Flourless Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Oh-My-Delicious. I don't really know how else to describe these. Well, easy, affordable, quick, high-protein (5 grams per cookie), and delicious! Makes 14 cookies. I also really love these with dark chocolate chips on top. Kind of similar to a peanut butter cup.

Ingredients 

1 cup of Peanut Butter 
(If using fresh ground, increase sugar to 1 cup, add a pinch salt)
2/3 cup Sugar
1 Tbs Vanilla
1 Tbs Ground Chia Seeds
3 Tbs Water
(Optional add-ins. I like dark chocolate chips. I only put them on top while cookies are cooling)


Directions

Grind whole chia seeds in coffee grinder, table blender, or some type of grindy thingy until it is like a coarse powder. Add 1 Tbs of ground chia to 3 Tbs of water. stir together and let sit for 10-15 minutes . . . this is your vegan egg.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Measure 1 cup of peanut butter and put in bowl. Add sugar, and vanilla. Mix together. Add chia egg and incorporate.

Scoop cookies onto nonstick cookie sheet -- try and make them similar in size and get between 12-16. I use a melon scooper. Use a fork to make traditional crosshatch peanut butter cookie pattern in the top while flattening out.

Put in preheated oven and cook for 9-12 minutes. They won't look done . . .they are. Take out pan, and let them cool 5 minutes on the pan --allows a little more cooking time. This 5 minutes is when I add the chocolate chips on top. Just press them into the cookie. After the 5 minutes,  remove from pan and eat them or put on newspaper to finish cooling before storing.

Zucchini Pasta

Super fantastic pasta made from sliding zucchini through a mandolin. You can choose the thickness you desire -- thin or linguine! Serves 2.

Ingredients 

2 Large Zucchini or 
Yellow Summer Squash
1 Onion
1 Jar of Favorite Pasta Sauce
2 Tbs Olive Oil
Splash of Red Wine (Optional)


Directions

Cut off both ends of the zucchini and cut long-wise down the center. Prepare the mandolin with the slicer in place for the desired width of "pasta" you want. 

Place a cutting board underneath the mandolin, or have a super, super, super clean counter!

To get the longest lengths of "pasta", lay the zucchini with the long, flat side you cut against the mandolin. This picture doesn't show that because I learned the hard way this is easier :)

You will have to occasionally remove the already sliced pieces from under the mandolin, or the will clog up you motion. Once you have run them through, they should look like this:

Delicious! Add these to a pasta pot set to medium high heat, and let them start cooking. While the "pasta" is cooking, dice onions, and saute on medium heat in 1 Tbs olive oil. 

After five minutes, there will be liquid in your "pasta": you need to drain this out. Then add a Tbs olive oil and saute for another 4 minutes.

Add a splash of wine to the onions, and add the pasta sauce; bring to a simmer while the stirring the "pasta". Adding the onions and wine the pasta sauce adds a fresh, "homemade" quality to the sauce . . . if I had more time, maybe I would make sauce, but I have to slice the "pasta"!

Plate the "pasta", top with sauce, and enjoy this completely vegan, gluten-free, deliciously epic meal. (Optional, add Parmesan or Nutritional Yeast Flakes on top)

Cheesy Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Kale

Amazingly delicious mashed potatoes you can use as a side, or, because they have so much kale and protein from the "cheese," they can stand as a substantial meal on their own.

Ingredients 
4 Tbs Nutritional Food Yeast "Cheese"
3 Potatoes
1 Onion
6 Big Kale Leaves
3 Tbs Olive Oil
3/4 cup Veggie Broth

Directions

Quarter potatoes and boil in pot of water, covered. I never peel my potatoes, but I always soak my produce in a vinegar/water solution when I bring it home.

Dice onions, and saute on medium heat in 1 Tbs olive oil. Remove kale from stems (the easiest way to do this is to hold the top of the kale and pull the leaves off toward the bottom of the stem [like you would with rosemary]) and feed stems to your kale-loving dog. Chop the kale and add to the onions. Add 2 Tbs of broth to pan, cover, and let onions/kale simmer until kale turns dark green and becomes soft.

Remove Potatoes from stove and drain. Add 3 Tbs veggie broth and 4 Tbs of Vegan cheese -- Mash. Then stir in the onions and kale. Eat  . . . and DO NOT SHARE. It is too amazing. 

Nutritional Yeast Cheese

The most delicious, cheesy tasting yumminess to add to veggies, meat substitutes, or any other thing you think of. This is really high in protein and fiber . . . so it is essential for someone who can't eat nuts/soy/milk/meat.

Ingredients 

1 tsp Mustard (Harvest Grain Dijon is recommended by me!)
1/4 olive oil (don't use vegetable oil . . . that is usually soy oil!!!)
2 cups Cold Water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free baking flour
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast (you can totally buy this in bulk at whole food too . . . then you can buy just a half of a cup and see if you like it first!)

Directions

Whisk together in a heavy bottomed sauce pan:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup all purpose GF flour
1 tsp salt

Place pan over medium-high heat and whisk in:
1 cup cold water

Continue whisking as sauce thickens, bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat,
cook 1 minute, remove from heat.

Whisk in:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp mustard

1 cup remaining water

Return to heat and continue to stir until the sauce get bubbly and kind of form the cheesy ball . . . yeah, it is pretty awesome. Let it cool down and try some! It is so good . . . like slightly sharp cheddar or something delicious.

Sauce will thicken as it cools, but thins down when heated.

Allergic to Practically Everything :)

Ever since I was little, I was a difficult eater: I hated nuts; soy disgusted me; I wouldn't eat meat until I was 8; no fish until I was 17; honestly, I grew up eating nothing but Ramen noodles (chicken flavor only please), Mac&Cheese, and Cold Cereal.

Tree Nuts, Soy, Wheat, Dairy, and Red Meat . . . Allergies that make into
a game full of limitations but also full of exciting creations.

Well, upon turning 17 I started getting sick. My PCP recommend I see an Allergist who conducted all those crazy scratch tests. My goodness! No wonder I was so picky. I was allergic to nuts and soy. I had naturally avoided them as a child because my subconscious knew they were bad. However, small amounts (especially soy) are still hiding in things. First dietary change happened -- eczema went away immediately.

When I was 20, severe dysplasia was found on my cervix. I had it surgically removed. 3 months later I had my follow up exam. The results came back that the cells had grown back! We surgically removed them again!!! Guess what? This happened 2 more times!!!! Finally I said, "Hey Doc, can I do something to help my body fight this?" Doc said . . . "Take more B vitamins to help your immune system." I thought, hmm, not very helpful, but this could be the right direction. 

I started doing a lot of research of women who had recovered from Severe Cervical Dysplasia as well as Cervical Cancer through natural dietary changes...because their bodies were healthier and able to fight the HPV that cause the cells to form into cancer.

For 9 months I ate a Raw Vegan diet. It was hard. It was difficult . . . but I did look damn hot! Perfect skin. Perfect body. Great energy. And, when we did a check up, the abnormal cells were gone! Finito. None were left at all. . . well, I celebrated with Steak. lol.

Strangely, I quickly fell out of Raw Vegan eating habits really quickly, and very quickly (8 months) I gained 50 pounds. But, the only difference was that I was now eating dairy, occasionally wheat, and meat. I still ate tons of fruit and vegetables, healthy grains like quinoa, and sweets only rarely. I kept food journals and honestly my doctor was perplexed.

Last May I decided to do that whole Gluten Free diet thing to lose weight. Well, in 6 weeks, I lost 15 pounds. I then spent the first week of July with my family in New York and fell off the "band wagon", I felt ill. When I came home I went to my OB-GYN. The pain I was feeling was sooo intense it was waking me up at night. I thought the cervical dysplasia had come back. $300 in tests later, my doctor said everything was fine and asked me about my diet. Together, we realized it was Gluten, and that I was intolerant. 2 days after I removed all wheat, the pain went away. (I've had only one issue since . . . blasted Potluck got me in February . . . most embarrassing night of my life.)

From the food journal, I also realized that any time I ate red meat (which I only did 2x a month), I would feel really sick for 4 days. Turns out I don't have the digestive enzymes to break them down.

Oh yeah, it keeps coming.

So from July 2012 - June 2013 I have happily been a Gluten-Free Vegetarian who eats Fish . . . well, this week I had to go to the doctor, because the July 2012 issue has started again. What on earth could be causing this still!?!?! Well, the only pleasure I could have left. Milk. Cheese. Ice Cream.

Starting today, I am "NOT PICKY BY CHOICE". I'm going to share my recipes, because, you know what? I think there are probably other people out there like me. Also, the things I make are generally quick and easy because I am involved in WAY TOO MANY THINGS! Volunteering, church, church groups, discussion groups, marketing for new start-up societies, dating, playing with my dog, exercising. Trust me, They'll be pretty easy :)