Maple Walnut Chocolate Chip Healthy Brain Cookies

This recipe is for my all-time favourite chocolate chip cookie (you can sub raisins or carob chips if you are not a fan of chocolate chips).  I was introduced to it in Dr. Neil Nedley's Depression Recovery Program that our neighbouring Campbell River Adventist Church offered in 2010.  These cookies, as part of an overall holistic depression treatment program, pack the kind of brain-nurturing nutrition that the walnut and flaxseed meal Omega3 fatty acids offer as a major ingredient.  This recipe makes a dozen cookies-- you won't feel compelled to eat the whole batch yourself as they are very high fibre and satisfyingly sweet and filling.  Enjoy!

Crank the oven up to 350F/175C.
Process 2 1/2 C. of Walnut pieces into a fine crumble in a food processor.
In a medium size bowl, combine the following with the walnuts above, and mix well:
1/3 C. Flaxseed Meal (I grind my own fresh in a coffee bean grinder)
2/3 C. Wholewheat Pastry Flour
1    tsp. Salt (I skipped the salt, and you could use "to taste" or "a pinch" as you desire)
1/2 C.   Maple Syrup
2 tsp.    Vanilla Essence/Extract
1/2 C.   Chocolate Chips (I use the Mini-Chips that are vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO

After mixing the above ingredients together well, place 12 same size balls of dough on a parchment-covered cookie sheet (parchment means you don't need to use grease on the sheet), press the cookies down, and put in to bake for approximately 10 minutes (depending on your stove temperature-- they vary! Check frequently to make sure they are not scorching or burning-- yeah, they are rather labour-intense-- but sooo worth it!)  Cool on a rack in the pan (what I do).  Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

MORE WALNUT RECIPES

• Maple Walnut Choc Chip Healthy Cookies (above)
• Roast Beets & Raw Vegan Walnut Cheese
• Walnut-No-Meatballs
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A Sabbath Fellowship Meal

Today was a gorgeous Sabbath day... and a lovely time of worship and fellowship at our little church in Courtenay, B.C. on Beautiful Vancouver Island.  Our Sabbath meals (every week) are vegetarian (vegan to ovo-lacto vegetarian), and follow an outline that you can find by clicking on the Sabbath presenter's link on our church site's Calendar Page.  Generally, we follow a seasonal rhythm of meals with soup in the cooler months (starting next week) and meals with salads in the summer-y months.  We always have a salad of some sort with our soup meals.  Please join us if you are living nearby, or visiting!  The meal follows the main 11AM worship service each Saturday (food is served about 12:15pm).

The Salad Table

The Entree Table

There were, of course, also desserts. Today we had watermelon, backyard table grapes and cake. Find some Classic Adventist Potluck Recipes HERE.

Plum-Banana Breakfast Squares, Vegan and Gluten-Free

These plum-banana breakfast squares are the result of wanting to use up some of the abundance of a backyard plum harvest.  I will also be making a plum upside-down cake to take to Church tomorrow (but not a very healthy recipe, so it won't be on this blog).

We will use some of these plums today:

I love these little orbs of sunshine.  I call them "Little Golden Plums" although I know they must have a proper scientific name.

You can use any sort/named plum but make sure you remove the stone when prepping them.

Set the Oven for 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 180 C.

Make your flaxseed or chia seed egg:

·         1 tbsp ground Flaxseed or Chia Seed + 3 tbsp water- whisk up together and set aside until it is the consistency of whisked egg white, creamy and sticky (about 10-15 minutes)

Add the flaxseed/chiaseed egg to the following in your food processor:

·         6oz Coconut Milk 

·         1 ripe Banana, mashed

·         1 tsp pure Vanilla extract

·         1 cup Almond Meal

·         2 cup Oat Flour (use certified gluten-free oats if necessary- I ground mine up in the Vitamix)

·         ½ cup Coconut Shreds

·         3/4 cup Coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice)
*         1 tsp Baking Soda

·         ¼ tsp Sea Salt

·     After whirling the above together, pour into a medium size bowl and mix in:

·         1 cup fresh Plums, chopped into quarters

Spoon or pour the above into an 8x8 pan, either lined with parchment (my preference) or sprayed with cooking oil.

Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes.

Remove and cool right in the pan on a rack (the cooler the better to keep its shape). Cut into squares and serve when cool.

Cake for break-y anyone??

Here are a couple of other nutritious breakfast treats that are vegan, low fat, and very tasty:

Blueberry-Avocado Breakfast Muffin-Cookies

Soft Fruit and Nut Breakfast Cookies

Is This The Famous Mushroom Gravy Recipe I've Heard So Much About? (Gluten-free, Vegan)

Is this the very tasty vegan Mushroom Gravy recipe by Shirley Gong (and part of "Shirley's Sauces" this page)?  This mushroom gravy recipe is part of the repertoire of delicious sauces that regularly appear at the meals put together by the Port Alberni Adventist Church.

Shirley's Mushroom Gravy

Good to know: This recipe serves 24 people (medium-size potluck) so if you are serving a family of 4-6, you will want to cut it back to 1/4 of this recipe (divide all following ingredients by 4... ah, math!)
INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 c. Vegetable Oil
• 5 Qt./Li. or 2 1/2 pounds of sliced Mushrooms
• Optional: 1 1/2 pounds of diced Onions, to add sweetness
• 1/2 C. Soy Sauce or Tamari Sauce
• 1 C. Apple Juice mixed with 1/2 C. Water and 1/2 C. Nutritional Yeast (if not using Veg. Stock)
• 2 1/2 Qt./Li. Vegetable Stock or Water (if using the above Apple Juice Mix)
• 1 T. each of dried Sage, Thyme and Marjoram (or 3 T. Poultry Seasoning)
• 3/4 C. Cornstarch
• 1 C. Cold Water
• Salt and Pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in pan, sauté mushrooms until tender.  Remove and set aside. 
2. Sauté finely diced onions until translucent.
3. Add Juice, Soy sauce stock and seasonings, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to low boil (Med-Low)
4. For smooth gray, purée mixture with an immersion blender.
5. Make a slurry of Corn Starch and ColdWater
6. Slowly add the above slurry, adding it to the pot continuously until the gravy thickens
7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

You may also want to try:

This is yummy! Vegan SHAM CHOWDER - the vegan take on Clam Chowder https://t.co/mvpXIAB1Ht pic.twitter.com/cvw31QASPT

— ComoxValleyAdventist (@comoxadventist) February 28, 2016

Shirley's Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe

Here is another one of Elder Shirley Gong's splendid sauces: Thai Peanut Sauce.  Easy to make and delicious!  This recipe makes about 2 Cups of Peanut Sauce, or 16 servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 1 1/2 C. Creamy Peanut Butter

1-  2       C. Coconut Milk or Hot Water

3 T. each of Lemon or Lime Juice, Soy Sauce (or Tamari)

1 T. each of Minced Ginger Root, Honey

3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

(Optional) 1/4 C. chopped Fresh Cilantro, 1 T. Hot Sauce 

METHOD:

1. Bring Water or Coconut Milk to a boil and then add Ginger and Garlic
2. Simmer above for 5 minutes to let the flavour blend
3. Mix in the Peanut Butter, Lemon Juice, Soy Sauce, Honey, Hot Sauce
4. Simmer until the Peanut Butter dissolves and Sauce thickens
5. Mix in Cilantro just before serving.

Click HERE to see ALL of Shirley's Sauces (scroll through the recipes

Here is another recipe that goes great with the Sauces:

My favourite Baked Tofu recipe of all time: Sesame Surprise. https://t.co/TNre7zPEpN #TheGreatTofuControversy pic.twitter.com/lW8NmkmdCH

— Cynthia J. Zirkwitz (@healthiacynthia) January 31, 2016

Shirley's Sweet and Sour Sauce (with No-Meat Balls)

Here is another wonderful sauce recipe from Elder Shirley Gong at the Port Alberni Adventist Church. This delicious Sweet and Sour Pineapple Sauce does not have some of the less attractive features of some commercial sauces (for example, no food coloring).  Use it as a sauce alternative for the Veggie and Pan Noodles, also a recipe of Shirley's.


  INGREDIENTS
Makes 6 Servings

• 1/2 C. Brown Sugar (or Coconut Palm Sugar)
• 11 T. Corn Starch
• 1 can Pineapple Chunks in Juice
• 1/3 C. Vinegar or Lemon Juice
• 1 T. Soy Sauce
• 1 small chopped Green Pepper

METHOD:

1. Mix Sugar and Starch together
2. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan, EXCEPT the pepper
3. Heat slowly to a boil, stirring frequently.
4. Add chopped Pepper
5. Simmer 3 - 5 minutes.
6. Add to your recipe.

Sweet and Sour No-Meat Balls

In a large skillet or wok, add sauce to delicious No-Meatballs <recipe), then simmer for 5 minutes before serving.

GUNG HAI FAT CHOY!

Here are those No-Meatballs ------>

How about these No-Meatballs for supper some day this week? https://t.co/lD1krLk766 #vegan #GlutenFree pic.twitter.com/kUzH0dlqaz

— Cynthia J. Zirkwitz (@healthiacynthia) February 11, 2016

Veggies and Pan Noodles with Sweet & Sour or Peanut Sauce

This delicious recipe for Veggie and Pan Noodles (either spaghetti/soban noodles or thin rice/angel hair noodles) is another generous offering from Elder Shirley Gong of the Port Alberni Adventist Church.  This recipe is great as a potluck dish for our small church potluck (24 servings) but if you make it x4, you will have 100 hearty-size servings.  (Peanut Sauce recipe is below-- Sweet and Sour Recipe is HERE.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 pounds Soban-type or Thin Rice Noodles
• 2 pounds each, julienne: Cabbage, Onion, Carrots, Celery
• 2 T. or 6 Cloves Garlic, Minced or Pressed
• 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

Braising Sauce

• 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil
• 1 1/2 C. Water
• 2 C. or 1 - 14 oz. jar Hoisin Sauce (See Below for DIY Recipe)
• 1 C. light Soy Sauce or Tamari Sauce (not needed if using DIY Recipe)
• 3/4 C. Honey                                          (not needed if using DIY Recipe)
• 1 T. Garlic Powder                               (not needed if using DIY Recipe)

Garnish with 1/2 C. Each Dice Green Onion or Fresh chopped Cilantro

DIY HOISIN SAUCE RECIPE (24 Servings Above):

1. 1 1/2 C. Soy Sauce or Tamari
2. 12 T.     Peanut Butter
3. 1 1/2 C. Honey or Molasses
4. 3/4  C.   Garlic, Minced (or processed in blender)
5. 4 T.        Rice Vinegar
6. 4 T.        Sesame Seed Oil
7. 1 1/2 T.  Chinese Hot Sauce (or to taste)
8. 1/2 tsp.   Black Pepper

Whisk the Sauce until well-blended and set aside.

METHOD:

1. Cook Noodles, drain and rinse in cold Water.  Set aside.
2. Mix up Braising Sauce and set aside
3. In large pan, heat 1/2 C. oil to medium high to stir fry the veggies.  Keep a glass of water at hand.
4. Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute or 3 to 5 minutes until onions soften.  Sprinkle a a T. or 2 of water on veggies to keep them from burning.
5. Add Garlic and Cabbage, then saute to soften.
6. Add noodles and keep gently stir-frying to keep the noodles from sticking.  When noodles are hot, add sauce and fry for another 2 or 3 minutes until the sauce is well mixed in.  Serve immediately or put in greased roasting-size pan and keep warm in oven.

If you desire a really super-tasty meal, serve with this baked Tofu:

My favourite Baked Tofu recipe of all time: Sesame Surprise. https://t.co/4fR9j8qRor #TheGreatTofuControversy pic.twitter.com/ZWKhmjzPOb

— Cynthia J. Zirkwitz (@healthiacynthia) January 29, 2016

GUNG HAI FAT CHOY to all our Chinese friends!

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Sautéed Apples

These yummy sautéed apples provide a "sauce" for pudding, etc., can be eaten as-is, or, as I did, made into a sort of mock apple crisp by piling them on top of a food-processed mix of dates and toasted walnuts. This is another recipe from dear Shirley Gong, an Elder at the Port Alberni BC Adventist Church. I hope you enjoy! The recipe from Shirley makes 10 servings @1/3cup each.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2T. TO 1/4 C. Butter (for vegans, use Coconut Oil)
• 4 pounds firm Apples (Spartan, Delicious, Granny Smith)- peeled, cored, sliced 1/4" thick
• 1/2 C. Cold Water or Apple Juice 
• 1/4 to 1/2 C. Brown Sugar (or Coconut Palm Sugar)
• 1/2 tsp. ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp. each: Cornstarch, Lemon Juice (Optional)

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter or coconut oil over medium heat; add apples.  Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 6 - 7 minutes.
2. Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet, or omit.  Stir in sugar and cinnamon.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let sit for 2 or 3 minutes to apples to absorb the liquid.  Remove from heat and serve warm.

BAKED TOFU: Sesame Surprise (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I have to tell you that this BAKED TOFU recipe is one of my favourite tofu recipes of all time.

Baked Tofu: Sesame Surprise

 My husband and I have been back and forth on the Tofu Road.  We read a lot of health-related articles and watch a lot of (junk?) science on Youtube, so of course, we are well aware of the controversy around soy products... you know where you can go to read that side of the story as well.

Well, here we are back again!  Because we have such great respect for slim heralds of plant-strong health like Dr. Darlene Blaney (recipes on this site),  Dr. Hans Diehl, Dr. John A. McDougall, Lani  Muelrath, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. Walter Veith (see more below the recipe), among many others, some people we actually rub shoulders with on a weekly basis, these tofu-eating crusaders for a healthy lifestyle have won us back again to tofu.  We're sort of like "slacker voters" I guess... we go with who impresses us the most with their pitch for benefits we will receive, and we vote with our forks.  But remember that the 'fake' soy products on the grocery shelf: soy bacon, soy burgers,etc., are meant to be eaten like birthday cake...very rarely, if ever.  If you do eat soy, eat it as it has been eaten traditionally for hundreds of years: as tofu, seitan, miso.

On with the BAKED TOFU:Sesame Surprise Recipe
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Block of Organic Medium Firm Tofu, 350 g
• 1/4 C. Tamari or Soy Sauce
• 2 T. Coconut Sugar or Maple Syrup
• 2 T. Ketchup
• 1 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
• Pinch of Chipotle or dash of Hot Sauce
• 2 T. Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder (or 2 minced garlic bulbs)
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Hickory Smoke liquid (optional)

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
2. Line a small cake pan with parchment paper or spray with oil
3. Press Tofu gently between two clean towels or paper towels until most of excess moisture is removed, and then slice in half from side to side of block and into 1 inch cubes. 
4. In a large bowl, stir together Tamari, Sugar, Ketchup, Vinegar and Chipotle powder or hot sauce until well combined.  Add in Sesame Seeds, Garlic Powder or mince, black pepper and liquid smoke.
5. Fold in the tofu, attempting not to break them up.
6. Let the tofu marinate for about 5 or more minutes in the sauce.

   

   Marinating the tofu



7. Gently spoon the cubes into a pan so they are arranged in a single layer
8. Pour the sauce over them and put in the oven for 35 - 45 minutes, depending on how 'textured' you like them to be (they become somewhat chewier the longer they are in the oven)
9. Serve over rice or quinoa with a salad or side of steamed greens.

 Enjoy! And if you are not familiar with Dr. Walter Veith, now might be a good time to take a look at his video series on a Healthy Lifestyle called "Life At Its Best."  Dr. Veith and his family lived in South Africa where he was a Professor of Zoology and an affirmed atheist.  A number of events conspired to bring he and his wife to a deep faith in God, the extreme opposite of the life he had lived before.

Other dramatic events brought them to North America.  Dr. Veith, as an imminent scientist, and teacher, has the ability to make current food and nutritional science understandable, even fascinating.

 You will be amazed at how our health choices have a Biblical base.  I highly recommend that you watch one of these videos each few days and try not to watch them all at once... there is so much "new information" that you will feel like your head will explode if you watch them back -to- back, although you might be tempted to do so... but, mainly, watch, think, and pray about changes you can make in your life so that you can experience "Life at Its Best".  I've provided the first video in the series below-- the other ones can be seen as stand-alones or in a series (best) on Youtube, or purchased as DVDs on the Amazing Discoveries site.