When I was a little girl, my aunt would bring fudge to Christmas dinner and it was delightful. Later, when I learned what goes into fudge, I cried because I had sustained a pretty healthy lifestyle. All that sugar and milk and ... ugh.

For my family, I knew I wanted to make a treat that tasted like candy but didn't end in cavities and tummy aches. Enter the invention of protein powders and their remarkable abilities to congeal. 

I played around for awhile to get this right, but I've come up with a peanut butter fudge that is easy to pack and fun to eat. The kids get vitamins and think they're pulling one over on me...I've got them fooled.

Somehow I managed to fit bananas, pumpkin, soy milk, chocolate, and flour into these brownies that are TO DIE FOR. The kids will be thrilled that you gave them brownies that have less sugar than the average brownie and manage to stuff them with vitamin A and potassium. Bwa ha ha.

Cookies do not make a visit to my house regularly. But every now and again, I stare into the cupboard at the chocolate chips and just can't help myself. These cookies are vegan. 

This double chocolate chip cookie doesn't taste vegan, though. It tastes delectable. This recipes hails from a billion places and eventually has become my own as I have rearranged to fit our lifestyle.

Cookies can be really 'bad' for you. Loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat. Tons of added sugar. Ew. When I make cookies, I make yummy, good for your soul cookies.

For these cookies, I use coconut oil, bananas, almond flour, and almond milk in exchange for the 'normal' ingredients. Don't worry. These cookies turn out just fine.  If you are not used to using these ingredients feel free to swap in what you have.

 We've been into baking lately and sometimes that really just means mixing things together. Mostly this is part of our baking unit study that we have been conducting for most of the summertime. Summertime is the perfect time to bake and learn because we have a garden full of fresh produce and an oven begging to be used.

Today we whipped up fresh strawberry crepes using the berries from the backyard. This isn't paleo or grain-free, but it could be adapted to be so. Then again, I never claimed to be either of those things. Live life.  Eat well. Be smart. That's what I like to say.

Shoot me in the head and call me crazy. This might be my favorite recipe ever! And that is saying a lot because I love to cook. After reading several vegan cookbooks such as Forks Over Knives, Veganomicon, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I recreated bits and pieces of pies and mousses to make this oh-so-delightful dessert.

Since I have a little helper who loves loves loves to "stir" everything that I am cooking, I knew that this chocolate mousse would be the perfect dessert to make...it really is great for kids.

The wonderful asset about this mousse is that it is quick to make and so good after any meal. We made it to be served after a light white bean and kale soup.

The Recipe
Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbps. lemon juice
• Zest from a lemon
• 1/2 tsp freshly minced ginger
• Pepper, to taste
• Vegan butter, for dabbing
• Parsley, for garnish

 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Stir together brown sugar, molasses, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, ginger, and pepper in a bowl.
3. Toss the sweet potatoes in the mixture. Coat well.
4. Layer in a greased baking dish. Dot with butter. Cover the dish with foil.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes.
6. Serve with parsley garnish.

With summer wrapping up and school in session, our schedules seemed to be too full to cook and even if we wanted to cook it is far too hot to turn on the oven! With the change of season comes earthen tone fruits and vegetables that provide that warm sense of homeyness that we all crave. 

And from my kitchen, I want you to taste me no-bake pumpkin pie. No-bake makes my life so easy and it will make yours too.  As avid baker, I am used to the intense heat a small oven can produce in my small apartment. Sometimes the heat becomes unbearable and I don't feel like baking another pie. I started doing this pie a couple of years back for Thanksgiving when I had a lot of company over and not enough oven space for desserts.

A lot of hype is surround seeds lately. Chia seeds. Flaxseeds. Hemp seeds. Pumpkin seeds. Seeds are everywhere as if they have never existed until last week. Which, may I point out seems weird because most of the advertising claims that these superfoods have been around for thousands of years. 

I've never really thought too much about the hype because we have eaten seeds for as long as I can remember. When you are 99% vegan, you learn to eat certain types of foods. I stir hemp seeds into oatmeal, soy yogurt, and muffins. I grind flax seed into soups, salads, and smoothies. And to appease my salt addiction, I munch pumpkin seeds. Shoot, I throw pumpkin seeds onto just about anything.

But, I haven't used chia seeds so frequently. Because of their high fat content, I reserve them for spare occasions. Until recently. Until I realized that their congealing qualities are excellent for non-vegan desserts such as pudding. Yes, pudding. Or the fact that they make excellent jams. Sure you can put them into a morning smoothies, but the little buggers stick to the side of the blender and it really is a waste. My experiments with chia seeds proves that chia seeds need time to sit within the medium for a while, perhaps overnight.
 

My proof?
 

It's in the pudding.

The Recipe

Ingredients
·         3 tbsp chia seeds
·         1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
·         2 tbsp cocoa powder
·         ½ cup packed dates
·         A squirt of honey or 1 tsp vanilla extract
·         1/8 tsp salt (I always use iodized)
·         Shredded coconut
·         Dark chocolate chips

Directions

1.      In a blender, mill the chia for 15 seconds. Don't worry if they don't break apart too much.

2.      Add everything, but the coconut and chocolate chips, and pulverize for 1-2 minutes in the blender.

3.      Pour the chocolate pudding into small jars. Top with coconut flakes and chocolate chips.

4.      Store in the fridge for at least 8 hours before serving.

Fudge! I came across a little fudge shop near Seaside, Oregon this weekend and I got inspired to make fudge that didn't make me break out or give the kids a whopping headache! 

I did some research in old cookbooks, looking at the standard ingredients. After a bit of time, I developed a peanut butter base and stuck to simple ingredients like coconut oil and maple syrup. 

When the holidays are over and I am savoring the memory of sitting around the table for Thanksgiving, I can almost taste the pumpkin pie on my lips. Pumpkin pie is perhaps my favorite holiday dish. And my pumpkin pie is not-so-traditional (go figure!). It's made with coconut milk and pumpkin puree. No eggs or dairy, and barely any sugar at all. I love pumpkin as it was meant to be eaten.

​BUT my most favorite thing about  pumpkin pie, or any pie for that matter, is the crust. A good, cold butter crust made with just the right amount of flour and salt. Not mixed too much and generously pressed into a pan. Mmmm....crust. I could totally make a pie crust and eat it raw without any filling. I could half bake it and eat it without filling. I really love pie crust.

Woe is me though...I only have pie crust a few times each year. The rest of the year, I must go without it. That can be really difficult when I am dying for a slice of pumpkin pie. Not to worry though! I've come up with a way to enjoy pumpkin pie without the crust...and I usually eat it for breakfast.

Most people who know me know that I don't like cake very much. Really at all anymore. What I do like is that cake that is nearly brownie...fudgy, screaming with unbaked swirls of chocolate ribbons throughout its body. mmm...chocolate cake has to be just right for me to eat it up. 

Many egg-free recipes that I've tried fall short of my expectations of a moist chocolate cake. Ever since I was a kid, my cakes had to be fudgy. Dry, crumbly (or even close to crumbly) cakes bored me. As I grew older and chose to stop eating eggs for a number of reasons (mostly the smell/idea of it all), I searched for eggless cakes that highlighted moisture. Because we all know a gooey chocolate cake isn't delicious unless it has the perfect cake-to-fudgyness ratio.


After many years of creating and searchin, I finally stumbled upon my idea of the perfect eggless chocolate cake. This chocolate cake is oh so yummy and works well for any celebration! Read on for the recipe...

Summertime is almost over, but that doesn't mean my latest obsession with making ice cream has to end! This weekend I made blueberry banana vegan ice cream. I know. I know. A mouthful. Just call it ice cream and be done with it, I guess. We mixed some frozen banana and blueberries together and added some chocolate chips to it...because everything goes better with chocolate chips. And woo hoo. Simple vegan ice cream without an ice cream machine. Eventually, I will cave and buy an ice cream machine. It's inevitable.

The first time I made this, I forgot to slice the bananas, and while we were able to blend it all right-- I would definitely slice the bananas before freezing them.  The flavor is the ultimate duo of berries and bananas. It really is. No added sugar or anything gross. Just fruit, nuts, and chocolate. Smile. It's ice cream.