Lilacs & Lace

Yes, yes I did just have a fourth cookie .  Sshh, don't tell anyone.  Although, there isn't much un-healthy about this recipe (even healthier with my changes), except the chocolate chips.  Even at that, there is only 1/4 cup in the whole recipe! So you know about Turtle candies with the caramel and the chocolate and the pecans?  This is what inspired the recipe author, except she turned a candy into a decently healthy dessert with oats and dates. So here are my changes.  I couldn't find my pecans in the freezer, so I substituted with walnuts.  I would like to try these again with pecans, but hey, there were cookies to be made!  I also substituted the sugar with date sugar...that just amped up the nutrition !  I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate.  My last swap was replacing the oil with applesauce, and that just knocked some fat out of these babies. Some might be wondering how plant based the chocolate chips are,...

This Broccoli Casserole is reminiscent of the casseroles made with condensed mushroom soup, except this one is plant based.  It was easy to make too! The family verdict?  Another "family favorite" on the books.  Easy and tasty?  What more could you want? Here were my tweaks to the casserole .  First off, the daughter doesn't like mushrooms.  I didn't want to leave the mushrooms out because they add flavor and nutrition.  So, instead of leaving the mushrooms in pieces, I blended them and the onions up with the sauce.  Sshhh, don't tell her there were mushrooms in that.  I heard zero complaints, and she said she liked it.  Score!  The recipe calls for 64 ounces of broccoli.  I thought surely that was wrong.  How was I going to fit all that broccoli in that pan...and then stir it?  Besides, that is 4 pounds of broccoli!  So, I only used 32 ounces, but when it was all made, it could have used more.  Oh wel...

Occasionally I like to go to Blaze Pizza  for a veggie pizza.  They recently added butternut squash (or similar) to the topping options, so I gave it a try.  I enjoyed the addition.  So when I saw this recipe , it appealed to me. This Mashed Potato Crusted Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts and Tofu Pie (whew!  long name) contains lots of goodness I enjoy: potatoes, brussels sprouts, tofu, and butternut squash.  Now for those that don't like tofu, or are not sure about it, don't worry.  You probably won't even know it is in there since it is blended up into a batter with nutritional yeast and water (I use the oil free version).  If you aren't familiar with nutritional yeast, it tends to be located with the spices and can impart a bit of a cheesy flavor. My family enjoyed this recipe.  My daughter didn't care for the butternut squash, so I am considering replacing some of the squash with sweet potato to keep the nutrition up. If you hav...

"Are you fixing turkey?"  A question I get probably every year since going plant based.  Since I do the cooking, and I admit our family is supportive of our way of eating, there is no turkey on our Thanksgiving table. So then people are curious...what do you eat?  Just salad...NO, just kidding.  We have a pretty traditional meal.  This is the menu I have narrowed down from testing recipes and getting things personalized to our family.  If you want the recipe, just click on the menu item. Turkey substitute:  Slow Cooked Seitan Roast.   This is probably the best homemade seitan recipe I have personally made, and it has been gracing our Thanksgiving table for at least 3 years.  It is moist and tender.  One of the beauties of this is it can cook in your slow cooker for up to 24 hours, so I can make it on Wednesday, put it in the slow cooker, and not worry about it again until it is time to slice it up.   For the dressing...

No sugar?  Check. No flour?  Check. Easy to make?  Check. Tastes yummy?  Check! The recipe has a lot going for it, including nutritious ingredients.  Banana and oats are star players in this.  As I have mentioned before, I am careful about the sugar, so I replaced the chocolate chips with raisins.  The daughter isn't fond of nuts in recipes, so I replaced those with raisins.  Coconut has saturated fat, so I replaced those with...you guessed it, raisins.  Between the raisins, bananas and applesauce, this recipe does not need sugar!  As for the peanut butter, I am guessing you could substitute it with another nut butter, like almond, if you wanted to. The cookies come together pretty easily, and then I use a cookie scoop to put them on the baking sheet and flatten them a little.  I quadrupled the recipe to have through the weekend for our series of gospel meetings we had recently. As I write this, I am munching on some of th...

I would guess that, for most people, their is no human that will love their children more than the children's own parents.  We want what is best for our kids, even when it will inconvenience us.  We want to see them succeed, learn, and grow into wonderful people. That is one reason why I think it is important, when possible, for children to be raised by their own parents versus a day care situation.  Now before you get upset at that, I do believe that if you have to work to put food on the table you have to do what is best.  And ideally in those situations, you will have a grandparent, or someone close to you that will take your child in while you have to work to provide.  After all, they will still probably love your child more than a group day care would, and hopefully share some of the same values that you do. But this post isn't really about day care, it is about who loves you most.  As I sat thinking things over (I do that occasionally), something ...

"Does anyone have a band-aid?"  A fairly common request from mothers of young children.  And what we mean is, "Does anyone have a bandage?", not "Does anyone have a Band-Aid brand bandage?".  Somewhere along the way, Band-Aid became synonymous with bandage. Or how about Coke.  "Do you want to go have a coke?"  Somewhere in time, Coke became the catch all word for soda. In these instances, I don't see any harm in calling an item something it is not.  Whether it is a Band-Aid bandage or some other brand, the point is made and whatever brand that is available is handed over.  But some things should be called exactly what they are. I heard a story from someone telling me about a couple that weren't married but living together and had a kid.  This person said that after a while, people just acted like they were married.  It got me to thinking about how things get labeled something they are not.  After a while, we get so used to the erro...