Tag: lifestyle

Recipes, Uncategorized

Pumpkin Donut Holes

veganlivingbydanielle

Happy Fall! Around this time of year, I love apple picking, pumpkin patches, haunted houses…the usual festivities, but I miss those dang fall donuts! It occurred to me, I need to veganize a pumpkin donut recipe! They were so much easier than I expect for making donuts too!

Below, I hav shared the ingredients and directions and then some useful tips that I found while cooking below that (substitutions, brand recommendations, etc.)

Ingredients:

Donuts:

  • 1 Tbsp flax meal1
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1 3/4 cup sifted flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice2
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar3
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup any non-dairy milk

Topping:

  • 1 stick unsalted vegan butter4
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the rack is centered.
  2. Generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or some vegetable oil with a paper towel.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp flax meal with 3 Tbsp water and let it sit for at least 3 minutes. This allows the mixture to become gelatinous, egg-like.
  4. Sift5 flour into medium mixing bowl. Mix in baking powder, salt, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice.
  5. Put the pumpkin puree in a separate large mixing bowl and mix in brown sugar. Make sure this bowl is bigger because you’re going to mix the dry ingredients into this bowl!
  6. Mix in the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and add the flax egg. Pour in milk, and mix until smooth.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until the dry mixture is completely mixed in, no clumps. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
  8. Scoop the batter into a 24-cup mini muffin pan, about ¾ full each cup, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.6
  9. While the donuts are baking, melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (about 1 minute). Allow the butter to cool before dipping the donuts in the butter. Also, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and pour part of the mixture on a plate or leave in the bowl to get ready to roll the donuts. Last thing before the donuts come out, set up a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper to set the donuts on after coating in sugar.
  10. Remove the donuts from the oven and allow to cool just enough to handle.7
  11. Dip the donut holes in the melted butter, and roll to coat in cinnamon sugar.
  12. Serve warm if possible. Fall donuts are better warm!8 Enjoy!

Makes about 36 donut holes

Tips!

  1. Flax meal works best, but flax seed also works! You can also throw flax seed in a blender, bullet, or food processor to get flax meal.
  2. Pumpkin spice sure makes the recipe easier, but if you don’t have pumpkin spice, you can substitute 1/4 tsp of each of the following: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves/allspice.
  3. Don’t have brown sugar? In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup or molasses.
  4. You can buy sticks of butter that are vegan brands like earth balance, but brands like Country Crock and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter have vegan butter as well. A quick hack with these brands that aren’t fully vegan, look at the ingredients list to see if it says at the bottom of the list “Contains: Milk.” If it does not say contains milk, you should be good! Milk is an allergen and by law must be clearly labeled.
  5. If you don’t have a sifter, you can use a spaghetti strainer or similar to sift. I have a metal spaghetti strainer that I use when a recipe calls for sifted flour.
  6. If your last batch of donuts does not fill the whole muffin tin, before popping them in the oven, fill the empty spots up about 1/4 of the way with water to ensure even baking of the batter.
  7. After removing the donuts from the oven, I took them out of the tin as soon as I could so they would cool faster and so I didn’t burn my fingers on the pan. I just dumped them out on a clean cookie sheet, but you can also use a spoon to scoop them out onto a plate or pan.
  8. If you have leftover donuts, place the donuts on top of a paper towel in a container put them in the fridge overnight. Try to make sure the donuts aren’t touching if you can.

Lifestyle Tips, Recipes, Uncategorized

Forsythia Syrup

veganlivingbydanielle

I have had wicked bad seasonal allergies since I was very young. My eyes would be so itchy I would give myself black eyes rubbing them in my sleep, I could not be outside without being a big ball of ick, itchy throat to the point of no relief… In high school, I started getting allergy shots over 5 years or so, but still need to take regular allergy meds. That is just how bad my allergies are. Still, no medicine would alleviate my itchy throat! The only thing that would help is a teaspoon of honey a few times a day. When I went vegan, I did not know what to do instead of honey. This year, I noticed a bunch of my friends posting about foraging, especially with dandelions and forsythia flowers. I started to look more into some of these recipes and found blogs saying using forsythia flowers can help with allergy relief! Luckily, I have forsythia bushes in my backyard that already bloomed and were not treated with fertilizer or any other chemicals, so I tried right away! (For more seasonal allergy relief tips, check out this blog post: https://www.earthpothecary.com/blogs/news/allergy-season)

 

I use the syrup to sweeten teas and other foods. Sometimes I will have a spoonful of the syrup if my throat is itchy.

 

Why is honey not vegan? Here are some main points, but you can read more here: https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/honey-industry

  1. It is a product that comes from a living being. Vegans do not eat animal flesh or anything that comes from a living being.
  2. Many bees can die or be badly injured when humans collect their honey.
  3. Commercial industries and some local producers artificially inseminate (rape) the queen to breed more worker bees.
  4. Bees make honey to survive through hibernation. It is not ours to take, they are not our slaves, working to make something for us to steal from them.

 

Tips for how to harvest:

  • Make sure there are no bugs on the flowers you are picking! I found a few bees close by and some ants in the flowers. It would not be vegan if I accidentally got bugs in it!
  • Just pick the flower, no twigs.
  • Do not press the flowers down into the measuring cup. Just pluck them and put them right in the cup.
  • Make sure the flowers you are harvesting have not been treated with any chemicals.
  • When you bring the flowers in, do not rinse them! Having the pollen on the flowers helps your allergy relief just like local honey has pollen in it.
  • The recipe calls for 2-3 cups of flowers. I like to use 3 cups for a slightly stronger flavor, darker color, and potentially slightly more relief. The relief part is probably mental.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 cups forsythia flowers
  • 4 cups water
  • 1-2 cup sugar (I prefer 1 cup of brown sugar which very closely resembles the sweetness and taste of maple syrup.)
  • something to steep tea in
  • small/medium sauce pan

Directions:

  1. Pick 2-3 cups of flowers.
  2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a tea kettle or saucepan. (You can add less water if you would like a bit of a stronger flavor and your mixture to be more syrup-y and less watery.)
  3. While boiling, place the flowers in a tea pot or a heat-safe bowl to steep. I have a tea infuser so I can pour the liquid out without having the flowers come out too. If you do not have one, any heat-safe bowl is fine as long as you can cover it. You can strain the flowers out later.
  4. Pour the boiling water over the flowers.
  5. Steep overnight to make it nice and strong.
  6. Strain the flowers out of the “tea.”
  7. Pour the “tea” into a saucepan and add sugar.
  8. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes stirring frequently to avoid burning.
  9. Allow the mixture to cool and pour into a Tupperware container or mason jar.
  10. Store the syrup in the fridge.

Enjoy! I hope this helps soothe your allergies as well!

Syrup
This recipe yielded about 6 of these jars

FDA Disclaimer:  The statements made regarding these products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information presented here is not meant as a substitute for or alternative to information from health care practitioners. Please consult your health care professional about potential interactions or other possible complications before using any product. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act require this notice.

Recipes, Uncategorized

Meatless Melt

veganlivingbydanielle

I’ve been loving making grilled cheeze lately. However, I’ve been following low carb macros lately for summer prep – as long as summer isn’t cancelled this year! I was wondering how I can add more protein to the meal and thought about the plant based deli slices from Lightlife! Perfect.

 

Sammie 2 | Meatless Melt

This is less of a “recipe” and more of an idea and steps to “create” the sandwich.

I used Lightlife “turkey” deli slices, Dave’s Killer Bread (low-carb), Violife Cheddar Cheeze, and Earth Balance butter. You can use mix up the cheeze flavor and the type of plant based deli slices to add some variety. Most bread is vegan. You can use apps like these to double check. Usually dairy and eggs have to be listed as allergens at the bottom of the ingredients list like “Contains: Milk.” You can also look for margarine this same way.

Ingredients for the sandwich

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices of bread
  • 2 slices of cheeze (more or less slices depending on your preference)
  • 4 slices of plant-based deli slices (more or less slices depending on your preference)
  • 2 Tbsp vegan butter
  • mustard, optional
  • vegan mayo, optional
  • sliced tomato, optional

Directions:

  1. Take out a small frying pan and put it on the stove over med-low heat.
  2. Take out 2 slices of bread.
  3. Butter one side of each slice of bread.Buttered Bread | Meatless Melt
  4. Once the pan is warm, put one of the slices of bread, butter side down, on the pan.
  5. Layer the cheeze and deli slices on the bread in the pan. Use as many slices of deli slices and cheeze as desired. I layered 1 cheeze, 2 deli slices, 1 cheeze, 2 deli slices. Layers | Meatless Melt
  6. Add any additional toppings here! I topped with mustard, I would have added vegan mayo if I had it too. Adding a slice of tomato here would also be very yummy!
  7. Place the last slice of bread on top, butter side up.
  8. Let it cook for about 3 minutes and then flip.
  9. Keep cooking and flipping until both sides of the sandwich are golden brown and crispy.
  10. Remove from the pan and cut the sandwich in half, if desired.
  11. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

Serving suggestion: with a warm cup of tomato soup! Campbell’s original tomato soup is vegan, just cook it with water or unsweetened original non-dairy milk.

Macros: 38g carbs, 15.5g fat, 20g protein

Layered | Meatless Melt

Recipes, Uncategorized

Tofu Scramble

veganlivingbydanielle

I’ve been loving tofu scramble! I call it tofu scrambie for fun. So good for breakfast and one container of tofu lasts me for about 2-3 breakfasts.

That Tofu Thing

I bought myself a tofu press for Christmas and it’s amazing! I used to squeeze the water out and soak the excess water with paper towels. Very wasteful, but it works…The tofu press squeezes the water out all the way which makes it cook more evenly. It really helps if you grill or fry it up. For this recipe, you don’t have to go too crazy getting the excess liquid out, it just takes a bit longer to cook thoroughly.

Gather spices: turmeric for color, salt or egg salt/black salt, and pepper.

Spices

Plate

Directions:

  1. Drain tofu of liquid and squeeze as dry as possible.
  2. Cut the tofu into cubes.Tofu
  3. Warm frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
  4. Add oil to the pan.
  5. Saute veggies if desired. Some of my favorites are onion, broccoli, mushrooms.
  6. Once warmed, add the tofu to the pan and mash with spoon.

  7. Add a small dash of turmeric for color and mix until all tofu is yellow.
  8. Add a few tablespoons of unsweetened , plain soy milk to keep the tofu from getting too dry.
  9. Add a dash of garlic if desired.
  10. If you have black salt/egg salt, you can use in place of the salt. I recommend about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp and mix.
  11. Add salt and pepper to taste either while it’s still in the pan, or upon serving.
  12. Dress them up like you would scrambled eggs!

Enjoy!!

Lifestyle Tips, Uncategorized

Free Vegan Mentor Program

veganlivingbydanielle

UPDATE Feb 2023: Sadly, this program dissolved a few years ago. However there are similar programs out there, but I don’t have experience with them.

Vegan Outreach: https://veganoutreach.org/vegan-mentorship-program/ 

I volunteer with PETA’s Vegan Mentor Program and highly recommend signing up to receive a mentor if you need help going vegan. It’s totally free!

You’re sent a packet of information about going vegan and assigned a mentor who is available to answer questions and guide you along your journey to veganism via phone call, text, email, video chat…however you prefer.

Since I started last year, I’ve mentored about 11 new vegans. We share recipes, tips on how to face new challenges, and resources to answer your questions.

Sign up today and your free mentor will help you go vegan at your own pace. No pressure! Sign up here!

Already vegan? Interested in becoming a mentor? PETA is always looking for volunteer mentors. E-mail KeithB@peta.org with “Vegan Mentor” in the subject line to get started.