ingredients Baked Banana Wontons 1 medium banana, mashed with a fork 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon 16 wonton wrappers (see note) 1 tsp. coconut oil, melted (or oil mister/cooking spray) Coconut Caramel Sauce 1/3 c. coconut milk (not light—you need the full-fat kind) 1/2 tsp. vanilla pinch of salt 1/4 c. sugar 2 tbsp. water instructions Baked Banana Wontons Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cinnamon and banana in a small bowl. Place a heaping teaspoon of banana filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with a small amount of water, fold into a triangle, and press edges together to seal. Brush both sides of each finished wonton with coconut oil (or spray both sides with oil or cooking spray). Place wontons on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until corners are browned and crispy. Coconut Caramel Sauce  Whisk together coconut milk, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine sugar and water in a small heavy-duty saucepan over medium-high heat. Do not stir! Allow mixture to come to a boil. Once it begins to boil, watch it like a hawk. Eventually the mixture will start to smell like caramel and turn a golden color, then light brown. This will take about 6 minutes. When you see that it’s started to turn brown, slowly pour in coconut milk mixture, whisking constantly and quickly. If the sugar hardens around the whisk, don’t worry; it will melt. Just keep whisking! Continue to heat over medium-high until mixture has thickened and is a light caramel color, about 5 minutes more. Drizzle over wontons and ice cream.
Orange-French Toast 1 loaf french bread, sliced  1/2 cup almond milk, or nut milk of choice 1/2 cup organic pure orange juice 2 tablespoon pure cane sugar, maple syrup or coconut palm sugar a few dashes of cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil, for griddle/skillet pure maple syrup to serve shredded coconut to garnish In medium size bowl, mix milk and orange juice. Add choice of sweetener, cinnamon and optional vanilla extract, mix well. Melt coconut oil on griddle/skillet at about a medium high heat, lightly dip both sides of toast in mixture and cook until golden brown on each side, appx 2-3 minutes per side. After dipping 3 or 4 toasts you may want to add a few more dashes of cinnamon to the mixture, it floats on top and will most likely be gone after the first few dips. Serve with pure maple syrup and a sprinkle of coconut. Makes about ten french toasts. Enjoy!
Southwestern Tofu Scramble What you’ll need 1/2 block firm or extra firm tofu 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper tomatoes, scallions, mushrooms, spinach & broccoli, as much as you like 1 tablespoon olive oil salsa & avocado himalayan salt & pepper, to taste nutritional yeast, optional…for those who don’t know, it will give a cheesy flavor ! paper towels or clean cloth to press tofu Directions Drain and slice your tofu, I like to cut mine into thirds. Place the slices between a few paper towels or clean cloth. Press it between you hands or press tofu while laying on a hard surface, using the paper towels/clean cloth to absorb excess moisture. Set tofu aside. On medium-high heat begin warming your oil. Saute the mushrooms, broccoli, scallions in the sesame oil until lightly softened. Add the tofu to the pan shil crumbling the slices between your fingers. Add your spices and spinach. Continue cooking over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Cook until spinach starts to wilt. Remove pan from heat. Serve with salsa, avocado and season with more seasoning as desired.
Sauteed Beet Greens and Chili Sweet Potato Rounds Ingredients Chili Sweet Potatoes: 1 medium sweet potato, sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds ½ cup butternut squash, sliced into ¼-inch thick chunks ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon chili powder ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon oregano Sauteed Beet Greens: ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil ½ red onion, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped ½ cup chopped mushrooms – I used portobello 4 cups beet greens, chopped ¼ teaspoon onion powder Fried egg Drop extra-virgin olive oil 1 large egg Instructions Preheat oven to 400F and place all chili sweet potato ingredients on a medium-sized cookie sheet. Coat sweet potatoes and butternut squash in the oil and spices. Lay flat and cook in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until browned. Flip halfway through. For greens, heat oil in a medium-sized cast iron pan on medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Saute for 8-10 minutes, until soft. Add beet greens and onion powder. Stir to coat in cooked onion mixture. Cover and cook on low heat for 1-2 minutes, until greens have softened. For fried egg, drop a tiny bit of oil in a small frying pan and heat on medium heat for 1 minute. Crack egg and drop into pan. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until desired consistency is met. Serve everything together on a plate and top with desired amount of sea salt.
Apple Spice Fruit Dip Ingredients 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 1/3 cup roasted cashew butter 1 tbsp brown rice syrup, honey, maple syrup, or 10 drops liquid stevia (optional) *see note 1 tbsp ground flax seed 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp all spice Directions Place in your blender in the order of the ingredients listed, then blend for 30 seconds or until smooth. Store in an air-tight container. Should keep for 3 days. note: if honey is used, recipe is no longer vegan.
Rosemary Sweet Potato Wedges with Skinny Garlic Aioli
Cherry Macaroons
Vegan Alfredo Pasta Prep time: 20min Cook time: 30min Serving size: 4 Ingredients: 1 medium red pepper or 1 cup roasted red pepper, diced 4 cups dried pasta 2 big garlic cloves 1/2 cup raw cashews or sunflower seeds 1 cup almond milk or any milk alternative ¼ cup nutritional yeast 2 Tbsp tamari 1 Tbsp tahini 1 Tbsp lemon juice (1/4 lemon) 2 tsp Dijon mustard ½ tsp paprika 1 pinch nutmeg ½ – 1 tsp red pepper flakes to taste Black pepper to taste 2 Tbsp coconut oil 1 cup sundried tomatoes, diced 1 cup spinach, diced Directions: If you are roasting the red pepper, preheat the oven to broil. Wash the red pepper and place it whole on a baking sheet. Bake for 20min turning every 5min until all of the sides are brown/black and blistered. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10min sealed in a paper bag. When the pepper is cool enough to touch, peel off the skin and remove the seeds. Dice into 1cm squares. While the pepper is cooking prepare your pasta as directed on the package. Undercook the pasta slightly as it will continue to cook in the sauce. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by placing the garlic and cashews in a food processor and pulse until minced. Add the almond milk, nutritional yeast, tamari, tahini, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, paprika, nutmeg and red pepper flakes and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. Pour the spicy Vegan Alfredo Pasta sauce into a large pot and add the coconut oil (or organic butter), sundried tomatoes, red pepper and spinach. Cook for 5 min on medium until heated through and until the spinach has just wilted. Rinse and drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Stir until mixed and heated through, roughly 3min. Serve the Vegan Alfredo Pasta hot straight out of the pot and enjoy!
Vegan Maple Turtle Cake Makes 1 6 inch 4 layer cake 2 6 inch cake pans Cake: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use ghirardelli) 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp sea salt 1 cup maple sugar 1/2 cup coconut oil 1 cup coconut milk, lite or full fat 1 Tbsp maple extract 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 2 Tbsp cider vinegar Salted Maple Caramel: 2 cups maple sugar 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup light agave nectar 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk 2 T. Earth balance butter 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 1 Tbsp maple extract2 tsp sea saltFrosting:1 1/2 cup agave nectar 2 Tbsp coconut oil 1 Tbsp coconut milk1 1/2 cups sifted cocoa powder, or more if needed3/4 tsp sea salt1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract2 tsp maple extract2 1/2 cups toasted pecansPreheat the oven to 375 degrees and position rack in center of oven. Line two six-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper and pan sides with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl to blend well. Whisk oil, coconut milk, maple extract, and vanilla extract together in small bowl to blend well, then whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Whisk in cider vinegar and stir quickly (pale swirls will be in the batter, which is the baking soda reacting with the vinegar, which allows the cake to rise since there are no eggs). Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper. Let cool completely, then place in the fridge to chill until very cold to make slicing easier (since cakes with no eggs crumble easier). When chilled, slice cakes horizontally in half so that you have 4 layers. To make caramel, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar, agave nectar and water to a boil, stirring well at first to dissolve the sugar. Turn down the heat to low and cook until the liquid is deep amber in color, about 15-20 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking. Remove the pan from heat. Very carefully (the mixture will bubble), stir in the coconut milk, earth balance butter vanilla, maple extract, and sea salt until smooth. Let cool until it is a thicker constency before using on cake (it gets thicker as it cools). To make frosting, whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until very smooth, adding more cocoa powder if the frosting is not thick enough, or more coconut milk if too thick. Place a layer of cake on a plate, and spoon about 1/2 cup frosting over, almost to the sides, then scatter with about 1/2 cup of toasted pecans and drizzle with a heaping 1/4 cup caramel.  Top with a another cake layer and repeat. Top with another cake layer, another frosting layer, pecans, caramel, then the top cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and the sides of the cake, and arrange whole pecans decoratively on the top of the cake.  Drizzle with caramel, and let it drip down the sides.
Raw Caramel Apple Pie Dark ChocolatesMakes about 30 Caramel:10 medjool dates2 Tbsp raw coconut butter or macadamia butter (raw almond butter will also work)3 Tbsp raw agave nectar or honey1 tsp maple extract1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 1 Tbsp coconut oil1/4 tsp fleur de sel1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg1/4 cup filtered water (or more if too thick, add an additional Tbsp at a time)   1/2 cup finely chopped dried apples Chocolate: 3/4 cup raw cacao powder3/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw agave nectara pinch of sea salt2 15 hole chocolate mold (I used silicone)To make the caramel, combine all ingredients (except apples) in a food processor and process until smooth. Press the mixture thorough a fine meshed strainer to remove any date bits. Stir in apple pieces. Place mixture into a pastry bag and pipe small 1/2 tsp mounds onto a piece of foil. Place in the freezer until hardened slightly. When caramel is frozen, to make the chocolate, combine all ingredients and whisk together until smooth. Take your chocolate mold and fill holes half full with chocolate. Take your caramel and spoon one mound into each hole on top of the chocolate. Top with remaining chocolate in the holes so it is even with the top of the mold. Place in the freezer to harden, then pop out of the molds and enjoy!