Best Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe! | One bowel vegan carrot cake.

Made This for the family. Best I've made so far and best of all it's vegan! The wet consistency was good, and it rose the same way any good cake recipe should. It was moist and didn't implode when I took it out of the oven. 

I give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Give it a try! You won't miss the animal products. 

One bowel vegan carrot cake!

Thank you! 

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Cooking Beans, Legumes, Split peas in a slow cooker | Easy plant based!

   Eating plant based is easy and it can be much cheaper than buying animal products. When we go whole food plant based we eat healthier, lose weight, feel better and save money. And who doesn't want that? All it requires is some information, planning and a will to succeed. In this article I want to give you the basics to help you get started as well as instructions on how I make healthy plant based slow cooker meals that taste great with minimal effort!

First of all when I talk about a vegan diet I mean a whole food plant based diet. I feel that's the healthiest with or without being all raw food based. I also like to KEEP IT SIMPLE! That's my motto, because if it's not simple I don't want to do it lol! That's just one reason why I prefer to keep it fruit based myself. What is simpler than grabbing some fruit and just eating it! Salads for me are a little more complicated but it is easy to make a simple salad too. 

The first thing you need to do when starting a whole food plant based diet is to go through your pantry and fridge. Get rid of the dead animals, and their secretions once and for all! Who needs them anyway? These food are high in fat, cholesterol, hormones, antibiotics, steroids and way to high in the wrong kind of protein in my opinion. Take a stand and stop buying the stuff :) It's not good for your body, the planet or the animals. 

Next thing is getting rid of the processed foods! Pretty much anything that comes in a box and has more than one ingredient, itself! The only exception to this would be whole grains, and pastas. Not that those products are the best, but fine for making plant based meals. Also keep your herbs, spices, seasoning packets as long as they aren't loaded with a bunch of junk like MSG, remember simple ingredients. You're going to need your seasonings for the many soups, stews and stir fry dishes that you're going to make.You may also want to keep some salt, pepper, and olive or avocado oil on hand. 

Here is a list of whole food plant based foods that you will need to stock up on and or buy weekly. They are ordered here from most optimal to least optimal. 

• Seasonal fruits/berries/melons. 
• Greens, such as baby spinach, spring mix and lettuce.
• Vegetables. Carrots, celery, and potatoes are great to have on hand.
• Legumes as in lentils and split peas.
• Beans. Black beans, white beans. garbanzo beans are among the best.
• Seeds. Sunflower seeds, are cheaper, side, and digest well. Also a bit more pricey, hemp seeds are a easier digestible fat/protein item. Chia seeds are also great to have on hand, get them on sale. Chia seeds go well in salads, and smoothies.
• Whole grains. Brown rice, quinoa, oats, and farina for hot cereal are good to have on hand.
• Nuts. But use sparingly! Nuts are high in fat and protein, and may also be hard for most people to digest. No more than a very small handful a day is needed, if any.
  

You should be able to eat daily with these items and the cost is minimal compared to pre-cooked packaged foods, fast foods, restaurant foods, and animal products! Pound per pound. a much cheaper way to eat!

Appliances that you will need; A slow cooker, rice cooker, blender, fridge, and stove is pretty much all that you need. I have a cooker (Instant Pot) that is a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, etc.. so that makes it pretty convenient although two of them would be better. 

I personally prefer a fruit based diet. That means that I eat fruit for my first two meals, and then salads. If I don't eat a salad then I will either do more fruit or whatever cooked food I have prepared for my family that day, in the evening. I recommend that you eat a diet that is at least 75% raw! That's raw whole foods most of the time. For more info on that see www.myfruitthing.com

Focus on fruits, berries, melons, and simple salads! I recommend that if you are eating cooked foods to do it at the end of the day after you have had your fruit day, and after your salad. You should never mix fast moving foods (easy to digest) foods with slow moving foods that are harder to digest. If you do this you will find that you won't have many stomach troubles eating this way. You go mixing your fruits in with cooked food and you are just creating more problems for yourself. Fruit typically should be eaten alone. 

For planning your meals it's a good idea to decide what you will be making in your slow cooker and make it a point to get something going in the morning. I prefer lentils, black beans, and hardy soups made with lots of veggies. The best part about the slow cooker is that you can start it in the morning, tend to it a bit in the afternoon, and have a hot home cooked plant based meal by the end of the day. 

IMPORTANT! When using your slow cooker use less water then the recipe says. I prefer to add water in gradually as needed. It just makes sense because the slow cooker uses up less water then cooking at high heats on the stove and you don't want to end up with a watery end product. 

Here are some meal options for you to try...

I use these recipes myself and loved them.  

Slow cooker black beans with vegan corn bread :) 

As for other beans, legumes, and lentils that I make, I do them the same way with excellent results. In the next part I will illustrate how I do it so you can try it at home. I personally try not to use broths, or bullion cubes. I have in the past but I find that I can cut the cost down by avoiding buying these products or making them myself. You also end up with a much healthier product in the end! 

This method will work for any kind of beans, legumes, or split pea. 

1. I start with some beans, lentils, or split peas, what ever you got! Rinse about a cup or two depending on how much food you're making, place in the slow cooker. 
2. Add. Thinly sliced small to medium size onion. It doesn't matter what kind just whatever you happen to have or sounds good to you. Also thinly slice 2-3 cloves of garlic. 
3. Add, just enough water to cover the contents in the slow cooker. Remember not to much because we are adding it gradually as needed. 
4. Turn on your low cooker and let cook. If your cooker has a setting, set it for 7 hours. It may be done in five depending on what you are cooking, but you can still just let it go for the 7 hours if you can't get to it, or if it needs to cook more. Lentils/legumes cook faster while beans a little longer.
5. After an hour or two check to see if you need to add a little more water and do it as needed. You will notice that the onions/garlic are beginning to cook and get translucent. Allow it to continue to cook. Make sure to check it before you leave your house to make sure there is enough water in it.
6. Add vegetables if you want, just depends on the kind of beans or soup you are cooking. I like to add carrots, sweet potatoes, celery, and pretty much whatever I have. You want to make sure that the vegetables aren't added in to early, but after the beans begin to cook a bit is a good time, so that they don't get to mushy. 
7. Add some salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you wish. The onions and garlic will cook in and give everything a nice flavor. If I do red lentils I like to add cumin or curry powder. You can also add some tomato paste for chili beans and all kinds of soups.
   

That is my general way of making beans or a simple bean soup in my slow cooker. Please refer to the recipes in this article as well as look for a good slow cooker recipe book that you can use. I suggest looking for a plant based one. Below is just one great suggestion but there are many books on the subject.

There is so much more I could say, so I will leave that for another post. I hope you enjoyed this article and that it will be a help to you along your journey to better health, and a more compassionate way of eating. I will be doing a lot more writing on the subject of plant based eating but from a Christian perspective as is my specialty, so stay tuned for that. Remember when you use my links to make your Amazon purchase you are helping me, help you and the others who find my articles helpful. Thank you!

Until next time God bless you and your family!

Sincerely Joanne Utke

Slow-cooked, healthy, vegan meals ― fast preparation

Create healthy, whole food, vegan masterpieces that take 15 minutes or less to prep. The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook features over 100 simple slow cooker recipes for mouthwatering plant-based plates. From Curried Ginger Butternut Squash Soup to Spicy Ethiopian Lentil Stew, discover how easy cooking real food with real ingredients really is.

Thank you! 

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Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Red Lentil Soup

What you need;

half on onion chopped
one large carrot chopped
two stalks celery chopped
one clove of garlic chopped
one cup dried red lentils rinsed
one container of vegetable broth
tsp onion powdered
tsp garlic powdered
tsp of dried basil or a handful of fresh chopped
tsp dried parsley or a handful of fresh chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
Handful of spinach to add at the end

1. Heat tablespoon of oil in a sauce pan medium high heat 
2. Stir fry all of the vegetables for a couple minutes
3. Add broth 
4. Add rinsed lentils
5. Bring to a boil and simmer until lentils start getting tender
6. If you need to add a little water do so a little at a time. (don't make it to watery)
7. Add all the powdered or dried seasoning (if you are using some fresh herbs wait until the end)
8. Let simmer until lentils are falling apart and very tender
9. Add spinach and fresh herbs
10. Pinch of salt and pepper

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To see The 15 minutes a day writing challenge entries go to this link.

Chai Tea Spice Mix

Chai Tea Mix (spices only) Recipe

I have made my own Chai Tea mix before using the spices, sugar, non dairy dry milk, non dairy dry vanilla creamer and powdered tea. This makes a nice mix but I am always trying to find healthier and cheaper options. I'm not a fan of those non dairy powdered milks, etc…

So I made this nice spice mix that enables me to use any milk and tea of my choice. Although regular Lipton or black tea works best for this chai tea. For a healthy option use coconut or almond milk.  

This mix is also a great addition to your coffee. Add the spice, milk and sugar to your coffee and make a lovely spiced latte to get you going in the morning. Just use hot coffee instead of tea in water.

This is a standard sandwich baggy.

You will need; ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground cardamom. Traditionally chai is made use additionally black pepper, nutmeg, anise and fennel. But I wouldn't like it with these so I am not including it here.

You will also need black tea, water and milk.

Measure and mix;

4 tsp Cinnamon

4 tsp Ginger

2 tsp Cloves

2 tsp Cardamom

Add all the ingredients together in a dry container or zip lock bag. Mix well. Now you have your own chai spice mix.
This makes about one ounce of mix.

How to make your Chai Tea (makes one cup)

1. Take a regular size mug and add ¾ cup hot water leaving room in the mug for milk. You can make it as milky as you like by the amount of water you are using. NOTE; You can just add the water to the mug and then microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Steep 1 tea bag of black tea (Lipton regular is good) in your hot water for 6 min. If you are trying this recipe in coffee do not use the tea.
3. Then add ⅛ tsp of your spice mix. You can use up to ¼ tsp mix if you like it strong, or you are using a a mug that is more than 8 ounces.
4. Add the sweetener of your choice. I find 2 tsp of sugar works well and you can definitely use honey or agave. Adjust the sugar accordingly. The sweetness is up to you.
5. Stir to let spices dissolve well.
6. Add desired milk to fill the remainder of your cup.

Enjoy :)

This makes a great breakfast tea or a warm and cozy ending to your day. We love Chai Tea in the fall and winter months the best. Not only that, Chai Tea is good for you. Organic is best if you can get it.

What are some of the health benefits of Chai Tea?

The spices that are used in chai are healthy additions to your daily intake. Hot drinks like tea are a great way to provide your body with the medicinal qualities of herbs and spices. Cinnamon and ginger are known for their anti-inflammatory actions as well as their ability to lower cholesterol. Cardamom is said to benefit the lungs and kidneys. While Cloves have antiseptic and pain relieving attributes.

If you haven't figured it out by now all of these spices together with your favorite black tea is a powerhouse of potential health benefits! You can use any wholesome tea or tea drink like chai as a substitute for coffee throughout the day. I for one am a tea drinker. I love green. oolong, or chai tea in the morning sweetened with honey or agave.

I hope you will be making this. It is super easy and nice to have on hand. Drink regularly for possible health benefits.

Please make sure to share this on facebook, twitter and pinterest below this post. And a friendly comment is always appreciated.

Thank you :)

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Eliminating Hyperthyroidism Graves Disease Additional Recommendations

 If you read my first post titled about how to treat hyperthyroidism and just about any ailment naturally, then you know the basic recommendations. Here are some additional recommendations from the Healthy Healing book. These are simple additions to your healing plan that you can start today!

If you missed the first post you can get to it fast by clicking this link. 

In the first post I already talked about how we must eat LIVING foods the majority of the time. These are foods that still contain the LIFE in them. To put it simply anything that has to be killed in order for you to eat it is a dead food and should be limited in your diet. I am not saying that all meat and fish are bad, I feel there is place for these foods and benefit to them. They just have to be limited and chosen wisely. Also keep in mind that in order to treat many ailments an avoidance of all meat products during the healing process may be very beneficial.

Typically 75% of our daily food intake should be from fresh living foods. Among the living foods are fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, and 100% whole grains. Minimally processed and minimally cooked is best, fruits and veggies are best in their raw state. A great way to get your raw living foods intake up is to get a good juicer and use it often. You can eat a lot of raw carrots in one day when you have a juicer, more on that in a bit.

Protein is also a must if you want to treat or prevent illness, have strong bones and immune system. Great living sources of protein include, sprouts, beans, legumes, sea vegetables, soy foods, and whole grains. With a little imagination, discipline and inspiration you can learn to prepare all of these wonderful healing foods. I like to make lentil soup, whole grain muffins with carrots, apples, etc..Sprouts are great in salads and sandwiches and you can cook beans with ease with a nice pot or pressure cooker. Sea vegetables like Kombu are great in soups, stews and beans. You Tube has tons of info on healthy cooking and how to use these foods, not to mention a easy to follow cook book.

THYROID BALANCING FOODS INCLUDE

Best eaten raw these foods will help to restore balance to your thyroid.

broccoli
cabbage
cauliflower
kale
brussel sprouts
coconut

Healing grains include, brown rice, oats, millet, buckwheat and quinoa. Some other grains include corn meal, amaranth, and wild rice. You can get all of these in flour form for all of your baking needs. Hot cereals, pancakes and muffins are also great using these grains in the whole or flour form. Just got to try different recipes and keep using the ones you and your family like.

B Vitamins: Many of the foods already mentioned are good sources of B vitamins which is a super vitamin that you will need not lack during a healing or prevention program. B vitamins are also a must in treating hyperthyroidism eating the foods listed often will ensure your proper levels of B vitamins. You can also get a good B supplement from any health food store.

In the book Healthy Healing the author recommends drinking a potassium juice or broth daily for the treatment of hyperthyroidism and many other ailments. You can easily make your own at home every few days and store it in the fridge. It is also recommended to drink a green juice drink daily as well this is also easily made at home see recipes below.

Also important to your health especially the elimination of hyperthyroidism is eating cultured food such as yogurt, Keefer and the like. These foods contain living organisms essential to your over all health! Make sure to get a good healthy brand of yogurt. You can get the plain yogurt and use fresh fruit and honey to sweeten it, that way you are eliminating that harmful White sugar from your diet. Just make sure it is all natural, organic is best.

As already states in the first post, we must make sure to drink plenty of water and it has to be pure clean water without chemicals. Reverse osmosis or distilled is best. The rule typically is your wight divided by 2 and this will tell you the minimum amount of water you should be drinking. Also very important during any healing program is plenty of fresh carrot juice at least three times per week as well as papaya juice for adrenal support.

You can make these healing juices often with a good juicer right in your kitchen. I like to juice about 3 carrots, 1 apple and 1 orange. This will provide you with a single serving of a very healthy and yummy drink that your whole family will love! Use these juices in stead of coffee and soda which I already stated in the first post that we should avoid.

It is also recommended to make a mixture of brewers yeast, wheat germ, and lecithin. Take 2 tablespoons daily to help eliminate hyperthyroidism.

POTASSIUM JUICE: The single most effective juice for cleansing, neutralizing acids, and rebuilding the body! It is a blood and body tonic to provide rapid energy and system balance. Drink once per day for most benefit. This juice would make a great mid day pick me up.

For a 12 OZ serving.

Juice in a juicer.

3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 bunch of spinach
1/2 bunch parsley

ADD: 1 to 2 teaspoons of Braggs Liquid Aminos if desired (this stuff taste like weak soy sauce and can be purchased at any health food store)

It wouldn't hurt to add one apple to the mix for a sweeter taste.


EVER GREEN ENZYME DRINK: For mucus release and enzymatic action. Drink once per day, this would make a great breakfast juice first thing in the morning.

Makes 1 drink

Juice in a good juicer.

1 apple, cored
1 tub alfalfa sprouts
1/2 fresh pineapple, skinned and cored
3 to 4 sprigs fresh mint
1 teaspoon spirulina or chlorella granules. (any health food store should have this)

These juices and more are found in the Healthy Healing book by Linda Page. Below is a link to her cook book as well which is full of wonderful recipes using all of the foods that I have discussed in these posts.

Diets for Healthy Healing: Dr. Linda Page's Natural Solutions to America's 10 Biggest Health Problems

I hope you have enjoyed the information that I have put on my blog. This is info that anyone can benefit from especially those suffering with thyroid conditions. As always please comment and share this with your friends. You can easily share on facebook just by clicking the icon below.

Thank you for your support and taking the time to ready my posts : )

To your health!
From Joanne Utke

Lentil Soup Recipe

   This is a recipe I made up, it is a great simple Lentil soup recipe using the Organic Gourmet Vegetable Bouillon cubes. You can use chicken stock but I like a more veggie taste for Lentil soup. Here is the directions to make it the way I do, it always comes out great, I hope it does for you to! I also do not use any ham or bacon fat etc.. This is a vegan style lentil soup.

Lentil Soup

1 small to medium onion chopped
1 big carrot chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
3 small potatoes chopped into small bite size pieces
A clove or two of chopped garlic
1 cup dried lentils rinsed and drained

Put all veggies in a pot, saute for a few min in a little olive oil.
Add enough water to cover veggies completely, the water should be about half in above the veggies in the pot.

Bring to a boil and add vegetable bouillon about 2 cubes (see package directions for how much water per bouillon cube) I use Organic Gourmet.

Once boiling add lentils and simmer on med high until lentils are tender.

You may want to add seasoning as desired, taste your soup to see what it needs. I did add a little extra salt but you don't have to the bouillon has many flavors including salt.

Enjoy!

By Joanne Utke