Vegan Mofo Day 13 No packing snacking!!! - Almond Mylk Pulp Crackers

Today's prompt for vegan mofo is snacks without packaging.

I shared on my facebook page a video of how quick & easy it is to make homemade almond mylk.
It's as simple as blending soaked almonds with water and straining the mixture! You can, of course, add any vanilla or sweeteners that you desire.

Even though this way of making almond mylk, most times, ends up less expensive than store bought versions, and without the additives that are so common in plant based mylks, the end result of making your own mylk is pulp!  

Now if you're like me, you don't want to just throw it away..... so the question remains, what to do with all the pulp! 

My daughter loves these crackers made from the almond mylk pulp!
They are easy to make and are a great snack or addition to a lunch plate.

ALMOND MYLK PULP CRACKERS

               You'll need:
                      1 batch of almond mylk pulp (about 1.5 cups)
                      1/2 cup wholemeal flour
                      2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds
                      2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary - finely chopped
                         (you can substitute other herbs if you desire)

In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients together. 

Depending on how dry your pulp is, you may need to add 

spoonfuls of water until the mixture is just combined. 

Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the mixture over it. 

Top with another sheet of baking paper and use a rolling pin 

to roll out the mixture until approx. 1 cm thick. 

Using a pizza cutter score the mixture.

Bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 20-25 minutes until 

crackers are crisp, golden and cooked through. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray. 

Break apart the pieces. 

Question of the day:
Do you make your own motherless mylk?
If so, which type do you make, and how do you use up the pulp?

A Study in "P" Major

For those of you who are musically inclined you may have realised that I'm clearly not talking about playing the piano here...... since there is no musical note "P".
However, I do like to sing while I'm cooking ;-)

Today's study in P major includes:

PLANT MILK AND PASSATA!

2 'major' parts of our cupboard!

 

PLANT MILK

I tend to be someone who tries any new plant milk that comes out. 
I like to use different types of plant milk for different purposes too.

Here's my own assessment of the situation:

I prefer the taste of soymilk and rice milk over any other type of plant milk. I enjoy cooking with almond milk for a bit of a change but I don't particularly like the taste of it for drinking or in smoothies. My daughter LOVES the Sanitarium So Good Almond Milk - probably because it has more sugar than almonds in it and that is a reason that I don't let her have it too often. That said, I did notice just this week in the grocery store that there is now a 'sugar free' version available! Well done Sanitarium I say!!!! :-)

I find oat milk is quite thick and rather bland. Of course it is wonderful on oats but I don't use it for too much other than that. The Australia's Own Organic brand provides a range of organic plant milks with few additives which is always a good thing in my opinion. Note that their oat milk does contain honey so it will not suit people who choose to avoid bee products.

Rice milk is quite sweet - even though it doesn't usually contain any sweetners. I love cooking with ricemilk as I find the amount of sugar in a recipe can easily be reduced then.

Vitasoy wins in my books - easily!
They use whole soybeans instead of soy protein (which I largely try to avoid). All their products are non GMO.
I love the range that Vitasoy offer too.
All my favourites just so happen to be from the Vitasoy range!
                                    My favourites:

I love making my morning coffee with Vitasoy's Organic Soymilk. It is rich and creamy and not watery like some milks can be. It has a delicious flavour and it has low sodium compared to other soymilks too. My coffee simply isn't the same using other milk! Also it contains B12 which is a bonus too - 1ug per 250ml. 

The chocolate flavour soymilk also contains B12 and is delicious. Any evening is complete with a glass in hand ;-)

The Vitasoy ricemilk is my favourite for cooking with for the reasons mentioned above. It also makes for a delicious addition to smoothies. I also must admit that as a plain 'drink' it is my favourite!

With all of that said, I still do tend to make my own soymilk for everyday use! I have had a soy milk machine now for 18 months and it has well and truly paid for itself! 
Of course home made soymilk doesn't last as long as store bought, and it doesn't have quite the same consistency or flavour to it. However, it is completely additive free and has just ONE ingredient! Can't beat that for everyday use! 



Now for another major "P" in my cupboard:

PASSATA - Tomato Cooking Sauce

I have found there is not a huge range of these available. Usually just a generic brand and Val Verde is available in standard grocery stores. 
I cannot get over the MASSIVE range of pasta sauce that the stores now stock!
Personally I don't use pasta sauce. I prefer to use a passata base and make my own 'sauce'. I don't like the amount of addictives and oils that are included in many of the pasta sauces and that is why I prefer to make my own.
(The Sole Natura brand that is shown below is from Costco.)
Of the sauces shown here I was surprised to find that all of them (except Coles brand) had exactly the same amount of sodium and each also included acidity regulator E330. Now even though I consider myself to be a numbers person - I don't like numbers in my food! 

So for those reasons, the winner for me is "Coles" having no "E"s included and with nearly a quarter the amount of sodium of all the others.
(I don't always shop at Coles though so I will buy another brand when I need it! We do use a lot of this sauce!)

Questions of the Day:

 

What is your favourite plant milk?

Do you prefer the make your own pasta sauce or buy a premade one?

Christmas Drink #3 - Almond No-Egg Nogg

Drink #3 -  Simple Almond No-Egg Nogg

 

Per serving you'll need:

250ml almond milk
1 shot Brandy (more or less to suit you!)
1 teaspoon custard powder  ***
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


*** if you can't source vegan custard powder you can replace it with this mixture:
1/2 teaspoon egg replacer
1/2 teapoon stevia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla





Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker & shake until mixed well & powder is dissolved. The top of the mixture will have froth.

Pour into a glass & top with nutmeg.

Now here's how I really had my serving ;-)

Tropical Brown Rice Breakfast

This is far to simple to count as a real recipe! ;-)
But I needed to share this breakfast idea with you because it's very tasty & very filling, a breakfast essential.

Place 1/2 cup cooked brown rice in a bowl & microwave til just warmed through. Pour over 150ml almond milk. Add half cup sliced pineapple and a chopped banana. Top with 1 Tablespoon shredded coconut, 1 Tablespoon sunflower kernels and cinnamon.

Easy breakfast = great start to the morning

Bread No-butter Breakfast Pudding

Is there any rule against having pudding for breakfast I wonder????

I did leave out the butter after all.
You could have this for dessert of course if you would rather, but I can't wait til the end of the day to have pudding! ;-)

8 slices old wholemeal bread

1 1/2 cups almond milk

3 tablespoons custard powder

1/2 cup sultanas

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Optional: 1 teaspoon demerara sugar to sprinkle on top for 'crunch'

Cut bread into quarter triangle slices & layer into a lightly sprayed pie dish. 

Gently press down into the pie dish.

Sprinkle the sultanas around the bread & in between the slices. The more you can push them down between the bread slices the better, as they can get overcooked very easily.

Whisk the custard powder into the milk until well combined.

Pour over the bread & press down on the bread lightly to make sure that all the bread pieces have absorbed the milk.

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon & demarara sugar if desired.

Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until all the moisture is absorbed.

NB: You can use fresh bread if you want to - this is just a great way to use up old bread that would otherwise be tossed out.

Choc-Almond Mousse

I don't miss chocolate mousse anymore.....
Cause this is so finger licking good!

This is so much simpler than separating eggs & whisking each part by itself......
This involves so little effort!

You can eat it straight away if you wish, but it is better if you have enough patience to let it sit in the fridge and chill first.

They will set a bit more if you leave them for about 2 hours.

Here's what you'll need:

100g block of dark vegan chocolate (Try Lindt or Green & Blacks)

220ml unsweetened Almond Milk

100g Toffuti Better Than Cream Cheese

1 tablespoon raw sugar (omit if using sweetened almond milk)

1 teaspoon Vanilla 

Break up the chocolate block and microwave on 50% power at one minute intervals until all melted and smooth and creamy. Be very careful to not overdo the chocolate. Even if the chocolate has not lose its shape you should still stir it with a spoon because it could be melted.

Into a blender pour the chocolate and the remainder of the ingredients.

Blend well until completely smooth.

Pour into 2 large servings containers - or 4 small.

Put containers into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.

Place 1 tablespoon of almonds in a coffee grinder & grind until it appears to be 'dust'. Sprinkle over the top of your mousse.

 For added decoration you can poke one almond (or a few) into your creamy smooth mousse.....

 Eat & enjoy :D

At this point I offered my husband some!

Aren't I a nice wife!!! ;-)

Guess it's lucky he said No!