Pumpkin Pie (WFPB, vegan, GF)

Spending the morning baking with my 2 oldest children making our favorite pumpkin pie recipe with some edits.  This is not a low sugar recipe but the fresh pie pumpkin pulp is loaded with fiber.  Fiber helps mitigate insulin spikes which is why the saying at our dinner table is "fiber first".  We identify the highest fiber foods on our plate and try to consume them first.   97% of Americans eat a fiber deficient diet*.  Given the tremendous amount of health benefits of fiber consumption (binds to toxins, excess cholesterol, estrogen & removes them, reduces the risk of leading killers, etc.), this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for fiber!  And we will be eating this pie after lots of fiber-fueled dishes such as green bean casserole, roasted brussels sprouts, and a mashed sweet potato recipe.  

Updated recipe:

Ingredients
Crust
2 cups rolled oats (used certified gluten-free if needed)
1/2 cup pitted dates (packed)
1/3 cup almond butter (we used sunflower butter)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt (omit if almond butter has it)
2 tablespoons plant-based milk

Filling
1 can pumpkin purée or 2 cups cooked pie pumpkin flesh
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup plain unsweetened plant-based milk (increase this amount as needed for blender to mix if using fresh pie pumpkin)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a pie plate by putting down parchment paper. In a food processor, add the oats, dates, and salt for the crust. Purée until fine and crumbly. Then add the almond butter and purée for about a minute. Add the milk and pulse through until the mixture becomes sticky (it should hold together when pressed/pinched). If it’s not holding together, add a little more milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it does. You shouldn’t need more than another 3-4 tsp. Remove and transfer to a prepared pie plate. Press mixture in with your fingers until evenly distributed around the base and up the sides of the plate. The parchment paper makes this process a bit difficult so using a light spray of oil as per the original directions can be followed in lieu of the parchment.  

In a blender (high speed works best, for regular blender you will need to blend longer and scrape down jar several times) combine all ingredients for the filling. Purée until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Pour mixture into pie crust (scrape out bowl) and gently tip back and forth to distribute evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F (180C) and continue to bake for 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and has mostly set (the center may be soft, but it will set further as it cools). Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before slicing and serving (can refrigerate to chill first). Serve as is or with vanilla non-dairy ice cream. Serves 6-8.

* Fiber overview: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/fiber/
For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Creamy Lentil Soup (WFPB, vegan)

Creamy Lentil Soup

When we first started eating whole food plant-based 9 years ago, my kids weren’t exactly bean enthusiasts.  However, I could get them to eat lentils with ease.  While this recipe, a favorite in our house, uses green lentils, there are a wide variety of lentils to try out as you look for anti-inflammatory sources of protein.  Lentils are also rich in iron, zinc and folate.  My personal splurge-worthy lentil is the Black Caviar lentil at Rancho Gordo (although the Black Beluga lentils are amazing too).  I’m not affiliated with Rancho Gordo, just a huge fan!  

Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/3acnkakb

Rancho Gordo: https://tinyurl.com/2h6kd8ff

Lentils: https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/lentils/

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Cashew Ricotta (WFPB, vegan)

 

This is one of my top 2 favorite dairy free cheese recipes.  So simple and delicious from The Simple Veganista.  Goes well with lasagnas, crackers, sandwiches, wraps and more.  One of our favorite ways to use it is with beets, mustard and arugula.  Beets can be sliced thin in a food processor at your desired thickness, steamed in an Instant Pot for about 8 minutes or until tender, cooled and layered onto a wrap or sandwich like deli meat.  A wrap with layers of cashew ricotta, mustard (we like it with German mustard), cooked beets and arugula makes for a delicious, healthy on the go lunch.  The recipe suggests adding as much salt as you want, however, the lower the salt the better for our health.  Excess sodium consumption is a leading cause of mortality.  

Recipe: https://tinyurl.com/4wuxvt59

Sodium reference: https://tinyurl.com/32vb55rn

Instant Pot: https://amzn.to/3GesHVG

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Yellow Split Pea Dal (WFPB, vegan)

Yellow Split Pea Dal

Made an amazing Yellow Split Pea Dal recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, How Not to Die: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease by Dr. Michael Greger.  The book is excellent too.  It sits on my reference shelf with lots of pages flagged due to their importance. Modified the recipe just a bit by blending half of the cooked contents and eliminating the hot green chili.  All 5 of us devoured it with those who like spice adding some at serving time.

Cookbook: https://amzn.to/3O7bNue

Book:  https://amzn.to/3g9DMN0

For more: www.feelplantiful.com

Carrot Lox (WFPB, vegan)

 

Carrot Lox (WFPB, vegan)

One of my favorite foods, prior to my plant nutrition training, was smoked salmon.  Learning about AGE's and how harmful smoked meat is was a sad moment all those many years ago.  Fortunately, my spouse and his carrot lox recipe came to the rescue.  I am forever grateful! He makes up a batch 2-3 times per month for our family of 5.  It's a breakfast favorite and goes into wraps too.

Pickled Red Onion
3-4 red onions (4 cups packed)
1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup

Apple cider vinegar to fill jar

Carrot Lox

4 cups packed of carrot slices

3 Tbsp liquid smoke

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

Instructions

Halve the red onions, put into food processor with slice blade at 1 mm.  Place ingredients into mason jar, let sit in fridge 24 hours before using.  

Using a food processor place blade at 2 mm, lay carrots sideways to create nice long rectangles (cutting carrots to make them fit into the food processor chute sideways).  Place in steaming basket of Instant Pot with shallow layer of water at the bottom.  Steam for 3 minutes with a quick release.  Fresh carrots from a garden will take longer until the desired salmon-like soft texture is achieved.  Place softened carrots into a mason jar with ingredients and gently rotate jar to distribute mixture over all carrots.  Place in fridge for at least 12 hours.  Keeps for a week.  

Our favorite way to eat this is on Ezekiel English Muffins (toasted), with avocado, layered with capers, microgreens or sprouts, carrot lox and topped with the pickled red onion.  It's so delicious!  

Ratings: 2 out of 2 love it!  This one is hard to rate with the family since the kids either have never had smoked salmon or don't remember it.  The adults love this recipe, 1 teen and a tween prefer to sub out the lox for chickpea smash, and our other teen hasn't tried it.  She just wants her much beloved steel cut oatmeal every morning.  Enjoy!

Aquafabulous Scrambled "Eggs", Chickpea Avocado Smash (WFPB, vegan, nut free)

We are in love with this modified recipe from Blissful Basil.  Most weekends we make up a batch.  The scrambled "eggs" reheat well for other meals, too.  Friday morning, I put a pound of garbanzo beans in the slow cooker to get my aquafaba ready for Saturday or Sunday.  We use the garbanzo beans to make a Chickpea Avocado Smash for sandwiches and wraps for school lunches or other meals.



Aquafabulous Scrambled "Eggs"
Ingredients
12 ounces extra firm tofu
1 cup aquafaba/chickpea brine (see recipe below or use brine from canned garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp kala namak
1/4 tsp turmeric
ground pepper to taste

Directions
Blend ingredients together until well blended.  Heat a griddle (we use our pancake griddle) to medium high.  Cook "eggs' until desired consistency.  It usually takes 10 minutes or so for us.

Chickpea Avocado Smash

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1 Tbsp capers
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Avocado to desired amount
Bread, wrap, or crackers
Sprouts, optional

Directions
Mash chickpeas with potato masher in a bowl.  Mix in remaining ingredients except avocado.  Mash avocado to place on top of bread, inside of wrap or on top crackers.  Layer chickpea smash on top of avocado.  Add sprouts if desired.


Aquafaba
5 1/2 cups water*
2 1-inch x 1-inch sections of kombu
1 pound garbanzo beans, rinsed & drained

Directions
Place all ingredients in slow cooker for 8-9 hours, until beans are tender.  Remove kombu.  Drain broth from beans, about 2 1/2- 2 3/4 cups worth, storing in a separate container from beans.

*I've found that fresher beans, such as Rancho Gordo, require about an additional 1 cup of water to cook the beans and to produce the 2 1/2 cups worth of brine.

Cashew Mayo (WFPB, vegan)

While searching for a BLT recipe, I decided to try this simple cashew mayo recipe.  It's so amazing we now put it in wraps, sandwiches, salads and as a veggie dip for school lunches.  I keep the spice down to 1 teaspoon for the kids.  I used my high speed blender as the blade on my food processor is getting quite dull.   Haven't tried it with sunflower seeds as a nut free option, yet.  Please let me know if you do.

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 4-8 hours then drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
• 3 tablespoons plain soy or almond milk
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (less or more to taste)...we use 1 teaspoon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Place the soaked cashews in a food processor fitted with the S-blade (or use a high speed blender) and process until a thick paste forms. Add lemon juice, milk, Sriracha, and salt. Continue blending until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.