Vegan Taquitos Recipe......

Vegan Taquitos

A delicious tempeh, lentil, brown rice mixture with rich cheese sauce fills these delicious taquitos. We topped them with salsa and homemade dairy free sour cream but you can have them with whatever toppings you like!

A request to create a vegan version of taquitos.....Here it is!

I try to accommodate as many recipe requests as I can, sometimes I can do it quickly and other times it takes me awhile.  This recipe is so very simple and yet my family absolutely LOVED these!  Even K liked these and she generally does NOT like Mexican food at all!

I know I haven't posted in over a week.......it is a long story but we moved most of our things out of our house thinking we had to be out by May 1st.  I didn't pack up all of the kitchen and we packed suitcases and left mattresses on the floor.....once we had loaded up our things we found out that the renters had backed out!

Here we were with an empty house....no kitchen table, no chairs, no couches.....nothing but mattresses, food and pots and pans!  We decided not to go to all the trouble to move back in only to have to move back out again when we found new renters.  We borrowed a card table and 4 old folding chairs from my parents and brought in two camp chairs for the family room.......We are literally camping out in the house!

Dinners lately have been very simple.....no frills.....my husband LOVES simple meals so he has really enjoyed it.  The really cool thing about that is.....we both have lost weight!    I've lost about a three pounds in two weeks!  So I guess if you want to lose weight my simple meal plan works really well!

I had the ingredients to make taquitos so I figured I would just make them the night after I received the request for the recipe.  They were super simple to make with my limited kitchen resources.  

Eating dinner is quite a feat these days.....the card table we have been eating on is EXTREMELY wobbly.  I remember this card table from when I was a young kid 25 years ago!  You have no idea how annoying it is to eat with a large 11 year old boy who cannot sit still for anything......which means the card table is wobbling all over the place while we are all trying to eat our dinner!  I will be so glad when we are able to find a new place, I will  not miss that card table one bit!

Luckily we found new renters and we will be moving out on Saturday....well moving the rest of the way out and then cleaning...... No we do not know where we are going to move to....if one more person asks me that question I am going to scream!  We don't do things like most people do.....nope.....we fly by the seat of our pants literally.  If you ask me if I have a plan I will invariably tell you no, so just don't ask :-)

I will probably be posting more about the simple meals we eat while staying at my mom's house or eating out.  I think it will be really good for many who are new to plant based eating to see how easy it is to find delicious meals anywhere!

Taquitos

2 c. lentils

1 c. brown rice

1 recipe tempeh sausage

1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

3/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. minced onion

1 Tb. tamari

1/8 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 recipe cheese sauce

1 recipe sour cream

1 jar salsa

1 pkg. corn tortillas

Process all ingredients, except the cheese, sour cream,salsa and tortillas, until crumbly. Warm the tortillas so they are soft and pliable, fill 1/3 of the tortilla with lentil mixture and top with cheese sauce.  Roll up and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Bake 350 for 20 minutes or until crispy.  

****You can also fry these if you prefer.

No Excuses..........

I Can't Eat Healthy......I Love To Go Out To Eat!

 

 

 

 

Yes you Can!

 

 

Last week I attended a Women's Conference Thursday from 8am to 10:30 pm and Friday 8am to 5:30 pm.  I did not plan ahead, I attended determined to prove that you can find food anywhere you go! 

 

 

The Campus we were on had a steakhouse style restaurant but they were ONLY serving a buffet style because of the 20,000 women or so attending the conference....it needed to be fast.   So what is a plant-based eater to do?

 

 

It was quite simple actually, we asked about the food on the buffet and they had plenty, they told us to just load up our plates with whatever we wanted of the food offered.  As you can see I had corn, potatoes, mixed fruit, salad, and two whole wheat rolls [no butter]

 

 

This is probably one of the most restrictive places you could possibly go, there were NO other options available other than what was on the buffet.  If I can find something to eat in this situation you can find something ANYWHERE!  No Excuses!

 

 

The biggest excuse I hear from people is that they love to go out to eat.......well guess what....SO DO I!

 

Just ask my husband, I love to go out to eat, but I do not let my healthy lifestyle deter me one bit from enjoying a night out.   It is absolutely possible to get a healthy meal, sometimes you have to ask for something special but no matter what you can find something. 

 

If you want to be an excusitarian you can find an excuse for anything!  If you want results and you want good health, you will find  a way!

 

 

I enjoyed this meal, ,we also found a Costa Vida place near by and I had a veggie salad for lunch on the second day.  On the first day we were running from class to class and grabbed a salad and a roll from another quick buffet place.  It was a lovely spinach and fruit salad with a roll, nothing fancy but it hit the spot until we could get dinner later.

 

 

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I know I have neglected posting on facebook and the blog but I have some things to post in the next few days or so.  We are eating very simply but I think many people appreciate simple but delicious meals. 

 

 



No Excuses!

All You Can Eat Vegan Whole Grain Cupcake Birthday Party

Whole Grain Vegan Cake Recipes in Vanilla & Chocolate

The Smore Cupcake

 I generally post Gluten Free recipes but today I have two delicious whole wheat cake recipes for my non-gluten free readers!  I know I just recently posted about my birthday......but interestingly enough three days after my birthday is my sons birthday!

These cupcakes were a hit with family & friends.  I even took them to the family party on Sunday and my whole extended family enjoyed these fun cupcakes!

****Warning:  These cake recipes are not my usual 'healthy' recipes.  These are vegan cakes and I have reduced the oil as much as possible but to preserve the traditional taste and texture of the cake the recipes do contain turbinado sugar and some oil!

Family Birthday Tradition

Every year on the kids birthday they can choose what they want for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner......and I also let them choose their own cake flavor.

They really enjoy being able to eat their favorite foods on their birthday.  It generally isn't the healthiest food, but this year when my son ordered chocolate chip pancakes I made them with whole wheat pastry flour so other than the chocolate chips they were quite healthy pancakes. :-)

Even though they usually choose less than healthy things for their birthday foods I generally find ways to add in some greens, whole grains, legumes or other things in there.  

The Sneaky Mom

My daughter always gets frustrated when she finds out what I sneak into her food.  She was thoroughly enjoying some chocolate sauce on her strawberries for dessert last night......little did she know I added pea protein and chia to her chocolate sauce ;-)  

I have added beets to her strawberry smoothies, carob and greens to her chocolate mint smoothies.  I usually tell her when she is half finished and she always says: "Mom that's gross"   

I remind her that she has been heartily downing the yummy concoction and she continues to drink it while complaining about what I sneak in her food.  In fact, one day when I promised to make her some banana ice cream she stood in the kitchen and said, "I am going to watch everything you put in my banana ice cream so you don't put anything funny in it."   

Once you learn how to disguise veggies and other things in food it is fun to watch your children enjoy eating something they don't know is healthy. 

All you can eat cupcakes!!!

The Vegan Boston Cream Twinkie

Anyone who knows my son is absolutely NOT surprised that he wanted an all you can eat cupcake party.  My son can EAT and eat and eat and eat and he LOVES food!  I know people think it is funny that I at 4' 11" tall have a 10 year old [now 11] son who is already 5' 2" 1/2 and weighs  120 pounds!  Yep, he is a BIG boy and literally growing like a weed.  He grew 1 1/2 inches in the last 3 months!

Who says vegan kids are skinny and scrawny?  My son certainly isn't.   So of course for his All you can eat cupcake party I created three different cupcake flavors for him......he chose the flavors and I created them. 

The Last All you Can Eat Cupcake Creation......

The Peppermint Patty Cupcake

I realize this one isn't as pretty as the others......by the time I got to this one the cupcakes had just come out of the oven and I was racing to decorate them and clean up before the birthday party began..  Icing cupcakes when they are hot just doesn't work very well....but I did what I had to do!

This is the chocolate cake recipe, topped with mint icing and chooclate ganache!  

Vegan Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake Recipe

1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 c. turbinado

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cocoa

1/4 c. sunflower oil

1/4 c. applesauce

1 c. almond or soy milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tb. vinegar

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well, combine all wet ingredients in separate bowl and whisk until combined.  Add to the dry ingredients in the mixer and mix until just combined, do not over mix.  Spoon into cupcake papers or 7X9 cake pan.  Bake 350 20-25 minutes.

Vegan Whole Wheat Vanilla Cake Recipe

1 2/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 c. turbinado

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. sunflower oil

1/4 c. applesauce

1 c. almond or soy milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tb. vinegar

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well, combine all wet ingredients in separate bowl and whisk until combined.  Add to the dry ingredients in the mixer and mix until just combined, do not over mix.  Spoon into cupcake papers or 7X9 cake pan.  Bake 350 20-25 minutes.

Cake Decorating

I created a delicious vegan pastry cream to fill the twinkies with and topped it with a homemade chocolate ganache made from dark chocolate chips and soy or almond milk.  

The icings are just your normal buttercream icings:  I made them with earth balance, organic powdered sugar, vanilla, soymilk.  I didn't make them healthy as it was just a crowd of 10 and 11 year old boys eating them :-)  

Pipe on the icing however you like or just smear it on....it tastes the same.

Enjoy!

High Protein Fresh Carrot Cake Juice for my Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yesterday was my birthday........no I'm not going to tell you how old I am......let's just say I am 29.95 + tax and shipping :-)

I committed one of the great weight loss mistakes yesterday.....confession time!  I knew I would be going out to lunch and dinner and was worried that within my tiny little calorie requirements I would not be able to fit all that food in....so I decided to have a low/cal high nutrient breakfast and 'Save' my calories for later.

I did create an AMAZING Post-workout recipe, more on that later.  But as I tried to 'save' my calories for later I found myself getting hungrier and hungrier as the morning wore on and by 10:30 I was REALLY  hungry and so what happened, I broke down and ate some of the kids cereal, it started out as just a little cup of cereal which I proceeded to fill up three times!  Ooops, so much for that calorie 'saving' idea.

I thought I was still hungry when I finished but within the hour my tummy grew more and more full and by noon I wasn't hungry at all!  Luckily my sister was late for her lunch break and so we didn't end up eating lunch until close to 1:30 when I was starting to feel hungry.  We made it to Noodles & Company where I had the Bankok Curry Noodles.  I ordered the small and only ate about 2/3rds of it hoping to again 'save calories' for later.

Well, my mother is the ultimate 'make a party out of every situation and it must include dessert!'  Decided to buy the ingredients for my Bakery style chocolate chip cookies and we baked them when we got back from shopping.  I only ate 3/4 of a cookie but at almost 4pm again I felt full!  This day was turning out to be a dieters worst nightmare :-(

Hubby got off work early and showed up at home at 4:45 excited to take me to my favorite vegan restaurant.  

Sages Cafe

photos by Sage's Cafe

I LOVE Sage's, we have been going there since 2004 and I have absolutely LOVED everything I have had there.  In the top picture you can see one of the amazing sandwiches featuring Seitan with their cheese sauce and in the bottom pic one of my favorite desserts......the Russian Tea Cake or {Mexican wedding cookie}

We also enjoyed the Brownie sundae...a delicious ultimate FUDGY experience topped with soy ice cream and smothered in a delicious Fudge sauce.  Mmmmmmmmm.......that was fantastic.

I wasn't terribly hungry so I thought I would be good and order the simple meal of fruit and vegetable slices along with fresh baked bread and the carrot butter pate.

Hubby ordered the AMAZING Cassoulet which is a baked penne pasta in a red sauce, smothered in rice mozzerella, seitan sausage and veggies baked in a ceramic dish.  SOOOOOO yummy!

I ended up tasting hubby's amazing dinner a few times, enjoyed some garlic bread and loved the carrot butter on the apple slices........even though I was feeling full off the small amount I ate, I dove into dessert with gusto!  Try as I might that amazing fudgy brownie and ice cream kept tempting me to indulge a little more....by the end of the evening I was overly full.....my tastebuds were fully satisfied but my tummy was protesting from all the food I had eaten.

The evening ended with us visiting my in-laws so my mother in law could give me my Birthday present.........

Beautiful Handmade Crochet Doily {Doilie}

This is what I opened.......a beautiful handmade Doily!

Now this is my kind of present, something handmade!  I love the idea of giving a gift of your talent, it is literally a piece of you.  

This doily is absolutely STUNNING!  I crochet but honestly I had never seen such a beautiful work of art!  I LOVED IT!   I felt so honored that my mother in law would take the time to hand make me such a beautiful treasure.  It was a wonderful birthday and I was so grateful for the wonderful gift.

Later that evening at home.....I was sitting on the couch with a full heart and an uncomfortably full belly and realized that my 'calorie sparing' idea had completely failed me!  I teach nutrition, I know in my heart that this doesn't work so why in the world do I do it?

The reasons behind my stupidity are many, but this morning I paid the price for my stupidity when I measured my waist to find it 1/4 inch bigger than yesterday and .8 extra pounds on the scale!  My plan had failed and now I have to work for the next week to remove all the mess I had made.  I know this because I have done it before, the extra pound gained after a binge usually takes about 5 days to get back off.  I know they say a pound is 3500 calories but I am 100% convinced that is not the case!  In theory outside the human body maybe but with all the intricacies of the human body and my personal experience I don't buy it.  If I can overeat and gain a pound and it takes me almost a week to get it back off that wasn't 3500 calories!

Anyway, Learn from my mistakes, don't try to save calories!  Instead, learn to savor the food without feeling that you have to eat it all!  I know you don't want to waste food but I will tell you this:  It WILL get wasted one way or another!

You can either waste the food in the trash can or you can waste it as extra, nasty, ugly FAT on your body but one way or another that extra food is GOING to get wasted!

That conservative, penny pinching nature of yours is going to force you to wear it if you don't get over it and find another way to put that extra food to use rather than stuffing your face with it in an effort to not be wasteful!  It's still wasteful, just wasteful in a different and much more emotionally painful way~!

Okay, off the soap box :-)

High Protein Fresh Carrot Cake Juice

Ooooooo This was FANTASTIC!!!  

I wouldn't recommend this as the only thing you eat for breakfast, it will burn very cleanly and will replenish your glycogen stores quickly but you'll need something of more substance within about an hour.

It is best to follow up a workout with a glycogen replenishing, electrolyte drink that contains about 3-4 carbohydrates per protein calorie.  The body needs to replenish glycogen stores and of course muscles need to recover but carbohydrate is also necessary for muscle recovery and so this balance provide the necessary building blocks for complete recovery.  Excess protein can actually inhibit recovery because the body CANNOT store protein and therefore it must be broken down and excreted.  Long story......but this makes a great post-workout recovery drink that doesn't cost a fortune!

High Protein Carrot Cake Recovery Juice

**I only drink about 1/3 of this as a serving, any woman under 5' 2" only needs 1/3 to 1/2 serving

The full serving is for men

4 large carrots

1 apple

2 ribs celery

1/2 medium cucumber

1/2 tsp. diced fresh ginger

1 c. chopped green leaf lettuce

1 scoop Lifetime Life's Plant Protein Vanilla

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Put the ginger in the juicer first, then juice remaining fruit and vegetables, in the bowl pour in the protein and spice, whisk until well combined and serve!

*****I cannot guarantee the correct flavor with any other protein powder!!!!!  This protein powder has an AMAZING sweet vanilla flavor without added sugars!

Nutrition Profile of the Carrot Cake Juice

Calories.....................337

Protein.......................27 g. 

Fat.............................2.8g

Omega 3's..................53%   {this is because the protein has chia}

Vit. A.........................1888%

Folate.........................27%

B1..............................27%

B2..............................29%

B3..............................24%

B5.............................28%

B6.............................43%

Vit. C........................44%

Vit. E.........................15%

Vit. K.........................144%

Calcium......................18%

Copper........................32%

Iron.............................12%

Magnesium.................25%

Manganese..................44%

Phosphorus.................28%

Potassium...................32%

Selenium.....................5%

Sodium........................34%  **Natural Sodium in Celery, excellent electrolyte

Zinc.............................16%

A Hearty Vegan Breakfast.....'Eggs' Benedict and Hubby's Health Journey

Easter Morning Breakfast......

Vegan 'Eggs' Benedict

Hubby and the kids absolutely LOVED this Hearty Vegan version of Eggs Benedict!  It took quite a bit of creativity to come up with the 'egg' part.  I wouldn't say that it perfectly mimics the taste or texture of eggs because it really doesn't but boy does it have a fantastic flavor all its own!

This was a very involved process so I would recommend saving this one for special occasions when you really want to wow the family with your culinary skills!  It really isn't a difficult recipe so don't let it scare you off.....it is just time consuming and has a lot of steps.  

My husband raved over this, the recipe made probably 10 'eggs' and he snacked on them all day long dipping them in the vegan hollandaise sauce!  Growing up his family were HUGE egg eaters and his parents still eat them a lot....and then wonder why they have elevated cholesterol!  Unfortunately with his dad working in a hospital you would believe how nutrition illiterate they are and their health suffers immensely.  It is hard to watch but old habits die hard, and nutrition illiteracy runs deep.  

I am truly grateful because my husband did not get the Block Headed Stubbornness  that the rest of the family suffers from :-D   He is very respectful of me, he didn't become vegetarian overnight and he was very resistant to begin with but when I began teaching classes and doing nutrition research for my college classes and started sharing information with him he listened and he started changing......as he changed his health improved so much he couldn't deny the benefits of plant based eating.....

It took him 4 1/2 years but eventually he committed to a vegetarian lifestyle and it has really been a blessing for him and me ;-)   

Hubby's Health Background and Transformation

Hubby with adorable K when she was 3 years old!

He was eating at the local fast food joint every single day for lunch:

Double Cheeseburger

Large order Fries

Dr. Pepper

Oreo Cookie Dough Shake

Yep, I was eating a raw food vegan diet at the time and this is what hubby was eating everyday.  At home he would eat cereal for breakfast and for dinner he ate what I fixed so he was getting something healthy for dinner but even with that.....his health suffered.

• Migraines 2-3 times per week that were so severe he would literally throw up from the pain
• Severe back pain...he was taking 6-10 advil per day
• H. Pylori and ulcers he went 3 weeks living on potato rolls and grape juice because of this at one point
• He was about 40 pounds overweight
• He couldn't lift anything without injuring his back

I had to rush home from the grocery store one day because he had lifted a filing cabinet earlier that day and it hurt his back.....later he ended up on the floor of our garage in so much pain he couldn't move.  Finally I convinced him to just try eating better......it was worth a try.

Hubby on a Plant-Based Diet

Competed on the Toyota Engines of Change Triathlon Team

Completed the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon!!!

• Back pain was significantly reduced
• Hubby trained 2+ hours a day running, biking, swimming and hiking
• Migraines gone!
• He weighed 129 pounds and was very fit!

What did he eat?

Breakfast was usually a green smoothie, oatmeal or a whole grain cereal with soymilk

Lunch:  tomato avocado sandwiches on whole wheat bread, veggies and hummus, whole grain crackers

Dinners were full of veggies & brown rice or whole wheat pasta dishes etc...

Finally hubby believed me that he could be healthy and fit if he would just change his diet!

A plant-based diet is very powerful!!  Most people do not realize that it can even have an amazing effect on migraines, ulcers and a host of other health problems!  

Now on to our Hearty Breakfast Recipe......

 Vegan Eggs Benedict

'Eggs'

1 box mori nu silken tofu

1/3 c. cashews

2 Tb. nutritional yeast

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. veganaise

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/3 c. cornstarch

1/2 c. white beans drained

2 Tb. flaxmeal

Blend until creamy.  cook like small pancakes, flip until browned on each side.

Veggie Bacon Seitan

1 can kidney beans drained

2 Tb. flax meal

1/3 c. cashews

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

2 tsp. dried minced onion

1 Tb. parsley

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. better than beef bullion or dark miso

3 Tb. cornstarch

1 tsp. salt

Process the cashews until they are finely ground, add the flax and kidney beans and process into a paste.  Scrape the kidney bean mixture into a bowl and add remaining ingredients, massage it well....dough should be very thick.  Set aside.

1 c. water

1 1/2 Tb. agar powder

Combine water and agar in a small saucepan and let sit about 5 minutes.  whisk together well, turn on heat to high and bring to boil, whisk to keep it mixed and boil about 3-5 minutes or until it begins to thicken up really well, pour in the kidney bean mixture and stir together well. Mixture will be quite pastey, that's okay.  Pour into a square plastic container and spread well.  Freeze for 15 minutes or chill in fridge for 2 hours.  slice into thin strips and fry in light olive oil or bake.  Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Hollandaise Sauce

16 oz. water

1/3 c. cashews

3 Tb. nutritional yeast

1 Tb. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. salt

dash cayenne

2 Tb. almond milk

1/2 Tb. cornstarch

Blend the water, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, salt and cayenne until milky.  It will be very thin and watery.  Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, whisk frequently.  When sauce begins to thicken and boil....whisk together almond milk and cornstarch in a cup and slowly pour into mixture while whisking.  Whisk until mixture is thick.  Remove from heat.

4 ezekiel english muffins toasted or gluten free bread

top with veggie bacon

vegan eggs

smother in hollandaise

The Ultimate Healthy Kid Friendly Meal

Kid Friendly.......Mom Approved

Gluten Free Vegan 'Chicken' Fingers and Honey Mustard Sauce

This delicious Kid Friendly meal was a HUGE hit with my whole family!  The kids were thrilled when they saw the yummy breaded 'chicken' fingers and macaroni and cheese.  They were so excited, thanking me for making them an 'unhealthy' meal for once.

Shhhhhh..... I didn't tell them that it was actually healthy :-)  They had no idea they were eating vegetables, whole grains and legumes...hahaha.

*****Disclaimer:  Kids who are only used to eating junk food will probably not enjoy this at all!

I have to make that disclaimer because children who frequent McDonalds or who eat tons of frozen junk foods will not enjoy this at all.  These do not have the same texture as meat does so please don't expect this to taste like or have the texture of meat.

I do not like meat at all and do not try to perfectly mimic its texture or flavor for a reason!

These little seitan fingers don't have the texture of meat but they do have a delicious flavor and they are really fun to dip into honey mustard sauce!  My children don't eat junk food and so this was a really fun treat for them.  Healthy kids will have a lot of fun with this for sure!

K's Thoughts on the Seitan Fingers, Honey mustard sauce and mac & cheese

Hey guys!  I'm back again! :) This was an awesome kid-friendly dinner!  I LOVED it!  If it was my turn to make dinner this is probably what I would make! :) 

We are currently in the process of moving.....again!  I know we have moved 4 times in the last 4 years and hopefully someday we will be able to settle down and quit moving around so much.  I miss my home on 5 acres so much......  Hopefully someday we will be able to have something like that again :-)

Amongst all the moving and packing I am trying to keep up my recipe creating....I have a few cracker recipes that I will be posting pics of on the facebook page today.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the recipe creating for a bit longer but during the major transition I may not be able to so I might even do some posts on how to eat on the fly!  

I am really good at throwing things together or even eating from the grocery store whatever can  be made with a bowl and a spoon.  We have traveled a lot so I have a lot of experience with eating with very little available options.  It doesn't matter if you are in the middle of nowhere cowboy country, a vegan can always find something to eat!  I have done it!

Before moving on to the recipes I have a question to ask..........

How many of you would be interested in an Ebook on eradicating Candida?

I am considering writing an ebook for those who are struggling with candida because I know in our modern society it is such a HUGE problem.  There is a lot of information out there....most of which is NOT vegan and they almost make it seem as if a vegan cannot possibly rid themselves of candida but this is simply not true.  

If you want to be able to understand the facts from the myths I'd love to write an ebook and share recipes, herbs, and information about candida with you so you can rid yourself of candida the vegan way.

Gluten free seitan

1 can garbanzo beans

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

2 Tb. flaxmeal

1/3 c. cashews

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion

1/4 tsp. thyme

1 Tb. parsley

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 c. non-gmo cornstarch or potato starch

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Food process the cashews until fine powder, add garbanzo beans, nutritional yeast and flaxmeal.  Process until it forms a ball of dough.  Scrape into a bowl, add remaining ingredients and massage until well combined.  Set aside.

1 c. water

1 1/2 Tb. agar powder  [not agar flakes]

In a saucepan combine water and agar and let sit 5 minutes, whisk to combine.  Turn heat on to high and bring to a boil whisking frequently.  Let boil for 3-5 minutes or until mixture begins to become very thick.  Pour in the garbanzo  mixture and stir constantly over high heat, mixture will become pasty.  Pour into a square mold and freeze for 15- 20 minutes or until mixture begins to harden.  Remove from mold and set aside until you are ready to use.  When ready to use, cut into thick strips.

***The seitan is better the longer it is able to sit and harden so it is best to make it the day before, you can make it the day of just realize it will be softer.

Breading:

1 c. gluten free corn flakes

2 slices gluten free bread

1/2 tsp. salt

Process in a food processor until finely ground.  Pour onto a large plate.

Honey mustard dipping sauce

1/2 c. veganaise  [I used my own oil-free version]

1/4 c. dijon mustard

1/4 c. maple syrup, honey, agave or your favorite liquid sweetner

1 Tb. vinegar

1/8 tsp. paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well.

Dip each seitan piece in the honey mustard sauce, then roll in the bread crumbs and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Mac & Cheese

Cook whole wheat or brown rice pasta according to package directions  [this recipe is for 4 servings]

1 recipe Cheese Sauce   [for 4 servings we used half of the recipe]

1/2 of the cheese sauce

2 Tb. vegan mayo [I used my oil-free homemade version]

salt to taste

Smother the pasta in the cheese sauce.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe with Gluten Free and Whole Wheat options.....

Bakery style Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

Take these to a potluck and EVERYONE will ask for the recipe.....gluten free or not these are out of this world!!

 

 

Don't worry there are both Gluten Free AND Whole Wheat options so this cookie will work for anyone!!

 

These cookies are the perfect cookie.......lightly crisp on the outside....nice and gooey on the inside!

 

 

My husband has had a rough few months at work and food has unfortunately become a comfort for both of us.......my weight has gone up and yet.....the comfort and seduction of chocolate has just been too strong!  This is one reason why I have started the Beck Diet Solution...in an effort to regain control of my dietary choices.

 

My husband took a pay cut to take this current job because they indicated that they would promote him to a sales position within the first year as my husband has 15 years sales experience!  Well, unfortunately due to very unfortunate circumstances he was passed over for the promotion and it has put us in an extremely difficult financial situation!

 

 

He came home after a difficult day at work and the only way I could  think of cheering him up was to make some amazing chocolate chip cookies!  I couldn't have even imagined how wonderful these cookies would turn out!

 

My daughter has been BEGGING me to let her review these cookies on the blog!  She keeps asking....when are you going to post about the cookies?  Well, I decided to hurry and get the recipe on the blog so she could post about them.

 

**Disclaimer:  These cookies will not take away your stressful or painful situations......but they certainly will help you drown your woes temporarily!

 

 

I want to make this cookie recipe so that everyone can enjoy it, whether gluten free or not so I have put whole wheat chocolate chip cookie adjustments for those who don't need to be gluten free.

 

K's Review of the Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Hey y'all peaceful kitchen lovers! :)  These cookies were HEAVENLY!  These were the BEST cookies chef mom has ever made! :)  I only had 7 of them! :P

 

 

My husband said that these cookies were amazing for gluten free or otherwise and he actually HID them in the cupboard so he could sneak them off to work!  Yep, they were that good!

 

 

Gluten Free Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

with a whole wheat cookie option.....

 

 

 

 

Whole Wheat option:  replace the potato starch, sorghum flour, coconut flour, brown rice flour with 2 - 2 1/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour.  Add flour 1/4 to a 1/2 c. at a time until the dough starts to gather together but does not ball up.

1/4 c. Earth balance

1/4 c. applesauce

1/4 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. maple syrup

1 Tb. egg replacer

1/4 c. water

1 c. turbinado or coconut palm sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. mori-nu mates vanilla pudding powder

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/2 c. potato starch

1/3 c. sorghum flour

2 Tb. coconut flour

1 1/3 c. brown rice flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 pkg. non-dairy chocolate chips

Combine the water and egg replacer in a bowl and whisk until frothy, set aside.  Mix the earth balance, applesauce, peanut butter, maple syrup and turbinado until well combined,   add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Bake 350 10-12 minutes

 

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Option

 

For those of you who love oatmeal raisin cookies here is an option for that:

 

Remove 1/3 c. sorghum flour and 1/3 c. brown rice flour

Add in 2/3 to 1 c. old fashioned oats

Replace chocolate chips with raisins