vegan Archives - Just J.Faye

Cherry Beet Smoothie

February 9, 2016 by Jenna

I’m all about the smoothies right now. Also, I’m all about tart cherries, beets, and pretty red things. It is, after all, almost Valentine’s Day.

Let’s get festive with this cherry beet smoothie!

Smoothies are one of my favorite weekday breakfast items. Not only are they delicious, but they are quick to make, super healthy, and keep me full through the morning. Plus, they never get boring, because you can easily swap the ingredients.

My morning smoothies always contain the following:

Nut milk – usually almond milk, but sometimes cashew milk
Seeds – chia seeds or flax seeds
Greens – usually kale
Protein – usually protein powder, but sometimes nuts or nut butter
A frozen banana – sometimes half of one, sometimes a whole one

Often times that is just what it is, but other times I like to switch it up and experiment with new flavors. Some days I’ll add carrots or spices or both. Some days I’ll sub half of the banana with other frozen fruit, like pineapple or mangos. Some days I will have this apple ginger cucumber green smoothie and some days I’ll have this pineapple ginger turmeric protein smoothie. There are just so many flavor combinations to try!

This cherry beet smoothie was inspired by Valentine’s Day. It’s pretty and I love it. In it are all the things I already listed along with a few others: a beet, frozen tart cherries, and apple cider vinegar.

Beets are packed with nutrients like manganese, vitamin C, betaine, fiber, and potassium and have detoxification and anti-inflammatory benefits. Beets can also help prevent heart disease and boost energy. The only downside is that they are super colorful and can stain your hands red. It’s ok though, the beets are worth it.

Cherries boast many of the same health benefits, but they also help with post-exercise muscle soreness and sleep. I love having frozen cherries in my freezer with a couple of dark chocolate chips when I need to satisfy my after dinner I-need-something-sweet craving.

I also added in some apple cider vinegar (ACV). I love this stuff. It helps support a healthy immune system, promote digestion, and aids with weight loss. The acidity of the ACV pairs well with the earthiness of the beets.

With all that said this an extremely delicious and healthy concoction.

I hope you try this cherry beet smoothie! It’ll make you feel healthy, beautiful, and loved from the inside out.

Cherry Beet Smoothie

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

A bright red, beautiful, delicious smoothie full of healthy things like beets, tart cherries, apple cider vinegar, chia seeds, and greens.

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk (or cow, soy, cashew, etc)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 medium beet, peeled and cut into large chunks
½ cup frozen tart cherries
½ frozen banana, sliced
1 tablespoon almond butter*
1 handful greens (spinach, kale, beet greens)

Instructions

Add everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Top with extra cherries and chia seeds. Enjoy!

Notes

*The almond butter can be replaced with any nut butter, a ¼ cup of whole nuts, a scoop of protein powder, or ½ cup Greek yogurt.

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Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

January 26, 2016 by Jenna

I’m really into these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars right now.

They are basically all of my favorite flavors combined into one delicious treat: chocolate, almonds, coconut. Then there’s the fact that these are healthy, so I love them even more. I’ve been eating them morning, noon, and night and I don’t feel bad about it at all.

There is no butter, flour, eggs, oil, or refined sugar in this recipe. They are gluten-free and vegan (if you use vegan chocolate chips). The surprise ingredient is chickpeas. I get that it sounds weird. It’s like that time I told you to put cannellini beans in your blondies. But hey! That worked and so does this.

Trust me.

In these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars we have the obvious ingredients: chocolate chips, roasted chopped almonds, and unsweetened coconut flakes. However, those are just the mix-ins. The base of the bars are built with chickpeas, almond butter, almond meal, and coconut sugar with a little vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder. The batter comes together in a food processor within minutes.

It’s ridiculously simple.

This was my first time using coconut sugar. I’ve read about it quite a bit, so when I saw it on sale at the grocery store I decided to finally buy some and try it out. Coconut sugar is basically boiled and dehydrated sap from coconut palm and has a caramel-y flavor like brown sugar. It is similar to granulated sugar, but offers a lower glycemic index, less fructose, more vitamins and minerals, and some prebiotics. I wouldn’t say it’s good for you, but is a worthy refined-sugar replacement, like honey.

With that said, if you don’t feel like splurging (because it is a tad more expensive) on coconut sugar, you can replace it with honey in this recipe.

Don’t worry, these healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars don’t taste like chickpeas. And if they did, would that be so bad? Chickpeas are delicious! The chickpeas, however, do give these bars an almost butter-y texture. They are soft, not too sweet, and have hints of chocolate, almond, and coconut. I added a sprinkle of sea salt over the top for a nice contrasting flavor.

These are great for those moments you need a sweet treat and don’t want to feel guilty about it. I recommend baking up a batch and storing them in the freezer, so that you are prepared for when your sweet teeth wants control.

Try them out and let me know what you think!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

These healthy chocolate chip almond coconut bars are made with a secret ingredient - chickpeas! They are a delicious, guilt-free treat to help satisfy your sweet tooth.

Serves: 12 bars

Ingredients

15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
⅓ cup creamy almond butter
¼ cup almond meal
¼ cup coconut sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup roasted almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup dark chocolate chips (vegan, if needed)
½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan and line with parchment paper
Add the base ingredients (chickpeas -> baking powder) into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped almonds, dark chocolate chips, and coconut flakes and pulse a few times until everything is combined.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and sea salt, then bake for 25 minutes.
Let cool completely before slicing. These will last a few days in the refrigerator and a few months in the freezer.

Notes

*The coconut sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or honey.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Almond Coconut Bars

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almond tahini protein bites

January 5, 2016 by Jenna

Welcome to 2016. We are all about the healthy food and working out now, right?

I figured.

So let’s hit the gym and have these almond tahini protein bites as a delicious pre- or post-workout snack.

These little balls are made up of almonds, protein powder, dates, and tahini. That’s it.

Let’s review the benefits of each ingredient real quick, because there are a lot of good things to be said.

Almonds. Not only are these nuts are full of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, but they are also a great source of fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Oh, and they are delicious.
Protein Powder. This stuff is– you guessed it – a great source of protein. #surprise
Dates. These little things are rich in fiber, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants. They also serve as an awesome natural sweetener.
Tahini. This sesame butter is packed with fiber, protein, calcium, and B vitamins and adds such a unique flavor. This stuff isn’t just for hummus!

As you can see these almond tahini protein bites are full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Plus they are super easy to make, delicious, vegan, gluten free, and paleo (depending on your protein powder and stance on tahini).

These protein bites are great as a running-between-errands-and/or-meetings type snack, but are absolutely perfect as a pre- or post-workout boost – before the workout to supply your body with the energy it needs to perform and after the workout to help repair the muscles you just wore out.

Sooo…uh… why wouldn’t you whip up a batch?

Before you go break out your food processor, I want to give a quick word on protein powders.

If you don’t have/use protein powder, you can totally leave it out of this recipe. However, if you work out and lift weights on a regular basis I would strongly recommend purchasing a one. General guidelines recommend only 10-35% of your daily calories to come from protein, but it is shocking to see how many people simply do not get enough. The amount you need varies person-to-person depending on your age, weight, sex, activity level, and goals, but having a protein powder to supplement your diet is a good idea.

There are a bunch of different types out there – milk, whey, egg, casein, soy, rice, etc. Try out different options to find the one you like best. Lately I’ve been leaning towards the plant-based powders like Vega and Sunwarrior.

I’m not recommending that you down a protein shake morning, noon, and night, but rather to use one as a supplement if you don’t fulfill your protein needs through whole foods. I’m not a registered dietician. That’s just my opinion.

Was that a rant? Idk.

Anwaysssssssss these are good, make them!!

almond tahini protein bites

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

These almond tahini protein bites full of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, making them perfect for a pre- or post-workout snack.

Serves: 8 bites

Ingredients

⅔ cup almonds
½ cup vanilla protein powder
7 dates, soaked in water
¼ cup tahini

Instructions

Process almonds for 3-4 minutes until it looks like a coarse powder. Add in the protein powder and pulse for a few times. Put in a separate bowl.
Add dates and 2 tablespoons water to the processor. Process for a minute, then add the tahini and process for 2 more minutes, stopping to scrap down as needed. It will form a thick paste.
Add back in the almond and protein powder mix, process until well combined.
Form into balls and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Notes

If you don't use a protein powder you can omit it from the recipe; however, you may want to add honey, maple syrup, or vanilla extract to sweeten them up a bit.

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Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies (Vegan)

December 15, 2015 by Jenna

These Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies would be a great addition to your holiday cookie tray.

Why?

Because…

They are easy to make.

They are actually not too bad for you (as far as cookies go).

They are DELICIOUS.

I don’t see any reason to continue this list.

Last year I mentioned that my mom and I enter the Star Tribune Cookie Contest each year. Since I live in Denver now, we weren’t able to have our little baking day this year to create a new cookie recipe. (Maybe next year we’ll have to do it via Skype. Mom – thoughts??)

Two years ago we submitted the recipe for these Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies. Although it didn’t make it as a finalist, the recipe did receive an Honorable Mention, which was a huge win in our book. HUGE.

These Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies even made it into The Duesterhoeft Café cookbook. So you know they’re good.

So yeah.

They are easy to make – All you need is a bowl, some measuring equipment, and a wooden spoon. The wet ingredients are added into the dry ingredients to form some thick dough, which is then rolled into balls and baked into cookies.

They are healthy-ish – These cookies are vegan and filled with great things like coconut oil, applesauce, and white whole wheat flour. Not to mention the added health benefits from chocolate, cranberry, and ginger. Feel free to grab more than one.

They are delicious – Chocolate cookies are always amazing, but the ginger and cranberry give them an extra dose of delicious and a nice holiday flavor.

Gobble up two and then savor one. You don’t even need to feel guilty about it.

Don’t forget to add these cookies to your tray too: Molasses Cremes with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting and Christmas Treasure Drop Cookies.

Happy baking!!

Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies (Vegan)

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

24 mins

These Chocolate Cranberry Ginger Cookies are the perfect addition to your holiday cookies tray. They are easy, healthy, vegan, and very delicious!

Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup crystallized ginger
⅓ cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour -> ground ginger).
In a medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Stir in the crystallized ginger and dried cranberries. The dough will be thick.
Roll dough into small balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, being careful not to over-bake. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

You can find crystallized ginger in a couple of different places. The first few times I made these I used crystallized candied ginger chunks from Trader Joes and chopped them into small pieces. This year I used Archer Farms crystallized ginger from the spice aisle in Target.
The corn starch can be omitted, but it gives the cookies a softer and chewier texture.
Drizzling (vegan) chocolate on top of these cookies is also a good idea and dresses them up a bit.
You can make the dough ahead of time, shape them into balls, and place in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until you’re ready to bake them. Just let them thaw a little bit before placing them in the oven.
Baked cookies last up to 5 days in an airtight container.

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Guilt-Free Tahini Brownie Bites (v, gf-o)

September 30, 2015 by Jenna

I was in Seattle this past weekend visiting my best friend. We celebrated her birthday, explored the city, and were so happy to be reunited after a crazy 2.5 months of not seeing each other.

The great thing about a best friend (or any really good friend for that matter) is that you can pick up right where you left off and 2.5 months can seem like it had only been 2.5 hours. We all need people like this. People who get you when you don’t make sense, who support you when you’re feeling a little unstable, who laugh with you at stupid things that no one else things is funny, and who make you amazing Powerpoint weekend itineraries. It’s just the best.

Amiright?

Alongside of having a best friend and group of people you can forever count on, it’s also good to have chocolate.

And chocolate gets even better when it comes in this guilt-free tahini brownie bite form.

These little friends are made of a chia seed egg, oats, salt, cocoa powder, tahini, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and almond milk. This is why we can call them friends; no bad influences in sight.

I know that chocolate and peanut butter is like the ultimate BFF combo, but the mix of chocolate and tahini is pretty dern good too. Plus, they are vegan and can easily be made gluten-free, if that is what you need.

These bites will be there for you when you need a mid-afternoon snack or a post-dinner dessert. They are perfect for moments when you aren’t quite ready to indulge, but are craving a sweet treat that won’t wreck your week.

This is a good friendship to have.

Plus, they are easy to make! You just throw everything into a food processor and let it whiz away for a bit. Divide the batter into a 24-cup mini muffin tin and bake for 8ish minutes. Then eat, enjoy, and go meet up with your friends.

They will stay fresh in an air tight container for a few days, but you can also store them in the freezer. I love topping mine with a little bit of tahini, but almond and sunflower butter tastes great too.

So yeah, these tahini brownie bites are guilt-free and good friends to have!

And now some Seattle pictures.

We kicked off our Saturday with brunch at Tallulah’s and then went on a hike around Rattlesnake Lake. From there we belted out some karaoke at Rock Box, ate dinner at Tin Table, and had ice cream at Molly Moon’s.

On Sunday we grabbed coffee at Stumptown (!!), walked around Pike Place Market, ate some chowder, and enjoyed a beer at Fremont Brewing. Then it was time to part ways and go back to Denver. Weekend over. Sigh.

But you know what? It was exciting to fly back into Denver. I’m still getting used to the fact that I live here now, not Minneapolis. So strange! I like it 🙂

Guilt-Free Tahini Brownie Bites

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

9 mins

Total time

19 mins

These tahini brownie bites are easy to make, delicious, and totally guilt-free!

Serves: 24 bites

Ingredients

3 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
1 cup old fashioned oats (gluten-free if needed)
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
⅓ cup tahini
⅓ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons almond milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a mini muffin tin.
In a small bowl, stir together the water and chia seed meal. Set aside for at least 5 minutes.
Add the oats and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the oats reach a flour-like consistency, but there can still be some bigger pieces.
Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of almond milk if the batter seems thick.
Divide the batter evenly between the mini muffin cups, about a heaping teaspoon.
Bake for 8-9 minutes, then let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

You can substitute the chia seed egg for a flax egg if you prefer. A real egg would probably work as well!

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Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies (gluten free, vegan)

June 19, 2015 by Jenna

Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies.

Wait.

What?

Cannellini blondies.

I get it. It’s weird. Stay with me.

These blondies were never on my radar. I never thought about them nor did I ever dream about them. They just kind of happened.

What I originally wanted to do was make black bean brownies. You have heard of those before, right? The surprisingly delicious and healthy little faux brownies made with black beans and cocoa powder (among a few other things). That was my plan.

But when I went to go grab a can of black beans from my cupboard, I *GASP* didn’t have any. My inventory (which I manually track in my memory) must have been off. Whoops.

(insert nerdy supply chain joke about inventory discrepancies)

I spotted a can of cannellini beans, shrugged my shoulders, and switched directions. If brownies can be made with black beans, then blondies could be made with cannellini beans, right?!

Well…

Sure.

These cannellini blondies aren’t made with butter, flour, egg, or lots of sugar. Instead there is coconut oil, cannellini beans, flax meal, maple syrup, and only two tablespoons of brown sugar. They also have some almond butter, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips, because those things just seem to be involved in everything that I do.

The texture is a lot softer and resembles more of a moist quick bread than a regular blondie (like these brown butter bourbon blondies or these brown butter ginger peach blondies). The taste is, well, different. No, they don’t taste like beans. They taste like a tasty sweet treat that I don’t have to feel guilty about. Not even if I stress eat two in the same sitting.

But who even stress eats? I DO.

I’m running a marathon TOMORROW and kind of have been nonchalantly internally freaking out about it all week. I think I’m in denial that it’s even happening. After doing a bulk of my runs solo and struggling a lot with my performance this training season, it just doesn’t feel like I’ve worked hard enough for the marathon to actually be here. Plus, my recently diagnosed arrhythmia hasn’t helped the situation. I guess my heart beats to it’s own awkward drum?

The Cardiologist gave me a Zio patch (like this) and told me I could run it. I am thankful that none of my other muscles or bones are injured and that my whole family is driving up to Duluth to cheer me on and that everyone else in the Calhoun Beach Run Club is totally going to kill it and that the experience as a whole will be really fun and rewarding.

Annddddd…. Back to the blondies. I am thankful for these too. Did I mention they are gluten-free and vegan (if you use vegan-friendly chocolate chips)? Neat!

I guess I really shouldn’t even call them blondies, but I’m going to anyways. What’s done is done.

Have cherry walnut butterscotch blondies when you ate healthy salads all week and want to delight yourself by eating something sweet and sinful. Have these almond butter cannellini blondies when you want a healthy little treat during the week so that you can save your big indulgence for Friday night pizza.

Different situations, but both are great ideas.

So yeah, cannellini blondies are real and I like them… for regular healthy enjoyment and for stress eating.

Now I’m headed up to Duluth to get ready for a 26.2 mile run tomorrow. Wish me luck??

Almond Butter Cannellini Blondies (gluten free, vegan)

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

26 mins

Total time

36 mins

These almond butter cannellini blondies might seem strange, but they are a healthy little treat. They are gluten free and vegan (if using vegan-friendly chocolate chips) and easy to make. These are perfect for a mid-day snack or for a post-dinner dessert without all the guilt of a classic blondie.

Serves: 9 blondies

Ingredients

2 ½ tablespoon water
1 tablespoon flax meal
15 oz cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ almond butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup dark chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips if needed)

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8x8” baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the blondies can easily be lifted out of the pan. Lightly grease with butter or oil.
In a small bowl, stir together the water and flax meal. Let sit for about 5 minutes. This is your flax egg.
Add all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor excluding the walnuts and chocolate chips. Process until smooth, 3-4 minutes.
Add the walnuts and chocolate chips, reserving a little bit of each to sprinkle on top. Process a few times so that they get mixed into the batter and break up a little bit.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the remaining nuts and chocolate.
Bake for 26-32 minutes. It will be will difficult to tell when these are done.
Let these cool completely in the pan before removing and cutting.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container for a few days. I personally like them stored in the refrigerator and I bet they would hold up well in the freezer.

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