Holiday

Fat Free Vegan Valentine’s Day Dessert: Two-Bite Banana Brownies

February 14, 2012 by Veronica Grace 10 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Not that I am much of a Valentine’s Day person. It was probably my most dreaded holiday actually! Being single on Valentines Day kinda sucks a little more than just a normal bad day, but cheer up! I have a treat for you… These deliciously fat free vegan Two-Bite Banana Brownies! And if you do have a Valentine this year, they will love you if you make these for them!

My sweetheart told me for my Valentine’s Day gift he was going to clean the whole house for me and take me out to dinner, so I surprised him with one of these yesterday. I’m not much for material things, so thoroughly enjoy being able to just relax after making a big mess in the kitchen after cooking and photographing for you… 🙂

I was tinkering around yesterday trying to come up with something that would still be tasty even when I sucked all the unhealthy fat out of it. We have a winner for fat free vegan brownies and a great compromise for those that like to have a little treat after dinner, but not something too big or too rich.

The secret to these babies’ extra flavour is the bananas. I have to admit I am totally devoted to banana bread and always will be. And I just love packing banana into whatever baked goods I can, because honestly I never bake. I only bake for you!

Normally you’d expect a really dense rich brownie, or muffin with a chocolate chips in it, but these taste great on their own. They’re also really easy to make and even kids will love them too!

This is what they look like un decorated.

Mmm… Is your mouth watering yet for my fat free vegan brownies?

Fat Free Vegan Two-Bite Banana Brownies

Makes 24 mini muffin tin brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour, see note)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp ground chia or flax seed
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp ripe mashed bananas (about 2 large) or applesauce
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Non stick cooking spray

*Note, if making these gluten-free I suggest adding 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum to the recipe to help the batter stick together.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Combine dry ingredients, except brown sugar and chia in a medium sized bowl.

3. Add 2 tbsp water to a small bowl. Shake in ground chia and stir until combined.

4. Add wet ingredients and brown sugar to another bowl and stir in chia.

5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until mixed

6. Spray a mini muffin tin with non stick spray.

7. Spoon a teaspoon size amount into each cup, filling about 3/4 full.

8. Bake for 15-16 minutes, or until done in the centre with a toothpick.

9. Let brownies cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes to set up.

10. Remove and place on wire rack to finish cooling.

Additional Tips:

If you don’t have chia or flax, you can try using egg replacer mixed with water, use the equivalent of one “egg”. Really ripe bananas are best for this as they are sweeter and will add depth to the brownies. Almost as dark as you would use for banana bread is good. If you want to substitute applesauce you can, but they will be much plainer tasting and you might want to add a touch more sweetener. These are easily frosted or glazed if serving for a holiday or a kids birthday party. You can easily freeze these in ziploc freezer bags to have a quick treat ready to go.

If you’re like me and you’re a “seconds” kind of dessert fan, fear not! These are packed full of fibre and are low calorie too.

What are you doing for Valentines Day this year? Have you ever had a vegan two-bite brownie?

Low Fat Oil Free Vegan Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole

January 4, 2012 by Veronica Grace 11 Comments

Low Fat Oil Free Vegan Maple Syrup Yam Sweet Potato Pecan Holiday Casserole

Low Fat Vegan Maple Yam and Pecan Casserole

Featured in my new recipe eBook: Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World with other holiday favorites like Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash, Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing, Cheezy Sauce For Steamed Vegetables and 5 different gravy recipes and more!

I want to share some of my delicious Christmas dinner recipes I made last year with you. Baked Yam Pecan Casserole is super easy to make and one of my favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes.

It was my extended family’s first “predominantly vegan” Christmas and holiday dinner. My mom was so thrilled not to have to deal with a turkey, so she just had her husband pick up some pre cooked roast turkey for himself and my grandmother, and the rest of us just at vegan and loaded up on all the delicious sides!

We made my new Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing, mashed potatoes and 2 kinds of gravy, vegetables in cheezy sauce. I know some of you will be wanting the recipes, so here’s another one for you to save for special holidays, or whenever you have a serious Yam craving! (Or if you are obsessed with sweet potato casseroles, or sweet potato pie, like they are in the South. I’m in Texas right now lol)

Now these are actually yams, but Americans will still call them Sweet Potatoes. Pretty much anything that seems like a potato and tastes sweet, they call sweet potatoes. In Canada and the rest of the world, they are called yams (In Australia kumara). Hence why I called the recipe a Yam Casserole. I think the name “sweet potato” is very ambiguous and confusing, as in the USA it encompasses basically any starchy root than is semi sweet, whether it’s golden yams, purple yams, orange yams (like above) etc. Check out the Wiki on yams if you don’t believe me!

This recipe is SUPER easy and you can of course scale it down if you don’t want lots of leftovers.

This recipe is also oil-free, Earth Balance-free and guilt free! If you don’t have maple syrup, you can certainly use some agave, brown rice syrup or other preferred sweetener.

Low Fat Vegan Maple Yam Pecan Casserole (Sweet Potato Pie -ish)

(You can also half this recipe, if you don’t want leftovers)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

5 large yams (orange flesh sweet potatoes in the USA if you insist on calling them that 🙂 )
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp herbamare
1/2 cup pecan halves

Directions:

1. Peel and slice yams into 2″ thick slices. (This is so they cook faster)

2. Steam yams or cook in a pressure cooker just until tender. As soon as you can poke easily with a fork and break them apart they are done.

3. Drain and turn into a bowl and mash with potato masher.

4. Add seasonings and stir gently.

5. Pour into a casserole pan, garnish with pecans and keep warm in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until needed.

6. Serve.

What’s your favourite Christmas or Thanksgiving side? What did you have this year for Christmas dinner? Sweet potatoes or yams?

Special Occasions: Holiday Vegan Pecan Pie (Not Low Fat!)

January 4, 2012 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

This recipe I am mentioning as a special treat my mom and I made for our family this Christmas. It was the first time my mom was eating vegan for Christmas, and we wanted to make a holiday pie that everyone could have for dessert without dietary restrictions.

We were much too full after eating our Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole and Fat Free Vegan Cranberry Apple Stuffing so it wasn’t eaten until much later in the evening, and I waited until the next day. It’s just such a rich dessert!

I found the recipe here, and just a warning, in no way shape or form is this a low fat or oil free recipe! I just wanted to offer my feedback on how this vegan pecan pie came out, and if you are making it for your family who will be having pie anyways, at least you can have a bite or piece while making and serving it!

We did not have a pastry cutter OR a food processor down here, but my mom managed to cut in the Earth Balance and make the crust without too much rolling or mixing. It was pretty thick and sturdy, not greasy or flaky though and you can tell it’s definitely homemade and not store bought! 🙂

The filling set really well at the sides, but next time I would bake it longer as it was still not firm in the centre. So it did not come out looking like a perfectly cut piece of pie, but everyone that ate it, didn’t care and enjoyed it anyways! It is very rich, so we cut only tiny pieces instead of a standard 6 or 8 pieces that most people do.

I also specially bought whole wheat saltine crackers, because the recipe said to do so, but in an effort to lower the fat content you can use plain saltines as they have less fat in them than the whole wheat ones. (Whole wheat tends to be dryer, so they always add more oil to baked goods). This serves to thicken up the filling and add some strength to it. You could try adding an extra saltine or two as well, maybe it would be firmer in the middle.

Anyway, this is my first attempt on a vegan holiday pie, and it didn’t turn out too bad! Just make sure to not make it only for yourself and share it with your friends and family!

Oil Free Low Fat Vegan Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing

December 26, 2011 by Veronica Grace 11 Comments

This is a very delicious and healthy, but decadent stuffing recipe you can use for Thanksgiving or Christmas! It contains no butter, margarine or earth balance, and you won’t even notice! It’s full of flavour and very moist and tasty with so many colours and textures to enjoy.

We ate it along with my Baked Maple Yam Pecan Casserole and Decadent Vegan Pecan Pie. Make sure to book mark this!

This photo above was my first time making it and it turned out very well and since then it has become the stuffing recipe that I use from now on. I wanted something with cranberry and pecan in it, and then threw in mushrooms, celery, apple and apple juice as well. In fact my family DEMANDS that I make this savory stuffing recipe each year and no one minds not having turkey flavoured stuffing at all!

This recipe makes a large casserole pan full, so definitely only do the full recipe if feeding a family. If you’re a small family or a single you could half the recipe if you’d like to make less. It definitely won’t disappoint and everyone will rave about how tasty this home made vegan stuffing is.

Fat Free Vegan Cranberry Apple Pecan Stuffing

Ingredients:

15 cups large cubes of bread
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
1 cup cranberries
2 apples, diced
3 1/2 cups apple juice
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2/3 cup pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried margoram
1/2 tsp dried savory

Directions:

1. Toast bread crumbs at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until dry. Check after 10 minutes to prevent burning. Alternatively you can spread on a cookie sheet and dry out overnight.

2. Slice pecans halves in half. (This makes them spread farther and keeps the recipe lower in fat) Toast pecans at 350 for 5 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning.

3. Soak dried cranberries in 3 cups of apple juice for 30 minutes.

4. Saute onions, celery and mushrooms in vegetable broth over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until soft.

5. Saute diced apples in 1/2 cup apple juice, brown sugar and cinnamon until soft.

6. In a large bowl combine ingredients and mix thoroughly until all the herbs are spread out and the bread is moist. If your bread is still a little dry you can pour a little extra apple juice in the bottom of the roasting pan to prevent burning and drying out.

7. Spread out in a large lasagna size roasting pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through.

What do you think? What’s your favourite type of stuffing?

Special Occasions: Plant Based Cheesecake and Blueberry Rooibos Compote (Vegan Cheesecake)

November 26, 2011 by Veronica Grace 9 Comments

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Today I made a special recipe for my friend’s birthday. A vegan cheesecake with vegan graham cracker crust and blueberry rooibos compote. When trying to impress friends and especially non-vegans, having a great vegan comfort food treat can be a little daunting, but trust me this recipe is easy.

Since I have never made a vegan cheesecake before, and the last time I made actual cheesecake was almost a decade a go, I decided to look online and see what I could find. My friend requested an almond-lemony flavoured cheesecake, and what do you know? I found one here. It uses firm silken tofu and Tofutti better than cream cheese. With the almond extract and fresh lemon juice, it really tastes nice, and I could not detect any tofu flavour at all. I made the recipe almost exactly as the post, but the only firm silken tofu I could find was by Mori-nu and it comes in a 12 oz size and not 14 oz. It seemed fine and enough filling anyways for the cheesecake.

The cheesecake part was very easy, since I had a Vitamix and I could just combine everything and blend. I still blended a little longer than normal for good measure, just to be sure there was no sugar granules or chunks of corn starch.

The hard part of this recipe was that there are no vegan graham crackers (they contain honey) or crusts at Whole Foods in Vancouver, BC I could find. So I had to do it old school and make my own graham crackers… I’ve never even made any crackers before… so here’s how what I did…

I found a recipe here for vegan graham crackers and smores. I didn’t know how much of the recipe I would need for the crust, so I made the whole thing. But now I know I could have halved or even thirded the recipe since I now have a lot of extra graham crackers. I froze them for later in case I need a dessert crust again.

You definitely DO NOT need to make a crust for vegan cheesecake, your recipe will be much lower in fat if you don’t, since I can’t see any way to make a fat free or low fat pie crust. The graham crumbs are held in by Earth Balance, which is a highly processed food so I don’t recommend making this recipe regularly, just for special occasions like birthdays and holidays for your friends and family. My friend likes graham cracker crusts so that’s why I made it.

A note about the graham cracker recipe if you make it, I wouldn’t bake them so long. My crackers were baked for the full time and were SO freaking hard. Like dangerous to chew hard. It took me forever to break them down in the food processor. I should have used the Vitamix instead, but it had the cream cheese filling in it. But it took forever to get down to crumbs. It would barely crush with my stone rolling pin! Try baking 30-35 minutes only. They don’t need to be totally firm when you take them out, they will solidify. And if you roll them too thin they will turn too brown and burn. The texture is not that great for eating, as it’s a little gritty, but if you’re into whole wheat treats you might not mind.

Now on to the part where my recipe comes in. Earlier this week some friends and I had a vegan tea cook off and I made a blueberry rooibus tea compote for my raw banana ice-cream made with Provence rooibus tea. It was very delicious, I decided to replicate it again for this cheesecake.

Here’s the recipe:

Plant Based Blueberry Rooibus Tea Compote

Ingredients:

3 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup blueberry rooibos tea or other rooibos tea (steeped at double strength)
3-4 tbsp granulated sugar, maple syrup, honey, or vegan honey
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Add 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries, the tea, sugar and lemon juice and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the remaining blueberries and cook for another 6-8 minutes.
3. Taste test and adjust to your liking, add more sugar for more sweet, or more tea for less sweet.
4. Serve over vegan cheesecake, ice-cream, yogurt, and more.

My suggestion for a healthier decadent vegan treat would be to serve this compote like I originally did, over fat free banana ice-cream made in the Vitamix or a juicer. Then it’s completely fat and guilt-free.

My rooibos banana ice-cream was:

1/2 cup Provence rooibos tea (steeped at double strength)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 frozen bananas (make sure your bananas are ripe, see my post here about how to tell if bananas are ripe)

You’ll need a Vitamix to make this, or let the banana thaw a little bit and slice into small pieces for your regular blender or food processor. Add the tea and extract and then the bananas. Turn the Vitamix onto 5 and use the tamper to push it down and cream the bananas. Continue pushing it all down until it’s blended evenly. This should take no more than 30-60 seconds, since you don’t want your ice-cream to start melting.

Serves 2 large servings, 4-6 small dessert servings.

Let me know what you think!

Update!

I made this vegan cheesecake again crustless and with the same blueberry sauce but without the rooibos tea. If you make the vegan cheesecake crustless, make sure you spray some cooking spray on the bottom of your dish! Mine would not come out, so it was messy. Also the blueberry sauce was rather 1 dimensional. I really missed the subtle complex flavours left by the fruity blueberry rooibus tea. So I really hope you will try it. It will not be the same if you get another kind of blueberry tea, like green tea because it’s less fragrant.