Category: Vegan

Vegan; recipes containing NO animal products including meats, fish, eggs, milk, byproducts (gelatin), honey, or etc.

No Oil Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes

One thing I want to note, I left this recipe up because some people genuinely enjoy it, BUT this recipe is VERY high in salt. Please try out one of my other pancake recipes if you cannot eat a lot of salt. Personally I don’t use this recipe anymore because the pancakes would come out kinda salty.

No Oil Vegan Whole Wheat Pancakes
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
So I already have a couple pancake recipes on this website but I doubt one more would hurt! This is a slightly edited version of the recipe found in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes. While the original recipe is really good I found with a few minor adjustments you can change it up and make it even better. Make sure to try it out with my Blueberry Maple Syrup recipe, it was one of the best breakfasts I'd had in along time!
Author:
Serves: 6 pancakes
Ingredients
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat All Purpose flour (see variation note)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1½ tablespoons baking powder pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon rice flour (or extra wheat flour for thickening)
Instructions
  1. Get your pan preheating over medium heat. You will want a good nonstick pan for this since there is no extra oils added, if you don't have that then get your best nonstick and a SMALL amount of oil spray.
  2. In a mixing bowl, add your flours (minus rice flour), baking powder, pinch of salt, and cinnamon. Stir well to combine. In a smaller bowl (or mason jar) add your water, vinegar, and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk. You do not want any clumps of flour mixture remaining. If your batter seems loose add 1 tablespoon of rice flour, or wheat flour, and set aside for 5-10 minutes. You don't have to let the batter set but as I was making these I noticed the 3 and 4th pancake turned out better than the beginning.
  3. Add ¼ cup of batter to your pan at a time and cook for about 2 minutes. You know it's time to flip when the pancakes are all bubbly onto and the edges are cooked. Cook for 1-2 minutes on the second side and serve warm. These will last in the fridge for about 3-5 days if tightly wrapped but I doubt they will last that long!
Notes
VARIATIONS (as seen in photo) : the variation I made was I used ¾ cup whole wheat all-purpose flour, ¼ cup kaput flour, and 1 cup whole wheat flour. This is not required as Kamut is a variation of wheat but it has great flavor and nutrition. If you can find it make sure to store it in the freezer with your whole wheat flour for best nutrition retention. Any other gluten containing flour could be used instead of kamut, Rye for instances would be a great addition.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 pancake Calories: 170 Fat: 1 Saturated fat: 0 Unsaturated fat: 0 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 39 Sugar: 8 Sodium: 1948 Fiber: 4 Protein: 6 Cholesterol: 0

 

How to make: Vanilla Extract

 

How to make: Vanilla Extract
 
Have you ever wondered how they make vanilla extract, or been curious why they can taste so different from brand to brand? Well some brand actually use chemicals in the processing of their extracts, leading you ingesting poisons you would rather not have, but I have a solution for you! Just make you own like I do. Now that might sound confusing and borderline scary, but once you try this I promise you'll never buy the junky overpriced stuff in the store.
Author:
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 10 long sized (6-7") vanilla beans (see notes)
  • 14-15 ounces clear and unflavored vodka
  • 16 ounce GLASS container , amber works best
  • scissors
Instructions
  1. If your beans are older you can snap them, otherwise, use your scissors and cut 10 beans into ½ inch - 1 inch pieces and put them inside a glass container that's at-least 16 ounces and has a tight fitting lid. Pour in 14 - 15 ounces of a clear unflavored vodka. I just use the cheapest vodka at the store, but if you want you can use the more expensive stuff. The important part is to not get flavored vodka or a mix vodka, this will ruin the final flavor and is a waste of good vanilla beans.
  2. After you add the vodka, put on the cap and shake gently to help the process along. You will notice that it will already turn a slightly browner color and you might see little black specs, this is normal and is what will make your homemade extract 100 times better than store-bought in the end. Put your extract in a darker place, away from direct sunlight. An amber bottle will help with this, but since they're hard to find, storing away from sunlight works best. For the first week, try to shake it once a day, I find this helps give the best results.
  3. Minimum time for soaking is 2 weeks, this will give a weaker flavor, but still comparable to something in the store. One month is best for a full flavored extract that is slightly stronger than double strength at the store.
  4. At this point you can strain out the vanilla pods in a coarse mesh strainer (you want the seeds to fall through) or you can leave them in there. After about 2 months time, the extract will not get any stronger. At this stage you will have something super flavorful that makes this more than worth your while. As seen in the video it bests VERY dark and wonderful. The smell is something that cannot be described and the taste is nothing like vanilla from a bottle in the super market.
Notes
Some of you might be saying to yourself that making homemade vanilla extract would cost a small fortune, and you very well could be right. If you go to buy vanilla pods in the store they're usually 2 pods for 10 dollars USD, however, I have been using vanilla beans purchased off the Internet for years now with no issues. I purchase mine on eBay from a VERY well known and respected seller,CLICK HERE, please note that I am NOT being paid to advertise these people, I just like their products. I use grade B or extract grade vanilla, planifolia aka Madagascar bourbon beans. You can use grade a but it does not yield any better results, I have tried it. You can also use Tahitian vanilla but they do tend to be more expensive. I always suggest buying a pound of beans, this saves you a lot of money on shipping and the final product. After shipping it only costs about 31 dollars and will last you many years. Over time they dry out and are only good for extract, but I am on 3 years and the beans still produce an amazing flavored extract. Store vanilla in a tight fitting container, like a quart sized wide mouth mason jar away from direct sunlight. If your vanilla gets white mold of them , obviously throw them away or compost them.
 

Spelt & Wheat pizza crust. No Fat Added + Vegan


Spelt & Wheat pizza crust. No Fat Added + Vegan
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
For the original version of this recipe, click HERE. The process is the same.
Author:
Serves: 1 large crust
Ingredients
  • 1 cup spelt flour (or any other glutenous flour)
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ¾ cup warm water (between body temp and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • extra flour for rolling
  • 1 tsp cornmeal for dusting *optional but suggested!*
Instructions
  1. In a food process, add your flours, yeast, and sugar. Pulse a few times to combine the flours. Now take off the insert cover and with the food processor running add the water in a little bit at a time. The trick is to just add the proper amount of flour so that it is neither too hard nor soft. You will know you have the perfect amount of water when the dough starts to ball up. It will hold it’s shape and if you poke the dough it will “hold” the hole. When you get to this stage, let the food processor run for 2 minutes to activate the gluten.
  2. After two minutes, you may notice your dough got really tacky. This is from using whole grain flours or thicker milled flours like what I used. Don’t be alarmed if this happens. Scrape the dough out of your food processor container and you have a couple choices. Either take your dough and place it into a bowl covered with a damped warm cloth and place in your oven for at least 1 hour until doubled in size OR scrape the dough out of your food processor, remove the S blade and replace the dough back into the food processor container. Replace the lid and let set covered for 1 hour or until doubled.
  3. After the dough has doubled in size, scrape it out onto a floured work surface and start to roll it into your desired shape. Rub on extra flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the works surface or the rolling pin.
  4. Once you get your desired shape, rub some extra-fine ground cornmeal into the top of your dough. When you go to add toppings, flip the dough over. This small bit of cornmeal is the trick to nonstick pizza. Congratulations, you have now made a basic pizza crust!
Notes
This dough does not need to be pre-baked, so top it with sauce, veggies, and cheese and bake it. I suggest 425 for 18 minutes.

Calories are for the whole crust. Divide accordingly!
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 crust Calories: 1069 Fat: 8 Saturated fat: 1 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 222 Sugar: 21 Sodium: 23 Fiber: 25 Protein: 49 Cholesterol: 0
 

Homemade Peanut Butter


Homemade Peanut Butter
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 16 tablespoons
Ingredients
  • 16 ounces peanuts dry roasted (unsalted is better, if you cannot find unsalted see notes**)
  • 1 teaspoon good quality olive oil or grape-seed oil
  • 1 pinch salt (see note*)
  • *Optionally* you can add 1 tablespoon sugar for sweetened peanut butter
Equipment:
  • You will need either a decent quality food processor or a high powered blender. Vitamix or Blendtec blenders are perfect for this! If you use a processor, make sure you scrap the sides down often.
Instructions
  1. Place 16 ounces of roasted peanut into your blender (or food processor). If using a vitamix, you will need the tamper otherwise you will need a spatula to scrape down the sides. Add a pinch of salt if you're using unsalted peanuts. Process on high while tamping down the peanuts, OR blend on high until you notice the peanuts "climbing" up the sides of the container, then stop the blender (or food processor) and scrape the sides down and repeat. When you're almost to your desired smoothness, add the oil and any optional sweetener. Continue to blend, repeating the scraping process until you reach your desired texture.
  2. Scrape your peanut butter into a container, I suggest glass. Place a tight fitting lid on and you're done! Homemade peanut butter will last 2 or so weeks in the fridge, however this stuff is so good, I doubt you'll make it that long!
Notes
Note: if you're using salted peanuts or do not want any salt in your peanut butter, omit the extra salt!

If you cannot find unsalted dry roasted peanuts, don't worry! You can wash half the peanuts in warm water and let air dry on a tray or cotton cloth overnight at room temperature, or in an oven at 300 for 15-30 minutes. Why should you do this? Because using salted peanuts will make the peanut butter WAY too salty. Not only will it tasted weird, we shouldn't eat all that sodium.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 tablespoon (28g) Calories: 165 Fat: 14 Saturated fat: 2 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 6 Sugar: 1 Sodium: 12 Fiber: 2 Protein: 7 Cholesterol: 0
 

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (no added fat + vegan)

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (no added fat + vegan)
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 1 whole crust
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (brown sugar tastes better)
  • about ¾ cup very warm water
  • Optional: spices of your choice
Instructions
  1. In a food processor add 1 tablespoon yeast and sugar. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour and pulse a few times to mix the ingredients. After ingredients are mixed, turn food processor ON and slowly add your water until the dough comes together and pulls off the side of the bowl. You may need more or less than ¾ cup water so add very slowly. Once the dough starts to pull off the side of the bowl, continue processor about 1 minute. This step is important so you get the gluten developed and the end product is alot better. Now do one of two things:
  2. If your food processor is like mine, where the center can be removed and the blade, remove them and put the dough back in and let rest for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
  3. OR
  4. If your food processor does not disassemble, put your dough into a LIGHTLY oiled bowl, preferably glass and cover with a some-what tight fitting cover (plastic wrap works if you have nothing else), let rise for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
  5. After your dough has doubled in size, remove it from the container and roll it out to your desired thickness, I suggest using some corn meal (NOT corn starch/flour that's different) for dusting on your work surface to prevent sticking. When you get to your desired thickness, add cornmeal to the pizza by sprinkling it on and rubbing your hand in a circular motion to "grind in" the meal.
  6. Flip the dough over onto your pizza stone or pan top with your desired sauce and toppings. Bake normal or 425 for about 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. Thin crust pizza tastes only about 15 minutes with toppings. Thicker crust may take 25 or more, depending. I do not know cooking time for deep-dish, no one in my family likes this type of pizza. Enjoy!
Notes
Makes enough for 1 large pizza, 2 thin crust or 3 mini pizzas.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 whole crust Calories: 946 Fat: 5 Saturated fat: 1 Unsaturated fat: 3 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 204 Sugar: 26 Sodium: 22 Fiber: 32 Protein: 37 Cholesterol: 0