Weekly Rewind~Superbowl Edition

So this weekend is the Superbowl. Some people, like my husband, take this football game very seriously. Me, not so much. I am not a football fan. Not at all. I do know who’s playing, the 49ers and the Ravens. That’s where my knowledge ends however.

While I don’t really care who’s playing or about football at all, I do love any excuse to eat lots and lots of delicious food. And drink beer. Beer is good. Food is good. Beer + food = winning!

So, with all that said, I thought I’d put together a list of some plant-based friendly foods that would make a fantastic spread for Superbowl Sunday.

Cheesy Baked Vegan Jalapeño Poppers by Namely Marly

{Source: Namely Marly}

Tempeh and Black Bean Quesadillas by Bev Cooks

{Source: Bev Cooks}

Vegan Buffalo Bites by 86Lemons

{Source: 86Lemons}

Homemade Sriracha by Blue Kale Road

{Source: Blue Kale Road}

Tomato Spinach Grilled Cheese Breadbowl by Vegan Yack Attack

{Source: Vegan Yack Attack}

Speculoos Swirl Brownies by Oh, Ladycakes

{Source: Oh, Ladycakes}

Truck Stop Jo Jo Potatoes by Vedged Out

{Source: Vedged Out}

Creamy Artichoke Spinach Dip by 86Lemons

{Source: 86Lemons}

Vegan Poutine by Healthy Voyager

{Source: Healthy Voyager}

Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter by Averie Cooks

{Source: Averie Cooks}

Soft Pretzel Bites with Sesame Seeds by Herbivore Triathlete

What’s your favorite part of Superbowl Sunday? The football? Maybe the commercials? Or are you like me and love the food most of all??

Sunflower Seed Butter {homemade, vegan}

Have you ever had Sunflower seed butter? Who ever thought of this is a genius!

My kids’ school offers this delightful spread instead of peanut butter since it seems so many kids are allergic these days. My kids love sunflower seed butter and will often choose it for their lunches at school and have requested that we buy some to have at home as well.

I thought it may be difficult to find in our local grocery store since we live in a very small town, but lo and behold, I was able to find it. But holy cow, is it expensive! I took a peek at the ingredients list and thought to myself that I could probably make sunflower seed butter at home easily and for much cheaper!

I could not find any unsalted or un-roasted seeds in this particular store so I went ahead and bought the roasted and salted kind. All this means is that I won’t be adding any salt when combining the ingredients. I also happened to find small packets of vanilla sugar and picked those up as well. You could just as easily use plain sugar and vanilla extract. Two ingredients and I was well on my way to homemade sunflower seed butter!

Ingredients: Makes about 1/2 cup sunflower butter

 

• 1 cup sunflower seeds (I used roasted and salted)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

 

**Notes: You can use plain sunflower seeds and simply add salt to taste. You can also use 1-2 teaspoons cane sugar and 1 teaspoons vanilla extract in place of the vanilla sugar.**

Method:

• Add 1 cup sunflower seeds into a food processor and blend. Scrape down sides from time to time to ensure all the seeds get blended. This will take some time, mine took about 5-10 minutes, however, I have a very small food processor so if you have a larger more powerful one, this will likely go much quicker.
• Once a smooth buttery consistency is reached add up to 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar (or cane sugar plus vanilla extract). Blend until well combined.
• Transfer sunflower seed butter to a glass jar with a lid.
• Enjoy on toast or straight from a spoon!

**Store sunflower butter in fridge for up to 2 months. Do not freeze!**

Conscious Box~January

Every month I get a special package in the mail that is filled with vegan goodies. Each month a different person is the curator and puts their favorites in the box.

January features celebrity personal trainer Joel Harper. Check out his New York Times bestselling fitness books and DVDs at JoelHarperFitness.com

Past curators include; Jason Wrobel, The Vegan Zombie, Whitney Laurtisen and Brendan Brazier.

You can get either a vegan box or an eco-friendly box. There are three subscription plans, monthly, 3 months or 6 months. This makes a great gift!

Do you want to see what came in my January Vegan Conscious Box?
Let’s open it, shall we?

Each month there is a card attached to the inside of the lid with some words of wisdom and an inspirational quote. I love quotes!

Also included each month is a postcard. I think this may be my favorite so far, I am a life-long horse lover!

That’s Joel Harper, this month’s curator. On the back is information about Joel and a link to his website.



Let’s take everything out and have a closer look.

What’s Inside:

• Q.Bel Whole Grain Crispy Wafers in Minty Mint
• Maakoa Koopuwa liquid nutritional supplement
• TeeChia Blueberry Date breakfast cereal
• Peeled Snacks Apple Clusters
• Larabar Uber Roasted Nut Roll
• Pamela’s Products wheat-free, gluten-free Chocolate Brownie Mix 
• Hail Merry gluten-free, vegan Macaroons
• The Chia Co Chia Shots
• Waxelene petroleum jelly alternative
• Tea Forte MinTeas in Resist (lime mojito)
• Nutiva Hemp Seed packet
• Nordic Naturals DHA Xtra sample pack
• AmaZing Grass Kidz SuperFood drink powder
• Misc. coupons, information packets, and notecards

Soft Pretzel Bites with Sesame Seeds

I’m a huge fan of the big soft pretzels sold at the mall. I like to tear chunks off my pretzel and dip it into good ole yellow mustard. The chewiness of the pretzel and those big flakes of salt make my mouth and belly very happy.

I recently came across a copy cat recipe to Auntie Anne’s pretzels and thought, “Hey I could make those!” The recipe does take some time and planning due to the dough having to rise two times, but the wait is worth it. I decided to make pretzel bites rather than traditional pretzels.

I dunked mine in my homemade Hot Pepper Mustard, but yellow mustard would be perfect as well. I made mine savory this time around, using sesame seeds and kosher salt for the topping. These versatile little bites would be delicious as garlic, sour cream & onion, or jalapeno flavors as well. Dip them in cheese, marinara sauce or sweet mustard for a fun twist.

These pretzel bites could easily be made sweet using a cinnamon sugar blend on top, crushed almonds, powdered sugar, or add raisins to the dough! Then dunking them in caramel, fudge, or cream cheese dip.

Adapted very slightly from A Beautiful Mess

Ingredients:

Makes approximately 48-60 bites

Dough:

• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 and 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 and 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

For dipping bites:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Topping:

• 3-4 tablespoons melted butter
• Coarse salt
• Toasted Sesame Seeds

Method:

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water, allow to sit for about 10 minutes.
2. Stir sugar and salt into the yeast mixture.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine bread flour, all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Add the yeast mixture. Knead for 4-6 minutes, adding flour if the dough seems very sticky. The dough should feel elastic, soft and smooth.
4. Place dough ball in a greased bowl (use butter or non-stick spray), cover with dish towel and allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour in a warm place. (I like to turn the oven to 200° F, then turn it off and place the bowl in the oven.)
5. When dough has doubled in size, turn out onto counter dusted with flour.
6. Cut dough into 8-12 portions. Roll portions one at a time into a rope, about 12 inches long and one inch in diameter. Cut the rope into 8-12 pieces, depending on how big you want each pretzel bite.
7. In a shallow bowl, mix 1 cup warm water with 1 tablespoon baking soda.
8. Dip each pretzel bite quickly into the water & baking soda solution then transfer to a parchment lined baking pan.
9. Place pans of pretzel bites back into a warm place and allow to rise another 45 minutes to an hour.
10. Preheat oven to 375° F
11. Brush pretzel bites with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt and toasted sesame seeds.
12. Bake pretzel bites for 12-14 minutes, until slightly golden on top.
13. Remove pretzel bites from oven and allow to cool (although they were pretty damn tasty warm from the oven!)
14. Store in a sealed container for 3-4 days.

Weekly Rewind

It’s that time of the week when I share my favorites from around the blogosphere!

On Monday, Angela over at Oh She Glows posted this incredible looking Mocha Nutella. Boy do I wish I had a food processor after seeing this recipe. I know what I’m asking Santa for this year!

Cara from Fork and Beans is once again joining Brooke from Crackers on the Couch and making the 12 Days of Christmas cookies. Cara’s will be gluten, egg and dairy-free versions of Brooke’s cookies. Check out last year’s delicious cookies!

On Tuesday I was pressed for time to workout, so I did a quick workout at home. I love Fitness Blender’s Kettlebell HIIT Workout. 30 minutes of exercise burns between 8-14 calories per minute!

I’m on a quest to create a healthy and delicious homemade granola bar and happened to find this recipe on Gluten Free on a Shoestring! Who doesn’t love chocolate?

I picked up some SeaSnax at Wegmans this past weekend, and the logo is absolutely true! “Strangely Addictive”, I sure am glad I picked up a package in each flavor available!

Wednesday I read a few interesting articles. First up, this article on veganism and reduced rates of cancer. Next, I learned that Ellen DeGeneres eats eggs, but only “happy eggs” from her neighbor’s “happy chickens”.

Healthy Voyager posted a fantastic holiday gift list that’s healthy, vegan and green!

Somehow on Thursday I came across the blog, Pinch of Yum. How I have not found this site before I don’t know, but I am super glad that I did. I’m seriously considering buying Lindsay’s ebook, Tasty Food Photography. I also really like this series of posts by Lindsay’s husband, Bjork.

Thursday night my Princess goes to dance and my boy has karate. Both are at the same time (convenient right? LOL) and the hubs was working late so my father-in-law took the boy to karate and I drove my Princess to her dance class. Conveniently for me, the dance studio is across the street from the YMCA so I was able to fit in a quick 30 minutes on the elliptical. The YMCA is updating all their equipment, including their spin bikes, so I ran upstairs to get a peak at the new spin bikes, M3 Indoor Cycle by Keiser. I am so excited to go to class on Monday night to ride one of these!

Did you find any great articles on the internets this week? Any plans for the weekend?

Hail to the Kale Cheezy Herb Chips

I’ve got a busy week of cooking ahead of me, but have wanted to share my very favorite kale chips recipe for the past few weeks, so that’s what I’m doing today!

Kale chips are super easy to make and very addictive! They’re available at the grocery store but are expensive and I don’t think they’re as good as homemade, plus I can buy a three pound bag of kale for about $2 at the local Wal-Mart, this means LOTS of kale chips! I’ve tried several different kinds of kale chips and have burned my fair share in the process! This recipe is by far my favorite, I can eat the whole batch in one sitting. I don’t advise doing so however, as these are high in fat.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of kale, ribs removed, ripped into pieces, washed and dried
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Place kale pieces on a baking tray. Pour the spice blend all over kale and rub into kale pieces. No need for perfection here! Once the kale is nicely coated with the spice mixture, place baking pan into oven.

Bake at 250°F for 50 minutes. Check the kale starting around 30-40 minutes, you don’t want blackened chips! Every oven is different, so until you know how long your chips will take, better safe than sorry!

These are delicious eaten right off the baking pan. They should be eaten the same day you make them, they don’t stay crispy/crunchy. I’ve tried to dry them out really well in the oven and placed them in a container single layer, and they still got mushy and were gross the next day.

Do you love kale? What’s your favorite kale chip flavor?