I’ve been making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies since 1987. This is the first year, however, I’ve made a gluten free version! I’m so happy that it worked out, because these cookies have become part of our family’s holiday traditions.
I invented the original recipe based on a cookie purchased at Smith’s grocery store. (I don’t even know if the store still exists!) The original cookie was a pumpkin “cake” cookie with the chocolate chips. It was good, but not great. It had a lot of salt and baking soda in it. Because DH and I liked them so much, I experimented until I had a healthier, yummier version. The wheat version of these has been extremely popular with family and friends.
Traditional Black Forest Cake is made in layers of chocolate cake with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. While this version certainly isn’t traditional, it does pay tribute to the basic concept. It also contains much healthier ingredients.
I was originally going to add just beet pulp. I juiced 3 medium beets, which was all I had on hand, and it didn’t make enough pulp, so I added in the carrot pulp to get a full cup. I’m glad I did because the beet pulp had a very earthy flavor. I think a full cup would have been too much.
I’m working on raw treats right now!
In particular, I’m looking at various cake ideas. I found a recipe for Hummingbird Cake on the internet. Although my version deviated from the original, it’s still based in the tropical flavors, and it’s really yummy!
It uses the same concepts as my Raw Carrot Cake, the mix is made, then it’s pressed into a mold to make “squares”. I used my favorite mold for this type of treat, the Wilton silicone brownie mold. It works great for me, and makes bite size treats that are great for dessert, box lunches and snacks.
Last Saturday, DH had his first raw chocolate adventure. He made this:
I call it Raw Chocolate Bliss, because when I eat it, it makes me feel so HAPPY! It is a combination of raw cacao paste, raw cacao butter, vanilla powder, pure maple syrup, coconut nectar, walnuts and hemp seeds.
Many commercial chocolates give me a residual head ache. They also make me feel over-caffinated. Raw chocolate doesn’t have this effect, and it’s actually healthy!
We call this stuff “chezee”, since it’s not cheese, but it’s a vegan version! It’s comparable to a fresh, soft goat cheeze, mixed with herbs and can be used in recipes in place of it.
This is really easy to make, since the nuts can soak on the counter and once that’s done, it only takes a few minutes in the blender. But, if you don’t have a Vitamix, you may want to peek at the notes, first!
Whether your party is formal and fancy, or just a group of friends and relatives watching the Sunday afternoon game, this pate is a great crowd pleaser! The taste is rich and meaty, and can be used as a spread on crackers or bread.
It’s not hard to make. Here’s my setup.
After cooking, the mushroom mixture looks like this.
Add parsley and walnuts, and process until completely smooth.
When you think of football parties, does pizza come to mind? Well, here’s a vegan twist that you can make the night before: Pizza Hummus! It’s a healthy, delicious, pizza-flavored dip or spread you can happily add to your game day celebrations!
Making this is easy! Put all the ingredients in a food processor.
Pulse until everything is in smaller pieces and mixed together.
Add 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the chick peas and 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the dried tomatoes.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. A while back, I got this cookie cutter.
It’s the Fred and Friends Gingerdead Men Cookie Cutter/Stamps , and it’s under 7 bucks on Amazon! F&F has all kinds of fun and funny gadgets that will make you smile, some for the kitchen, some for entertaining, and many for around the house.
I knew I wanted to make a chocolate pumpkin cookie dough for these. I figured it would be nice and dark, showing off the frosting well.
Or mozzarella sticks… Doesn’t matter what you compare it to, I just call it “M-M-M Good!”
This is pretty simple to make, and you can use any type of tofu, except the silken varitey. If you make it from soft tofu, it often reminds adults of deep-fried mozzarella. Kids tend to like it made from a firmer tofu, and often say it tastes like chicken nuggets to them.
Here’s the setup.
I recently picked up the October/November 2012 issue of Living Without magazine because it had information about making a Thanksgiving Feast that was wheat and dairy free. In particular, I’m trying to figure out a GF pie crust that works and tastes good.
In addition, this issue has five recipes for GF crackers. Since we eat a lot of hummus, I’m always looking for something crunchy to go along with it.
I have always loved green beans. I will eat them hot or cold. In a soup, in a casserole, just plain… any way I can get them!
When I was a kid, I used to grab a can from the cupboard, open it and drain the liquid, rinse the beans, and pour my favorite salad dressing over them in the can and eat them for snacks.
Needless to say, canned green beans aren’t very good… but that shows you how much I love them.
Do you eat kale ? Well, you should!
But most people either don’t know what to do with it, or don’t like it. One of the Bountiful Baskets volunteers told DH that she feeds it to her rabbits! Wow! Her rabbits are eating healthier than she is!
Kale is loaded with nutrition that your body needs. Three and a half ounces of raw kale contains 13621 IU of Vitamin A, 72 mg of Calcium, 10 mg of Magnesium and 228 mg of Potassium! And that’s just for starters. It’s also a great source of Vitamin K, C and lutein. It is one of the foods that blocks the growth of cancer cells.
I’m sorry, there really aren’t any measurements. I was so excited to try out the new Vitamix that I didn’t write anything down.
Banana Pear Smoothie Servings
2
Equipment Required Vitamix Ingredients 2 bananas, frozen 1 Asian pear, cut in quarters, stem and seeds removed ice water Ocean Spray 100% Juice Cranberry Raspberry
I’ve been trying to figure out how to make a healthy, crunchy snack-type food in the dehydrator for several weeks now. One of the biggest problems I’ve had is spreading out my mixtures on the ParaFlexx sheets. I’ve just had no end of sticky messes. I’ve tried everything from spatulas to rolling pins to get everything even so it dries properly. My mixtures have (mostly) tasted good, but the texture has been a bit weird, drying uneven, and sometimes just too dense and chewy because of the thickness or ingredients.
Because we eat a lot of hummus here, we are always looking for something crunchy to go with it. There are plenty of tasty chips and crackers on the market, but they all contain a fair amount of sodium. So my goal was to attempt making crackers in my dehydrator.
This was my first attempt at making crackers. I did have a bit of a problem getting it spread evenly on the sheets, so a few of my crackers were a bit thin in the middle. I think next time, I will make individual crackers and see how that works out.
These are quick refrigerator pickles, so DH has dubbed them “Quickles”. They can be made with any combination of fresh vegetables you like. They are a really healthy snack, and will add the vinegar and dill flavor to main meals, such as the Southwest Veggie Burger ! They don’t really need any salt in the mixture if you use some Balsamic vinegar.
From the left, the vegetable mixtures in the picture are:
About Chickpeas: Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated. One hundred grams (about 3.5 ounces) of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only 0.27 grams is saturated), 7.6 grams of dietary fiber and 8.9 grams of protein. Chickpeas also provide dietary phosphorus (49–53 mg/100 g), with some sources citing the garbanzo’s content as about the same as yogurt and close to milk.