Baked Ziti

This recipe has been a new family favorite for the past year. With the tofu and meatless meatballs it has a good amount of plant based protein. It works well as leftovers, too. We like to open a second jar of spaghetti or pizza sauce and add a bit more to each serving when we reheat it.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

16 oz ziti - penne works too (cooked aldente according to the package directions)

1 block of firm tofu (about 16 ounces)
2  tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup plain unsweetened soy milk
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 -1 cup vegan parmesan cheese
3 cups pasta sauce (25 oz jar)
vegan meatballs (I have been using the ones from Trader Joe's - Gardein has some good ones too)

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, rinse and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 350. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Make the tofu ricotta by combining the tofu, lemon juice, plain soy milk, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. It works great to pulse the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

Toss the pasta with the tofu ricotta and then stir in the vegan parmesan cheese. Add one cup of the pasta sauce and mix with the noodles. Put the mixture in the prepared casserole dish. Top with your favorite meatless meatballs and pour over the remaining pasta sauce. Cover and bake for 45 minutes in the oven. Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies come out soft and chewy with a nice balance of pumpkin and spice. I made them this week for a back to school lunch or snack option.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup vegan sugar
1 tbsp flax meal
2 tsp molasses

1 1/2 cups flour (I have used a gluten free mix before and they still turn out great)
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the wet ingredients and the sugar in a large bowl (margarine, pumpkin, sugar, flax meal and molasses).

Add the dry ingredients and fold them in until everything is combined (flour, oats, salt, soda, cinnamon, and allspice).

Drop rounded spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. These cookies hold their shape in the oven, so I like to lightly press them with the back of a spoon before baking.

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is my husband's favorite dessert, and I have worked on perfecting a vegan carrot cake recipe forever. This recipe finally checked all of the boxes for carrot cake. It is moist but not oily (some vegan carrot cakes have this problem), sweet with a hint of warm spices and classic carrot cake flavor. The coconut milk does not add coconut flavor - letting the carrot cake remind you of ones from past omni-days.

Vegan Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

2 cups grated carrots (4-5 medium sized carrots)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch of nutmeg

1 cup of coconut milk (full fat, mix before measuring)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of water

Cake Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Cover the raisins with hot water, and set aside to plump up while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Peel and grate the carrots.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. You want to mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.

In another bowl mix the wet ingredients. These are the carrots, coconut milk, vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just mixed. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let the cake completely cool in the pan and then frost with your favorite vegan cream cheese or vanilla frosting.

This is the frosting that I like.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

Frosting Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese (Tofutti and Daiya both have good cream cheese)
1/4 cup vegan margarine
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups natural powdered sugar
1 - 2 tbsp water

Frosting Directions:

Set out the margarine and the cream cheese to let them come to room temperature. Put them in a bowl and add the vanilla, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, and 1 tbsp of the water. Beat with an electric mixer until it is smooth and well combined. Add more powdered sugar a 1/2 cup at a time and continue to beat with the mixers until the sugar is incorporated and the frosting is light and fluffy. Add a little water as needed to get the consistency you want.

Zucchini Noodles with (Mostly) Raw Creamy Alfredo Sauce

This turned out so much better than I expected. I ate two huge bowls and was very happy. Surprisingly a big pile of zucchini noodles filled me up and kept me satisfied for the evening. I have had this a few times since I first tried it and can say it is now a part of my regular recipe rotation; I like it especially in summer when light foods are most appealing.

Zucchini Noodles with Raw Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 medium sized zucchini

1/2 ripe avocado
2 tbsp hemp seeds
3 tbsp tahini (you can buy this with toasted or raw sesame seeds)
2 tbsp Bragg liquid Aminos (could substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos)
1 clove garlic
1/4 of a large fresh tomato
1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast

Directions:

Wash the zucchini and cut off the ends (throw the ends in your blender with the other sauce ingredients). Spiralize the zucchini (you can also use a vegetable peeler to make long strips of zucchini if you don't have a spiralizer), and keep the core of the zucchini to add to the sauce mix as well. Sprinkle a little salt on the zucchini and set aside while you make the sauce.

Blend the sauce ingredients until smooth. This includes the ends and middle of the zucchinis, avocado, hemp seeds, tahini, bragg, garlic, tomato, water and nutritional yeast. Pour the sauce over the zucchini and add some cracked pepper and extra hemp seeds.

Basic Chia Pudding

This is a raw chia pudding with wholesome ingredients. This is great for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. The chia seeds fill you up, and I think they are kind of reminiscent of tapioca. In the winter when I am all about the oatmeal, I like to add this on top of that too. It is very versatile, good for you and satisfying.

Basic Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted dates (around 8 dates)
3 tbsp hemp seeds
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
dash of cinnamon
2 cups of water

1/3 cup chia seeds

Directions:

Blend the dates, hemp seeds, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and water.

Pour into a glass storage container and stir in the chia seeds. Refrigerate overnight to let the chia seeds soak up the water.

Top with hemp seeds, fresh fruit, berries, shredded coconut, nuts or anything else that sounds good to you.

Fennel and Apple Salad with Kale

This summer I have been eating a lot more fresh produce and trying out some raw vegan recipes. I admit I was inspired by these raw vegan women who I came across on YouTube (Raw Alignment, Dr. Elizabeth, and Laura Miller). They absolutely glow, so I thought I would give eating raw a go - just to see how I felt. I am about a week in, and feeling fantastic! I thought I would be ravenous, which I haven't been at all. I thought I would crave, crave, crave all the vegan junk food, which I have a little, but it has been very manageable. I don't know that I am permanently changing my diet, but right now I am loving the lightness and energy from the raw foods I am trying and am going to see where it goes.

Of course, with just getting started I am in a learning curve here of what to eat. I have had a couple of fails (tried to make my own Sunbutter - which did not turn creamy at all, and there was a soaked buckwheat disaster as well) but this salad was one of the highlights so far. The avocado makes it work and ties everything together. The combination of the green apple and fennel with a perfectly ripe avocado is just so so good.

Fennel and Apple Salad with Kale

Ingredients:

1 green apple, cored and sliced into thin pieces (try to mimic the size of the fennel slices)
2 tsp lemon juice

1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
A few fennel fronds, sliced
1 bunch kale, washed, stemmed and cut into thin ribbons
2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 tsp oil (olive or grapeseed)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp light vinegar (rice wine, white, or champagne)
Salt and pepper to taste

1 avocado, peeled and diced
handful of raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

Directions:

Wash and core the apple and then slice it into thin pieces. Try cutting it into fourths and then slice those pieces into bite sized slivers. Toss the apples with the lemon juice (the prevents the apples from browning).

Slice a fennel bulb into thin pieces and put them in a large salad bowl. Add the sliced kale and shredded carrots. (If you don't like tough kale, you take take a few minutes to really massage the leaves - this helps them wilt.) Toss the apples in as well.

Pour on the dressing ingredients (oil, dijon, vinegar, salt and pepper) and mix well to coat the salad. Add the diced avocado and pumpkin seeds right before you serve the salad.

Fresh Juice (Orange Detox and Healthy Green)

It is spring, and that means lots of fresh produce - yay! To get the most out of the fresh fruits and veggies on sale at the market, as well as what is coming up in my garden, I have been making lots of fresh juices. Here are a couple of really good combinations to try.

Fresh Juice

Orange Detox Drink Ingredients:

2 golden beets
4 large carrots
2 or 3 navel oranges
1 inch piece fresh peeled ginger
1 inch piece fresh turmeric
1/2 lemon, peeled

Healthy Green Juice Ingredients:

1 bunch of collards, washed
Small handful of parsley leaves
Small handful of mint leaves
2 cucumbers, peeled
2 or 3 apples, cored

Directions:

Clean and prepare your fruits and vegetables before running them through your juicer. That's it! Chill and enjoy soaking up the nutrients.