Coconut Mango Pudding

 Coconut Mango Pudding 

Made this Coconut Mango Pudding for dessert last night. Super yum. 

It's the perfect summer dessert.

It's amazing how just eating mostly WFPB immediately gets the full rainbow of colors on your plate.

(Recipe can be found -- Campbell, LeAnne. The China Study Cookbook. BenBella Books, Inc, 2018, p.291.)

Healthy Apple Crisp and other yummy things ...

Easy Healthy Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
5 medium red apples
ground cinnamon to taste
1 cup almond flour (or just pulse some raw almonds in your food processor until you get flour like consistency)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
pinch of ground nutmeg

Method:
Layer thinly sliced apples in a baking dish and generously sprinkle them with cinnamon. (I use a mandolin to slice them really thin.)

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut oil, walnuts, and nutmeg. Then, sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Bake the crisp at 350F for about 20 mins or until the apples are soft. Serve warm.

If you have leftovers, you can put them in a bowl with some almond mylk for breakfast! Yum!

Recipe from: Clean Eats by Alejandro Junger

My local veggie stand had avocados for $1! So, I also made some guacamole and avocado ranch dressing for tonight's salad.



Guacamole

Salad with Organic Lettuce and Beets from our Local CSA, cucumbers, kalamata olives, and green onions

Pesto with Rice Noodles and BEYOND Vegan Chik Strips

Avocado Ranch Dressing

Avocado Ranch dressing and "Bestest Pesto" recipes are in Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Chewie got a haircut today too. XOXO

Fancy Raw Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream and a Summer Salad

Fancy Chia Pudding with Cashew Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in filtered water overnight (or at least for 10 hours), drained, and rinsed
2 cups almond mylk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
seeds from one vanilla bean (I just throw the whole bean in my Vitamix)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup chia seeds

Method:
Place all ingredients except the chia seeds in your blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the chia seeds. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 4 - 10 hours. Serve chilled with fresh organic fruit. Makes 6 servings.

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Mango and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

(I think this is my favorite salad - ever!)

Dressing:
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salad:
6 cups fresh spinach
2 cups arugula
2 large mangos, peeled and cubed
2 cucumbers, peeled, deseeded, and sliced
1/2 cup raw pistachios, chopped
Method:
Whisk together the balsamic, agave, thyme, salt, and pepper and add olive oil while whisking. Toss the salad with the dressing and serve topped with pistachios.

**Both of these recipes are from RAW FOOD COOKBOOK & DIET: 75 Easy, Delicious, and Flexible Recipes for a Raw Food Diet (by Rockridge Press) [Available on Amazon to download to your Kindle!]

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

So, the first recipe I decided to make from Urban Vegan is the Punka' Pie (p.160). Yum!


Ingredients:
1 pie crust (I used a 9 inch graham cracker pie crust and I had a lot of filling leftover)

One 14-16oz can of pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
Two 12.3oz boxes Mori-Nu firm tofu
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt (I omitted)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
egg replacer for one egg(I used Ener-G brand egg replacer)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F.
Mix all batter ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Pour into crust. Bake for 15 mins, then lower heat to 350F and bake an additional 35 mins. Top will be golden and perhaps a bit cracked when done.

Note: If I use a premade 9 inch graham cracker crust again, I'll just use one box of Mori-Nu. That would increase the pumpkin to tofu ratio and I might not have so much leftover. :)

Key Lime Pie (Easy Lowfat Recipe - No eggs!)

Image from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/gallery/0,28548,1728688_1738994_1586296,00.html
(Mine looks exactly like this but I'm a bad photographer! haha.)

1 9-inch graham cracker crust pie shell
1/3 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
4-5 regular limes (or 20-22 key limes)
1 can (14oz.) fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups plain fat free yogurt

1. Add water and gelatin to pot, let stand 2 min to soften, cook on low to dissolve, stirring. Remove from heat.
2. Grate 2 tsps zest of lime and squeeze ½ cup juice. Whisk lime zest, juice, condensed milk, and yogurt together in a bowl. Whisk in gelatin mixture.
3. Spoon filling into crust. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

4. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired, before enjoying. Yum!

Nutrition:
235 calories, 7g protein, 42g carbs, 5g fat (1g saturated), 0g fiber, 6mg cholesterol, 185mg sodium

NOTE: I think next time, I'm going to cut this in individual pieces, put a popsicle stick in each one, dip each slice in chocolate, and freeze 'em. MU HA HA Frozen key lime pie, dipped in chocolate, on a stick! Hells yes!

No-Bake Mango Cheesecake

Definitely not your traditional cheesecake, but oh so yummy.
This would make a delightful summer dessert. It's very refreshing.
Lucas still isn't sure that I actually made this. heh. I don't bake sweets, but anything sweet with mangoes is my catnip.

MANGO CHEESECAKE

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
2 (8oz) packages lowfat cream cheese, softened
1 (16oz) can mangoes (I used GOYA brand)
1 (9-inch) graham cracker pre-made pie crust

1. Mix gelatin and sugar in small bowl. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin completely dissolves.
2. Process softened cream cheese and mangoes in a food processor until smooth; slowly beat in gelatin mixture. Pour into crust.
3. Refrigerate until firm; at least 3 hours.

Israeli Couscous ... and a Pumpkin Pie

I made the Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots from Veganomicon (p.117). It was delicious!
Note if you live in Brooklyn: I got my couscous at Sahadis on Atlantic Ave.

I also made a pumpkin pie!

I don't usually bake, but I was feeling especially crafty last night.
I made the traditional pumpkin pie from Martha Stewart Living, Nov 2008, p.82.

1 9" pie crust
1 (15oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tsp coarse salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
pinch of ground cloves
Whipped cream for topping

♥ Preheat oven to 325°F
♥ Whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs, milk, and a pinch of ground cloves.
♥ Pour mixture into pie crust
♥ Bake for about 50 minutes

Yes, my boyfriend is spoiled. haha.