Engine 2′s October newsletter had a short list of healthy alternatives to the tradition Thanksgiving dishes. The one that caught my eye was the Pumpkin Pie recipe.

I tried this easy, vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe and absolutely loved it.  It was so light and creamy that it made me think of a mousse.

The only cooked item was the pumpkin itself. The rest of the ingredients were nuts, dates and seasonings. I think baked sweet potatoes would be a wonderful substitution for the pumpkin. Using sweet potatoes would make this pie a bit sweeter. Read more

Pears are in full swing around here in the South and with all the low hanging fruit we are preparing for homemade pear butter and pear cobblers. Read more

Yikes! It’s been awhile since my last post. Life happens and it lasted for a couple of months for me. Well, I have a great recipe to share! If you are looking for a healthy snack you can toss in your bag to eat on the go or pack in lunch boxes…I am with you and I may have what you are looking for.

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Zoku Recipe and Review

July in the south is HOT! Especially in the Texas heat. While visiting friends and family there this month I got to play with the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and make some delicious frozen pops.

I had never seen one of these little cool freezers before and instantly began a love/hate relationship. Read more

My daughter has been wanting to make donuts for a long time. We rarely buy donuts and have fried pop-biscuits only a few times in their lives, and that was a looooong time ago. I knew there was a better way.

When we came across a Whole Wheat Cake Donut Recipe she jumped on it.  We found the recipe on Heavenly Homemakers.com. We used coconut oil instead of the melted butter and opted to bake instead of fry. Read more

One of the best parts about summer time is having a Popsicle. The weather is heating up and the days of swimming are upon us…as are the “Mommy, can I have a Popsicle?”.

There is nothing like having a Popsicle poolside after a great game of Marco Polo.

But, do I really want to pump my precious children full of sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup? NO WAY! Read more

Andrea Primm is a Raw Food Chef and Instructor. She has a Raw Chocolate Cake instructional video on YouTube that is fabulous.

The cake literally took less than 10 minutes to make. After watching the video I immediately decided to give this a try in my Blendtec Blender.

The original recipe called for processing walnuts in a food processor. I do not own a food processor, but know my Blendtec can BE a food processor too. Read more

This dessert is my absolute favorite. I love bringing Vegan Pumpkin Squares to dinner parties. I always get raved reviews, especially when folks hear what’s in it…or what is NOT in it.  It is my easy ‘go-to’ dessert for a crowd. I usually double the recipe and often make two batches of a doubled recipe for a crowd.

The spices make this pumpkin dessert wonderful for the holidays and a sweet treat any time of the year.

This recipe is so simple and easy, it makes an ideal recipe for kids to help with. Clean up is super simple when all the ingredients are mixed in the blender then poured into the baking dish.

To clean your blender jar, add a couple of cups of hot water and a drop of dish soap and blend or pulse for 10-20 seconds.

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Pumpkins are showing up everywhere and they are so beautiful to keep around, until the day you discover a growing moldy spot on the back! Yuck! It is past time to cut up and cook the pumpkin.

I was given a very large pumpkin from a friend’s garden this summer (yes, this summer). I cut it up, cooked the pumpkin and froze the cooked pumpkin puree for year round pumpkin dishes.

Here is a simple ‘how to’ when processing a large (or small pumpkin).

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I was on the search for how to make a fat free pie crust for a Pumpkin Pie when I found Fatfree Vegan’s Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie. This recipe was exactly what I was looking for, but didn’t realize it until I found it.

This Vegan version of Pumpkin Pie makes it’s own crust from the batter, so no need for shortening or other fat in the crust. No crust needed. Read more

Guiltless Vegan Chocolate Muffins

Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins

I am a woman, I love chocolate. I know that’s not the best food for me…let’s be real. It’s just comfort food…aka “mommy food”.

I have been on the look out for something to satisfy my sweet/chocolate craving with hopes of it being healthy at the same time…

With a few other recipes combined and some practice baking, I came up with this  Guiltless Vegan Chocolate (Chip) Muffins. Read more

Here was my dilemma: my children wanted cookies…chocolate chip cookies. They insisted we run by the grocery store to pick up butter, because they know there is none in the house! What does a mother do? I attempt to make some with out butter. I explain that if we make cookies with butter then we can only eat a few and put them away, but if we make them healthy with out butter… we can eat the whole batch! They are all about that! That’s my little troupers!

I resisted the temptation to search google and headed straight for my Nestle recipe. It called for 1 cup of butter!!! Three-fourths cup, oh my, white sugar, oh no, eggs (well, I don’t have any at the moment)… I start getting creative and this is what I came up with. Read more

I found a recipe for a raw apple sauce on  www.laurelonhealthfood.com.  I had my little girl make it for dessert one night on video to show our viewers how simple this raw apple sauce really is. This recipe is impossible to mess up.

Our video guy thought Peach Apple Salsa would be a nice catchy title for the recipe. It was a bit hard to hear exactly what the little lady was saying…so he did the best he could. I am not a video editing guru yet…so we are stuck with Peach Apple Salsa. But, he did a great job editing! Don’t you think!?

The recipe for Peach Apple Salsa:

• 2 apples peeled and cored
• frozen peaches to equal one peach
• 3 dates (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
• 1/3 water

Blend well. Can add a little cinnamon. Quite good!

It’s nearly bed time and of course this is the best time to make a quick evening smoothie before the kids head off to bed.

Tonight my 5 year old (soon to be 6yo) wants to make chocolate pudding.

Last time we made chocolate pudding before bed the kids were up late giggling… what made me think to give them cocoa before bed…but tonight we opt for Carob Pudding.

But, it can go either way, depending on the time of day.

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We made this vegan chocolate mousse for a birthday, in addition to yummy whole wheat brownies (Hodgson Mill). We really could not believe the mousse was tofu!

We have NOT had good experiences with tofu, but when we found this recipe on the Engine 2 website, we thought we’d try it.

I have read a lot of controversy on soy products and whether they should be fermented or not fermented and which is better. I made this recipe before discovering these issues.

If soy is not a big part of your diet, this recipe is a great alternative to any processed dairy version you will find in a frozen foods section of your grocery. However, I do not recommend a diet high in soy products.

E2  Vegan Chocolate Mousse

• 1 package Silken Lite Tofu
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar

Blend all ingredients and chill for 2-3 hours.

I think next time I will add some peanut butter for variety. It takes minutes to blend and a couple of hours to chill. No one could believe it’s Vegan Dessert!

I came across this vegan chocolate recipe on http://thevoraciousvegan.com site. She titles her post as the best dessert in the world…and I must admit. I totally agree.

For all you chocolate lovers out there, you must try this dessert! The recipe is super simple and I just happen to have all ingredients on hand to make this. The recipe calls for dark chocolate, but I used baker’s chocolate and another time I used chocolate chips… Just use what you have and have fun with this recipe.

This vegan chocolate recipe makes a smooth, decadent home made Pots de Creme using coconut milk. There is no heavy cream  nor eggs in this recipe…and you get to use your blender.  This way the Creme comes out smooth and ‘Creme-y’.

Chocolate Pots de Creme

• 1 14 oz can of coconut milk
• 5 oz dark chocolate
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• splash of vanilla
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

First, into the blender jar add the chocolate (broken into pieces), agave, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  On the stove bring the coconut milk just to a simmer then pour into your blender jar. Blend until all ingredients are smooth.  Pour the chocolate goodness into little cups or ramekins. Chill for 5 hours until chocolate is firm.

I made this for a family dinner party and pulled out my girls’ little tea cups. I doubled the recipe and everyone had a little, pretty tea cup with saucer. The dessert was so rich and creamy, even the men didn’t mind eating from a tiny, flowery tea cup.

Check out my Video Page for a great instructional video on how to make:

Dairy Free Strawberry Ice Cream

• 1 cup almond milk (or dairy free milk of choice)
• 1/2 cup natural sugar
• splash of vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

Add ingredients in the order listed and blend well.

You can substitute different frozen fruit, or use fresh fruit and add ice.

If you are looking for a simple and ‘good’ dessert I have just the thing. The greatest thing about vegetarian/vegan desserts is they are usually all good and you can eat them anytime, before dinner, after dinner, before breakfast…that’s the way I like desserts…

Raw Vanilla Macaroons (or Almond Joy)

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 2 Tblsp agave nectar or honey
• 2 Tblsp nut butter (I used Natural Peanut)
• 1 Tblsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

To make this recipe alittle more joyful add:

• handful of whole almonds
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or carob chips)

Mix up the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mold into balls and freeze.

Raw Almond Macaroons

To make Almond Joy squeeze a whole almond into the center of the coconut mixture (before freezing). Freeze. Melt chocolate in microwave bowl and dip almond coconut balls in melted chocolate. Freeze again…they can be set in fridge before serving.

Almond Joy (macaroons)

I went back and doubled the recipe.