Blueberry Breakfast Cake

This one is way too popular in our household.  The entire thing disappears in less than 24 hours and there's even some fighting about the last piece!  Guess I need to double the recipe for this growing family!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake
http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/blueberry-coffee-cake/
The last time I made it, I only had fresh blueberries in the house, so that's what I used.  It still turned out great.
I've been sprinkling the top with a cinnamon & sugar mix.  I haven't tried her recommendation of brown sugar yet.  Let me know if you do!

Chocolate Deliciousness

We all love chocolate.   I am so excited to have found some healthy vegan chocolate desserts that the entire family loves.

Two-Bite Banana Brownies
http://lowfatveganchef.com/vegan-valentines-day-dessert-two-bite-banana-brownies/
My pickiest eater will never eat a banana, but he couldn't stop popping these in his mouth - so this recipe is definitely a winner.   I'm going to need to get a few extra mini muffin pans so I can double or triple the recipe - these didn't last long in our house!  

I used White Whole Wheat flour and ground flax seed because that's what I had on hand.    I didn't need to spray my Pampered Chef mini muffin pan as it's already non-stick.


Double Chocolate Cupcakes
http://www.forksoverknives.com/double-chocolate-cupcakes/
I was happy to have a cupcake recipe that we all can enjoy.   They were enjoyed with or without the frosting.   I knew this one was a winner when my oldest son wrote "these are yummy" on the recipe!

Healthy Homemade Baked Beans

We had this for dinner last night.  It was delicious!   This recipe makes a lot, so we enjoyed the beans for leftovers again today for lunch.

Smoky Apple Baked Beans
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2013/02/smoky-apple-baked-beans.html
I was not sure at first if I was going to recommend this dish here (since I'm trying to only post recipes the entire family enjoys).   My boys ate it without complaining, but needed to drink a lot of water since it had a kick to it.  I did make one substitution when I prepared it... I used Cayenne Red Pepper powder instead of the Chipotle Pepper powder called for in the recipe because that's what I had on hand.    Today I looked up the difference and found out that Cayenne is almost 3x as hot as Chipotle!   So I think I'm going to have to buy some Chipotle powder or only use a pinch of Cayenne as a substitution next time (not a 1:1 substitution) to make it more kid friendly.

I served these beans over the collard greens I'd made the night before along with some herb bread to make it a complete meal.  

Black Bean Soup

I have found a couple of great tasting black bean soup recipes from the forksoverknives.com site. 

Mexican Black Bean and Corn Soup
I've used regular tomatoes and salt and bottled lime juice and it turns out great.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/mexican-black-bean-corn-soup/

Black Bean and Salsa Soup
This recipe is so quick, simple, & delicious!
Be sure to use a good quality salsa.   I omit the extra hot sauce as the salsa I use is spicy enough.  I have been using canned no salt added corn (drained) for convenience.
http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/salsa-soup/

Mexican Chowder
Finally, this one isn't a traditional black bean soup... but rather a Mexican chowder, but also really tasty.   Again, for convenience, I use bottled lime juice. 
http://www.forksoverknives.com/mexican-chowder/

Low Fat Apple Swirl Loaf

This vegan treat can be made wheat free by using spelt flour.   Spelt flour is expensive (over $2/lb) but it works well.   I omit the oil in this recipe and it turns out great.  

We've eaten this for a dessert or along with breakfast.
http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/recipes/recipe-low-fat-apple-swirl-loaf/

Pumpkin Lentil Curry with Apples

This is easy to make and is quite tasty... and even better the next day as leftovers.

Pumpkin Lentil Curry with Apples
http://plantpoweredkitchen.com/recipe-pumpkin-lentil-curry-with-apples/

I've only made it once so far, but plan to make it more often as my local natural foods market recently had cans of organic pumpkin on a 75% off markdown so I stocked up!

Remember as your gathering your ingredients together to start a batch of brown rice (or other grain of your choice) in your rice cooker before you start making this dish.... so both will be done & ready at the same time!

Doughnuts for breakfast!

Banana Bread Breakfast Doughnuts
 http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/02/22/banana-bread-breakfast-doughnuts/

I often make these doughnuts and everyone loves them - including the banana hater in the house.

I have tried the recipe with both spelt flour and white whole wheat flour.  Both turn out fine, but I prefer the texture of the spelt (although the spelt is way more expensive!)

I don't add any oil, and instead increase the milk (almond or soy) to 1/3 cup.
I do add chocolate chips... this is probably why they're so popular.  I use the mini chocolate chips and just lightly sprinkle the top of my batter bowl with them and then mix in.  So not too many... but just enough that I can call them chocolate chip doughnuts!

I've only made these with agave syrup... but am interested in trying maple syrup as the sweetener instead.  Let me know how they turn out if you do!    Also, once I was a bit short on the Agave syrup and they still turned out fine... so I think it can work to cut back the sweeter a bit if you'd like.

The recipe says to bake for 30+ minutes.  Mine are always very done in 20 minutes.

The yield on this recipe for me is 12 huge doughnuts. 

The most delicious pancakes!

Today is world pancake day.   I know my post is late in the day.... but here is my recommendation.

These pancakes are incredibly thick, delicious and so healthy.   One of my sons even squealed with delight the first time I served them to him as he loved the exploding blueberries as he cut into them!   The blueberries add such natural sweetness that everyone in our family eats them just as they are - no extra sugar or fat on top needed!

Blueberry Pie Pancakes
Recipe adapted from here: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/06/09/blueberry-pie-pancakes/

Serves 3

1 & 1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup flour (I use white whole wheat)
6 Tbsp (3/8 cup) rolled oats (I just use regular ol' Quaker oats)
1 & 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp sugar or 3 packets stevia (optional)
1 cup nondairy milk (I usually use vanilla Silk)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet.  Mix, but don't over-mix.  Cook on an oiled or sprayed pan, on low-medium, flipping each pancake once. 

Here are the nutrition facts for one serving: http://tracker.dailyburn.com/recipes/thick_blueberry_pie_pancakes

Vegan style comfort food

Chickpea Noodle Soup
http://www.forksoverknives.com/chickpea-noodle-soup/

This soup is pretty easy to make once you have the ingredients on hand.  I had the hardest time finding the miso (check the ethnic foods or Japanese section of your grocery store).   I also don't have tamari on hand, but after a little research discovered that it's close to soy sauce, so I use that instead.  The soup is yummy and one everyone enjoys.

Kevin's favorite potatoes

I apologize for not having a link or a photo for this recipe - it was one we received in an email from our CSA and I've modified a little bit.

These potatoes are delicious and very popular!

Dijon-Herb Roasted Potatoes

about 2lbs potatoes
5 Tbsp dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon)
1 Tbsp olive oil (or omit entirely and just spray pan with cooking spray)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (feel free to substitute some combo of your own making, such as basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage...)

Mix all ingredients except potatoes in a medium bowl. Scrub potatoes (can leave whole if small otherwise cut into bit sized pieces) and then toss with mustard mixture in bowl. Turn them out into a shallow baking sheet and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes until potatoes are fork tender, stirring occasionally.

Potatoes pre-baking

Just out of the oven.  Done & ready to eat!