Author Archives: aprilcball

Bread Machine Pesto Bread

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I’m not afraid of carbs and I enjoy fresh bread from my bread machine every now and then. I made this for the first time tonight and it was really good!

Bread Machine - Pesto Bread

For a 2lb loaf:

Add ingredients, in order listed.

*  1 1/4 cups water, room temperature

* 2 Tbsp olive oil

* 1/3 cup pesto (I make mine with avocado instead of cheese)

* 1 tsp sea salt

* 4 2/3 cups bread flour

* 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

* 2 tsp yeast – active dry, instant or bread machine

Cook on Bread/White cycle until machine is done!

Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry

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This is one of those recipes that looks weird but tastes GREAT!! The first time I made this, my hubby and his friend (who said it looked like barf) loved it so much they each ate three helpings!

Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry

Plus, it’s really healthy too!

Here’s the recipe, I usually double it and use a 19oz package of extra firm tofu from Costco so I have enough leftovers to send to work with my husband. I like to serve it over brown rice.

  • Water for sautéing veggies
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste
  • 1 small onion, sliced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas -OR 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed – Use 2 cans when doubling the recipe
  • 8 ounces extra firm tofu, cubed
  • 1-2 cups of chopped kale (I use two bunches when I double the recipe. I’ve also used spinach)
  • 2 small zucchini, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 lemon, juice and zest of (I always add extra, I love lemon!)

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat water sauté the onion, garlic and chickpeas until chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty.
  2. Stir in the tofu and cook just until the tofu is heated through, just a minute or so.
  3. Stir in the kale and cook for one minute more.
  4. Remove everything from the skillet onto a large plate and set aside.
  5. In the same skillet add the zucchini and water saute until it starts to take on a bit of color, two or three minutes.
  6. Add the chickpea mixture back to the skillet, and remove from heat.
  7. Stir in the lemon juice and zest, taste, and season with a tiny bit of salt if needed.
  8. Turn out onto a platter and serve over brown rice or whatever you wish.

ENJOY!!!

SUPER Fudgy Brownies

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These brownies are so moist, no one will ever know they are whole-wheat, dairy free and VERY low-fat! My hubby LOVES these brownies and the guys at the fire station do too. Come on, just look at them… they scream fudgy!

Super Fudgy Brownies

This recipe is from one of my favorite plant-based food bloggers recent cookbook “The Happy Herbivore: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free & Low-Fat Vegan Recipes“.

Here is the recipe:

* 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

* 1 cup brown sugar

* 1 cup raw sugar

* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 tsp fine salt

* 1/4 cup chocolate non-dairy milk

* 18-oz cup plain soy (or almond, rice or coconut) yogurt

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional) – I did not add these

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Grease a standard 9-inch square baking pan, set aside

3. Whisk flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in large bowl

4. Add 1 cup water, chocolate non-dairy milk, soy yogurt and vanilla, stirring until just combined

5. Add chips if you’re using and continue to stir until fully incorporated

6. Transfer to the greased pan, using a spatula to even out the batter and smooth the top

7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes

These are SO GOOD!!!

Fresh from the oven

Look how moist they are!

Yummy!!

I like it warm with a little soy ice cream on top!

Ancho Chile Salsa

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I got this recipe from my favorite plant-based food blogger MELOMEALS: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – she’s amazing! She actually eats on $3.33 a day! Her system is cool, she makes a few base sauces at the beginning of the week and uses them to make a bunch of other meals throughout the week. I made her Salsa recipe the other day and it turned out really good! I plan on following her plan and making bbq sauce out of it too.

I used ancho chile powder and added 1/4 cup raw sugar and it turned out awesome!

Here’s her recipe:

1 T oil – I used vegetable oil
1 T coriander seeds ( or ground coriander ) – I used coriander seeds from World Spice Merchant
1 t cumin seeds
2 T chili powder – I used Ancho Chile Powder from World Spice Merchant
Pinch oregano
1 large onion
5 Serrano or Jalapeno Peppers – I used Jalapenos
1 t Tony’s Cajun Seasoning or Salt – I used Tony’s
Around ½ cup water
28 oz can tomatoes and their juice, crushed with your hands – I used Trader Joe’s Organic Diced Tomatoes
5 cloves garlic. chopped – I used like 8 cloves
Stems from 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes or 2 T balsamic or apple cider vinegar – I used lime juice

** I added 1/4 cup raw sugar to this recipe, I like my salsa a little sweeter.

Method:

Over medium heat, add the oil and spices. Toast for several minutes or until very fragrant. Add the Onions and peppers along with the salt and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often adding water to keep the mixture from burning. Next add the tomatoes , cover and turn heat down to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Take off heat, stir in the garlic, cilantro and lime juice. Puree  in a food processor or blend. I used a hand blender. Allow Salsa to cool then taste and add more salt if needed.

Here’s my steps:

Chopped my onion, garlic, jalapenos and cilantro stems

Heating spices in the oil... smells so good!

Added the veggies

Added tomatoes

Done cooking... I blended it using my hand blender at this point.

YUMMY!

Hey There Sweet Stuff!

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We usually have some sort of iced tea ready in our fridge at all times. My Dad gave me this special loose-leaf green tea from his acupuncturist, I cold brew that one in the fridge. I also make batches of green tea/lemon zinger in my Iced Tea Maker. We both love our iced tea but can’t drink it without sweetener. I hate all that weird chemical sugar and I feel like I have to dump so much regular sugar in to get it to where I want it to be, same with my hubby.

Have you heard of Stevia? It’s an all natural sweetener (actually it’s an herb) that’s like 200-300 times sweeter than actual sugar with zero chemicals and ZERO CALORIES. Stevia is made from a plant and it’s simply awesome!

Stevia is an all-natural herbal product with centuries of safe usage by native Indians in Paraguay. It has been thoroughly tested in dozens of tests around the world and found to be completely non-toxic. It has also been consumed safely in massive quantities for the past twenty years.

I recently purchased this Kal brand Pure Stevia Extract and I’m in love! You can even cook with it! I’ve added it to coffee, tea, oatmeal, breakfast quinoa, Skinny Girl Margaritas (sorry, they aren’t very good without it!) and I’ve even tried baking with it… it’s awesome!

Kal brand Pure Stevia Extract

It’s $18.82/free shipping for 3.5 ozs on Amazon – which sounds expensive but this bottle has about 3500 serving in it! The scoop inside is so tiny and if you use any more than that little scoop its way too sweet.

Tiny Scoop!

There’s NO unpleasant aftertaste and NO CALORIES!! It also won’t raise your blood sugar!

Italian’ish Lentil Tomato Soup

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I make a ton of soup when the weather gets cold but this is our absolute favorite soup. It’s really easy to make and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients plus it tastes better the longer it sits for leftovers. In fact, I’m eating a bowl of this soup as I type this post!

Lentil Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups dried lentils – we like red lentils the best but you can use whatever

* 4 cups No-Chicken Broth (OR 4 cups veggie broth)

* 1 cup water

* 1 onion, chopped

* 2-3 garlic clove, minced

* 1/8 tsp black pepper

* 2 tsp maple syrup

* 1 tsp dried oregano

* 1 tsp dried basil

* 1/4-1/2 tsp salt – you can add at the end if you want to, if the soup seems bland you probably need a bit more salt

* 1- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

* 1 (16 ounce) can chopped/diced tomatoes, undrained OR use a tetra pack of no-salt added tomatoes

* 3 Tbsp tomato paste

Directions:
* Sort and rinse lentils in colander
* In a large soup pan, saute onion in the butter until they are tender but not browned
* Add garlic, saute until fragrant – don’t burn it!
* Add broth, water and lentils to onions/garlic

You can buy this broth at Sprouts

* Stir in salt, pepper, maple syrup, oregano, basil and parsley
* Bring to a boil; reduce heat.
* Cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 25-30 minutes.
* Add tomatoes and tomato paste.

You

* Stir well.
* Simmer 10 – 15 minutes longer.
* Serve!
* Add salt if you wish – I rarely add salt when I’m cooking, we prefer to add it later.

One more time...

YUMMY!!! Or as my good friend Meah would say… Nom Nom!!!