Crispy Quinoa Cookies (GF, Vegan)

I made these cookies on a whim, just playing around with a few different things. Later I discovered they are AWESOME for ice cream sandwiches. I used dairy-free maple pecan ice cream in the middle and they went together sooo well! Scroll to the end of the link's page for the  above recipe, it's great, no ice cream maker needed & it's soft no matter how long it's frozen!
If you don't have quinoa flakes or buckwheat flour, there are other options, see options section at the bottom of this post.

ice cream sandwich

Makes about 30 cookies

1/2 c brown rice syrup (can sub agave, honey or maple syrup if you do, exclude the stevia below)
1/3 c sucanat (or dry sweetener of choice)
1 med to large banana
1/2 c almond butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp stevia powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c buckwheat flour
3/4 c quinoa flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 350 F. Mix together brown rice syrup, sucanat, banana, almond butter and vanilla until creamy. Add in dry ingredients and beat until well blended. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 min or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute and then remove from the cookie sheet.When they cool off, they will be crisp.


OPTIONS: If you don't want to use quinoa flakes, you can switch them for oats. Rather than buckwheat flour, you can use brown rice flour.

Mexican Flavored Crackers (Alkaline, GF, Raw, Vegan)

Makes 3 trays full

3 garlic cloves
2 medium size carrots
2 cups flax seeds (feel free to grind if you like first)
2 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1/4 bunch cilantro
1 TBS fajita seasoning
1⁄2 tsp cumin
1⁄2 TBS sea salt
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS lime juice
¼ c water
2 green onions
8 raisins
½ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TBS sundried tomatoes
3 TBS chia seeds 

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Smooth batter out onto teflex dehydrator sheets to be as thin as possible while still holding together and no holes are shown. Draw score marks to the size of crackers you want them to be. Dehydrate at 115 for 8 hrs and flip over  dry for another 6 hrs.

Parsnip Hummus (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

4 medium to large parsnips, chopped about 1 inch thick
2 TBS Tahini
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
2 TBS parsnip boil water
3 TBS lemon juice
*4 roasted garlic cloves (optional)
1/2 tsp sea or real salt

In a small pot, boil about 2 cups of water. Add the parsnips as well as some salt. Boil until the parsnips are extra soft, 10 to 15 minutes. If some pieces are hard while others are soft, pull out the soft ones, and let the harder ones to cook for another 5 minutes. You want to make sure all pieces are completely cooked so that the hummus will be smooth.

In a food processor, add ingredients and blend until smooth. Optional roasted garlic cloves are to make the hummus be roasted garlic flavored. If you would like roasted bell pepper, you can add in 1/2 roasted pepper, or just leave the hummus as it.

White Bean Fennel Kale Soup (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

Serves 5
 
1 large onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS olive oil (optional)
4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
1 (15 oz can) great northern beans, rinsed well
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 bay leaf
sea salt, to taste
3 cups shredded kale

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute onion, fennel and garlic until tender (add oil if you want). Add the broth, beans, tomatoes, thyme, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 min then add kale; cook 5 minutes longer or until kale is wilted. 

Dry beans option:

If you want to use dry beans; soak 1 cup beans in water for 12+ hrs, then boil the beans in broth for 40 min. While beans are cooking, saute the onion, fennel and garlic. Add all the rest of the ingredients to the beans (except kale) along with another 1 1/2 cups of water and cook for 5 min. Rinse kale and tear into pieces/shreds, then saute in the pan that the onions/fennel/garlic were cooked in (w/out cleaning the pan out) until kale is wilted. Add kale to the rest of the soup, adjust salt & pepper to taste, then serve.

Onion-Zucchini Cakes (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

shown topped with hummus and avocado, real salt & fresh ground pepper

Makes 4-5, 4"cakes

1/4 cup millet, ground (I took the millet seed and put them in a coffee grinder, made it into a flour, you could also use cornmeal instead)
2 TBS GF Flour (I had some Pure Pantry GF flour I was almost out of, and wanted to use. Can sub wheat or spelt flour in place)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 TBS flax seed, then grind
2 TBS nondairy milk
1 TBS hummus of choice, or another 1/2 TBS milk
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 sweet or yellow onion, diced small

In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients, then add in nondairy milk. Mix together, it will be slightly dry, the real moisture will come from adding the veggies.
Now you will want to heat up your skillet (med-hi) so it will be primed and ready when the batter is finished.
Add the zucchini, carrot and onion to the bowl and mix together. You may have better mixing luck, but I ended up just working it in with my fingers slightly.
Put some oil down in the skillet to prevent sticking, or some nonstick spray. Scoop out batter, about 1/3 cup worth, and flatten into a cake/patty on the heated skillet. Brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other. They won't cook all the way through, just the outsides will be slightly crisp.
Serve immediately (they start to get mushy after a bit from the liquids in the vegetables).

Ideas for toppings:
guacomole
avocado
chopped tomato
salsa
hummus
pesto
hot sauce
little bit of olive oil w/salt and pepper

Dreamcicle Sports Drink (GF, Raw, Vegan)

This is a refreshing, lightly dreamcicle flavored drink. But it doesn't taste like it's so lightly flavored that it's missing something. It's a sports drink because coconut water is much better at replenishing than gatorade, powerade, or any of those other type of drinks, not to mention the lack of sugars in this. Agave is the sweetener which is low glycemic, so no blood sugar spike here, which is what you want. Great for anyone doing a lot of sweating! And if you aren't, it just tastes good and is good for you, so, nothing but beneficial!

Makes 2 cups

16 oz coconut water
1/2 TBS Orange Juice
1/4 tsp sea salt or real salt (more minerals!!)
2 tsp to 1 TBS agave (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Almond Vanilla Macaroon Granola (GF, **Raw, Vegan)

I love granola, always have, but it seems like it's something that USED to be good for you, but is no longer. They add all sorts of sugar into them, and there is almost always wheat. One of my favorites is a vanilla almond macaroon granola, so, I thought I would make a healthier version of it.
I'm going to preface this recipe by saying, there are several different kinds of sweeteners in this, just to give it a more authentic taste with some depth. The only sweetener that isn't low glycemic though, is the honey. For those of you who don't know, brown rice syrup is sweet, but isn't much more subtle than agave or honey, it has more of a caramel taste to it. And stevia, that is really sweet, that's why it's only a few drops. If you don't have all of those sweeteners, you can go with just agave or just honey and put in 1/3 cup.

Makes about 5 cups

1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c rolled oats
1 c quinoa flakes (you can use more oats if you would like)
1/4 c ground buckwheat groats or buckwheat flour
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 TBS flaxseed
2/3 c chopped almonds (I did 1/3 chopped fine, 1/3 rough chopped)
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS agave nectar
2 TBS honey
2 TBS brown rice syrup
8 drops vanilla stevia
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 mashed banana
1/4 c coconut oil
1/4 c coconut butter

Preheat the oven to 325F

Combine ingredients down to (and including) the salt, in a large bowl and mix.

Next in a cereal size bowl, combine the extracts and sweeteners (agave, honey, brown rice syrup and stevia) with the oil and mashed banana. If your banana is somewhat firm still, you may have to break out the beaters and beat until it is smooth. Otherwise, you can do it with a fork. Now pour it into the big bowl of dry ingredients.

Last, mix in the 1/4 cup coconut butter. If you don't have coconut butter, you can use almond butter, although it will give you a different taste. It is ALMOND Vanilla Macaroon Granola though, so it will work just lovely!

Once its mixed line a cookie sheet with foil and pour granola onto it. Make sure to get it evenly spread all over the pan. If your pan is large, you can use one, if it's small you will have to use two (otherwise the bottom and top will get toasty while the middle won't, and it will take longer to cook).

Cook for 20-25 min, or until browned slightly. Stir or flip every 5-7 min to cook evenly.
**If you want to make this raw, you can just dehydrate it instead of cooking it. It should take about 12 hours to dehydrate at 118F.

Buckwheat Graham Crackers (GF, Vegan)

Seriously great graham crackers, if you like graham crackers. When I was little I used to have graham crackers with all sorts of things, like; peanut butter, frosting or apple sauce. I wouldn't eat it with the same kind of frosting on it today, but I still love them with any sort of smooth topping like that. These ones I made though to use for a graham cracker crust for a pie. Figured if I was going to make a pie, may as well make all of it from ingredients I like, right?

I edited this recipe from Nativas buckwheat graham cracker recipe.

36, 4 inch crackers

1/4 c flax seed, ground
1/2 c coconut sugar
3 TBS sucanat or turbinado sugar
*1 TBS maca (Optional, but recommended)
1/4 c coconut oil
*5 drops vanilla stevia, optional
2 cups buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 c agave nectar
2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Optional: Sugar mixed with cinnamon for topping

Directions
Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add in the the wet ingredients, and mix together with a mixer until a dough ball is formed. If the dough is too dry you can add a little more almond milk, one tsp at a time. Dough will be kind of sticky.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Put half of the chilled dough on a large piece of parchment paper then put a second piece of parchment paper on top, then use a rolling pin to flatten it out – about 1/8 inch thick. Place on a baking sheet, and carefully remove top layer of parchment. Using a butter knife, cut the dough into rectangles then use a fork to make those necessary graham cracker holes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if using. After first batch is done, repeat with second dough half or do at the same time and place on a second baking sheet. Bake crackers for 22-25 minutes or until dried out but not burned.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then place crackers on a wire rack to finish cooling and become crisper. They will stay good in an airtight container for about 2 weeks, if they stay around that long.

Banana Green Smoothie (GF, Raw, Vegan)

You can make this with all spinach or all kale, either way is good. Having the 2 just gives the smoothie a little more depth, not to mention it gives you nutrients from two different sources.
This is a great smoothie that I always tell everyone about, but haven't ever actually posted on here. So I figured it was time. My sister-in-law loved it and had my nieces try it, and they loved it, she started calling them "Shrek Smoothies" (brilliant!).

1 large serving

1 banana
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup kale
1 cup almond milk
1 Tbs agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 ice cubes
*optional, 1 tsp maca powder

Put all ingredients in blender, except for ice and blend. Once completely blended, add in ice cubes.

Mango Salsa (GF, Raw, Vegan)

This salsa is a hit every time I make it. You can make it more or less spicy depending on how much cayenne or red pepper flakes you add into it.

Shown here with onion flat bread/crackers <--- click for link

Makes about 4 cups

2 mangos, cubed
2 avocados, cubed
1 large anaheim pepper, or 2 small ones, diced small
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp salt
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped
dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder

Pretty easy, just combine all of the ingredients together and mix well. Add more salt if desired.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread/Muffins (Vegan)

This bread doesn't taste like zucchini bread, in fact, it's hard to tell that there is even zucchini in it. It tastes like a cross between a chocolate chocolate chip muffin, and a brownie. That's just fine by me!! It's nice and moist too, another major positive. We've got zucchini coming out our ears here, so it's nice to make something with zucchini that doesn't TASTE like zucchini.

Makes 12 muffins or 1 large loaf 

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

2 Tbs flaxseed, ground

6 Tbs warm/hot water

8-10 drops vanilla stevia

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

3/4 cups shredded red apple (about 1 medium apple)

1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (more or less to taste)

Grind flax seed, and combine in a small bowl with warm/hot water and drops of stevia. Stir and allow to sit for 5-10 min at least. 

In a medium-large bowl grate the zucchini and apple. I just used a peeler and peeled it straight into the bowl, trying to make sure they were somewhat thin, and rotating around evenly. But you can easily use a cheese grater.

Combine dry ingredients (except sugar) in a bowl and mix well, then add to zucchini/apple mixture. Mix the 2 around so that all of the zucchini and apple shreds are coated in the flour. 

Now take the same bowl you had your dry ingredients in, and combine sugar, oil, and vanilla. Then add the flax mixture until fully incorporated. 

Combine wet with the flour coated shreds, then add in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. If you are allergic to walnuts, you can certainly leave them out, or swap them out for pepitas, they would go well in this too.

Can be made into 12 muffins, or a large bread loaf.

Cook at 350 F for 22-25 min if making muffins (or until a tooth pick comes out clean). Cook for 50 min if making the loaf of bread.

Chana Saag (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

Every time I go to an Indian buffet for lunch, I find that I adore the chickpea (garbanzo bean) dishes that they have. Indian food usually has a good amount of vegan dishes that are naturally vegan (instead of veganized, if that's a word), which I adore.
For those of you who don't normally eat indian food, it may "look scary" but really tastes great. My mom was a bit freaked out by it, but tried some and then ended up having a whole serving after discovering it tastes quite good! My hint is, get a little bowl and put all of the spices in it measured out, then when it's time to put them all in, you just dump the bowl. ENJOY!!

 
2 Tbs oil of choice (I used olive)
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
1 tsp. sea salt
4 roma tomatoes (or like size) chopped
1 lb spinach, chopped well
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed several times

1/2 cup almond milk (or other nondairy milk)

Saute onions and garlic in oil until the onion is translucent.  Add all the spices and saute for a minute or two more before adding chopped tomatoes.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes stirring often, then and the rest of the ingredients.  Spinach looks like a lot, but cooks down considerably. Simmer them for at least another 10 minutes then add in the almond milk, mix well and cook for about 2 min.