Tag Archives: vegan cooking

homemade granola bars.

have you guys ever tried larabars? at first glance, they’re just another granola bar, but the best thing about them is how simple they are. these bars contain dried fruit and nuts. that’s it. they’re vegan, gluten free, soy free, kosher, and raw.

i’ve always been a big granola bar lover, but i usually gravitate towards cheaper versions like nature valley because the price of varieties like larabar are prohibitive (the cheapest i’ve seen these is $1.29/each). besides, most bars are just claiming to be healthy when they’re really filled will all kinds of sugar and corn syrup and other crap. at that point, i think we’d all rather just eat some girl scout cookies, amiright?

we grabbed a few larabars to try for the first time this past weekend when they were on sale for $1 each. i was really impressed by the ingredient lists (their website says no more than 9 ingredients in any bar, but most of them seem to have only 2-3), and thought they’d be good for snacks this week.

as soon as we got home, we started wondering how easy (and less expensive) it might be to whip some of these up ourselves. a quick google search revealed lots of tutorials from others who had been successful in recreating many of the flavors. i don’t know why i thought it would be difficult, but i was surprised to learn that all you really need to do it make a paste out of the dried fruit, then knead it together with chopped nuts, roll out, and cut into bars!

 cherry pie “larabar”
-1 1/4 cup pitted prunes
-1 1/4 cup unsweetened dried cherries
-1 1/2 cup unsalted roasted almonds
makes 12 bars, approx. 175 calories/bar + $0.58/bar


cranberry-almond muffin “larabar”
(spin off of blueberry muffin larabar)
-1/2 cup pitted prunes
-1 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
-1/2 cup unsweetened dried apricots
-1 cup unsalted cashews
-1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
makes 12 bars, approx. 140 calories/bar + $0.38/bar

 peanut butter chocolate chip “larabar”
-1 cup pitted prunes
-1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
-1/4 of a dark chocolate bar (trader joe’s)
-1/4 tsp sea salt
makes 6 bars, approx. 135 calories/bar + $0.32cents/bar

general instructions:
1. first, add your dried fruit to a food processor. you can use either prunes or dates as a base, and then add other dried fruit to create your flavors. (the prunes and/or dates act as a binder). pulse dried fruit in the food processor until a paste forms. you want to still be able to see some chunks of fruit, but no big ones. set paste aside.
2. next, chop up your nuts in the food processor. you want the nuts to be relatively finely chopped but not fully ground into a flour. (here’s where you can add it any other ingredients, like vanilla, or chocolate chips)
3. add nuts to paste mixture and knead on a piece of wax paper or wooden cutting board until fully combined.
4. many tutorials suggest spreading the mixture into a square glass pan to let it set, but i found it difficult to get out of the pan once it was time to cut, so i’d recommend just rolling the mixture out into a rectangle between two pieces of wax paper instead. i rolled mine out into about an 8×8″ piece.
5. refrigerate for about an hour (longer if you want). this will allow them to set up a little bit and make them easier to cut.
6. remove from refrigerator and cut into desired pieces. i read that some people who make their own just roll them up into bite-size balls instead of messing with all the cutting and wrapping. if you cut into rectangles, i would suggest wrapping them in plastic wrap individually. as cute as the parchment paper and little strings are, it was a pain in the you know what. next time i make them, saran wrap it is.
[i’m unsure on the shelf life of these homemade versions, so we’re keeping ours in the fridge. i’ve read that many people make a big batch and freeze some, too]

although it was a little bit of a messy process, i’d definitely recommend trying out some homemade granola bars if they’re something you like to eat. all of the larabar flavors are pretty easy to replicate, and you can even make up your own combos like we did with the cranberry-apricot version. the real bonus of making your own is that they’re so much cheaper. without really trying to find the cheapest possible prices, we just went to trader joe’s and spent about $35 on various ingredients. yesterday, we made 30 bars, and probably only used about 1/3 of what we bought, so it’s already been cost effective. we’re planning to make this a monthly thing and i’m already excited to try recreating some of the other flavors, especially the cappuccino and the chocolate chip cookie dough. let me know if you give these a try or come up with any unique combos!

Posted in food + drink | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

{recipe of the week} overnight oats.

we always eat breakfast every morning, no matter how busy we are. occasionally during the week we’ll get up a little earlier to put together a heartier breakfast, but usually we favor simpler things: an egg on toast, english muffins with peanut butter, or overnight oats.

i loved oatmeal as a kid, but we always just had the instant kind. when a friend of ours suggested making our own oatmeal for easy breakfasts last year, i was honestly shocked to discover how easy it really was. if the rest of you have already been on the overnight oats train for a while and i’m the only one late to the game, you can ignore this post entirely.

the great thing about overnight oats (besides being easy) is that you can customize them however you want, using different kinds of milk, sweeteners, fruits, and other add-ins. below you’ll find the version that we’ve been loving lately!

ingredients:
-1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not the instant kind)
-1 cup milk/non-dairy milk of your choice (we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
-vanilla
-trader joe's cranberry apple butter (or jam/jelly of your choice, preferably something tart)
-brown sugar
-1 banana
to prep the oats:
in a medium-size container, combine 1 cup oats and 1 cup milk of your choice. if you like runnier oatmeal, you can add a little more milk, and if you like thicker oatmeal, you can add a little less. the 1:1 ratio usually works out really nice for us.
add in a little bit of cinnamon and vanilla, if you desire. i add about a teaspoon of each. stir together, cover the container, and place in the refrigerator overnight.
in the morning:
this recipe makes about 2 servings, so when you're ready to eat it, divide evenly between two microwaveable bowls. microwave on high for about 1 minute, until heated through.
once heated, add 1 tbsp cranberry apple butter, 1/2 banana (sliced), and 1-2 tsp brown sugar. stir together and enjoy!

Posted in food + drink | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

{recipe of the week} rice & lentils with caramelized onions, carrots and toasted almonds.

A couple of weeks ago we got takeout from an amazing Mediterranean restaurant, and one of the dishes we tried was called mujaddara, aka rice and lentils mixed with caramelized onions and toasted almonds. It was so delicious and unique, so this week I attempted to recreate it at home. It turned out pretty well, but still needs a little tweaking in terms of spices and such. Feel free to use this recipe as a base and try it out with your own favorite ingredients mixed in!

ingredients:
-1 cup dry lentils (any color)
-1 cup uncooked brown rice
-1 bag carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
-1/2 white or yellow onion
-1/2 cup sliced almonds
-2 cups vegetable broth
-bay leaf
-salt, pepper, and other favorite spices to taste

directions:
1. prepare the lentils. add 2 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup dry lentils to a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. once boiling, turn down the heat to medium-low and let simmer until lentils are tender, at least 20 minutes but up to an hour or so, depending on how fresh your lentils are. if you have one, add a bay leaf to the broth-lentil mixture for extra flavor, as well as some salt and pepper and any other spices you like. (i added a little bit of chili powder and garlic salt to ours).
2. prepare the rice (and carrots). if you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket on top, that’s perfect. if not, prepare your rice however you prefer (or even use minute or instant rice), and steam the carrots on the stovetop until tender.
3. prepare the onions. add 1/2 of a white or yellow onion, diced, to a small skillet and again, add your favorite spices. add garlic, too, if you have some. (i didn’t because i was lazy, but it would have been a great addition). sauté the onions on low heat in some olive oil for 10-15 minutes until they are tender and begin to caramelize.
4. toast the almonds. using the same skillet you used for your onions, add 1/2 cup of sliced almonds to the pan and heat on medium for about 5-7 minutes, until they begin to brown and are more crunchy than soft.
5. add everything from steps 1-4 (lentils, rice, carrots, onions, and almonds) to a large serving bowl, mix together, add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Posted in food + drink | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

{recipe of the week} eggplant moussaka with pine nut cream.

i meant to post this last week, but never got around to it. anyways, this recipe was definitely something new for us as we had never cooked with tofu before. in this recipe, silken tofu forms the base for the pine nut cream that goes on top of this casserole filled with eggplant, potato, zucchini and a lovely cinnamon-tomato sauce. this recipe comes from one of our favorite our favorite vegan cookbooks, veganomicon. click here to see the full recipe over on their website. we made the recipe exactly as is and it was absolutely delicious; the great thing is, it makes about 6-8 servings so you could whip this up over the weekend and easily have dinners or lunches ready for about half the week. enjoy!

Posted in food + drink | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

{recipe of the week} moroccan flatbreads with baby bok choy.

this week’s recipe also comes from the cooking light way to cook vegetarian cookbook (find it here). we got it a couple years ago for christmas from my parents, and it’s recently become one of my favorites. i can always rely on this cookbook for gourmet recipe that are simple and don’t have a crazy ingredient list. we had kind of a disjointed week since k was in phoenix for a conference and i was there on and off to hang out, so we didn’t buy many groceries for the week. luckily, we had everything on hand to make these (and you probably do, too), so we decided to cook some up for lunches the last couple days of this week.

*side note: sorry for the lack of photos on these recipe posts lately. ironically, starting this series was a way for us to practice food photography, but i always end up cooking on a morning when i’m pressed for time. i’m going to try to do these on the weekends more often so there’s time for more pictures of start to finish.

moroccan flatbreads (serves 4, serving size 2 flatbreads)
ingredients:
-1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
-3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp warm water
-9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups) *we did about half all-purpose, half whole-wheat
-3/4 tsp sea salt
-cooking spray
-2 cups chopped onion *i did about 1 1/2 cups onion and then added in 1/2 cup cucumber -1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
-2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
-2 tsps paprika
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
-1 tsp canola oil

directions:
1. dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. add flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 minutes. shape dough into a ball; invert bowl over the dough, and let stand for 15 minutes. uncover; knead dough for 3 minutes. divide dough into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a ball, lightly coating with cooking spray. cover with plastic wrap; let stand for 30 minutes. 

2. combine onion, cucumber, and next 6 ingredients in a bowl.

3. working with one dough portion at a time, carefully flatten each portion into a 6 1/2-inch circle (dough will be delicate). spoon 2 tablespoons onion/cucumber mixture into center of dough. fold sides of dough over filling. fold one short side under dough; fold other short side over dough. gently press square of dough to seal. repeat procedure with remaining dough portions and onion/cucumber mixture.

4. heat 1/2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. add 4 flatbreads to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden. transfer flatbreads to a parchment-lined platter. repeat procedure with remaining 1/2 tsp oil and 4 flatbreads. serve with lightly sautéed baby bok choy. you can eat these right away hot or refrigerate them and eat them cold the next day; they tasted great either way!

Posted in food + drink | Tagged , | 1 Comment