Vegan French Toast

Since my husband is a huge fan of breakfast for supper, I often have to find a replacement for items he chooses to make. Yes, he does cook....breakfast. This particular night, he wanted to have french toast. I have never made that vegan before and was in need of a recipe very quickly. I searched the internet and found one at love and lemons blog. This blog is awesome for those of us who eat vegan. I will be exploring it more. Here is her recipe for French toast. The only revisions I made was to use rice milk as I don't like the aftertaste of almond milk, and whole wheat bread. Gluten free bread can be used if needed. I hope you enjoy.

Vegan French Toast

Ingredients:

• 6 slices, slightly stale ciabatta bread, sliced about 3/4-inch thick* ( I used Whole Wheat bread, GF is an option too)
• 1 cup Almond Breeze Almond Milk, vanilla flavor ( I used rice milk and added 1 tsp. of vanilla)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup (plus more, for serving)
• 2 tablespoons millet flour (or any flour)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• small bit of freshly ground nutmeg
• tiny pinch of salt
• coconut oil, for the pan

Method:

1) Whisk together the milk, maple syrup, flour, nutritional yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

2) Place bread in a shallow dish (with sides) that holds all of the bread. Pour the mixture over the bread, flipping it around to coat thoroughly.

3) Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place the bread slices and cook for a few minutes per side, until golden brown.

4) Serve with powdered sugar, a dab of vegan butter, maple syrup & fresh fruit.

GF Egg Gravy

I have been craving some comfort food lately. With that said, a friend of mine gave me 5 boxes of a gluten free biscuit mix. I was in heaven. Today, I decided that is was a good day to break out one of the boxes. Even though it was not as easy as the Bisquick biscuits, they tasted pretty good. I then needed a gravy to go with it. I usually make a white gravy and put some form of soy meat in it, this time I couldn't use that meat so I chose to make egg gravy. I am not a huge fan of eggs, but I knew my girls would like it. Since it turned out yummy, I have decided to share it with you. This is my own recipe, out of my own head.

1-2-3 Gluten Free Southern Glory Biscuits

Gluten Free Egg Gravy

Ingredients:

6 Tbs. Earth Balance Butter

2 Tbs. White Rice Flour

2-3 c. Rice Milk

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Salt to taste

2 Eggs

Method:

1) Melt butter in pan and add white rice flour. 

2) Allow rice flour to bubble for 1-2 minutes while constantly stirring with a whisk.

3) Slowly add rice milk and constantly stir until gravy thickens. You may need to add more milk to get the desired amount of gravy. Always make sure it thickens. If you add too much milk, simply let it boil down. Then add black pepper and salt to taste

4) After gravy gets to the right consistency that you desire take off heat. Scramble the two eggs until well done and mix into the gravy. 

5) Serve over hot biscuits.

Olivia

Juliana

Scrambled Tofu

There was a time in my life that at the first thought of tofu I would avoid it completely. I didn't realize what it was and that there were different textures to it. My first experience was eating a dish someone had prepared and there was nothing else to eat. It was fried tofu and not much flavor and seasoning, so basically, it made me think I was eating a sponge. I vowed I would never touch the stuff again. Funny, how the taste buds change as you grow up. I find now that it is quite tasty with the right preparation. My first experience with scrambled tofu was at my mother in laws home. She prepared it for breakfast one morning and it looked so weird that I didn't want to try it, but being that it was early on in my marriage, I didn't want to offend my mother in law. So, I took just a enough that I could spoon in my mouth and eat super fast. To my amazement, it tasted pretty good. I ended up taking a lot more and requested for the recipe.

Now that I am vegan, I have included tofu as a regular addition into my crazy dietary plan. This morning was the first time since asking for that recipe that I actually made it. Don't get me wrong, I have eaten it so many time after the first time, but have never gotten the urge to make it myself. I was afraid that I would ruin it and I would hate it for the rest of my life. Nope, it turned out just as it was supposed to and I loved it as usual. I believe this will be made more often in my house. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Scrambled Tofu

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 Small Onion
1 pkg. Firm Tofu (Smash it up)
1 Tbs. dried chives
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. Chicken McKay's seasoning (Vegan chicken seasoning)
1/8 tsp Tumeric

Method:

1) Saute oil and onion in pan.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients.

3) Heat until all flavors are blended and water is absorbed.

Note: I ate this on top of some whole wheat toast and it made for a great breakfast.

Banberry-Oat Smoothie

Breakfast is always the same for our family and I decided that it was time to change it up a bit. What about a smoothie for breakfast? That was an awesome idea. Simple, fast, and tasty. I found a Banana-Oat Smoothie on wholeliving.com. I loved the look of this recipe, but I had to change it to work for us. Here is our new and improved recipe! :) By the way, it is kid approved!

Banberry-Oat Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas (One frozen and one room temp.)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup Rice Milk

1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats

2 tsp. of ground flaxseed

1TBS of honey

1/2 cup ice

Method:

1) Blend all ingredients together until smooth

2) Enjoy!

 

 Juliana

Olivia

Vegan Yogurt

I love yogurt by my stomach does not, so I needed to find an alternative. I have tried different soy yogurts and even sheep yogurt, but I didn't like the texture. Almost like they added protein to them that gave a gritty consistency. I ended up passing on the yogurt until I found a recipe from happyherbivore.com.  I was very skeptical if this would work, but I thought since I had the ingredients, I would try it anyways. To my surprise, it was better than the store bought soy yogurts. I chose to add blueberries since my girls love blueberries and it was a hit. I thought it turned out a little tart, but the girls still loved it anyways. I can't wait to try this with different fruit.

 Vegan Yogurt

Ingredients

• 10 ounces silken tofu
• 1 whole banana, cold (I actually used 2)
• 2 tbsp plant-based milk
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Method

1) Combine all ingredients in a blender, whizzing until smooth and creamy. Taste, adding more sweetener as desired. 

2) Add in fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries or more banana for fruit-flavored yogurt.

 Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

As I prepare to go on vacation, we are trying to finish eating everything in the fridge. In our house, the bread was the first to go, as this is the girls' favorite. I usually make our own as it is cheaper and dairy free. I looked in the flour bin to see if I have enough to make more bread, nope, I have about 2 cups. What can I do with 2 cups, dairy free, and something similar to bread? Muffins, or as my daughters would call them, "fuffins!" I had some left over frozen blueberries, so this was going to be great. I found my recipe online at www.egglesscooking.com. So, without anymore delay, here are vegan blueberry muffins. Enjoy!

VEGAN BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Lemons For Lemon Zest
• 3/4 to 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Milk, any (I used Soy Milk)
• 1/3 cup Canola Oil
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Extract (I did not use it)
• 1 tablespoon White Vinegar (I used Apple Cider Vinegar)
• 1 and 1/2 cups Fresh OR Frozen Blueberries

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375F for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a muffin tin. 

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest

 Opps, Olivia got the salt on her foot.

 

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, extract, and vinegar. Mix well.

 Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.

Gently fold in the berries using a rubber spatula.

Fill the muffin tins about 2/3rds full.

Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. After that remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.

Naked Vegan Waffles

One day, I was in the mood for some waffles. I had just popped some in the toaster for my girls straight from the box in the freezer. I grabbed the box and looked at the ingredients. WOW! Who knew all of the processed junk that is in those, not to mention, milk. I decided to go to the internet and find a recipe that I could use that was healthy and without the milk. The one that I found is called "Naked Vegan Waffles". I am not trying to do vegan, but I am finding that eggs and milk usually coincide with each other and if I have to get rid of milk, eggs usually are gone too.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. The recipe comes from Dave from Waffleparty.com. I think it turned out rather tasty. I actually mixed all the dry ingredients first and put it in an airtight container so I could keep it for future use. Very tasty.

Naked Vegan Waffles

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups soymilk, nutmilk or ricemilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Method:

1) Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

2) Mix the soymilk, canola oil, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. 

3) Pour the soymilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Leave some small lumps in the batter, as overstirring may result in tough waffles. 

4) Cook on a waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes, generously spraying both grills with oil before each waffle.

Makes: 4 (7 inch round) Belgian Waffles. 

Breakfast Cookies

As I attend to my girls every morning I often don't have any time to get breakfast for myself. By lunch time I am starving and who knows what I will eat. So, I saw this recipe for breakfast cookies off of the cooking channel. I thought that is exactly what I needed to make sure that I get some kind of nutrition in the morning while rushing around the house. I hope you enjoy them. I think they are super yummy.

BREAKFAST COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
• 1/3 cup craisins
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces

METHOD

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1) Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. 

2) Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. 

3) Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. 

4) Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough.

5) Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. 

6) Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. 

7) Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

I have decided that one evening out of the week we are going to have breakfast for supper. This is usually a hit with both the girls and Mike. I have recently discovered a show on The Cooking Channel called Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. She is a nutritionist that has her own cooking show. So far I have loved everything she has made. Of course I have to alter some of it as I am vegetarian, but I am so excited that I am able to try new recipes. This recipe was great and easy to make, but the girls were not a fan. I think their lack of enthusiasm was due to the ricotta. It was their first time trying this and since they are not good with milk, it probably did not settle well with them. So unfortunately, this one is out for my babies. I hope you enjoy.

Chocolate and Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups nonfat milk (I used lactose free milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 8 slices of whole-wheat sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 1 (8-ounce) container strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 4 teaspoons bittersweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

Method:

1) In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

2) Place 1 tablespoon of ricotta in the center of 4 of the pieces of bread and spread around slightly. 

3) Top with about 6 slices of strawberries and a teaspoon of chocolate chips. Cover each with another piece of bread to make a "sandwich".

4) Spray a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and preheat. 

5) Carefully dip each of the "sandwiches" into the egg mixture until completely moistened. Then place on the skillet and cook over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the outside is golden brown and the center is warm and chocolate is melted.

6) Transfer to serving places. Top with remaining strawberries and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Note: I cut the crust off of the bread before making these up. 

 My girls playing with their pots and pans as I make this recipe.

 Olivia frying up some crackers!

 Juliana stirring a pot of cracker stew...lol