Time to move on.

Hi everyone. Thanks for being wonderful readers of my blog. I have some exciting and sad news. The sad news is that I'm closing up shop on blogger. Don't get me wrong, I love blogger which is why I will miss it. Who knows, maybe I will post here and there just for old time's sake. However, I now have a new blog with a cool new domain name it's called http://guiltfreeglutton.com and I already have 3 posts. It' was my goal to have four before the end of January. I still have a couple days and I'm still deciding what to post for the 4th. So, I do hope all of you will join me at my new blog!! I will miss you if you don't come!!! See you at my new blog! :)

Look, Ma! No Eggs!! Vegan Omelette

I woke up to some vegan documentary on TV. I have no idea what it was but it then inspired me to make a delicious vegan breakfast that even my non-vegan boyfriend would enjoy. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts (to me a healthy breakfast would consist of all raw fruits and veggie juices or smoothies) but it was a rainy Saturday morning and we both were off work for once so we decided to have a treat. I made pancakes with blueberries and bananas, hash brown potatoes and a vegan omelette. My favorite omelette was always spinach and mushrooms. Luckily, I had a portobella mushroom, some spinach and Daiya (gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free) cheese, hanging around in my fridge. So, I whipped this up  and it was so delicious I had to share the recipe. Of course you can top with whatever you like. Here are a few ideas I had: chorizo and salsa, sauteed veggies, sauteed eggplant and cheese, chili with cheddar. You could do whatever you like with the toppings, get creative!

Vegan Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette
"Egg" Mixture
10 ounces silken tofu
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Place all "egg" ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Add 1-2 TBS water if necessary.

Topping
1 portobella mushroom cap sliced
1//2 C baby spinach
1/4- 1/2 C Daiya cheese

Sautee mushrooms and once they are cooked to your liking, reduce heat and add the spinach to wilt it.

Assemble
Pour about half the mixture into a skillet over medium heat, it will be thick so spread it out a little with a spatula or spoon (don't spread much as it will spread very thin as it heats). When it starts to bubble (kinda like a pancake) add the mushrooms and spinach watch closely until it begins to brown around the edges it will stop bubbling in the middl. Add the cheese then use the spatula to lift the edge of the omelette and fold over. Cook until the cheese begins to melt and flip to the other side. Once cooked you will have a tasty omelette crisp on the outside and soft and cheesy in the middle. FYI- the "egg" mixture also makes a fantastic cheese sauce for vegan quesadillas or mac and cheese.

Vegan Tofu "Turkey" Roast

Need a roast for the holidays that's delicious and not too hard on the wallet like those $20-$40 vegan roasts you see at Whole foods around the holidays? Of course you do! This is the one and it's perfect for Thanksgiving or any meal where you might wish to have a vegan replacement for Turkey. It has a nice crunchy skin and is full of flavor. It goes great with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Vegan Tofu Turkey Roast

Tofu "Turkey" Roast

Step 1
Salt tofu

Step 2
1 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp hickory smoke
2 tsp agave
1/4 c soy sauce or bragg liquid aminos
2 c water

Step 3

1/4 c corn starch
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

Step 4

Yuba (bean curd sheets)
Olive oil
Salt
Rosemary

Step 1
Salt tofu and use a fork to poke holes in tofu. The more holes you make, the more the tofu flavor the tofu will absorb. Set aside.

Step 2
Prepare marinade. Mix all ingredients in step 2 add tofu and let marinate overnight or for at least a few hours. It works best if you can marinate overnight or even better if you can let it sit for 3 days.

Step 3
Place step 3 ingredients in a bowl and mix. Roll marinated tofu in the mixture to thinly coat.

Step 4
Wrap tofu in  bean curd skin and cut off excess. Brush skin with olive oil, salt and rosemary and place in oven. Bake at 375 until golden brown. Some of the skin will be crunchy some will stay soft. 

Coco-Nog (Vegan Soy-Free "Egg" Nog

Just in time for new years,  here is my recipe for Coco-Nog, named for coconuts which make this nog recipe rich and delicious. I am dedicating this recipe to my grandmother, Mary Ellen Anderson, who can't have a lot of sugar. This nog is full of healthy medium chain fatty acids from coconuts, is low in carbs and sweetened with Stevia in the Raw, which is a combination of Stevia and dextrose which is a safe alternative sweetener, that contains no dangerous chemicals like Splenda, Equal, etc. I am also including the high-carb version sweetened with coconut sugar (safe for diabetics but does still contain carbohydrates but they break down slowly and therefore coconut sugar still has a low glycemic index, plus it has a delicious butterscotch flavor) and a good amount or rum (not recommended for diabetics or those avoiding carbs). Both are delicious! Even a vegan friend who hates coconut loved this nog!

Coco-Nog (low carb version)
2- 15 ounce cans of coconut milk (get the thick kind with 90% coconut and nothing but water added if you can)
meat of one young coconut (if you can't find this, just leave out the water)
6 packets of Stevia in the Raw
2 T vanilla extract
1 T rum flavor (optional)

1/4 C water
20 ice cubes

Nutmeg

Place coconut milk, coconut meat, stevia in the raw and vanilla in blender, blend until smooth. Let sit in fridge until ready so serve, add 1/4 C water and 20 ice cubes and blend again. If your blender is small, you can do half the mixture at a time with only 10 ice cubes. Pour nog into glasses sprinkle nutmeg on top and serve.

Coco-Nog (high-carb version)
2- 15 ounce cans of coconut milk (get the thick kind with 90% coconut and nothing but water added if you can)
meat of one young coconut
3/4 C coconut sugar
2 T vanilla extract

1/2 C rum
20 ice cubes

Nutmeg

Place coconut milk, coconut meat, coconut sugar and vanilla in blender, blend until smooth. Let sit in fridge until ready so serve, add 1/2 C rum and 20 ice cubes and blend again. If your blender is small, you can do half the mixture at a time with only 10 ice cubes. Pour nog into glasses sprinkle nutmeg on top and serve.

BLT- Vegan Tofu Bacon

I handed my boyfriend this sandwich and waited to see what he thought. He took a big bite, chewed it up, paused for a bit then said: "I'd buy this."
Success!!

Vegan BLT!

We had a late night getting out of work at about 2:30am and of course in spite of the late hour we were both starving. I don't know why I had the bright idea to whip up some BLTs with tofu bacon but I'm glad I did. Hope you are too!

This is a simple sandwich:
1. Toast bread of your choice
2. Add vegan mayo of your choice. I like Veganaise.
3. Slice tomatos place on top of bread along with chopped romaine lettuce
4. Add bacon
5. Slice
6. Eat

Here's the bacon recipe:
Slice 8oz non-GMO organic firm tofu (not silken) into thin strips and set aside.
Mix 1/4 C water 1TBS liquid hickory smoke, 1 tsp organic raw agave, and approximately 1/4 tsp sea salt.

Place the strips and liquid in a pan and heat until most of the liquid boils out then add olive oil approximately 2-4TBS and fry until crisp.

*For Paleo dieters: sub shredded coconut for tofu to make something similar to bacon bits.

Make Your Own Dole Whip!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. When you work in a theme park occasionally it just eats your life for months or so at a time. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun but sometimes your life just isn't your own.

So, to make it up to you, this post is about a delicious theme park treat you may have tried just outside the Disneyland Tiki Room. Made with Dole pineapples, this stuff is really popular and refreshing so as you can imagine there is always a line for this one hot days at Disney. It does contain extra ingredients that are not so healthy though. What I discovered recently is that I can make a comprable treat without anything but pineapple... well, and a Champion juicer.

All I had to do to make my own pineapple whip was put the blank on and push frozen pineapple through the juicer and that was it. So for breakfast I had delicious whipped pineapple and clean up was simple, everything just rinsed clean. Love the simplicity of raw foods. For added creaminess and sweetness, you can add a frozen banana but I like it just like this. Pineapple is naturally sweet so no need for sugar. I bet it would be yummy topped with raspberries and slivered almonds. For fun, and because I love chocolate, I added chocolate syrup. I just bought this Santa Cruz organic chocolate syrup. It still sugar but if you have ever as a vegan missed thick creamy hot fudge, this stuff is a great replacement. Mmm. Oh and you could also make a yummy pineapple float just swap out the blank for the screen and make some pineapple juice to add to your frozen confection. Simple and refreshing. If you don't have a juicer that will work for this, I apologize. You should consider getting one. If you can't afford the over $261. price, just keep checking places like craigslist and Ebay. It's worth it! Anyone out there know of other juicers that can do what the Champion does? I love the Omega but not sure it has the same features. Maybe a Vitamix would work?

Home made Dole Whip. Yummy!

Bitter Melon Salsa and Gluten-Free/Grain-Free Crackers/Chips

I was looking through my produce I got in my box from the Farmers Market and there was something in there I never tried before.

It looked like this but I'm not sure. Anyone know of anything else that looks like this?

Mom identified it as bitter melon. I think she was right. Anyway I peeled it and tasted it. It tastes kinda like a cucumber but the seeds are not really edible. I thought it would be great in a salsa. I got a ton of fresh sage in my box as well so I added that in and I have to say it's pretty good.

Bitter Melon Salsa:

1 large bitter melon 

1 yellow pepper

1/4 C onion chopped

1/4 C fresh sage chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

juice of one lime. 

Peel remove seeds and chop your bitter melon and pepper. Add in the chopped onion and sage and minced garlic mix it all up with the juice of one lime and this it. Simple. 

Crackers/ Chips:

1/2 C yellow flax seeds

1/2 C almond meal

1/4 C water

juice from 1/2 a lime

salt as desired

Mix the flax seeds, almond meal, lime juice and water. Let stand about 10 minutes then flatten  the mixture into crackers or chips and place on a piece of parchment paper. For best results, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. You can dehydrate  them if you want them to be raw or cook them in the oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven or dehydrator when firm. I used to have a dehydrator but sadly I left it when I moved so I had to cook my crackers but that best dehydrator I owned was the Excalibur. It was fantastic and had a lot of room. However, it's really expensive. I used to have the Ronco version from Ron Popeil and that one is ok (though on occasion it seemed the temperature got a little high and seemed to dehydrate the food unevenly compared to the Excalibur but it only costs like $39. So, I'm in the market for a dehydrator sometime soon. Anyone have any other recommendations?