Vegan Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies
Saturday, April 05, 2014Brownies made with black beans might sound quite unappealing to some of you, but I can assure you these are really delicious. No, I am not saying that they taste exactly like regular brownies, but still pretty delicious and nutritious as beans are a good source of protein and fiber. I used Happy Herbivore's recipe as inspiration, but slightly tweaked it by adding a little coconut oil and a mix of white and dark chocolate chips, but you can leave them out if you want to.
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- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. Drain and rinse the cooked black beans.
- Combine all the ingredients, except the oats and chocolate chips, in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.
Vegan Gluten Free Matcha Protein Bars
Tuesday, April 01, 2014Protein bars are a delicious and convenient way to enjoy a high protein snack. There is no need to buy protein bars when it's far cheaper and more nutritious to make your own. These wholesome protein bars, adapted from desserts with benefits, are made with quality hemp and rice protein, antioxidant-rich green tea powder with nutritious oat and healthy fats.
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- Line a 20x12-cm plastic box with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Whisk together the almond butter, soya milk, and stevia extract until combined in a mixing bowl.
- In another bowl, mix together the hemp protein powder, rice protein powder, oat flour and matcha powder. Slowly add this dry mixture to the almond butter mixture. Mix until the mixture is even, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. It should have a texture like cookie dough.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared box and flatten the surface with a rubber spatula or pastry roller. Cover the box with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, slice the protein bars and drizzle them liberally with melted white chocolate. Store the rest in a plastic box with a lid in the fridge.
Sugar Free Vegan Emmer Banana Bread
Thursday, March 27, 2014This refined sugar-free banana bread is very simple, quick, yet delicious, nutritious, and makes a wonderful breakfast or snack for the family. While most banana bread recipes contain sugar, dairy and eggs, this vegan variation uses none of them, but is still moist and delicious. Feel free to substitute wholewheat flour for emmer flour and almond milk for soya milk.
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- Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the ground emmer flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and chia seeds in a mixing bowl. Pulse walnuts and pitted dates until you have small pieces. Add to the flour mixture.
- In another bowl, mix soya milk, maple syrup, and macadamia oil until well combined. Add in mashed bananas and mix well.
- Pour the liquid to the dry mixture, stir until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the middle rack of hot oven for about 1 hour.
No Bake Amaranth Bars (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Friday, March 21, 2014These gluten-free vegan no-bake bars, adapted from Rapunzel, are filled with homemade popped amaranth, almonds, cocoa powder, a combination of cocoa and coconut butter, and sweetened with maple syrup and dried cranberries. They are great on the go, super healthy getting your daily fiber and protein.
No Bake Amaranth Bars (Vegan, Gluten-free)
adapted from Rapunzel
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- Line a 9-inch rectangular pan with parchment paper. Place the coconut butter and cocoa butter in a saucepan. Melt over the low heat.
- Mix the melted coconut and cocoa butter together with the rest of ingredients. Spread and press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice into bars. Store the rest in the airtighter container in the fridge.
Vegetarian Black Bean Soup
Saturday, March 15, 2014A hearty, healthy black bean soup with the full flavour of garlic, onion, tamari, cumin and chilli that will keep you warm and fill you up. I love topping the soup with a large dollop of low fat yogurt and more chilli threads for extra kick. Leave out the yogurt or use soya yogurt if you want to veganize the recipe.
Black Bean Soup
adapted from drhyman
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- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the garlic and onions, and cook until onions are translucent.
- Add cooked black beans including their liquid, water or stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the cumin, chilli threads, and sauté a few more minutes. Add tamari sauce and lime juice and simmer one minute more. Serve the soup garnished with a dollop of yogurt and chilli threads.
Seeded Sourdough Emmer Soda Bread
Tuesday, March 11, 2014The ingredients of traditional soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Other ingredients can be added such as butter/oil, egg, raisins or seeds/nuts.
I am so excited to give this recipe a try, a sourdough take on the traditional soda bread recipe found on King Arthur Flour site, especially with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner.
This is a quick rising soda bread with flavour and texture twists by replacing buttermilk with rye sourdough starter, olive oil instead of butter, molasses instead of honey, and using a mix of wholegrain emmer and white spelt flour (modern wholewheat and all-purpose flour are great alternatives here), hemp and poppy seeds (or sunflower and sesame seeds). While not an authentic Irish soda bread, it tastes absolutely delicious and full of flavours.
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- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the ground emmer flour, white spelt flour, seeds, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the rye starter, olive oil, molasses, and milk. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Depending upon the absorbency of the flour, you may need to add another tablespoon or two milk if the dough seems too stiff but it should not be too wet or sticky.
- Knead the dough a couple of times to make sure it's holding together, divide it in half, and shape each half into a ball. Flatten the balls slightly, and place them on the prepared baking sheet. 1^Dust generously with flour. Mark a deep cross in it with a sharp, serrated knife, cutting about two-thirds of the way through the loaf. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until they're golden brown or sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.
Chickpea and Feta Patties
Thursday, March 06, 2014High in fiber, low in fat and calories, and yet loaded with protein, chickpeas are by far one of the best sources of protein for vegetarians. But their wonderfully nutty flavours means that even the non-vegetarians will love them.
Served with some seasonal salad, tucked into a pocket bread, sandwiched between sliced bread or simply on their own, these patties make a delicious vegetarian meal. They are easily veganized by substituting the egg for egg replacement, and utilizing tofu instead of feta.
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- In a food processor add in chickpeas, onion fritters, crushed garlic, grated carrot, feta and egg, and process until combined.
- Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and mix until combined. Season well with salt and pepper. Press into 6 patties. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the patties and cook for 4-5 minutes each side until nicely golden brown.
Flourless, Sugarfree Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
Saturday, March 01, 2014These flourless peanut butter cookies are a dream if you're going gluten-free and sugar-free, especially with the perfect pairing of chocolates. I have used Martha's recipe and replaced caster sugar with pure stevia extract powder and they turned out fantastic.
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- Preheat oven to 160C/320F, fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with parchment papers. Set aside.
- Cream peanut butter, pure stevia, egg, baking soda and salt i na large mixing bowl until well combined. Stir in chopped chocolates and peanuts. With damp hands, roll level tablespoon of dough into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden and puffed, swapping baking sheets halfway through cooking.