Weekly Check in

Hi all! As you can tell I truly enjoyed my holiday because I have been nowhere near blogger! I come back today because things are more or less back to normal. Plus, Chema is off riding his bike and isn't hogging the computer!

My Thanksgiving was great. I'm especially happy that all my vegan side dishes came out superb! So stay tuned for all the recipes coming up in the coming weeks. For now enjoy the pics:

These are my lovely vegan pumpkin pies. They were delicious! Look for this recipe on Thursday. It's super easy. I felt a tinge of guilt because my mom was slaving away making her peach cobbler and sweet potato pies and I was done in like 10 minutes!

These are awesome molasses biscuits that I got from the foodnetwork's Thanksgiving magazine issue. They are so cheap AND EASY to make that I could make them everyday. Actually, I made some more on the Sunday after Thanksgiving! Look for this recipe next week.

There was one more recipe but I failed to take a picture of it so I'll list the ingredients instead.

Spicy Mushrooms

Broil 2 halved plum tomatoes, 2 seeded jalapeños (both skin-side up) and 4 unpeeled garlic cloves until charred, 6 minutes. Peel the garlic and chop the veggies. Sauté 1/2 cup minced onion and 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms in olive oil with salt to taste, 8 minutes. Add the tomato mixture, 1/2 cup vegetable broth and some chopped parsley; cook 5 minutes. Stir in the juice of 1 lime.

This was another foodnetwork recipe. These things were delicious! They are called "spicy mushrooms" for a reason. So don't get surprised when you try them. This was another quick vegan recipe. I made some more on Monday because I had another pack of mushrooms.

I did eat up a storm, like everyone else, but I still managed to get my workouts in. I didn't go to the gym at all last week because it was just too busy. But I got all my miles in, which made me happy. I did my 20 minutes Tuesday and Thursday and my 16 miles on Sunday.

This Week:

Monday

I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the static bike, stretched really well, did some abs and weights (upper body only).

Tuesday

Today the plan is to do 20 minutes of interval training on the treadmill and then my 60 minute spinning class. (I'm nervous because I haven't done intervals in 2 months!)

Wednesday

I'll probably go to the group weight training class at the gym or do weights by myself.

Thursday

Another 20 minutes of interval training and a gym class. 

Friday

Weights, total body

Saturday

Rest

Sunday

10 miles

How is your week shaping up?

Weekly Recipe: Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

This is another "borrowed" recipe. I just made a few swaps for taste and to make it completely vegan.

My next goal is to make a vegan pumpkin pie. I think I will use silken tofu to substitute the dairy. The challenge will be the crust. Any suggestions?

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

2 small or 1 large very ripe banana

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup raisins

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups oatmeal

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine baking powder and water (to substitute eggs) and mix until dissolved. Add bananas, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. In large bowl, mix together oatmeal, flours, baking soda, spices and raisins. Add combined fruit mixture to dry ingredients until just blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.

The recipe is pretty accurate with the cookie count (it makes 40). My bananas weren't "very ripe" so I added some sugar. The original recipe doesn't have any. Even with the sugar these are not sweet cookies. 

I like them though. They are perfect for breakfast with a little almond or cashew butter. They are very dense so they are great as a snack because you will definitely stay full. Enjoy!

Weekly Recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

This is an adapted recipe. I actually got it from my gym. They were handing out recipe cards at the front desk this week. Or rather, they were in piles on the desk and I picked one up while I was waiting for my spinning class to start.

It was pretty much vegan anyway. But I also made it healthier by not adding any oils or butters and adding some whole wheat flour.

Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder (plus 2 tsp. as the egg substitute)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

2 Tbsp. water

1/3 cup soy milk

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp. molasses

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

15 oz can pumpkin

1/2 cup raisins

Muffin cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place muffin cups in a muffin pan. (This eliminates the need to add oil). Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger into a bowl. In another large bowl, mix the extra 2 tsp baking powder with the 2 Tbsp water until dissolved. Then add the soy milk, applesauce, molasses, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin to the same bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients, all at once, just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Spoon into muffin pan cups, filling almost to the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove and cool muffins. Then gobble them up!

The recipe also suggested adding pecans or walnuts to it but I don't like nuts in baked goods much. It also stated that it makes about 24 muffins but I only managed to get 16 out of my mix. With the whole wheat flour these muffins are pretty dense. So if you feel like you want to thin out the batter, just add more applesauce.

Also, if you tend to like sweeter muffins than I would add a full cup of sugar. In my opinion they have just the right amount of sweetness to them with the canned pumpkin. They are delicious. I eat them for breakfast! These muffins are definitely a guilt-less treat.