I have a 5 year old chocolaholic. I can't blame him, I was and still am one as well. I like treating him to chocolate treats but I can't just let him eat candy bars for breakfast so I created this recipe for chocolate peanut butter hummus he can have on his morning toast, drip pretzels into in the afternoon, spread on pancakes for dinner (pancakes are more of a dinner food here, I don't take time to do morning pancakes all that often).
I present to you: Chocolate Peanut Butter Hummus.
It's oil-free, it's vegan, it's tasty, and it's not *super* junky.
So here's the recipe:
1 can rinsed black beans
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup PB Fit (peanut butter powder)
1/4-1/2 cup water
Put everything in a food processor or a quart-sized jar. Start with 1/4 cup of water and add water if necessary. Blend until the beans are smooth.
Enjoy on pretzels, toast, a spoon, or whatever sounds good to you.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Showing posts with label Vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegan. Show all posts
Black bean and corn salad with cilantro lime dressing
This has quickly become one of our favorite salads and it's super easy to make. Here's the catch though - I use doTERRA essential oils in the dressing. I do NOT recommend you use any other brand of essential oils as most advise against consuming since they can't vouch for the purity. I rarely have fresh limes or cilantro on hand so I use the essential oils in their place and it works great. As a bonus, when you eat this salad, you won't get bits of green cilantro leaves stuck in your teeth.
While I think I have the dressing pretty well figured out, the salad ingredients list here is merely a guideline. I tend to just open the fridge and start chopping and dumping stuff in. I add whatever I have on hand but the black beans and corn are always the foundation.
Black bean and corn salad - serves 6
Ingredients:
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn (no need to cook this, it'll actually make the whole salad nice and cold)
1/4 cup chopped carrots or shredded carrots
6 bunching onions sliced thin
1 cucumber cut into bite-sized pieces
10 grape tomatoes cut in half
1 orange, yellow, or red bell pepper diced
Dressing:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil
5 drops doTERRA cilantro essential oil
5 drops doTERRA lime essential oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
Combine all the non-dressing ingredients in a bowl. Mix the dressing in a measuring cup or separate bowl then pour over and mix well. It's important that you pre-mix the dressing as the essential oils should be allowed to blend together with the olive oil so there aren't any super concentrated drops of essential oils on your vegetables. The flavor won't be as nice if you don't pre-blend.
Serve cold. I try to wait until the corn is thawed which is usually the case once I have everything else chopped up.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
While I think I have the dressing pretty well figured out, the salad ingredients list here is merely a guideline. I tend to just open the fridge and start chopping and dumping stuff in. I add whatever I have on hand but the black beans and corn are always the foundation.
Black bean and corn salad - serves 6
Ingredients:
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn (no need to cook this, it'll actually make the whole salad nice and cold)
1/4 cup chopped carrots or shredded carrots
6 bunching onions sliced thin
1 cucumber cut into bite-sized pieces
10 grape tomatoes cut in half
1 orange, yellow, or red bell pepper diced
Dressing:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil
5 drops doTERRA cilantro essential oil
5 drops doTERRA lime essential oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
Combine all the non-dressing ingredients in a bowl. Mix the dressing in a measuring cup or separate bowl then pour over and mix well. It's important that you pre-mix the dressing as the essential oils should be allowed to blend together with the olive oil so there aren't any super concentrated drops of essential oils on your vegetables. The flavor won't be as nice if you don't pre-blend.
Serve cold. I try to wait until the corn is thawed which is usually the case once I have everything else chopped up.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Vegan Buttercream Frosting
It wasn't the case when I first started blogging but I'm vegan now and I also found out that cane sugar gives me headaches. Between those two issues, it's not super easy to buy cake that fits my dietary restrictions so I've learned to just make my own. With lots of scouring the internet and tweaking other recipes to suit my needs, I've come up with the very best ever no cane sugar vegan chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. This stuff is TO DIE FOR!
First, a picture of my 40th birthday cake:
I made this cake for my 40th birthday cake smash photo shoot. We had a ton of fun. But today I'm here to share the recipe with you (also so I'll have the recipe for my own future use).
Chocolate cake
2 cups almond milk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
2/3 cup avocado oil (you could sub any neutral oil but this is what works for me)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract ok to just do all vanilla if you don't have almond extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular (or a mix of both)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix together the almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extract to your mixer bowl and mix well. Add the almond milk/vinegar mix and whisk well.
Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat until mostly smooth.
Line the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper it as well as the sides of the pans. Divide the batter into the two pans and bake for 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Vegan Buttercream Frosting
NOTE: This frosting does NOT come out white. You will need to color it with gel food colors if you want something other than tan.
This frosting holds its shape really well even before it has been refrigerated. I made it and had to leave it sitting on the counter for 45 minutes before I piped it onto the cake. Also, the picture of the cake above shows what it looked like after sitting in the refrigerator for a week. It did a good job of keeping the cake pretty moist and the frosting looked and tasted great. This wasn't the plan but my son got sick on the day of the photo shoot so we had to postpone the event.
Using the paddle attachment for your mixer, beat the shortening and buttery spread until it's combined. Add the rest of the ingredients being aware that a puff of powdered sugar is going to attack your kitchen. I used what I think is the dust attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer (it's a clear plastic thing you can pour stuff through) with a clean kitchen towel laid over the whole thing as soon as I've added the sugar. It's a bit messy but it blends in pretty quickly. Add the food coloring and mix until everything is well blended.
This is thick enough to hold its shape if you want to use a tip and a frosting bag. It's rich and delicious too. Yum!
Thank you for reading,
Julie
First, a picture of my 40th birthday cake:
Photo Credit: Verb Photography with Angie Langford
I made this cake for my 40th birthday cake smash photo shoot. We had a ton of fun. But today I'm here to share the recipe with you (also so I'll have the recipe for my own future use).
Chocolate cake
2 cups almond milk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
2/3 cup avocado oil (you could sub any neutral oil but this is what works for me)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract ok to just do all vanilla if you don't have almond extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular (or a mix of both)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix together the almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extract to your mixer bowl and mix well. Add the almond milk/vinegar mix and whisk well.
Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat until mostly smooth.
Line the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper it as well as the sides of the pans. Divide the batter into the two pans and bake for 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Vegan Buttercream Frosting
NOTE: This frosting does NOT come out white. You will need to color it with gel food colors if you want something other than tan.
This frosting holds its shape really well even before it has been refrigerated. I made it and had to leave it sitting on the counter for 45 minutes before I piped it onto the cake. Also, the picture of the cake above shows what it looked like after sitting in the refrigerator for a week. It did a good job of keeping the cake pretty moist and the frosting looked and tasted great. This wasn't the plan but my son got sick on the day of the photo shoot so we had to postpone the event.
Make powdered coconut sugar in the dry goods canister of the vitamix or a good food processor. 3 1/2 cups coconut sugar : 3 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot powder (precision on the arrowroot powder isn't imperative, just get close)
1/2 cup room temperature earth balance shortening
1/2 cup room temperature earth balance buttery spread (in the stick)
3 1/2 cups powdered coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup almond milk
Gel food coloring if you want something other than tan colored frosting. I used burgundy to achieve the color for this cake
Using the paddle attachment for your mixer, beat the shortening and buttery spread until it's combined. Add the rest of the ingredients being aware that a puff of powdered sugar is going to attack your kitchen. I used what I think is the dust attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer (it's a clear plastic thing you can pour stuff through) with a clean kitchen towel laid over the whole thing as soon as I've added the sugar. It's a bit messy but it blends in pretty quickly. Add the food coloring and mix until everything is well blended.
This is thick enough to hold its shape if you want to use a tip and a frosting bag. It's rich and delicious too. Yum!
Thank you for reading,
Julie
GF Vegan Pizza Crackers
My kids love pizza (who doesn't?) but I hate the extra questionable ingredients in pizza flavored snacks. I set out to make some of my own. The end result - they're tasty AND nutritious!
Before I get started though, I have to tell a funny story about my 6 year old. The other day he had some peanut butter sandwich crackers that someone had given him. He was eating them in the car and clearly thinking about something. He finally piped up with, "I know how to make these crackers." I think to myself, "Sure, take two crackers and stick them together with peanut butter." Thankfully I kept my mouth shut because his idea was even better. "First you make the crackers. Then you make the peanut butter. Then you spread your peanut butter on one side of a cracker and stick the other cracker to it." I had a proud moment when I realized my 6 year old thinks crackers and peanut butter come from my kitchen, not just containers at the store.
And on to the recipe . . .
GF Vegan Pizza Crackers
Yields: crackers / Time: 10 active minutes, 15 minutes bake time
For a printable version, click here.
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix first 4 ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Stir liquid ingredients then pour into dry ingredients and mix. I find that a rubber scraper mixes this best.
Press out on a piece of parchment.
Cover with another piece and roll to 1/4 inch thick. (I use the foil backed parchment, just personal choice)
Remove top parchment paper and lightly tap in the edges so they aren't significantly thinner than the rest of the dough.
Score into cracker sizes with a pizza cutter. Transfer bottom parchment paper and cracker dough to a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from oven and either flip the crackers individually or turn the whole parchment paper with crackers over and release the crackers upside down on the baking sheet and separate them.
Discard the parchment and bake the crackers for another 9-10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.
Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy.
Have you ever made crackers? I have several go-to recipes that we really enjoy. I love knowing what goes into my kids' snacks and they get pretty excited when I offer to make them.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
I'm sharing at the following link parties:
Before I get started though, I have to tell a funny story about my 6 year old. The other day he had some peanut butter sandwich crackers that someone had given him. He was eating them in the car and clearly thinking about something. He finally piped up with, "I know how to make these crackers." I think to myself, "Sure, take two crackers and stick them together with peanut butter." Thankfully I kept my mouth shut because his idea was even better. "First you make the crackers. Then you make the peanut butter. Then you spread your peanut butter on one side of a cracker and stick the other cracker to it." I had a proud moment when I realized my 6 year old thinks crackers and peanut butter come from my kitchen, not just containers at the store.
And on to the recipe . . .
GF Vegan Pizza Crackers
Yields: crackers / Time: 10 active minutes, 15 minutes bake time
For a printable version, click here.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Tomato Juice
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Flax Meal
- 1 cup *GF Oat Flour (you can grind your own by putting GF oats in a blender and blending until floury)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix first 4 ingredients in a measuring cup or small bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Press out on a piece of parchment.
Cover with another piece and roll to 1/4 inch thick. (I use the foil backed parchment, just personal choice)
Remove top parchment paper and lightly tap in the edges so they aren't significantly thinner than the rest of the dough.
Score into cracker sizes with a pizza cutter. Transfer bottom parchment paper and cracker dough to a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from oven and either flip the crackers individually or turn the whole parchment paper with crackers over and release the crackers upside down on the baking sheet and separate them.
Discard the parchment and bake the crackers for another 9-10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown.
Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy.
Have you ever made crackers? I have several go-to recipes that we really enjoy. I love knowing what goes into my kids' snacks and they get pretty excited when I offer to make them.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
I'm sharing at the following link parties:
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal
This is my favorite oatmeal flavor combination. It sounds a bit weird but it is so tasty and packed with nutrients and protein.
Pour into two bowls (unless you're really hungry like I was today then just eat it all yourself) and enjoy.
Nom nom nom ....
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Serves: 2- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup milk of choice (I use almond or rice)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or just cinnamon if you don't have pps)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (less if you don't have much of a sweet tooth or if you're using sweetened peanut butter)
Optional: raisins, dried cranberries or other dried fruit. Fresh fruit slices would probably be good too but add those on top last.
Put everything in a small pot, even the dried fruit (I forgot mine at first, pretend it's in there).
Heat on medium heat, stirring periodically. When it is almost as thick as you want it, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little. It'll thicken as it cools.
Pour into two bowls (unless you're really hungry like I was today then just eat it all yourself) and enjoy.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Our Favorite Relatively Easy Pizza Recipe
Dough
Ingredients:
I like to make a double batch then set half of the dough aside to make into breadsticks later in the week. It can sit in the fridge for a few days, molded into breadsticks and tossed straight in the oven, still cold.
Sauce
Ingredients:
2. Put it on your dough
3. Top with your favorite toppings.
4. Cook per dough instructions.
5. Enjoy
I also make a double batch of sauce a lot of times. I put the extra in the fridge and if we want a marinara sauce a few days later (for pasta, polenta, etc), I just add 1 can of organic chopped tomatoes when I heat it up on the stove. Once it is all warmed up, I use my immersion blender to smooth out the sauce as that's how my family prefers it. The taste is fantastic.
Save yourself some time and chop your toppings up instead of slicing. They cook better and the texture is actually really nice. I use a chopper similar to this one.
Also, this crust can be frozen. Make the dough and let it rise, cook for half the time, cool, wrap well with foil and freeze until you need it. When you need it, just take it out, add the sauce and toppings and bake for another 10 minutes or until toppings are cooked.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 3/4 cups white flour
Instructions:
1. In mixing bowl, combine the oil, honey, salt, yeast, seasoning and garlic powder.
2. Add in warm water and stir thoroughly.
3. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture becomes a bit puffy.
4. Add in the flour and mix with the kneading hook for 5-10 minutes until it is well combined and a little beyond.
5. Lightly oil a separate mixing bowl and add the dough to it. Cover with a damp cloth (lint-free) or greased plastic wrap (if you can't grease it, you'll just likely lose a bit of the dough stuck to it later but it isn't a huge problem.
6. Place in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
8. Remove from bowl and shape on your pizza stone or baking sheet.
9. Add desired toppings (see our favorite sauce recipe below)
10. Bake for 18-20 minutes until crust is just starting to turn golden brown and toppings are cooked as you like.
I like to make a double batch then set half of the dough aside to make into breadsticks later in the week. It can sit in the fridge for a few days, molded into breadsticks and tossed straight in the oven, still cold.
Sauce
Ingredients:

- 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
- 3 oz water (I just refill the empty can of paste roughly half way)
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- dash of cayenne pepper
- dash of dried red pepper flakes (optional, we often skip this in the sauce and put them on top of our pizza)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2. Put it on your dough
3. Top with your favorite toppings.
4. Cook per dough instructions.
5. Enjoy
I also make a double batch of sauce a lot of times. I put the extra in the fridge and if we want a marinara sauce a few days later (for pasta, polenta, etc), I just add 1 can of organic chopped tomatoes when I heat it up on the stove. Once it is all warmed up, I use my immersion blender to smooth out the sauce as that's how my family prefers it. The taste is fantastic.
My favorite toppings are mushrooms, olives, sundered tomatoes,
onions and basil (which I was missing on photo night)
Save yourself some time and chop your toppings up instead of slicing. They cook better and the texture is actually really nice. I use a chopper similar to this one.
Also, this crust can be frozen. Make the dough and let it rise, cook for half the time, cool, wrap well with foil and freeze until you need it. When you need it, just take it out, add the sauce and toppings and bake for another 10 minutes or until toppings are cooked.
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Almond Joy Hot Chocolate - Vegan Style
I love hot chocolate, as do my kids. I hate buying it when we're out and about though because it is either cow's milk based, full of sugar, expensive or all of the above. When we're at home though, all bets are off and I've become a master at busting out fantastic plant based hot chocolates. Today I got a little extra creative and totally nailed this recipe on the first shot. I was just making it up as I went along and am so glad I documented what I used so I can recreate it.
Almond Joy Hot Chocolate
*Vegan / Plant Based
Ingredients
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Almond Joy Hot Chocolate
*Vegan / Plant Based
Ingredients
- 4 cups of your favorite unsweetened plant based milk - I used organic rice milk
- 1/4 cup raw cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup liquid sweetener such as organic agave or pure maple syrup (I used maple)
- 1/4 tsp Almond Extract
- 2 Tbsp Creamed Coconut such as this one
Optional Topping to be loaded into a whipper
- 1 Can Full fat coconut milk (you won't use the whole thing)
- 2 Tbsp Agave
Directions
Heat all ingredients together over warm heat until the creamed coconut has dissolved. There will be some little pieces of coconut floating in there.
Pour into a mug and enjoy.
Optional - I added a bit of coconut whipped cream (full fat coconut milk from a can + agave + vanilla in my whipper) and a sprinkling of toasted coconut on top.
HOLY MOLY!!!! (I've been saying that all day long, this stuff is so amazingly good)
Thank you for reading,
Julie
Labels:
Gluten Free,
Plant Based,
Recipes,
Soy Free,
Sugar Free,
Vegan
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