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Vegan Caramel Brownies

Incredible Vegan Caramel Brownies that are incredibly hard to resist. The whole wheat flour (can be substituted) in these brownies will help you keep feeling full longer. However, that rich chocolate caramel smell will have you crawling back to the kitchen for more.

VEGAN CARAMEL BROWNIES

Serves: 9 large Brownies

INGREDIENTS
7 oz Vegan Chocolate (chips, chunks, bar, etc. I used Enjoy Life Mega Chunks, it was about 1½ cups)
? cup Raw Cane Sugar
5 tablespoons melted Coconut Oil
¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
? cup Apple Sauce
¾ cup VFR’s Caramel Dip

INSTRUCTIONS
-Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and grease and flour a 9×9 inch cake pan.
-Melt vegan chocolate, sugar, and coconut oil over low-medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
-In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add apple sauce and melted chocolate mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
-Spread mixture into cake pan.
-Using a fork, swirl in caramel dip (recipe link found below) into the brownie batter.
-Bake in oven for 30 minutes, testing with a toothpick to ensure they are done. -Remove from oven and allow to fully cool before cutting into squares.
-Brownies will keep in an air tight container for up to 1 week.

NOTES
1) Coconut oil can be substituted with an equal amount of melted vegan butter or margarine.
2) I prefer using whole wheat flour but it can be substituted with all purpose flour as well.

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Vegan Chickpea Meatloaf

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Vegan Chickpea Meatloaf:

You and your family will love this dish we promise. This hearty vegan meatloaf is made from chickpeas and baked up to perfection and topped with a flavorful glaze. It’s not your meatloaf your mom or grandma makes but we promise it will be better. Try this recipe and let us know what you think.

This recipe has the protein, the right carbs and the perfect fats. Add a salad to the side and you have the perfect meal.

Enjoy

Ingredients
For the Chickpea Meatloaf

2-14 oz. cans or 3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups breadcrumbs (we used 1 cup Glutino Bread crumbs and 1 cup of Spelt Bread crumbs)
½ cup almond milk
3 tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
2 tbsp. coldpressed olive oil
2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. BBQ sauce- we used Amazing Dads BBQ sauce in honey garlic and regular.
¼ tsp. black pepper
sauce bread crumbs
For the Glaze

¼ cup tomato paste
2 tbsp. Organic maple syrup
2 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp. paprika
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Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly oil a 9 inch loaf pan.
Place all meatloaf ingredients into food processor bowl and pulse until chickpeas are broken up and ingredients are well mixed, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Do not overblend.
Press mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake 30 minutes.
While meatloaf bakes, stir glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
Remove loaf from oven after 30 minutes and spoon glaze overtop of loaf. Bake another 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.
The longer this sits, the firmer it gets. If it initially feels a bit soft for your liking, let it sit a for a few minutes or prep it a day in advance and reheat the day of serving. meatloaf3

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China Study Statements about Food Labels

This is a very hard hitting statement from Colin T Campbell, he wrote the china study. Amazing book if you haven’t read it. I truly believe in this statement.
But you have to also realize even as vegans you can eat the wrong things, there is still processed food for vegans. Choose wisely. Read ingredients of the foods you buy. Be aware and be cautious of hidden meaning and names.

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Vitamin D and its Importance to Your Health

558895_510625919044559_1673957776_nVitamin D is Actually a Hormone: Here’s Why You Need It

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (technically a hormone) that is generally produced by special cells in our skin, in conjunction with cholesterol. When the sun hits your skin, it sets off a series of chemical reactions that produce each of the phases of Vitamin D.

This Vitamin D3 is then transported to your liver where it is converted into the usable form of vitamin D, and then goes about doing all the wonderful things vitamin D does for us. Did you know that one of the roles of vitamin D is helping us to better absorb and utilize calcium & phosphorus? That is one of the reasons why many calcium supplements come with vitamin D included.

Boost your body’s ability to utilize these bone, teeth and nail building minerals by getting your daily dose of vitamin D through 15-30 minutes of bare skin sun exposure 3-5 times per week (longer exposure needed the darker tone your skin is and where you live in relation to the equator), beating foods high in naturally occurring vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol), and
supplementing with very effective and inexpensive vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) oils which can be readily found in a health food store near you.

If you can only afford one supplement for your health, the wide array of health enhancing and disease preventative benefits that healthy levels of Vitamin D3 provides makes this the one.