low-fat

Tropical Mango Banana Acai Bowl

May 8, 2013 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

I have another delicious acai bowl recipe for you with mango and banana. This one is similar to my Acai Banana Berry Bowl Recipe , but it’s perfect for summer with this tropical twist. Basically you can top your acai bowl with anything you want, but I know some of you have never had one before and are unsure how to make them at home.

Acai is usually sold in a frozen puree for use in smoothies, acai bowls and frozen desserts. You can also buy acai juice, powder and supplements, but I stick with the puree because it’s delicious and a little less processed.

Acai bowls are made up of frozen acai puree, apple juice or soy milk, frozen fruit, granola, fresh fruit and sometimes honey. If you do not have acai frozen puree in your country (I found it at the health food store in Canada and the USA) you can substitute about 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

Tropical Mango Banana Acai Bowl

Serves 1

Bowl Ingredients:

4 oz/ 1/2 cup apple juice (unsweetened if desired)
2 100g packets of frozen Acai (I used Sambazon Original Smoothie Packs)
3/4 cup frozen mango (sub a fresh mango if you do not have a high powered blender such as a VitaMix or Blendtec)

Garnish Ingredients:

1/3-1/2 cup low fat granola of choice (I like Galaxy Granola as it’s oil free)
1/2 -1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup fresh ripe ataulfo mango, diced
handful of blueberries or other berries
Drizzle of honey or agave *optional

Directions:

1. Remove packets of acai and frozen bananas from freezer.

2. Slice the mango, slice the banana and wash the blueberries and set aside.

3. Add apple juice to your blender. Break up the frozen acai into smaller pieces and cut the plastic open and pour into blender. Add the mango. Blend on low or pulse to break up the frozen fruit. If you have a VitaMix use the tamper to puree into a soft serve. If you have another type of blender you may have to stop and stir and keep pulsing to combine. Stop blending when smooth.

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4. Scrape acai mixture into a bowl.

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5. Top acai with granola.

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6. Top with bananas, strawberries and blueberries.

7. Serve.

Have you ever had an Acai bowl? What’s your favorite topping?

Preview Video of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World

May 2, 2013 by Veronica Grace 10 Comments

I wanted to make a little video for you to show off my new printed version of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World. I just received my sample proof on Tuesday and here I am showing you what it looks like and what’s inside.

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Right now Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World is on pre-sale so make sure to grab your copy here: http://www.plantbasedu.com/comfortfoods

Thank you for your support everyone! I can’t wait until you can have my book in your kitchen and enjoy making healthy meals for you and your family.

Veronica

Pre Order Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World Now!

April 30, 2013 by Veronica Grace 2 Comments

Hi Everyone!

I’m now accepting pre orders for Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World.

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Just click here to go to the sales page.

I have had this available as a recipe ebook since October 2012, but now I’ve turned your favorite recipes into an all new, totally redesigned printed book you can bring into the kitchen with you!

Thank you so much for your support and all the positive feedback I’ve received from you guys. I could not do this without you!

This book has recipes for everyone in it. All of them are low fat, oil-free and contain absolutely no fake vegetarian cheeses or meats. There’s also tons of recipes for those following a gluten free, nut free or soy free diet.

Enjoy my little chefs! 🙂

Veronica

Vegan Comfort Foods Printing Soon and Contest!

April 28, 2013 by Veronica Grace

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COMING SOON!

Hi everyone! I am so excited to announce that my print edition of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World is ALMOST ready! It has been a huge learning process for me and I’ve had multiple people help me on this project from editing to formatting to design. Since I’m not going the traditional route (like trying to find a big publishing house to work with) I can do things a little differently. By self publishing I can decide on the quality and content of each book and offer you a fully colored printed book with photos for EVERY recipe instead of just for some. This recipe book has exactly the same recipes in my ebook version, the only thing that has changed is the cover and the layout.

Some of you have been begging for me to come out with a printed recipe book and because Vegan Comfort Foods sells so well in ebook form I was able to take a risk and get it designed and printed. So I wanted to thank you all for your support!

I’d like to get your feedback on what you think of this design as well and do a special launch contest for you in return.

Contest – Win A Copy Of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World

Just comment below and tell me what you think of the design and why you would like to win a copy. I’ll select one lucky winner from all the comments and mail you a copy of Vegan Comfort Foods as soon as it’s printed. (Please don’t enter any address or shipping information in your comment, I will contact you for those details if you win, just provide a working email address)

Here’s the beautiful back cover I had designed.

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Chapter Sections:

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Sample Recipe (click each photo to enlarge):

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The book is 150 pages and in an 8 x 10″ format. It’s jam packed with delicious recipes and other helpful information such as:

Tools Necessary For A Low Fat Vegan Kitchen
Ingredients Necessary For These Recipes
Why Cook Without Oil?
Debunking Common Cooking Myths
What Is This Ingredient?
How To Cook The Perfect Brown Rice
How To Cook The Perfect White Basmati Rice (and brown)
How To Cook Quinoa Perfectly Every Time
How To Bake Jacket Potatoes Without Oil
How To Cook The Perfect Sushi Rice.

Recipes featured in Vegan Comfort Foods:

Comfort Foods From the Americas:

Baked Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
Better Than Boston Baked Beans
Black Bean & Corn Tacos
Cranberry Apple Pecan Holiday Stuffing
Easy Cheezy Shells and Broccoli
Hearty Vegetable Slow Cooker Stew
Herbed Lentil Loaf
Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash
Jackfruit Carnitas (faux pulled pork tacos)
Marinated Portobella Bean Burritos
Mashed Potatoes With Mushrooms
Meatless Sloppy Joe’s
Quinoa Veggie Slow Cooker Chili
Rainbow Nachos
Rice & Beans Costa Rican Style (Gallo Pinto)
Saucy Eggplant Fajitas
Spicy Black Bean & Corn Burgers
Yam & French Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
Yam and Pecan Holiday Casserole
Yam Black Bean Enchiladas

Comfort Foods From Europe and Asia

Baked Artichoke Risotto
Baked Ziti With Greens
The Best Cabbage Rolls
Cauliflower Potato Tofu Frittata
Deluxe Spinach Mushroom Lasagna
Fettuccini Alfredo With Mushrooms and Spinach
Gourmet Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto
Greek Rice Stuffed Peppers
Indian Basmati Rice with Peas
Indian Cauliflower & Potato Curry (Aloo Gobi)
Indian Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)
Indian Eggplant Curry (Baingan Bharta)
Indian Spinach Potato Curry (Aloo Palak)
Moroccan Root Vegetable Tagine (Stew)
Ratatouille
Rotini Marinara With Chanterelle Mushrooms
Spaghetti Marinara With French Lentils
Thai Eggplant & Basil Stir Fry
Vegan California Sushi Rolls
Yam Chickpea Spinach Curry

Comfort Sauces/Gravies/Dips

Baba Ghanoush (Roasted Eggplant Dip)
The Best Guacamole
Black Bean Dip
Cheezy Sauce For Vegetables
Classic Brown Gravy
Creamy White Bean Gravy With Thyme
Low Fat Hummus
Miso Tahini Gravy
Queso Sauce
Rich Mushroom Gravy
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Southern White Gravy
Tangy Tofu Ranch Dip
Plus Bonus recipes: Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms,Two Bite Brownies and Vegan Rice Pudding

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How To Win A Copy:

Let me know what you think of the design and why you would like to win a copy! Comment below and I’ll choose 1 lucky winner!

Contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Raw Vegan Recipe: Zucchini Cashew Ranch Dip

March 31, 2013 by Veronica Grace 18 Comments

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Hey everyone! The other day I was invited over for a friend’s house warming and I assumed that I would be the only vegan attendee. So what I did was brought a few things that I would be able to eat, that would also appeal to other types of tastes as well. I made some vegan nachos using seasoned soy beef and some vegan cheese to show off that vegan food could be tasty. BUT I only make that kind of food when I’m serving people totally unfamiliar with vegan food. I don’t make that kind of food at home or for myself. So I also wanted to bring a healthy option to balance that out.

I thought of serving a veggie tray as that would be quick and easy to bring as well. Lucky for me my local grocery store now makes veggie trays without that dairy based dip in the middle, so I could run out and grab it and just focus on making the dip portion from scratch. Of course I could chop the veggies myself as well, I just didn’t really have a handy travel tray so this worked well for me.

I had been thinking about a way to make a tasty ranch-like dip, but lower in fat. And I was inspired by my Hemp Seed Hummus recipe from Savory Raw Dinner Recipes which uses raw zucchini as the base instead of nuts to cut out some of the extra calories. But I didn’t want it to just taste like raw zucchini so that’s why I added some raw cashews so it had that nice creamy taste to it as well. I promise you won’t be able to taste the zucchini. 🙂

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This recipe was a real hit and everyone could not believe that I had made it myself (or that anyone would be a vegan chef let alone a low fat one) but I was very happy that everyone found it delicious even after I told them there was raw zucchini in it! Hurray! Score one for the low fat vegans.

So I wanted to share this recipe with you because quite often I hear the pleas of newbies craving something tasty to dip their raw celery and broccoli into and this is very easy to make at home.

I use a VitaMix for my heavy duty blending, but don’t worry if you don’t have one I have included some tips like soaking your cashews and dates, that will help make the blending process in your regular blender much easier.

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Raw Vegan Zucchini Cashew Ranch Dip

Makes enough dip to serve with 1 large veggie tray

Ingredients:

1 medium/medium large zucchini peeled and diced into small cubes (approx 2 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup cashews, soaked for a few hours and drained
1-2 medjool dates, pitted, soaked and chopped
2- 2 1/2 tbsp meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp nutritional yeast *optional for flavor
1-2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp diced sweet onion (or 1 tsp of onion powder)
1 tbsp chopped curly leaf parsley
1 green onion/scallion, sliced (green top portion only)
1/4 tsp Herbamare or salt or to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Splash or two of unsweetened almond milk (if necessary to blend in a regular blender)

Directions:

1. Combine everything but the parsley, green onion, salt, and pepper in a Vitamix or a food processor and blend. (It’s important to have everything in small pieces so it’s easier to blend together. A high powered blender with a tamper is preferable.)

2. Add remaining ingredients and blend on medium low to break up the fresh herbs into smaller pieces. Taste test and add additional salt, pepper or lemon juice as desired.

3. Refrigerate before serving.

Additional Tips:

If you have a Vitamix you do not have to soak the cashews or the dates or use the almond milk, but if using another blender or food processor that is lower powered it is highly recommended to make this dip easier to blend.

Let me know what you think of this dip! And what is your favorite raw veggie for dipping?

Farms2Forks Engine 2 Forks Over Knives Event!

March 5, 2013 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

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Hey everyone!

I’m going to be attending the Farms2Forks event in LA April 12-14 this year (not as a presenter) but I’m very excited. Why? Because live events are awesome. You get to fully immerse yourself with great information, great food and meet so many inspiring people to get you jazzed up about a low fat vegan and plant based lifestyle.

Last year I attended one of Dr. McDougall’s 3 Day Advanced Study Weekends and it was such a positive experience for me I want to try to attend more of these types of events.

This year it’s Farms 2 Forks because I have yet to meet the Esselstyn’s and Jeff Novick who are offering great lectures I haven’t attended before. I also get to listen to Dr. Matthew Lederman (featured in Forks Over Knives) and Dr. Doug Lisle (author of The Pleasure Trap) who I’ve previously met and were a pleasure to learn from as well.

It’s wonderful to get all these plant based experts and doctors in one place because they have so much knowledge and experience we can learn from.

Dates:

Los Angeles, CA April 12-14 – Farms 2 Forks

Chicago, IL May 24-26 – Farms 2 Forks

Atlanta, GA June 28-30 Farms 2 Forks

Claverack, NY Aug 17-18 – Plant Stock @ Esselstyn Family Farm

Full details HERE

These events will cover breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the weekend, and provide plenty of refreshments and snacks during the breaks.

You’ll hear important information from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease), Dr. Matthew Lederman, (featured in Forks Over Knives), Rip Esselstyn (author of the The Engine2 Diet), Jeff Novick, RD. (featured on Vegsource.com and in the McDougall Program) and Doug Lisle (author of The Pleasure Trap).

You’ll also learn tips on shopping and preparing healthy meals at home and have a wide variety of oil free low fat plant based meals to choose from at each meal. (Endless delicious healthy food? Who DOESN’T love that?)

So if you’re looking for a way to immerse yourself in a healthier diet and get an insider look at the “how’s” and “why’s” of a plant strong diet this is the perfect opportunity for you.

And who knows you may even see me at the LA event and get to meet me and say hi in person!

For full details go HERE.

And feel free to share this page with anyone you think might be interested.

Low Fat Vegan Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins

November 19, 2012 by Veronica Grace 6 Comments

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Hands up who likes carrot muffins? Now hands up who likes pumpkin raisin muffins?

Why not have both!

These muffins are inspired by a combination of Oh She Glows Carrot Spice Muffins and my own Pumpkin Raisin Muffins recipe.

These Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins are so delicious that I’ve made several batches of these. Best part is no one will be able to tell they are vegan. They’re a really dense and flavorful muffin.

And it’s a great way to use up any leftover carrots in the fridge as well. During the fall I always keep a couple of cans of pumpkin in the pantry to make delicious pumpkin baked goods. This is a great alternative to pumpkin pie for a Thanksgiving or Holiday treat as well.

Bring them to work, potlucks, pack for kid’s/spouse’s lunches etc. Everyone will be raving about these satisfying muffins and be asking for the recipe.

You may want to make 2 batches of these to use up a full 15 oz./425 g can of pumpkin. I have made them with less than 1 cup of pumpkin puree and they turned out just fine too.

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Low Fat Vegan Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Dry ingredients:

1 & 3/4 cup stone ground whole wheat flour (or spelt, kamut, oat etc.)
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 tbsp ground chia seed
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup canned pumpkin (or fresh cooked, mashed)
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrot (3 medium ones or 2 large )
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts *optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F/204 C.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and stir.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

5. Use silicon muffin tray, or a regular muffin tin lined with muffin cups and spoon mixture evenly for 12 muffins.

6. Bake for 23-25 minutes until toothpick in centre comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

8. Store in air tight containers or ziploc bags.

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Have you ever had carrot pumpkin muffins before? What’s your favorite way to use canned pumpkin?

Low Fat Vegan Thanksgiving Ideas

November 14, 2012 by Veronica Grace 4 Comments

I decided to make a post of my favorite veganized Thanksgiving dishes to share with you since many of you will be dining plant based or trying to dine mostly plant based this year and still feeding some carnivores too! All of these recipes have been tested on my family and their non vegan friends, so I assure you they are crowd pleasers. 🙂

Some of these recipes are featured in my blog, and some are in my recipe ebook Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World has loads more delicious and hearty entree recipes for every occasion.

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Vegan Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

Raw Vegan Salads:

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Raw Vegan Caesar Salad

The Best Caesar Salad

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Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad

Vegan Thanksgiving Entrees:

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Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats

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Holiday Stuffed Acorn Squash

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Greek Stuffed Eggplant

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Herbed Lentil Loaf

Herbed Lentil Loaf with Miso Gravy

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Greek Rice Stuffed Peppers

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

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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?

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Tropical Mango Banana Acai Bowl

COMING SOON!

*Contest* – Win A Copy Of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World

Recipes featured in Vegan Comfort Foods:

How To Win A Copy:

Contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered!

Raw Vegan Zucchini Cashew Ranch Dip

Low Fat Vegan Carrot Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Vegan Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

Raw Vegan Salads:

Vegan Thanksgiving Entrees:

Vegan Side Dishes:

Vegan Decadent Desserts (These are not low fat):

Vegan Lower Fat Desserts:

Here’s How You Can Enter To Win A Copy Of My Low Fat Vegan Comfort Soups Recipe eBook

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

Contest – Win A Copy Of Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World