Yummy yummy in my tummy!

Well since my last blog was about desserts, and so is this one I think I can officially say I am on a sweat kick and I LOVE it!! So I have a few other blogs I had planned to write first, but I just made these delish little guys and they are too good to wait to write about! So they are from Alicia Silverstone’s book 'The Kind Diet', which if you still don't own, get on it, so many great recipes mmm. They are conveniently called 'My Favourite Cupcakes', and soon they will be yours too! Here goes....

Cupcakes

2/3 cup hemp or soy milk (I used soy)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup agave nectar (instead of using sugar...this stuff is to die for, almost caramel in taste, YUM)

1/3 cup safflower oil (this is super light in taste, that’s why you don't use olive oil, too strong)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)

1/3 cup pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of fine sea salt

Fudge Frosting

1/2 cup Earth Balance butter

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup soy milk powder (like powder milk, but soy...duh)

**Note: All of these things I simply found at the Bulk Barn...Love it there. Also I used the full 1/2 cup of Soy milk powder, and next time I would probably use only 1/3 cup. I found the 1/2 cup made it a bit too heavy and powdery tasting.

**Me a proud momma of these cupcakes, pre frosting**

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Combine the milk and vinegar in a medium bowl, and set aside for about 5 min. until the mixture begins to bubble. If it does not bubble, stir the mixture until it does. Add the agave nectar, oil and vanilla and stir.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until no lumps remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and bake for 18-22 minutes (I only did 18 and they were perfect, so keep an eye on them) or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean and the tops are slightly springy when pressed. Allow the cupcakes to cool.

To make the fudge frosting, use a mixer to cream the butter and agave nectar until very smooth. Add the vanilla extract and half of the cocoa powder mix on a low speed until combined, then add the remaining cocoa powder. Add in the soy milk powder, and mix at med-high until fluffy.

Enjoy!!

Mmmm best dessert EVER!!!

When I was at the Wooden Monkey I had a chocolate Ganashe torte...and I decided to create my own! So here it is, SO GOOD and totally vegan. Super easy and fast too...yum yum!!

Here it is...believe it!!

For the Crust:

1/2 cup of melted Earth Balance butter

1/4 cup Almonds

3/4 cup Oats

1/4 cup Cashews

1/2 cup Walnuts

1/4 cup Brown rice syrup

Dash of both salt and cinnamon *optional

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. In a food processor blitz together all dry ingredients so they are finer, but some nut chunks are ok. Then in a bowl mix together with a spoon the blitzed up mixture with the melted 'butter' and syrup. Press mixture into an ungreased spring pan (the kind you make a cheesecake in) just along the bottom. Cook for 4-8 minutes until edges turn golden. Remove and let cool.

Ganache Filling (yum)

Two 283g pkgs of non-dairy chips. I used "Enjoy Life" semi-sweet chocolate chips, you can get these in any health food store or health food isle.

One 340g pkg soft Silken tofu

1 tsp pure vanilla extract.

Get a large pot and fill 1/4-1/2 with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower to medium heat and wait until slightly simmering. Then place a large metal bowl over the heat (you can rest it right on the pot). This helps to not burn the chocolate. So place both pkgs of chocolate in the bowl and begin stirring until almost melted. In a food processor blitz the pkg of tofu until smooth. Add this to the melted chocolate and continue to stir until completely smooth. Then pour mixture into the crust, let cool at room temp. for about 5 min, then store in the fridge until set (1+ hours).

**When serving, before releasing the spring on the pan, get a hot knife and run along the pan where the torte mixture meets it to separate it. Then cut and ENJOY!! YUMMM

Okkkkk

Worst blogger ever!! I know I am sorry it has been a while, but I do have lots of new and exciting things to write and tell you about :) First things first, I have a DELISH Chocolate Ganache vegan pie in the fridge as we speak...pictures, reviews and recipe to come!!

So yesterday was my 25th birthday...dun dun dun, still not to sure how I feel about this, we'll see. So I spent the day with my lovely man friend. We went to this diamond expo which was pretty cool, and went for dinner to a great vegan friendly restaurant called 'The Wooden Monkey' in DT Halifax. I had this yummy lental patty with baked organic fries and stole my boyfriends super yummy blueberry martini and stuck him with my 'interesting' lime and absinthe martini. Anyways SO delish!! Great way to celebrate the start to my 25th year.

Justin & I

My Dinner

I put the heart there because I had a toothpaste stain on my shirt!! grr

A few weeks ago I experimented with Tempeh. 'Tempeh is a fermented food made by the controlled fermentation of cooked soybeans with a Rhizopus mold (tempeh starter). Tempeh has a firm texture and a nutty mushroom flavour.' I got a curry flavoured one, it was so good. You can find it in any health food isle in a grocery store or at a health food shop. I crumbled it up in pasta and some stir fry veggies.

The Tempeh I used

My Tempeh Creation

Versatile Meals

I LOVE food that you can have as leftovers and make different things rather than the same meal over and over! My manfriend and I made a vegan chilli the other day...A LOT of it! So that night we had chilli, then next day I had chilli with veggie sticks to dip in it and for the past couple days I have had an Ezekiel wrap with a handful of spinach and chilli all wrapped up. Messy but delish!! It is so filling and just feels like good eating. What will I have next....?? You can make your own home made chilli, or buy some from the health food isle in your supermarket (Amy's Organic makes great chilli and soups!), just read the ingredients and check the sugar and salt amouts. The benifit of making your own is you control what goes in it. Yes it takes a little time, but provides lots of leftovers :)

Motivation!!!

So here is how I stay motivated to go to the gym and keep healthy. I have a set of rules I created for myself, and they go like this:

- Always go to the gym on Monday (I go 4-5 days a week)

- Never let more than 2 days go by without going to the gym...once day 3, then 4 hit of no gym I am out of my routine

- Always work out in the morning

- 30 min is better than 0 min!

- Always push myself that little harder...if I am already at 15 reps, whats another 3??

- Keep a record of what you are doing

- Look at your upcoming week and schedule in gym time

These are my rules, make your own or use mine as a guideline. I find having these rules inplace it keeps me on my toes and holds myself acountable. If you have any good 'rules' let us know!

If you haven't already checked out 'Oxygen' magazine give it a look. I love it!! Don't be scared off by the strong women on the front, there is TONS of awesome advice, tips, work-outs and recipes. You can also visit http://www.oxygenmag.com/

More to come...

Seitan...mmm

Seitan, pronounced SAY-TAN is delish!! Not hard to find eaither, should be at any major grocery store in the refridgerated section or at a health store. Check out http://www.happycow.net/ to find a place near you!

Definition: Although it is made from wheat, seitan has little in common with flour or bread. Also called “wheat meat”, “wheat gluten” or simply “gluten”, seitan becomes surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked, making it a popular meat substitute. Seitan is also high in protein, making it a popular protein source for vegetarians. Asian restaurants often use seitan as a vegetarian mock meat, and seitan is also the base for several commercially available products such as Tofurky deli slices.

Needless to say if you have a gluten allergy, this is not for you. I got some at the farmers market the other day and made a little 'scramble' with it. First I heated my skillet to medium and put in some veg oil and sautéed some mushrooms, added a little garlic and tore up some Seitan and let it sizzle away for a few, tossing it like a chef :) Then I shredded up some spinach (also from the farmers market) and added that with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper. I toasted my bread, from a local bakery and brushed it with some Organic Earth Balance and topped with my 'scramble'. Fast, easy and delicious...what more could you ask for???

Yum Yum...enjoy! Honestly, this is soooo good and satisfying!!

Vegan Community

So the more I venture into veganism, the more I want to be a part of the vegan community. People have all kinds of places to come together and share, talk and learn about their common interest...church, sports teams, gyms, etc. So far online has so many outlets for vegans...but I want REAL people face to face to share with! I went to a local vegan restaurant 'Heartwood' yesterday and it was awesome! Not too expensive, and such a variety. It is not totally vegan, but it is completely vegetarian, and you can make mostly anything vegan and/or gluten free. It is a cute little artsy place, seats about 25 max and has daily specials. Yesterdays was a vegan chilli with a homemade cornbread, and the soup was squash and pear served with sourdough bread (homemade). Not to mention all of the yummy treats! I tried a hazelnut brownie...a little dry but got me thinking how I could make it more moist with some brown rice syrup. So I had the bean burrito...so good! It was huge, I took half home with me, and it was served with brown rice, salsa and corn chips...wowza!! Justin had the bean burger, good too, but not as good as mine!! :) They have all kinds of tea and free trade, organic coffee...mmm. Check out www.heartwoodbakerycafe.ca to see the full delish menu. Also to find out some vegan restaurants in your community visit www.happycow.net such a cool site!

Get out there and talk yummy!