Candlelight Cookies
November 8, 2011
Here are two delicious cookie served up by Robyn during our last Yoga and Fertility class, the recipes are from Finally…Food I Can Eat! by local author Shirley Plant who specializes in recipes to address food sensitivities and allergies. These cookies are loaded with healthy ingredients (flax replaces eggs), are gluten-free, dairy-free and have no added processed sugar. Honey is used as the sweetener to make this recipe 100% vegan (no animal products) you can play around with substituting agave or brown rice syrup for the honey.
These are just the kind of delicious snacks we will be serving up at our Candlelight Yoga and Pampering evening for women on November 18th, from 7pm – 9pm. Our evening will include Restorative Yoga lead by Robyn, this class will relax the nervous system and release stress. Yoga Journal describes restorative yoga poses “as having a particular ability to leave us nourished and well rested. These postures are usually deeply supported by blankets, blocks, or other props and are held for several minutes at a time.”
Along with this nurishing yoga practice we will be educated by Sylvie Lapoine of Facial Angle on facial care and natural products to nourish the skin and we will have goodie bags of products to sample, to top it off we will enjoy tea and snacks to support, nourish and heal the body from the inside out – chocolate will of course be involved.
Hope to see you on November 18th – you can register here
Carrot Haystacks
Ingredients:
- 1 cup carrots, shredded
- 2 ½ cups shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 2 tbsp safflower oil
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed and 6 tbsp water (whisked together)
- 2 tbsp brown rice flour
- Pinch of salt
Directions:
- In a bowl, mix shredded carrots, sea salt, safflower oil, flour, coconut, and honey. Mix ground flaxseed in 6 tbsp of water and whisk to make an egg-like consistency; mix in carrot mixture.
- Mix water and arrowroot together and mix with other ingredients.
- Mix all together, mould into small shapes onto baking sheet and bake at 325F for 10-15 minutes or until done.
Yields 16 cookies
Carob Haystacks
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup carob or cacao powder (organic unsweetened)
- 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 2 tbsp arrowroot
- 2 tbsp safflower oil
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed and 6 tbsp water (whisked together)
- Pinch of salt
Directions:
- In a bowl or food processor, mix water, arrowroot, and carob/cacao powder. Mix well so ingredients dissolve and mixture is smooth.
- Add in remaining ingredients.
- Mould into round shapes onto cookie sheet and bake at 325F for 10-15 minutes or until done.
Yields 12 cookies
Campfire Cupcakes
September 2, 2010
These cupcakes are inspired by the original recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, and made for a celebration evening with 8 of my closest girlfriends.
Thanks to Jenni for the initial inspiration to make seasonal cupcakes; these are totally girlfriend approved.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes (yes they’re vegan)
Cupcake Ingredients:
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup soy or almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups spelt flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (President’s Choice brand is vegan by default)
Cupcake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Ina medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy or almond milk, and vanilla. Sift in teh flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Stir together with a fork – don’t use a handheld mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.
- Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fully cool before icing.
Frosting ingredients and directions:
- Take one container vegan cream cheese – Tofutti is a good brand .
- Mix in 1-2 tbsp pure maple syrup and very finely grated rind of 1/2 organic orange. Mix well.
- Wait until cupcakes are fully cool to frost them.
- Want to get fancy – top with finely grated dark chocolate
Frozen Chocolate Coconut Haystacks
August 11, 2010
This recipe comes from Green Goddess Renee Loux
YIELDS: 2 DOZEN
These haystacks are quick to prepare and so delicious you may want to double the recipe. They store well for up to a month in the freezer and are a great treat for well-behaved kids and adults
We made these treats for our July Yoga Teacher Training weekend and they kept us going for hours!
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups dried coconut
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
- 4-6 tablespoons agave nectar
- 4-6 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 1-1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder 1/4 cup cacao nibs, optional
PROCEDURE
- In a food processor, grind 1 cup dried coconut into a powder.
- Add almond butter, agave nectar, maple syrup, organic coconut oil, vanilla, and salt and blend until well mixed.
- Fold in remaining 2 cups of dried coconut, cocoa powder, and cacao nibs (if desired) by hand.
- Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet.
- Flatten with the palm of you hand. Continue until you’ve used all of the dough.
- Place in a sealed container with waxed paper. Place a piece of waxed paper between layers to keep them from sticking together. Freeze until firm (about 2 hours).
Cupcakes & a Great Book for Earth Day
April 22, 2010
Happy Earth Day! Wishing everyone a glorious, gratitude-filled day.
Here is my suggestion for celebrating Mother Earth:
- Get outside; walk, run, bike, hike, reflect. Then come home with a big smile on your face.
- Whip up an easy vegan meal, check out our many recipes for suggstions, hint – the Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango is everyone’s favourite
- Make sure to add dessert – my latest favorite is a raw food treat from Bo Rinaldi of Blosoming Lotus Restaurant - Vanilla Cupcakes with Key Lime Icing! The recipe is below. And here is a link to another yummy recipe for chocolate cupcakes
- And finally curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. On a whim I purchased Where the Blind Horse Sings by Kathy Stevens and was so thrilled to find the review below by John Robbins on the Earth Save International Website
Vanilla Cupcakes with Lime Frosting – Makes 12 cupcakes (or 24 small ones)
From the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Raw
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 6 pitted dates, soaked at least 30 minutes
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup almond butter
- Pinch cinnamon
- Pinch cardamom
- 1½ tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 6 Tbsp agave nectar*
- ½ ripe avocado mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Place almonds, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond butter, agave nectar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and cardamom in a food processor fitted with an S blade. Process for 15-30 seconds or until sticky mixture of small chunks forms. (Note – if you don’t have a large food processor, do this in 2 batches.)
- With a spoon or small ice cream scoop, measure out 12 cupcakes onto a parchment paper-lined plate. Flatten tops with spoon to hold frosting.
- Place avocado, dates and lime juice in a blender or the food processor, and process until smooth and creamy.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to allow icing to solidify as much as possible before spreading on top of cupcakes.
- Frost cupcakes and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving
Where the Blind Horse Sings – Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary
By Kathy Stevens
Review by John Robbins
Every now and then, a book comes along that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Written by the founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, a haven for abused and discarded farmed animals, Where the Blind Horse Sings is such a book.
Author Kathy Stevens is an exceptional writer. Her story of the birth of Catskill Animal Sanctuary and of the two and four-legged characters who live there is lyrical and alive, alternately funny and moving. Much of the narrative focuses on a blind horse, a former cockfighting rooster, and a ram who arrived so explosive and violent that Stevens briefly contemplated euthanasia as the only way to keep other animals (including the humans) safe. But patience and love persevered, eventually paying off in spades. Suffice it to say that Buddy, Paulie, and Rambo each evolved into larger than life teachers, and through Stevens’ skilled storytelling, their lessons linger long after the book is finished.
Beyond the writing, though, it is Stevens’ intimacy with the animals about whom she writes that distinguishes Where the Blind Horse Sings from other books about farmed animals and horses. Unlike most authors of such books, she is not a researcher interviewing others about their experiences with animals. Stevens lives and works with the animals: she knows of whom she speaks. When she writes, “Rambo arrived full of testosterone and rage,” it is because she was the one to welcome him. When later she describes the night the transformed sheep summoned her to come to the assistance of a blind turkey inadvertently left outside on a cold November night, I wept at the collective victory shared by the human and the sheep she describes as “her greatest teacher.”
While commentary about the devastating impact of agribusiness is interspersed throughout the book, it is certainly not the book’s focus. Joy is its focus: a clear-headed, unambiguous sharing of the joy its author derives from sharing her life with animals the vast majority of the world sees as mere commodities. The animals arrive angry or terrified, but in their safe haven, become so much more than Stevens, a former educator, imagined possible of a horse or a cow, a pig or a chicken. Who they become has changed her life; it might just change yours. It is certainly a book to share with those in your life who’ve not yet made the connection between diet and kindness.
(Information on the work of Catskill Animal Sanctuary available at www.casanctuary.org)
Greetings from Key West
February 16, 2010
I am vacationing in “Key Lime Pie country” and thought I would share an amazing Vegan and Sugar-free version from one of my favourite cook books – Raw Food Made Easy. Once you try this amazing recipe you will be hooked on Raw Pies. Mark your calendar, June 19 2010, Simply Raw hosts a Healthy Lifestyles Festival in Ottawa http://www.simplyraw.ca/community/festival-2010/, including a Raw Pie contest with celebrity judges, don’t miss it
OK, back to the beach!
Healthy Key Lime Pie Recipe
recipe from: Raw Food Made Easy
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded dried coconut
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, unsoaked
3/4 cup walnuts, unsoaked
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates, unsoaked
Filling:
3/4 cup chopped avocados (about 1 1/4 avocados)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup unpasteurized honey
Blueberries and freshly sliced kiwi fruit (optional garnish)
Directions:
Crust:
Combine coconut, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and sea salt in food processor and process until coarsely ground.
Add medjool dates and process until mixture looks like coarse crumbs and begins to stick together. Be sure not to process beyond this point.
Transfer coarse crumbs/crust into a 9″ pie plate. Use your fingers to gently distribute the crumbs in a uniform layer along the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Aim to build up the sides with about 3/4 of an inch of crumbs.
After the crumbs are evenly distributed, press the crust firmly against the bottom of the plate using your fingers. Be sure to press firmly near the junction between the bottom of the pan and the sides of the pan. Press firmly into the crust along the sides of the pan. Place completed crust in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
Filling:
Combine avocados, lime juice, and honey in a food processor and process until smooth. You may need to stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of the processor with a spatula or spoon.
Bringing it Together:
Use a spatula or spoon to spread filling over the bottom of the crust.
Peel kiwi, cut lengthwise, and slice into half-moons. Arrange kiwi slices around the outer edge of the pie – it looks especially nice when the slices are propped up at an angle.
Place blueberries (or any other berries like raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries) in front of kiwi slices.
Chill entire key lime pie for at least 2 hours before serving. This pie is best served chilled or slightly colder than room temperature.
Please note: This healthy key lime pie will keep in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days.
Sugar-Free Sunday
February 7, 2010
Ellen has decided to give up refined sugar – see her video announcement – with her hosting duties on American Idol and taping her own show, Ellen says she needs all the energy she can get and eliminating sugar from her diet is sure to boost her stamina!
In honour of Ellen, I’ve started Sugar-Free Sunday, inspiration for sugar-free baking you can do on the weekend to get you smoothly through the week.
The first recipe is for Crumbly Lemon Blueberry Cupcake Muffins – from the Balanced Plate by Renee Loux.
I made these yesterday for a Yoga Teachers Evening hosted by my beautiful Yogini friend Sylvie. We ate most of these delicious morsels last night and this morning John and I polished off the few I brought home, yummy. I’ll make another batch this afternoon.
Crumbly Lemon Blueberry Cupcake Muffins – perfect with a cup of chai tea, sweetened with honey or agave nectar
makes 12 – 18 muffins
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup organic spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp softened Omega Nutrition coconut butter or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice, almond milk, soy milk, or filtered water
2 tsp lemon zest (Donna’s note: I used the zest of 1 lemon)
2 tbsp lemon juice (Donna’s note: I used the juice of 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh blueberries, or thawed and drained organic frozen blueberries
Streusel Topping
1/4 cup nuts (pecans, walnuts or raw almonds)
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp + 1-2 tsp softened Omega Nutrition coconut butter or grapeseed oil
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Line muffin tins with unbleached paper baking cups or brush the pans with oil.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt
In another bowl, beat together the coconut butter or grapeseed oil, agave, maple syrup, apple juice (or almond milk, soymilk, or filtered water), lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and vinegar.
Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just nice can smooth. This can be done by hand or with a mixer, but be careful not to overmix or your muffins will be tough.
Gently fold in the blueberries
Fill the muffin cups about half full with batter.
Now make the streusel topping: in a food processor, grind the nuts into a fine meal. Add the flour, salt, and cinnamon and chop until well mixed. Add the coconut butter or oil, agave, maple syrup, and lemon zest (if desired) and chop in pulses just until mixed and crumbly. The texture should be like pebbles and sand. If it is too moist, add a bit of flour. If it is too dry, add a touch more oil.
Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the muffins.
Bake until golden, 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool before serving.
I suggest you make a double batch and freeze some of these delicious muffins so they will last through the week!
Another recipe for The Balance Plate that I make quite often is for Frozen Chocolate Coconut Haystacks - very easy to make and sugar-free! I use raw cacao powder for an added hit of anti-oxidants and the most yummy chocolate flavour. You can get raw cacao powder at any health food store.
Ellen we’re behind you! Be strong.
Hey anyone want to join Ellen on her sugar-free journey?
Anyone have a Sugar-Free Sunday recipe to share? I’d love to add it to our recipe list
Brownies and Book Club
January 17, 2010
At our book club group on Friday night we had a moving and uplifting discussion on the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and we enjoyed ‘healthy’ brownies, recipe at the end of this post
From the website, Half the Sky Movement, the description of the book and the movement associated with it is as follows,
“Half the Sky lays out an agenda for the world’s women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute. We know there are many worthy causes competing for attention in the world. We focus on this one because this kind of oppression feels transcendent – and so does the opportunity. Outsiders can truly make a difference.
So let us be clear up front: We hope to recruit you to join an incipient movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts. It is a process that transforms bubbly teenage girls from brothel slaves into successful businesswomen. You can help accelerate change if you’ll just open your heart and join in.”
At Book Club we we discussed a wonderful way to help women help themselves - through KIVA , their motto is Loans That Change Lives. KIVA works through Micro Finance Loans as explained on the website:
1) It all starts with our Field Partners, which are micro-finance institutions operating around the world. Our Field Partners approve and disburse a micro-loan to an entrepreneur in their community. They take a picture of the entrepreneur and write down the entrepreneur’s story.
2) The Field Partner uploads the entrepreneur’s profile to Kiva’s website. The profile, if it’s not in English, is translated by one of our hundreds of volunteer translators. After translation, the profile appears live on Kiva.org
3) Lenders like you browse the entrepreneurs’ profiles and choose someone to lend to, using PayPal or their credit cards.
When the authors of Half the Sky were on the Oprah Show in December 2009 they let us all know that when we empower a woman and she starts to support herself, she then supports the health, well-being and education of her family, therefor starting to break the cycle of violence and abuse against women, education is the key. Check out the Oprah website and the For All Women Registry to see many way you can help.
At Movement to Health our goal is to empower all women to live their Dharma, to let their light shine, we encourage you to find your individual path to your passion and to inspire, empower and uplift the global community of women with your strength – together we make a difference.
The brownie recipe below is from local cookbook author Shirley Plant, she inspires us all to enjoy delicious and healthy food. These were a huge hit on Friday night; totally guilt-free
Pseudo-Brownies (vegan, soy and gluten-free)
1 cup brown rice flour (if not gluten sensitive you can use whole wheat or spelt flour)
1/4 cup carob or cocoa powder
1 tsp heaping baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar – (I didn’t have this so I substituted 2 tsp lemon juice)
1 large organic apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 Tbsp honey (optional)
2 heaping tbsp ground flax mixed with 3/4 cup hot water, stir and let sit for a few minutes
In a food processor combine rasins, nuts and cut up apple, chop up really well
Add in honey and flax mixture and mix again
Add carob or cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and mix until well combined
If it seem dry add a drop or two of water
Place into an 8-inch square, greased, brownie pan, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes
1/2 cup cashew butter at room temperature
4 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp carob or cocoa powder
2 tbsp orange juice or 1-2 tbsp hot waterMix all ingredients until smooth. Add liquid slowly as you do not to make this icing too liquidy.
