Vegan Sweet Potatoes Macaroons

'sweet potatoes macaroons fresh from refrigerator with mulberry topping'



 Last week, i have made this vegan sweet potatoes macaroons with simple ingredients that i can easily find in my pantry. For the mulberry topping, my dad planted the Morus tree for years, for old folks believe that the Morus leaf when boiled in water, and by drinking the leaf-infused water, can help to prevent & cure cancer, the drink also helps to release body heat which is very important in tropical country.  And as you know, mulberry has the sweet and sour taste, which is refreshing and they are really healthy with high vitamin C!          
                 
Ingredients:
4    palm size sweet potatoes 
1/3 cup unrefined organic brown sugar
1    tbs wheat flour
1    tbs corn flour
1    tbs all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2    cup fresh shredded coconut
2    tbs ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tbs water
1/2 tsp virgin coconut oil                                                   

The making:
1) Peel off the sweet potatoes skin and soak in water. Then, slice the potatoes into cube to ease the steaming.
2) Steam for 20 minutes and smash the potatoes properly.
3) Hand-roll the smashed potatoes into 1 inch size ball. Put aside.
4) Mix in the salt, shredded coconut, wheat, corn and all purpose flour together. Mix well. 
5) Add in the flaxseed that already stired well with water and virgin coconut oil into the shredded coconut mixture and stir well until everything turn into a paste-like mixture.
6) Then wrap the ball shape sweet potatoes with the paste. Try to coat the potato just nice with the paste mixture.
7) Finally, roll them over the brown sugar. Try to likely coat them with sugar by spreading the sugar in large pan size plate.
8) Preheat the oven at 170degC and bake for 25 minutes.    
    Remark: I am using Sharp Healsio Water Oven, so you might want to adjust the baking time if you are using convection oven.   
'after short bake with oven'




I found that the macaroon is crunchy and chewy when fresh from oven. So if you kept the macaroons in refrigerator, you may want to bake it in your oven for a short while to make the coconut coating a bit crunchy & chewy before you enjoy the snack!

High IQ link to being vegetarian

Posted on BBC NEWS, 15 December 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6180753.stm
 
Fruit and vegetables
Vegetarianism has been linked to better heart health
Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says.
A Southampton University team found those who were vegetarian by 30 had recorded five IQ points more on average at the age of 10.
Researchers said it could explain why people with higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates.
The study of 8,179 was reported in the British Medical Journal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarian - although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians.
We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment
Liz O'Neill, of The Vegetarian Society

There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher occupational social class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians.
However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said: "The finding that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarian as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life."
Intelligence
However, she added the link may be merely an example of many other lifestyle preferences that might be expected to vary with intelligence, such as choice of newspaper, but which may or may not have implications for health.
Liz O'Neill, of the Vegetarian Society, said: "We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment.
"Now we've got the scientific evidence to prove it. Maybe that explains why many meat-reducers are keen to call themselves vegetarians when even they must know that vegetarians don't eat chicken, turkey or fish."
But Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, said: "It is like the chicken and the egg. Do people become vegetarian because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they tend to be more aware of health issues?"

Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes: VEGAN SUBSTITUTES

Written by Vaishali
Posted on: Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes
 
Finding substitutes for animal products is perhaps the trickiest part of vegan cooking, both for a new conscious-eater, and for someone who's been doing this a while. But it can also be a lot of fun to upend some long-held traditions on cooking and baking by using cruelty-free products and getting results that are just as good and usually healthier than their animal-infested versions.

Here is a list of the substitutes that always work for me. I've tried to group them by the animal product they replace. I will add to this list as I experiment with new substitutes, but meanwhile rest assured that I've tried and tested them for years now in my vegan kitchen. They work!

If you don't find something here and have a question about what to substitute in a particular recipe, feel free to write at myveganworld@gmail.com.

1 EGG
(To replace more than one, just multiply)
1 tbsp of ground flax meal + 3 tbsp of water
I use this most often for baked bread-cakes, like my Banana Nut Bread and Zucchini Bread, and in cookies and muffins.

1/4 cup tofu
(I usually blend my tofu so it is smooth before using it. If you add it as is to a recipe, you might never be able to break the lumps. Tofu works especially well in quiches and pancakes and pastas. It is also a great replacement in scrambled eggs).

1/2 banana
(I usually don't use banana unless I want the recipe to be banana-flavored, as in my Banana Cake.)

1/4 cup applesauce
(Applesauce also makes a baked good really moist, so it allows you to cut down on fat in the recipe. It works great in my Carrot Cake.)

Commercial powder substitutes like EnerG
(I don't use these a lot, but they are handy at times, especially in lighter cookies, like Amaretti. Read package instructions for measures.)

**

 1 CUP MILK

(With all the alternatives available, there is really no excuse to use dairy milk. I love soymilk with cereal and in cakes and muffins etc, and I use almond milk instead of milk in many Indian sweets)

1 cup Soymilk
1 cup Rice Milk
1 cup Almond Milk
1 cup Hemp Milk
1 cup Hazelnut Milk
 
**

1 CUP YOGURT(Yogurt substitutes work great in raitas and other Indian foods like biryanis which call for yogurt Commercial soy yogurts are also available in the United States and other parts of the world.)

1 cup silken tofu blended with 2 tbsp lemon juice + 1/4 tsp salt (use more or less lemon juice if you don't want your yogurt to be too acidic.)
Commercial soy yogurts available around the United States. Look in the regular refrigerator aisle alongside regular yogurt.


**

1 CUP BUTTERMILK
(Buttermilk substitutes can be used in any recipe that calls for it, including cupcakes, pancakes, and southern-style biscuits)

1 cup soymilk or almond milk + 1 tsp vinegar (I use any I have on hand, from plain vinegar to balsamic to apple cider. Mix and set aside for a couple of minutes to curdle.)


**

1 TBSP BUTTER
(Butter substitutes, like milk and yogurt substitutes, replace all the cholesterol with healthy fats that are better for you. Of course, vegan fats also contain the same number of calories as animal fats, so don't overdo the use of fats of any kind.)

1 tbsp vegan margarine or "butter" (Earth Balance is the one I most use)
1 tbsp flavorless oil
1 tbsp vegetable shortening (vanaspati in India)

  
**

1 TBSP CHEESE

1 tbsp nutritional yeast
(This is most commonly used in pestos, pastas etc. as a cheese substitute and it adds a wonderfully cheesy flavor. It has all the yumminess of cheese minus the bad fats, and, cherry on the icing, it is packed with healthy B vitamins.)
1 tsp miso
(I am a die-hard fan of this Japanese seasoning and use it all the time instead of salt and in place of cheese in pestos and soups. I even add it to quiches, sauces, etc. Always add miso at the end of cooking, since heating miso can kill the wonderful enzymes it has that regulate your digestion).

**

OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS

There are commercial brands of vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream (like Tofutti) that taste and acts like the original thing. 

**

1 TBSP HONEY: 1 tbsp maple syrup (Maple Syrup can be a great flavor-enhancer in some treats like oatmeal cookies and even nut breads.)

1 tbsp agave nectar (I love the caramelly taste of agave nectar, and it can be delicious in almost any baked good. Agave nectar also has a low glycemic index and makes a healthy sugar substitute)

**


1 TBSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE: 1 tbsp soy sauce with a smidgen of vinegar to add a slightly tangy note. Vegan versions of worcestershire sauce are also on the market, but be sure to read labels carefully.

**

THAI CURRY PASTES: Thai curry pastes are great to have on hand for quick curries, but vegans need to watch out because most off-the-shelf products contain animal ingredients. The pastes are super-easy to make at home, and you can't beat the flavor. Get my vegan, homemade version of the red curry paste and green curry paste. They store forever in the freezer.

Vegan Egg Replacer Powder Recipe

Posted on: http://www.veganbaking.net


Omitting the almighty egg in recipes can lead to serious baking disasters. It's rumored that the Romans put eggs in their concrete to improve it's strength. Egg Replacer Powder is a very effective egg replacer that's great for replacing eggs in most vegan baking recipes where heat is involved. It's an important piece of weaponry in your vegan baking arsenal. When I ran my baking company, Enchanted Oven Baking Co, I used this egg replacer extensively in my cookies to make them soft, dense and chewy.

This binding powder consists of a blend of starch, vegetable gum and a leavener. Arrowroot is used as the starch because it performs well and is one of the most tasteless starches. Baking powder is used to mimic the slight leavening properties that an egg would contribute. Guar or Xanthan gum improves emulsification of fats and oils much like an egg would. Use Egg Replacer Powder as a more affordable direct replacement for Ener-G Egg Replacer.

This recipe is for a large batch of Egg Replacer Powder that can be used for many recipes.

2 ½ cups arrowroot powder or tapioca starch
½ cup non-aluminum baking powder
1 Tablespoon guar gum powder or xanthan gum powder

Whisk together the arrowroot powder or tapioca starch, baking powder and guar gum or xanthan gum powder in a large mixing bowl. Transfer this mixture to a glass jar and shake vigorously so it's thoroughly mixed. Label the jar accordingly.

To substitute for one egg, add 1 ½ teaspoons of Egg Replacer Powder to 3 Tablespoons of water and whisk into a slurry with a small whisk for fork.