"HEALTHY" (er) easy, peasy Apple Dumplings…

I recently had dinner with my Grandma (Grandma’s are ALWAYS the best cooks! I think when you become a Grandma you’re automatically a phenomenal cook!) & for dessert she made me some ooey, gooey, apple-burrito thingy-ma-bobs (that’s the “technical term”). They were dee-lish! She even sent me home with leftovers for my next-day work lunch, which I never got to eat after I graciously gave a co-worker a bite only to have him thieve the remanding off my desk when I wasn’t looking…snake!

So I have to give credit when credit is due, the idea for part of this recipe came from her. I “veganized” it & “cleaned” it as much as I could. It does contain honey (since I no longer use refined sugar in my recipe’s).

I used a Honeycrisp Apple, since those are my absolute favorite & I keep them in constant stock on my countertop fruit bowl. I know they’re not known as being good “baking” apples, but I thought they baked up just fine! MacIntosh, Braeburn or Granny Smith would probably be even better (I just rarely branch out from Honeycrisp). Also, I don’t drink pop so its not something I keep stocked, but substituting 7up for Club Soda would give you more of a “sugary” taste in the glaze (since Club Soda is only carbonated water it doesn’t contain sugar to break down. Sauce was pretty bland, which I like, & I tasted more of the natural honey).

Its super easy to make & great for a quick fix when you’re craving something different.

Try it & let me know what you think!

“HEALTHY” (er) easy, peasy Apple Dumplings

*overlook the Soy Milk & pudding box in this pic. Originally I had tried to make some soy-whipped-cream out of vegan pudding to eat on top. Major Fail!*

1pkg. store bought crescent rolls (I didn’t use a vegan brand for this recipe)

1 large apple

2 TBS honey

cinnamon (however much you want, I’m generous with my cinnamon..mmmmm)

1/2 TBS soy butter (I buy Earth Balance, whipped)

2/3 c club soda

pinch of garlic powder (not salt)

 

Pre-heat oven to 350* (I actually made my batch in the toaster oven). Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. On the stovetop combine club soda, soy butter & honey, cook over med. heat until it thickens up & begins to get “gooey” (doesn’t caramelize, however, if you use pop it would because of the heavy sugar content), stirring frequently, should take about 10-15min’s.

While sauce is cooking, roll out crescent rolls & separate into individual rolls. Slice apple into at least 8 pieces (one for each crescent roll), place apple slice onto crescent roll & roll up (bet’cha could’ve figured that part out on your own, huh?).

Pour 1/2 the pot of glaze over top of raw crescent rolls, sprinkle with cinnamon & the pinch of garlic (I know the garlic is weird, but growing up my mom ALWAYS added garlic powder to our cinnamon toast. Growing up she had a 80yr old babysitter that always made her cinnamon toast like that…trust me, its di-vine!!!!). Bake for 30-45min’s. Plate & add extra glaze.

 

Jump on the computer & send me a comment thanking me for introducing you to this little gem.

No idea the calorie content (I don’t calorie-count anymore). But crescent rolls will run you about 200cal. for each roll. Not healthy by any standards, but healthier than homemade apple-dumplings. So contain yourself from eating the whole package in one sitting (its tough to do!).

You’re welcome!

 

Healthy Living: In the Kitchen making some Vegan Mayo!!

I’ve had several people ask for different recipe’s that I’ve been experimenting & playing around with. Although, I can’t take full credit for this one (I’ve stolen bits & pieces of this recipe from various sources) this is what I’ve come up with & have tailored it to my specific taste buds.

The final results taste a little like Miracle Whip (which I’m not a fan of!), however, I have not found an ingredient that’s all-natural that I can add to get that “tangy zip” gone. I’ve been recently introduced to citric acid which is an ascorbic “spice” that should work, but I haven’t bought any yet to try it out.  I’ve also played around with different spices; garlic, basil, pepper, etc. to give it different tastes, but this is the base recipe that I use. The cheapest I’ve found “vegan” mayo in the store was around $7/jar, this recipe costs me about $3 & makes about 1/2 a jar (so its almost equivalent to what you’d buy in the store). So far, I’ve preferred my homemade mayo over the vegan brands I’ve tried from the store store (they seem to taste to much like Miracle Whip for my liking). Also, I let the jar sit a few hours (usually overnight) before I eat it, the taste balances out after its been able to combine together.

Keep in mind these ingredients have been tailored to my taste, you may need to play with it a little bit to suit your own taste buds.

Let me know what you think!

Vegan Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

300g Silken Tofu (1pkg., if you can’t find “silken” I’ve used extra soft before, but you may need to blend it a little longer to get that creamy “mayo” consistency)

1 TBL. water

1/4tsp salt

1TBL lemon juice

5tsp brown sugar

1TBL Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

3tsp. white vinegar

Directions:

add all ingredients together & hand mix, on low, until desired consistency (usually about a minute).*you probably could use a food processor. I don’t have one, but a hand mixer works just fine for me.*

 

Store in jar & refrigerate (really not sure how long it’s good for. Mine is usually gone before it starts to go bad).