Well, my favorite time of the year is finally here!!
SUMMER!! I realize it's not officially summer yet, but come on, I live in L.A., where we have two seasons; warm and warmer. From a young age I always loved eating my fruits and veggies, but I love them now more than ever. I pretty much love every fruit nature has to offer us, but I especially love summer fruits. All the fruits I love most- strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, pineapples, pluots, watermelon and cherries.....OH CHERRIES!!!!.....they all make for a magical summer of eating.
I always seem to lose weight the months of May-August, without really trying, and I really think that it's because of all the fruit I eat. In the winter months, I opt for heavier snacks such as hummus and pita, a veggie sammy, or leftovers from the last nights dinner. Once it starts to heat up and all this amazing fruit is out, that is what I pick up instead. The best thing about it is that you can't really gain weight by eating too much fruit (or veg), so go ahead and have a half of a watermelon for dessert if you feel like stuffing your face! There's no guilt (I mean who ever laid in bed and thought "Oh, why did I eat that much watermelon. There goes my diet!"), and your ass will thank you later! Before I proceed with my Strawberry Bread recipe I wanted to tell you some of the amazing benefits of strawberries.
TOP TEN REASONS TO EAT MORE STRAWBERRIES!!
* Excellent source of Vitamin C (1 Cup = 100% of your daily dose!)
* Strawberries are loaded with Antioxidants, which may help prevent cataracts.
* Strawberries are a cancer fighting fruit
* Help keep wrinkles at bay (put down the Botox needle and eat your berries)
* Fight bad cholesterol
* Due to the Antioxidants and Phytochemicals, strawberries help reduce the inflammation in joints
* With 134mg of potassium per serving (1/2 C), they can help regulate your blood pressure
* Contains 2g of fiber per serving (1/2 C); and we all know what happens if you lack fiber....
* Aid in weight management/loss, you can eat 1 1/2 C for only 100 calories!!
Eat up, people, it's clear that strawberries are more than just a beautiful and tasty treat! I love them so much, and have a constant supply of them at our place until they are out of season and the price starts to rise. They are pretty cheap now (even Organic, which is what I recommend buying), so no excuses!
Now, on to the bread recipe........this recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in Taste of Home like 10 years ago. I've veganized and healthified it, so no need to feel guilty eating a slice for breakfast or dessert.....just don't eat half the loaf!
STRAWBERRY COCONUT BREAD
(makes 2 loaves)
* 3 C whole wheat flour
* 2 C organic vegan sugar (for those not in the know, regular, refined, sugar is NOT vegan-friendly in that it contains animal bone char. VOMIT)
* 3 tsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 1/4 C vegetable oil
* Egg Replacer for 4 eggs (I use Bob's Red Mill Brand; 1 TBS replacer + 3 TBS water = 1 egg)
*1 1/4 pound fresh Organic strawberries, diced large
* 3/4 C unsweetened Organic shredded coconut
* Sprinkling of coconut and vegan brown sugar, to top
- Preheat oven to 350
- Grease (I used cooking spray) and flour 2 loaf pans
- Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid if you have it)
- Add oil, egg replacer and mix on low-med to incorporate ingredients
- Fold in strawberries and coconut BY HAND, otherwise your precious berries will get crushed!
- Divide batter evenly between the 2 loaf pans and top with a sprinkling of coconut and brown sugar
- Bake for 1 hour, or until tops are browned and toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
- Keep in loaf pan, but move to cooling rack to cool.
- Wait until completely cooled to remove from pan.
- ENJOY!!
As always, I love to hear any feedback on my recipes/blog. What's YOUR favorite way to eat strawberries?
I hope everyone has a beautiful day. Get out there and stock up on some strawberries!
XO
~H
Where Have "REUBEN" All My Life!
I'm SO excited to finally be sharing one of my recipes with you! As a carnivore, one of my favorite sandwiches to eat was a reuben (on white or wheat bread; I HATE rye). As a vegan, I've been lucky enough to find a few spots in L.A. that have killer reubens on the menu. I don't really eat out a lot, but find myself craving reubens often. I've seen a few recipes for them that looked decent, but just never got around to making one. Well....today, that changed! I did a huge shop at Sprouts yesterday, and got everything I needed to make my attempt on the reuben sandwich. I researched many recipes and have come up with my version and I must say, it's EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Vegan or not, you can't deny the yumminess of this bad boy! Drop your misconceptions of what vegan food tastes like, and give it a try. Even though it's not the healthiest thing you could eat, it's WAY better for you than the grease, dairy and meat filled sandwich you are used to eating. You don't need "cheat days" when you follow a plant-based, cruelty-free lifestyle. You can eat this sammy guilt-free! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
THE REUBEN, "HOLLY STYLE"
(Makes 2 monster or 3 big sandwiches)
The Marinade:
*1 can of beets (NOT pickled)
*1/2 C white, distilled, vinegar
*1 TBS vegan sugar
*1 TBS organic yellow mustard
*1 tsp dried, or fresh dill
*1 tsp granulated garlic
*1/2 tsp ground allspice
*1 tsp (or more to taste) of freshly ground black pepper
*1 bay leaf
The Filling:
*1 package of plain tempeh (I used West End 5-grain)
*I package of organic sauerkraut (I haven't been ambitious enough to make my own yet, but I'm workin' on it)
*Daiya Mozzerella
*4-6 slices of Sourdough bread
*1 1/2 TBS vegan butter (I use Earth Balance-the olive oil kind)
*Thousand Island Dressing/Sauce (recipe follows)
*1 TBS olive oil, for frying tempeh
Appliances Needed:
*Saute pan
*Panini press (or you can use a pan, and place a smaller pan on top to "press" the sandwich)
PREP:
~Place all the ingredients for the marinade into a medium size container and stir together until mustard and sugar are well incorporated.
~Slice tempeh. I cut the block in half, then each half into slices. You can cut it differently if you want.
~Place tempeh slices into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
TO MAKE THE SAMMY:
~Remove tempeh from marinade, and shake off any excess liquid.
~Heat the TBS olive oil in the saute pan over medium heat.
~Place tempeh slices in pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until a bit browned
~While the tempeh is cooking, preheat panini press
~Butter the outsides of the sourdough and get all sandwich components ready to go
~Once tempeh is ready and panini press is heated, you are good to go to construct the sammy!
~I did mine in this order:
*bottom slice of sourdough
*Thousand Island dressing (generous amount)
*tempeh
*a small layer of Daiya mozzerella
*sauerkraut (I used a good amount)
*another small layer of Daiya mozzerella
*top slice of sourdough
~The sandwich will look huge, but will compact in the press
~Place into panini press, and cook until
beautifully toasted and cheeze is melted
~Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the other sammys.
~DIG IN AND ENJOY!!!!!
"THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING"
(This makes just enough for the sandwiches. Feel free to double and get creative with it's uses!)
*1/2 C Vegan Mayo ( Let's be honest people, Veganaise is the ONLY way to go)
*1/4C organic (no crap added) ketchup
*1 TBS organic yellow mustard
*1 tsp horseradish
*1-2 dill pickles (I used Bubbies-THE BEST pickles out there), chopped finely
~Mix all ingredients together.
~You are ready to rock n' roll
Get ready to have your MIND BLOWN by the vegan goodness!! I hope after eating this sandwich you will be left asking the same question I did "Where have reuben all my life?!?"
(Clearly, I'm a dork. Totally OK with that)
New to veganism? Any questions on where to find your ingredients or what these ingredients are, feel free to ask. I'd be happy to help in any way!
Looking forward to your feedback!
