It's Easy Being Green Smoothie

Chef Abbie Jaye, also known as Chef AJ, has kindly given us permission to share her delicious and healthy smoothie recipe. A friend of mine gave me the recipe when I had mentioned wanting to incorporate kale into my diet. My friend had taken her cooking class at Chefs, Inc in West LA. If you would like to take one of her classes, see below.

Ingredients:
16 ounces fresh squeezed OJ (or 1-2 fresh oranges)
1 bunch Dino Kale (approximately 8 ounces)
2 frozen, ripe bananas
1-2 cups frozen mango
mint leaves to taste (optional)

Preparation:
In a high speed blender, blend OJ (or oranges) with Kale. until smooth. Add frozen fruit until completely blended and thick.

Note: If you would like to sweeten up the recipe Chef AJ recommends adding dates or date sugar.

Chef AJ's classes for the rest of 2008 are full, but she will be posting the 2009 schedule on her website. You can also order her Rockin' Nut Crunch via the site, another creation of Chef AJ's that my friend had raved about.

click here for AJ's website

Yum Yum Donuts

While researching Winchell's donuts for a reader last week, I saw that Yum Yum Donuts are the same company. I received the following ingredients from the customer service representative.

"Attached are ingredients for Yum Yum's two basic donut ingredients: plain white cake donut and raised glazed donut. Added to the white cake would be the icings and toppings.
The raised glazed ingredients cover the twist, bars, cinnamon rolls, butterflies, and other raised products.

All our bakery products contain egg."

click here for Yum Yum's basic donut ingredients

click here for Yum Yum's website

Dannon Yogurt

11/14/08 Update: As mentioned below by a reader, it looks like Dannon now has a line of All Natural yogurt products without gelatin.

The ingredients are very simple, the Dannon Regular Plain yogurt only contains "Cultured grade A milk." The only other ingredients I see in the plain yogurts are pectin. The flavored yogurts contain sugar and flavoring as the only other ingredients.

I wonder if these cost more. My guess is they must, otherwise why don't they just make all their yogurt this way all the time?

Also, I was looking through their recipes and noticed this one where they add yogurt to guacamole. Have any of you ever done that? I wonder if it is worth doing...

From 7/25/08:

A comment was left on the post titled Egg Substitutes for Baking about gelatin and I have been looking further into the subject.

According to yourdictionary.com, gelatin is

"the tasteless, odorless, brittle mixture of proteins extracted by boiling skin, bones, horns, etc.; also, a similar vegetable substance: gelatin dissolves in hot water, forming a jellylike substance when cool, and is used in the preparation of various foods, medicine capsules, photographic film, etc."

So gelatin can be derived from either animals or vegetables.

I found an interesting file on Dannon's website explaining all of the ingredients in their yogurt. Their yogurt contains gelatin "derived from cattle hide."

Ever see the term "Kosher gelatin"? All of Dannon's yogurt has Kosher gelatin and that only means that it is not from pork. If you see Kosher gelatin in something it does not automatically mean that it is vegetarian.

click here for more details on Dannon ingredients

Mountain High Yogurt

All Mountain High yogurt is without gelatin. On their website they state they "never use any artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, or preservatives," and this appears to be the case even in their flavored yogurts. Their website offers lots of great recipes and ways to substitute for items like cream cheese and sour cream with yogurt. These mushroom enchiladas caught my eye in particular, where they add yogurt to the mushroom mixture.

As an aside, I am glad that they have made an effort to be more green by replacing the plastic lid on their flavored yogurts with foil. I actually did not know they have flavored yogurts until I looked on their site. They appear to be new, I don't think my Ralph's carries them yet.

click here for Mountain High's website

Winchell's Donuts

A Go Eggless reader emailed about Winchell's donuts. A customer service representative emailed me the following:

"All of our donuts contain egg in their mix."

click here for Winchell's website

Yogurtland

Yet another frozen yogurt shop that I have been seeing pop up. Their ingredients are posted on their website, and no eggs or gelatin are listed. Their manufacturing equipment also is not shared with products containing eggs.

click here for Yogurtland ingredients

Eggless Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Special thanks to chefs Nick Malgieri and David Lebovitz for this recipe. The recipe is in Nick's dessert book (see link below) and David modified it on his blog. Here it is modified again with an egg substitution (of course).

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (makes 24)

2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper, foil, or silicone mat

1 cup flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 large egg (substitute with 1½ tablespoons water + 1½ tablespoons oil + 1 teaspoon baking powder or whatever you desire)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 cup dark raisins (or dried cranberries)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set the rack on the lower and upper thirds of the oven.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Mix in the brown sugar, then the egg, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients, then the oats and raisins.
5. Drop the batter by rounded teaspoons 2-inches apart on the baking sheets and use a fork to gently flatten the dough.
6. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they "look dull on the surface but are moist and soft," according to Nick. Rotate baking sheets during baking for even heating.

Storage: Once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Here is Nick Malgieri's book that contains the original recipe:

Free USDA Recipe Book

Yesterday I mentioned the recipe finder website that I discovered in the Food section of the LA Times. A free, downloadable recipe book from the USDA was also mentioned. I went through the book to check for any lacto-vegetarian entries before passing on the link to you. The recipes have a helpful nutritional content breakdown as well.

I found the following lacto-vegetarian entries (no eggs, meat, or fish):

• cheese-stuffed potatoes (page 43)
• potato soup (page 46)
• baked crispy potatoes (page 49)
• scalloped potatoes (page 52)
• shoestring potatoes page 53)
• potato salad (substitute with veganaise) (page 57)
• baked beans (page 48)
• ranch beans (page 51)
• chickpea dip (page 54)
• macaroni salad (substitute with veganaise) (page 56)
• cooked rice cereal (page 61)
• peach-apple crisp (page 68)
  

click here to download hte free recipe book from USDA

Low-cost Healthy Recipe Finder - Tortilla Pizzas

This recipe finder website was mentioned in the food section of the LA Times yesterday. It is a recipe finder created by the US Department of Agriculture. I am really impressed by it. It has various ways for searching, including by ingredient.

I have some bell peppers left in the fridge that I want use up before they go bad. I just typed in "bell pepper", and this very cool recipe for tortilla pizzas came up among several others. I am so impressed that they even provide a breakdown of cost! You can also get the instructions in Spanish, print it out to the size you prefer, and automatically create a shopping list of the ingredients that can be combined with their other recipes!

Tortilla Pizzas

Serving Size: 1 pizza Yield: 6 servings Time: 25 to 30 minutes
Ingredients: 12 small flour or corn tortillas vegetable oil or margarine 1 can (16 ounce) refried beans 1/4 cup chopped onion 2 ounces diced fresh or canned green chili peppers 6 Tablespoons red taco sauce 3 cups chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, and red bell pepper 1/2 cup cheese, shredded part-skim mozzarella 1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro			Print Options 8 ½” x 11” 8 ½” x 11”, Large Font 3”x5” Recipe Card
Instructions: 1. Brush one side of each of two tortillas with water. Press the wet sides of the tortillas together to form a thick crust for the pizza. 2. Brush the outside of the tortillas with a small amount of oil or margarine. Evenly brown both sides in a heated frying pan. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Set aside. 3. Heat refried beans, onion, and half of the chili peppers together in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. 4. Spread about 1/3 cup of the bean mixture on each tortilla pizza. Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon taco sauce, then top with 1/2 cup of the chopped vegetables, 1 teaspoon chili peppers, and 1 Tablespoon cheese for each pizza. 5. Return to frying pan and heat until cheese melts. Top with cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately.
Cost: Per Recipe: $ 3.75 Per Serving: $ 0.62
Source: Adapted from: Healthy Latino Recipes Made with Love California Latino 5-A-Day Campaign California Department of Health Services

click here for the recipe finder website