Vegan Almond Cookies

I’ve had a lot of time on my hands to give some serious thought to experimenting with new food.  We are still temporarily living at the townhouse we own, with limited internet access and no tv or furniture.  Needless to say instead of spending hours on the computer, or couch I figured I might as well get creative if I have to stand and the most comfortable place to sit is on the floor.  Today, after my natural mommies playdate, I decided to make my regular quick stop to Whole Foods for some light shopping.  I was inspired by the peanut butter cookies at the playdate, and one of the mommies talking about going vegan.  So, I decided I was going to make vegan almond butter cookies!

I found a yummy recipe, at Love Like a Vegan and thought I’d give it a shot.  I had to stock up on the canola oil and almond extract at Whole Foods and while I was there I picked up some Kale and some raw almonds.  The cookies were super easy to make and I substituted the white flour for whole wheat.  This was my first attempt at ever baking anything vegan and I have to say, that you sure don’t miss the eggs in this recipe.  These cookies are moist and chewy….mmmm…

Next I decided to try Kale Chips.  I have been following Green Lite Bites and she is experimenting with the uses for Kale.  Kale is definitely one of those veggies that I don’t really know what to do with, so I’m excited to see what else she tries!  These Kale chips were super easy.  I didn’t have to dedicate half of my day to making something that I might like, so I figured I’d go for it!  I washed and dried my kale in my salad spinner, and tore it into chip sized pieces.  I mixed tossed the kale in a bowl with a table spoon of olive oil, laid it out on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with sea salt.  I popped it in the oven at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes and out came some crispy yummy kale!  I know it sounds like a weird idea, but these chips were delicious, my one year old even liked them!

I even added the kale to some of his carrot juice with a banana in a blender and he chugged it down!

Finally, for dinner tonight we had some chicken feta sausage with mushrooms, onion, kale and quinoa stuffed in red peppers.  I have been a on a quinoa kick ever since someone suggested it as a good source of iron.  I think the quinoa is much tastier than rice and is much healthier for you.  Monday night I made quinoa with apple puree, cinnamon and a bit of honey (another Green Lite Bites inspired recipe) for Connor to eat for breakfast on Tuesday morning.  Today I found quinoa flakes at Whole Foods, which are perfect for a quick breakfast, since they cook faster than whole quinoa.

I’m definitely going to experiment more with some vegan baking, I’d love to make some muffins!  Oh, and those raw almonds are for me to try to make Almond milk, I can’t wait!  I’ll report back here to let you know how my experiments turn out!

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