Showing posts with label Earth Balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earth Balance. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Buying Better Groceries with the Healthy Shopper


Are you a reader of grocery labels like I am? Do you take forever to pick out your groceries and haul them home? I hear ya. I like to know every ingredient that's in my grocery picks (and check the expiry date too!).

I spend most of my grocery shopping time in the produce section - I know that any fruit or vegetable is a solid choice for good health. My next stop is usually the health food/organic section of the store. This is where I look for healthy refrigerated and dry goods options such as my favourite kamut udon noodles, organic ketchup, organic dry lentils and healthier cereals.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

What I Ate Wednesday


We enjoyed one particularly lovely warm day this week and then it was back to snow (eek!) and cold on Tuesday. Needless to say, warming foods are still very much a part of the menu in this house. On Sunday afternoon, I was browsing through magazines when I spotted an easy, 30-minute Chickpea Tikka Masala recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine.

I decided to make it for lunch (above). It was so easy to make and quite tasty. I happened to have fresh cilantro in the fridge to pretty it up a bit. I can't wait for summer when we once again have a pot of herbs growing outside the back door!
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

What I Ate Wednesday


Happy Wednesday! Today's edition of WIAW is all about what I ate on Tuesday. I have no additional food photos this week because we were travelling on the weekend for my son's basketball tournament in Niagara Falls.

There was some fast food involved in our travels (hello Harvey's veggie burgers!), as well as a stop at the grocery store for prepared salads, sushi and cut up cantaloupe. There may have been an evening of rum, cola and chips with the other basketball parents too. There has to be a bit of fun for us parents too, right?

Anyway, I started off my Tuesday by making pancakes from a mix. I topped them with Earth Balance margarine and maple syrup and served Yves veggie sausage and orange slices on the side.
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

What I Ate Wednesday


It's What I Ate Wednesday and time for a little look at some food highlights from the past week. I have been trying to eat less chocolate and other sweet stuff. Hence the dried apricots. I grabbed a couple of apricots whenever I craved something sweet. For about two days. Then the apricots were gone.
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Friday, June 22, 2012

Strawberry Muffins


We just caught the end of the Ontario strawberry picking season yesterday. It’s so quick, I sometimes miss it.

Because of scheduling issues, my husband and I went without the kids this year. We’ll make sure they come with us when we go raspberry picking next month.

Last year, we used our abundance of strawberries in many different ways. The kids’ favourite way was homemade strawberry sorbet on top of peanut butter cake. You can read more about that here.



Once again this year, I will make a quick and simple strawberry jam in the bread maker. I also plan to make strawberry cupcakes and, of course, freeze any remaining strawberries for smoothies.

After a rainy evening on the soccer field last night, I couldn’t wait to get baking with my fresh picked strawberries. So, I decided to try making strawberry muffins. My kids thought that strawberries were an odd addition to muffins for some reason. They are more used to blueberries and chocolate chips in muffins.


This is a vegan recipe, but the Earth Balance margarine gives these fluffy muffins a nice “buttery” taste. I use light spelt flour, but regular flour would be fine too.  I would probably add some nuts if the kids weren’t taking the muffins to school.

I am a big fan of muffins and I enjoyed one of these babies for breakfast this morning.

Give them a try if you so desire and let me know how it goes.

Linking up with Thursday's Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor and Happy Hour Projects and My Romantic Home and I Heart Naptime and Lifeologia's Potluck Party:


Ladybird Ln

Dragonfly Designs




Strawberry Muffins


by Joann MacDonald
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast snack bread dessert vegan vegetarian strawberries muffins

Ingredients (12 muffins)
  • 2 1/2 cups light spelt flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 Tbsp sugar for topping
  • 1 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp egg replacer mixed with 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a muffin pan with 12 paper cups or spray the pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup of sugar.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the milk, margarine, vanilla and egg replacer mixture until blended.
Add liquid mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
Gently fold in strawberries.
Spoon batter into pan. Sprinkle tops with 1 Tbsp sugar.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a knife in the centre comes out clean.
Remove from pan and allow to cool some.
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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Vegan Coconut Oatmeal Raisin Cookies


My favourite kind of cookie has always been oatmeal raisin. Big, round, chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.I have been wanting to veganize a traditional recipe for a very long time now. Yesterday, I finally did it.

By breakfast time, I had 32 delicious oatmeal cookies prepared, and no appetite for a real breakfast. Yes, I sample as I go along—batter, pieces of hot cookies, whole cooled cookies—all of it. I had also made muffins before the kids went to school, and I ate two of those as well.
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Saturday, May 12, 2012

A Sweet Offering: Vegan Spelt Flour Date Squares


Today, I am offering up my humble suggestion for what to give mom on Mother’s Day - food. Preferably something sweet. Like these date squares. Date squares are a traditional favourite in my family, gleaned from relatives in Nova Scotia. My mom, dad and I are enthusiasts of old-fashioned, authentic date squares, and all of us would be happy to receive date squares as a gift.

I re-worked the date squares recipe I originally showed you here. This new recipe still tastes like the old-fashioned version, but is made with light spelt flour, Earth Balance (healthier) margarine and some ground flax (rather than wheat germ). It is great for those who can tolerate spelt flour better than wheat. It is also dairy-free and vegan for the many people who don't consume dairy products or eggs. If you prefer to use white flour and hard margarine, the original recipe is for you! This date square recipe tastes just as good though. I shared some date squares with my sister-in-law yesterday and she was quite happy with them. My husband thought this version was even better than the original. See for yourself - try them both!

For me personally, these authentic date squares are also a fitting Mother's Day reminder of my grandmother, who was the best baker I have ever known. After she died, my mom started making date squares for me because she knew how much I loved them. Recently, I started making date squares myself. My Nana probably used butter but date squares are easy to make in a vegan version, as this recipe will prove. While it is always nice to have someone else bake for you, I am enjoying the freedom of making our family favourite date squares whenever I want. They are buttery and sweet, with a crumbly topping and a smooth, delicious date centre.

Now my mom is probably wondering when I am going to get some date squares to her. Consider this an IOU, mom. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, including my wonderful mom, Colleen, and my lovely mother-in-law, Maria! My little family is so lucky to have them in our lives!


Have you had date squares before? Baked for you, bought or baked yourself?


Spelt Flour Date Squares (Vegan)



  by Joann MacDonald
  Cook Time: 25 to 30 minutes
  Keywords: bake dessert vegan vegetarian nut-free dates squares
Ingredients
  • 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/3 cups light spelt flour
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1/3 cup large flake oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flax
  • 2/3 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • 1 cup Earth Balance margarine
For the Date Filling
  • 3 cups chopped dates
  • 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Cut in the margarine to make coarse crumbs. Using your hands makes it quicker.

To make the date filling, combine the chopped dates and the water in a pot. Cook over low to medium heat, until thickened and smoothed out some, about 15 minutes.

To make the squares, press 2 1/2 cups of the dry mix into the bottom of a greased 8" or 9" inch square pan. Spread the date filling over the base. Sprinkle the remaining dry mix on top and press lightly.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden on top.


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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Grocery List, part two


Last week, I shared part one of my list of favourite natural and organic grocery products. Today, in part two of my grocery list, I am including my everyday essentials—items that I can’t (or won’t) live without.
Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread is our everyday margarine and butter replacement. It is plant-based, vegan, gluten-free and contains no artificial ingredients or hydrogenated oils. I know I sound like an advertisement, but this is good stuff!

Have you seen the ingredients in some bouillon powders? Scary stuff—MSG being one of the worst. Harvest Sun Vegetable Bouillon Powder is our staple for making soups. The ingredients are pretty simple: Yeast Extract, Sea Salt, Potato* & Corn Starch*, Anti-Caking Agent Calcium Carbonate, Carrots*, Leeks*, Non-Hydrogenated Palm Oil*, Celery*, Parsley*, Turmeric*, Nutmeg*. (*certified organic)

I have tried a number of different brands of tofu over the years, and my clear favourite is Sol Cuisine Organic Firm Tofu. One, it is nice and firm and fries or bakes up well. Two, it is organic, which means no GMO soy. Three, it is made with calcium, so it has the added bonus of contributing a bit of non-dairy calcium to your diet.

I have talked before about Premier Japan Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce. Pour a half a bottle of this over a pound of tofu cut into triangles, add some garlic powder and olive oil, and bake for about half an hour. There. You have yourself an easy meat substitute for dinner.

I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to caffeine. It makes me shaky and agitated. And, like you, I hear all about the benefits of green tea. So, my drink of choice is decaf green tea. I like to try different brands, but most often I drink Stash Decaf Premium Green Tea.

Almost every Tuesday is "Taco Tuesday" at our house. Now that I am avoiding regular wheat, I can’t have the Yves meatless ground round. Luckily, I found Sol Organic Veggie Crumbles. Saute them in olive oil and add some spices like chili powder and garlic powder and they make a great taco filler, along with refried beans, tomatoes, guacamole...and my next item.

A handy addition to our Taco Tuesdays is Tofutti Sour Supreme, a non-dairy sour cream imitator. I’m not saying this is healthy, whole food, but it adds a nice little flavour and texture to your taco. We all need a little treat!

VitaSpelt Spelt Elbows also make for a quick, healthy and delicious dinner, using the on-the-package recipe for pasta with tomato sauce and chickpeas. And, this pasta is from Abruzzo, where my husband’s extended family lives.
Next time, I’m going to share some items that are more snacks than they are essentials.
Although, snacking is essential to me. How about you?
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Monday, January 23, 2012

A kick-starting cleanse

Okay, I admit it. Christmas is over.

I started making all kinds of sweets before Christmas and I have kept it up into the new year. My body has been protesting, so I have decided to kick my sluggish system into gear by doing a little bit of a cleanse. Yes, I am jumping on that bandwagon.
I am not totally giving up sugar—don’t get crazy now. And, I am not doing any fasting—what joy is there in a life without food? I am simply staying away from wheat and dairy. I am not going totally gluten-free—I am still enjoying spelt and kamut flours and pastas. I, like many people, find they are easier to tolerate than regular wheat products.
I am also cleansing my system with twice-daily “shakes” (they are really too disgusting to be called that) made from water, 2 tsp powdered psyllium husks, 2 tsp bentonite clay and a little bit of cranberry juice.
Here’s a look at the menu I enjoyed on the first day of my cleanse. It was really easy and didn’t require more work than usual.

Breakfast
My breakfast is basically the same every day, either oats or quick quinoa flakes (pictured).

Quick cooking steel cut oats with fresh blueberries, sliced banana, 1 tbsp ground flax and vanilla almond milk
1 tsp Natural Calm magnesium supplement dissolved in warm water

Lunch
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (to calm my stomach)

Buckwheat sweet potato noodles with gluten-free teriyaki sauce
Sol Original veggie burger with organic ketchup (no bun)
Corn

½ package Emergen-C vitamin C supplement in water
Dinner

My daughter wasn’t feeling well, and had a craving for pancakes, so:
Spelt flour banana blueberry flax pancakes with Earth Balance margarine and maple syrup
Scrambled eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Evening
Lundberg Farms Sante Fe Barbecue rice chips
Traditional Medicinals Eater’s Digest tea (the best tea ever for digestive issues)

Add to that lots of water and some vitamin D (because we aren’t getting any sun right about now)
Anybody else cleansing? I’d love to hear your plan.

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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Waste Not...

A couple of weeks ago, I bought some soy creamer for a recipe. Trouble is, as the creamer’s expiration date approached, I still couldn’t recall what recipe I bought it for. I figured it was from Carla Kelly’s  Quick and Easy Vegan Bake Sale, because I had just recently bought that book. So, I scanned the book quickly last night and found a recipe using ½ cup + 2 tablespoons soy creamer. That would use up a substantial amount! Otherwise, I’d end up throwing the soy creamer out and feeling guilty about it.

I decided to make cranberry scones, something I have never made before. I have sampled them at high-price coffee houses, of course, but making them yourself is so much more inexpensive, and the whole family gets to share. That’s something my daughter will appreciate when she gets home from school today!

These scones feature a hint of allspice, which I can only stand in very small doses, so I put in only half the amount called for. The recipe calls for fresh or frozen cranberries as well as dried cranberries. We are out of dried cranberries at the moment (having used them all to sweeten our salads), so I used some raisins instead. All in all, I’d say the experiment was a success. The scones have a nice, buttery consistency, without the use of butter. I will enjoy them with some Earth Balance spread.

Now for that organic salad mix that expires tomorrow…
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