My Plant-Based Family

Feeding My Family a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet, On a Budget

Recipes

Chocolate Cake:Gluten-Free and Vegan

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GF, V Chocolate Cake

If you have to avoid wheat/gluten then this is the cake for you. I developed a fascination for GF baking several years ago because I had two friends who couldn’t eat gluten and never got the good stuff at potlucks. I would try to always make something they could eat. They were always so appreciative even though I never loved my creations, they were happy to have whatever I brought.

Fast forward to spring/summer 2012 and I finally discover my son’s eczema is the result of gluten/wheat. He was just under 1 1/2 years old so he wasn’t eating a lot of cakes or cookies but he loved pancakes, banana bread, etc. I was determined that he wouldn’t have to do without “normal” food.

frosted chocolate cake

I have a list of favorites I intend to adapt so that they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and peanut-free. I want my little guy to experience donuts, birthday cake, and banana pudding without pain or illness.

I’ve been working on this cake for a while. I wanted to make it as allergy friendly as possible. I have a friend who can’t have apples or bananas so I had been making it without them but I couldn’t get the taste or texture right. I decided to abandon that idea (temporarily, I’ve got some ideas) because I needed to make a birthday cake for my 4 year old.

If you follow My Plant-Based Family on Facebook then you know that I shared this recipe with several people. I got great feedback from everyone who made it. Some people couldn’t make it because they couldn’t find all of the ingredients. I buy some of them from Amazon because I can’t always find them locally. You could probably substitute a store bought GF baking mix with good results.

GF Chocolate cake

Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 c brown rice flour
  • 1 c sorghum flour
  • 1/2 c tapioca flour
  • 3/4 c cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp xanthum gum OR guar gum
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 c warm water*
  • 3 tsp EnerG Egg Replacer*
  • 1 c turbinado sugar (I’ve also used agave nectar with good results)
  • 1 c unsweetened applesauce
  • 1-2 mashed bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 c rice milk (reduce to 1 cup if you use agave nectar)
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional but oh so good)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray two 8 or 9 inch pans with cooking spray. I’ve also made this in a bundt pan with good results (but longer baking time).
  2. In a mixing bowl add dry ingredients, brown rice flour through sea salt.
  3. In a small bowl or measuring cup mix warm water and egg replacer and set aside.
  4. In a medium bowl mix sugar through milk. Add “egg” and mix well.
  5. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients until well incorporated.
  6. Add chocolate chips and stir until just mixed.
  7. Pour batter, dividing into two pans.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Serve

This cake can be frosted once cooled or enjoyed as is. It is birthday cake worth. I’ve also layered fresh strawberries between the layers and used both Avocado Mousse and Coconut Cream Frosting. My 2 year old got Cococonut Cream Frosted Mini Cupcakes for his birthday and my 4 year old got store bought frosting on his birthday cake; it should be noted that neither kid liked the store bought frosting. Lesson learned: Plant-based kids don’t need over processed, store bought junk food. 🙂

birthday cup cakes

Plant-Based Lasagna (Gluten-Free)

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HC Feb 004

If you’ve recently switched to a plant-based diet you may be under the impression that there are some foods you’ll never be able to eat again. I’m going to let you off the hook, you can enjoy many of the comfort foods you have always loved with a few modifications.

This recipe does take some work, like any lasagna recipe there are many steps involved, most of the work is done by a food processor. The good news is many can be prepared ahead of time. I even build the lasagna a few hours before company arrives then put it in the oven 30 minutes before dinner time.

A layered view
A layered view

Lasagna (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Ingredients (by step)

Step 1

  • 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 c lemon juice (1 lemon)
  • 1/4 c nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Step 2

  • 4 c tightly packed spinach or other greens
  • 1/2 large onion
  • 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
  • 1 c or handful of mushrooms

Remaining Ingredients

  • Large jar pasta sauce
  • 1 package gluten-free no-boil lasagna noodles
  • eggplant, peeled and diced (optional, I used 1/2 an eggplant)
  • mushrooms, diced (optional)

Do

  1. Add all the ingredients for step one to a food processor, puree then set aside until ready to build lasagna.
  2. Add all the ingredients for step two to a food processor, puree, then set aside until ready to build lasagna.
  3. Building the Lasagna. Layer ingredients in a large casserole dish, I used a 9×15 dish. I used the following order:1 1/2 cup red sauce, noodles, white sauce, greens, mushrooms, eggplant then finish with red sauce. Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients. Mine had 2 layers of white sauce and 2 layers of greens with 1 layer of veggies (mushrooms and eggplant). I had three layers of red sauce.
  4. Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 20-30 minutes.

Serve

This lasagna is company worthy. I’ve served it to large groups on two occasions and everyone seemed to like it. I don’t think you miss the meat or cheese from traditional lasagna. It also reheats well and keeps for several days in the fridge. It’s easily customizable. It pairs well with a large Italian salad, my salad included olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, red onions, and greens.

For a faux parmesan try whizzing 1 cup of cashews and 1/2 cup nutritional yeast in a high-powered blender and sprinkling it on top of the lasagna.

Do you miss Lasagna since going plant-based? Give this recipe a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. What comfort food do you miss the most?

Mac & Cheese, Gluten-Free and Vegan

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Mac & Cheese

I’ve been wanting to make a gluten-free, dairy-free Mac & Cheese that is actually healthy. Now that I have I’m already thinking of other ideas to spice it up. I plan to serve this at my next Healthy Craving group. If you aren’t concerned with gluten you can use regular whole wheat pasta.

Mac & Cheese (Gluten-free and Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups gluten-free noodles (uncooked)
  • 2 cups raw cauliflower (diced into small pieces)
  • 1 recipe Faux Cheese Sauce
  • Cooked potatoes, peeled (I used two small red potatoes peeled) plus water

Do

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°
  2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Cauliflower can be steamed separately or cooked with the noodles.
  3. Prepare Faux Cheese Sauce
  4. Mash potatoes, adding water until a smooth texture is reached.
  5. Pour noodles and cauliflower into an 8×8 casserole dish.
  6. Add potatoes to the prepared cheese sauce and whisk well.
  7. Pour cheese sauce into noodles and gently stir until noodles are well coated.
  8. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve

This looks like very involved dish but it really isn’t that hard. The most difficult part for me is paying attention to the cheese sauce that needs to be whisked continuously. I served this alone but it could easily be a side dish.

While we enjoyed this if you are still hooked on regular ol’ dairy filled mac and cheese you may not be ready for this. It definitely tastes like nutritional yeast. My two-year old loved it. He had 3 servings! I’ve never been a big mac and cheese fan but I liked it too. I wouldn’t try to pull a switcheroo on my teenagers but if you are raising plant-based kids give this a try, they may just find a new favorite.

And now for a few pictures…

mac and cheese

mac and cheese

This kid was really trying to take over my photo shoot. He is pretty hard to resist!

Do you miss Mac & Cheese or have you found an acceptable version since changing your diet?

Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegan Banana Bread

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GF V banana bread 3Yes you read that right. This banana bread is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan. It was moist and delicious. There is only a tiny sliver left and I made it this morning. I did send a good portion of it home with a gluten-free sugar-free pal. I will be making this again.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread (Refined Sugar Free and Vegan)

Ingredients

  • 1 c sorghum flour
  • 1/2 c brown rice flour
  • 1/4 c potato starch
  • 1/4 c tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp xanthum gum
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 c date paste
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2-3 really ripe bananas, smashed
  • 1/2 c rice milk
  • 1/2 cup optional nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Do

  1. Preheat oven to 350° and spray pan lightly.
  2. Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add all of the wet ingredients to a medium mixing bowl.
  4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. (You could stir in the optional nuts or chocolate chips here)
  5. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40 minutes.
  6. Insert toothpick to test for doneness.

Serve

This is best eaten same day although it can be frozen for another time. I served this with coffee. It isn’t “dessert” sweet although the chocolate chips may take it up a notch.

GF V Banana Bread 1

Chickpea Noodle Soup

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Chickpea Noodle Soup brings back memories from my childhood of my grandma making me chicken noodle soup from a can. I loved it.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

Now that I’m grown up I want to create the same memories with my kids. Except, now we avoid chicken. What’s a mom to do?

Well replace the chicken with chickpeas of course. Not only are chickpeas a perfect stand in I think you’ll agree that this soup is better than it’s inspiration.

I used gluten-free noodle but you could use any kind of noodle you want. I’ve remade this using a variety of pasta shapes and sizes.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

Macaroni is perfect for little 2 year old fingers, while long noodles work for adults.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chickpea Noodle Soup
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ diced onion
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 2 celery, chopped
  • 4 cups water OR veggie Broth
  • 2-3 Tbsp Veggie Broth Mix OR you can use bullion
  • 1½ cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
  • 1 c gluten-free noodles
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized pot add chopped veggies and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. I like to let them soften a bit before adding water.
  2. Add 4 cups of water and dry broth mix or veggie broth along with the chickpeas. Allow to simmer until veggie are almost done.
  3. Pour in noodles adding more water if necessary. Cook noodles until done.
  4. Stir in dried parsley along with salt and pepper if needed.

I paired this soup with a big salad but it would be amazing with a loaf of crusty bread or some gluten-free crackers. My husband and I really liked this along with my youngest son. This isn’t the best choice for those who don’t like chickpeas but any white bean could be easily substituted in this recipe.

My dry broth mix uses nutritional yeast; if you use something else you may want to add a little nutritional yeast to your soup.

This is an easy dish for those families that only have one or two plant-based eaters. Meat could be cooked separately then added to appease the meat eaters. If you went that route I would cube cooked chicken to roughly the same size as the chickpeas; over time they may not even miss it.

This recipe can easily be doubled and tastes great the next day.

Chickpea noodle soup Plant-Based Gluten-Free

CHICKpea Salad…Two Ways

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fruity chickpea salad

I have a few friends who have been dying to get their hands on these recipes. I’ll warn you this isn’t one of my typical healthy recipes and it isn’t low in fat. It uses vegan mayo which isn’t an ingredient I typically use or encourage others to use. I made these for a party; they are party food, not everyday food! I repeat, these are not healthy, you can’t eat as much as you want, you’ll get sick or fat.

I hope that wasn’t too mean. Since most of the recipes I present are whole food, plant-based, and no added oil I didn’t want to mislead anyone but I’m gearing up for the Super Bowl and attempting to make some of my favorite party foods a little more accessible to my new lifestyle.

Veggie Chickpea salad wrap

Veggie CHICKpea Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 1/4 cup diced onion (optional)
  • 1/2 cup vegan mayo
  • dash of black salt, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and nutritional yeast

Chickpea Salad

Do

  1. Chop chickpeas in a food processor until they are course, this takes 15 to 30 seconds depending on your processor. Then place in a mixing bowl.
  2. Shred carrot and celery in food processor then add to the chickpeas.
  3. Add mayo and spices and gently stir until combined.

Serve

I served these in lettuce wraps, but they would be great as sandwiches or on crackers too. It keeps well for a few days and travels well with an icepack to keep it cold.

Fruity Chickpea salad in wrap

Fruity CHICKpea Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup grapes, cut in half
  • 1 apple, diced (I used granny smith)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (OPTIONAL)
  • 1/2 cup vegan mayo (or for a twist use vegan yogurt)
  • dash  of black salt
  • dash of onion powder

Do

  1. Chop chickpeas in a food processor until they are course, this takes 15 to 30 seconds depending on your processor. Then place in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently until everything is combined.

Serve

I served these in lettuce wraps too but it would be amazing on top of a bed of greens. I also tried the yogurt version and put it in fillo shells for a fun and delicious dessert. You could also eat this in a sandwich or on crackers, it’s very versatile.

You could make your own vegan mayo for a healthier version.

For more inspiration check out my PARTY FOOD board on Pinterest! Or check out my Faux Tuna Salad Recipe! I think you like it.

How would you enjoy these, on a salad, sandwich, or as part of a wrap?

I submitted this recipe to the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck!