On The Eleventh Day of Christmas My True Love Made For Me…

Homemade Delicious Vegan Carrot Cake

When flax seed is used in this recipe, it is high in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.  We chose not to put any icing on it to decrease the sugar content.  Enjoy as a perfect end to your Christmas dinner!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 3 tbsp flax meal (ground flax seed)
• 9 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 & 1/3 cup unbleached flour
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup walnuts (cut into small pieces)

Directions

1. In a small bowl whisk flax meal with water until mixture is gooey and all flax meal is combined well in water
2. In a medium bowl mix vegetable oil with brown sugar, then add flax meal mixture and vanilla extract and mix well (You can use a blender to mix these ingredients faster)
3. In another medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon (dry ingredients)
4. Add a little bit of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients until it is all combined well and all of dry ingredient mixture is added to wet ingredients.
5. Then add carrots and walnuts mix well
6. Pour batter into baking sheet (10 x 10)
7. Bake in oven at 350 F for 35 min

Serves: 6-8

Prep Time and Cook Time: 60 min

Allergen Warning – this recipe contains gluten.

Edamame Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups mixed baby greens
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
• 2 cups edamame
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup peanuts or other nut crushed
• Miso Salad Dressing

Directions

• Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well

Prep Time: 20 min

Serves: 4-6

 

Asian Quinoa

Ingredients

• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 cup edamame
• 2 cups steamed or raw broccoli
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped finely
• 2 scallions chopped finely
• 1/2 cup quinoa cooked as directed on package
• optional 1/2 cup cabbage shredded
• 1/4 cup mama tangs salad dressing

Directions

• Combine all ingredients, except quinoa together in a large bowl
• Once quinoa has come to room temperature, add to bowl and mix well

Prep time and cook time: 30 min

Serves: 4

 

Homemade Vegetable Broth

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow onions sliced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 5 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic cut in half
• 1 medium potato cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 8 sprigs parsley
• 16 cups water

Directions

• Place all ingredients in a large pot
• Bring to boil over high heat
• Reduce to simmer and cook for another 2 hours
• Strain and discard solids
• Cool and refrigerate for upto 3 days
• Stir before using if broth separates

recipe courtesy of wholefoods.com with adjustments made by me!

Colorful Quinoa

Ingredients

• 4 cups quinoa cooked
• 1/4 cup grated raw beets
• 1/4 cup grated raw carrots
• 1/4 cup tightly packed finely chopped cilantro or parsley
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green scallion
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• sea salt to taste

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well and serve

Asian Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated red cabbage
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 2 sprigs green onion chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
• 2 tangerines peeled
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

• Shred carrots and cabbage in food processor with grater blade and place in bowl
• Add green onion, tangerines, almonds and sesame seed
• Serve with our Miso Salad Dressing

Chickpea-herb Burgers

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup grated onion
• 2 cloves garlic pressed
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup unblanched almonds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp flax seeds
• 2 tbsp chopped parsely
• 2 tbsp basil leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 egg
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• fresh lemon juice to taste
• red chili powder to taste

Directions

• In a food processor, puree, oil, chickpeas, onions, garlic, and carrots
• Add rolled oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, parsley, basil, thyme and egg
• Process until finely chopped and mixture holds together
• Season to taste with sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and red chili powder
• Form mixture into approx 8-10 patties
• Arrange patties on baking sheet and bake in preheated oven at 370 F for 5-10 min on each side
• Alternatively you can shallow fry these in coconut oil in a skillet until slightly brown on each side

Carrot Apple Juice

Ingredients

• 10 carrots peeled and washed
• 3 red gala apples cored and washed

Directions

• Insert carrots and apples into juicer
• Serve immediately

Serves 4

Asian Rice Salad

I am posting this recipe now (it is on the dinner menu for tomorrow night) because the mung beans in this recipe take 8-12 hours to sprout.  Picture to follow – I’m sprouting my seeds!

Sprouting Method:

• In a bowl, wash 1/2 a cup of mung beans until water is clear
• Soak washed mung beans in about 2 cups of warm water
• Soak for 24-72 hours
• Drain thoroughly once mung beans are sprouted
• If seeds are hard, then it may take even longer to sprout

Ingredients

•  2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 two inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp raw honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or bragg’s liquid amino’s (soy sauce substitute)
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 2 cups snow peas, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 cup mung bean seeds -see above for sprouting method
• 1/2 cup rice noodles
• chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions

• Whisk the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce and honey in a large bowl to make the dressing
• Add the carrot, celery and snow peas to dressing and toss
• Heat a large skillet over  medium to high heat and add coconut oil
• Stir fry the cooked rice until toasted, about 2 minutes
• Remove from the heat and let cool
• Add the rice and scallions to vegetable mixture and toss
• Divide among bowls and top with the lettuce, sprouts, cooked rice noodles and peanuts.

Variation – for those who eat seafood, you can add shrimp to this dish.  Just marinate the shrimp in a small amount of the dressing and then saute it and add to rice.

Serves 4-6

Prep time and cook time (excluding sprouting time for mung beans): 30-45 min

Cold Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup organic smooth peanut butter
• 1 tsp braggs liquid aminos or  1 & 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp chili paste or siracha sauce
• 1 large clove garlic

Directions

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and well blended
• Set aside

 

Spring Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked thin rice noodles – cook as directed on package
• 1 & 1/4 cups shredded carrot
• 1 & 1/4 cups shredded cabbage (red or green)
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 15 fresh basil leaves chopped
• 15 fresh mint leaves chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup peanuts crushed
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• rice paper spring roll wrappers

Directions

• Cut rice noodles into 1 inch lengths and transfer to large bowl
• Add all remaining ingredients to this bow (minus the rice paper wrappers)
• Fill a bowl large enough to fit rice paper wrappers with warm water
• Soak rice paper wrappers in warm water until it begins to soften and pattern begins to disappear
• Transfer wrapper to a flat surface
• Put 1/4 cup filling on each wrapper
• Fold the wrapper from the top and then the bottom
• Then roll the wrapper with the filling as tightly as possible from left to right without ripping
• Serve at room temperature with peanut sauce or refrigerate for 2 hours and serve chilled with peanut sauce

Prep time: 30-40 min

Makes approx 15 rolls