Freshly Vegetarian: Ashley See on Transitioning to A Vegetarian Diet, Including Tips, Health Benefits & Recipes

It's tough to beat Northwest farmers markets in the summertime. Booths are overflowing with peaches, berries, tomatoes and corn. Which reminds me to re-make Smitten Kitchen's tomato and corn pie -- a pie that presented many firsts for me: my first savory pie, my first homemade vegetarian meal, even my first meal with in-season tomatoes from the market!

Mmm...sweet thoughts of how superior summer tomatoes are.

That's enough about tomatoes though, as this isn't a tomato cobbler (but if that interests you then Lottie + Doof and Ellen Fork both have lovely recipes). Back to peaches.

You see, I spent my morning with The Grand Central Baking Book -- and by spent, I mean scanned every recipe I had previously marked as a must-make, nearly every recipe in the book, so it can be returned to the library on time -- which was when I stumbled upon the peach cobbler recipe. Given that my fruit bowl overfloweth with the juicy fruit, it was perfect timing.

So a little vegan-izing and gluten-free'ing later, I had myself a tasty peach cobbler that's worthy of filing in my favorite summer desserts. And yes, I am eating dairy, gluten, wheat and soy-free these days in attempt to try and identify a food allergy. While this won't be forever, I'm definitely learning how to adapt and prepare food in a new way. If you prefer, you can certainly use all-purpose flour and butter to replace my adaptations.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Remember when I said I would be blogging some recipes from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day soon? Soon is now. You see, yesterday was Thursday and my biweekly healthy baking adventure continues as I make morning treats for my dad's colleagues.

Oatcakes are seemingly everywhere. If you haven't heard of them, no pasa nada, I hadn't either until recently. However, once they hopped on my radar they were there to stay. I can't seem to shake 'em! Every bakery I peer in has them showcased; every farmers market has them featured...heck, even my local co-op is selling them as an afternoon pick-me-up! Despite this influx, it wasn't until I heard a gal pal proclaim her love for oatcakes that I figured it was time to find out what the big deal was.

Now I know.

I cannot decide if these make for a better breakfast, snack or dessert. They're light enough to be eaten after breakfast without messing up lunch, yet strong enough in sweetness to pass a dessert They're also portable enough to survive as a purse riding snack, hello healthy airplane food! Whenever you choose to eat them is up to you (if you're me then that's within 45 seconds of pulling them out of the oven), just make sure you have a hot cuppa something to wash them down with.

Smitten with the comforting taste these oatcakes pack, there was something about these that tasted familiar. It's warm...it's maple syrup-y...it's French toast! So I think it's fair to say: if you love French toast, you'll love these oatcakes. Pretty impressive for a recipe that doesn't call for a flake of cinnamon, eh?

Also impressive? These oatcakes have 5g of fiber and 5g protein in each cake.

 

For those with special dietary concerns, I think these oatcakes are pretty flexible. I already substituted the eggs , so if you want to completely veganize them then you could easily leave the butter out and use all coconut oil. I don't know a lot about gluten-free diets, so if you're gf and use this recipe then let me know what tweaks you made. Lastly, if concerned about sweetness, see my notes after the jump.

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Sometimes you need a reminder that tropical places do exist, and are likely warmer than where you are. Often times, crawling out of bed when I can see frost on the windshields from my bedside is a challenge; however, having a tropical warm breakfast is incentive to get up and welcome the day. So ladies and gentlemen, I give you a pineapple-y treat.

If I would have never made pineapple and basil sundaes, I would have never known that basil and pineapple go together so well. So it might sound a bit weird to add basil to this, but I promise it's a good idea.

In the original recipe, from The 10 Cent Diet, which I recently discovered, Lori says this can be a breakfast, dessert or snack. With the level of sweetness, and how filling it is, I would say this isn't an ideal snack food -- unless you really dig substantial, meal-like snacks. 

And as for dessert, I prefer having sweet things earlier in the day so I'm more likely to burn it off throughout the day (Ross, an Austin-based personal trainer agrees, as does eat, drink and be vegan & apparently Fit for Life) instead of having it sit on top of dinner and digest while I'm sleeping.

 

 

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I -- you know, the same girl that was capable of eating an entire pan of cupcakes by herself within a day or two; the one that couldn't go to sleep without a taste of ice cream -- learned that I have a sugar addiction (a related and recent must-read New York Times article, Is Sugar Toxic?). You think I would have been able to admit this after devouring a plate full of frosted goodness, but denial is a mighty thing...

They say, and we all know that most things are fine in moderation. Well, this simple principle wasn't something I was raised with, so to this day it's been a challenge to get it through my thick head and into daily practice. I, unfortunately, love sweets, but far too much.

With this realized, in the last 6-8 months I have cut back on my sugar intake drastically. That family I was living with in Australia had an awesome sense of good nutrition and was kind enough to help me ween my sugar addiction. No longer living there, I'm faced with putting the self in self-control and force myself to stay on track and avoid send my blood sugar levels soaring.

Needless to say, my eyes are constantly on the roam for healthy sweet treats. The good news is that there are a ton of great blogs and cookbooks that document healthier dessert/snack options, one of my favorites being Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks. When my pops requested I bake something for a meeting with his colleagues, I turned to Heidi's blog and found a magical little cookie recipe that was a total crowd pleaser.

 

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Before I was a vegetarian, I stumbled upon a delicious and easy vegan pudding recipe that blew my socks off. I love to bake and love dig anything using whole milk, but this recipe is made with silken tofu and drop your pants amazing.

I know what you're thinking...tofu, in dessert? Gross.

I see your skepticism and raise you that I made this for my meat loving parents. They loved it! Prior to this recipe, I never understood the purpose or had the desire to use silken tofu. And while I still haven't used it in any other recipe, this one alone always leaves me with a package of soft tofu on hand.

Since a week wouldn't be complete without me blogging about Mark Bittman in some fashion, I'll quote him on this Mexican chocolate tofu pudding recipe, as I originally found it in his Bitten column. He says there's only three reasons to eat chocolate that uses tofu instead of cream:

1. You're lactose intolerant.
2. You're vegan.
3. It really tastes good.
   

 And it does.
 

 

See the written recipe after the jump.

 

Continue Reading...

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link