One of our favorite vegan restaurants in our area has an amazing fall salad with a cinnamon vinaigrette that I absolutely love. It’s lighter than most, however as is 
standard operating procedure for most restaurants, the dressing is oil-based. Oil-based dressings can add an extra 300-500 calories to an otherwise healthy, low-calorie salad, so we try our best to stay away!
Anyway, I set out to recreate the dressing without using oil, and I succeeded!! This will go beautifully on our Thanksgiving salad.
Cinnamon Vinaigrette
1/3 cup plain soy yogurt
2 TBS brown rice vinegar
1 TBS maple syrup (you may need more if your yogurt is unsweetened)
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 tsp low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
pinch ground cloves
1 TBS cashew butter or about 2 TBS soaked raw cashews
water for thinning, if desired
Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth.
Pumpkin Dressing. Vegan. Oil-free. Low-fat. Gluten-free.
As I’ve said before, I’m in love with all things pumpkin. This savory dressing is no exception. Other than my Pumpkin Soup, I’d never made a non-sweet pumpkin dish before. I was very happy with the results. Start small with the cinnamon and work your way up, tasting as you go. And, depending upon how much tang you like, start with 1 TBS lemon juice and go from there. I made this for a salad in which I put pomegranate and toasted pumpkin seeds – delicious! It would also be tasty on greens like kale, or steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
My friend Kathy asked me to make a scone in this flavor, so I did. 🙂
Quinoa. Not my favorite grain, but I’ve included it in my diet for several years now as I know it’s super healthy. It’s packed with protein (a complete protein containing all 9 essential amino acids), fiber (twice as much as most other grains), vitamins and minerals, and it’s gluten-free. I knew it could be eaten as a hot breakfast cereal, and on this cold, drizzly morning I decided to give it a try. Generally, I have my smoothie which has mixed frozen berries, banana, kale, spinach, flax seeds, etc., but just wasn’t feelin’ it today. I’m so glad I mixed up my routine. This hot cereal is so good! Experiment with different fruits and maybe add a sprinkling of chopped walnuts or ground flax seeds.
I was inspired to create these tasty muffins as I was preparing for a 5 hour flight for which I would be leaving my house at 5 a.m. I knew it would be too early for my usual breakfast smoothie, and I was already planning on packing a PB&J sandwich for later in the day….what would I eat for breakfast?? God knows there wouldn’t be options on the plane. Sure, I could have brought Starbuck’s oatmeal or McDougall’s instant oatmeal (great for travel) on with me but I wanted something different; something substantial, not too sweet, and didn’t need to be warmed. Thus, these Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Muffins were born!
I know it’s not officially Autumn yet, and it’s still miserably hot outside, but I’m longing for fall, dangit!! These pancakes hit the spot, and made me look even more forward to my favorite holiday – Thanksgiving! I’ve seen several recipes for pumpkin pancakes out there but the difference between them and mine is the amount of spices; I tend to be heavy-handed in this recipe. The stronger the flavors of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, etc., the better! I’m tempted to crank up the AC, put on a sweater, and eat these by the fire. Make these! They’re easy and delish! Let me know how you like ’em!
In honor of National Oatmeal Day on 10/29/16 (tell me about it; they have a day for everything), I wanted to share this recipe for Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal. I love it! The texture sort of reminds me of firm bread pudding. Better yet, it has no dairy, eggs, oil, gluten and is sweetened only with fruit! It’s really easy to make and great to serve for a brunch, your own breakfast or I often eat it as a snack. I like to eat it cold with a little soy milk poured on top, but it’s also really good warm. It’s mildly sweet so a little maple syrup drizzle wouldn’t be the worst idea. 🙂 One quarter of the pan is officially a serving but when eating it as a snack I generally slice up an eighth of the pan.
