Lemon Blueberry Loaf [gluten-free + vegan + oil-free]

LemonLoaf2 This was one of those recipes in which I had a craving for flavor (in this case, lemon) and a new dish was born.  Yummy! I’ve been experimenting more and more with aquafaba, the juice from canned chickpeas, and really liking the results.

It looks like there are a lot of ingredients here but a lot of them are spices.  It really isn’t any more labor intensive than any other loaf, muffin or cookie recipe I’ve got.  The key is to put the blueberries in the bottom of the loaf pan so that when it cools and you flip it over, you have a yummy, dark purple blueberry topping.  Cool looking and even better tasting.

Salted Chocolate Brownies [vegan, gluten-free, oil-free]

Salted Chocolate Brownies

Recipe updated/improved 1/8/17.  

I realize I have a brownie recipe on this site already but you can never have too many brownie recipes! This one is my favorite and really easy to make.  I’ve made them for dessert aficionados and non-vegan foodies alike and neither could believe they 1) were made with black beans and 2) weren’t made with refined sugar, oil or eggs like most brownies.  If you like peanut butter I recommend using it here, even though the flavor in the finished product is mild.  If you don’t like it or can’t have it, by all means use almond butter or the nut/seed butter of your choice.

Pumpkin Spice Brownies || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

PumpkinSwirlBrownies2

November 4, 2015

CHOCOLATE!

People are coo coo for cocoa.

Me? I like it.  Sure.

But I wouldn’t consider selling my offspring for the last bar on earth as some people I know might.  It’s good.  I enjoy a quality piece of dark chocolate or a chocolatey dessert as much as the next girl, but when I like chocolate best is when it’s paired with something else, for example, peanut butter, raspberry, or in this case PUMPKIN!

If you’ve never had chocolate and pumpkin together, you’ve been missing out! The warm spices we associate with pumpkin taste great with the rich chocolate.  This recipe calls for healthy whole foods like black beans and pumpkin, uses very little flour, and no refined sugar or oil, and no eggs or dairy of course.  The only not-so-healthy part is the chocolate chips but we only use 1/4 cup.  I really like to use the Wonderslim cocoa powder as it’s lower in fat and caffeine than typical cocoa powder.PumpkinSwirlBrownies3

Go ahead, make these.

And try not to eat the whole pan.

I dare ya.

WAFFLES || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

waffles August 28, 2015

I got a Waring-Pro double waffle maker a few years ago and have only used it twice.  I just couldn’t find a waffle recipe to my liking.  The first one was a disaster and the second just okay.  For my third attempt I scoured the internet and found several vegan recipes but they either contained oil, had bad reviews or weren’t gluten-free.  For the record, I don’t believe wheat/gluten is the evil food many people make it out to be but I seem to have a sensitivity so I go without, which is really no big deal. When done right, it really does force one to make healthier choices.  Which is why most people feel better and lose weight after cutting it out of their diet; not necessarily because gluten was making them heavy or feel badly but because by cutting it out they eliminated processed foods and crap.  But I digress….we are supposed to be talking about tasty waffles here, not gluten.

As I was saying, I couldn’t find a good waffle recipe so I took a chance and made one up, and man was I happy I did! These waffles came out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  I did have to spray the waffle iron with cooking spray – you just can’t get away from that; trust me, I know this from experience.  So have at it! I hope these work out as well for you as they did for me.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

IMG_9328Soft, chewy, gooey and chocolatey – that’s what these cookies are. Best part is they are a sinful tasting treat without the sin (maybe just a little bit).  Of course there is no oil or butter in these little gems, but I also tried to keep the flour, sugar and fat low.  You’ll notice the recipe calls for 2 med-large bananas.  As such there is a very small banana taste…very slight though.  If you aren’t a banana fan (I simply cannot imagine!), try using only one banana and replacing the other with 1/2 cup applesauce.  I haven’t tried this so I can’t say exactly what the end result would be, but it’s worth a try.

Enjoy your chocolatey goodness!

Sunflower Banana Muffins || gluten-free + oil-free + vegan + no sugar added

IMG_9303These muffins are an excellent way to use those overly ripe bananas sitting on your counter. The flavor of banana and sunflower seed butter is a delightful combination. The texture is dense and very similar to banana bread (yum!). In addition to being tasty and satisfying, they are also healthy, void of gluten, dairy, eggs, oil or sugar. What’s left, you ask? Healthy and delicious whole foods, including dates as a sweetener, which are chock full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Fudgy Brownies || vegan | gluten-free | oil-free

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These delicious morsels are a cross between fudge and a brownie, hence the name Fudgy Brownies.  They are so rich and sinful tasting, it’s amazing they are low-fat, contain very little flour, no refined sugar, and BLACK BEANS.  That’s right, black beans.  A whole can.  I know it’s weird, just work with me.  And be sure not to tell anybody until AFTER they tell you how awesome the brownies taste.  🙂

Pumpkin-Nog Pie | vegan, oil-free, gluten-free

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I’m sorry for not getting this recipe up before then, but hopefully some of you are looking for just the right vegan pumpkin pie recipe for the Christmas holiday.  PumpkinPie2014I’ve been “scolded” by readers in the past for not having a pumpkin pie recipe on my blog.  Oops.  I’ve been making vegan pumpkin pies for years but have never been 100% satisfied with them.  Flavor is always yummy – pretty hard to screw that up, but the texture is where I felt improvement could be made and until I made it, I didn’t want to share a recipe.  Vegan pumpkin pies, or those not using sweetened condensed milk, often come out too soft for my liking. I like a firm pumpkin pie and this pie fits the bill.  In fact, it’s so firm that you don’t need crust at all! You can bake it directly in a pie plate! So, if you like a gooey, mushy pumpkin pie, don’t make this one!  I also ADORE non-dairy, eggless eggnog (i.e. soy nog), and have combined the yummy pumpkin with it in this pie.

For Thanksgiving this year, I created a gingerbread crust for this pie at the request of my daughter.  The crust was yummy, however, combined with this already spiced pie, it was a bit overpowering.  My suggestion for this pie filling is to use it with a mild flavored crust.  You can buy a pre-made plain wheat crust, or make your own, of course.  I really despise working with dough – makes me anxious – which is partly why I was happy to create a crust made from oats, dates, walnuts, etc.  Fatfreevegan.com has a yummy Oatmeal Cookie Crust that would work well too.

Also, if you don’t like eggnog, feel free to substitute any other type of nondairy milk.

Gooey Pumpkin-Oat Bars | vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, flour-free, low-sugar

IMG_9175I’ve said it many times – I.  Love.  Pumpkin.  All things pumpkin, whether it be savory or sweet.  I especially love the spices that are associated with pumpkin flavor – cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice, etc.  These delicious bars have them all.  The bars are substantial and very moist (hence the name Gooey Pumpkin Bars).  I only used rolled oats so no need for flour here.  The only sugar in the batter is 1/3 cup and I used Sucanat which is minimally processed.  The chocolate chips add sugar, of course, and are optional (but, um, why would you leave them out?). Seriously, you may opt to leave them out if you plan on eating these for breakfast, or leave them in for more of a dessert item.  For gluten-free bars be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.

Dragon Fruit Delight

So, I took a food photography class (http://www.mdrphotographyclasses.com) last weekend in LA and it was awesome.  I’m trying to be better about not just using my cell phone to take pics of my culinary creations.  I mean, the phone takes great pics and all, but it’s time to get real and ‘master’ that fancy camera that has been collecting dust in my closet.  I love photography – the creative part.  The technical aspect is a whole different animal, one I’m committed to not being intimidated by, moving forward.  Anyway, in class we had to take pics of food (duh) and I chose to capture dragon fruit.  If you’ve never seen it, it’s a mixture of scary and insanely beautiful, inside and out.  My instructor kindly gave me some to take home and challenged me to come up with a way to prepare and eat the lovely fruit.  So, I did.  It’s very simple, with only a few ingredients, but it’s delicious.

Frieda’s is an exotic fruit distributor (they kindly donated the fruit for the class) running a campaign right now called #FearNoFruit.  I love that!  The challenge is to eat a different, scary, obscure fruit each day.  If you aren’t able to locate Frieda’s produce in your store, speak to your retailer’s produce manager and ask for Frieda’s products by name.  If that doesn’t work, visit www.friedas.com.  The site is also a great resource for funny and informative how-to videos if, for example, you have no idea what to do with a raw artichoke.

Now go eat something beautiful!