What you need

• 2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked overnight (soaking enables you to absorb more nutritients and digest them more easily)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 lemon, juice and zest
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small bunch broccoli sprouts (or other herbs, optional)

How you make it

This one is all in the wrists – otherwise known as a food processor. First, rinse the soaked macadamia nuts through a strainer and add to your food processor. Begin to process while slowly adding water. Be sure not to use too much liquid. You are looking for a cream cheese like texture. Scrape the sides down and pulse and blend until a good paste is formed. Add the other ingredients, continuing to scrape the sides of the processor, pulsing and blending, until all ingredients are well blended. Taste and adjust ingredient amounts as desired.

You can use this recipe for crackers, pasta dishes or as a dressing for savory main dishes as I did here, or adjust using sweet spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg for a dessert or fruit appetizer accompaniment.

Enjoy!

Tonight, I had one of those occasions. I chose Vanilla Bean Hempmilk Cream this time, but also enjoy rice milk cream or my favorite, coconut milk cream. Coconut milk cream is still an indulgence. I’d love to pretend it’s low-fat, but no such luck. Still, I’m fortunate. Because I regularly eat a healthy, whole-food, plant-based diet and exercise 4 or 5 times a week, I don’t really have to worry about fat. On average, I’ve found that my expeditions into the land of non-dairy desserts offer far superior richness of flavors and are far creamier than most of the traditional ice creams I’ve explored.

It’s really the leisurely visit to the ice cream store that I miss the most. I’m still waiting for someone to open a shop of non-dairy healthy frozen desserts that I can eat to bring that experience back to me. Ann?

In the meantime, here are ten healthy topping recipes I use at home to make vanilla “ice cream” go from good to heavenly. Still use ice cream? Learn about all the great reasons to explore the alternatives. Feel free to mix and match to find your own divine inspiration. I use a lot of molasses, because it’s loaded with minerals and just so darned good for you. If it’s too strong for your taste, try a milder natural sweetener like agave nectar, brown rice syrup or maple syrup. They’re much better at preventing those highs and lows that come along with processed, bleached sugars.

1) Morning Mint

• 1 Tbsp dark molasses
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh mint leaves, chopped

2) Berry Tart

• 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
• 1 Tbsp frozen apple juice concentrate
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup water

Bring all ingredients to boil and reduce to thick liquid

3) Coconut Cookie

• 1 - 2 Tbsp raw coconut flakes
• 1 – 2 Tbsp raw macadamia nuts
• 1 Tbsp dark molasses

4) Gingerbread Dream

• 1-2 Tbsp candied ginger, with sugar rinsed off and chopped
• 1 Tbsp molasses
• 1 Tbsp raw almonds or pecans, chopped

5) The Great Outdoors

• 1 – 2 Tbsp granola (check ingredients carefully – avoid heavy syrups!)
• 1 Tbsp goji berries, chopped
• 1 Tbsp currants
• 1 Tbsp cashews, chopped

6) Grandma’s Applie Pie

• 1 Tbsp apple sauce
• 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp coconut milk or light coconut milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Heat and blend all ingredients over low heat to drizzly perfection

7) Wait, did I say 10?

Insert your ideas here…

There are so many great ideas, I’d love to hear yours.

Drop me a suggestion and I’ll round out the last few.

Warning! I rarely measure anything when I cook, so these amounts are approximate. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the amounts. Let me know how it works out.

What you need

Filling

• 2 cups dates
• 1 cup prunes
• 1/2 cup figs
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup hot water

Crust

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup turbinado sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish.

Next prepare your crust. Combine flours, flax seed, baking soda and salt. Stir in oats, applesauce, margarine and sugar until ingredients are well blended and mixture is crumbly.

Then combine all filling ingredients except water in a food processor and mix. Slowly add water until ingredients are well blended and you have a thick paste.

Add half the crust mixture to the baking dish and press evenly. Spoon the filling on top of the crust layer. Tip! Use a wet rubber spatula to prevent the filling from sticking and making a mess of your crust while you do this. Finish with a layer of crust mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool then cut into squares and enjoy.

And even my steak-and-potato dad loved the Thanksgiving Pot Pie which Vegetarian Times lists as low calorie as well as delicious.

The Fruit and Toasted Almond Stuffing wasn’t as much of a hit, but still managed to get eaten after a couple meals of leftovers. Don’t you love the week after Thanksgiving? For the first time since going vegetarian five years ago, I felt like I ate as much as everyone around me. I’m satiated and love it.

The real hit of the party was Rachel’s cupcakes. At fourteen, she’s already a rockstar. Not vegan so I didn’t get to try them, but how beautiful was the presentation? I mean – seriously? Amazing.

I have to thank Vegetarian Times for much of this year’s Thanksgiving inspiration. Vegetarian Times is a great magazine for vegetarian, and even vegan, inspiration. Subscriptions are a bargain on Amazon.com right now if you want to pick one up. I gave some as Christmas gifts this year to folks I know that have been wanting to eat healthier and are looking for new recipe inspiration. There’s still dozens of recipes I need to try. With 27 recipes in the latest issue, 20 of which are vegan, I could almost try a new recipe every day for the next year straight out of the magazine. Hmmmm – something to think about for 2010?

Happy eating in b-e-d (aka browse the recipes)…

Chocolate Mousse Pie

This recipe was inspired by a great dish on VegFamily called Amazing Chocolate Mousse Pie. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t bother changing anything in the filling because it was perfect just the way it was. The crust, however, was problematic for me. I still find it difficult to add dextrose directly to a recipe while trying to call it healthy. I thought we were trying to avoid that stuff, right? So I experimented using dates and agave nectar instead with mixed results. The crust wasn’t moist enough with my first experiment. While tasty, the crust was more of a “crumble”. The second attempt, I mixed the dates longer in the food processor to make a paste before adding the crackers. I also added water. That worked much better, but I still wouldn’t say it’s the perfect graham crucker crust. If you have a favorite graham cracker crust recipe that approaches healthy, let me know. I’m still on the hunt.

Alas, I was never able to find graham crackers without honey either so while still healthier than traditional mousse pies made with heavy cream and sugar – this one isn’t vegan either. I went to multiple stores including two natural grocers. Someone tell me where to find graham crackers without honey in Denver!

What  you need

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 cup dates
• 1/2 package graham crackers
• 1 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1/4 cup water

Filling

• 1 package semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
• 1 package firm silken tofu (the boxed kind)
• 1/4 cup Kahlua (I used cheaper Kamora and didn’t sacrifice on flavor)
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla

How to make it

We’re going to start with the crust ,so you have something into which you can pour the filling. Preheat oven to 375. Place dates in a food processor and blend until a thick paste. Add graham crackers and process until crumbled. Add agave nectar and water until mixture sticks together.

Lightly spray a 9 inch pie pan or similar size rectangular baking dish. Press the crust into dish and bake for 8-10 minutes, then cool while preparing the filling.

Start your filling by melting the chocolate chips. I don’t have a lot of fancy kitchen equipment like a double broiler. If you do, go for it. If you don’t, just use two medium saucepans on top of each other. Put a couple cups of water in the bottom saucepan over medium-low heat. Place the second saucepan over the first and add your chocolate chips to it. Stir frequently until completely melted.

Meanwhile, add the rest of the filling ingredients to a food processor.When chips are melted, add them to the food processor and blend all ingredients well.

Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. This one can easily be made the night before.

My family and friends were delighted with this dish. Most agreed that the filling resembled a smooth and creamy fudge – sufficiently decadent to be satisfied with just a few bites.

What you need

The cake (inspired by Bianca from Yahoo! Answers)

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup softened margarine
• 1 cup turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 oz beet juice (I have a juicer and simply bought fresh beets – this was the juice of one beet)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

 The frosting (inspired by MyVeganPlanet.com)

•  8 oz vegan cream cheese, softened (I used Tofutti brand)
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 4-6 cups powdered confectioner’s sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cup pour the almond milk and add the lemon juice and vinegar. Let sit while preparing the next dew ingredients. This curdles the milk, making “buttermilk”. Cream together the margarine and sugar and then add the applesauce.

In a small bowl mix together cocoa and beet juice to form a slight paste. Add it to the creamed mixture. Mix the flours, salt, baking soda and powder together and add it to the batter alterately with the ‘buttermilk’ in three batches mixing after each addition. Add vanilla extract. Pour batter into 2 greased cake pans (I used rectangular) and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool on racks while making the frosting. Simply beat the butter, vanilla, and cream cheese until smooth.  On a medium speed setting, mix in the sugar about 2 cups at a time.

This cake is great served in layers. Simply frost between the layers, then frost the top and sides.

Thanks to Zeke Koch for providing this simple, yet elegant recipe for Vegan Truffles.

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

What you’ll need

• 1 pound of bittersweet chocolate. Check the labels and find one you’re comfortable with.
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup water
• Flavoring of your choice (optional)
• Cocoa powder, crushed almonds or other dusting of your choice

How to make it

You can check out Zeke’s original instructions on RecipeZaar. They are pretty straightforward – basically, you’re going to:

• melt the chocolate
• blend the cashew cream
• fold the two together til you get the desired consistency
• chill for a couple hours
• roll the chocolate into bite-sized truffles
• lightly dust with cocoa powder, almonds or other

I don’t have a double-boiler to melt the chocolate, so I simply used two saucepans on top of each other with about an inch of water in the bottom pan on low-medium heat.

Macadamia Creme with Black and Red Seedless Grapes and Fresh Mint

It took three experiments with this recipe before it resembled something I was willing to call my own. Truthfully, this can’t be called a healthy recipe. However, if you have a need for sweets – this recipe is a good option if you want or need to stay away from dairy cream or eggs.

Raw macadamias can be hard to find. I was hoping to pick some up on my trip to Hawaii early this month, but they seemed easier to find in Denver than they were in Honolulu. If you find dry roasted, try it out and let me know how the recipe goes.

I served this at a wine and food charity event this past weekend with strawberries and a Shiraz Port. Later I paired it with the leftover grapes from the Rose and it was fabulous. Then I tried it with the leftover Vegan Chocolate Truffles from the Cabernet Sauvignon and it was divine. My roommate and best friend recommended an entire chapter devoted to breakfast foods that contain it – blintzes, waffles, pastries, you name it. I’m looking forward to the experimenting for that one. Let us know about your favorite exploits.

What you’ll need

• 1 cup raw macadamia nuts toasted in a 350 degree oven, constantly and lovingly turned to a golden brown perfection (or buy dry roasted to start with if that sounds dauting to you)
• 1/2 cup almond milk (I make my own – it’s incredibly easy and you’ll save money) or buy your favorite dairy alternative
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup canola oil

How to make it

First, grind the macadamia nuts to a fine powder or paste  – I use a coffee grinder. Or try a spice mill or food processor. After having tried this a few times and getting it wrong, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of this step before combining the nuts with any other ingredients. Having a fine nut powder creates a fine paste which will create an exceptionally creamy sauce.

Combine the nut powder with your milk alternative and blend for a couple minutes. I used a food processor and scraped the sides multiple times during blending to get the smoothest creme possible.

Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and continue to blend and scrape. Feel free to substitue whatever spices or flavors sound good to you at this step depending on what you’ll be serving with the creme.

Add the coconut oil and canola oil and continue to blend. If you don’t want a coconut flavor, use canola oil or other oil of your choice.

When finished blending, pour the mixture into an air-tight container and refridgerate for at least a few hours – preferably overnight.

Serve with fruit, pancakes, chocolate pudding or other sweet delights. Let me know about your experiments!

Happy eating in b-e-d…

Stewed Plums served with Tempt Vanilla Bean Hempmilk Cream

• pitted plums
• water
• agave nectar
• fresh lemon juice
• apple juice
• cinnamon stick

Boil ingredients together, then let simmer for about 30 minutes, until plums are cooked through and sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Plums have a lot of natural pectin – the longer you cook them, the thicker the sauce will get.

Tip: this is the same basic recipe as Plum Jam. Try either of them with any flavor variations that sound good to you. I’ll be trying my jam with all the mint I harvested! Stay tuned for results.

I served the plums on Tempt vanilla bean hempmilkcream. I bet it would also be good on french toast.

Here’s one she shared with me for frosted brownies.

I made these a few times but each time I had to tweak the icing a bit. Play around with it; raw recipes really depend on quality of ingredients at hand, so make sure the avocado is ripe when you start… then play with the sweetness of the icing as you go and keep tasting until you find it to be just right.  Again, these could be made into cupcakes instead of brownies… divine !

- Marina

What you need and how to make it

Brownie

• 1 c walnuts
• 1 c dates
• 1/4 c cocoa pwd.
  Food process the brownie ingredients until blended and dry chunky.Press into a small pan, put aside.

Icing

• 2 avocados
• 1/3-1/2 c agave nectar
• 1/4 c cocoa pwd (note: I added more, more like 1/2-3/4 cup -VERY chocolatey )
• 2 T coconut oil
• 1 T vanilla extract
• dash sea salt
• dash cinnamon
  Put all icing ingredients into blender or food processor, and blend on hi till smooth

Spread icing over brownies and pop in freezer to set for 1 hr. then cut into 12 pieces.