Making dinner healthier, one slow cooker at a time.
Here’s another inexpensive coffee house frozen drink. When I’m super busy and a little stressed out I tend to get a frap on my way to work. It’s an expensive and unhealthy habit. Once I catch up a little I always go back to making my own.
It takes about 10 minutes, has less sugar than the one from the chain and can even be made completely sugar-free by using unsweetened So Delicious Almond Plus Milk. to recipe →
It’s beautiful outside and I have all the windows and doors open. We’re decluttering and if all goes well I’ll even have the deck ready for a cocktail night next week. Spring is my favorite time of the year. It makes anything seem possible.
I like a nice frosty drink as a reward for all my hard work and this was perfect. Years ago, before I was a vegan, Starbuck’s had a blackberry green tea frapacinno that I loved. Of course, the blackberry syrup is long gone. to recipe →
I originally made this as a Valentine cocoa, but romance shouldn’t be limited to just one day. Surprise your someone special with the yummy dessert cocoa. The lavender and rose flavors blend together to form its own taste that’s not as floral as you think.
I used lavender extract which I got at Savory Spice Shop, but if you can’t find any you could fill a muslin tea bag or tea ball with 1 to 2 teaspoons of culinary lavender and add this at the beginning of cooking. This will infuse the milk with a great lavender flavor too.
I do use real sugar in this recipe, because it helps to thicken it up. The longer you cook it the thicker it will be. You can substitute stevia or agave, but the hot chocolate will be thinner.
Slow Cooker Lavender Rose Cocoa
soy-free, gluten-free
Serves 2 to 3
**Uses a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker**
Add all the ingredients and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours or on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hour.
Stir once or twice during this time with a whisk to help the chocolate mix in well. Whisk a final time and serve.
Trying to cut down on sugar? Today, it may be a little more difficult. Valentine’s day candy seems to find its way into work break rooms, lunch bags, special deliveries, and even in your own home.
What can you do? Make some yummy stevia sweetened donuts. These donuts are the perfect Valentine’s breakfast, afternoon snack, or even a cute dessert. The best part is you won’t feel deprived at all. Plus each mini-donut only has 47 calories and 1.4 grams of sugar.
After the glaze debacle the first time I made these, I decided to go for a powdered sugar look. Typically I hate powdered sugar, but this concoction is really quite good. I’ve even saved the leftovers to sprinkle on pancakes one weekend. (Maybe with a lavender vanilla syrup? hmm…)
I used cornstarch as my powder base because it’s actually used in regular powder sugar. You could probably use arrowroot or another base, but be warned that I’ve only used corn starch so far myself.
I also ground some culinary rose petals separately to get the pink color you see in the photos. The middle donut got rubbed in it and I sprinkled it on the others.
Make sure to check out my Baked Almond Donuts with Chocolate Glaze and Lemon Donuts with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting - they are all sweetened with stevia too!
Baked Lavender-Rose Donuts
soy-free
makes 12 mini donuts
wet ingredients:
dry ingredients:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another. Spray your mini donut pan with a little oil so they will be easier to get out.
Then add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until it’s mixed. Divide the batter between the 12 donut molds. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
Let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully remove. (If you don’t wait they will stick in the pan even though you oiled it.)
Take donut by the top and dip the bottom into the rose powdered stevia (recipe below). You may have to rub it in a bit to get it to stick. (Why the bottom? It has more moisture on it from cooling in the pan.)
Rose Powdered Stevia
I had The Market‘s Mint White Russian the other night. (It was one of two creamy vegan drinks on their menu!) They used homemade Kahlua and mint infused vodka. If you live in the triangle you must give them a try.
I was hesitant about the coffee mint combo but I was won over. It was so good that I wanted one again. I didn’t have any mint vodka ready to go, but I decided this warm minty drink would fill in just fine.
If you don’t have mint extract you can add a mint herbal tea bag in the beginning. You could also use semi-sweet chocolate instead unsweetened, just adjust the sweetener.
Hate coffee flavors? Try substituting Grand Mariner for an orange mint twist.
Slow Cooker Tipsy Mint-Coffee Cocoa
**Uses a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker**
Serves 2 to 3
Add the coconut milk, baking chocolate, and mint extract and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. Whisk then add Kahlua and sweetener. Whisk again and serve.
Winter CSAs are definitely an adventure. It’s an all you can eat wonderland of kale, chard, bok choy, cabbage, tatsoi, collards and even more healthy green veggies. Of course beets, lettuce, carrots, and even cauliflower are peppered into the mix too.
We didn’t get a CSA the week we got back from vacation, so I innocently bought a cabbage at the market. It was a beautiful one that looked like a cross between a green and red one. I’m sure it has a proper name, but I didn’t ask the variety. Oh, and it was huge. Somehow I didn’t notice that until I got home.
Then 4 days later I opened my CSA box to 2 more cabbages. So even with 3 cabbage recipes down I still have about 2 1/2 cabbage heads in my fridge right now. Prepare yourself for even more cabbage recipes to show up in the next few weeks. The great thing about cabbage is that it does keep well, so it won’t go to waste.
So, it’s a green extravaganza for my picky eater. But she’s actually starting to lose her intense hatred of cabbage. She liked this soup and the piroshki filling I made with tofu and cabbage (recipe coming soon).
This soup isn’t the prettiest, but the taste is really bold and delicious. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Don’t forget that this soup (as many recipes here) can also be made on the stove top instead of the slow cooker for a last minute quick dinner.
Slow Cooker Asian Corn Cabbage Soup
(soy-free and gluten-free if you don’t use the soy sauce)
4 servings
The night before: Saute the onion in oil until it turns translucent, then add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mushrooms have cooked down and released their liquid. Store cooked mixture with cut cabbage and corn in the fridge overnight.
In the morning: Add everything except sesame, sriracha and coconut aminos to the slow cooker. Cook 7 to 9 hours on low.
Before serving: Taste, add sesame, sriracha and coconut aminos. Adjust seasonings if needed.
Join Key Ingredient and make sure to friend me there.
This soup started with the gorgeous lentils above. I found them in a bulk bin at Whole Foods and fell in love. I knew that the red lentils wouldn’t stay red, but I had decided that the mixture would still look like autumn leaves after being cooked. Wrong!
I also added these beautiful purple potatoes to add to the imagined colorful mix. And, well, I was wrong again.
The soup turned out tasty and perfect for a fall day, but it looks like any other lentil soup. The mixed lentils and purple potatoes cost more than the plain ones. So use plain ones in this recipe and you won’t be disappointed. You can use any lentil you have on hand.
Vegan Autumn Lentil Soup
soy-free, gluten-free
Serves 4
The night before: Saute the onion in oil until it turns translucent, then add the garlic and cook one more minute. Store cooked mixture with other cut veggies in the fridge overnight.
In the morning: Add everything except salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Cook 7 – 9 hours on low.
Before serving: Taste, add salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings if needed.
This oatmeal reminds me off walking into one of those fudge shops on vacation where you are surrounded by those dipped apples on sticks.
They are covered with red candy coating, caramel, chocolate, white chocolate, even flavored coatings that look vaguely like chocolate but taste like peanut butter.
Some of them are even double dipped and this one is what I think a white chocolate peanut butter apple would taste like. Only not on a stick, and well, in oatmeal.
Most white chocolate is not vegan, but Peanut Butter and Co. White Chocolate Wonderful is and is my favorite way to eat it.
** Make sure to check out my other oatmeal recipes. There is no reason to get bored with your oatmeal this year!
Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Apple Oatmeal
2 to 3 servings
**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts
The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add everything to the crock. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours).
In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency. Top with extra chopped apple and/or peanuts if desired.
**See Page Link on Menu Bar to get to Slow Cooker Oatmeal FAQS
For those of you who haven’t heard Jennie Perillo, creator of In Jennie’s Kitchen, lost her husband Mikey to a sudden heart attack. She had been meaning to make him his favorite peanut butter pie, but never got around to it. She asked other bloggers to make one last Friday. This is my belated version.
Most white chocolate is not vegan, but Peanut Butter and Co. White Chocolate Wonderful is.
Slow Cooker White Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Oatmeal
2 to 3 servings
**This recipe uses a smaller slow cooker that’s 1 1/2 to 2 quarts
The night before: Spray your crock with some oil to help with clean up later. Add oats and milk. Cook on low over night (7 to 9 hours).
In the morning: Stir your oatmeal well. It may seem watery at the top but if stirred it should become a more uniform consistency. Mix in peanut butter and sweetener. Top with crushed graham crackers.
**See Page Link on Menu Bar to get to Slow Cooker Oatmeal FAQS
Tofu Bouillabaisse (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
Here’s another teaser from The Vegan Slow Cooker. It comes out October 1.
Stews are the perfect way to start using your slow cooker while you are away at work. They need the least attention and shouldn’t over cook if you come home a little late.
However, if you are going to be very late or find that your slow cooker runs particularly hot add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid to make sure it doesn’t burn. Typically, I do this the first time I cook a dish and then gauge from the result how much liquid I’ll use in the future.
Chapter 4
Steamy Stews and Curries that Save the Day
1. Soy Chorizo Black Bean Stew
2. White Bean and Kale Stew
3. Asian-Style Winter Stew
4. Veggie Gumbo with Cheater Roux
5. Mojito Pinto Beans
6. Cheater Chili
7. Tofu Bouillabaisse
8. Chinese-Style Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
9. Hard Cider and Cabbage Stew
10. Thai Red Curry Tofu and Veggies
11. Caribbean Mango Black Beans
12. Not-My-Grandmother’s Beefy Stew
13. Sweet Potato and Chard Dal
14. Chana Saag (Indian Greens with
Chickpeas)
15. Baigan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)
16. Easy Veggie Chickpea Biryani
17. Butter Chick’n
Chana Saag (Indian Greens with Chickpeas) (Photo by Bill Bettencourt, Property of Fair Winds Press)
