Holiday cookie time!

Vegan white chocolate chip and cranberry cookies

 

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
3/4 cup of vegan white chocolate chips
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil or vegan margarine (depending on your preference) 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy milk, vanilla soy milk, almond milk, or water (depending on your preference) 
3/4 cup of dried cranberries or more depending preference

Supplies

large bowl
medium bowl
measuring cup
measuring spoons

spatula or large spoon (for mixing)
baking sheets

Serves: Approximately 2 dozen (26 teaspoon scoops of dough)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a large bowl mix

 2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips 
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and set the bowl aside.

Mix Wet Ingredients with Sugar

In a medium size bowl mix
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil or vegan margarine (depending on your preference)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup soy milk, vanilla soy milk, almond milk, or water (depending on your preference)

Pour Wet into Dry

Pour the wet ingredients into the hole you made earlier in the dry ingredient's bowl.

Mix it well, but do not overwork the dough. Not overworking the dough means it will not get too thin.

Tip: Remember to scrape the bottom of the bowl for dry ingredients you might miss.Spoon dough onto ungreased cookie sheets in tablespoon scoops.After baking for 5 minutes, rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees so that they are in the oven horizontally.Let them bake for another 4 minutes.If they look done, take them out.If they do not look done, check the cookies every 2 minutes until they are to your liking.

Bake time: 9-15 minutes; cooking time varies depending on your type of oven. My oven takes 10 minutes.

Notes:

-No need to grease the baking sheet. There is enough oil in the batter. Or you can use parchment paper to be safe.

-let ingredients get to room temperature for baking,it's not necessary but i find the cookie dough works better this way.

-This cookie dough doesnt spread much while baking so its ok to place the cookies a little closer then usual.

-Try not to over bake these little cookies.Remember cookies harden as they cool so if they seem soft when you first take them out give them time to cool on a cooling rack.

 -About the chocolate chips: I used vegan white chocolate chips found online at http://www.veganstore.com they were VeganSweets white chocolate chips.They taste great in my opinion used in cookies but they dont melt well if you plan to make candies or dips out of them. Of course many semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips in baking aisles are vegan. Just make sure to check the ingredients because many popular baking chips do have milk fat. This dough recipe is so versatile you can choose to go without chips and just add nuts and dried fruit.

Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipes

SNACK ATTACK

October is here!With Halloween just weeks away everyone who celebrates this holiday is decorating picking out costumes and my favorite....carving pumpkins. But what to do with all the leftover pumpkin guts? You know all the innards of the pumpkin...all those seeds? I have a couple tasty suggestions I would like to share with you! Try making roasted pumpkin seeds.Its an easy way to use up all of your pumpkin leftovers.

Next time your carving your pumpkin place all the seeds and guts in a container and put to the side until your done with your great carving masterpieces!!!! Now to prepare your seeds to roast simply rinse the seeds in cold water and remove all the pulp and strings.

Roasted Pumpkin seeds

Directions

Seed the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Using a spoon, scrape the pulp and seeds out of your pumpkin into a bowl.

RINSE THEM!!!

Clean the seeds: Separate the seeds from the stringy pulp, rinse the seeds in a colander under cold water, then shake dry. Don't blot with paper towels; the seeds will stick.

DRY THEM!!!!

Dry them: Spread the seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet and roast 30 minutes to dry them out.

SPICE IT UP!!!

Add spices: Toss the seeds with olive oil, salt and your choice of spices (see below). Return to the oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 20 more minutes.

Sweet Toss with cinnamon and sugar (do not use salt in step 4).

Indian Toss with garam masala; mix with currants after roasting.

Spanish Toss with smoked paprika; mix with slivered almonds after roasting.

Italian Toss with grated parmesan and dried oregano.

Barbecue Toss with brown sugar, chipotle chile powder and ground cumin.

One of my favorite recipes is from the food network website. If you like a little spice in your snacks then this is a great snack on a chilly evening when you are getting ready for a scary movie marathon :)

Spicy Pumpkin seeds

• 3 cups pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the pumpkin seeds in a large bowl and toss with the oil, ancho powder, salt, and chile de arbol powder. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Spa Mask

PUMPKINS PUMPKINS EVERYWHERE!!!!!

Its that time of year again. The air is getting crisp, leaves are falling and Halloween is around the corner.....which can only mean one thing! PUMPKINS! Ever feel guilty for throwing away all the pumpkin leftovers after carving out your pumpkin? Treat yourself to a free spa day at home. For added fun if you have a lot of pumpkin flesh left over have a spa party invite your girlfriends over and give each other facials using one of my many awesome natural face and hair masks.Pumpkin has beneficial enzymes that naturally exfoliate,soften, and even out skin tone.

To make a mask simply take some pumpkin flesh (your only going to need a couple teaspoons worth) boil or nuke it in the microwave until very tender. Let cool. Blend to make a pumpkin puree or mash with a fork until smooth. Now to get started on your mask :

Basic Pumpkin mask
2 teaspoons of your pumpkin puree as discussed above :) for a thicker mask add a little more puree at a time until its at a spreadable but not drippy consistency
one-half teaspoon honey
one-quarter teaspoon milk

Mix all ingredients together and then gently apply to your face avoiding the eye area. Rest and relax for 10-15 minutes while your pumpkin pie face mask gently exfoliates, nourishes and conditions your face. Then simply rinse off with warm water and viola! Enjoy your glowing baby soft face!!!!! NOTE: For those who do not use animal products simply substitute the milk and honey in this recipe with a teaspoon of coconut oil.

There are some additives you can add to your mask dependent on your skin type.

For dry skin: Simply exchange the milk for cream for an ultra moisturizing mask. For my friends who do not like using animal products, instead of milk or cream just use coconut oil. It will give you the same affect and benefits.

As an exfoliate for dry skin: Add a teaspoon of brown sugar to basic recipe. Take small amounts apply in circular motions avoiding eye area. Be gentle and do not over exfoliate as this can irritate your skin. When done, rinse face with warm water until completely clean. Pat dry with a clean towl and enjoy the results.

Oily skin: Try a teaspoon of apple cider to help zap oils

This is the remix

MIX IT UP



I know a lot of my natural remedies seem a bit time consuming. Putting it together is easy and quick but waiting 30 min to an hour, well not everyone has that time. So I am listing alternatives for those of you who want a quick daily solution to your natural remedies. The list will include quick natural add ins you can use during your daily hair care routine . You will still feel a difference even if you are mixing an all natural product to a chemical one. Think of it like adding a shot of nature goodness to your familiar products.



Favorite add ins for conditioners:





Dry hair: coconut oil,coconut milk, olive oil simply take half a teaspoon of your choice natural booster with you before you take your morning or nightly shower when your ready to add conditioner into your hair put the booster in your hand add conditioner mix well and condition as usual for added shine and protein to your conditioner.



For oily hair: fresh squeezed orange juice, lemon juice or any other citrus juice.Place in a little bottle when ready to use take with you to your shower. Shampoo as usual. Pour citrus juice at the roots. and rub in. When your ready to add conditioner only apply to the ends avoiding your roots and rinse as usual. If you have oily hair adding conditioner to the roots will only add extra moisture resulting in quicker oily scalp. Please note that lemon juice is best for blond and light hair.

Natural Hair Masks that work!

Before I chopped off my hair I did an oil mask to ensure my hair was soft and at its best before i donated it to locks of love. As you can see my hair looked shiny and soft.

Over styled dry locks? Maybe blow drying, flat ironing,hot curling, and chemically drenching our locks to make them look temporarily fabulous isn't the best thing to do as often as we do it! I am sure our hair just screams for a break from time to time. So why not treat your hair to some much needed TLC and take some time out to relax and deep moisturize that mane? Listed below are some of my favorite hair masks that I have tried and loved. My only warning is some of them can be a bit messy. To help with that have a plastic bag or shower cap at the ready.

For dry brittle hair try a nice warm oil mask. This is ideal for restoring much needed moisture but if you have oily scalp or hair to begin with I would not recommend this mask. Also when doing the following masks I would recommend wearing an old shirt as oil can stain.

olive oil & Honey mask

For this mask you will need the following:
3 TBS of Olive oil
2 TBS of honey

Place the olive oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until luke warm depending on your microwave it could be 10 to 20 seconds. When oil is lukewarm remove from microwave and add the honey. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add the mixture bits at a time to your hair until your hair is saturated then cover with plastic bag or shower cap. Now for the fun part relax for 30 min. When your ready rinse your hair thoroughly once or twice until there is no oil or honey residue in your hair. This mask is great for restoring moisture and shine to your hair. Dry and brush through as normal. Your scalp and hair should feel great at this point! This mask is inexpensive and uses household items most people have readily available.


The following mask is great for oily scalp. It only has two ingredients as well.
you will need:
1 egg white
half of an orange or other citrus fruit for blonde hair a lemon works great.

Mix the egg white and juice from the orange until well incorporated. massage into your scalp place your shower cap or plastic bag over your hair and let set for 20 min. Wash hair as usual. Sometimes people over wash their hair and it causes your scalp to produce more oil to compensate for what your depleting.Some helpful advice is If you have clean hair but notice it is already oily take your favorite fragranced powder or baby powder and sprinkle onto a comb and comb through your hair. The powder will absorb excess oil and your hair will smell fresh and be less noticeably oily. You want to get the powder as close to the roots as possible.

Easy natural make up removers found in the kitchen :)

The other night I had gone out to a dinner with some friends and went all dolled up. I got home and washed my face before bed with my facial soap and warm water. Dried my face and noticed I still had mascara and eye liner smeared all over my eyes. Usually I would grab my coconut oil and get to work but I was out. I looked in my kitchen pantry and found some extra virgin olive oil.


Eye Make up remover you will need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
cotton pads

Dab a small amount of the EVOO on one side of the cotton pad and gently wipe off make up. Then with the dry side of the pad blot off the oil.

Removing makeup with Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil conditions the skin and is perfect for winter months when you have dry sensetive skin.



I recently switched over to making organic rice. I read the women in japan used to rinse their face with rice water to clean refresh and get rid of impurities. So when making organic rice i save the rinse water in a glass bottle and use it as a toner. I pour a little on a cotton pad and wipe my face gently clean. My skin looks refreshed and smooth. It works well for oily skin.

Make your own Pore strips

We all know that buying those nose and t zone pore strips can get pricey. But when you apply them and lift it off your problem areas you see the actual residue and black heads on the strips when your done so you know it worked. Well you can make your own strips for a fraction of the price and I am going to tell you how.


The first version is fairly simple you will need:
1 tbl Unflavored un-dyed jello
1 tbl Milk
a sprinkle of cinnamon or dash of vanilla extract
a cheap brush (foundation brush)

In a microwave safe small container your want to combine 1 tablespoon of the jello and 1 tablespoon of milk mix the ingredients together. Place in microwave for 10 sec. it should look gloppy. sprinkle a small bit of cinnamon in it and stir wait for it to cool and dip your brush in it while it is warm test it on the back of your hand and make sure its not hot enough to burn. apply with brush to nose and t zone area. Let dry completely. Then peel off. When done don't forget to apply a moisturizer that is oil free and wont clog pores or a lotion for clearing skin and apply it to your treated area. This will soothe the skin and help with future breakouts. Video tutorial to come soon!

This next one is messier and takes longer to dry but works as well.

a heavy duty paper towel or napkin
an egg white
1tbl of lemon juice freshly squeezed.


wash and dry your face. Separate egg and place the egg white in a bowl or small plastic container. add 1 tbl of lemon juice and beat well. measure a piece of the towel to fit nose and t zone area. apply egg mixture to your nose and t zone. place paper on areas. gently add a little more mixture over paper until lit stays in place allow to dry completely it should be hard like a cast. Then remove the strips. Rinse face when you are done and apply moisturizer that is oil free or helps in the treatment of acne.