Kids Lunchbox Club - Nut Bars

A wonderful sugar free treat for your kids (or your own) lunchbox. 

These bars are super easy to make and they are really tasty.

If your school is nut free then just substitute seeds as needed.

VEGAN SUPER BARS (as named by my daughter)

aka NUT BARS

You'll need:

1 1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup dessicated coconut

2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoons pepitas

150g soft silken tofu

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Blend the tofu, maple syrup and apple sauce together until smooth and creamy.

Smash the nuts. I find it easiest to do this in a sandwich bag, using a 'meat' mallet.

Combine the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut and tofu mixture together in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Pour into a lined 20cm x 30cm lamington tin.

Bake in a preheated 160C oven for 40-45 minutes until browned and mixture holds together.

Cool before slicing.

 Makes 14 pieces (depending on the size you cut them too). 

Wrap in foil and decorative paper for added lunchbox appeal! ;-)

Best served with 'dolphin fruit' ;-)

Submitted to Meatless Monday - Tofu cooking.

Biscuit Base Maple Mousse Cake

I enjoy having dessert from time to time. But I rarely make anything in advance, I prefer to whizz up something just when I feel like it. So that means I need something that can be made quickly and easily.
That is when recipes like this come in handy!

Biscuit Base Maple Mousse Cake

 

Of course its not really biscuits, nor cake.
More like a yummy treat that is inspired by cheesecake!
 

To make 2 servings you'll need:
 
For the biscuit-style base:
     2 Tablespoons hazelnuts
     2 Tablespoons cashews
     1 Tablespoon chia seeds
     2 Tablespoons oat milk (or other plant milk)
     1 Tablespoon cacao
     1 teaspoon stevia (or other dry sweetener)

Combine in a mini food processor and process til nuts are crumbly and mixture has thickened and holds together well.
Line the base of 2 servings glasses with the biscuit base and press down gently.
 

For the mousse:
     150g soft silken tofu
     1/2 teaspoon vanilla essense
     2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
     1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds

Combine in a mini food processor and process til smooth and thick.
Scoop mousse on top of the biscuit base.

Serve with fruit of choice.

If stored in the fridge this will thicken even more..... If you can wait that long!

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Add your healthy vegan recipe on these blogs:

My Healthy Chef 
Herbivore Triathlete 
Hello Veggy 
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Meatless Monday - Baked Pumpkin Pudding

Today's Meatless Monday food is Kabocha Squash.

Or as us Aussies called it Japanese Pumpkin.

Or if you're like me and find these things too hard to find, just regular pumpkin ;-)

It all tastes the same right?!? 

But who wants to eat pumpkin plain?!?

Isn't it considered pig food in England?!?

I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin, but when its turned into sweet treats it suddenly grows on me ;-)

Baked Pumpkin Pudding

You'll need:

3 cups pumpkin cubes

200g soft silken tofu

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tablespoon cornflour

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Cook the pumpkin til soft. I just put it in the microwave.

Combine the cooked pumpkin with all the other ingredients and blend til smooth - either in a blender of a food processor.

Pour into lightly oil-sprayed ramekins.

Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown on top. They will be firm, but slightly wobbly.

Delicious served with coconut whipped cream.

 

 

Kids Lunchbox Club - Carrot Cookies

Here's a quick & easy recipe that is great for adding to lunchboxes :-)
I guess since it's Vegan Mofo then grown-ups can be allowed this little treat too ;-)

Bite-sized Carrot Cookies

To make 20 cookies you'll need:
1 cup oat bran
1 cup grated carrot (approx 2 small carrots)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla 

In a large mixing bowl combine the oat bran, grated carrot, raisins, flax seeds and cinnamon. Stir until well combined.
Fold through the applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla.
Stir well until mixture starts to clump together.

Shape into little bite size pieces & place on a lined baking tray, flatten each cookie with a fork.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Meatless Monday - Instant Coffee

Today's Meatless Monday food is Instant Coffee.

 I have a confession to make....

I'm a coffee snob!

You see, I can't stand instant coffee! I like REAL coffee!

So I did have to buy a packet of instant coffee to complete this round of Meatless Monday!!!

I guess its handy to have some in the cupboard and when I saw this hazelnut flavoured one I definitely thought it was worth a try.

Now as for taste.... its tolerable, but NO I won't be giving up my espresso anytime soon to replace it with this ;-)

Mocha Mousse for one

150g soft silken tofu
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tablespoon boiling water
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a mini food process or blender. 
Blend til completely smooth.
Serve.

Can be eaten straight away or if left in the fridge for a few hours it will be even thicker.

I was pleasantly surprised how much the hazelnut flavour came through - definitely a winner! 
I might even try this instant coffee for drinking ;-)

Kids Lunchbox Club - Caramel Choc-chip Dip

CARAMEL CHOC-CHIP DIP

In a small bowl or ramekin mix together:

1/4 cup tofutti cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Stir until well combined and the sugar has dissolved into the cream cheese.
Gently stir in:
1 Tablespoon Sweet William Choc Chips

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into another bowl/ramekin & add an equal amount of water. 
Slice an apple into thin slices.
Let them soak in the lemon mixture for 3-5 minutes.
This will stop them from turning brown.

Put both the apples and the dip into portable containers.

Strawberry Mousse

BEST DESSERT EVER!!!!!!!!!

I think this even beats my choc-cherry dessert which up until now has been my favourite!

In a mini food processor combine

1 cup frozen chopped strawberry pieces

150g soft silken tofu

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend until smooth

Devour!

This makes enough to serve 2 - if you can bear to share it ;-)

Pump-cakes

Pumpkin pancakes???
Quite tasty really!

What a great way to have something a little bit different for breakfast.

I never used to like pumpkin but lately I have had a bit of a pumpkin fettish. I'm not a fan of baked pumpkin at all - but I love using pumpkin to make sweet dishes. 
Have you tried my pumpkin pie mousse?

When I buy a pumpkin, I just boil it in a pot and mash it & keep it in the fridge to use.

This is what happens when you have mashed pumpkin leftover in the fridge!

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup ricemilk (can use soymilk but the sweetness of ricemilk is nice)

1/2 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1/4 cup mashed cooked pumpkin

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a bowl & stir until smooth.

Cook like pancakes (everyone knows how to do that right????!)  :-)

Makes 6 little pancakes - you can decide if that serves 1 or 2 or even 3 ;-)

 I found these really tasty just by themselves. 

Also nice with maple syrup or fig jam :-)

Weekend Oats

I promised you a week worth of oats and so I shall deliver!
Did you really think I had forgotten the weekend?!?!?

Of course not!
I was just preparing something special.....

When I think of the weekends, I think of special breakfast. In our home that usually means pancakes or waffles. So of course, I had to incorporate those into our week worth of oats.

Here's what you get for the weekend:

Oatmeal Waffles

In a food processor (it is the weekend so there'll be time to wash-up later!) combine 1 cup oats, 1/2 large banana  (or one small) 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk, 1 Tablespoon cashews and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Blend until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour into your pre-warmed waffle maker & cook for recommended time. I find its best to have the waffle maker on the highest temperature for this mixture or else the oats can be a little under cooked. That is if you don't mind quite brown waffles of course!

Enjoy with running maple syrup or jam on top :-)

(Makes approx 3 waffles to make approx 5 use 1 1/2 cup oats, 1 whole banana, 1 cup soymilk & 2 T cashews.)

 

 Cheesecake Pancakes

 In a small bowl combine 3/4 cup oat-bran (either store bought or made yourself) with  1/4 cup wholemeal flour. In another small bowl or jug whisk together 1 cup vanilla soymilk, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, & 3 Tablespoons tofutti cream cheese.  Whisk until there is no big lumps of the cream cheese remaining.


Stir 1/2 cup frozen blueberries into the oat/flour mixture & stir well.

Combine the wet & the dry ingredients and stir well.

Lightly spray a frying pan with oil. Drop spoonfuls into the pan.

Fry until the edges begin to bubble, then flip the pancakes & fry the other side until lightly golden brown.

Serve with more maple syrup dribbled over the top, or jam, or whatever you desire.

Mixture serves 2.

Raspberry Oat Cake

Who said you can't have cake for breakfast?!?

This is part of my week worth of oats, where I experimented with different ways to flavour oats. 
This is not a traditional cake so it doesn't take long to prepare and cook. The texture of this cake is like a muesli bar. 
Very quick and easy to prepare, it can be made on a weekday morning without any worries. It can be made in the time it takes to brush your teeth Silly girl, no-one brushes their teeth before breakfast....... hmmm lets try again, it can be made in the time it takes to prepare your morning coffee! That's better..... and let me assure you that coffee is it's perfect match!

You'll need:
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup oatbran (either store bought or grind 1/4 cup oats yourself)
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup soymilk
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


In a small bowl combine the oats, oatbran, flax seeds and cinnamon.

 Add the soymilk and maple syrup and stir until well combined. Then add in the raspberries while still frozen. Stir through til evenly distributed. 

Lightly spray with oil a ramekin (approx 11/2 cup size). Pour the oat mixture into the ramekin and press down.
Place in the microwave for 31/2 minutes. (Please note microwave ovens can vary a lot. I use a 1100W.) 
You will know the cake is ready when the mixture has drawn away from the sides of the ramekin as shown in this picture:

You can slice it if you desire, or just spoon it directly into your mouth (my preference of course!)    ;-)

Also handy for those mornings when you don't feel like eating straight away. It can be easily lifted out of the ramekin and wrapped to take to work with you!