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Butter Tart Oatmeal Porridge-- No Added Oils, Whole Food Plant Strong

THE SWEET BUTTER TART COMPONENT My husband and I both grew up in households where oatmeal was almost a daily occurrence on the breakfast menu.  Once we got over our rebellion against eating it (the it's-good-for-you), as adults we have begun to eat it pretty regularly again. We love it.  I also love sweet desserts-- cookies, cake, pie, tarts-- and have been experimenting to make healthier copy-cat recipes that can be incorporated into porridge-- for us, that's a win-win. For someone who likes desserts but is pretty "meh" about porridge, these dessert-ifications might just be the bump needed into the healthy habit of eating oatmeal.  Just how healthy is oatmeal? A 30-gram serving of well-cooked Steel Cuts oats gives your body a balance of 66% carbohydrates, 17% protein, 7% fat and 11% fiber. Oats are also an excellent source of manganese and molybdenum, a very good source of phosphorus and a good source of copper, biotin, vitamin B1, magnesium, dietary

Lemon-Coconut Oatmeal Porridge (Sugar-Free, No Poured Oils, Plant-Strong, Vegan)

Recently I was at a social function where I found myself hanging over the dessert table and "sampling" more than one delicious Lemon-Coconut Square.   In my opinion, these "dainties" (what sugar-y confections at "Teas" were called in my youth) are the creme-de-la-creme of the dessert table.   But.... as much as I enjoyed them, I felt like a huge fraud, since (1)I am working to lose inches and (2)I profess to be vegan.  The eggs, fat and sugar in these Lemon-Coconut Squares are not dangerous in moderation, but if you eat 3 squares/bars, you are taking in something like 30 g of fat (saturated and unsaturated), as well as 450 calories of energy.   So, I went searching for a recipe that would allow me to enjoy the essence of this lovely dessert, while being low in fat and calories, and higher in nutritional benefits. Voila!  The Lemon-Coconut Porridge Recipe was born-- or REBORN maybe, in a vegan form. Start by making a fabulous VEGAN LEMON CURD (i.e

Orange-Oatmeal Walnut-Date Brownies... Vegan, No Poured Oils

These whole food, plant-based orange walnut brownies are yummy, and compared to other brownies, pretty healthy. Here are the list of Ingredients: 1 C.      Pitted Medjool Dates 3/4 C.  Hot Water 1 C.      Rolled Oats 1/2 C.    Walnut Pieces 1/2 C.   Cocoa Powder 1/2 tsp . Baking Powder 3 T.        Maple Syrup 2 tsp.     Orange Extract (or Vanilla if you wish) Pinch    Sea Salt METHOD: Preheat oven to 350F/175C Pour hot water over the dates and let them sit in a bowl for about 10 minutes Drain the water off and then blend up the dates in a food processor, scraping down as you go Add oatmeal, walnuts, cocoa, baking powder, maple syrup, and sea salt. Process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as you go. In an 8"x8" pan, cover bottom with parchment paper and press in brownies Bake 20 minutes Let cool, and then cut into 16 pieces You may store the brownies for up to 5 days in the fridge (in an airtight container) Using the information at FitnessP

Champorado-- Filippino Chocolate Sticky Rice made in the Instant Pot

So, this summer when our little Fil-Can granddaughters visited we went out and bought a ton of rice-- brown rice, brown Basmati, Jasmine rice, and plain old white rice.  While potatoes and beans are our starches of choice, our grandies prefer rice.  However, this year they didn't seem to want to eat it as quite as often, even though the Instant Pot delivers it in a lovely, highly digestible and delicious form. So, this is to say that we have a LOT of rice left in our pantry.  I have been using it up in stews, for burrito filler, etc., but today I ran across a recipe for Champorado, a Filippino sticky rice chocolate pudding, and I thought, hey, I've got these ingredients in spades! And I have an opportunity to see if I can make it fast and easy in the Instant Pot. So..... Measure out the following: INGREDIENTS: 2 C. Rice , clean and soak it   (I used plain white rice, but glutinous rice is what is traditionally used) 3 C. Water 1/2 C. Cocoa 1/2 C.- 1 C.  B