Liquid Life

Liquid life? I’m talking about juicing. Juicing is a way to easily and efficiently ingest readily available nutrients. The whole foods have been broken down. It is refreshing and beautiful, you feel good and it gives you a glow.

Favorite Combinations:

-Cucumber, Kale, Green Apple, Lemon

-Carrot, Apple, Ginger, Beet

-Spinach, Parsley, Lemon, Apple

The possibilities are endless! Use anything that you have on hand. It is also a great way to get leafy greens, like kale, in a way that tastes great. Carrot, apple, and beet all have a lot of natural sugar that make the juices sweet.

My friends have told me that the juices I’ve showed them have tasted “like dirt” but  I just taste nature and raw goodness. I have thought about asking for a juicer with the holidays approaching however they can be expensive and hard to clean. A few years ago I asked for a rice cooker for Hannukah and my parents were indulgent enough to give it to me, it now sits in my basement. I also go to college next year and a juicer will not have space in my dorm room.

I have a fantasy of a roommate who I juice for and she cleans out the juicer.

How do you feel about juicing?

Out of the Blue-Vegan Blueberry Muffins

This recipe for vegan blueberry muffins has been sitting on my back burner for a while so my friend, Miranda, and I decided to whip some out for a fun afternoon baking session. Luckily we had most of the ingredients and only had to buy frozen blueberries and, because we wanted to make them vegan, Toffuti sour cream. This could be regular sour cream or greek yogurt. The fact that the blueberries are frozen was great because they are on the verge of being out of season so they can be made all year!

(Credit for this recipe goes to AverieCooks.com)

The batter before it was cooked was delicious and smelled heavenly of vanilla. When it was being baked the whole kitchen felt like fall, from the cinnamon and the warmth. It is vegan! A great trick it uses is replacing egg and most of the oil with ripe avocado, the riper the sweeter the better. Avocado is great because it doesn’t have a strong flavor and makes the muffin moist. The result was almost like a donut, the richness and firmness. My family, of non-vegans who are aware when food is not vegan praised these muffins!

The green batter, a little greener than Averie’s, from the avocado!

Taking them out of the oven! Heavenly smell!

Yumm final product

INGREDIENTS:

flesh from 1 ripe to very ripe medium/large Hass avocado, mashed very well (about 3/4 cup)

3/4 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil (melted coconut oil may be substituted)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream (use vegan versions if desired)

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch salt, optional and to taste

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (keep them frozen, do not thaw them; fresh berries may be substituted and baking time may be a few minutes less)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for tossing berries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a non-stick muffin pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I prefer cosmetically to not use liners, and they could stick to muffins; have not tested liners with this recipe)
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the avocado very well. Tip – The riper the avocado, the sweeter it will be and easier it’ll mash.
3. Add the granulated sugar, oil, Greek yogurt or sour cream, light brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, optional salt, and whisk to combine.
4. Add 1 cup flour, baking powder, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Set bowl aside.
5. In a small bowl, toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour, which prevents them from sinking as much while baking.
6. Gently fold blueberries into batter along with any flour that didn’t adhere. If using frozen berries, add them into the batter frozen, do not thaw. This prevents them from bleeding, running, and breaking apart as much.
7. Divide batter evenly among 12-cups in prepared pan. Each cavity should be filled between 2/3 and 3/4 full. Do not exceed 3/4 full, or muffins could overflow while baking. If you have extra batter, make a 13th muffin or sample the batter – it’s vegan and safe.
8. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.
9. Lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for another 15 to 17 minutes, or until muffins are done. Note – if using fresh berries, your baking time could be a few minutes less. Muffins are done when domed, golden, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. I baked for 15 minutes after lowering the temp, for a total of 25 minutes and used frozen berries.
10. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before removing. Muffins will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Vanilla Fig Cake

Vanilla Fig Cake from Vegan Yack Attack looks absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to try it!

The description is beautiful and the pictures are mouth watering.

Chocolate Oat Bar

In this recipe banana replaces sugar. This oat bar is wholesome, vegan, oil-free, and super tasty. The recipe has only four ingredients! 2 chocolate, 2 oats and banana

 

Double Chocolate Oat Bar (Heaven):

Ingredients:

• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup unsweetned cocoa

Pre-heat the oven at 350 degrees Farenheit.

Combine everything together and mix well with your hand to form a sticky dough.

Pour it into greased shallow baking pan and press it well with your hands.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Wait for them to cool down completely before you cut them. Store them in the refrigerator for best results.

 Notes:

To make Gluten Free  use GF oats and GF chocolate chips

Add nuts of your choice for a different variation

Add 1/4 cup oil of your choice for a crispier granola bars

Add 1/4 cup of sugar/honey for sweeter bars.

*My friend Lauren makes them with sugar free baker’s chocolate- heat before hand and mix with honey.

**They are also great topped with peanut butter or jelly

***Credits for this recipe go to http://www.lovefoodeat.com

Baked Chickpeas

I eat chickpeas very often,  I add them to salads or eat them plain. Recently, I decided it is a good idea to try baking them. Baking the chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, dries them out. The outer shell gets slightly crunchy and the inside is soft, somewhat like a french fry.

Baked Chickpeas:

-Drain and dry a can (or two) of chickpeas.

-Salt and pepper

-Bake at 400 degrees Farenheit for 30-35 minutes

*I am still experimenting with spices, do you know of any that are really tasty?

These are good warm but can be kept on hand for when a chip craving hits.

Fruit Candy

Dried strawberries are chewy and sweet like candy yet they are whole food and are full of natural sugar.

To make:
-Cut stawberries in half or quarters depending on size
-Lightly salt and pepper
-Bake at 210 degrees Farenheit for 3 hours]

(My first time making these I baked them at 310 degrees and the berries melted. I assume this is how you make fruit leather. This temperature is not recommended.)

Oats, Oats, and A Whey

Overnight oats. A variation on warm breakfast cereals such as oatmeal and other cold, processed, sugary breakfast cereals, overnight oats offer a wholesome, hearty breakfast made of whole foods. Oats…

The whole oats are soaked for a few hours or overnight, hence the name overnight oats, in the fridge. A recommended brand is Bob’s Red Mill. The oats are soaked in milk and yogurt of your choice. To make oats vegan omit yogurt or find one of the soy or almond variety. The same goes with milk, I use almond however there are many alternatives including rice, hemp, soy… I cover the oats with almond milk (only) and refrigerate: they get very moist. For added health benefits add hemp or flax seeds, cinnamon. The oats can also be soaked with fruit or nuts or nut butters to infuse them with flavors. When they are removed and you are ready to eat them top with additional fruits; berries, banana, peaches, dried fruits as well as nuts, nut butters, seeds. Top with granola.  A tasty variation I commonly use is peanut butter and jelly. I’ve also seen some overnight oats that are made in almost empty/used jars of peanut or sun butter.  Have fun experimenting! The possibilities are endless!

(There are also some other blogs that have great ideas).

Gourmet Vegan at Home

Get a load of this chick. Hummus, a chickpea spread, has become a staple in my vegetarian diet. The tahini condiment can be eaten with cucumber, carrots and pita. The combinations are endless. There are many variations of flavors on the market including red pepper, garlic, lemon, greek olive. My recent favorite is one that blows many of its competitors out of the water, Trader Joe’s Cilantro and Jalapeno Hummus. It is rich and has great depth. This paired with a nutty multi-grain bread and creamy avocado is satisfying and delicious in an open-faced sandwich.

Forget the “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun” and take a bite out of this decadent and fresh sandwich.

Restaurant Quality Recipe:

• Lightly toast a slice of multi-grain bread*
• Slather the slice of bread with Cilantro and Jalepeno hummus**
• Place lettuce of your choice; arugula, baby spinach etc. on top.
• Slice cucumber and tomato thinly and layer these.
• Top with avocado.
• Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

*or bread of your choice **or hummus of your choice

This dish is fresh and can be switched up by using different vegetables or hummus depending on what is available or preferred.

“Defending your Dinner:An Open Contest For Hungry Ethicists”

There is an essay contest in the New York Times Magazine’s “The Ethicist”. The topic is whether or not its ethical to eat meat. People submitting are meant to “Tell us why its ethical to eat meat.” There is a very respectable panel of judges. I had been debating whether or not I would submit my reasoning and play the devils advocate to my own views. These judges know a lot about what they are talking about and I have read their books and I feel like I might end up quoting themselves back to them, or even other texts. However the question of ethics is a moral decision. I feel like this would be hard to write considering that when I have browsed the online answers I ended up coming up with contradictions in peoples arguments instead of supporting them. For example, someone said “People have been consuming animals since people have existed. Before the dawn of the 20th century, it is likely this is a question someone would not even understand, let alone discuss.” However the industry has changed and it is no longer a matter of eating animals that are healthy. People have no idea where the meat they eat comes from. One of the reasons I started to love Chipotle was because it makes a point of using organic meat. Even though I didn’t eat the meat I wanted to support companies that went out of their way to produce high quality food, ethical food. It will be interesting to see the responses that get published. 

One response that I have seen so far is very interesting. “A reader enumerates the destructive effects of mankind’s advance across the globe – and then blames them exclusively on “the single fact of meat in the human diet.” This is conveniently narrow vision, because even a man who grows vegetables for human consumption (not feed for livestock) will tell you how destructive that can be if it’s not done thoughtfully and with consideration for the land and its future.” I kind of agree with this writer, that there must be more factors to the down spiral of the planet but there is definitely a connection between agriculture and production of meat, and one can’t deny that the industry hasn’t considered factors such as CO2 levels produced by cows and the destruction of soil layers. And there also happens to be other reasons for being a vegetarian.

I will keep an eye out for the responses. If you are constantly disproving everything  I say maybe you’d consider submitting your responses?