Vegan Coconut Bacon (Soy-free, GF, Vegan)

So here is my take on the oh so wonderful coconut bacon. There are a decent amount of recipes out there. I used coconut aminos so as to avoid the mass amount of sodium in soy sauce, and to avoid unfermented soy that is Braggs liquid aminos. Personal preference really. But coconut aminos don't have as deep of a salty profile as soy sauce does, so salt gets added to the recipe.
I used 2 different flavors of liquid smoke to give it a bit more depth. I used Colgin brand of liquid smoke, they have both hickory flavor and mesquite flavor, and are vegan. I hear that there are some liquid smokes on the market that aren't vegan.

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut, unsweetened
2 TBS liquid smoke (I used 1 TBS Hickory flavor & 1 TBS Mesquite flavor)
1 1/2 TBS coconut aminos (or braggs or soy sauce)
1 TBS maple syrup
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprkia
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp salt of choice  <--- omit if using soy sauce

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for coconut.
Combine coconut flakes with wet mixture. Stir the coconut around to get it entirely coated. Let sit and soak in for 30 minutes or more, I did it for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 325 F.
Grease a foil lined baking sheet and pour everything from the bowl onto it. Spread the coconut out in a thin layer. Bake for about 18-20 min, pull out every 5-6 min and mix the coconut then slide together in a pile, then spread back out into a thin layer.  This will prevent burning as well as make sure all of the coconut bacon is equally cooked.
You will see the coconut start to darken considerably on the 3rd time you pull it out, make sure the darker coconut is closer to the center than the edge. Coconut bacon is done when they've all browned a medium amount.
When you take it out of the oven, the coconut will still be somewhat soft/pliable but will quickly harden up as it cools down. Shouldn't take but a few minutes until you can enjoy the crunchy goodness!

Caramel Millet

 After quite some time and many requests, I am finally posting my yummy caramel millet recipe. I'm posting the healthier version, but also the more pricey and a bit more rare ingredients recipe. But, if you go with that I put in parenthesizes, it will turn out just fine and cheaper. Coconut oil acts like vegan butter, and coconut sugar acts like brown sugar in this recipe. So, easily switched. Also, it doesn't have to be puffed millet, it can be puffed rice, puffed kamut, puffed wheat, or even a rice krispie type cereal.

 Caramel Puffed Millet Treats

1/4 c coconut oil (can use vegan butter sub)
1/2 c coconut sugar (can use brown sugar)
1/2 c brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups puffed millet (or any other puffed 'cereal')

In a small pot over med-low heat add the oil and sugar. Mix well, and add in brown rice syrup. Keep stirring, it will come to a boil, turn heat to low as you are still stirring. Let it boil for 4 min, stirring randomly so it doesn't stick to the bottom or burn.
Cut the heat & mix in the soda. There will be a chemical reaction when it mixes, so it will bubble up and become a lighter brown. Then mix in the vanilla.

In a brownie pan, pour the puffed millet. Follow up with the caramel sauce and mix it all together. Once the caramel has coated the millet, press it into the pan.

**Sometimes I mix other things into it, like nuts, coconut and or dried fruit. I have mixed in chocolate chips a few times as well, but you have to know they won't really stay chips, it will turn into more of chocolate streaks, the caramel melts the chocolate. It goes very well being melted on top though, like chocolate frosting!

 

Virgin Bloody Mary Juice (Alkaline, GF, Raw, Vegan)

Sorry for no picture, but I liked how this turned out so much that I almost just want to have it documented for myself because I know I will come back to it. This can be drank as juice, or had as a smoothie, or what I did 3/4 juice and 1/4 smoothie mixed together.

Makes 32 oz w/fiber

2-3 tomatoes (I used 2 BIG ones, if you use Roma, will need 3 possibly 4)
1 red bell pepper
2 celery ribs
1 carrot
1/2 zucchini
1/2 lime
1 clove garlic
Large handful of fresh herbs (oregano, basil, cilantro & parsley are what I used, but use what you have all else fails add in some dried herbs)

Salt to taste (I used Real Salt)
1 TBS optional Vegan Worcestershire sauce (nonvegan ones have anchovies in them)
1/2 tsp black pepper
Ice

Juice all ingredients together in first section and add the salt, pepper & vegan Worcestershire sauce after you have juiced it, and pour it over ice.

If you have a juicer, run em all through that. If you are using a high power blender like I do, I used the 'whole juice' mode on my Blendtec. It tastes great just to have it as a smoothie, but removing some of the pulp gives you a stronger taste and it's more like the Bloody Mary feel. So I strained 3/4 of the liquid through my nut milk bag and then added it back to the remaining 1/4, added 4 ice cubes, the salt, pepper & vegan Worcestershire sauce. After that I poured it into a BIG cup that had 4 ice cubes in it. So good, so good!

Kale Salad with Creamy Mango Vinigrette Dessing (GF, Vegan)

I know I am a slacker and never post anything on here lately. I wish I could say it was because I am so busy with work that I just don't have time, but that's not the case. It's basically that I'm lazy and get caught up doing other stuff. At any rate, this mango dressing is soooo amazingly good. I find myself just trying to eat IT! I use it in other salads as well, hopefully I will post another one somewhat soon.

Serves 4 as entree salads

Salad
1.5 cup quinoa, cooked in 3 cups water
4-5 cups kale torn (I also used baby greens mixed in)
1 cup tomato, chopped
1 cup cucumber, quartered and sliced
1 large mango, diced
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (or herb of choice, I've done it with basil & it's great)
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup currants, cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup pepitas (can sub slivered almonds, or cashews)

 Cook quinoa first and allow it to cool down some before putting it with the salad. In a medium-large bowl combine all salad ingredients except quinoa, kale, currants & pepitas.
To serve, place greens on 4 seperate plates (or bowls) top with 1/4 the amount of cooked quinoa. Top with salad ingredients from the med-large bowl, then put desired amout of dressing on top, it is creamy and somewhat thick. Then sprinkle with currants and pepitas. I usually sprinkle on some salt, black pepper & cayenne pepper as well, but it depends who I'm serving it to.

 *If you are making this as a large salad for individuals to dish themselves, put kale in a large serving bowl first, then add the quinoa & ingredients from the bowl, mix. Then add in a little more than half of the dressing and toss, if it seems somewhat dry, add in more, I like mine drenched in the stuff, but some people may not. Sprinkle currants & pepitas on top of the salad.

Creamy Mango Vinigrette 
1 VERY FULL cup mango
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sweetener of choice (I've used maple syrup, coconut sugar, stevia & agave all in different amounts or individually, just needs to be equal to 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 large clove garlic
1/2 inch knob fresh ginger
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Put all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad (Alkaline, GF, Vegan)

One of my favorite things to order at True Food Kitchen is the Mediterranean Chopped Salad (the other is their GF Kale & Roasted Garlic Pizza, but that recipe is a major work in progress), but I always put my vegan spin on it as well as my "Amber-spin". I've since been making my own version of the salad, and I thought it was time to share! The salad ingredients and portions are pretty flexible, I don't measure any of the stuff out.

Makes 4 entree salads

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons stoneground mustard
3 little scoops of stevia powder (enough to equal 2 tsp)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons hemp oil (or use olive oil if you don't have hemp)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salad Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, cooked in 2 cups water
2 cups baby kale/spinach/chard/arugla (any combo)
2 cups watercress, chopped
1/2 english cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup marcona almonds
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes

OPTIONAL:
bee pollen
sprouts
fresh green beans


For the salad dressing, put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, makes it so you can taste the oregano better. You CAN chop up all the ingredients and just whisk them together though, but the blender method tastes better (to me) and makes all of the tastes blend better.

Put all of the salad ingredients together however you see fit, and top with salad dressing as well as some fresh ground black pepper & (sea or Real) salt.

Black Forest Smoothie (GF, Vegan)

Thanks to those brilliant people at Vega, this smoothie is delicious. I used their Choc-o-lot smoothie mix as the protein powder. But you can use whatever kind you have/like. I saw a similar recipe on the thriveforward.com site from Vega. Those people are great! So I thought I would share my version.

Black Forest Smoothie
 Serves 1

1 cup vanilla [I used unsweetened] almond milk (or nondairy milk of choice)
1/2 banana
1 cup frozen cherries
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/2 tablespoon cacao powder
1 teaspoon maca
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


If you have a high power blender, throw in all of the ingredients and blend. If you don't, blend the banana & cherries with the almond (or whatever milk you choose) milk and after it's blended then add the powdered ingredients and vanilla.

Macaroni and Cheese (GF, Vegan)

The basic recipe I got from VegNews's recipe club, there are a few edits that I put on it to make a couple of taste changes on their already fabulous recipe. I think you could easily use the sauce recipe as a cheeze fondue, or a sauce to go over nachos!! I made this for a potluck with 8 nonvegan friends and they thought it was great. My boyfriend says its the best vegan Mac & Cheese he's had. Dairy-free Mac n Cheese    Makes 6 large dinner servings 4 quarts water 1 tablespoon salt 1 16-ounce package of brown rice macaroni 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated dairy free butter/margarine. (I used Earth Balance Coconut Butter spread) 2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped 1 1/3 cup red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped 1/3 cup carrots, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped 1 cup water 1/3 cup raw cashews 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped 2 teaspoons salt 2 small garlic cloves 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed 1/2 tablespoon Bragg liquid aminos 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions: In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add brown rice macaroni and cook until al dente. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. In a blender, process the rest of the ingredients in the list. Add cooked vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth. Spread pasta into a 9 x 12 casserole dish, pour blended cheese mixture over the top and mix.. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling.

Tomato, Basil & Millet Salad with Pesto Dressing (GF, Vegan)

Pesto is great with every vegetable and or grain, I swear! I have been doing a no grains diet lately and figured that I hadn't explored millet quite enough. I have made it a handful of times, but it has been a while. So, this dish was created. If you are worried about using millet, you could easily sub it for quinoa or quinoa (or couscous if you don't avoid gluten), you will just need to adjust the amount of vegetable broth you use (for quinoa or brown rice, use 2 cups vegetable broth instead of 3).

Tomato, Basil & Millet Salad with Pesto Dressing

• 1 cup uncooked millet, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced basil
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• Pesto dressing (recipe below)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  
• Directions
• Toast millet in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and just golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and carefully add broth. Return to heat and bring to a boil over medium high heat then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered until liquid is absorbed and millet is tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer millet to a large bowl, fluff with a fork and set aside to let cool. 
  
  Add cannellini beans, green onions, tomato, spinach and basil to large bowl, toss gently and set aside.
• Make pesto dressing then add millet to bean tomato mixture and toss to coat.  In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, then pour dressing over millet mixture and toss to coat. 

When serving, top with a dollop of pesto. Salad tastes better once the flavors have had a chance to mix, so let it sit for 30 min before eating it if you can.

Pesto Dressing
3 tablespoons your favorite basil pesto (mine is vegan, nut free Pumpkin Seed Pesto)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
salt, to taste