Happy Thanksgiving!

Me and the hubby and our first Thanksgiving as a married couple!

Me, Daddy, and my sister Catherine

And onto the Thanksgiving Dinner that I prepared.... about to be uncovered!

Yummmm!!!

Cornbread muffins, gravy, and wine glazed veggies

Stuffing and Purple Cauliflower

The beautiful table

My plate!! Look at how colorful it is! carrots, green beans, butternut squash, cauliflower and gravy, brussel sprouts with green apples, cranberry sauce, cornbread muffin, sweet potatoes,and stuffing!! Better believe I devoured this and went back for 2nds!

Chocolate Truffles

Vegan Cherry Cheesecake and Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Cherry Cheesecake

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday with your family and friends! Isn't that what it's all about anyways? Yummy food is just the icing on the cake, so to speak =]

Thanksgiving Feast!!!!!

So I spent all day yesterday making desserts (which I'll post tomorrow once they are all assembled) and today making all the main dishes and sides for Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Where else would you find purple cauliflower but NJ? haha

I just roasted it in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes

Cornbread muffins, recipe from "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone

Roasted Spiced Carrots

Vegan Gravy from Happy Herbivore

I added sauteed onions, garlic, and mushrooms like my Dad does in his gravy

Butternut Squash with Sage and Cranberries

Spiced Cranberry Sauce with Chardonnay and Orange Zest

Wine-Glazed Root Vegetables

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Macadamia Nuts

Garlic Glazed Green Beans from "The Vegan Table"

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Green Apples and Onions from "The Vegan Table"

Stuffing (before cooking it, we're going to do that tomorrow) from Vegetarian Times Magazine

Fudge

So my friend Bridget posted that she was making this recipe the other night, a low-fat fudge recipe. I thought wow that looks soo yummy! But of course I had to change it up a little bit!!

So first off I bought a box of brownie mix from Whole Foods which was 13.1 ounces. The recipe calls for a brownie mix that is 18.3 ounces. Hmmmm I wonder how I will ever figure out how much pumpkin to use. Oh yeah.... MATH!

I actually had my Algebra 1 students do this last year for an extra credit assignment. I gave them a recipe to make with a certain ratio that they had to scale up/down to make the correct amount. Of course I made them show all their work a separate piece of paper so they couldn't pretend to make the right amount. So I once again prove that math is not useless (a tireless question asked by teenagers).

Anyways back to cooking, here is my pumpkin measured out correctly with the brownie mix that I used.

Now I don't have this magical peanut butter that the recipe is asking for, so instead I found a tip online for making a similar version of peanut butter with less calories. It's so genius that I wish I had thought of it myself.

Combine 1 part peanut (or almond) butter with 1 part milk (regular or a substitute - I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk). You will get a smooth creamy mixture that is half the calories of regular peanut butter just like that mystery peanut butter hungry girl tells you to buy.

1/2 almond butter and 1/2 almond milk concoction in jar, next to my "fudge"

I then proceeded to dollop 2 tablespoons of almond butter on top of my fudge and then go to town with my swirling!

I put it in the oven at 350 for 35 minutes and this is what came out.

It is currently hiding out in the fridge until tomorrow morning where I can cut it into 36 little fudge squares that will be a fabulous 45 calories a piece! I will post an updated picture of the finished assembled product =]

Enjoy!!!

Dark Chocolate "Truffles"

So I got this recipe idea from: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/10/13/make-these-now/ I am really into larabars which are raw ingredients blended together. They are naturally sweet from dates and have tons of protein and fiber from the nuts! Well I decided to make a "healthy truffle" for our Thanksgiving dinner that we celebrate with my husband's side of the family the Sunday before the holiday. I'm hoping that everyone likes them since they are secretly really healthy for you!!!!

1 cup of cashews

1 1/3 cup of pitted dates

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of cocoa powder

2 squares of Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Unsweetened Baking Bar melted in the microwave for about 1:30 to 2 minutes

I blended the first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Once the first 4 ingredients were all chopped finely, I added the melted chocolate on top and then processed everything again! It resulted in a nice sticky but kind of gritty mixture. I just squished a handful of mixture in my hands and them formed them into little balls. Some I rolled in cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles, or leftover melted dark chocolate... and some I left plain!

Here are some pics of the amazing results. I really can't wait to share these with everyone because they are SOOOOOO delicious!!!

The recipe made about 17

You can click the picture to see all the yummy dark chocolatey-ness up close!!!

Cocoa powdered and sprinkles

One little plain ball and one rolled in extra chocolate... saved for tonight for me and the hubby =]

Oatmeal Pancakes!

So I really don't like whole wheat flour, or any kind of flour. Carbs still freak me out a little bit if they aren't in their whole grain form. So I had an idea. Oat bran is just ground up whole oats, but you can use it to make a hot cereal just like oatmeal. You only need 1/3 cup of oat bran to make the same amount of hot cereal as 1/2 cup of instant oats. Oat bran has more fiber and protein because the natural shell from the oats is still in the oat bran, and oat bran is less calories... but it has more volume which is why you can use less to make more cereal! Comparing oat bran to quick oats - oat bran has 50% less calories, 66% more protein, and 20% more fiber than quick oats!

So I thought that maybe I could use my pancake recipe to make oatmeal pancakes with a combination of oat bran and instant oatmeal instead of whole wheat flour. Let me just say that I didn't think something so HEALTHY could be so delicious!!!!! I was really impressed with myself because this was my first time ever coming up with my own recipe from scratch =]

Adding the nut butter (whether it's almond butter, peanut butter, or flavored peanut butter) really makes the pancake smooth and creamy. I made a batch without the almond butter and they were kind of gritty, the second batch with the almond butter was smooth just like pancakes, and my third batch I threw in some carob chips with the almond butter blend. So yummy!!! So onto the recipe!

Oatmeal Pancakes

¼ cup oat bran

¼ cup instant oats

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp of water (mix separately and then add in)

½ cup of unsweetened almond milk (or any unsweetened non-dairy milk you like)

1 Tbsp nut butter (almond, peanut, or flavored peanut butter)

¼ cup of carob chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all ingredients together with a wisk, or hand held mixer until smooth and creamy. Put your pan on medium low and pour pancake batter into pan. Make sure that the tops are bubbling before you flip the pancakes. If the pancakes are still raw in the middle they won't taste as smooth.

This recipe yields about 5 pancakes which is enough for one person (in my opinion). So feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed!

For 60 calories per pancake (including the nut butter!!) you can't go wrong with this recipe! (Most pancake mixes are about 80 calories per pancake before you even add the milk, eggs or oil).

Enjoy!!!! =]

PB and Chocolate

So I've really gotten into putting peanut butter in my oatmeal in the morning. The extra protein keeps me really full until lunch, and also gives me extra energy for my morning yoga class. (And sometimes spin on Thursdays). Here are 2 delicious kinds of peanut butter that I found at whole foods and I am really in love with. Mmmmmmmm. You can also spread these on a piece of toast, whole wheat bagel, and fruit!

I put the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl on a whole wheat bagel this morning that I topped with apple slices, so yummy!

For my Sunday breakfast I made a bowl of oatmeal with 1 tbsp of crunchy peanut butter, 2 tbsp carob chips, and 1/4 cup of frozen cherries. This was such a delish alternative to my usual pancakes!

http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=172832&prrfnbr=213701

Carob chips are amazing because they are sweetened with grains (like brown rice syrup or barley malt syrup) instead of sugar. They don't cause a spike in your blood sugar, and best of all - you can eat twice as many as regular chocolate chips for the same amount of calories and HALF the amount of sugar! Whenever I'm craving chocolate I just reach for these =]

Really Good Vegetarian Meatloaf

So I've never made or eaten lentils before and I wasn't really too sure what to expect from this recipe, but while it was cooking the house smelled of a wonderful aroma of all the meatloaf spices. When it came out of the oven we tried a bite and it was heaven! The top was nice a crunchy and browned while the inside was smooth and soft. It had all the taste and flavors that go into meatloaf, but without the meat! This is one of my favorite vegan meals that I've ever made and it is SO easy to cook up!! Def something I will be making all of the time, especially considering how good (high in fiber and protein) lentils are for you!!!

1½ hours | 10 min prep

SERVES 4 -6

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup lentils
• 1 small onion, diced (sautée this ahead of time or put it in raw)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oat
• 1 tbsp egg replacer with 4 tbsp water mixed together (or 1 egg, beaten)
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Add salt to water and boil in a saucepan.
2. Add lentils and simmer covered 25-30 minutes, until lentils are soft and most of water is evaporated.
3. Remove from the stove.
4. Drain and partially mash lentils.
5. Scrape into mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
6. Stir in onion and oats until mixed.
7. Add egg replacer, bbq sauce, garlic, basil, parsley, seasoning salt and pepper.
8. Mix well.
9. Spoon into loaf pan that has been generously sprayed with Pam (non-stick cooking spray) or well-greased.
10. Smooth top with back of spoon.
11. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until top of loaf is dry, firm and golden brown.

From: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/print?id=33921

Miso Soup

So I made this tonight because 1. it is my husband's favorite, and 2. it is so healthy for you and i never even knew it!!! I am copying and pasting from the website at the bottom because she does such an amazing job explaining why miso soup is so good for your body! Instead of wakame I just used the seaweed that you use for sushi, and cut the big sheets up into little slivers and threw them into the soup. You can really add anything that you want!!

"Miso soup is one of my favorite soups and it’s even healthier when you make it yourself. Okinawans, the people who are known for living long, healthy lives, even past 100 years old, drink miso soup every morning. Miso, which is made of fermented soybean paste, contains living enzymes that help you digest. So it makes perfect sense to start the day with a bowl of miso soup to get your body ready for digesting food throughout the day. Miso is also rich in beta carotene, protein, protects against radiation damage, and inhibits cancer. Seaweed has protein, iodine, calcium, vitamin A, iron, and antioxidants. Tofu balances hormones and has anti-cancer properties.

This miso soup recipe is so easy to make, you can make it in 10 minutes! I make miso soup every week and always prepare a big batch so that I can reheat the soup for the next 2 days. The measurements below are just a guide. You can put as much or as little tofu, green onions, and seaweed as you want. All you need to remember is that the ratio for miso and water is 1 tablespoon of miso paste per 1 cup of water. And 1 cup of water is enough for 1 serving or person. When you make miso soup, don’t boil the miso because boiling it will kill the enzymes.

For 4 servings of Miso Soup :

4 cups of water
2 stalks of green onions, thinly sliced
1 package of medium or regular tofu, cubed
4 teaspoons of dried wakame (pronounced “wa kaw may”) flakes
(sometimes packaged as “healthy sea vegetable”)
4 tablespoons of white miso paste

1. Start boiling 3 cups of water in a pot.

2. Soak wakame flakes in a bowl of cold water until they expand, about a few minutes.

3. Add thinly sliced green onions and cubed tofu into the pot of water. I usually add this into the water, even if it has not begun boiling yet

4. Drain the wakame flakes and add to the boiling water.

5. In a separate bowl, add miso paste to a cup of water. Whisk miso paste until it dissolves.

6. Turn off the boiling water and add the whisked miso paste. Mix well and enjoy!

*When reheating, heat the soup while stirring until it begins to boil, then turn off the heat. The miso soup will be heated thoroughly."

From: http://www.yummysf.com/miso-soup-recipe/