Healthy little vegan

Vegan strawberry almond cupcakes (photo shoot and recipe)

These cupcakes can pass as muffins so we ate them for breakfast! They were delicious and I had mine with no whipped cream on top! The secret to these cupcakes is the almond extract! I never thought almond extract could be so delicious and it gave these cupcakes a sweeter flavor without adding anymore sugar!

now this is one of my recipes although it has so many pictures that i had to make it a “photo-shoot”. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Dairy free milk. I used almond milk for extra almond flavor but any dairy free milk would be just as delicious! “Simply” almond is the brand I use because they have no added fillers.

Yogurt. You only need the dairy free milk if your using a thick yogurt like Greek. “So” coconut yogurt is my favorite but any vegan yogurt will do. If your not vegan then choose the yogurt of your choice.

Sugar. Organic cane sugar is my favorite and you don’t have to worry about pesticides when it’s organic! Florida crystals organic cane sugar is the brand I use.

Almond extract. McCormick almond extract is what I use but any almond extract will taste wonderful in this recipe.
strawberries. When buying strawberries color is what you look for not the size. The deeper red the sweeter the strawberry. You could get a huge lighter colored strawberry and have it taste sour!

Whip cream. You can make your own in vegan or non-vegan or buy vegan or non-vegan whip cream at the store. Homemade is always best!🤣

• ingredients

• category: American

• makes: 12 cupcakes/muffins

• 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour.
• 1 cup of dairy free or normal yogurt.
• if using thick yogurt add 2-3 tbsp dairy free milk.
• 1/2 cup of cane sugar (preferably organic).
• 1/2 tsp baking soda.
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder.
• 1/2 tsp vanilla.
• 1/2 tsp almond extract.
• sea salt to taste (I use just a pinch).
• chopped strawberries.
Toppings.
• sliced almonds.
• hulled strawberries sliced in half.

Directions

preheat oven to 350•f

mix all the ingredients together adding the chopped strawberries last. Divide batter between 12 lined muffin holes.
bake for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Top with whipped cream and the almonds and strawberries if desired.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin scones (vegan option)

Warm, pumpkin scones are the perfect treat for breakfast or any occasion! Enjoy with a glaze if you want a little more sweetness. I love scones! They are like biscuits only Better because they can come in so many different flavors!

I like my scones with a little butter (vegan butter) and sometimes I like to have a little nut butter on mine.

Variations

Sweet potato scones. Substitute the pumpkin purée for 1/2 a cup of sweet potato purée.
Butternut squash scones. Substitute the pumpkin purée for 1/2 a cup of butternut squash purée. Acorn, winter, summer, or spaghetti squash purée will work as well.

Try these other recipes:

Banana cinnamon scones

Pumpkin pie pudding

Vegan pumpkin bread

Pumpkin. I used canned pumpkin in these scones but homemade pumpkin will work just leave out 1-2 tbsp of the dairy free milk.
Oats. I add oats to my scones for extra protein and a healthier take on scones.
Sugar. For best flavor use organic cane sugar.
Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves. Warm fall spices are a vital addition to pumpkin based foods.
Butter. Vegan or non-vegan butter will work for this recipe.

Gluten free option. Use a good gluten free baking flour and these scones should come out fine. Note* I have not tested these as gluten free yet. If you make a gluten free version let me know*
Vegan. To keep these scones vegan use vegan butter.
Dairy free. These scones will be dairy free as long as you use vegan butter.

• ingredients
• category:American/French

• makes: 8 scones

• 1/2 cup of pumpkin purée.
• 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour.
• 1/2 cup of oats.
• 1/2 cup of cane sugar.
• 1 tbsp baking powder.
• pinch of sea salt.
• 2 tsp cinnamon.
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger + 1 pinch.
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves.
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of vegan or non-vegan butter cold and cubed.
• 3 tbsp dairy free milk.
• t tbsp chia seeds.
• 2 tbsp water.

Directions

preheat the oven to 425•f

make the chia egg by combining the chia seeds and water. Let sit for 10 minutes or more.
mix all the ingredients except the chia egg together in an electric mixer. Add the chia egg and continue to mix.
flour a clean, flat surface and shape the dough into a chubby flat circle. Cut like you would a pizza into 8 pieces.
grease a baking sheet or baking dish and even space out the scones.

bake at 425•f for 10-15 minutes.

let cool and glaze if desired.
Enjoy!

Homemade pickles

Fall is the season of canning and jarring the produce before winter kicks in. Pickles are a delicious family favorite that is commonly served with burgers and sandwiches. These pickles can be made in a matter of minutes and only need to sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Serve with…

•burgers

•sandwiches

•French fries

Cucumber. English cucumbers are delicious as pickles even the mini snack cucumbers will taste good as pickles. If your cucumbers are NOT organic I would advise peeling them. Organic cucumbers can keep the skin on.
Dill. Fresh dill is a delicious herb and goes wonderfully with pickles. Add a few sprigs of dill if I’m hand to your pickles.
Vinegar & water. “Pickle juice” (as I like to call it) is the liquid in a jar of pickles. The vinegar to water amounts have to be mostly water with 1/4 of it vinegar.
Garlic powder & salt. Add salt and garlic powder to your liking. Not zesty enough? Add more garlic powder. Not salty enough? Add more salt to taste.

•ingredients

•category: American

•makes: 3 half pint jars

• 1 large cucumber (Peeled if NOT organic) sliced.
• garlic powder to taste.
• fresh dill if on hand.
• white vinegar (1/4 of each jar).
• water (3/4 of each jar).
• sea salt to taste.

Directions

take 3 half pint jars and divide the cucumber slices Between them. Fill 3/4 with water and 1/4 with vinegar or more to your liking. Add the sea salt, garlic powder, and dill. Put a sealed lid on and shake well. Keep in the fridge for a few hours to let the cucumbers absorb the flavors.

Note: * the longer you leave the pickles in the fridge the more flavor they collect*

Balsamic pecan fall salad

I’m a huge fan of fall and if there’s one thing I like it’s a good salad with toppings and a delicious dressing. Many people who don’t normally eat salad look at it as just a bowl of lame veggies. This is so not true! Veggies are delicious and so good for you, let’s not forget the dressing! Dressing is good all on its own! I even dip veggies in dressings sometimes. It’s that good!

Dried cranberries. Craisins isn’t what most people call dried cranberries, but they have a totally different flavor then raisins.
Black raisins. Just like normal raisins just that they are made from black grapes. Of course normal raisins will work just as well.
Pecans. Pecans are wonderful on any fall salad and accompany pumpkin and sweet potato well.
Balsamic vinegar. Dark black balsamic vinegar has a distinctive flavor like no other vinegar.

Ingredients

Category: American

Serves: 1 per salad

The salad: fall pecan & goat cheese

chopped romaine lettuce.
dark greens.
chopped basil.
dried cranberries.
black raisins.
pecans.
goat cheese (optional).

Directions

toss.

The dressing: balsamic vinaigrette

balsamic vinegar.
extra virgin olive oil.
Italian herb mix.
pinch of garlic powder.
sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Directions

mix well and pour over the salad. Enjoy!

Pumpkin pie pudding

When I made this the whole house smelled like fall! Packed with pumpkin and warm fall spices this pudding will quickly become a fall favorite! The best part is that this pudding is vegan!!

pumpkin pie can take awhile to make but this pudding is so quick and easy it’s hard to resist. serve over vegan ice cream for a creamy, smooth delight!

Pumpkin. I used canned pumpkin but I think homemade pumpkin purée will work fine. If it becomes to watery add a little more rice flour.
Molasses. Molasses gives this recipe a wonderful flavor. Without it I doubt it would taste the same.
Rice flour. White or brown rice flour will work i this recipe and should be easy to find at any local grocery store. If for some reason you can’t find it then you can use cornstarch in its place.
Dairy free milk. I always use dairy free milk and almond milk gives it an especially delicious flavor. If your a dairy person the any milk will work just fine.
Cane sugar. I used cane sugar in this recipe but maple syrup would be delicious in this pudding in fact it might taste even better!

Normalized option

this pudding is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and nut free if you use coconut milk. But I know that some of you don’t have vegan or gluten free ingredients so I’ve come up with a normalized option.
Use cornstarch in place of rice flour.
muse dairy milk in place of dairy-free milk.

Ingredients

Category: American

Serves: 4-5

2 cups of oat milk or any dairy free milk.
1 1/2 cups of pumpkin purée.
1/4+2 tbsp cane sugar or maple syrup. 🍁
1 tbsp molasses.
4 tbsp rice flour (brown or white).
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (more to taste).
1/4 tsp cinnamon.
pinch of nutmeg.
1/2 tsp vanilla.

Directions

mix the sugar, molasses, 1 tbsp of the oat milk, and rice flour together in a pan.
add the remaining milk and simmer. Add the pumpkin purée and boil until thickened.
Add the remaining ingredients and let cool. Serve warm or chilled.

Top with:

pumpkin pie spice.
cinnamon.
crushed pecans.
Note:*all toppings are optional*

Apple pie parfait

Perfect for any occasion, apples are good all year round but are the star of the show during fall months. Enjoy with a cup of tea or with a savory piece or Healthy avocado toast.
I used oats, cinnamon, and apple for the perfect healthy parfait.

Other parfaits

Apples aren’t everyone’s favorite so here are a few more of my parfait recipes.
Dragon fruit parfait

Yogurt parfait bowl

Enjoy with…

here are a few recipes to enjoy with your parfait.
Toast toppings

Dandelion sun tea

Banana cinnamon scones

Muffins in 11 different flavors

parfaits are so simple all you have to do is layer the ingredients! Start with yogurt then apple then oats. End in yogurt and top with cinnamon, oats, and apple slices. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Category: French/American

Serves: 1 per parfait

yogurt of choice.
1 apple, chopped.
apple pie spice.
gluten free oats.

Directions

Note:*layer as directed *
first put yogurt on the bottom of a jar or glass. Then add some apple pieces. In a separate bowl combine the oats and apple pie spice to taste. Add the oat mixture to the parfait layer. Now add a second yogurt layer. Continue in this order until you reach the top.
yogurt.
apple.
Oats.
End in yogurt. Top with apple pie spice or cinnamon, oats, and apple slices. Enjoy!

Dragon fruit parfait

Refreshing white fleshed dragon fruit with yogurt, granola, and fresh mint.
Dragon fruit has many health benefits and is not well known even though it’s delicious! There are three main dragon fruit types that I will list later on in this post.
I hope you enjoy this parfait, but do be aware that not everyone likes dragon fruit although it’s hard not to like!

Dragon fruit types

In this recipe I used red dragon fruit, but to know what dragon fruit I’m talking about you will need this short guide.

Yellow dragon fruit. Yellow dragon fruit has the same flesh as red dragon fruit (white flesh), but the skin is yellow.

Red dragon fruit. The skin of red dragon fruit is of course “red”.

Red pitaya dragon fruit. Pitaya dragon fruit is large and has hot pink-ish red flesh that is sweeter then the other types. Pitaya is my personal favorite although I used red dragon fruit.

Yogurt

Use the yogurt of your choice, that means vegan, dairy free, dairy, coconut, almond, gluten free! The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

Category: French/American

serves:1 per parfait

yogurt of choice.
gluten free granola.
honey or maple syrup to taste.
fresh dragon fruit pieces.
sliced almonds.
mint to garnish.
Directions
Start with yogurt in the base of a jar. Then add dragon fruit then the granola.
continue to layer in this order…yogurt, dragon fruit, granola. End in yogurt. Top with mint, honey or maple syrup, almond, and dragon fruit. Enjoy!

Banana cinnamon scones

These delicious little scones are perfect for any occasion and are low in sugar!!

I love scones! They are like biscuits that have been lightly sweetened and flavored.

I got the idea for these scones from Doughlights.blog. She has a wonderful baking blog and I highly recommend following her blog!

I have made my version of these scones eggless.

serve these scones with jelly, jam, apple butter (or pumpkin butter), or butter.

Don’t have chia seeds?

You can use one egg in place of the chia “egg”.

I didn’t make a glaze for these scones, on the blog that inspired these there was a glaze. Her recipe for the glaze is typed below.
Cinnamon glaze

150g powdered sugar.
2 tbsp dairy free milk or normal milk.
1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Directions

whisk together until smooth.
drizzle over scones when cooled.

Ingredients

Category: British

Makes: 12 round scones (1 dozen)

1 1/2 cups of flour.
1/2 cup of oats.
1 tbsp baking powder.
1/3 cup of sugar.
pinch of sea salt.
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
1/2 cup of vegan butter cold and cubed (1 stick).
2 tbsp dairy free milk.
1 tsp vanilla.
1 banana mashed.
1 tbsp molasses.
The chia egg

1 tbsp chia seeds.
2 tbsp water.
Directions

make the chia egg by combining the water and egg in a small bowl. Let sit for a few minutes.
whip the butter with the flour, oats, and sugar. Add the remaining ingredients. Add the chia egg. Mix until well combined.
flour a hard surface and roll out the dough slightly thick. Flour a mason jar and cut out scones. You will have to re-roll the dough multiple times.

grease a baking sheet and place scones on it. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.

Then bake at 375•f for 20 mins or more.
if desired enjoy with the glaze.

The big greens salad

I love all greens big and small from lettuce all the way to kiwi! The main reason to make this salad is to use up all those green things in your fridge or even your pantry! My favorite thing is to have a base of lettuce, kale, spinach or any other leafy green. Then I throw on tons of delicious ingredients and then make a dressing.
in this recipe even the dressing is green! That is because of the fresh aromatic herbs.

How do I know what to use?

use anything and everything that you have that’s naturally green. That includes: nuts, lettuce, herbs, fruits, and so much more!

Flowers

I used a wild edible flower called Florida snow, but you can use whatever wild edible flowers that grow near you. Note:*any wild flowers should be confirmed*

I’m not saying leave out the other colors!

If your wanting to add other non-green fresh things then freely add them in. I’m not telling you to leave them out!

Ingredients

Category: American

Serves: 1 per salad

The salad: big greens salad

use anything and everything that is naturally green that you have.

The dressing: herby greens

use whatever herbs are on hand. I used dill, basil, rosemary, and mint.
lemon juice.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Directions

Mash the dressing ingredients in a mortal and pestal.

Pina colada

The perfect thing to cool you off! Enjoy this right before fall kicks in as your last summer sweet or fall favorite (even though it’s really meant for summer or spring).
yes, I know your asking yourself “where am I going to get a coconut shell”?! Well you’ll be surprised…I cracked my own coconut to make this cup and I even used freshly cut coconut flesh in the pina colada!

my favorite thing about this colada is it’s tropical effect! When you take a sip your immediately transported to Hawaii with its tropical looks and breezes! 🏝 🌴

Question:”will I get addicted to this colada?” Answer:”probably!”

yeah you’ll probably get addicted to this smoothies creaminess and it’s tropical effect. Pina coladas are very easy to make yet most people never think of it. With only 4 ingredients you really can’t go wrong! #coconutpineapplebanana

You’ll want to go straight to the beach right when you sip this which is why I’ve included sea shells in these pics (and yes I found these on the beach, they are not store bought shells).

Banana. You’ll want fresh ripe bananas for this colada unless you want it to be like sorbet. Using frozen bananas will make this pina colada sorbet!
Coconut. I used fresh coconut right from the shell! Cracking a coconut is easier than you think. For how to crack a coconut, check my perm link below.
DIY coconut milk.
pineapple. I love pineapples sweet, tangy, tropical flavor which is why you should use fresh juicy pineapple.

Ingredients

Category: Hawaiian

Serves: 2-3

fresh coconut.
2 small bananas.
cubed fresh pineapple to taste.
coconut milk (add as needed until desired consistency).
Directions

put all the ingredients into a blender.
blend until smooth and serve in a coconut shell. Note:*if you don’t have a coconut shell just use a cup*