Saturday Thoughts

I was doing a lot of thinking about our journey up to this point. What really started out as a desire for better health has progressed into an area of compassion, ethics and a desire to do a greater good for our planet, no matter how small a part of the effort we as a family are.

The one book I would recommend to ANYONE considering a change or with questions about plant based, vegan lifestyles and the effect they have overall is The Food Revolution by John Robbins. This for me was a life changing book. I refer to it constantly and I am still astounded at times with the information in there. It is what made me really take a look at our lifestyle as an ethical choice. This book is what made it possible for me to walk through the meat department at the grocery store and not think twice about not picking something up, in fact I don't walk through the meat department anymore, it makes me sad sometimes. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I started making this when my little man was born. At the time I was looking for a cheap alternative to Dreft, and this is what I came up with after a bit of online research. You can get the 2-3 ingredients needed at your local grocery store.

Recipe (Makes approximatly 64 loads worth):


~ 2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax
~ 2 Cups Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
~ 1 bar Ivory soap, shredded on a cheese grater (optional)


Prep:


~ Combine Borax, Washing soda and soap into an airtight container and top with airtight lid. Shake to combine ingredients.
~ 2 TBSP per wash load

This is an easy and really inexpensive way to wash clothes. It is also environmentally responsible and friendly. A win-win!

Vegan Sugar

I was unaware when I started my journey that over half of the sugar refineries in the US use bone char in their processing of sugars. I learned about this HERE.

So, I found a great alternative with a great environmentally friendly company, Florida Crystals.

A great company with a great mission, I now use their sugar for everything...baking, coffee in the morning...anywhere I need sugar. And it has a very lovely, mellow taste different from processed and refined white sugar. I get this right at my grocery store, so no special trips.

You Would Never Know This Wasn't Ricotta Cheese!!

I have successfully made my very first vegan ricotta cheese and in all my excitement, I forgot to take pictures...but the recipe was far to yummy not to share right away! So, pictures to come the next time I make it!

This is a fabulous recipe for calzones, lasagna, stuffed shells and any other yummy recipe calling for ricotta cheese. Tofu tends to take the taste of what it is cooked in or mixed with, so you would never know the difference. I will be adding my calzone recipe to follow and this yummy ricotta was a scene stealer with that dish!


Recipe:
~ 1 container firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed to remove water
~ 1-2 cloves fresh chopped garlic
~ 2 tsp basil
~ 1 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
~ 2 tsp onion powder
~ 2 tsp dried parsley


Prep:


~ Remove tofu from packaging and place between 2 kitchen towels. Use a few heavy cookbooks for weight on top of the tofu block to press out the water. Let the tofu sit like this for 10-15 minutes.
~ Place tofu block into a small mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix and mash the tofu until it is the same consistency as ricotta cheese. It's actually amazing how perfectly tofu takes the consistency of ricotta.
~ Add the chopped garlic, basil, salt, onion powder and parsley and mix well.

That's it! That's all it takes to make your very own (super healthy!) vegan ricotta cheese.

Fruit Pizza!

This is easy and really fun to let the kiddos help with. Let them design with all the fun colors of the fruit! You can check out my full recipe with directions HERE

This is made with cinnamon sugar and non-dairy cream cheese. It's a sweet and fruity pastry, and just as much fun to eat as it is to make

Blueberry Pancake Muffins

We really wanted muffins. I really didn't have all the stuff I usually put in my muffins. These are a hybrid of different ideas that really turned out to taste just like blueberry pancakes in the shape of muffins. Enjoy!

Recipe (makes 12 large muffins):

~1 large ripe banana

~ 1/2 cup vegan sugar

~ 1 tbsp ground flax meal

~ 2 cups flour

~ 1 tsp cinnamon

~ 1 package quick cook maple flavored oatmeal

~ 2 tsp baking powder

~ 1 tsp vanilla

~ 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

~ 1/3 cup applesauce

~ 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk

~ 6 oz container blueberries

Prep:

~ Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan with non cook spray

~ Mash banana very well with a fork in a large mixing bowl. Then add the flour, oatmeal, sugar, flax meal, cinnamon and baking powder

~ Add non-dairy milk, vanilla, almond extract, and applesauce and mix until well combined

~ Gently fold in the blueberries.

~ Bake for 30-35 minutes until tops are golden brown.

Yummy Strawberry Pancakes

This is something I routinely make for breakfast and dinner. We love breakfast for dinner in our house. This recipe can be made with or without the strawberries and it is well received each and every time. With Mother's Day fast approaching, I thought I would dedicate the next few posts and recipes to yummy breakfast and brunch ideas.

Recipe (makes approximately 8 medium sized pancakes):

~ 1 tbsp flax meal

~ 2 tbsp warm water

~ 1 tsp vanilla

~ 1 cup of non-dairy milk (I love vanilla almond milk in this!)

~ 2 tbsp plain applesauce

~ 1 cup whole wheat flour

~ 2 tsp baking powder

~ 3 1/2 tbsp sugar

~ 3-4 large strawberries, diced

Prep:

~ Mix flax meal and water in medium sized mixing bowl and allow to sit for a few minutes. (This mixture acts as an egg replacement.)

~ Pre-heat medium sized frying pan

~ Add vanilla, flour, applesauce, non-dairy milk, baking powder and sugar to the flax mixture. Mix until well blended and batter is no longer lumpy. 

~ Gently fold in diced strawberries.

~ Spray pre-heated pan with non stick spray and drop 1/4 cup fulls of batter into pan.

~ Flip each pancake when the top begins to bubble and the pancake begins to rise. 

~ Top cooked pancakes with sliced strawberries and maple syrup of your choice.

These are an easy way to make your very own pancakes from scratch. I hope you enjoy them!