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Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad

· Natalie 18 Comments

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad

I made a potato salad video recipe a while back, but I love that recipe so much I thought it deserved a spot on the blog too. And I’m not the only fan of this unusually dressed potato salad, I’ve gotten lots of great feedback from others who have tried it too.

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.comVegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.com

Since Christmas is fast-approaching, I decked out my cauli-cream potato salad in red and green. New potatoes + lacinato kale + cauli-cream = Vegan Low Fat Red and Greens Potato Salad!

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.com

I know, I know potato salad is supposed to be reserved for summer picnics and potlucks, however, in my house we have a slightly different tradition. When I was growing up, Christmas Day dinner was a toss up, but Christmas Eve dinner was always gumbo and potato salad. This cajun-inspired tradition came from my mom’s side of the family. We’ve dropped the gumbo part, since it was far from vegan, but this potato salad is a perfect Christmas side dish.

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.com

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Red and Greens Potato Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 6–8 red potatoes
  • 1 small head cauliflower
  • 5–6 stalks of lacinato kale
  • Juice of half a lemon (about 2 tsps)
  • 2 tbsps chopped scallion
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Steam the cauliflower and puree it to make cauliflower cream. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend again to combine
  2. Cut the potatoes into large chunks. Boil the potatoes until tender.
  3. Thinly slice (or chiffonade if you want to be fancy) the kale.
  4. A couple of minutes before the potatoes are done, place the kale in a steamer basket on top of the potatoes. Steam until it is bright green and slightly softened.
  5. Toss the potatoes, kale, and scallion with the cauli-cream.
  6. I prefer it chilled, but it’s good warm too.

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.com

Vegan Low Fat Potato Salad - FeastingonFruit.com

Do you have any unusual holiday traditions, food related or otherwise?

Vegan Soft Pretzels

· Natalie 8 Comments

I have made this recipe so many times, I don’t know how it hasn’t made it to FF yet. Maybe it’s because the original recipe calls for honey, which caused me to have some sort of vegan mind block. But there are plenty of substitutes for honey, so I really have no excuse for not sharing it sooner.

You can use agave nectar or bee free honee or maple syrup or whatever you like, as long as its pourable and sweet!

I don’t eat a lot of bread, but when I do I want it to be twisty!

The bread flour, on the other hand, is non-substitutable. Trust me I’ve tried. Bread flour has a high protein content that these pretzels need for that perfect pretzel chewiness. It’s a chemistry thing, and I’ve learned not to mess too much with chemistry.

Mixing, kneading, rising, rolling, boiling, baking, eating!

Vegan Soft Pretzels

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

Makes 12

3 cups bread flour

1 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup liquid sweetener of choice

1 cup warm water

1 tsp salt (optional)

3 tbsps baking soda

  1. In a stand mixer or large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, honee, and water.
  2. Mix until a dough forms. Add a little extra water as needed.
  3. With the dough hook of your stand mixer or your hands, knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  4. Place the ball of dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
  5. Punch the dough down, then cover it again. Allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 12 equal sized balls. Roll out each ball into a long rope. Twist them into pretzels. (Here’s a how-to guide if you need)
  7. Fill a large pan with water. Add the baking soda and bring it to a boil. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 425F too.
  8. Boil the pretzels for 30 seconds, flip, then another 30 seconds.
  9. Arrange them on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 425 until golden brown.
  10. They are best warm, but they will last for a week in the fridge and even longer in the freezer.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookiewiches

· Natalie 15 Comments

With a cookiewich in each hand,

you’ll be transported to a chocolate wonderland.

Candy crushes add a chilly hint,

of crunch, sugar, and peppermint.

A (secretly fruity) decadent cream,

adds even more chocolate in-between.

Bake up a batch on Christmas night,

they’ll be gone before Santa gets a bite.

Okay I’m done rhyming now…but I’m not done talking about chocolate and peppermint!

There’s chocolate in two forms going on in every bite. The cookies are light fluffy pillows, but the minty filling is thick and fudgey. The creamy sandwich centers may not appear minty at first glance, but one finger-lick will greet you with that cool peppermint sensation. However, even after devouring a cookie or four, you’d never know that the cream is sugar and fat free (unless you make them yourself or scroll down and read the recipe).

They’re perfect fuel while you holiday gift shop, or share them with friends at a cookie swap.

I couldn’t help it, I’m just on a rhyming streak 🙂

Chocolate Peppermint Cookiewiches

Makes 8

Cookie

1 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground into flour

2/3 cup coconut sugar

2 tsps baking powder

1/3 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

Filling

1 cup pitted medjool dates

2/3 cup non-dairy milk (or water)

2 tbsps cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1 tsp peppermint extract

Crushed peppermint candies

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. For the cookies, mix everything together in a large bowl to form a moist dough.
  3. Roll the dough into 16 balls. Arrange them on two lined sheet pans, 8 per pan. Flatten them  until they are approximately 1/2 inch thick.
  4. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.
  5. For the filling, blend everything in a high speed blender until smooth. Refrigerate while the cookies bake and cool.
  6. Once the cookies are cool, construct your cookiewiches!

And to any poets out there, I do realize that I just completely butchered your art, sorry.

Vegan Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Whipped Cream

· Natalie 16 Comments

The name gingerbread is sort of misleading. It takes way more than ginger to give this bread that authentic holly jolly flavor.

Sure I’ve watched my mom bake up a batch of gingerbread cookies in years past, but I was less concerned with the ingredients and more concerned with the cookie architecture for my gingerbread house to-be. I knew she sprinkled multiple spice jars over the bowl of flour and sugar and molasses, but I had no clue how much or which ones.

So I did some cookie research, and I discovered that there is a lot of variation on the matter. Ginger is a must, of course, and cinnamon is always in there too. But including cloves, allspice, and/or nutmeg seems to be debatable. Some recipes even included black pepper!

I can’t speak for your gingerbread flavor memories, but mine are best satisfied with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

This gingerbread recipe bakes up to be a perfectly sliceable loaf, or you can trim it down into adorable snack cakes like I did. Light lemon whipped cream adorns the top like freshly fallen snow, and those zesty dollops are the perfect flavor compliment to this Christmasy cake.

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Gingerbread Snack Cakes with Lemon Whipped Frosting

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆ No reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 1 1x
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Ingredients

Scale
  • CAKE
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 2 tsps lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 3/4 cup non-dairy yogurt (I used almond milk yogurt)
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
  • LEMON FROSTING
  • 2 cups Cocowhip or coconut whipped cream
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. In a blender, blend the wet ingredients.
  4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. The batter will be thick.
  5. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it out evenly.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes at 350F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. For the frosting, gently stir the lemon juice and zest into the cocowhip.
  8. Allow the gingerbread to cool completely before frosting. Frost immediately before serving.

Vegan Gingerbread Cake with Lemon Whipped Cream

Sweet Potato S’mores

· Natalie 2 Comments

The classic campfire delicacy meets the most ridiculous Thanksgiving side dish to create this wacky treat: the Sweet Potato S’more.

Just like a traditional s’more, you have the textural elements of crunchy, soft, and ooey-gooey. I also borrowed the toasty marshmallow flavor and the ever-so-important graham base from the beloved sweet sandwich. But I swapped out the chocolate for sweet potato. And just like a sweet potato casserole, I topped that cinna-sweet orange spud with a fluffy, melty marshmallow, which is ridiculous, but fun.

All you chocoholics out there are probably cursing me right now. But there’s no way you could slip regular s’mores into your Thanksgiving feast without looking like a weirdo. However, this funky mash-up is completely Thanksgiving approved.

S’more ideas…

  • Add in vegan chocolate chips
  • Drizzle on maple syrup
  • Use your favorite crunchy cookies in place of the graham crackers (gingersnaps perhaps?)
  • Add a spoonful of almond butter or pumpkin butter in the middle
  • Sprinkle on chopped pecans or other nuts
  • Use 2 marshmallows for maximum gooey-ness
  • Add a spoonful of date (or regular) caramel sauce

Sweet Potato S’mores

Makes 3

6 graham cracker squares (homemade or store-bought)

3 vegan marshmallows (I used Dandies)

1 small sweet potato

Cinnamon

  1. Slice the sweet potato into 1/2 inch rounds.
  2. Steam the sweet potato slices until tender.
  3. Allow the sweet potato to cool slightly, then sprinkle both sides with cinnamon.
  4. On a lined pan, stack a marshmallow on top of each sweet potato slice. Place in the oven on the broil setting for 2-4 minutes until the marshmallow browns.
  5. Transfer the melted marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes onto a graham cracker and smush another graham cracker on top.
  6. Eat ’em while they’re hot!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!