Vegan Not Andes Mint Cookies - Egg free, soy free and dairy free

Andes Mint Cookies are a tradition for my husband's family and have become one of my favorite Christmas cookies too. We wanted to be able to share this tradition with Little Rhino so I set out to make them egg free and soy free and a little bit healthier. Well, maybe not healthier but perhaps not quite so bad for you.

A couple of notes: I substituted coconut oil and applesauce for the butter but you could also use margarine. I also used a combination of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. I would have used all whole wheat pastry flour but we were running low. Whole wheat pastry flour is lighter and fluffier and will taste like all purpose flour but without all the nutrients stripped away. Any combination of whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour will work well here.

I used Lake Champlain Peppermint Crunch chocolate bars. The bars have 8 squares, and I broke each of the squares in half. If you would like less chocolate, then break each square into fourths and then you'll need 2 chocolate bars.

Vegan Andes Mint Cookies

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. non-dairy milk (I used rice milk.)

12 oz. chocolate chips

1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 mint chocolate bars

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the coconut oil, applesauce, brown sugar, and milk. Add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Let stand 10 minutes to cool. Mix together the remaining ingredients except the chocolate bars. Add the melted chocolate and mix. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour. Roll the dough into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes. Break the chocolate mint squares in half. Remove cookies from the oven and place a chocolate mint piece on top of each cookie. Allow the mint to melt and then swirl the mint over the cookie with the back of a spoon or knife.



Fresh out of the oven.



Mints are melting.



The tasty end result.

Proud to be apart of:

Cashew Mayo

This is great on sandwiches or for coleslaw. It would also probably make a great potato salad with a little more seasoning. I'll have to try that out this summer.

I doubled the recipe and made more coleslaw and Chickpea “Tuna” Salad (recipe coming for that tomorrow) and I froze the rest. I froze the remainder of the mayo by putting it in an ice cube tray and then once it was frozen I put the cubes into a freezer bag. That way I can defrost a small amount to use on a sandwich. 

This recipe is adapted from http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=27316.0.

Cashew Mayo

¾ cup cashews

¼ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond.)

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. mustard

1 Tbsp. maple syrup or agave

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor and add more milk as needed.

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

I made a batch of this Chickpea "Tuna" Salad for lunches this week. It’s a great substitute for meat on your sandwich while still getting plenty of protein. It has a slightly fishy flavor from the dulse flakes.

Dulse flakes are a type of seaweed and are considered to be a super food. It tastes salty, although, it is low in sodium and is a great salt substitute. You can buy dulse in shakers and use it as you would salt. Dulse is great on salads, in soups, and in stir frys. I love dulse on salads. In fact, I often crave dulse flakes. It contains many vitamins and minerals and trace minerals from the sea including magnesium, iron, iodine, calcium, protein, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. A little dulse everyday is a great way to ensure you’re getting a good source of many essential vitamins and nutrients.

 I buy dulse online in bulk from Amazon  but it can also be found in stores.

This uses my cashew mayo recipe found here cashew mayo 

Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

1/3 cup cashew mayo

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed

2 celery stalks, diced

2-3 Tbsp. dill pickles, minced

1 tsp. onion flakes

2 tsp. dulse flakes

1 tsp. pickle juice (opt.)

1 tsp. lemon juice

Chop chickpeas and pickles in a food processor. You could also add the celery stalks too. Mix all the ingredients together and add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy on a salad or in a sandwich.

Black Bean Tacos and Coleslaw with Cashew Mayo

Black bean tacos is one of our go to recipes during the week. It's quick and easy and best of all our Little Rhino will usually eat it. We like to add avocado, onion, salsa and hot sauce to our tacos. Tonight we had left over cheese sauce from here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/07/cheese-peas-n-pasta-meatless-monday.html that we poured over the tacos.

I had a head of cabbage left from our CSA share that I wasn't sure what to do with. I found this recipe from vegweb  http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=27316.0 for Creamy Cashew Coleslaw.  I was excited to find a recipe that is egg-free and soy-free. The cashew mayo is very good but I would have liked a little more of it on my coleslaw.  I used half the cabbage and added some grated carrots with some help from Little Rhino. Little Rhino was able to grate about half a carrot until he decided to eat the remainder of it. Made this mama happy to see him eating some veggies. I also added some milk to it. Not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the cabbage. Anyone have some ideas?

Black Bean Tacos
half of a small onion, diced
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. mustard

taco shells
favorite taco toppings
Saute the onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the can of beans, water, chili powder and cumin and simmer for 15 minutes. Spoon into taco shells and add your favorite taco toppings.

Quick Minestrone Soup

This is a great soup for a cold weeknight evening with some fresh bread. It’s also a great way to use leftover veggies or rice. You can throw almost anything into it and it tastes great. I like to make it at the end of the week and throw in whatever we have left in the fridge.

This is what I put in it last night, but we didn't have any bread.  I usually have Daddy Rhino stop at a bakery on his way home but I thought I would attempt to make my own bread. I've never made bread before, and I didn't realize it had to rise 3 times. (I should have read the recipe a little more carefully.)  Oh, well. We'll get to enjoy it tonight. I also put in 2 cans of kidney beans, but that was a few too many beans for me.

I'm eating it now for lunch and it tastes even better the next day.

Quick Minestrone Soup

1 48 oz. bottle Vegetable Juice

½ onion, diced

3 celery stalks, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 15oz. can kidney beans, rinsed

 1 cup cooked rice or ½ cup uncooked pasta

Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in a large soup pot until starting to become tender about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable juice and seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the pasta if using and kidney beans and cook until the pasta is tender. If using cooked rice, simmer 20 minutes and then add the rice and beans and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Sweet Potato Lasagna

This is our favorite entertaining meal. It can be made ahead, it tastes great and no one would ever guess that it's vegan and I think it's tastier than my favorite non-vegan lasagna. The secret is the cashew ricotta cheese. The prep work is a little time consuming but definitely worth it. I soak the cashews and cut and marinate the vegetables the night before. I usually double the recipe and freeze one to enjoy later for a quick and tasty dinner. This recipe has been adapted from Healthy, Happy, Life http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/06/vegetable-lasagna-vegan-ricotta-nut.html
The seasonings are estimates as I don't usually measure them so you may need to adjust the seasoning.

Cashew Ricotta
2 cups cashews, soaked 2-4 hours or overnight
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp. basil
1/4 Tbsp. oregano
1/4 Tbsp. thyme
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup nondairy milk

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk if necessary.

Sweet Potato Lasagna

1/2 recipe of cashew ricotta

1 box lasagna noodles
1 jar marinara sauce
1/2 cup non-dairy cheese optional

Veggies
1 medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced onion optional
1-2 cups leafy greens
1 tomato, sliced

Marinade
3 chopped garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. water or vegetable stock
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. basil
3/4 Tbsp. oregano
3/4 Tbsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut the veggies and prepare the marinade. Marinate all the veggies except the sweet potato 2-4 hours or overnight. Blanch the sweet potatoes in boiling water for 4-5 minutes so that they're soft but not quite tender. Assemble the lasagna: sauce, noodles, greens, zucchini, ricotta, sauce, noodles, sweet potatoes, ricotta, sauce, noodles, mushrooms, onion, ricotta, sauce, noodles, sauce, tomatoes, non-dairy cheese shreds. I use Daiya. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

Vegan Nachos Supreme

This was my first time eating vegan nachos, and I’m addicted. These are so good. Vegan nachos where have you been all my life? This is my new late night snack. We piled on refried beans, guacamole, tomatoes, cilantro, and onion and then slathered on some vegan cheese sauce. The recipe for the cheese sauce came from Kathy at Healthy. Happy. Life.  http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/07/cheese-peas-n-pasta-meatless-monday.html

I love that this cheese recipe uses a sweet potato. It gives the cheese a beautiful bright orange color. I made just a few minor changes like reducing the amount of nutritional yeast to 4 tablespoons and omitting the olive oil. We also love this on our black bean tacos (recipe coming soon) as well as the pasta and peas dish at Healthy. Happy. Life. We made our Quick and Easy Guacamole. I don't measure the ingredients so the recipe that follows are just estimates you may need to adjust to your own taste preference.

Quick and Easy Guacamole

1 avocado

2 Tbsp. salsa

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. lime juice

Optional add-ins:

1-2 Tbsp. Cilantro

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 diced tomato

1 Tbsp. diced peppers
1 Tbsp. diced red onion