Improving my recipes

Posted by on Friday, May 18, 2012 · 6 Comments 

On Monday, I participated in Wellness Secrets’ diabesity seminar, which is a weight loss program with an emphasis on diabetes since the two topics go hand in hand.

I learned how I can save money on my cashew cheese, cashew gravy, and other nut based recipes. In the lecture, the speaker said that you could replace half of the nuts with a cooked grain like millet, and most of the flavor of the recipe would still be retained. I tried it out this week when I made cashew gravy, and sure enough, it came out like the speaker said. Cashews are very expensive. I’m getting them for over $8 a pound. When I use it as frequently as I do, if I want to be economical, I have to look for other options. I can get rice for a little over $1 a pound, so although using the full amount of the cashews will give the recipe the richest flavor because of the fat content, I’m going to go the more creative, economical route and continue to experiment using grains with my nut based cheeses and gravies.

Also, in the lecture a strong emphasis was placed on getting oil from whole foods as opposed to from a refined, liquid version in a bottle. In some of the OpenSourceVegan.com recipes that have been posted, they do contain oil in them, but yesterday and today, I experimented with making my blueberry muffins without oil. Yesterday, I boiled whole flaxseed, and I strained the gel from that and used it and water to replace my oil. (I would’ve just more used flaxseed gel, but I was running out of time, and I started doing breakfast late…). Today, I replaced oil with applesauce. I should’ve reduced the sugar content to 1 cup when I did that, but when I asked someone that had tried both variations which one she liked better, she said she liked the applesauce version better. That option works better for me because it’s quicker to make than the flaxseed version, but I just have to figure out what I’ll do with the remaining applesauce when I make my blueberry muffins this way. Another person told me that my oil content for the blueberry muffins was too much, so I’m going to experiment with it a little more, and then maybe revise that recipe.

I hope these tips were beneficial for you. Please tell me what you think about them in the comments!

Filed under Breakfast, Condiments, Recipes/Recipe Ideas, Sweet, Vegan Cheese · Tagged with

  • http://aianekarla.tumblr.com/ Aiane Karla

    This is great! Very helpful info. Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to reading more recipe updates. Blessings!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for that encouragement! I’m glad this year I’m really getting my feet wet in homestyle cooking every day, and I know the more I share, the more I’ll learn. đŸ˜‰ Blessings to you, too!

  • Audrey Collins

    Thanks for your help, many of us are trying to make our recipes more healthful.

  • JJ

    I buy applesauce in pre-measured cups (the individual packs) that way I know I have just the amount I need and don’t have to worry about waste. Also, I prefer to use half a block of tofu instead of grains to cut the nuts in my gravies, mayos, and cheeses (I also cut the nuts down to just 1/4 cup and thicken with arrowroot or instant clear gel – depending on whether it is cooked or not.) My family loves it and after a short adjustment period didn’t really notice the change much. 

  • Dona

    Thanks for sharing this info. I’m excited about trying a cheaper cheese, too!

  • Wendy

    Any ideas for reducing the oil content in your cafeteria-tested granola??