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This recipe is part of a new line I am working on of “bean cakes” that replace traditional flour with canned beans. These wonderfully moist cakes are also minimal sugar and higher in protein making them a guilt-free indulgence!
Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cans Navy Beans (drained)
- 1/3 cup Raisins
- 1 ½ cups Grated Carrot
- 2 TBS Olive Oil
- 5 Eggs (may substitute 6 egg whites, if desired)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
In your heavy duty food processor, blend the beans and raisins until you have a smooth puree. Add about half of your grated carrots, olive oil and continue to processes as you add the eggs one at a time into your batter. Pour batter into a large bowl and stir in your baking powder, cinnamon and the remaining grated carrots. Bake in parchment lined cake pans at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 2 packages Cream Cheese
• ¼ cup crushed pineapple (drained)
Beat cream cheese until fluffy and add pineapple.
I’m not a nutritionist, but I am a wiz with an Excel spreadsheet! (Values provided for entertainment purposes only) My calculations for this recipe (http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp) show this version to be 353 Calories compared to 582 Calories for a standard Carrot Cake found at AllRecipes.com. But this dessert also boasts 14 grams of protein and 11 grams of dietary fiber per slice. All of this with only 2 grams of sugar per serving. Need to cut the fat down in your after dinner treat? Consider a snack cake version baked in an 8” x 8” pan and omit the frosting and par down the total fat to only 5 grams per serving.
 Pizza makes a regular appearance on my family dinner table. The 30-Day Vegetarian cookbook has a wonderful recipe for whole grain spelt flour pizza that is easy to make and just as fast as pizza delivery!
This weekend, we kicked it up a notch with a BBQ seitan pizza served with an amazing antipasto. Deep bow to Ms. O for all of her help and inspiration with this meal.
The antipasto contains three types of veggie deli meats (turkey, bologna and salami) Romaine lettuce, sliced red cabbage, olives and roma tomatoes. For an extra treat I roasted asparagus and marinated overnight with a splash of olive oil and vinegar. Homemade marinated mushrooms added the final touch. Fresh squeezed lemon, olive oil and garlic made this side dish an equal partner to the main event!
My past attempts at a whole foods chocolate cake were always heavy when I used whole wheat flour, so I was excited to try a “bean” version of this decedent indulgence! I am so happy that my chocoholic husband gave this a fine thumbs up! The word “fine” is a good thing for a numismatist! 🙂
Cake:
- 1 can drained organic black beans
- 6 TBL organic butter
- 5 eggs
- 3 TBL honey
- ½ cup unsweetened coco powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
 Line two baking pans with parchment paper and spray lightly with olive oil. Puree the black beans and organic butter in your food processor until very smooth. Add eggs, honey, baking powder and baking soda and continue to process until the batter is completely mixed. Don’t worry about over mixing, there is no flour to make this “cake” tough.
Divide the mixture between two pans (this recipe makes “little” cakes about an inch and a half tall each) and tap the pans on the counter to remove any air pockets.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. (Oh and remember to remove the parchment paper … do I have a story I could tell you!)
Frosting:
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup unsweetened coco powder
- ¼ cup chocolate soy milk
- 3 TBL honey
Warm the soy milk slightly and mix in your coco powder until you have a smooth chocolate “syrup”. The warm soy milk will help remove some of the gritty texture of the coco powder. In your processor or mixing bowl blend the butter and honey until light and fluffy. Add your coco concoction and continue to beat until you have a well blended butter cream frosting.
 I am always trying to create amazing desserts with whole foods and without refined sugars or artificial sweeteners. My fellow creative cooks will know this is a hit and miss epicurean adventure. But finally I have hit on an easy cheesecake that will definitely make a come-back at kitchen table.
Most cheesecake recipes I have seen, call for more than a cup of sugar! That just won’t do with my body chemistry, so I have been testing variations of naturally fruit sweetened cheesecakes with only minimal success. After more than a year of trial and mostly error, I have hit upon a combination of tart-sweet that works!
Crust:
- 1 can (8 ounces) Roasted Almonds
- 8 pitted dates
Blend almonds and pitted dates in your food processor until you have a medium fine nut meal, then press into the bottom of your spring form pan.
Cheesecake:
- Zest from two lemons
- Juice of two lemons
- 3 packages (8 ounce) cream cheese
- 4 eggs
- 3 TBL Honey
Cream all of the ingredients in your food processor or hand mixer until smooth and pour into your prepared spring form pan.
Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.
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 6 apples cored but not peeled
- 6 carrots
- 8 pitted dates
- 2 cups whole grain flour
- 1 TBL baking powder
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 3 packages cream cheese
- 3 TBL maple syrup
- Zest from 1 lemon
Place your apples, carrots and dates in your food processor (in batches as to not over fill your bowl) and blend until well chopped. In a large bowl combine your whole grain flour and baking powder and add the wet fruits to the dry mixture. Place in 2 eggs and olive oil and stir until your batter is combined. Oil mini-muffin tins and fill with carrot cake batter. Bake in pre-heated 350° oven for 30 minutes.
To prepare frosting, beat cream cheese with maple syrup and the zest from one lemon. Frost or pipe icing onto cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
Makes 24 mini-cupcakes
- 3 ½ Cups Whole Grain Spelt Flour
- 2 ½ tsp Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Warm Soy Milk
Place your dry ingredients in the bowl of your heavy duty food processor* and pulse to combine. Add all of the olive oil and milk at once and process until the mixture forms a dough ball. Pinch off dough and roll into ropes. Twist or tie into a knot and place each on greased oven stone. in a warm place (I use my oven, with the oven light turned on) so that it can rise and double in size.
When the rolls have risen bake in a pre-heated 375° oven for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before slicing. (Serve warm bread with nut butters and veggie sausage for a special homemade treat.)
*Mixing Bowl Method
Don’t have a heavy duty food processor? You can make this basic bread using a large mixing bowl and a little muscle. Place the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and make a well in the middle of the flour. Pour your soy milk and olive oil into the center of your flour well and stir with a wooden spoon until all of the liquid is incorporated. Knead the dough directly in the bowl for about five minutes, or until most of the “sticky” texture has been replaced by a smooth rubbery quality. Proceed as directed above.
- 2 cans Red Kidney Beans
- 2 cans Pinto Beans
- 2 cans White Kidney Beans
- 1 large can Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1-2 tsp Salt (or to taste)
- ½ cup dried chopped onion bits
- 8 vegetarian burgers grilled and chopped
In your slow cooker or dutch oven, place the drained cans of beans and the crushed tomato with seasonings. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours. Add the grilled and chopped veggie burgers to your chili one hour before you are ready to serve.
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 2-4 pounds of small red and white potatoes
- 4 scallions chopped
- 1 TBL Dried or Fresh Dill
- ½ cup Mayonnaise (or to taste, depending on how many spuds you are cooking!)
Slice the potatoes in half or quarters depending on the size. Boil until just tender, but do not overcook! Toss the drained potatoes with the chopped scallions, dill and mayo, then place in the refrigerator overnight.
- 1 package whole grain couscous prepared as directed
- 1 package frozen broccoli
- 1 package frozen green peas
- 1 can sliced black olives (or whole olives that your darling college girl offers to meticulously slice)
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1/3 cup Italian Salad Dressing
Place the frozen veggies in a large bowl. Add the grated carrot, sliced black olives and diced red pepper. While the couscous is still hot from the pan, stir the pasta bits into the vegetables and mix well. Pour the Italian dressing over the couscous salad and let marinate in the refrigerator over night so the flavors can blend to perfection.
- 2 tubs extra firm tofu
- 1 can pineapple chunks
- 1 red pepper, cut into wedges
- 1 package brown mushrooms rinsed and patted dry
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into wedges
- ½ cup tamari sauce
- 1 TBL pure maple syrup
Cut the tofu into large cubes appropriate for kabobs. Prepare the marinade for the tofu by combining the juice from the canned pinapple (reserve pinapple chuncks for kabobs) tamari sauce and maple syrup. Pour over the tofu cubes and let marinate over night. To assemble, alternate tofu with pinapple, mushrooms, onion and red pepper wedges. These can either be grilled over medium heat for 20 minutes (basting occasionally with leftover marinade), or placed in a baking dish along with the marinade and baked in a 400 ° oven for 1 hour.
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