By Rebecca on February 3, 2008
A big thank you GreenFeet.com! I recently ordered a couple of 2L Frigoverre pitchers and one of the lids was defective. Normally, stores have you send the object back, making you responsible for the return shipping but not GreenFeet.com! They told me to keep the pitcher and are sending me a new one. It will make a beautiful pitcher for lemonade and iced tea. My kitty, Luis, would also like to send his thanks for the environmentally friendly packaging. He didn’t give me a chance to recycle it — he’s turned it into a new kitty bed.
Another big thank you to Stephanie Steiner the Grocery Buyer/Merchandiser for the PCC. I appreciate the detailed and honest response you sent me about White Wave products. Employees like you are one reason why I continue to be a loyal shopper at the PCC. I wish Whole Foods had been as honest in their response about Horizon Organics and non-response about White Wave instead of hiding behind a confidentiality statement that prohibits me from discussing the contents of their answer with others.
Vegan Carob Brownies
Here’s another recipe for your okara left from your last batch of soymilk. These brownies are absolutely yummy! Serve them hot with a little Soy Delicious vanilla ice cream or a little vanilla soymilk on top and you have quite a treat.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Holly Rudin-Braschi.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 c pastry flour*
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 t cinnamon
*I ground soft red wheat.
Wet Ingredients:
Additional Ingredients
- 1 c Sunspire Vegan Carob Chips
Needed Tools
- 8″ x 8″ baking pan
- Unbleached parchment paper
- Sifter
- Cuisinart with metal blade
- Small bowl
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the baking pan.
- Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with vegetable oil.
- Place the cut parchment paper on top of the greased bottom and lightly grease it with vegetable oil.
- Lightly flour the pan.
- Sift the dry ingredients together into a small bowl and then set aside.
- Place the wet ingredients into the Cuisinart and process until smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to make sure that it is completely mixed.
- Add the dry mixture into the Cuisinart with the wet ingredients. Pulse to blend until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Add the carob chips and pulse three times quickly to mix. Don’t pulse too much or too long or you will chop of the carob chips too finely.
- Pour the mixture into prepared pan.
- Bake for 22 minutes or until brownies pull away from sides.
- Let cool before turning out. The parchment paper will peel off the bottom easily.
Nutritional Information
| Per 1 serving |
1/9th of pan |
1/12th of pan |
| Calories |
174.67 kcal |
131 kcal |
| Protein |
3.79 g |
2.84 g |
| Carbohydrates |
32.53 g |
24.4 g |
| Sugar |
7.8 g |
5.85 g |
| Fat, total |
4.38 g |
3.29 g |
| Saturated |
2.8 g |
2.1 g |
| Monounsaturated |
0.52 g |
0.39 g |
| Polyunsaturated |
0.55 g |
0.41 g |
| Fiber |
3.9 g |
2.92 g |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
0 mg |
| Iron |
2.12 mg |
1.59 mg |
| Sodium |
78.56 mg |
58.92 mg |
| Calcium |
77.94 mg |
58.46 mg |
Posted in Bake, Brownie, Carob, Dessert, Environment, Health, Okara, Recipes, Soymilk, Stevia, Vegan | Tagged Bake, Brownie, Carob, Dessert, Environment, GreenFeet, Okara, PCC, recipe, Soymilk, Stevia, Vegan, Whole Foods |
By Rebecca on January 27, 2008
Flax has been cultivated for its fiber and seeds since 3000 BCE. Charlemagne passed laws requiring its consumption because it was considered to be so healthy. And with good reason, too, it turns out. Flax contains high levels of lignans and omega-3 fatty acids, the health benefits of which include:
- Reducing inflammation in illnesses such as asthma, arthritis, and migraines
- Promoting bone health by helping to prevent excessive bone turnover
- Reducing the formation of blood clots which potentially reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke for those at risk
- Reducing the risk for colon, prostate and breast cancers
- Lowering blood pressure
- Lowering cholesterol levels
- Relieving constipation
- Stabilizing blood sugar levels in diabetics
- Preventing the blood vessel spasm that leads to migraine attacks
- Promoting relaxation and restores normal sleep patterns
- Reducing the severity of asthma by keeping airways relaxed and open
- Improving chances of conception for those women trying to get pregnant
- Restoring hormonal balance in perimenopausal women
- Lowering the risk of Dry Eye Syndrome (DES)
I’ve made it part of my daily breakfast (see below) and even if it didn’t help with the above, it’s filling and tastes great.
Loom Knitting
When loom knitting with flax yarn, remember to knit loosely because the yarn has little elasticity. It is a not a yarn for beginners to knit with. For intermediate to advanced knitters, remember to follow the guidelines for good loom knitting habits on Loom Knitting Help and you will have a much easier time knitting with this yarn.
Becky’s Breakfast Granola
Most store-bought granolas are not good for you because of the amount of added sugar and hydrogenated fats. My granola has no added fat and the sugar used, agave syrup, has a lower glycemic index and load than most sweeteners on the market. Even so, the agave syrup can be omitted if you’d prefer. While this breakfast is not low in calories, it is high in protein and fiber. It’s also high in omega-3 fatty acids which has the many wonderful health benefits noted above. If you are not used to eating a high fiber diet, you should begin to incorporate flaxseed into your diet 1 teaspoon at a time to avoid flatulence and bloating. Be sure to drink enough water during the day (6-8 cups).
We can all feel the price of foods squeezing our wallet. A recent study done at the University of Washington confirms that the cost of healthy foods has skyrocketed compared to junk foods. The cost of organic foods is even higher so many people have become smart about which ones they purchase. The grains, nuts and some fruits listed below are on the list of foods to consider purchasing as organic because they are loaded with pesticides. Please keep this in mind when preparing the granola.
I make my granola in a dehydrator but you can spread it out on cookie sheets and bake it in the oven as well. Be sure to store your granola in the refrigerator once it’s done.
This granola tastes great with soymilk.
14 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 1 cup oat bran
- 1 cup chopped deglet noor dates
- ½ cup organic raw blue agave syrup
- Flaxseed
Optional:
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- &fract12; cup each of other dried fruits
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix the oats, wheat germ and oat bran together.
- Heat the agave syrup in the microwave for 30 seconds and pour over the grain mixture. Mix well. Lumps will form as you mix.
- Add the chopped dates and other optional ingredients. Mix well.
- Spoon the mixture onto the dehydrator trays.
- Set the dehydrator to 145º and keep it on for 2-7 hours.
- Put in the glass or plastic container and store in the refrigerator.
- Serve with 2-4 T of ground flaxseed.
If you go through the granola quickly, you can add the ground flaxseed before putting the container in the refrigerator. Ground flaxseed goes rancid quickly though so it’s recommended to add it at the time you eat it.
Nutritional Information
| Per 1 serving (1/2 cup granola + 2T ground flaxseed) |
| Calories |
339.43 kcal |
| Protein |
9.43 g |
| Carbohydrates |
37.18 g |
| Sugar |
8.45 g |
| Fat, total |
12.86 g |
| Saturated |
1.00 g |
| Monounsaturated |
1.79 g |
| Polyunsaturated |
5.28 g |
| Fiber |
8.78 g |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
| Iron |
3.08 mg |
| Sodium |
6.21 mg |
| Calcium |
70.71 mg |
Posted in Breakfast, Dehydrator, Health, Knitting, Loom, Recipes, Vegan | Tagged Breakfast, Dehydrator, Health, loom knitting, recipe, Vegan |
By Rebecca on January 20, 2008
The filling for this low-fat pumpkin pie recipe has approximately half the calories of a typical vegetarian/vegan filling made with honey/agave and one-third the calories of a traditional filling made with eggs and condensed milk. This decrease is due to using stevia. If you don’t like the taste of stevia, use 2/3 cup honey and no soymilk or 3.5T agave and ¼c+3T soymilk. When purchasing your pie crust, be sure to purchase one that does not have hydrogenated fats. It will be easier to make this recipe if you have a food processor with a plastic blade or a blender.
Low-fat Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
- 15 oz can of pumpkin or 2 cups cooked
- 2 1/4 c okara (from 2 batches of soymilk)
- 1/2-2/3 t stevia
- 2/3 c soymilk
- 1 t vanilla (only if the soymilk is not vanilla)
- 1 T pumpkin pie spice
- 1 unbaked 9″ pie crust
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Place the okara and soymilk in the food processor or blender and process until smooth.
- Add the pumpkin, stevia, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla (if using) and blend well.
- Pour into the pie crust.
- Bake in oven for 1 hour. The filling will still be soft when done.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The filling will firm as it chills.
Nutritional Information
| Per 1 serving (1/8 pie filling) |
| Calories |
56.25 kcal |
| Protein |
2.34 g |
| Carbohydrates |
9.81 g |
| Sugar |
3.7 g |
| Fat, total |
1.16 g |
| Saturated |
0.24 g |
| Monounsaturated |
0.21 g |
| Polyunsaturated |
0.47 g |
| Fiber |
2.89 g |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
| Iron |
1.35 mg |
| Sodium |
10.54 mg / 146.05 mg (salted / unsalted pumpkin) |
| Calcium |
51.99 mg |
Posted in Bake, Dessert, Okara, Pie, Recipes, Soymilk, Stevia, Vegan | Tagged Bake, Dessert, Okara, pumpkin pie, recipe, Soymilk, Stevia, Vegan |
By Rebecca on January 13, 2008
There’s a lot of talk about adding soy protein and isoflavones to your diet. Usually, there is 1mg isoflavones to 1g of soy protein. In case you’re not sure how much soy protein is in the various soy products, here’s a chart to help you. It may vary a bit depending on the brand but this will give you a good estimation.
| Soy Product |
Serving Size |
Grams (g) of Soy Protein |
Milligrams (mg) of Isoflavones |
| Miso |
1T |
2 |
7 |
| Soybeans, green, cooked |
½ c |
11 |
50 |
| Soybeans, roasted, plain |
¼ c |
15 |
78 |
| Soymilk, plain, fortified |
1 c |
10 |
43 |
| Soy Flour, defatted |
¼ c |
12 |
42 |
| TVP, dry |
¼ c |
11 |
33 |
| Tempeh |
½ c |
16 |
53 |
| Tofu |
½ c |
10 |
25 |
To also help you along your way, here a recipe for making soymilk in a soymilk maker. The one I use is a SoyaPower by Sanlix.
Vanilla Soymilk
This is a very smooth tasting soymilk that makes approximately six servings. In addition to the soymilk maker, you’ll need a gold coffee filter, wide mouth funnel, and glass pitcher. I highly recommend Frigoverre pitchers as they have a hermetically-sealed lid. You can purchase these pitchers from Chef’s Catalog, Village Kitchen and GreenFeet. Do not use a plastic pitcher to store your soymilk in.
Ingredients
- 100 grams soybeans
- 2″ piece of a vanilla bean, cut into 4-6 pieces
- 10-15 drops of liquid stevia such as SteviaClear
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Rinse and soak the soybeans overnight (8-10 hours) in the refrigerator.
- Drain and rinse beans. Do not worry about removing the hull from the beans.
- Fill the pitcher of the soymilk maker with filtered water until it reaches a halfway point between the two water level marks on the side of the pitcher.
- Place the beans in the soymilk maker’s filter and attach to the soymilk maker per your manufacturer’s directions.
- Place the soymilk maker’s head onto the pitcher. Lock the latches if your maker has them.
- Plug the power cord into the soymilk maker and then into a power outlet.
- Push the Start button on your soymilk maker. The machine will start by heating the water and then it will grind the soybeans. After 15-20 minutes, the machine will beep to let you know that it has finished and the milk is done.
- After hearing the beep, unplug the power cord from the power outlet and then from the soymilk maker. Set the power cord aside.
- Unlock the latch if necessary and lift the head off of the pitcher. Place the head aside and let it cool.
Once it has cooled, store the okara in the refrigerator or freezer for another recipe. You can also use okara in place of eggs in some recipes.
- Using a spoon, slowly stir the milk in the pitcher to help the foam dissipate.
- Put the salt, stevia, and vanilla bean into the glass pitcher. Place the funnel in the glass pitcher and the gold coffee filter on top.
- Pour the milk into the glass pitcher through the gold coffee filter.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and then store in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Information
To increase the calcium, add calcium carbonate to your soymilk after it has cooled. You can purchase the supplements from your local pharmacy. It is also available for purchase from VeganEssentials. You will need to shake the soymilk before each use to distribute it.
| Per 1c Soymilk |
| Calories |
78 kcal |
| Protein |
6.77 g |
| Carbohydrates |
4.12 g |
| Sugar |
0.97 g |
| Fat, total |
3.81 g |
| Saturated |
0.487 g |
| Monounsaturated |
0.927 g |
| Polyunsaturated |
2.387 g |
| Fiber |
1.2 g |
| Cholesterol |
0 mg |
| Iron |
1.09 mg |
| Sodium |
88 mg |
| Calcium |
59 mg |
Posted in Drink, Health, Recipes, Soymilk, Soymilk Maker, Vegan | Tagged Drink, Health, isoflavones, recipe, Soy, Soymilk, Soymilk Maker, Stevia, Vegan |
By Rebecca on December 30, 2007
This is a pattern for an easy-to-make baby sweater. A good first project for someone who has learned their basic stitches on the knitting loom. Please feel free to contact me about it if you have any questions. Detailed instructions and pictures will be coming next week. I wanted to familiarize you with the pattern first before stepping you through it. The pattern was written for the gauge listed below. You may find that you need to use a different loom to knit to that gauge (that’s OK!). If you would like to use a different loom and need a different gauge, you will need to convert the pattern. Please contact me for help if you need it. I will post this same pattern converted to use with a Knifty Knitter and chunky yarn soon.
Infant Sweater
Infant Sweater byRebecca Novelli is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Pattern Information
Loom: DA ESG Wonderloom
Gauge: 4 sts 5 rws per 1″, Twisted Stockinette St
Yarn: Pymouth Jellie Beenz, Baby Blue
Estimated Ydg: 220
Main stitch: Twisted Stockinette St (knit tbl (e-wrap) stitch)
Suggestions
Cast-on: Crochet cast-on
Bind-off: Provisional and Crochet bind-offs
Increase stitch: Bar increase
Loom Knitting Instructions
Back
- Cast on 41 sts.
- Estab rib pat on Row 1: *K1 , P1.
- Repeat from *. End K1. Work 7 rws. On row 8, increase as below using a bar increase. [1.5"].
- Rib-to-Body Inc Row:[Work 6, inc 1 in next st] 5x, work 6. (46 sts)
- Work in pat st until piece meas 6″ [row 22]. Place underarm markers.
- Cont in pat st until piece meas 10.5″ [row 46].
- Bind off all stitches using a provisional bind-off using a different color yarn. Do not gather. (Stitches will be used as: 15 shoulder sts, 16 back neck sts, 15 shoulder sts.)
Work Front. (below)
Front
Work sleeves. (below)
Sleeves
- Cast on 21 sts.
- Work same as body rib for 7 rws [1.5"]. On the next rib rw:
- Cuff-to-Sleeve-Inc Row: Work 5 [inc 1 in next st, work 4, inc 1 in next st, work 5] 1 x, [inc 1 in next st, work 4] 1 x.
- Sleeve Shaping: Work one (odd #) row.
- Begin sleeve shaping: Inc 1 st on each side every 2nd rw 1x, then every 4th rw 5x.
- Cont in pat st until piece meas 6.5″[row 26].
- Leaving a long tail, bind off using a provisional bind-off using a different color piece of yarn (total of 36 sts). Do not gather.
Blocking
Some people choose to skip this step but it’s a mistake. It makes a difference, even with acrylic and it’s your chance to “fix” uneven fabric.
- Wet block by spray. Do not press.
Finishing & Assembly
Sides
- Place RS Front and Back fabrics facing each other.
- On the left side, join the seam from the bottom up to row 22 where the underarm markers are located and then again for the top 6 rows.
- Repeat the the right side.
- Weave in all ends.
Finish each shoulder. (15 sts)
Shoulders
- With the sweater inside out, place the stitches from both fabrics for the left shoulder onto a loom (first 15 stitches)
- Knit off all stitches
- Bind off using the crochet bind-off.
- Weave in ends.
- Repeat for the right shoulder (last 15 stitches).
Finish the Neck.
Neck
- On a circular loom, place the 16 sts from each fabric around neck edge for a total of 32 stitches on the circular loom.
- Work in single rib (*K1 , P1; rep from * to end) for 1″ or desired length.
- Bind off loosely using a crochet bind-off.
- Weave in ends.
Finish each sleeve.
Sleeves
Work with the sleeve RS out and the torso WS out.
- Setup a FG Wonderloom as a 36-peg circular loom.
- Place each sleeve row from the torso onto a peg. Remember that the WS should be facing out, down the loom.
- Push the RS-out sleeve down the torse and place each stitch on top of a stitch on the loom. There should be two stitches on each peg when you are finished.
- Knit off.
- Bind off using a crochet bind-off.
- Weave in ends.
- Repeat for the other sleeve.
Posted in Knitting, Loom, Pattern | Tagged baby, Decor Accents, loom knitting, Pattern, sweater |
