No-Bake Granola Bars from Plant-Powered Families, Review & Giveaway

 

Friends help make your life easier, sweeter, better. 

Dreena Burton is just such a friend to any vegan family. She has written five vegan cookbooks that are filled with delicious whole-foods based recipes that can take you from everyday meals through special occasions. She also is the creator of the wonderful website, Plant-Powered Kitchen.

Dreena's newest book, Plant-Powered Families, takes her care for vegan families to a whole new level. Not only does the book contain over 100 family-friendly recipes, but she also talks families new to plant-based eating through issues including how to stock your kitchen, how to create meals that meet the nutrition needs of growing children and satisfy even picky palates, and she provides menu plans, too.

Even if your family doesn't eat wholly plant-based, this is a wonderful resource. The recipes are easy and tasty. They use whole foods, minimal oils and added sugars. Because the book is vegan, it's a great tool for egg- and/or dairy-allergic families. Also, many of the recipes are gluten-free or have a gluten-free option. There are options to keep things nut-free, too.

Dreena and her publisher, BenBella Books, are sharing her recipe for No-Bake Granola Bars. They are also giving away a copy of Plant-Powered Families to one of our readers. (Enter the giveaway below the recipe.)
 

Photo by Nicole Axworthy from Plant-Powered Families used with permission.

 

No-Bake Granola Bars (from Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton, BenBella Books 2015)

Makes 8–10 bars or 16 squares

These bars are perfect for school lunches because they are nut-free and pack very well. Plus, they are pretty simple to put together!

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 packed cup coconut butter (see note) (Coconut Butter instructions here.)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup oat flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

11/2 cups natural brown rice crisp cereal

3 tablespoons nondairy chocolate chips (optional)

Line an 8" × 8" pan with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan over medium/medium-low heat, add the brown rice syrup, coconut butter, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cinnamon. Stir until well combined and the coconut butter has melted. Add the rolled oats, and stir through, allowing to cook for 2–3 minutes in the low heat. Add the oat flour and shredded coconut, and stir through.

Remove the pot from the stove. Swiftly stir in the cereal and transfer the mixture to prepared pan. Press mixture evenly into the pan (using a nonstick spatula or piece of parchment paper).

Wait just a minute, and then sprinkle on the chocolate chips and press those into the base. Refrigerate until fully chilled (at least 1/2 hour), then cut in squares or bars.

Coconut Butter Note: Coconut butter works well here because it is so dense and helps bind the bars. Because coconut is not botanically a nut, these are also perfect for school lunches.

However, if you want to substitute a nut butter, choose one that is very dense, like cashew butter.

Idea: Try some of these flavor variations:

• Raisin-spice: Stir in 3–4 tablespoons raisins, omit the chips, increase the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon, and add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon of allspice.
• Cranberry–pumpkin seed: Stir in 3–4 tablespoons of dried cranberries and substitute pumpkin seeds for the coconut.
• Cocoa-hemp: Substitute 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds for the coconut, and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (when mixing in the oat flour). Keep the chocolate chips, oh yes!

Want more? Enter to win your own copy of Plant-Powered Families!

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Want to try some more recipes from Plant-Powered Families while waiting to get your own copy?

• Go Dairy Free has Creamy Vegan Fettucine . 
• Wendy Polisi has Ta-Quinos.
• Stephanie Weaver has White Bean Guacamole.
• Spabettie has Crazy Brownies. 
• Healthy Blender Recipes has Creamy Vegan Fettucine.
• Ricki Heller has Super Stuffed Sweet Potato.

Happy Cooking!

Kim 

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.

 

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Throw Together Rice & Bean Soup

Today is Earth Day. 

What could be better than a day dedicated to reminding us to care for the very planet that cares for us?

This makes us think about what can we do to make a difference? Obviously, we can walk or bike instead of driving, turn off lights in empty rooms, lower our thermostats in the winter, etc. 

What about food?

• We can buy food that is sustainably raised. I look for organic, bio-dynamic and sustainable labels on my food when I can. I shop at Farmer's Markets whenever possible to meet the farmers who are growing my food.
• I look to the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 to inform my purchases about pesticide loads in produce. 
• I eat a plant-based diet. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, "According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation."

Some people think that eating a plant-based or vegan diet can be really hard, especially for busy families. There are plenty of recipes here and all over the Internet that show how easy it can be to eat vegan, whether for a meal here or there, or all the time.

When I'm busy, I love to throw together a nourishing delicious soup that can feed us for dinner and get packed in thermal containers for lunches over the next day or two.

This one is a variation of a dish I make all fall, winter and spring. This week, I used pre-chopped veggies from Trader Joe's, other times I use what's plentiful at the Farmer's Market.

Top your thickened soup the next day with fresh tomatoes.

Throw Together Rice and Bean Soup (vegan, gluten-free, food allergen free)
Makes approximately 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chopped vegetables (carrots, cabbage, broccoli, celery, green pepper, red pepper, etc.)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 3/4 cups cooked beans)
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 2 vegan gluten-free bullion cubes
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 8-10 cups water (depending on desired thickness)

Preparation:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stockpot .
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, or until rice is cooked.
4. Soup will thicken as it sits. Eat it as a stew the next day or thin with more water.
5. Refrigerate uneaten portions for 3-4 days, or freeze for 3 months.

This recipe was shared with Allergy Free Wednesday!

Happy Cooking!

Kim 

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.

Read More

Eye-D Bands Giveaway!

Photo provided by Eye-D Bands.

Here's a confession.

I have a habit.
A jar habit.

I find it incredibly difficult to get rid of my empty jam jars, salsa jars, applesauce jars.  You get the picture. I wash them, save them and store stuff in them.

The problem is that sometimes I'm not sure what I put in there. I have tried a variety of systems to mark them -- all problematic.

• Tape. The problem with tape is that it can leave a sticky residue when you peel it off.
• Sharpie. The problem with using a permanent marker is what if I want to put something different in the jar after I've emptied it and washed it?
• Memory. I think the problem there is pretty obvious. 

You can imagine my excitement to learn about a new company, Eye-D Bands. These wide rubber bands are pre-printed with a wide variety of ingredients. You can use these bands to quickly identify the contents of containers, jars or canisters. When you change what you put in the container, you just need to change the band to the correct one. The wide bands have a nice grip, so they don't slide down the jar and stay right where you put them. There's no sticky residue when you're finished, and the bands are printed on both sides, so you get two labels with each band.

There are a wide range of bands for ingredients commonly found in special-diet kitchens. For example, there are bands for chia seeds, quinoa, gluten-free flour, brown rice, etc.

Intrigued?

Photo provided by Eye-D Bands.

One lucky reader can try some! Eye-D Bands is giving away a set of bands worth $50 to one winner from the United States or Canada!  Good luck!

Required disclosure: Eye-D Bands provided me with a collection of bands to try. All opinions are my own. Eye-D Bands will provide the randomly selected winner with a set of bands worth $50.


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Happy Cooking!
Kim

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.
 

Read More

Super Seeds Recipe Roundup and Giveaway!

Super Seeds

Wow! I can't believe how exciting this past month has been. 

The launch of Super Seeds has been filled with joyful moments. I am thrilled that my friends have shared my recipes with their readers, and I want to be sure that you get a full sampling of all that Super Seeds has to offer! 

I wrote Super Seeds so everyone would have the ability to easily up the nutrition in delicious foods just by incorporating these little power-packed ingredients. Flax, chia, hemp, quinoa and amaranth are seeds that add flavor, texture, protein, fiber and a host of vitamins and minerals to everything from soup to dessert! Want to get started? Check out these recipes from Super Seeds. 

Want to cook more up at home? Enter below to win your own copy of Super Seeds plus a four pound package of Gerbs Raw Super 5 Seed Mix (chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds). Gerbs is a fabulous resource for anyone who is looking for healthy seeds, but especially for food allergic customers, because everything they sell is free of the top-8 allergens.

Go Dairy Free featured Golden Corn Soup

Cooking Quinoa Featured Pesto Veggie Burgers

          Plant Powered Kitchen Featured Blueberry Coffee Cake

Healthy Blender Recipes Featured Lemon Basil Quinoa

Mama Balance Featured Massaged Kale Salad

Recipe Renovator Featured Hemp Seed Hummus

Go Dairy Free Featured Granola Cookies

Photo by Ricki Heller

Ricki Heller Featured Quinoa Lentil Soup

Enter to win a copy of Super Seeds plus a 4-pound package of Gerbs Super 5 Seed Mix.  (Open to US residents only, sorry!)

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Happy Cooking!
Kim

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.
 

Read More

Another Giveaway! Eco-friendly Scarf to Celebrate the Launch of Super Seeds

Lucy and I both like this scarf! Perfect for a day at the park.

I learned so much while I was working on Super Seeds. I wanted to write the book, because I was cooking with these seeds all the time, but in writing it, I learned (and later shared) so many tidbits about these seeds and what they can do.

One of the things I learned was how great hemp is for clothing. It is durable, grows easily and doesn't require a lot of chemicals to flourish.

One of my favorite online retailers, Ecolissa, offers eco-friendly and vegan clothing and accessories.  I love that on their website, you can sort by material, and one of the materials is hemp! Ecolissa has a great assortment of fashions and values. You can absolutely splurge on something fabulous without breaking the bank!

To celebrate the launch of Super Seeds, Ecolissa is offering a discount on their gorgeous clothing and accessories. Use the code "WK20" to get 20% off your order. 

Ecolissa sent me a chunky infinity scarf to try out before this promotion, and they are giving one lucky reader a choice of a chunky infinity scarf or a T-shirt scarf. Lucky you!

To stay up-to-date on what's going on at Ecolissa, follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Required FTC disclosure: Ecolissa gave me a scarf to review and is providing a second to the winner of the giveaway.

Happy Cooking!
Kim

My new book,  Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.

Read More