Peppermint Black Bean Brownies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Brunch, Cakes, Candy, Cookies, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 7 Comments

Peppermint Black Bean Protein Brownies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

Peppermint Black Bean Protein Brownies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

I feel like my kitchen switches from pumpkin over to peppermint in a matter of days.  The tree is up.  Cards are mailed.  Presents purchased and now it’s time to start baking pepperminty good treats. Actually, healthy vegan and gluten free treats that are protein-packed for recovering muscles.  Swimming is underway and my voracious daughter craves protein-packed snacks before and after practices plus after running and cycling we all need protein.  These are great for on-the-go eating.  Plus, they are healthy and no one will know the better.

Now I know there are like a million and one black bean brownie recipes out there but these are just a decadent little bites packed with mint flavor.  Go big or go home and I went big with the flavor.  Plus I just received some new VegaOne protein powder that I wanted to give a whirl in a not-so-traditional smoothie recipe and it worked perfectly!!!  Ohhhh I may need to step away from the brownies or go for another run.  Ha!

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— Knead to Cook

Vegan Garlic Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Running/Races, Side dish, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vitamix, Wheat Free 6 Comments

Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Vegan Garlic Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes | Knead to Cook.

Happy December!!!  As much as I don’t love snow, I do love this month.  It’s my birth month, Christmas, downtime with family, laughing with friends, sharing gifts and most of all, spending time with the most special people in my world.  Today is Cyber Monday and I will, I’m sure, get roped up into that and buy a few more gifts.  My Christmas cards get mailed today as it is officially December and I’ll finish up my gift list as soon as possible.

Today, however, began with a run in shorts but more about that later in the blog post below.  For now, I discovered this recipe from The Blender Girl and knew I had to try it for Thanksgiving but my version.  It was a huge success without anyone realizing it was vegan (gasp!).  My immediate family embraces vegan dishes I make but my in-laws shy away quite a bit.  I made these right after my run on Thanksgiving and no one was really around to see what I put in or didn’t into this dish.  Everyone loved them.  Success!

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— Knead to Cook

Our version of black Friday…

by Filed Under: Holiday, My story., Running/Races 2 Comments

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I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with tons of laughter, joy and great food.  We enjoyed our family, celebrated my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday and had a ton of wonderful vegan food (and some non-vegan food for the carnivores).  Lots of leftovers we’ll be snacking on for many days to come.  I will be sharing a wonderful new recipe I tried that totally fooled all my carnivores at our Thanksgiving table.  That will be posted shortly.

But for now… this is how we do Black Friday.  We go tree hunting.  It’s the one day I truly look forward to  all year long. I don’t rush any holidays. But admittedly, Christmas is a fave. It’s changed quite a bit since my kids are older but there are some traditions I’m clinging on to. This is one!

Horse-drawn carriage rides are the best.
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— Knead to Cook

Cranberry Orange Relish. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Fitness., Fruit, Gluten Free, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vitamix Leave a Comment

Cranberry Orange Relish.

Cranberry Orange Relish | Knead to Cook.

Thanksgiving is this week!  I still can’t believe it.  The east coast had record heat yesterday – we were in NYC for the day for some meetings and some meet-ups with good friends.  And tomorrow we are expecting 5-8 inches of snow.  Ha!  Then back up to the 60’s – talk about crazy weather.  But snow the day before Thanksgiving means that my company arrives tonight instead of tomorrow and we rush like crazy people to clean up the house, prep food, grocery shop etc. etc. etc.  I’m so excited to see everyone and hang out and just relax, laugh and eat!

I made my traditional cranberry orange relish today but made it a bit healthier without refined sugar.  It’s cooling now but I already snuck a taste and it’s so good.  In the oven I’m roasting brussels sprouts.  I also made a cranberry jalapeño salsa to snack on plus got the kitchen cleaned.  Doing well or at least I keep telling myself that.
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— Knead to Cook

Balsamic Dijon Tempeh. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Beans, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Balsamic Dijon Tempeh.

Balsamic Dijon Tempeh || Knead to Cook.

Tempeh is one of my favorite vegan proteins.  I know, originally, I was terrified of it but once I learned that it is similar to cooking traditional chicken or pork – I switched my mindset and went with that for seasonings etc.  The first thing that’s a must is steaming it to take away the bitter flavor.  This recipe I marinated for 2 days, actually forgot about it until last night.  It was perfect atop our arugula greens and is such an easy and tasty protein.  Super easy dinner and great for leftovers.  Plus crumbling it works great too!
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— Knead to Cook

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Madagascar Vanilla Frosting. Vegan and Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cakes, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Party Foods, Product Review., Snacks, Vegan, Wheat Free 4 Comments

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Madagascar Vanilla Frosting. Vegan and Gluten Free | Knead to Cook.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Madagascar Vanilla Frosting. Vegan and Gluten Free | Knead to Cook.

Yesterday was pretty close to perfection in my food world.  I was at my favorite health food store and stumbled upon Bob’s Redmill’s gluten & dairy free 1 to 1 baking flour that they just released.  This is like winning the lottery for me as I’ve been dying to try it but have been too busy to order it online. Then once I got home, I received two containers of a vegan/gluten free icing that I was asked to sample.  Dollop Gourmet and I met up on Instagram and it was instantly love.

Today I had NO appointments. A rare day.  I’ve been planning and plotting my Thanksgiving menu (well the vegan/gf options) and these will undoubtedly be on the dessert menu. The flour is heavenly!  I’m not exaggerating.  It doesn’t have the weird gluten free aftertaste. It tastes like regular all-purpose, NORMAL flour!  You have no idea how happy this makes me.  Plus its a one-to-one conversion so I can take my normal recipes and go for it.  I’m smitten.

Now to pair that awesome flour up – these pumpkin cupcakes HAD to have some icing.  I topped them off with the Madagascar Vanilla icing.  Unbelievable!  It is so good that I had to walk away!  I think I could sincerely eat all 10 cupcakes I made if I didn’t have some will power.  If I ran 10+ miles I may have given myself a pass but I didn’t today so it wasn’t happening.  And I did make these for my oldest and I know she is going to love them.  Both reviews are NOT being sponsored.  These are both products that I will stock my pantry with and use daily!

Now onto this yummy recipe…
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— Knead to Cook

Vegan and Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Potatoes, Running/Races, Side dish, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Vegan and Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole.

Vegan and Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole | Knead to Cook.

This Thanksgiving my husband is vegetarian.  I’m vegan.  My oldest is dairy and gluten free.  I started to think about our Thanksgiving menu, because we host, and I knew I had to revamp my sweet potato casserole recipe because its the one dish my kids clammer over.  Today I opted to do a test run of subbing out the dairy and flour to make sure they love it and that everyone else will too.  I take some heat about my vegan diet and I don’t want anyone to feel like my dishes are boring and flavorless because they are vegan.  Vegan food is so flavorful!  No one will miss the decadence with this dish… it is so good.  #thankful

I served this for dinner last night and my family loved it.  So thankful for no complaints (especially from my youngest).  The revamp was a success!

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— Knead to Cook

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Condiments, Dips, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Nuts, Party Foods, Pasta, Running/Races, Salads, Sauces, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vinaigrette, Vitamix 2 Comments

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce. Vegan.

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce. Vegan. Knead to Cook.

You don’t have to give up rich, creamy sauces when opting to eat a vegan diet.  This sauce would rival any dairy cream sauce but is a healthier, protein-packed version.  I made this sauce to top pasta but it could easily be used for a dip for veggies, crackers or chips.  My husband also used this as a spread on his sandwiches.  You an even top your salad greens with it.  The uses are endless.  You adjust the spices so it is totally customizable.  Meatless Monday just got a whole lot easier. Prep this sauce (soaking your cashews) and store in the fridge all week and use in various ways throughout the week.
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— Knead to Cook

Vegan and gluten free protein blondies.

by Filed Under: Beans, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix 5 Comments

Vegan Gluten Free Blondies

Vegan Gluten Free Blondies | Knead to Cook.

These blondies have been a favorite of my girls for about 3 years.  I normally make them during swim season for a protein-packed snack post swim practice.  Today, I revamped a bit by adding additional protein, thanks to Vega these are even better now and a great protein source from the chickpeas, nut butter and the vegan protein.  My kids have NO idea whats in these and don’t care.  They just devour and I stand back and smile.  I made the batch half and half.  Half with vegan Enjoy Life chocolate chips and half without for my husband who is allergic to cocoa.  They are moist and delicious.  The perfect after-school, after-practice or after-dinner dessert.
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— Knead to Cook

Rustic Oatmeal Cookies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Wheat Free 4 Comments

Rustic Oatmeal Cookies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

Rustic Oatmeal Cookies. Vegan and Gluten Free.

I recently purchased Cara Reed’s Decadent Gluten Free Vegan Baking Cookbook.  I’ve tried several recipes and gave her Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies a try but with a few modifications.  Also, her recipe didn’t yield a cookie “dough” for me more of a granola type texture so I adapted the added fat to make it work better.  This is one gluten free recipe that the dough tastes as good as the finished product.  The dough is safe to eat because there are no raw eggs in this batter.  These would be perfect for the upcoming holiday season. By adding some dried, tart cherries or dried cranberries along with some pistachios would be a fun red/green cookie.
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— Knead to Cook