Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Best of… vegan snacking.

by Filed Under: Best Vegan..., Breakfast, Brunch, Candy, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Ice cream, Nuts, Party Foods, Running/Races, Vegan, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

This week’s best of series focuses on all things vegan snacking.

So when I say vegan snacking, I wanted to share the best of great snack ideas not genetically modified *clears throat* crap that coincidentally is vegan like Oreos.  I wanted real, vegan and gluten free snacking.  I wanted to cover chips to ice cream and everything in between so everyone from sweet to salty palates are covered.

As clean as your eating is, it’s important to build in treats or desserts into your diet. Balance is key.  I shared favorites that are all gluten free and vegan.  Easily found at Whole Foods or your favorite markets (or online).  This is just a list of my top favorites and honestly the list could go on & on if you let me.

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— Knead to Cook

Banana walnut muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Banana walnut vegan & gluten free muffins. These muffins were inspired by a recipe from the Minimalist Baker.  In my house of 5, I’m constantly in an uphill battle with making healthy snacks to have on hand.  Breakfast on-the-go before school, pre or post workout fuel, snacks with lunch or after-school.  Sound familiar?  I’m always on the hunt for new recipes to work with & after the day I had yesterday (sore from my Monday TRX workout then falling on my run)… I wasn’t in the mood to get creative in the kitchen.  I wanted a tried and true recipe and this recipe hit that target.  I did make some modifications as noted below.

These muffins are packed with protein, omegas and fiber.  Each one has about 326 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7.2 grams of protein and sugars at 12 grams.  These muffins will rival your favorite coffee shop counterpart but without the overload of fats/sugars and gluten/dairy.

These muffins are perfect food gift ideas for friends, new moms or someone in need.  Hearty and quite filling.  

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— Knead to Cook

Vegetable chickpea savory pancake/omelette. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Beans, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Running/Races, Salsas & Guacamole, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vegetarian, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 2 Comments

Vegetable chickpea pancake.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

Happy President’s Day!  I will admit I was due for a long, restful weekend after many busy weekends. The weather on the east coast warmed up, unseasonably of course for PA, to around 70 and we spent most of our time outside enjoying.  AND if you follow me on Insta or Snap – you know we celebrated our oldest daughter’s 18th birthday.  We even got to run/ride on trails yesterday and it was heavenly.  Today, after an aggressive TRX HIIT workout  I kicked off my Monday with a bit of a departure from my normal tofu pudding breakfast.  Lately, I’ve been craving more savory foods & this chickpea pancake was perfect.

This was my first attempt at making a chickpea pancake/omelette type recipe and after a failed first attempt… the second one was a winner.  I’ll share my lessons learned below.  The flavor profile of this was very Mexican in nature.  I’m looking forward to experimenting more with different seasonings and veggies.  I topped this one with avocado, tomatoes and lots of hot sauce.  I’m seriously smitten with my latest creation.
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— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Ricotta Mousse. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Nuts, Party Foods, Raw, Running/Races, Snacks, Valentine's Day, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Chocolate ricotta mousse (vegan and gluten free).  Sharing one more decadent, super easy, recipe to prepare for Valentine’s Day tomorrow.


I’ll admit, I normally don’t get wrapped up in all the to-do surrounding Valentine’s Day. I’m more of a practical mind & we just wrapped up Christmas gift-giving, right?  Plus my focus has been hard and fast surrounding my oldest, who turns 18 this week, university decisions and all that.  How did I ever get this old so quickly? Ha.

I do normally get tiny, albeit thoughtful, presents for my girls and my husband.  I found these super cute felt envelopes at Target and instantly was smitten.


I filled them with fun little goodies from lip gloss, vegan chocolates etc.  I did buy several things for my husband but I can’t share quite yet as he reads my posts.  But today, I also picked up some of his favorite snack items (think nut/berry/seed blends to snack on, seaweed wasabi strips etc. and a cute Valentine to leave in his car tomorrow morning for his drive to work.  I like the thoughtful little presents that spread love.

As for dinner… I don’t really like going out to restaurants that aren’t vegan.  PLUS going out on the busiest day of the year – getting less than adequate service, being overcrowded and sub-par food isn’t our style.  SO… I’ll be cooking at home for my entire family. Not sure of the menu yet.  May go super cheesy and make heart-shaped pizzas or some other themed dinner.  Who knows.  But this will be on the dessert menu for sure.  I whipped this up on Saturday to test it out and my daughters couldn’t wait to dive in.  They both loved it.  It reminds me of a cannoli cream filling… & we all know that can’t be a bad thing.  Totally vegan and gluten free.  I was happy I special ordered a case of this vegan ricotta from a local market.  Toppings are optional.  Enjoy!
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— Knead to Cook

Almond cutout cookies. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gift ideas, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Party Foods, Running/Races, Snacks, Valentine's Day, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Almond cutout cookies that are vegan, gluten free and oh so delicious.  Looking for some simple Valentine’s Day treat to share with your Galentine? Valentine?  Or some special people in your life?  These are perfect!  You can get fancy and cut the dough out into BIG or little hearts, I didn’t use a cookie cutter just my knife, or roll into traditional rounds.  Top with melted chocolate or icing and sprinkles or leave plain. These cookies are my new favorite!

This recipe is inspired by Marco Borges.  Refined sugar-free.  Really simple to make and totally kid-friendly. Would be fun with some red or pink (even a few drops of beet juice for natural coloring) to make pink!  These cookies will replace the old butter cookie recipe ANNNNND won’t blow your gym efforts.  1 cookie is around 60-70 calories and has 2 grams of protein!

Okay without further adieu… let’s get started!
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— Knead to Cook

Cashew Banana Blender Muffins. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 11 Comments

 
Cashew banana blender muffins.  I swear I may have an addiction to making muffins in my Vitamix.  NO joke!

Once you whip up a batch of muffins in this manner, I promise, you will not want to go back to using your stand or hand mixer.  It’s literally the easiest thing on the planet and they come together instantaneously.  With a family of 5 that I cook for… we require healthy snacks to have on the counter when running late/pre or post workout, with coffee or tea & breakfast on the fly for teenagers.  I have a batch cooking in my oven right now as I type this 🙂

These muffins are refined sugar-free.  Although I use maple syrup, the banana adds a nice sweetness.  The flax/chia and hemp add omega’s and necessary fats for your diet.  Fats are critical for hormonal balance and to help keep you full longer! The benefits are endless.  Okay onto this recipe so I can go and grab mine out of the oven.

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— Knead to Cook

Vegan nachos. GF.

by Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Brunch, Dips, Giveaway!!!, Gluten Free, Holiday, Mexican, Party Foods, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Vegan & gluten free nachos.  My final recipe in my week long vegan Super Bowl party food fest.  I wanted to share several plant-based football watching foods that were easy to prepare for hosting or taking to a party.  This is quintessential football food for sure.

This recipe is super flexible, allowing you to add or remove whatever you have on hand or prefer.  Add beans in lieu of the meatless crumbles, mix up the vegan cheese, add pickled jalapeños for extra spice.  Also top with salsa, hot sauce or guac for extra food fun.  The other wonderful thing about this recipe is that you can make a small or large tray depending on the amount of food you need.  You simply cannot go wrong with this dish.

My recipe gives you what I used along with substitution ideas.  I hope you enjoy!
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— Knead to Cook

Vegan Queso Dip. GF.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Brunch, Cheese, Dips, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Nuts, Party Foods, Raw, Running/Races, Side dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 9 Comments

Vegan queso dip.  Are you planning your menu for your Super Bowl party?  Or you attending a party & need a recipe to take with you?  We will having an intimate little party with lots of yummy food – just the way I like it.  This week I’m sharing recipes for the big day that won’t blow your fitness/healthy eating.  My recipes are all super easy and most of the time with ingredients you have stocked in your pantry.  This recipe is everything.

When you migrate over to a plant-based diet, the main thing I struggled with was the lack of cheese.  I’m not a dairy/milk fan, could care less about missing bacon or hamburgers but cheese?  Yes!  I missed it.  Thankfully nowadays there are so many incredible nut-based cheeses to curb the cravings.  This dip is a spin on a classic party dish – queso dip. This dip can be incorporated into a 7 layer dip or like this, served straight up with veggies, lentil or tortilla chips.  It has a lovely smokiness & a bit of spicy kick.  Perfect paired with a cold beer for football viewing!
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— Knead to Cook

Buffalo Tofu Bites. Vegan. GF. Valentine Giveaway.

by Filed Under: Giveaway!!!, Gluten Free, Party Foods, Running/Races, Snacks, Tofu, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 27 Comments

Buffalo tofu bites.  What? Yes, the vegan version of Buffalo wings.  The Super Bowl is this Sunday and this week I’ll be sharing some football/tailgating/party foods with you all.  If you’re hosting, attending a party or having an intimate little football party – having some festive, yes festive food, always makes the game better, right?  I mean seriously, unless your team is in the Super Bowl, sadly my team is not, the game is all about the commercials and overeating all the food.  Period.  End of story.  So plant-based people of the world do like to partake in the bar-inspired snacks/appetizers and football menu items.  We don’t always eat salads but we do always eat tofu – HA!

These bites are super easy to prep.  Even my meat-loving peeps love these and let’s face it… they aren’t artery clogging and gut busting like their carnivore counterpart.  The tofu can be pressed and cooked up easily earlier in the day with the sauce made right before you serve.  Toss the bites and sauce in the pan to warm and you are good to go!  So let’s get started.
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— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Nuts, Party Foods, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 8 Comments

   

Chocolate chunk cookies hot from the oven. Vegan & gluten free.

This recipe was adapted from Oh She Glow‘s one bowl chocolate chunk cookies.  I revamped this recipe to prep all in a food processor and with less ingredients/sugars.  I’ve been making these cookies for what seems to be FORever!  My girls drool over these when they’re in the oven & safely assume that they don’t last very long on the counter.  I also adapted these sans chocolate chunk so that my husband, who is allergic to chocolate, can enjoy as well.  Both versions work perfectly.

This week I’ll be sharing a recipe a day for your super bowl party this weekend.  All will be vegan and gluten free but oh-so-delectable that none of your guests will know.  I’m all about healthy options that don’t look like celery sticks and throw everyone into a tizzy.  Super Bowl parties are supposed to be filled with stick to your ribs kinda food… my food line-up this week promises to do just that!

So no time to waste… let’s get this week started!
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— Knead to Cook