Sugar-free Vegan Frosting

Instead of sugar, this refined sugar-free and vegan frosting recipe uses maple syrup instead of sugar. Just blend together a few simple ingredients for a creamy vegan, sugar-free and dairy-free frosting to top off a sugar-free cake or cupcake.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (1/2 pound) firm tofu
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 to 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

In a blender or food processor, puree all ingredients until completely smooth.

More Vegan Frosting Recipes:
Sugar-Free Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Chocolate Mint Frosting Recipe
Easy Vegan Vanilla Frosting
Creamy Tofu Frosting
Easy Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Lemon Frosting
Coconut Frosting

View the original article here

Sugar-Free Vegan Carrot Cake

Vegan carrot cake is always a hit, and it's easy to make as the carrots provide enough moisture that you don't need to worry about using and egg replacer as a binder. This vegan carrot cake recipe with whole wheat flour uses dates and orange juice for a bit of sweetness so it is refined sugar-free. Pineapple juice concentrate also works well in this sugar-free carrot cake recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Beverly Lynn Bennett of VeganChef.com.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups dates, chopped
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup carrot, grated
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

Combine the water, dates, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and gently simmer for 5 minutes.

Place the shredded carrots in a bowl and pour the hot water mixture over them, and allow to cool completely. Add the walnuts and orange juice concentrate to the carrot mixture and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Pour the batter into a lightly greased cake pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Frost with a sugar-free vegan frosting.

More Vegan Cake Recipes:
Low Fat Chocolate Applesauce Cake
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Double Chocolate Cake
Carrot Cake
Easy Vegan Yellow Cake
Raspberry Mocha Cake
Chocolate Spice Cake
Pineapple Upside-down Dump Cake
Easy Vegan Soda Cake
Irish Whiskey Cake

View the original article here

Speak softly and carry a big stalk of broccoli?

A reader named "Jams" (perhaps a typo for James?) left a really interesting comment on this post debating the merits of calling oneself a vegetarian when still consuming limited amounts of meat. There's been some fascinating comments added from well over one hundred people, and I have to admit, I've changed my stance a bit since I wrote the original post back in 2008. Wherever you stand on the "semi-vegetarian" or pescetarian issue, what Jams had to say is worth repeating. I've condensed and shortened it here, so you may want to read the whole thing:

I wasn't always a vegetarian. I had been around a lot of vegans/vegetarians and had heard the militant, angry ramblings and it really turned me off! I felt so overwhelmed with all the rules and no appreciation for the attempt to save animals' lives that I just said oh well!

Then, I met K. She politely and quietly told me she was a vegetarian and didn't preach at me. She explained to me that she did eat eggs and milk but tried to be as cruel-free as possible with that. She told me how one person cutting out meat could save up to 50 animals' lives in a year! This so inspired me to do better and I have been a vegetarian ever since.

Please support those who are intrigued by vegetarianism! Every person who sacrifices even one meal is helping the cause! Don't be so stuck on the "titles" but the fact that a precious, innocent life can be saved!

Thanks for commenting, Jams, and thanks to your friend K, wherever or whoever you are, for knowing that sometimes speaking softly is better than carrying a big stick.

Subscribe to the weekly vegetarian newsletter
Follow me on Twitter!

View the original article here

Creamy Artichoke Pasta

This creamy vegetarian artichoke pasta dish is great for every day or special occasions. Dress it up a bit by adding sun-dried tomatoes or mushrooms. For a vegan version, simply omit the cheese.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• juice from one lemon (approx. 2 tablespoons)
• 2 cans artichoke hearts, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh
• 8-10 oz pasta

Preparation:

Cook pasta in large saucepan or pot. While the pasta is cooking, simmer the butter or margarine, flour and and vegetable broth in a small saucepan until it thickens, forming a roux, mixing well. If the mixture does not thicken, turn up the heat and add more flour. Add remaining ingredients, except for pasta, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes, allowing flavors to blend and cheese to melt. Drain pasta when done cooking, toss with sauce and enjoy!

More Vegetarian and Vegan Pasta Recipes:
Angel Hair Pasta Primavera
Vegan Tofu Manicotti Recipe
Chinese Style Spaghetti
Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna Recipe
Tofu and Artichoke Lasagna
Easy Garlic Pasta Recipe
Vegan Pesto Recipe
Linguine with Walnut Sauce
Tomato Marinara Curry
Pumpkin and Sage Pasta Sauce
Thai Peanut Sauce
Low Fat Vegan Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

View the original article here

Chocolate Pudding Cake

A moist, sticky and gooey vegan chocolate pudding cake recipe. With no egg replacer, this is also a great vegan and dairy-free recipe if you don't have any egg replacer on hand.

See also: More Vegan Cake Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

Preparation:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, 1/4 cup of the cocoa and the baking powder. Stir in the soy milk and oil, then add the walnuts.

Spread the cake mixture in the baking pan and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Pout the hot water over the entire cake batter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is set and the chocolate sauce is bubbly.

Reprinted with permission from The Compassionate Cook Cookbook.

More Vegan Cake Recipes:
Low Fat Chocolate Applesauce Cake
Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Carrot Cake
Sugar-free Vegan Carrot Cake
Easy Vegan Yellow Cake
Raspberry Mocha Cake
Chocolate Spice Cake
Pineapple Upside-down Dump Cake
Easy Vegan Soda Cake
Vegan Double Chocolate Cake
Irish Whiskey Cake

View the original article here

Fat-free Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Using leftover or canned pumpkin and applesauce instead of oil, this fat-free vegan pumpkin bread recipe has plenty of flavor, fall spices and moisture, but without the added fat and calories. Spread your vegan pumpkin bread with vegan cream cheese, or turn it into a low-fat vegetarian pumpkin bread stuffing.

See more fat-free and vegan recipes here.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned or cooked and pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Ener-G egg replacer for 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 inch bread pan.

Whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, water and egg replacer and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring well to combine. Pour into prepared pan, and sprinkle a bit of extra sugar and spices on top if desired (optional).

Bake for about one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the pumpkin bread comes out clean. Serve your pumpkin bread warm with vegan margarine or non-dairy cream cheese.

Makes 8 fat-free slices. Nutritional information:
Calories: 258
Total Fat: 0.4g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 306mg
Total Carbohydrates: 61.7g
Dietary Fiber 1.7g

With less than a half a gram of fat and just 258 calories per serving, this vegan pumpkin bread is virtually fat-free as well as low-calorie.

View the original article here

Gourmet salad ideas

Take inspiration from nature when building a healthy vegetarian salad, and fill it with the best the farmer's market has to offer! Greens such as watercress, arugula or frissee form a textured base for gourmet salads and a nice change from the usual iceberg or romaine blends. Add color, texture and unusual ingredients to make your gourmet salad unexpected and exciting: blueberries, pinenuts, candied pecans, fennel, edamame, or, if you're not vegan, an artisan cheese. And for the final touch, of course, you need a gourmet homemade salad dressing.

Need some inspiration? Browse through these beautiful gourmet salad ideas:

• Grapefruit, fennel and avocado salad (pictured)
• Quinoa salad with blueberries
• Fresh fennel and mint salad
• Watercress and frissee salad with avocado
• Portabella and arugula salad

  Subscribe to the weekly vegetarian newsletter
  Follow me on Twitter!
  All vegetarian recipes

View the original article here