Pumpkin Craisin Muffin

 These muffins are high in protein and make a filling breakfast or snack!

Oven Temperature: 400 Degrees
Cook Time: 18-20 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup Oats
• 1/4 Cup Vegan Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon 
• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Flax Meal
• 1/4 Cup Oil
• 1/4 Cup Applesauce
• 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Cup Almond Milk (any vegan milk will work)
• 1/4 Cup Craisin's
• A Handful of Pumpkin Seeds to put on top of muffins.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix together.
3. I like to line my muffin tins with liners but I have used coconut oil as a greasing agent on the pan when I don't have the liners handy.
4. After filling the muffin tin put it in the oven for 18-20 minutes
5. Upon removing from oven set muffins on cooling rack 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding

I love making this chocolate treat to enjoy for breakfast! Chia seeds give you a ton of energy and the peanut butter powder adds protein! 

Prep Tome: 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Chia seeds (light or dark)

8 ounces chocolate almond milk (any non -dairy can be used)

1 Tbs powdered peanut butter

(Best If Made The Night Before)

Directions: Mix chia seeds, almond milk, and powdered peanut butter on a small bowl. Put mixture in refrigerator for a couple of hours (or overnight). Serve pudding with side of strawberries or even unsalted peanuts for an extra savory flavor!

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

I love breakfast food whether it's served morning or night. This is a scrumptious recipe that I tweaked to make vegan friendly. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do!

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

(original recipe from So, How's It Taste?, from The Curvy Carrot, from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, via Annie's Eats) 

6 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 chopped nuts, divided

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 maple syrup 

1 cup almond milk

2 Tablespoon vegan unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 sliced ripe bananas

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), divided

1. Preheat to 375. Lightly grease a 9x9 pan. Line the bottom of the pan with sliced bananas, topped with half of the blueberries.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a liquid measuring cup.

3. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the fruit in an even layer. Pour wet ingredients evenly over top. Sprinkle with remaining nuts and berries.

4. Bake for 35-40 or until the top is browned and oats have set. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Vegan Restaurant Eating

   Upon arriving at the checkout counter in my local pharmacy picking up my Epipen prescription the pharmacist asked me what my allergies were. She confided in me that she found out her daughter has basically the same food allergies as me. She asked, "is it hard to eat out at restaurants as a vegan?"

   My response definitely surprised her, "not really. I look up the restaurant menu online and decide what I can eat before arriving at the restaurant." To be a vegan and eat out with your meat eating friends can be a challenge. For me when all else fails I can order a salad. Most restaurants are more accommodating these day though. 

   On more than one occasion I have called a restaurant ahead of time and asked about ingredients in their food items and how they can make it vegan friendly. For the most part these restaurants are extremely accommodating! I mean they want your business and your money so why wouldn't they try their hardest to get you to eat at their establishment!?

   In short, don't be afraid to eat out! Do your research, call who you have to, and enjoy yourself!

Soups On!

One of my favorite things to do with left over's is to make a big pot of soup. This is an incredibly easy recipe that can be tweeked to your liking.

Ingredients:

1 box low sodium vegetable broth

1/2 chopped red onion

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbs parsley

1 small can low sodium v8 vegetable juice 

1 bag frozen mixed vegatables

1/2 cup pearl barley

Salt to taste

Directions:

Saute chopped red onion in a large sauce pan until tender. Add minced garlic , parsley, frozen vegetable mix, box of vegetable broth, can if v8 juice, and pearl barley. Feel free to add any left over vegatables that may be lying around in the fridge. 

Bring soup to a boil, then set to simmer for an hour. 

Easy Peanut Sauce

With all my food allergies it's hard to believe that nuts are not one of them. This sauce is great in a vegetable stir fry, grains, or pasta!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup natural creamy peanut  butter
2 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
1/8 teaspoon grated ginger
1/3 cup warm water

Directions:

Mince garlic and grate ginger. Place all ingredients into a small bowl. Whisk until blended. Serve over warm noodles, rice, or steamed veggies!

Calories: 64.4
Fat: 5.0g
Carbohydrates: 2.5g
Protein 3.0g

Vanilla Maple Muffin Madness

This recipe is so good it tastes like it should be unhealthy, but it's not! I usually make a batch of muffins on Sunday's as my go to breakfast through the work week. I found the original recipe on Pinterest but tweeted it to fit my plant based needs. I hope you thoroughly enjoys this recipe as much as I have!

Ingredients:

 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Meal

 1/4 cup applesauce 

 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or any type of gluten free baking flour)

 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

 2/3 cup natural maple syrup 

 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

 1/4 cup melted vegan butter (I use earth balance)

 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin with coconut oil or cooking spray. Combine flax meal and applesauce in a small dish. In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients.

Gently mix the wet ingredients (including the flax applesauce mixture) with the dry ingredients. 

Spoon mixture into muffin tin (should make enough for 12 standard size muffins) and set on middle rack in the oven. 

Bake for 8-11 minutes. They are done when you poke a toothpick in the middle of a muffin and the toothpick comes out clean.

Protein Posse

The biggest question I'm faced with when anyone finds out I don't eat dairy or meat is, where do you get your protein? Most people might think, "tofu must be the only thing you eat!" False. In actuality I rarely eat tofu, though it does pair well in stir fry's!
    First let's figure out what protein is and why we need it. Not to go all Bill Nye the science guy  but basically protein is made up of large molecules consisting of amino acids that our bodies need to function properly. Meat and dairy are not the only sources of protein although they are probably the most well known.
   Just 1 cup of cooked lentils (sort of like beans) contains 18 grams of protein! Lentils are great in tacos, soups, and stews. Another great protein option is something that has become popular, a little thing called Quinoa! It is a complete protein and exceptionally delicious as oatmeal in the morning, on salads at lunch, or in stuffed peppers for dinner.

   Other great plant base protein options:

• Almonds; 1/4 cup = 7.5 grams
• Peanut Butter; 2 Tbsp = 7 grams
• Oats; 1 cup = 7 grams
• Brown Rice 1 cup = 9 grams
• Chickpeas; 1 cup = 15 grams
• Tofu; 1 cup = 20 grams
• Sunflower Seeds; 1/4 cup = 7 grams
• Spinach; 1 cup = 5 grams
• Lentils; 1 cup = 17 grams

Just to name a few of course! So in short I have no problem finding protein to eat on a daily basis, truthfully I eat more protein s a vegan then I ever did with meat or dairy!