Holiday Almond Molasses Cookies

These were inspired by Spiced Chocolate Molasses Buttons which look like the peanut butter cookies that have the Hershey's kiss in the middle but are chocolaty and are rich with yummy molasses. I was going to add Carob so they kept closer to the taste of the Button cookies but I decided it wasn't needed...so they became more of a chewy (and crunchy!) gingerbread cookie and boy are they YUMMY!!

I am the kind of person that needs to always have cookies available in the house and I don't like to bake with refined sugar or butters. I'm always re-doing cookie recipes that look delicious with ingredients that I feel good about. Coconut oil, maple syrup, molasses, cinnamon, ginger....these are all ingredients that are good to our bodies! maple syrup has minerals and antioxidants (1T has 2% of our calcium need!), molasses has even more calcium and tons of iron, Coconut oil is mostly saturated fat so it is a bit contraversial. This is my opinion: It has antimicrobial, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties and is a plant based source of saturated fat which out body is able to process more efficiently as energy. Fat is essential to our diet and this along with fat from nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil are my diet's plant based fat sources. Cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels, reduce heart disease risk factors, and has a plethora of other impressive health benefits. Ginger can act as an anti-inflammatory, has anti-nausea effects, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol levels....it's one of the worlds healthiest foods! As for flours, I bake with whole wheat flour a lot, but spelt flour is even easier for our bodies to digest and has even higher mineral content.

Feel good about what you eat (even cookies!!)

Recipe: 

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup plus 2T almond flour

1T ground flaxseed

1t cinnamon

1/4t ground ginger

1/4t grated fresh ginger

3/4t baking soda

1/2t fine sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup molasses
1/2t vanilla

Whole almonds for the top after baked

-In small bowl mix together flaxseed with 3T water. set aside

-In large bowl mix together flours, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking soda and salt. Set aside

 -In separate mixing bowl (or with a hand-held mixer), beat together the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. 

-Whisk the flaxseed mixture for about 30 seconds until gelatinous and add to mixing bowl. Beat until combined. Add grated ginger.

-Add dry ingredients into the wet on a low mixing speed until combined.

-Cover cookie dough with parchment (pressing down the parchment onto the dough in the bowl so it's sort of air tight) and place in fridge to firm up for about 30 min. 

-After 30 min set oven to 350*

-Roll cookie dough into 1T balls and place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (about 12 cookies to a sheet).

-Bake for 14 minutes.

-Remove from oven and press a whole almond into the center.

Purple Cabbage Sauerkraut with Ginger

So many great health benefits to Purple Cabbage Sauerkraut. Purple cabbage is already a superfood in it's own right but when you make it into a raw sauerkraut the health benefits sky rocket! In addition to Vitamins A and C and loads of Antioxidants that the cabbage already provides, fermenting it in its raw state turns it into a powerful probiotic. This means it's great for your gut and your digestive system, feeding it with good bacteria and fighting off harmful bacteria! Probiotics have even been known to help with mental clarity and mood stability! We're all familiar with Kombucha Tea...it's all the rage right now with it's wonderful probiotic benefits. Well this Sauerkraut recipe boosts all the same health benefits and it's easy to make at home (and delicious!)!

Recipe:

1/2 Purple Cabbage shredded

1/4 inch-1/2 inch fresh ginger root, grated

1t salt

big mason jar

-Add shredded cabbage, ginger and salt to a large bowl and mix it and squeeze it and mush it and massage it with your hands for a while (5-10 min). The cabbage will start to release a lot of water. 

-After you've massaged it for a while, transfer it to your big mason jar, packing it all down in there and pouring all the water the cabbage released over the top. 

-Place the screw top on the mason jar and place the mason jar on a plate (the plate is necessary because the jar will leak out purple juices over the next few days).

-Leave it on the counter, out of sunlight for at least 7 days. The Fermentation process will have started on about day 4, but the taste will continue to develop the longer you leave it. 

-Give it a taste on day 7 and see if it's delicious. If it's too mild a flavor, leave it for a little longer...

-Once the flavor is what you like, store in the fridge. 

**Look for ideas about how to eat this Sauerkraut on my IG page: @riverlovesplants

Whole Wheat Flax Bread with Pepita Seeds

Homemade bread fills your house with the most amazing smell.....mmmmmm......and there is nothing better than a slice of bread right out of the oven with (vegan) butter. I make two big loaves every two weeks because we go through about a loaf a week. You can make this recipe into two big loaves or three smaller ones, just divide the dough up into two or three bread pans after the first two rises.

Recipe: 

8-10 cups whole wheat flour (I usually use Bobs Red Mill Whole Wheat)

3/4 cup flax seed (I usually grind my flax seed before putting it in the recipe because it's easier for the body to absorb and makes for a less-seedy bread but grinding is optional)

3/4 cup raw pepita seeds

5 cups warm water

2 T salt

4 T honey (or coconut sugar or raw sugar)

2 T yeast (two packets)

-In a very large bowl add warm water, honey, yeast and salt and whisk until dissolved.

-Add in 8 cups of the flour, the flax and the pepita seeds. 

-Stir with wooden spoon until combined. If it's very sticky add a little more flour and start to knead. You're going to knead the dough (in the bowl because it's less messy!) for 10-15 minutes. Add in more flour (up to 2 additional cups) a little at a time if the dough starts to stick to your hands as you knead. When the dough stops sticking to your hands, you know you have enough flour. 

-After 10-15 min of kneading, cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm dry place to rise (I usually put in the oven or microwave but make sure they are off) for 1 hour. 

-After the first hour, punch down the dough and knead a few times then cover to rise again as you did before for 1 hour. 

-After second hour, divide dough into two or three even portions (depending on how many loaves you want to make). Spray your loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and place dough in each one. press the dough down so it spreads over the whole pan and tuck down the sides with your fingers so the top of the loaf looks smooth. 

-Cover and let rise as you did before for 45 minutes. 

-After 45 min, set oven to 375* and bake for 30 min (27 minutes if using 3 loaf pans)

-Take bread out of oven and flip it out of the bread pans and set to cool on cooking rack.

White Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Otherwise known in our house as "Superfood Soup"

This soup is a great was to ring in the colder weather and give your immune system a boost!

Sweet potatoes provide not just the A Vitamin they are so well know for, but an abundance of antioxidants and vitamins!

 Kale is widely known as a superfood because it has a little bit of everything that our body needs...vitamins K, A, C, B6, calcium, iron, folate, protein...the list goes on and on!

 ...And we LOVE Beans in a vegan diet for their protein, but white beans like Cannellini Beans are supercharged with antioxidants which protect your body and your skin from free radicals. The destructive actions of free radicals have been linked to the development of a number of degenerative conditions and diseases.*

Recipe: 

1 medium yellow onion

2 cloves garlic diced

2 celery stalks cut up into small pieces

2 large carrots cut up into small pieces

1 tomato diced (or a 15oz can diced tomato)

6 cups water

1 bunch kale torn into small pieces, stems removed

1 medium to large size sweet potato

1 can white beans drained and rinsed

 

 -Heat a little olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. 

-Add onion, celery, carrot and cook for about 8 min. 

-Add in diced garlic and cook for a minute or two. 

-Add diced tomato and cook for about 3 minutes until everything looks caramelized

-Add 6 cups water, sweet potato and beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. 

-Season with salt and pepper

-Add Kale and cook a few minutes, until kale is just tender. 

-Serve with a little bread or even over a grain like farro or rice to complete the protein of the white beans! YUM!

* source: www.healthwithfood.org

Butternut Squash, Apple and Almond Muffins

I recently made these muffins to help celebrate my mom's birthday! They are every bit as sweet and delicious as cupcakes but without any refined sugar!

Recipe: 

3 cups diced and roasted (or steamed) butternut squash

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 whole wheat flour

1/2t salt

1/2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/4t cinnamon

1/8t ground ginger

3T ground flaxseed

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil

1t vanilla 

1 sweet apple peeled and diced

2T chopped almonds 

-Heat oven to 350*

-Line muffin tin with 12 baking cups

-Smash or process roasted (or steamed) butternut squash into puree and set aside

-In a medium size bowl, mix ground flaxseed with 9T warm water and set aside

-In large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.

-Whisk up flaxseed/water mixture for about 30 seconds until gelatinous. add squash puree, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. 

-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. 

-Fold in chopped apple.

-Scoop muffin mix into each of the 12 muffin cups

-Top muffins with some of the chopped almonds

-Bake at 350* for 35 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchini & Tomato "Ricotta" Pie with Quinoa Crust

Quinoa crust is a new thing i'm into these days...it's the easiest crust in the world to make and it's so much healthier for you than traditional flour pie crust. This pie is creamy and full of great flavor. Paired with a nice green salad, it's a really delicious, light and satisfying meal!

RECIPE:

For the Crust: 

3/4 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

2 flax eggs (2T ground flaxseed mixed with 6T warm water. whisk until gelatinous)

pinch of salt 

-Pre-heat oven to 375*

-Spray a 9" round pie pan with non-stick spray

-Mix ingredients together and press into the pie pan. Press it out all along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. 

-Bake in over for 10 min. and then let cool a bit before adding pie filling.

For the veggies on top:

1 med-large zucchini

6-7 small tomatoes

-Increase oven temp to 400*

-Using a mandolin at 1/8" slicing width, slice up zucchini into circles. (or just use knife and cut the thinnest slices you can)

-Toss the zucchini slices in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them out on a baking sheet. Roast at 400* for about 10 min. or until they just begin to brown. Take out of oven and set aside.

-Meanwhile, slice up the tomatoes into very thin slices and spread slices on a tea towel (or blot them with a paper towel) to get some of the water off. Set aside while you make Ricotta filling.

-decrease oven temp back down to 375*

For the Ricotta Filling:

(this is an adaptation from the Whole Foods recipe)

1 package extra firm tofu

1 1/2 T tahini

2 cloves garlic

3 T nutritional yeast

pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 teasp. white miso

juice of half a lemon

pinch of pepper

2T shallot

-Crumble tofu into high powered blender, then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until combined but don't over process. 

To Assemble the Pie: 

-Spread ricotta filling into the quinoa crust evenly using a spatula. 

-Arrange the zucchini and tomato slices on top however you wish

-Bake at 375* for 30 minutes and enjoy!

 

Superfood Chili

College Football Game Day is coming up (Go GA Bulldawgs) and our house has game-day food on the brain. It is game day food...but with this chili recipe, you'll actually be eating a giant bowl of disease-fighting protein-power goodness...so it's game-day food you can feel GREAT about! Dip chips in it, add some vegan sour cream, fresh cilantro...go crazy! It's SO GOOD!

Beans Beans Beans!!! I cannot say enough good things about beans. Lentils, black beans, kidney beans...this chili has it all plus tons of veggies. There is a hidden eggplant in here too although you would never know it. Eggplants are in season and I have them coming out of my ears with our CSA right now.....BUT the eggplant completely breaks down and adds to the meatiness of the chili and I promise you, you can't taste it, see it or feel it (my husband hates eggplant).

The spices are mild but delicious so this is one recipe that my 2 year old looooves as well. like...lick-the-bowl loves!

Recipe: 

1-2 T olive oil

1 large eggplant chopped into 1/2 in cubes

1 medium onion chopped

1 large clove garlic minced

 1 red pepper chopped

2-3 large carrots chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

1 cup brown or green dry lentils

4 cups water

1 28 oz can diced tomato

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

2 cups sweet yellow corn

2 T chili powder

1 T cumin

1 T blackstrap molasses

 - Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. 

-Add chopped eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring. 

-Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, red pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes or until onion looks just a bit translucent. (If it starts to stick to the bottom a little, that's ok, it adds to the flavor. But just make sure it's not burning to the bottom. If it starts to burn a little, add a touch of water or a touch of olive oil and stir it up off the bottom.)

-Add the cumin, chili powder and molasses and stir for 1 minute. 

-Add the lentils, water and tomato and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 25 min or until lentils are tender. (could take up to 45 minutes... I've actually had them take over 90 min before (and I never bought lentils from that place again!). It all depends on the age of the lentils and how they were stored.)

-When lentils are tender, add the black beans, kidney beans and corn and cook until just heated through. 

-Take chili off the heat and let sit for 10-20 min or so...then enjoy! It's SO freaking good!