Meat Free Monday: Cookies for a Vegan Santa

These vegan Chunky Monkey cookies are so yummy, mildly healthy, and something that everyone can enjoy. The cookies use banana instead of butter and include chocolate and peanut butter! Yes, chocolate and peanut butter are not the most healthy, but it's a cookie... As far as cookies go, this is not too shabby :)

Servings: 30 cookies    Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 bananas, chopped

1/3 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons almond milk

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups oats (I use Red Baron)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Set oven to 350 degrees. Mash the chopped bananas with a fork or pastry knife until there are few to no bumps. Add in the peanut butter and mix. Add in the almond milk, whole wheat flour, and cocoa. Mix well. Mix in the oats, then the chocolate chips. Place a spoonful of dough on cooking sheet, keeping cookies about 1/2 an inch away from each other. Bake for 10 minutes and enjoy! The cookies should be moist in the center and a little firm on the edges. 

Use either forks or a pastry knife to mash the chopped bananas.

Add in the peanut butter. Mix well

Mix in the almond milk, whole wheat flour, and cocoa

Mix in the oats.

Mix in the chocolate chips

Place spoonfuls of the dough on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with some almond milk and enjoy!

Original recipe from squashblossombabies.com

Meat Free Monday: Caramelized Onion and Pear Pizza

Home made pizza is a great replacement for Dominos, is healthier, and will cost quite a bit less! To be honest, I was going to save pizza for another day, but we had this last week and it was so pretty and yummy and wonderful- Well, I had to share! I hope you enjoy the simple prep and yummy-ness as much as we did! Pairs great with a light salad ;)

Servings: 2-4    Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb pre or homemade pizza dough

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup pear, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Set oven to 450 degrees. Slice the pear and onion and mix the pear with lemon juice so the pears maintain color. Set aside and heat a skillet over medium/high heat. Add in olive oil and thinly sliced onions. Wait until onions begin to cook, then add in sugar. You may need to turn heat down at this point. Wait until onions are cooked, 5 minutes, then add in balsamic. Reduce for another 5-10 minutes until caramelized. Be sure to take skillet off heat when adding the balsamic, things could get messy. Once cooked, take off heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, knead pizza dough, mixing in the honey as you knead. Separate the dough into two equal sized lumps. Flatten dough into pizza pies that are about 1/8 an inch thick. I usually use a roller to get them thin. Do not worry about them being perfectly circular either, mine never are.

Once pizza is ready, place the pear and onions on the dough. Keep a few pears to be placed over the cheese. Add the cheese onto the pizza and a few pears to the top of the cheese. Cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the pizza should be firm enough to remove the baking sheet. Cook without baking sheet another 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Meat Free Monday: Mushroom and Walnut Thanksgiving Stuffing

Thanksgiving week is here! The holidays are really upon us and if you are like me, you are searching the internets for some great holiday eats. This walnut and mushroom stuffing is something I made last year and has become a tradition since. It is easy, quick, and great for the vegetarians in the family. Plus, Not the knock your socks off calorie count that we are use to are use to around the holidays!

Servings: 8    Prep time: 30 minutes    Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus some for baking dish

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

3 stalks, 1 heaping cup celery, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

5 oz. bella mushrooms, chopped

5 oz. Portobello mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons sage, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine, Sauvignon Blanc

1 cup walnuts, chopped

6 cups bread, chopped into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces and toasted or left out overnight

1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

2 large eggs, beaten

Set oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in pan. Combine chopped onion and celery in pan over medium/high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent- 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside in bowl. Combined 1 tablespoon olive oil, chopped mushrooms, sage, and salt and pepper over medium/high heat and cook until browned- about 5 minutes. Add in the 1/2 cup white wine and cook until wine is almost evaporated. Add mushrooms to vegetable bowl and mix in walnuts and bread. Move to oiled baking dish and mix in the broth. Make sure not to add too much broth, the bread should only be moistened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Beat eggs and combine well with stuffing.

Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Chop onion and celery. Tip: cut celery into 3-4 long pieces, then chop... much easier!

Cook 1 tablespoon olive oil, celery, and onion until translucent. About  5-7 minutes

Set aside onion mixture in bowl

Chop 5 oz. of bella and portobello mushrooms

Combine mushrooms, chopped sage, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper over medium/high heat until browned, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup wine and cook until almost evaporated. About 5 minutes.

Chop walnuts

Cut bread into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces. Toast or leave out overnight. Or buy pre-cut and toasted!

Combine mushroom mixture, onion mixture, bread, and walnuts in bowl

Move to oiled baking dish and combine vegetable broth

Beat eggs

Combined eggs into stuffing mixture. Mix well. 

Cook uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to serving dish.

Place in serving dish and garnish with sage if desired.

Meat Free Monday: Pumpkin Soup

There are few things as fitting to start the holiday season as pumpkin soup, especially when it is healthy! I just made this recipe for a birthday celebration and it was so yummy. Best, part, it is under 200 calories and has 8+ grams of protein, score-sees!!

Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups roasted pumpkin. About two medium sugar pie pumpkins

1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon ginger

1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 tablespoon agave nectar or 1/2 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Cut pumpkins in half, de-seed, place cut side down, and roast in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. When the pumpkins are ready, the skin should be coming off the meat and it should be tender. Wait for pumpkin to cool then remove the skin, dice, and puree in a food processor.

Combine olive oil and chopped onion in large pot on medium heat. heat until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Once translucent, add in the ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon and let sit for one minute. Add in the pureed pumpkin and broth and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Add in the milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. If you would like your pumpkin soup sweeter, add in 1 tablespoon of agave nectar or 1/2 tablespoon sugar.

Spoon into a blender and blend on "liquify" for at least three minutes. Add goat cheese topping and enjoy!

If you would prefer to use canned pumpkin, use one 29 oz can.

Goat Cheese Topping

4 oz goat cheese

1 tablespoon almond milk

A few sprigs of time chopped

Whip together and add to pumpkin soup as topping.

Pumpkin Bowl

Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove seeds. Bake both the pumpkin and lid for 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds

Once finished baking, the pumpkin should be tender enough to easily insert fork

Remove the outer skin before chopping and puree

Liquify pumpkin soup when done simmering

Serve with a dollop of goat cheese.