Give Them Something Better

Author: Stephanie Howard

  • Beanamole aka Fresh Guacamole Dip Recipe

    It’s party season! Do you have the same problem at parties that I do? When I go to a party I tend to eat way more than I should. A little bit here and a little bit there really adds up to way too many calories.  Most dips are made with mayonnaise, cream cheese or sour cream…none of which are low fat. Even guacamole, which has none of those things, can be an overload of fat if you aren’t careful how much you eat.

    So I tackled this challenge by making a low-fat party dip. Adding pureed beans to guacamole was a stroke of genius (even if I do say so myself). The resulting beanamole had a great flavor and texture, as well as containing more fiber than the average party dip. It also makes a great filling for a veggie wrap.

    Here is how to make avocado dip into beanamole for your next party!

    Beanamole

    • 2 medium avocados, peeled and chopped
    • 1 can (15 ounces) canned white beans, rinsed and drained
    • 3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1/2 cup red or green onion, minced
    • 1/4 cup tomatoes, finely diced
    • 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
    • 1/2 small jalapeno, finely chopped
    1. Puree avocados and beans in a food processor.
    2. Add lime or lemon juice, garlic, salt, and cumin to food processor; pulse until just blended.
    3. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve.

    Visit some other Re-duxer’s

     

  • Amazing Fudge…revisited

    Amazing Fudge…revisited

    A few weeks ago I showed you how to make Amazing Fudge, If you remember… that fudge is amazing because it is supper easy to make with only two ingredients and can be made into hundreds of different things. I promised a few more fun holiday treats using the fudge so here they are!

    Rice Crispy Treats and Thin Mint Cookies!

    For the Rice Crispy Treats just add 6 cups of rice crispies to the fudge before it hardens and press into a parchment lined 9 x 13 pan.

    amazing-fudge-variations

    Thin Mint Cookies

    For the Thin Mint Cookies simply dip graham crackers or whole grain Ritz crackers nto the hot Amazing Fudge with 1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring added. Place on wax paper and cool. If you want to make them festive, put some crushed candy canes on each one before they harden.

    Amazing!

  • Cranberry Orange Muffins…or is it a Doughnut? A Healthy Vegan Doughnut Recipe

    Cranberry Orange Muffins…or is it a Doughnut? A Healthy Vegan Doughnut Recipe

    Cranberry Orange doughnuts 640text

    Kids love doughnuts! But I don’t usually recommend doughnuts for breakfast.  I mean, really? The average Krispy Kreme doughnut has more than 200 calories. Over half of those calories are from fat, and they also have twice as much sugar as the Chips Ahoy cookies we talked about a few days ago.
    So here is a brilliant idea: get yourself a doughnut pan and make a whole grain muffin batter stuffed with good, healthy, antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries or cranberries. Then you can make muffin doughnuts! How fun is that?
    Now seeing as it is holiday time and cranberry season I decided to make a scrumptious Cranberry Orange Doughnut. Just as I expected, the kids loved them!
    doughnut state 2 picture 14 (3)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Cranberry Orange Muffin / Doughnuts

    • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or 1 cup ww pastry and 1 cup unbleached flour
    • 1/2 cup cane juice crystals
    • 1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup orange juice
    • 1/2 cup light oil
    • 2 tablespoons orange zest
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    • 1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring
    • 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
    • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
    1. Preheat oven to 375
    2. Mix together flour, cane juice crystals, baking powder and salt.
    3. In a separate bowl mix together, juice, oil, zest and flavorings.
    4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.
    5. Fold in cranberries.
    6. Carefully spoon batter into sprayed doughnut pans until almost full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Or fill prepared muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.
    7. Cool on a wire rack.

    These are a perfect breakfast treat when served with a well balanced breakfast with more whole grains and yummy fruit!

  • Kid Cereal…Cookies and Healthy Grown-up Cereal

    imageI just read an article on sugar in kids’ breakfast cereals here on ABC News.  In the article it compared the sugar content of kids cereals to the sugar content of a serving of Chips Ahoy cookies. It turns out that the cookies had less sugar and it got me thinking…are “grown-up” breakfast cereals any better? Turns out that two of the “healthy” cereals I thought of first: Kashi Honey Almond Cereal and Great Grains—also have more sugar than the 10 grams in a serving of Chips Ahoy. However, they do have more fiber, which is good because it helps with the assimilation of sugar.
    Lesson for the day…read your labels!

  • After Forks Over Knives … Thanksgiving Recipes

    After Forks Over Knives … Thanksgiving Recipes

    brown gravy B

    So you have seen the Forks Over Knives film and have decided to eat a more plant based diet.  But now, with Thanksgiving on the way you feel a little distraught what do we eat for Thanksgiving.

    So far we have talked about the Turkey (more to come on this later)…had a vegan pumpkin pie throwdown and made and veganized Alton Brown’s amazing green bean casserole.  What more could you want!  Oh I know…truly the best part of Thanksgiving is not the Turkey anyway, it is the…mashed potatoes and gravy!
    The potatoes are easy you just make those like you always have but instead of butter use some nice plain soy milk and Earth Balance margarine, a little salt and you have perfection.  It is very important that you use the plain milk, I tried vanilla once…just once!
    Now for the gravy…

     

    Brown Gravy

    1/3 cup unbleached white flour
    2 cups water
    1/2 small onion, chopped
    2 tablespoons oil
    2 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
    1/2 tablespoon beef style seasoning
    1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

    1. Place flour in a dry small skillet; cook over medium heat until lightly browned, stirring constantly.
    2. Transfer flour and remaining ingredients to a blender; blend until smooth.
    3. Pour mixture into a medium saucepan; heat over medium until thick, stirring constantly to prevent lumps and burning.

     

    We are almost done with Thanksgiving dinner I’ll be sharing more about the turkey and a wonderful fresh cranberry relish so keep checking in for more healthy follow up recipes to Forks Over Knives.

  • Veganizing Alton Brown’s Green Bean Casserole Recipe

    Veganizing Alton Brown’s Green Bean Casserole Recipe

    green bean casserole 1

    No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without Green Bean Casserole. At least where I come from…is it the same in your part of the world?

    With green bean casserole there is something for everybody.  Of course you have the green beans for the vegetable lover and the creamy mushroom soup that masks the green bean taste for those who don’t really like green beans. And then there is the ever popular crunchy onions on top. Don’t you hate it win the “kids” just scrape off the onions and leave just the green beans and sauce!
    Over the years I have lived without green bean casserole because the creamy mushroom soup is high in fat and sodium, not to mention the milk and cream in it.  Can’t something be done!

    Yes indeed.  I came across a homemade recipe by Alton Brown and decided to try my hand at veganizing.  The original recipe can be found right here.  You can even watch him make it on a video.

    Here is what I did…

    Green Bean Casserole

    • 4 cans (15 ounces) green beans or 6 cups fresh beans, stemmed  cut
    • 1 recipe Mushroom Gravy (see below)
    • 2 cups French-fried onion rings
    1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
    2. Steam fresh green beans until tender. If using canned green beans, skip this step.
    3. Combine green beans and Mushroom Gravy in a casserole dish.
    4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
    5. Remove from oven and cover with French-fried onions. Return to oven and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until onions are golden brown.

    Mushroom Gravy

    • 1 teaspoon thyme
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
    • 1 medium onion, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1 tablespoon Beef-like Seasoning
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup raw cashews
    • 3 cups water
    1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
    2. Add onion and cook until it is translucent (almost clear), about 4-5 minutes.
    3. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, Beef-like Seasoning and salt, cook until water starts to come out of the mushrooms and they get a little brown.
    4. Using a blender, blend raw cashews with water until very, very smooth, this will take several minutes.
    5. Pour cashew water mixture into the pan with mushroom mixture and stir together. Cook until mixture becomes thick.

     

    Veganizng tips…
    First of all I used French’s onions.  Alton’s recipe kept burning on me.  They came out really good once, but it was very challenging to get them just right.
    Secondly, I like to give the option of canned beans.  Although I think fresh is best.  Some Green Bean Casserole die hards will say it is just not right with the fresh ones.
    I also changed the seasonings to suit my tastes. As for the half and half I used the cashew cream we made by blending water and cashews. To replace the broth I used a vegan broth powder and water. You will love this mushroom gravy it is great over roasts or patties or in casseroles!
    One last thing… I simplified the steps… I am all about making life easier!