sunflower seeds Archives - Epicurean Vegan

Chocolate-Espresso Balsamic Granola

March 31, 2011 by epicureanvegan

Oh, my. This is good. This is similar to my original granola recipe, but tweaked a little. Flavored oils or balsamic vinegars are ideal for granola. I don’t care for overly sweet granola, so this Chocolate-Espresso balsamic vinegar adds just the right amount of sweetness. Great for cereal, on top of yogurt, or with ice cream. A new olive oil/vinegar shop recently opened up downtown and a friend and I spent at least 45 minutes tasting all their different varieties. I found what I was looking for. A little pricey at $15, it will be slowly savored.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C oats
1 C coconut, shredded
1/2 C wheat germ
1/2 C each: walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1/4 C Chocolate-Espresso Balsamic vinegar
1/8 C brown rice syrup
1/4 C almond milk
1/8 C olive oil
6 to 8 oz dried fruit, such as craisins or cherries

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300. Line a large baking sheet with foil, and mist with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, oil, brown rice syrup, and almond milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix well. Spread the granola mixture on the prepared baking sheet; spread it out evenly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it begins to brown. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the dried fruit. Once it has cooled, store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Buttered Party Mix

November 16, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Vegan MoFo, Day 16

So easy! And a great way to grab some protein. You can sub in pecans if you’d like—I’m just not a big fan. These are for an artist reception at the Northern Colorado Writers Association that is tonight. I’m also bringing my favorite hummus. The artist happens to be my mother-in-law, watercolorist-extraordinaire.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbs Earth Balance margarine, melted
1 Tbs garlic salt
1/2 tsp cayenne, or more for taste
1 C raw, unsalted cashews
1 C raw, unsalted walnuts
1 C raw, unsalted almonds
1/2 C sunflower seeds

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300 and line a baking sheet with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the nuts, garlic salt and cayenne. Add the margarine and thoroughly combine. Layer onto the lined baking sheet and bake for about a half an hour. Stir and flip over the nuts. I know, that’s not easy, but you’ll be able to tell which side is which since the cooked side will be dry-looking. Bake another 20-30 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to an air tight container if not eating right away. Enjoy!

Sunflower Cherry Oatmeal Bars

January 22, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These are delicious! And simple to make-taking only about 10 mins to prepare. These would be great with a scoop of soy ice cream or a dallop of vanilla soy yogurt on top. These also taste great after being the fridge for a while–they’re a tasty snack that will keep you going when you’re on the run.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rolled oats, either quick cooking or old fashioned
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed natural brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup expeller pressed canola oil
5 tablespoons orange juice, divided
1/2 cup fruit sweetened black cherry preserves

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, sunflower seeds and cherries in a large bowl. Add oil and 3 tablespoons orange juice, mixing well until all ingredients are fully combined. Reserve a half cup and press the rest into a lightly oiled 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons orange juice with the cherry preserves and spread evenly over the oat mixture in the pan.

Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over the top and press down lightly with fingers.

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool in the pan on a wire rack then cut into bars or squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Recipe source: Whole Foods

Easy, Healthy Granola

January 21, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is inspired by my mom’s granola recipe, however, she uses 1-14oz can of condensed milk, so I had to come up with an alternative. There are recipes to make a dairy-free condensed milk using soy milk powder and sugar, but it looked like a bit of work, plus I couldn’t find soy milk powder. So…with the need for sugar and milk in her recipe, I decided to use maple syrup and soy milk. You can also use brown rice syrup as well. Log Cabin makes a nice maple syrup that has no high fructose corn syrup, which I like. This isn’t a super sweet granola, so if you prefer it be sweeter, add 1/4-1/2 C brown sugar to the mix or a tsp of cinnamon, which happens to be rich in antioxidants. Don’t forget, sunflower seeds, walnuts and almonds are a great source of calcium and protein. Plus, wheat germ itself is miracle-working superfood!

Check out the benefits here.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C old fashioned oats
1 C shredded coconut
1/2 C wheat germ
1/2 C chopped almonds
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/2 C sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1/4 C maple or brown rice syrup
1/2 C soy milk
1/8 C vegetable oil
1-6oz bag craisins (try orange-flavored craisins–they add just a bit more sweetness)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300. Combine oats, coconut, wheat germ, nuts and salt. Stir in syrup and soy milk and add oil and mix. Spread evenly on a large greased and foiled pan. Make sure you grease it well, or it’ll “stick something awful,” as my mom said.

Bake until it starts to brown, 45-50 mins. Transfer to a large bowl and add the craisins. Makes about 8 C. Store in an air tight container. Serve over vanilla soy yogurt, soy ice cream, in a bowl with some soy or rice milk, or just snack on it! Try other dried fruit like blueberries, apricots, apples, cherries…you name it! Enjoy!

Chocolate-Espresso Balsamic Granola

Buttered Party Mix

Sunflower Cherry Oatmeal Bars

Easy, Healthy Granola

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