NEWSWORTHY

On Monday, 27 March 2017, I shared my recipes for vegan chocolates on ABC 4 Utah’s morning show, Good Things Utah. Thanks to everyone on the show-I had a great time 🙂

http://www.good4utah.com/good-things-utah/gtu-recipes/vegan-chocolates-peanut-butter-cups-almond-delites-and-truffles/681234172

A few notes that I did not have time to talk about when doing the segment:

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups can be made gluten free by using gluten free Annie’s GF cinnamon sugar snickerdoodle cookies (pulse in a food processor to get crumbs) in place of a graham cracker pie crust shell (I use these in lieu of just buying graham crackers because almost all of them have honey in them, which is not vegan. It’s tough to find organic graham cracker pie crust shells in SLC this time of year, so you go with whatever you can find). You can buy GF graham crackers, but none I’ve seen are also vegan. If you have extra time, you can make your own GF graham crackers, using this recipe here: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/11/05/gluten-free-and-vegan-graham-crackers/

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups can be peanut free too (WHAT!!!) …. You can use one of my very favorite products, called SunButter. It tastes a lot like peanut butter but it is made with sunflower seeds! Make sure you buy the SunButter brand though, as it is the best tasting (not getting any kickbacks-just personal opinion). It’s kind of expensive, but SO worth it! Sometimes it’s on sale or you might get a manufacturer’s or store coupon for it in the mail (Got a $1 off coupon in the mail from Smith’s last week-it might also be on their website to load onto your Fresh Values Card it you have one-definitely check it out).

If you are out of powdered sugar or don’t want to pay $4 for a bag of organic vegan powdered sugar, you can make your own! I use unbleached cane sugar/evaporated cane juice. Cane sugar is vegan if it is unbleached-pure white bleached sugar goes through a bone-char filter to get it to be so white. It doesn’t change its properties per se, but it is kind of like having something nonvegan sharing the same plate as your vegan meal. It’s a matter of principle…

For every 1 cup of unbleached sugar, use 1 TBSP non-GMO cornstarch. You can do it in a high speed blender (VitaMix, BlendTec or other blender-use dry canister). You want your unbleached sugar to be superfine in texture, so I actually run it through a clean coffee grinder (mixing the two in a bowl first, then in small batches, running it through the coffee grinder, then transfer to an airtight container for any unused portions).

For the vegan truffles, you can make these nut-free too. If you can’t use cashews (too expensive, sold out everywhere, allergies, whatever the reason), you can use tofu instead. It’s a mousse filling, so it also doubles as a pie filling! Though soy based, it gets a bad rap. Its health benefits outweigh any negative press it has gotten (it will not give you Moobs and medical studies have been inconclusive about causing cancer).

There’s no real measuring that needs to happen with any of these recipes-I never measure anything… But for those who need ratios:

PEANUT BUTTER CUPS/SUNBUTTER CUPS

1/2 jar peanut butter OR SunButter

1/2 c powdered sugar

1-9″ vegan graham cracker pie crust

ALMOND DELITES

1 part unsweetened coconut flakes

1 part sliced almonds

2 parts Brown Rice Syrup

Mix everything together in a bowl-let it sit for a bit for the coconut to rehydrate. I usually start with 1/4 c almonds, 1/4 c coconut flakes and 1/2 c Brown Rice Syrup. A little bit goes a LONG way. Adjust amounts of Brown Rice Syrup if too dry, add more coconut or almonds if too wet. These are like an Almond Joy-if you can’t eat almonds, you can leave them out and then it’s more like Mounds. When I started making these, I used Agave Nectar, which works too, but it’s not as thick as BrownRice Syrup, and I like the BRS version much better. You can buy it at Sprouts and Whole Foods (and possibly other places too). Make sure to wipe down the lip of your jar of Brown Rice Syrup because it is VERY sticky and if you put the lid on without doing this, it will be hard to open it the next time you want to use it.

TRUFFLES

Cashew Creme (soak cashews at least 2 hours, drain & rinse, then transfer to a blender and add just enough cold water to barely cover. Blend until smooth). Start with 1/4 c cashew creme and add 1/4 c melted chocolate chips and blend again until well incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides & blend again. Transfer to candy molds and refrigerated until solidified. These can have either a hard candy shell or you can just roll them in cocoa powder, nuts, coconut, etc. If choosing the hard candy shell, prepare in the same way as PB Cups & Almond Delites. (see video)

Watch the video here

http://www.kutv.com/health/features/check-health/stories/vid_619.shtml

Diet Change After Cancer Fight

(KUTV) A simple change in her diet gave one woman the hope she lost after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Kate Dowden learned she had cancer in 2010. She had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. During her treatments, Kate’s doctor also encouraged her to change her diet. “She told me that ‘Kate, you should eat meat only as a condiment, rarely or never.’ And then she kind of sent me on my way and I was like ‘what does that even mean’.”Dowden, a registered nurse and Westminster College graduate, turned to scientific journals. She found there was a correlation between food and chronic diseases. “There was evidence that diet is linked to cancer.”

So the nurse changed to a plant-based diet. She doesn’t eat processed food or meats. Everything Nurse Kate cooks is fresh and organic. “This is a diet that you eat if you want to live a nice, long, rich, healthy life.”

Nurse Kate says the diet has given her a sense of control over her health. But she admits there are side effects. “Weight loss, increased energy, increased athletic endurance. There are some pretty big side effects. People should be aware of that.”

Nurse Kate is also educating people about a plant-based diet. She teaches cooking classes at Harmons City Creek. She has also launched her own website, http://www.resilientbodynutrition.com/

Nurse Kate has also provided the following recipes for you to try at home.

Portobello Tacos ”
Kate Dowden, RN!
Resilient Body Nutrition” ”
3-4 large portobello mushrooms thinly sliced”
1 sweet onion finely chopped”
1 yellow onion chopped”
4-5 Romaine lettuce leaves thinly sliced”
2 avocados chopped”
3 medium tomatoes chopped”
2 limes”
1 cup No Chicken Broth (Pacific Foods) ”
4 cloves garlic roughly chopped ”
1/2 t cumin”
1/4 t pasilla pepper powder”
1/4 t mexican oregano”
1/4 t sweet paprika”
dash cinnamon”
dash allspice”
salt and pepper to taste”
12 corn tortillas (I prefer Rico’s handmade) ”
(makes about 6 tacos)! ”
Instructions: Prepare toppings: slice avocado, chop tomato, thinly slice lettuce, finely
chop sweet onion, wedge 1 lime and set aside. ” ”
In a large non-stick pan on med-hi heat add chopped yellow onion 3 cloves chopped
garlic and 2 T no chicken broth. Sauté until onions begin to brown. If there is some “bits”
of brown on the pan that’s ok. Pour in 1/4 c broth to deglaze pan. Add thinly sliced
mushrooms and spices. Simmer for aprox 15 min on med-low heat adding broth as
needed. Juice one lime into mixture right before serving. ”
”
To prepare tortillas ”
Juice one lime into spray bottle with one clove garlic and 4T water (best if left in
refrigerator overnight) Plain water will also work. ” ”
Heat small non-stick pan on high heat. Spray water on one side of tortilla and place wet
side down into pan until air pockets form on tortilla, spray opposite side and flip tortilla
with tongs until air pockets form. Place hot tortilla in tortilla container or aluminum foil,
keeping covered until all tortillas are toasted. (Optional shortcut: wrap a stack of tortillas
in a wet paper towel or clean dishcloth and place on a glass plate. Microwave for 1-2min
until hot)” ”
Using 1 or 2 tortilla (for better structure) place approximately 1 Tablespoon of mushroom
mixture in each tortilla. Load in toppings and sauce as desired.” ”

“Creamy” Cilantro Lime Sauce ”
Kate Dowden, RN”
Resilient Body Nutrition” ”
In a high speed blender:”
1/2 C raw cashews”
1/2 pkg firm non-gmo organic tofu”
3 T apple cider vinegar”
Juice of 2 limes”
1/2 t salt”
1/4 c no chicken broth”
1/2 t cumin”
Aprox 2 T fresh onion (a piece the size of a walnut)”
Aprox 1 cup fresh cilantro”
blend until smooth!
add pepper to taste”
(yield aprox 17 oz)