2015 Vegan MoFo day one…….What’s for Breakfast?

 

Here we go……. Vegan MoFo 2015 is off and running.

With the new format this year of daily topic prompts we get to have an even better sense of community and connection. So, I am excited to see what my fellow Vegan MoFo’ers are having for breakfast.

For me, breakfast is not usually a daily occurence, I am more the “coffee till noon” type of gal. However, on special occasions (the start of MoFo for instance) or lazy weekend mornings I do like to have all the goodies.

For today, I have a fresh juice guaranteed to wake up your taste buds and energize your cells.

Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice

Next, it is time for protein packed pancakes with fresh berries, a dollop of aquafaba (a relatively new phenomenon sweeping the vegan cooking scene) and a drizzle of local home-made maple syrup.

Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFaba Cream

 

Finally, the pièce de résistance rich hot coffee blended with coconut oil and whipped into a frothy latte like heavenly beverage. I love strong rich coffee and I take it black, no cream or sugar so  I can enjoy the full flavour.

CocoLatte

Then you add a little high quality, organic coconut oil and blend it all together, the flavour of the coffee seems to intensify and become richer and the texture is wonderful. I couldn’t resist adding a dollop of the AquaFaba Cream and it magically transformed into a latte/cappuccino.

CocoLatte

Thanks for sharing breakfast with me.

Enjoy,

 

 

 

Cucumber Citrus Ginger Juice

Makes 2 servings

 

 

• 1 english cucumber
• 1 apple cored
• 1 orange peeled
• 2 carrots peeled if not organic
• handful baby spinach
• 1 inch nob of fresh ginger

Process all ingredients through a juicer. Drink immediately.

 

Banana White Bean Pancakes with Berries and AquaFava Cream

Banana White Bean Pancakes

8-10 servings

 

 

 

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  1/2 cup water
  1/2 cup white beans
  1 banana
  1 tspn psyllium  husk
  1/2 tspn salt
  1/2 tspn baking powder
  1/3 cup  soy or almond milk
  1/2 tspn vanilla
  1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Mix chia seeds with water and let sit overnight (or at least 1 hour)

Combine all ingredients together in bowl and mix or blend to pancake consistency.

Cook over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides.

Serve with fresh berries AquaFaba Cream and maple syrup.

AquaFaba Cream

Makes approx 2 cups

• Liquid from a large can of chickpeas
• 1 tspn cream of tartar
• 1 tspn vanilla
• 1 Tblspn (or more depending on taste) fine sugar

Beat the chickpea liquid and cream of tartar on high for at least 15 minutes. The liquid will turn into a stiff “egg white” merengue type texture. Add vanilla and then the sugar gradually while continuing to beat until totally combined. You may need to adjust the amount of vanilla and sugar depending on your preference.

Use as a topping for your pancakes and also to add the foam top to your CocoLatte.

 

 CocoLatte

CocoLatte

Makes 1 cup

 

• 1 cup strong back freshly brewed coffee (I use an espresso bend)
• 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil

Add the coffee and coconut oil to a blender. Blend on highest speed for 30 seconds till frothy.

Pour into coffee cup and enjoy as is or top with AquaFaba cream.

 

 

Raw Seed Granola #vegan #healthy #breakfast

 

Raw Seed Granola

To start a fresh new healthy year, you need a fresh healthy breakfast. Part of my New Years plans are to improve my diet (it is amazingly easy to find vegan junk food) and eat more raw food, so the first thing I needed was a healthy raw vegan granola.

This granola was born out of a walk through the bulk food store. A quick trip down the nuts and seeds aisle, followed by dried fruit, a grain and some cinnamon and here it is.

Raw Seed Granola

This granola is made in the dehydrator, allowing it to remain raw, however, you could also cook it in a very low oven.

The nuts and seeds I used required a short soaking time ( 3 hours), but if you decide to use harder nuts like almonds, you will need to let them soak for 12 hours. The soaking softens the nuts and seeds which in turn makes them easier to digest.

This granola is delicious served with almond milk, but is also great eaten dry as a snack, it is crunchy and sweet and satisfies my munchie attacks.

Enjoy,

 

 

Raw Seed Granola

Raw Seed Granola

Serves 20

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1 cup dates
• 1/2 cup water
• juice of 1 orange
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1 cup spelt flakes
• 2 tspns cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 apple cored (I leave the skin on)
• 1 banana peeled

Combine cashews, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Cover with water and let sit for 3 hours to soften.

Place dates, water and orange juice in blender and process until smooth, scraping down the sides and adding a little more water if necessary. Set aside.

Mix orange zest, coconut, spelt flakes, cinnamon and raisins in large bowl.

Place drained nuts and seeds into food processor and using pulse button mix until roughly chopped. Remove and add to bowl with coconut and spelt.

Add apple and banana to empty food processor and again using the pulse button, pulse until roughly chopped.

Add this mix to other ingredients in the large bowl. Mix together well. Add date mix and continue mixing until totally incorporated.

Place on dehydrator trays directly onto mesh liners or parchment paper. Dehydrate at 118 F for 8 – 12 hours until completely dry.

Remove from trays, crumble if necessary and store in airtight glass jar in cool dry place.

Raw Seed Granola

 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 62 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 134 Calories from Fat 47

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5.3g 8%

Saturated Fat 1.3g 7%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 3mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 1.6g 7%

Dietary Fiber  2.6g 10%

Sugars 12.8g

Protein 3.0g

Vitamin A   1% • Vitamin C 11% Calcium 2% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade B+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• No cholesterol
• Very low in sodium
• Very high in vitamin B6

Bad points

• Very high in sugar

Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge, Vegan Mofo Recipe #9

Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge

Technically this is not a dessert, but it is sweet, so I will count it towards my “few” sweet recipes.

With the cold crisp mornings we are having now, a nice warm bowl of porridge is a perfect start to the day and this porridge, topped with fresh berries, is “just right”

Rich creamy and sweet. This porridge is comfort food at its best. And your kitchen will be filled with the delicious aroma of cinnamon and vanilla.

Enjoy,

Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge

Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge

Serves 4

• 2/3 cup quinoa, soaked for 2 hours
• 2/3 cup brown rice, soaked for 2 hours
• 2/3 cup oats
• ½ cup dates chopped
• 1/3 tspn salt
• 2 cups water
• 1 ½ cups coconut milk
• 1 tspn cinnamon
• 1 tspn vanilla

Seasonal berries for garnish – or any other fresh fruit of choice

Place drained quinoa, brown rice, oats and dates in large pot. Add salt, water, coconut milk, and cinnamon, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 30 mins.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Serve topped with fresh berries, or fruit.

Goldilocks and the Three Grains Porridge

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 201 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 357 Calories from Fat 149

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 16.5g 25%

Saturated Fat 13.0g 65%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 145mg 6%

Total Carbohydrates 48.4g 16%

Dietary Fiber 5.4g 22%

Sugars 11.5g

Protein 7.0g

Vitamin A   0% • Vitamin C 3% Calcium 4% • Iron 15%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• No cholesterol
• Low in sodium
• High in manganese

Bad points

• High in saturated fat

Portabello Benny with Creamy Hollandaise

Portabello Benny

What’s not to like about a juicy Portabello mushroom slathered in a creamy lemon hollandaise sauce. This is a perfect Sunday (or any other day for that matter) breakfast idea. I never was a big fan of eggs, especially if they were runny…..yuk. In fact, before I moved to a vegan diet, if I ever ordered eggs for breakfast at a restaurant, there was an entire comedy routine that I would go through.

Server: How would you like your eggs?

Me: Totally cooked, nothing moving. When you think they are ready, hit them with the slider and squash them flat. Then flip them over and do it again. They will squeak and sizzle, but just ignore them.

Server: OK?

Me: And then, when you are sure they are ready, squash them again. If they don’t bounce, they are not ready.

Server: (looking a little scared at this point, and moving backwards away from the table). Yes ma’am.

Needless to say, my family tried to avoid any mention of eggs when we were out.

Portabello Benny

Lemon, on the other hand is something I love, so hollandaise sauce was a favourite. Now with no eggs and no butter, this recipe is not only delicious, but also guilt free.

Enjoy,

 

 

 

 

Portabello Benny with Creamy Hollandaise

Makes 6 servings

• 1/2 cup white wine (or veg stock)
  4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
  3 tblspns Dijon mustard
  1/4 cup olive oil
  1/2 tspn salt
  1/2 tspn freshly ground pepper
  6 portabello mushrooms, wiped and with stem removed
• For the Hollandaise Sauce:
  2 tblspns olive oil
  3/4 cup silken tofu
  2 tblspns fresh lemon juice
• 1 tblspn balsamic vinegar
  1/4 tspn turmeric
  1/8 tspn salt
  1/8 tspn freshly ground pepper
  1/8 tspn cayenne pepper3 English muffins, sliced in half and toasted (or other bread of choice)
  2 tomatoes, sliced 1/2-inch thick
  baby spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together, wine, garlic, mustard, oil, salt and pepper in bowl. Coat each mushroom with marinade. Place coated mushrooms on baking tray gill side up. Drizzle any extra marinade over mushroom, letting it seep into the gills. Let sit for 10 mins.

Portabello Benny

Place mushrooms in oven and bake for 20 – 30 mins until tender.

To make the sauce. Place oil, tofu, lemon juice ,vinegar, turmeric, salt, pepper and cayenne in food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. You can now gently warm the sauce in a pan over low heat.

Place one half of a toasted English muffin on plate. Top with spinach leaves, one slice tomato and one mushroom. Spoon sauce over top.

Portabello Benny

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 246 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 261 Calories from Fat 141

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 15.6g 24%

Saturated Fat 2.5g 13%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 441mg 18%

Total Carbohydrates 20.9g 7%

Dietary Fiber 3.4g 13%

Sugars 4.2g

Protein 8.8g

Vitamin A   4% • Vitamin C 21% Calcium 15% • Iron 18%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• No cholesterol
• High in niacin
• High in selenium
• Very high in vitamin B6

Tofu Scramble with baby spinach

 

Tofu scramble with baby spinach

What a wonderful weekend we had. I had all my family (both children and all three granddaughters, aka the “three princesses”, ) at my place for an outdoor birthday celebration for my mother. The weather was perfect, hot and sunny. We had a big water slide for the kids and lots of great food and company.

The two older princesses helped decorate the yard and the birthday cake.

Cooper prowled around waiting for anyone to drop food from their plate.

All in all, a perfect weekend.

With all the preparation and general clean up, time was short, so this recipe is quick and easy. Keep posted, though, as I have just signed up for Vegan Mofo (Vegan Month of Food), where I will be posting a minimum of 20 times from Sept 1st to  30th. I spent a relaxing Sunday, browsing my recipe collection and planning lots of great dishes to make next month.

If anyone has any requests, please let me know and I will try to include them for you.

But now, back to the recipe at hand. this tofu scramble tastes really good. It is quick and easy to prepare, as long as you have the tofu ready. You can make this without going to the trouble of freezing and pressing the tofu (see instructions at linked recipe), but the texture will be less “egglike”. The paprika and curry give the dish a nice yellow colour as well as great flavour.

Enjoy,

 

 

 

 

Tofu Scramble with Baby Spinach

Serves 2

• ½ block extra firm tofu (frozen, thawed then pressed for at least 4 hours)
• 1 tblspn olive oil
• ½ large red bell pepper chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced or grated
• ¼ large onion chopped
• 1 or 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 tspns tamari
• ¼ tspn turmeric
• ½ tspn curry powder
• 3 tblspns nutritional yeast
• ½ cup baby spinach chopped

 

Heat olive oil in pan. Add peppers, garlic, onion and celery and cook over medium heat until just soft.

Using your hands, crumble the drained tofu into the pan and stir fry until warmed through.

Add tamari, turmeric, curry and nutritional yeast and stir until completely mixed in. You may need to add a little water if the mixture appears too dry.

Turn off heat and add the baby spinach. Stir then cover with a lid for 2 or 3 mins  to  allow the spinach to wilt. Serve.

You can also add other vegetables, parsley, tomato’s etc if you wish.

Tofu scramble with baby spinach

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 236 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 235 Calories from Fat 120

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13.3g 20%

Saturated Fat 2.2g 11%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 398mg 17%

Total Carbohydrates 14.8g 5%

Dietary Fiber 6.6g 26%

Sugars 3.1g

Protein 19.0g

Vitamin A   32% • Vitamin C 69% Calcium 30% • Iron 32%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• No cholesterol
• High in calcium
• High in dietary fiber
• High in iron
• High in manganese
• High in niacin
• High in phosphorus
• Very high in riboflavin
• High in selenium
• High in thiamin
• High in vitamin A
• Very high in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C