Vegan Soft Serve Ice Cream

 

The sun is shining. The heat is rising. Trees and flowers are blooming. Life is good! With this warmth comes little voices asking "mom can we have ice cream?"  What can I say? They got their mama's love of ice cream! So of course I say absolutely!

This is by no means my invention but it is on our "favorites" list.  It is quick and easy and there are lots of ways to mix it up and add variety.  Not to mention, it is ice cream one can feel good about giving to their kiddos at any point in the day. Oh did I tell you, it is able to be made with one ingredient in it's simplest form? It's true! If you've never tried this your world may soon be rocked!

 

Vegan Soft Serve

 

3 frozen bananas

 

Toss bananas in a food processor.  Allow the food processor to do it's thing.  It may sound a little loud and rough at first but allow the processor to go for several minutes.  The bananas slowly begin to get pureed into frozen goodness.  When the chunks are all gone stop the processor.  Now you can stop right here and enjoy a banana soft serve treat. 

 

 

I like to doctor my ice cream up a bit.  Just as the bananas are starting to get pureed, I like to add 1-2 TBS Peanut Butter, and a splash of vanilla. Viola'. Peanut Butter soft serve. 

Another idea that is equally as good, if not even more delicious? Add 1-2 TBS cocoa powder.  Now you've got yourself some Peanut Butter Chocolate Soft Serve. Pretty amazing, I tell you.

 

Other things that could be added to the mix in the food processor are raw honey to sweeten it up a touch and help reduce the banana flavor. I also like to add a pinch of sea salt occassionaly to get that sweet and salty combo.  I've added coconut oil in batches before to have a more coconut flavored ice cream and to add a little extra fat to my girls diet. 

 

The options are really quite endless.  Sprinkle chocolate or carob chips on top.  Add some diced fresh or frozen fruit. Chocolate syrup drizzle is always amazing.  Imagine all the toppings at those soft serve yogurt places and invent your very own unique creation.  

Going dairy free doesn't mean giving up good tasting ice cream!

Cheers to warm weather, sunshine, spring blooms, and delcious ice cream!

Beet Salad

As a kid I thought that can of beets my mom used to sit on the table was quite honestly one of the more gross things in life.  Apparently pickled beets made my nose scrunch.  The most amusing part is that I don't know if I ever even attempted a taste or it I was just so repulsed by their visual presentation.  Whatever the situation I decided a few years ago to give beets a try.  Whoa! I fell in love. 
I absolutley love beets now and laugh at how repulsed I was as a child by those lovely sweet vegetables.  I love them juiced, grated in salads, and roasted.  One of my favorite things to do with beets is make a beet salad. Oh my stars! This is one of my favorite salads on the planet and it is almost always a hit at a party or potluck. 
I have tried a few different versions of beet salads but I always come back to this simple version that I slightly adapted from my friend Heather's cooking class a couple summers ago.  It truly is divine!

Roasted Beet Salad

Beets (2 bunches)
Beet Greens, Swiss Chard, Kale, or Spinach (finely chopped)
Almond Cheese or Soft Goat Cheese
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1 TBS Raw Honey
3-4 TBS Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive oil (or to taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

The first step is to scrub the beets and then roast them.  There are a couple ways of doing this.  The beets can be wrapped individually with foil and placed in a pan with an inch or so of water.  Another option is to place all the beets in a dish with an inch or so of water and simply cover the whole pan with a piece of foil.  I have found both ways yield delicious roasted beets.

Roast the beets at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  This time may vary depending on the size of the beets so check them after about 60 minutes and know they are done when it is easy to pierce them with a fork. 

While the beets are roasting make the vinaigrette.  Mix together the mustard, honey, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

When beets are finished allow them to cool.  The next step is to peel the skins off the beets, which is a little messy but oh so worth it! I have found that sometimes the skins will just slip right off the beets using just your hands, especially in the summer when they are really fresh.  Otherwise a vegetable peeler works nicely to gently remove the skins.  It should still be pretty easy if the beets are roasted well.  After the beets are peeled chop them into bite-sized pieces.

Next add the chopped beets to a large mixing bowl with the vinaigrette.  Mix well to coat the beets.  Then add the finely chopped beet greens (or other green).  The amount of greens is really up for debate.  Add what looks appetizing.  If beets are fresh and in season using all the gorgeous greens that came on them seems to be the perfect amount.  Final step is to add the cheese.  The amount of cheese to use is really up to the individual taste as well.  I usually just add cheese until it looks good to me.  I have found I don't need a whole lot of cheese because I don't want the cheese to overpower the salad.  A few sprinkles will usually do the job.

Mix the final mixture together well and enjoy!

Rice, Bean, & Polenta Casserole

I don't know about you but I am so ready to have fresh local produce again.  I feel so much more inspired to eat and cook with good, quality local produce.  I have been in a cooking slump lately.  I feel like I have no creativity or energy in the kitchen.  I have been throwing meals together at the last possible minute, including a fair amount of PBJ.  It might be a bit of winter blahs or being in the midst of a pregnancy that hasn't been quite as vibrant and glorious as my previous two pregnancies.  Whatever it is I am trying to get back on track for the sake of our health and our budget (take-out has been one of my dear friends as of late!) 

My new goal is creating a weekly menu.  I used to do this and it made everything run much smoother.  I knew exactly what food items I needed when I went to buy groceries and I knew exactly what I was going to make.  There was a good structure to meals and grocery budgets, and a whole less take-out!  Perhaps there are some of you out there that will also benefit from menu planning?

Now onto the recipe.  This recipe was created at 5:30 one evening when I realized I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner and the girls were declaring their hunger.  I happened to look in the fridge and it was one of those glorious days where I actually had some things in there I could quickly toss together for a meal.  Due to the increasing hunger cries from my children, I didn't even think about measuring out ingredients but instead just tossed everything together, all the while keeping my fingers crossed that it would turn out to be something edible.  As it turns out both of my girls loved it and requested more. Whew. Success was found in a moment of panic!   I will list what I used and then just play around measurements. 

Rice, Bean, & Polenta Casserole

*1 tube of polenta, cut into thin slices
*Cooked Rice
*Cooked/Canned Black Beans
*Frozen Corn
*Baby Spinach, finely chopped
*Salsa
*Cheese of choice (optional)


1)Layer cut polenta on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish

2)In a large bowl mix together rice, beans, corn, spinach, and salsa (It looks like a naked burrito)

3)Spread the rice mixture on top of the polenta.

4)Sprinkle the top with cheese, if using. (We used goat cheese but I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the final cooked product due to the insisting of my girls that it was time to eat!)

5)Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Oat Free Granola

Well hello there! I know it's been awhile since I've posted and to be honest I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking in the past four months. I suppose if you count the newest "bun in the oven" as cooking then I have been cooking 24/7. Other than that I have been a very sick pregnant mama and food  has really been the last thing I could possibly think about with exception of a few basic things that were easy and that I could keep down.  So I figured you didn't need to read recipes about toast and apples. 

The good news is that I am finally starting to feel better and have been doing a LITTLE bit of cooking so I will have some new recipes to share.  Now these recipes are all likely to be VERY simple and quick because....well that's where I am at in life right now. This baby has been wiping me out and I need quick and simple. Anyone else in a stage of life that simple and easy needs to be the answer right now?!?

One thing I have needed is simple breakfasts for both my girls and myself.  I have been buying boxed cereals for the past few months and it has been glorious and easy.  I am not a big fan of the amounts of sugar in store bought cereals (even the healthiest of cereals) and typically try to avoid them but ultimately I was on survivial mode and couldn't think about all the small details. We all survived and are just fine, which is always a good reminder to myself to not get obsesssed with perfection. Feeding a family is hard. Growing babies is hard. Raising little ones is hard.  Remembering grace is important. 

This cereal recipe happened because I was all inspired the other day to make a big batch of granola to have available for our family for the week.  I starting pulling everything out and realized I didn't have any oats. Shooooot!  I was determined to still come up with a cereal so I got creative and this is what was created in my cereal making adventure.

Oat Free Granola

6 Rice cakes crumbled (I had some leftover apple cinnamon flavored ones that were quite tasty)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 TBS Blackstrap Molasses
4 pitted Dates
1 tsp Vanilla


1. Mix rice cakes, nuts, seeds, and shredded coconut together.

2.  Add coconut oil, syrup, molasses, dates, and vanilla to blender and blend until smooth.

3.  Drizzle wet mixture over dry mixture. Stir until everything is coated.

4.  Spread cereal on baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

5.  After cereal is cooled add a bunch of "extras."  I added hemp seeds, chia seeds, and goji berries.

6.  Serve with milk of choice.

**While this cereal was tasty it didn't make a whole lot.  I would probably double it next time or add oats to stretch it a little further. 

**This was also tasty with some chopped fresh bananas and frozen blueberries. 

Miso Soup

Miso soup is one of my favorite "go-to" soups during the winter.  It is my vegetarian version of the healing, comforting chicken noodle soup.  It is a soup that is pretty simple in taste but does wonders for digestion. It is my soup that I make up when we are sick with a cold or flu or have upset stomaches.  It really is a comfort food.  Simple. Easy. Healing.

We aren't big soy fans around here but I do use tofu from time to time and I do like miso.  When buying miso it is important to buy naturally fermented miso.  Even amongst many nutrition gurus that are anti-soy, most will say that fermented soy is different and has healing properties.  Now I still use this in moderation, as my tub of miso will sit in my fridge for a rather long period of time, buy hey it's already fermented so I figure I am just adding to the process, right??  By being naturally fermented the miso contains live enzymes that aid in the digestive process and provide healthy probiotics, which is what makes it so beneficial when given to someone that is sick.  It is easy to digest and doesn't have a strong flavor.

Miso itself has a salty and slightly sweet taste.  Miso is made from a variety of beans and/or grains and because of that there are different types and shades of miso.  The rule of thumb is, the ligther the color the lighter and sweeter the taste.


The other thing I love about this soup is that it contains sea vegetables.  I went through a season years ago where I was determined to like seafood.  I tried and tried but every time I tried I was throughly repulsed and just couldn't get past the texture and taste.  I finally gave up my quest and realized I just don't like seafood. Period. Well as I have studied nutrition I continue to stumble across research on sea vegetables and all of the health benefits of including them in a whole foods diet.  So a few years ago I began another quest.  I was going to eat sea vegetables! Well wouldn't you know, I can't choke these down either.  I can smell them a mile away and it makes me cringe. Alas I don't like sea veggies either and that's ok. BUT I love miso soup and miso soup recipes call for a sea vegetable of some kind, so I have found a little trick.  I use a strip of kombu while it's boiling to at least get some of the benefits of the sea vegetables and then when the soup is finished I take the strip out and toss it.  So if you find yourself cringing at the thought of sea vegetables there is a little trick to help you out! For the seafood and sea vegetable lovers out there, just follow the recipe.  :)

Miso Soup
(adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, "The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook")


5 1/2 cups water
2 TBS Chopped Wakame or 1 strip of Kombu (that you can later toss!)
2 Carrots thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 Green Onions, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped kale, spinach, beet greens, swiss chard, etc...very finely cut or chopped
1/2 cup uncooked pasta (traditionally it is noodles but I use whatever I have on hand and it's great)
8 ounces of tofu, diced
2 TBS Miso Paste
***Optional***1 TBS Parsley
(Parsley aides in digestion and quite honestly it covers up any Kombu taste but is not a traditional part of Miso Soup!)


Place water and sea vegetable in medium-size pan.  Cover and bring to boil over high heat.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in miso. 

 Enjoy! Hope it helps if you find yourself or your little ones recovering from a cold, flu, or upset tummy!

***I sometimes will add thinly chopped celery as well just for something different. 

Almond Cheese

This summer has been wild and crazy.  We packed up our home and moved into a new home.  At the same time we had to get one house ready for renters and get several projects done at the new house before settled into our new space.  Whew.  It was an intense couple months to say the least.  In all of that I haven't been doing a lot of creative cooking.  Well honestly I hadn't been doing a lot of cooking in general. Take-out was one of my best friends.  That is why I have been on a blogging sabbatical.  If you haven't already "liked" Pint Sized Foodies on Facebook please do.  I do a little more updating and sharing other recipes more frequently on the Facebook page. 

Now onto one of my favorite staple recipes.  This past year a friend passed this recipe onto me that she had gotten from VegNews.  This quickly became a staple in my kitchen and we all love it.  I add it to soups, sandwiches, pizzas, salads, and even just use it as a dip for crackers.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  Stay tuned for my favorite beet salad that includes this scrumptious cheese.   


Almond Cheese

1 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic
3 TBS Olive oil (optional)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water

1) Place almonds in medium bowl and cover with cold water.  Let soak 24 hours.  Another option is to pour boiling water over the almonds and let them soak for 5-10 minutes.  (This is often my option because I don't plan far enough ahead).   Then drain soaking liquid, rinse almonds under water and drain again.  At this point, you can pop the almonds out of the skins by just pinching them....just be careful for almonds flying across the room.  This is not necessary step, but if you choose not to do this, the cheese will look less like cheese because you will be able to see the skins blended into the cheese.  It in no way detracts from the taste and does add fiber.

2) Puree almonds, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and water in blender until very smooth and creamy.

3)Place large strainer over bowl and line a triple layer of cheesecloth.  Spoon mixture into a cheesecloth.  Bring corners and sides of cloth together and twist around cheese, forming into orange-size ball.  Secure with rubber band or kitchen twine and chill 12 hours.  (I would say this step is optional. It makes the cheese a little more like feta when you do this step and without this step it is a bit softer and more like a soft goat cheese.  I also often skip this step for lack of planning ahead.  Seeing a theme in my life right now??!!?!)

4)Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap cheese and transfer from cheesecloth to prepared baking sheet. Flatten to form 6 inch round about 3/4 inch thick.  Bake 40 minutes or until top is slightly firm.  Cool, then chill. You can also choose to skip the baking step. It just is less firm--easy to spread. 

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Chia seeds. The new health food craze in the past year, and I must admit I've bought into the craze.  A decade or so ago the craze with chia was a cute little tune that went with a funny looking planter.  Now the seed has evolved and become a hit with health foodies all over. 

Did you know that chia seeds contain more omega-3's than any other plant food? These powerful seeds also contain high amounts of calicum, even more so than cow's milk (the saying should be "Got Chia?").  They also rank high in vitamin C, fiber, and iron.  Worth a try for sure! 

Chia seeds really don't have much of a taste.  The beauty of these little seeds is the thickening power they have.  Want to thicken a shake, ice cream, or pudding? Chia seeds could be your solution.  I use chia seeds as an egg replacer for baking.  1 TBS chia seeds to 3 TBS water.  Simply mix the previous ratio together to replace 1 egg.  Allow the mixture to set for a few minutes and then mix in like you would an egg.  Viola'. A vegan, power packed egg replacer.  I have used this in making pancakes, muffins, cupcakes,..... It works wonderfully and because they really don't have a strong flavor it doens't affect the taste of what you are baking. 

One of my favorite ways to use Chia Seeds is to make a Chia Seed Pudding.  It is a bit like the texture of tapioca pudding so for texture sensitive kiddos you might want to introduce this slowly or even blend part of it up.  There are lots of different ways to make Chia Seed pudding but I especially love a chocolate flavored pudding.  I often will do it carob flavored for my girls because they are so sensitive to chocolate (the caffeine keeps them wired for hours and this mama doesn't need her kiddos having any more energy than they already have!). 

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

2 cups coconut milk beverage
1/2 cup chia seeds
6 pitted medjool dates
1-2 TBS cocoa or carob powder
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Soak dates in water for 2 hours or for a quicker version soak dates in hot water for 10 minutes. 

When dates are finished soaking, blend milk, dates, cocoa/carob powder in blender until smooth.    

Add blended mixture to chia seeds.  Stir in raspberries. 

Cover and refrigerate for several hours, until thickened. 

This is great to prepare at night and it will be ready for a super simple breakfast on hot summer morning.