Complete Proteins

BBQ Veggie Pita Pizza

First Mondays of the month I participate in a  phone call with a dietitian paid for by my insurance. I would prefer in person nutrition classes and the like, but this is what my insurance pays for. It's a bit like having a life coach for health. At the end of each call she asks me to set goals. I said I should keep the same goals since I was not satisfied with my follow through from last month. But then I realized, I also want to focus on making sure that I am eating enough complete proteins. Since I am no longer eating beef and I have greatly reduced my cheese intake, she was concerned that I make sure I am getting enough protein. I think I have been, but it's possible that some of my recent fatigue and negative emotions have been related.

We discussed what a complete protein is. Many people have told me that I need to make sure I am getting enough protein, or complete proteins if I am reducing and/or removing meat and cheese from my dietary habits, but one friend explained it as such:

"Any combination of 2 or more of these food groups makes a complete protein:
seeds &  nuts
beans & legumes
whole grains
eggs & dairy"

My dietician basically confirmed, and added that of course it is easier to get complete protein by eating meat, eggs or dairy, but if I'm going to focus on vegetative matter to get my protein, the above list minus the eggs and dairy is right. She also mentioned that the only complete protein found yet in a non meat or dairy food is quinoa. Complete proteins apparently have to do with amino acid chains or some such. I tried to look it up on diabetes.com as she suggested but haven't found it yet. Still, complete proteins are not impossible or even that hard to attain without meat or dairy, so I can still continue my quest to see how I do on less meat (no beef) and at least 50% less cheese (which I think is much more than 50% less at this point) For example in today's breakfast I had both the protein that was available from the veggies and almond butter. I'm not sure if that's technically a complete protein, but it's definitely healthier than one or the other. If I had put the peanut butter on some whole wheat toast it would have met the dietitians requirements. It also would have doubled my carb intake for the day, so I chose to forgo the bread. Not sure if that was the best decision or not protein wise, but it was good for my blood sugar. I'll run things like that by the dietitian next time. I did however make sure to get complete proteins in my lunch by having both whole wheat in the pita, and cheese on it. Plus I had good fiber, added extra veggies, and if I had made the cheese vegan by making it out of nuts it would have been non dairy but still complete proteins.

 Update on cheese changes. I have been asking myself the question "Do I really need or want cheese with/on whatever I am eating?" as I planned, and that has greatly reduced my cheese intake. Plus, when I do eat cheese, I am starting to eat 1/2 as much. For example on today's pita pizza, I decided that since I do not have any vegan cheese around right now, I did indeed want cheese on my pizza. BUT I used 1/8 cup shredded cheese instead of 1/4 cup. Also, I added salad greens to my pita pizza for some added herbal flavor, and I really enjoyed it that way! The full recipe is below.

 BBQ Veggie Pita Pizza
Ingredients:
1/3 Red Bell Pepper (I ate the rest on the side raw which was delicious)
 1/2 heritage tomato
 1 roasted serrano chili pepper
 1 cup of salad greens (I used a basil arugula mix)
1 tablespoon bbq tomato sauce (home made)
1 whole wheat pita

Instructions:
Cut roasted chili pepper into small bits and mix into bbq sauce spreading evenly over pita chop 1/3 bell pepper and 1/2 tomato into bite sized chunks and spread around pita. Sprinkle 1 cup of salad greens over all the rest sprinkle 1/8 cup shredded cheese of your choice on top cook at 250 for 10 minutes (for crispy crust cook the pita for 10 minutes before adding toppings)

Later I may combine chickpeas and sesame seeds to make a complete protein and eat a snack of veggies and hummus. And for dinner I will have quinoa with roasted veggies and a side salad. For desert I am asking Patch to bring home bananas which I can try eating since apparently bananas are only a mild food intolerance and not a complete allergy as I had thought. I have a recipe I have been wanting to try out for chocolate banana brownies. Meat Free Monday should be a success!

Health Update

It's been a while since I blogged about my health or food. Sorry about that! I know I'm pretty inconsistent about when I blog here. But I had a really good appointment at my Endocrinologist last week, and wanted to share here about what changes I've made and the results.

Changes to my diet:
I have quit eating beef, been eating at least 5 green smoothies a week, and am still enjoying Meat Free Mondays almost every week (sometimes I forget it's Monday and then I do meat free Tuesday or what have you) Some weeks  I eat meat free several days a week, and when doing so I try to remember to eat whole protein sources. The dietary changes I have made have sometimes been sudden, such as quitting eating all the foods that came up on allergy and intolerance blood tests, and some have been more gradual such as reducing meat fat from my diet, and learning about healthy ways to eat more vegetables. Eating fruit has never been a problem for me. I love fruit, and if anything, I have to be careful not to eat too much fruit. I keep a close eye on my blood sugar when trying new things. I quit eating beef almost 2 weeks ago. So far, so good. Sometimes I have almost slipped up because I was not thinking about it and a burger seemed easy and sounded delicious, but then I remembered that beef is on my  list of things not to eat at all for at least one month. I had previously reduced beef to only being eaten every once in a while if I'm out at a restaurant, so remembering not to order beef when out is my new challenge. This week I started asking myself before eating cheese, do I really want this right now or is there a healthier replacement I could eat instead. Especially when I reach for an apple and cheese which I was eating every day for a while. Now I often eat an apple and peanut butter instead. Increased intake of cinnamon and sunflower seeds at the recommendation of a Natural medicine doc.

Changes medically:
I am no longer taking Lopid as it did not seem to be working. I also no longer take Glyburide as it lowered my blood sugar dangerously and was not helping anything. All with my Endocrinologists support. I am however taking Simvastatin (or something like that) and for a while had me on a 2nd cholesterol med as well but recently took me off that. I still take Metformin for my diabetes. He says it has also been shown to prevent some kinds of cancer, and since I have lumps on my thyroid, it's not good to lower those doses. I have been trying to do yoga every other day and cardio the other days, with Sundays off. I've started not working on orders on Sundays and only making orders 5 days a week, also. This means that on Sundays I still make something creative, but it's more enjoyable. I'm trying to figure out the best schedule for my health mentally, emotionally and physically. Time will tell, but full time work is still too much for me, that much is clear.

Results:
A1C is down to 5.6
Fasting Blood Glucose is usually 90 to 110 these days tho sometimes creeps up to 118 if I haven't chosen a proper "healthy snack" before bed
Cholesterol was so much better my doctor practically did a dance of joy and he took me off one of my cholesterol medicines to see what happens. I am hoping since I have been eating so well it will still be good.
Down from 245 to 229 since my last appointment
Down from a size 54 to 42 pants
Down from a 3x to 2x and sometimes 1x shirt

People have asked me why I am changing what I eat, "is it for health reasons or conscience reasons?" Really it is for both. Primarily, it is for health which has been my long time answer, but I am also very aware of the toll we take on the world around us, and believe that "every drop raises the ocean" or in other words, every baby step counts. So I have some reasons of conscience as well.  For example, by not eating beef and choosing to eat meat which comes from reputable sources, I am taking less of a toll on the world around me. I also am increasing the amount of attention I give to what I put into my body, and to me, this is an important part of improving my health and mind. Beef has been known to increase inflammatory response, and my body has a lot of problems related to inflammation, so I decided to try eating no beef for a month or two and see how my body feels. I suspect I will keep it up, or maybe I will only eat beef when it is a special cut of meat from a healthy, well treated animal or something. We will see. If I see health benefits, it will be worth changing for sure.

I have been watching the 2nd Forks Over Knives movie which is a bunch of interviews of experts which are about the health reasons to go meat free and which did not make it into the original Forks Over Knives movie, and it helped me solidify my decision to quit drinking milk and also reduce my cheese and yogurt intake. I watched the first movie some time ago, and have been gradually moving towards a diet free of meats and dairy since, but for me it is a slow change, not overnight. The second movie also made it clear that only 10% of my diet needs to be protein all of which can be found in plant sources which was a relief since I have been trying to figure out how much is enough. I highly recommend the movie, and their website has some delicious looking recipes I am looking forward to trying as well: http://www.forksoverknives.com/category/recipes/

I am really happy with the results of my choices so far. I will continue eating meat at this point, but may switch to being on only fish, fruits and vegetables in the not too distant future. Time will tell.

Thanksgiving Brunch and Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Thanksgiving Brunch in my house has always been a quick and easy, light meal so that we have room for the big meal later, but energy for a walk before "linner" (late lunch, early dinner) which also means less cooking for the chef/s. So last night I made the Pumpkin Dinner Rolls. Based off of this recipe: http://www.beyondkimchee.com/pumpkin-dinner-rolls/ which I altered to be whole wheat by substituting 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 3.5 cups whole wheat flour for the 5 cups of all purpose flour called for. The whole wheat flour tends to soak up liquids more easily, so I used less flour, and I also split my loaf into halves which I then split in half and then thirds so it made a total of 24 rolls instead of the halves and 15ths the original recipe called for, which made 30 smaller rolls. You could go either way, but this worked for me.

 Next time I would add some sweet potato (the orange/yam colored kind) in there as well, because it would add some natural sweetness, and it's bright orange color would make them more pumpkin like, as the originals look very cute with their orange pumpkin color. Normally I do not cook with yeast or egg, but I did with this recipe, because it was my first time changing it, and I've learned the hard way that it's best to only change ONE thing in a recipe at a time when your'e playing around with new recipes.

Thanksgiving Brunch,

Sliced in half so they're still cute pumpkin looking things, temporarily remove the nut/stem, spread each half with cream cheese (I used 1.5 tablespoons 1/3 fat cream cheese on each side) then add 1/2 a tablespoon (1.5 teaspoons) cherry preserves on each side, no nitrate happily raised turkey slices in the middle. I like to shop locally so the cherry preserves are from a local farmer, and are basically cherry and sugar. SO GOOD. Put the sliced turkey in the middle, close it like a sandwhich and for extra OCD bakers, line up the pumpkin's creases so they still match. Tastes (and looks) like Martha Stewart visited our kitchen.

Now back to the kitchen to make some butternut squash soup and orange cranberry sweet potatoes.

Beets - expanding our food preferences

Red and Golden Beets being prepped to make chips

As a child and even as a young adult, I just did not like beets. I had only ever tried red beets that were boiled to death and had used them to dye clothing for a science project, but had never found a way in which I liked to eat them. Granted, I didn't try very much. I just ate what people gave me and didn't like it.

But these days, I've been trying to expand the boundaries of what I know I like, and find a variety of ways to prepare things. I want to get more nutrients in my food, and eat more whole foods, so I've been coming from that perspective. Here is some good information on the nutritional properties of beets: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HealthyRecipeSharing/?fref=ts
http://approachablenutrition.com/beet-juice-can-it-temporarily-paralyze-vocal-cords/

An early morning look at a golden sunrise beet

Recently we visited Sprouts, a grocery store with some great produce, and saw some golden sunrise beets. I'd never seen anything but red beets, so we picked one up to try it out. I tried a piece raw, and loved it! Finally something with a sweetness and crunch to rival carrots! I am always looking for something to replace carrots as I am allergic to them. Plus it added a gorgeous yellow color to anything I put it on!

Sprouts had cut off the tops of the golden sunrise beets, but the thing was so delicious it emboldened me to try red beets, and the tops were so gorgeous so I started looking up ways to use the tops as well. I found quite a few. And also noticed that whatever beet tops are not used the same day you bring them home from the store tend to wilt quickly. Unfortunately this meant that a lot of them went straight into the compost instead of getting eaten. Next time I will cook them up the same day. Here are some of the recipes I found: http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/radish-salad-beet-salad-carrot-top-salad/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/beet-and-apple-salad-recipe/index.html

The beet and apple salad above inspired me to try my own version which was delicious and non allergenic, the original version had lemon juice and something else I can't do, so here's mine:

Tips:
Leaving this salad in the fridge only improves the flavor.
I also found putting it on top of a baked tortilla and cheese as a personal pizza was delicious

Ingredients:

Orange, the juice and zest of 1 medium orange

Apples, fresh, 1 small (2-1/2" dia) (approx 4 per lb)
*Yambean (jicama), 1.5 cup matchstick sized slices
Red Beet, fresh, 1 beet (2" dia)
Watercress, 10 sprigs
Baby Spring Greens 1 cup

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 teaspoons

Green Onions, raw, 5 slice thin
Salt, 1 dash
Pepper, black, 1 dash
Red Pepper Flakes, 1 dash

Walnuts, chopped, 3 Tablespoons

Directions:

slice one small apple into matchstick sized pieces and set aside in a medium salad bowl
peel and slice enough jicama to make 1.5 cups of matchstick sized slices and add to salad bowl
peel and slice 1 beet into matchstick sized pieces and add to bowl

In a small water tight container, mix 3 tablespoons olive oil, the juice from one medium orange, and 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid. cover and shake till well mixed, then pour over the apples, jicama and beets and mix well. Grate half of the orange's rind over the salad, add salt and pepper to taste, then toss well and set aside in fridge to marinate (if you can eat lemon and limes, you can substitute a teaspoon of that juice for the 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid of course, but it will alter the flavor of this salad of course)

Mince the head of one green onion and slice 2 green stalks into thin, even slices. I cut mine to the length and width of the other pieces. Set aside

Lay 1 cup of mixed baby spring salad leafs and 10 watercress on each plate, then remove the salad bowl from the fridge and layer 1/4 over the top of each. Sprinkle green onion pieces over the top. Grate the other 1/2 of the orange rind over the salads and enjoy.

Serving Size:
Makes 4 servings at 1/2 a plate of salad for each person

Here are a few other ways we enjoyed beets and all their parts:
Golden beets in various salads, Beet Greens cooked with other vegetables and mixed into a cheese sauce then put over whole wheat spaghetti, Beet Greens mixed in with the Sweet and Spicy Beet Salad which I may make again but with golden beets added for it's bright yellow flavor and slightly sweeter essence, and red and golden beets sliced up, coated in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and herbs and dehydrated into chips, on pizza, in soup, roasted, juiced, in smoothies, and there are so many more. Plus, we only used red and golden beets because that's what was in our local stores, but there are other versions I look forward to trying some day as well. Next fun and new to us vegetable we'll be exploring is rainbow chard!

Edit:
A friend warned that juicing and drinking large quantities beet greens can lead to temporary vocal paralysis in some people. I did look into this, and posted a link above with information. I would say, all things in moderation. Many people eat beet greens mixed in with other things and have no problems. But eating them raw and juiced in large quantities means you're exposing yourself to more of the quantity in them that can be harsh on the throat. We ate them in small quantities mixed in with various other veggies and had sometimes meat like the bacon, sun dried tomatoes and zucchini mixed in with beet greens to the left here, and had no problems.  Also, I found juicing beets and adding to smoothies was wonderful except for right after my having my tonsils out, at which point it was too harsh for me. Try various combinations till you find what you like. Personally, I don't like boiled beets which is the way I had them as a child. Primarily because I do not like the texture. But there are so many other wonderful ways to eat them, that I no longer avoid them in the grocery aisle or farmer's market. Now back to rainbow chard adventures!

Coconut Mango Vegan Ice Cream/Sorbet

A friend of mine was sharing a simple vegan ice cream recipe made of nut milk, salt, cinnamon and maple syrup. Sounded delicious, but I happen to have coconut milk and mango, so thought I'd try a different recipe. I did a search for home made coconut milk ice cream and found a few recipes:

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2012/07/homemade-coconut-milk-ice-cream-recipes.html
http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-desserts/basic-vanilla-coconut-ice-cream-vegan-soy-free-gluten-free
http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-desserts/basic-vanilla-coconut-ice-cream-vegan-soy-free-gluten-free
http://alltheveganthings.com/post/19540741466/vegan-coconut-ice-cream#.UE2DQI1mRj4


of course one could always just buy one of these:
http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-ice-creams?gclid=CMWK5POpqrICFYJOTAodpE0AhA
http://coconutbliss.com/
http://www.nadamoo.com/
and we've done that, but I figured I would like to try my hand at making some from scratch. After all, I have a delicious mango and some coconut milk, why not?

Here's my first attempt at a recipe. If I tweak it, I'll let you know:

1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened)
1 mango (minus rind and pit)
1 dash of sea salt
1/8 cup coconut sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

I don't have a machine, so here's what I'm doing:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/

Put a shallow metal pan in the freezer the night before, mix ingredients well, taste to make sure the flavor is what you want and adjust as necessary, chill over an ice bath, then pour into the frozen pan and stir. You can put it in the freezer about 10 minutes afterwards to firm it up if you want. The above link has much more detailed instructions and reasoning.

Sweet Potato Quinoa Casserole

We were out of all vegetables and almost all fruit so we made a trip to the closest store. First I did a search for recipes with Quinoa, because a friend had mentioned it, and we hadn't made any lately, but I have a LOT of the stuff in my pantry.

This recipe  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1905451  sounded different, so I bought all the ingredients for this, some things that were on sale, some organic leafy greens and such that looked delicious, and some cherry tomatoes that were on sale. It was a good shopping trip, not too much money for a lot of food. Ironically, Patch also decided to stop by the same store about an hour later on her way home from work.

We'll just have to make sure to eat LOTS of vegetarian meals and salads in the next couple of days. She also did much better at getting a lot of food for a little money, since she only bought things that were on sale in the 50% off section, whereas Carlie and I had some things we knew we needed for the week. It's all good, the house feels bountiful again, and the options for making healthy meals has greatly improved!

Sweet Potato Quinoa Casserole with Cantelope & Wilted Spinach

I actually modified the recipe since the original had a pretty high carb count:  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2227285 this one has about 1/2 the carbs, a bit less fat, and higher protein. It is vegetarian, not vegan like the original, so if you're vegan, use the original recipe :) Or at least use the things which I replaced with cheese. My recipe has more whole, unprocessed vegetables. Be sure to grate the sweet potato, and enjoy!

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Patch made this soup today. She doesn't cook from a recipe, but wrote this down for me and I translated. If you're vegan, obviously you won't want to use cheese tortellini but we really enjoyed it and so far today has been a vegetarian day for both of us. :) http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2198591&ff=1

Green Pear Jicama Salad

Tip:
A little dressing goes a long way on this To zest an Orange, use a small grater or a microplaner
For Dressing: 1 tablespoon olive oil Per 2 tablespoons pear balsamic vinegar A bit of orange juice from the orange you zest 
The pears were free from a neighbors tree & the zucchini was from a neighbors garden. It's always nice to find local fruits and veggies!

Ingredients:
2 small, green, apple pears, julienned (finely sliced)
2 cups jicama, julienned
1/2 cup zucchini, sliced into round thin strips and then quartered
1 small slightly tart tomatillo sliced into similar pieces as the zucchini then halved
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Zest of one orange

 Dressing:
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic
the Juice of 1 orange

 This dressing keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge I made this salad and dressing based on what was in the pantry and fridge that seemed like it would make a nice mix of sweet and tart. We took this with pear balsamic kale chips to a pot luck along with a container of almonds that people could sprinkle on top instead of croutons. People went back for seconds and some wanted the recipe. I'm finishing the rest off for a snack now.

Yummy and I believe it fits right into the DTOUR diet I've been using for recipe inspiration, tho I made it up myself so who knows. I hope you give it a try if these fruits and veggies are local and in season they will be the tastiest. Enjoy!

Making healthy foods fun

They say we eat with our eyes first, then our nose and finally our taste buds. For this reason, I try to plate food in a way that looks nice as well as tastes good.

But sometimes life calls for a little whimsy. So this morning we are joined by the breakfast monster.

Tasty, nutritious and fun. If you'd like to eat a breakfast monster  you can make your own and please show me the pictures! Or, if you'd like, feel free to use the following "recipe" to emulate mine.

Tips: Spinach can be lightly wilted if you'd like. I try not to eat too much fresh spinach as I've been told it can block some other nutrients from being absorbed by my body.
If you'd like to be a little more creative with the placement of the sunflower seeds and cranberries, please do! We had already mixed the salad the night before, but I think the cranberries would be delicious and look fun on the eyes around the middle and the sunflower seeds could be lined up as the lines between teeth.

Ingredients:
Eyes:
1 Whole Grain Bagel - Toasted
2 Tablespoons Smart Balance Omega rich Peanut Butter

Mouth:
1 teaspoon walnut oil
1 cup Spinach - wilted
1/8 cup sliced celery
1 tablespoon cranberries
1 tablespoon unsalted sunflower seeds
2 oz tuna fish

Directions:
Toast 1 Whole Wheat bagel and spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on each
Lightly wilt 1 cup of Spinach in 1 teaspoon of walnut oil
Mix Spinach with 1/8 cup celery, 1 tablespoon cranberries, and 1 tablespoon unsalted sunflower seeds.
Arrange on plate in desired mouth shape
Arrange 2 oz of Tuna fish as teeth or as the middle section of the lips

Or just get creative and make your own :)

This meal is rich in fiber, omega 3's and protein. And was inspired by the DTOUR diet, although I think 1/2 a bagel might be what they call for. http://diabetes.prevention.com/

Vinegar Kale Chips 2 Ways

Kale Chips, getcher Kale Chips!!! Kale Chips Two Ways, Sweet n Salty, or Vinegar and Salt.  I feel like a vendor at the beach with popcorn. These things are flying off the pan as fast as I can make em. And last night as we were eating Kale Chips with garlic and paprika on them, I thought hmmm these would be good with salt and vinegar I bet! So I looked around and found this article: http://www.foodess.com/2012/01/salt-vinegar-kale-chips/ and apparently I'm not the only one. I also looked up Vinegar and Salt Potato Chips, because that's what I was emulating here. But it wasn't until afterwards, when I didn't quite get that vinegar pop that I went searching for that old flavor I was looking for that reminds me of the board walk. And this recipe from Bon Appetit had the trick. VINEGAR POWDER! I had no idea it even exists. I will have to keep my eyes open for some, because I think that would be more likely to get from hmmm that's a nice light vinegar and salt flavor, to WOW! Yes! Check it out: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/10/salt-and-vinegar-potato-chips

I'm not saying the Vinegar and Salt Kale Chips aren't delicious, but I am saying I much prefer the Sweet and Salty version. We will see what Patch  and Carlie say. Or try them both and let me know what you think for yourself!

Tips:
- I have made Kale Chips quite a few times now, and I have discovered that the temperature I'd previously used was too high. I think it worked when I stuck the Kale in the oven without preheating first. But now that I've learned to preheat the oven consistently, (shocker) I had to bring the temperature down to avoid burning.
- If using black Kale, expect a slightly darker leaf at the end, but you still want to avoid over browning as the chips become bitter if burnt. So just cook until crisp, even if you have to keep checking. Sometimes I take the smaller bits off first and leave the larger bits on there to cook a bit longer.
- a teaspoon of baking soda in a large bowl of water is great for washing leaved veggies. Just put the leaves in the water and swish them around, the dirt will fall to the bottom

Ingredients:

Vinegar and Salt Kale Chips:
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon White Vinegar
Salt to taste

Sweet and Salty Kale Chips:
1 Tablespoon Walnut Oil
1 Tablespoon Pear Balsamic
1 dash of Cinnamon

Instructions:
Wash Kale and dry well. I'm told a salad spinner works great for this, but if you don't have one you can dry them by hand by pressing them between super absorbent towels.
Break Kale into chip sized pieces, and then they will cook down to popcorn sized or larger
Place in large, dry bowl
Add ingredients
Stir well
Lay out on non stick baking sheet
Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes, then turn over and cook until crisp. If edges start to brown, pull them out.

Let me know what fun recipes you come up with!

Orange Jicama Salad - Adding More Raw Vegan Foods to Our Plan

Hint: If you're just looking for the recipe, scroll down towards the end the next few paragraphs are about raw food and veganism.

Several years ago I went about 90% Raw. I remember the conversation with my doctor who thought raw meant I was eating raw meat. Even tho I had mentioned it was a form of veganism where foods are not cooked, unless you consider dehydrating and low temperatures to be cooking (which I do, to be honest)  At that time, I had a lot of issues around eating in this healthy, meat free way which was very confusing to me. As it turned out, I was eating tons of things that I'm allergic to. Carrots were in many recipes I was preparing, since they were a low cost filler for things like raw vegan burgers. The food was delicious, and I really enjoyed the creativity it allowed me, but between the hives, foggy thinking and low energy, my doctor told me to knock it off even after she knew what it was. She wasn't educated enough in it to even begin to guess at what was going wrong. If you are still wondering what exactly is Raw Food, here are some helpful links:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianlifestyle/f/rawfoods.htm
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/Raw_Food.htm
http://www.rawfoodlife.com/#axzz20p6qQC6E
http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/

These days I am a bit more tuned in to what my body likes and doesn't like as well as how to get protein out of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, so I've been moving back towards more and more vegetarian, vegan and/or raw meal preparation. I'm paying close attention to how my body responds to the meals, and making sure I get enough protein, which was one of the things my previous doctor felt was missing from my temporary Raw Food attempt.   http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/

Recently we got a box chock full of organic fruits and vegetables for $25. I don't want it to go bad, so I've been making sure we add it into meals and flat out plan meals around it. I think we'll eat it up quickly since all 3 of us have been increasing the amount of vegetables in our diet. Sometimes we'll make a whole meal which is vegan, and other times we'll mix and match like I did today for lunch putting a raw vegan salad along with a tuna melt and some kale chips on the side. About 440 calories, it was a great lunch! Here's the recipe for the salad:  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2174697 ENJOY!

What are your favorite raw and/or vegan recipes? If you like sharing healthy recipes, you might enjoy this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171662566292397/

Jelly-In-The-Middle Muffins - Vegan, Whole Wheat

Here in Laveen, we have quite a wonderful gardening group. If you are on Facebook you can find us there (https://www.facebook.com/groups/161227934003355/) talking about everything from desert native plants to exotic food plants, and occasionally recipes we make with them. We often share the food we grow, and although so far this season my garden has not has a lot of luck, I have high hopes for next season. And in the mean time, some of my neighbors sell or give away their locally produced foods. Today Patch made these awesome muffins and at my request she used the strawberry jam one neighbor gave me, and another kind from another, and locally produced cherry & fig preserves as well. They are SO GOOD!

Originally the recipe came from an old cookbook we have in the cupboard called Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, but we altered it to be vegan since I'm allergic to eggs and milk doesn't seem to be reacting well with my stomach again these days. Right now Patch is also making a version with cheese and Jalepenos which I bet Milo could easily make vegan by using his Treese. I don't know if that's the right spelling, but it's a vegan "cheese" product he really likes :) Check out his Vegan Meal Adventures (https://www.facebook.com/keepingvegan) some time for some awesome recipes using it. In the mean time, here is the Vegan Jelly-In-The-Middle Muffin recipe Patch and I came up with:

Tips:
Start the chia seeds soaking before you do anything else, that way they are ready when you get to them in the recipe
Do not use baking cups on your muffin tin with these, spread veggie oil or veggie shortening (like the thick coconut oil) in the tin instead

Ingredients:
Egg Replacer:
3 Tablespoons water & 1 Tablespoon Chia seeds

Dry Ingredients:
1 & 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

Liquids:
3/4 cup Almond Milk (or your favorite milk replacement)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Jelly:
12 teaspoons of your favorite jelly

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Mix 3 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon Chia seeds in small bowl and set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes to soak which will replace 1 egg (ground flax seeds can also be used for this)
Mix dry ingredients (1 & 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda) and make a well in the middle
Mix egg replacer after it holds together in a consistency much like egg with 3/4 cup Almond Milk (or your favorite milk replacement) and 1/4 cup vegetable oil and pour all at once into the well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Stir until mixture is just moistened (Do not over stir, batter will still be lumpy)
Lightly grease muffin tin (coconut oil might work for this, we use walnut oil,
Pour into muffin tin
Place 1 teaspoon of jelly on top in the center of each muffin, and it will sink inside as it bakes
Bake in a 400 degree oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown

Makes 1 dozen medium sized muffins (not the bite sized but not the large over sized ones either)
Edit: The butter you see out was used to grease the tin for the original batch which Patch made following the original recipe. Later, I helped her edit the recipe to make it vegan, and after that, she made a 3rd batch with jalepeno and cheese to have later with dinner.

Quick and Easy Chai Latte

The last few days I have been craving Chai Latte, but not wanting the fattening, sugar filled versions that various coffee stores and premixed Chai recipes showed. Nor did I want to take the time to make Chai concentrate at this time, although it sounded delicious. So the following is a quick and easy method I developed at home.

Tips:
According to my reading, even decaffeinated tea has about 3% of it's caffeine left. Please be aware of that if you are sensitive or even if you're just wanting a morning pick me up, but not the jitters

Black tea does come in decaf versions

Agave Nectar is about 2 times sweeter than sugar, so use sparingly, and make sure you get the 100% whole Agave kind, and not the versions which are mixed with other things in the process or it's glycemic index shoots up

Honey, if you are not allergic to it like I am, is a delicious sweetener for chai. I only wish it didn't give me hives.

Lemon peel would also be refreshing (I used orange zest due to lemon allergies)

Placing the ingredients in a cheese cloth would likely prevent the need to strain the tea

If you are a soy milk drinker or rice milk drinker those would work and this would still be vegan. Or if you're a dairy drinker this works with milk

Ingredients:

2 glasses filled with ice

8 oz hot water

8 oz Original Unsweetened Almond milk (with vitamin D)
2 bags decaf black tea (or iced tea bags)

1/2 teaspoon agave 

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cardimum or allspice 

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions:

Heat water 

Place 2 bags of decaf black tea,  1/2 teaspoon agave nectar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon orange zest in a coffee mug or tea cup 

Pour 8 oz hot water over and allow tea to steep

Place a paper towel over the glass of ice (I used a couple pieces of ice to hold the paper towel slightly down into the glass) 

SLOWLY pour 1/2 hot tea and spices from the above over the paper towel so that it will strain out excess spices and not leave your latte gritty.  Allow to soak through the paper towel until the glass is 1/2 full of tea then move paper towel to other glass of ice and repeat

Add 4 oz Almond Milk to each glass

Mix

You can add more honey or agave to taste if you feel it is not sweet enough, but I like mine spicy and not overly sweet

Makes 2 8 oz glasses of Chai Latte providing you with 1/2 the vitamin D of a glass of milk, none of the dairy, and all the healthy antioxidents of the tea, plus some of the blood sugar control of the spices, tho those are minimal at this dose I'm sure, I figure it can't hurt my attempts to move towards a medicine free blood sugar control! 

Please let me know how you like it, and what spices you switch around for it. You may want to try ginger root in yours, I am allergic to ginger, so did not include it in this recipe but found it in several chair recipes on the net. ENJOY! 

GF PB Zucchini Bread - Take 2

Although the last batch was delicious, it was more like Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blondies than zucchini bread.
It was more of a dessert. I wanted a more substancial, slightly more peanut buttery zucchini bread that would be good at breakfast.  So this time I decided to try again with a slightly different recipe and it's looking good so far.

Tips:
If the dough doesn't seem wet enough you can add a bit more coconut milk.
Walnuts or peanuts would be delicious in this if you wish to add them remember to adjust your calories
After grating zucchini, press with paper towels to reduce water then fluff with a fork before adding to mix
If you don't have an egg allergy like me, feel free to use 1 egg in place of the ground flax seed meal to get brown sugar loosely packed, use the 1/2 cup to scoop the brown sugar out of the container. when brown sugar is dumped out of container it should fall apart a bit, not be in one hard lump

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Grated Zucchini
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
1/2 cup Polenta (Ground Corn Meal)
1/2 cup Steel Cut Oats
1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
1/2 teaspoon salt (fine, not the coarse sea salt kind)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter
1/4 cup peanut butter chips (organic, no sugar added)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare bread pan (if it is not a non stick pan, lightly coat sides and bottom with oil or cooking spray)

Boil 1/2 cup water (see tips if in microwave) In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup ground flax seed meal, 1/2 cup polenta, and 1/2 cup  steel cut oats, add boiling water, stir, and set aside.

Grate Zucchini and press between 2 paper towels, fluff with a fork, then set aside

Mix 1/2 cup Almond Flour, 1/2 cup rice flour,  2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, then add 1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed) and mix till there are no lumps.


Add small bowl of damp flax, polenta and oats mixture and stir until there are no large lumps. Add 1 1/2 cup zucchini and mix well.

Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1/4 cup coconut milk, and 1/2 cup smooth organic no sugar added peanut butter. Mix well. If bread mixture is too dry and not sticking together, add a bit more coconut milk until damp enough to hold together well.

Pour dough into bread pan, pour 1/4 cup peanut butter chips over top, and place on center rack of the oven at 350  for 60 minutes (check with toothpick to see when done)

Eggless, Gluten Free Baking (Low Carb)

Recently I have been trying to find recipes to add zucchini to, and this has lead me to some interesting experiments with eggless, low carb recipes which turn out to be accidentally gluten free. Perhaps eggless recipes need a cook book of their own. 


Since low carb is helpful to regulating my blood glucose, I have been trying to add more low carb recipes to my routine, as well as more vegetables. I don't count vegetables (especially the green ones) as carbs. But we're not here for a discussion about blood glucose, we are here for yum-ness! Or at least I am. I'll leave the diabetes lectures to the nurses and dietitians.


These recipes both turned out delicious, but it was the first time I tried either and I had to replace quite a few ingredients due to allergies. There are a few things I learned and things I plan to try out next time. The Almond Blueberry Pancake recipe does not currently have zucchini because Patch is not a big fan.  That said, she did love the Zucchini Brownies. They are going fast! You can make these without the xantham gum if you don't have any; I will be making a post entirely on xantham gum in the near future. Buying some is well worth your while if you plan to cook eggless and/or gluten free recipes, especially baking.


Some things I've learned along the way:
Brownies are pretty amazing no matter what you make them with
Zucchini, when cooked, actually helps create a flour like texture, especially if finely grated
Replacing eggs in recipes is tricky, but a little xantham gum goes a long way and replaces the stickiness of gluten in a recipe as well. 
Apple sauce may sweeten your recipe as well as replacing eggs and/or fat
Don't forget you may be adding liquid in some cases
< span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The more eggs a recipe requires, the more difficult it is to replace them, and the more likely the recipe will be too watery.
Just adding flour may not be able to save some recipes,  but give it a shot in small amounts>
Gluten Free flours vary widely and even within the same type (almond flour for example) can vary in moisture content, texture, etc. This can be taken as a fun adventure, or an irritation. I choose the first but feel free to ignore my reality and substitute your own. 


Adding zucchini to recipes can add moisture. Try pressing them against a paper towel lined strainer to get rid of some of the water before adding them to a recipe or you may end up with a batch so watery it won't cook properly at all. This happened to me the first time I attempted zucchini pancakes, major fail. I will be trying them again in the future as well as sweet potato pancakes and a combination. When I get them perfected, I will share them here.

The following recipes were delicious and everyone who tried them is either lying to me or they liked them too. 

Zucchini Brownies
A friend recommended Fast Paleo Zucchini Brownies but they have some things I'm allergic to so I altered the recipe slightly. They smell delicious when baking and were no disappointment! We ate all but one before remembering to photograph them. Photo coming soon. These were a bit more oily than I'd prefer, and I didn't cook them quite enough, so those in the middle tasted a bit more like zucchini than those on the outer edges which people did not guess contained zucchini. The middle however, was moist and delicious. Next time I might add 5 minutes to the baking time.

Minutes to Prepare: 20

Minutes to Cook: 30- 45

Number of Servings: 16

Tips

If you do not have a small whisk you can use a fork to mix the xanthum gum and apple sauce. This is the egg replacer. If you want, you can put a dark chocolate chip in the center of each right after they come out of the oven. I was told to wait to cut these after they cool, but they cut just fine for me right out of the oven.

Ingredients

Almond Butter, 1 cup
Zucchini, 1.5 cup, grated 

Maple Syrup, .33 cup
Almond Extract, 1 teaspoon
Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground, 1 teaspoon
Allspice, .5 teaspoon
Dark Chocolate Chips, 1 cup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350


Using a small whisk, mix 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce with 1/4 teaspoon xantham gum. Add all other ingredients and mix together.


Pour batter into a 9x9 greased brownie pan


bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until you can prick it with a toothpick and it comes out clean






Serving Size: makes 16 brownies 2.25 inches square

Almond Blueberry Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour  1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 

Other Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 3/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut milk 
• 1 Tablespoon 100% Maple Syrup (or your other favorite liquid sweetener)

In addition:

2 tablespoons butter or oil for frying pan

Directions:Place non stick frying pan on medium-low heat.

Once well blended, mix in all other ingredients. (except  the milk & butter)

Add milk slowly until the consistency is that you would normally expect for pancakes

Lightly coat frying pan with butter (or oil if you prefer)

Spoon onto warm, buttered pan and cook slowly until underside is brown, flip and cook until both sides are nicely browned.
The tops of the pancakes will not bubble like normal pancakes, but may start to appear slightly cooked around the time they are ready to be flilpped.

Recipe makes approximately 12 small pancakes or 24 "silver dollar" pancakes

Tips:

• Be patient. If you cook slowly  as they cook the batter will puff up around the blueberries
• Almond flour is really almond meal and the pancakes made with them can be grainy
• For softer less grainy pancakes, try adding 1/2 a cup of rice flour (tapioca or brown rice) it will raise the carb count, so if that's a concern try a 1/2 cup sweet potato flour (changes flavor)
• For puffier pancakes, you can use sparkling water or mix some xantham gum or guar gum into the mix. I find mixing it into the flour before adding wet ingredients helpful. I don't like sparkling water because carbonation seems to trigger my migraines, so I tend to use xantham gum but more on that later.

Simple Chicken or Turkey Broth and Gravy

Recently I've had a stomach bug and been required to be on a very simple diet of broth, rice, applesauce, toast and the like. They call it the BRAT diet. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to carrots which they usually put in chicken broth and the like. (don't believe me? Read the ingredients list)

Luckily for me, Carlie has made me a simple home made chicken broth! It's just the thing when I'm sick. Ate it all but I'm still not better, so tonight she's going to buy 2 turkey drumsticks to make some turkey broth for a change. She's made it in the past for me after I had my tonsils out, and it's delicious! Plus you can't find anything like Turkey Broth at the store, so I thought I'd go ahead and share the recipe with you. Add noodles for chicken noodle soup of course.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (excluding the guts but including the skin)
6 cups of water (approximately)

1 dash of salt (leaves the soup low sodium or to be salted by individuals to their liking)


1 Onion, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 green onions


Directions:
Chop the onion and 3 celery stalks
Remove giblets (guts) from the chicken (usually in a bag for easy removal)
Put chicken in large pot, put on low and brown it a bit to bring out the flavor
Fill pot with water until chicken is just covered

Add a dash of salt
Bring water to a boil

After water comes to a rolling boil (large bubbles)  reduce to a simmer (low flame)
Cook on low for 2 hours or until the broth has a nice golden color and smells like the soup is ready to eat

You can now serve up bowls of the soup to those who are healthy. For the sick person, allow the soup to cool, and strain out fat and ingredients. What remains is "stock" or broth. Which is useful in other recipes such as chicken gravy. (see below)

Ingredients:
1 cup Chicken, Beef or Turkey Stock (I used Chicken, as that is what we had on hand)
1 dash of sea salt
3 tablespoons flour (I use whole wheat flour but I suspect any flour will work)
1/2 cup water

Directions:
Put Chicken Stock in water
Add 1 dash of sea salt
Bring Chicken Stock to a boil
Add 3 tablespoons flour to 1/2 cup of water
Stir with a small whisk (the small whisk works best in a small container and allows for less lumps)
When Chicken Stock is at a rolling boil (large bubbles which rise to the surface and pop quickly)
SLOWLY add the 1/2 cup of water which you previously added flour to and whisked until smooth
Allow to return to a boil then turn the stove down to low
Allow the gravy to simmer, stirring gently until slightly thickened until just slightly more runny than you would normally want gravy

Tip:
As it cools, gravy will thicken on it's own
If it becomes too thick, you can add a bit of water
Be sure to add the smooth flour and water mixture slowly to the boiling broth as this avoids lumps as well
If there is a thicker bit at the bottom, stop before pouring that in or lumps may form
You may want to add another dash of salt and a dash of pepper if you are not on a bland diet like I am

Because my currently restricted diet is so bland, it becomes very boring and I am tempted to try other foods too soon, which causes my stomach to cramp and is very unpleasant. So instead, I am learning to stick within the bland diet but be creative within it (no meat, dairy, nuts, beans, or veggies) only soft breads (not 12 grain) and very little fruit (mild juice, apple sauce and jello) is allowed.  Making broth into gravy to put on potatoes is one way to do this. I may share other ideas in the future.

To shake things up a bit, we discovered that fresh and easy has unsweetened apricot applesauce and berry applesauce, both of which are pretty good actually, and help to mix up what I've been eating while still being within parameters. The broth is good with saltines or your favorite dipping bread when you have a cold, stomach bug, or just on a rainy day. The gravy is good on just about anything. As Patch says, "Gravy is a beverage!"

Recipe Book?

I've been thinking it might be a good idea to print out some of my favorite recipes so that they're easy to find, and people who cook for me don't have to think through what needs to be altered in a recipe so that I can eat it. I've gotten to the point that I can replace eggs in just about any recipe on the fly in a variety of ways. But not everyone who wants to prepare a meal for me is able to do that. Having recipes written down that are delicious and "Sean friendly" might be helpful when my Mom says "What can't you eat" I could say, and here's a few things we can make for you to try while I visit. Plus Mom enjoys when I cook, so I can bring it with me to cook from, or maybe leave her a copy of her own.

 The other day I was feeling better (I've had some nasty stomach bug that's lasting FOREVER) but I had a couple days off from it (apparently common with this bug) and while I was feeling just so/so and not horrific, we made a trip to see one of my doctors, and then on the way home we stopped in at the new Goodwill down on Baseline and 19th Ave. I got three 8x10" picture frames for about $4 to frame my altered photographs for the upcoming art show at The Firehouse, and this awesome book about writing recipes for just $1.99! This makes me feel like I could write a recipe book that is truly useful to others, at least in my extended family, if not outside that small circle.

Then today, as if receiving a sign that this was a doable project I should actually take on, I ran into this site where one can upload and print their own recipe book for just a few dollars. http://landing.blurb.com/fbcook?ce=fb_display_nanigans&utm_source=Q22012&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=msmith_media I think I'll read the book I got at Goodwill (shown above) and then work on creating a recipe book I can print out. Maybe I'll make one for my kitchen, one for my mom's.

Zucchini Bread 2 Ways

Patch recently made a request for zucchini bread, and some neighbors who own Amadio Ranch had offered a free HUGE zucchini to each of our garden club members, so I decided to ride "Sunny" my electric power assist recumbent trike over there. I mentioned this a couple posts ago and a picture of the delicious organic apricots I purchased while there. We will be returning to the ranch tomorrow for eggs, blueberries, apricots if we're lucky and hopefully some MORE Zucchini, because we so enjoyed the last one.

I have been rather ill so this post is actually a bit late, but hopefully you all will enjoy the recipe anyway. Our friend Jen aka LoveJen came over (we know many people named Jennifer so most have nick names) has been our friend and extended family member for some time now. She once lived in our spare room for a much too brief time, and if we could pick anyone to start a sustainable living community with, it would be her. So we are always happy when she visits. And usually Jen and I make use of our visits to bake, because we are both lovers of baked goods who have foods we try to avoid. Jen knew about the zucchini which we did not want to spoil, and came prepared to bake bread. I however was just starting to get over the flu, so spent most of the time laying on the lazy boy chair in the video game space next to the kitchen.

We made two loaves of bread based on a Vegan Zucchini Bread recipe, and added dark chocolate chips to one, making it eggless, but not vegan. None of us are vegan, but I mention this here for my vegan friends, please feel free to add your own favorite dark chocolate replacement. These breads are also lower in sugar, and higher in fiber. And if you like black walnuts, would be delicious with some of those in there as well.  I have some specific food issues. I avoid sugar so reduced that and have allergies: egg and vanilla, so replaced those. I like it better and it didn't make me sick, so best of both worlds! But if I hadn't mentioned it you would not know this bread is eggless, or that the sugar is reduced. Give it a try and let me know what you think, Patch loved it so much we're going to have to make more. If you like dark chocolate, (Jen insists it is health food)  then you will LOVE this bread so you may want to freeze a loaf to make it harder to over indulge.

The yum-ness which resulted from Jen's efforts are worthy of food porn, but due to my feeling sick, I did not get out the good camera and have only a cell phone photo to offer. I actually forgot to take a photo of the Dark Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread till the next day, when it was almost gone since we sent 1/2 home with Jen in gratitude for her efforts, and ate most of the rest that night, because it's that good. So here's the lone picture of the Dark Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. I had this for breakfast with some red jiggly gelatin dessert from Fresh and Easy.

Here is the recipe, which includes the walnuts and chocolate chips. If you wish, you can add steel cut oats and you can use use raisins (or a vegan chocolate subsitute) instead of dark chocolate chips for a slightly sweeter and vegan recipe. As is, this recipe is vegetarian, not vegan.

Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose white flour

2 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons almond extract (can use vanilla which is slightly sweeter and less nutty)

2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

1 bag dark chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup chopped black walnuts (optional)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350
Mix 3 tablespoons flax  seeds with 6 tablespoons water and set aside (becomes gooey like eggs)

Grate 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini and set aside

Mix dry ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour with 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup steal cut oats, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.

Mix wet ingredients:
2 tablespoons agave nectar, 1 cup apple sauce, flax seed mixture, and 3/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine zucchini with wet ingredients, then mix with dry ingredients, pour into 2 bread pans  
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick can be removed dry. 
Let bread cool on cooling rack. 
Add 1 bag dark chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped black walnuts if desired. 


Tips: 
If you lay the bread across the rack so that the bars of the rack lay vertically across the width of the bread, it marks it easily into nicely portioned servings 
When adding walnuts and dark chocolate chips only do so in one loaf if you want the other one vegan. If doing so, cut the chocolate chips in 1/2, it really is plenty for one loaf.
When it comes to nuts and chocolate, you really have to eyeball it based on your personal preference, but we added 1/2 a bag choc chips per loaf, and about a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.
Using dark chocolate chips does cut down on the sweetness compared to semi sweet chocolate chips or 


This was truly delicious bread the first time we made it. The second time we forgot the almond extract and I must say, it was not at all the same. It was especially delicious with the dark chocolate chips. Thanks for the idea Jen! 


If you don't tell people, they won't even realize it's vegan. We do not use eggs or vanilla in our recipes because of my allergies, and I find I actually like the almond extract flavor better, and if cooked properly, you don't even notice the lack of eggs. Since I am diabetic and do not want to be on tons of diabetes medication, we cut the sugar down as well. We used the 2 tablespoons of agave and 1 cup of apple sauce to add sweetness. In this case, the flax seed and apple sauce replace the eggs. The 3 also add liquid, but the steel cut oats balance that out. 


Patch is not a fan of vegan food but loves this so much she requested more, so tomorrow she'll be taking me to Amadio Ranch and we'll see if we can get some more of that delicious zucchini. Although the recipe only used 1/3 of the huge zucchini, we preserved the rest in small chunks which we blanched and froze. I will be using it in baked zucchini and eggplant. So I thought a fresh zucchini was in order since it seems so plentiful this time of year anyway, and the frozen zucchini will last for quite some time.


Edit on June 7, 2012: Patch loved this so much she wants still more. So we got more zucchini, and are making 4 more loaves. this way we can freeze some. this bread does freeze pretty well in my experience. We are hoping to have some left later in the year when zucchini is out of season, and that way we will not need to shop for zucchini that is carted in from long distances. In the past this bread was divided between 4 adults and went too fast to bother freezing either loaf.  I suspect the bread in the freezer will not last that long because people will probably defrost it before it's time and eat it all up, but we will see.

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