Baked Ziti

The ultimate Vegan Baked Ziti recipe! Seriously soooo good. Warm, gooey, creamy and cheesy (but without any cream or cheese!) Easy to throw together too because you just throw everything for the
"ricotta" into your high speed blender. Non-vegans will love this ziti too! The vegan ricotta recipe is the same one I use for the Ricotta Pie found here.

Recipe:

Box of pasta of your choice (I usually do a whole wheat spiral kind)

1.5 to 2 jars tomato sauce (depending on how saucy you like it)

1 package extra firm tofu

1 1/2 T tahini

2 cloves garlic

3 T nutritional yeast

pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 t. white miso

juice of half a lemon

pinch of salt and pepper

2T shallot

Two big handfuls spinach (optional) 

-Pre heat oven to 350*

-Spray 9"x13" baking dish with oil

-Cook pasta according to box directions

-While pasta is cooking, crumble tofu into high powered blender, then add the tahini, garlic, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, miso, lemon juice, salt, pepper and shallot. 

-Blend until combined but don't over process. 

-Mix tomato sauce with two handfuls spinach. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the prepared baking dish and spread around.

-When pasta is done, drain. Spread half of the cooked pasta into the bottom of the baking dish.

-Scoop out half the ricotta mixture, 1 big spoonful at a time onto the pasta in the baking dish. place each scoop about an inch or two apart in three long rows over the pasta.

-Pour half the remaining tomato sauce into the baking dish. With the back of your spoon, spread the tomato sauce and the ricotta mixture a little bit over the pasta.

-Repeat with the remaining pasta, ricotta mixture and tomato sauce.

-Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350* for 30 min.

(serves 8 or gives your family great leftovers!)

 

Vegan French Toast (no egg)

This French Toast recipe is sweet and warm and comforting...everything you want in a hearty breakfast! The banana mixture creates a light and sweet, caramelized coating on the bread that tastes incredible. 

Ingredients:

  (Makes two servings)

4 slices of bread 

2T ground flaxseed

1 mashed banana

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2t cinnamon

fruit, maple syrup, vegan butter for the top!

-In small bowl, combined flaxseed with 6T warm water and set aside for a minute, then whisk together until gelatinous.

-In shallow baking dish, whisk together mashed banana, flaxseed mixture, almond milk and cinnamon.

-Add in the bread slices to the baking dish one at a time, soaking one side then flipping to soak the other. Let all the slices sit side by side in the mixture for about five minutes. Then flip and let sit another few minutes. (note: if you are using dense bread or day old bread, soak for an additional 5 minutes.)

-Meanwhile, while bread is soaking, heat up large skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray.

-When the bread is done soaking, place the bread slices in the heated skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. 

-Serve with fresh fruit, vegan butter and maple syrup!

Happiness Cookies :)

These are still our favorites!! Updated recipe below. We make these about every other week because in every plant-based diet, there must be a delicious cookie!! ;)

HAPPINESS COOKIES

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1T  ground flaxseed
1t vanilla
  3/4 cup plus 2T spelt flour
  1 cup oats
1/2t aluminum free baking powder
1t cinnamon
1/2t fine iodized sea salt
1/3 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup raisins or grain sweetened chocolate or carob chips (optional)
 

-Preheat oven to 350* and spray a baking sheet

 -Add 3T hot water to the flaxseed in a small bowl and set aside. 

-In a separate mixing bowl, mix up coconut oil and maple syrup with a hand held mixer (or in mixing bowl) until combined. 

-Whisk the flaxseed and water until it looks gelatinous (30 seconds or so) and add to mixing bowl. -Add vanilla and mix until combined. 

-Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix until combined. 

-Add oats and stir until combined. 

-Add nuts and raisins or chocolate/carob chips and mix

-Drop cookie dough rounds onto prepared baking sheet and Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. 

-Should make about 15 cookies.

*I call these happiness cookies because of the DHA/Omega 3s in the walnuts and flaxseed, the dietary fiber and phytochemicals in the oats (oatmeal is one of the foods to nourish the central nervous system) and the lauric acid in the coconut oil which helps your body fight off infection. These cookies help your brain function and help keep your body and brain healthy and happy!

Cardamom Breakfast Cookies

These breakfast cookies are perfect with a cup of tea in the morning or for a nice, relaxing moment during the day.  Just the right little touch of sweetness, they are dense, crumbly and flavorful. Plus you don't even need to get out a mixer to whip them up, you just stir everything together and throw them in the oven. It's really nice having these ready to grab if i'm on the go or if I need a zen moment.  Seriously, with a cup of tea, they are heaven. Cardamom has magical calming powers! ;)

Recipe:

3/4t cardamom

1/4t cinnamon

1/2 cup almond flour or almond meal

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

4T coconut oil, melted

1 flax egg (1T ground flaxseed mixed with 3T water)

3T nut butter

3T maple syrup

1 cup oats

1/4t salt

1/2 cup golden raisins or chopped dates or dried apricots or a combination

1/4 cup chopped raw pecans (optional)

-Heat oven to 350* and spray a cookie sheet

-In a bowl, stir together coconut oil, maple syrup, peanut butter and flax egg.

-Add the cardamom and cinnamon and stir.

-Add the flours, oats, dried fruit, pecans and salt and stir to combine

 -Form cookie dough into balls and flatten a little bit with your hand into a cookie shape (these cookies will not spread out while they cook) and place on cookie sheet.

-Bake for 18 min (makes about 15 cookies) 

*these cookies are crumbly when they are warm, but firm up when cooled.

Hearty Carrot Lentil Soup

I try to cook a meal with lentils at least once a week because they are just so good for your body. This soup is thick and hearty and a great one to make when you barely have any groceries. Somehow I always have a bag of carrots (I guess because I make veggie stock on a weekly basis), and the rest of the ingredients are regular staples that we always have around. Give it a try on a cold day with a nice rustic slice of bread. It's really filling and hearty but wont weigh you down because the ingredients are so clean and healthy!

Recipe: 

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

8 peeled and chopped carrots

1t cumin

1t tumeric

1t coriander

1/2t paprika

1/4t cinnamon

2 cups red lentils

1 tomato chopped or 1 small can diced tomato

6 cups water or veggie broth

unsweetened coconut milk (or almond or soy)

cilantro and crushed red pepper for serving

-Chop and saute onion in olive oil over medium heat in large pot until translucent.

-Add minced garlic and spices. Stir around for a minute or two.

-Add carrots and saute for about 10 min, stirring frequently.

-Add water (or broth), tomato and lentils.

-Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to simmer for 20 min or until lentils are tender.

-Add salt and pepper to taste

-Carefully pour hot soup into high speed blender and blend until smooth.

-Pour back into pot and add some milk so thin to your desired consistency. 

-Serve with cilantro and crushed red pepper.

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