the sugar and mix.  Next, add in the dry ingredient mixture slowly, adding only a few spoonfuls or about a quarter of a cup at a time.  Continue mixing until everything is completely combined.  If you are adding walnuts, add them in now.

Spoon batter into baking dish.  Cook for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely, slice and enjoy!

Easy vegan gluten free peanut butter cookies

I love peanut butter cookies and I even like this gluten free vegan version better than the regular peanut butter cookies I grew up eating (sorry mom!).  I did use my mom’s recipes as inspiration, because I wouldn’t have thought of using applesauce in these if I hadn’t seen her use it in her cake recipes.

what you will need-

3 tablespoons brown rice flour (these can also be used making regular flour if you aren’t gluten free)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons apple sauce (unsweetened all natural)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

First, pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Next, measure out the 3 tablespoons of brown rice flour and 3/4 teaspoons baking soda.  Sift and mix with a fork in its own bowl.  Set the dry ingredients to the side for now.

Mix together the peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, apple sauce and vanilla extract.  Once it is mixed well, spoon in the dry ingredients and mix until dough is uniform.  The dough will be thick.

Roll dough into balls about 1-1 1/2 inches thick.  Place dough balls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.  (Don’t forget to save some of the raw dough to eat later!  Go ahead! It’s vegan and completely safe to eat raw.)

Take a fork and lightly press down on the dough balls.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.  (Cooking times will vary slightly based on the size of cookies)

Allow to cool completely and enjoy!

Vegan no bake chocolate, peanut butter and coconut oatmeal cookies

This no bake cookie recipe is perfect for satisfying a sweet tooth!  Chocolate, peanut butter and coconut is my new favorite combination!  Surprisingly easy and healthy snacks that are perfect for a weekend of Netflix and chill.

what you will need-

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/4 cup shredded coconut flakes

1 cup oatmeal (you can use a gluten free variety to make the recipe gluten free)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegan mini dark chocolate chips (optional but recommended to use for a topping)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Put the coconut oil, almond milk, sugar and cocoa powder into a medium pot and set aside.

Measure out the coconut flakes, oatmeal, peanut butter, vanilla extract and chocolate chips and put in separate containers.  This will make adding them later much easier.

Take the pot with the coconut oil, almond milk, sugar and cocoa powder and put it on the stove.  Heat on medium heat until it begins to boil gently.  Stir constantly and allow it to simmer for one minute.

After it has been simmering for one minute, remove from heat (or just turn off stove if you are using a gas stovetop).  Add in the coconut flakes, oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla extract.  Stir until combined completely.

Scoop the mixture onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet.  I used a big flat plate because it’s prettier.

Top with the chocolate chips (again, optional but I recommend it).

allow to harden at room temperature for at least a half an hour.

Enjoy!

note- if they are a little bit crumbly and tend to fall apart, stick them in the freezer for a few minutes to make them less likely to fall apart.