Author: PatagoniaLlami

Vegan Almond Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Bars

I am so ready for strawberry and rhubarb season!  Spring is way behind here this year, with ice still on the lakes, snow on the ground and the ducks and geese that flew back here to Minnesota look confused.  Hopefully soon we will have green grass, tulips blooming and rhubarb growing.  But until then I will dream about it and enjoy strawberry rhubarb jam instead.  I was gifted a jar of lovely strawberry rhubarb jam and it honestly tastes like Summer.  When I was little, my Grandma used to make strawberry rhubarb sauce with the rhubarb that grew behind her garage and it was one of my all time favorite things!  I would eat a giant bowl and she would always warn me that if I ate too much I would get a stomach ache, but I never did.  It was so good.  Maybe that is why I love the combination of strawberries and rhubarb so much, it brings back good memories.  Monday, I decided that some strawberry rhubarb jam bars sounded good, so I went to work making some.

Raw Guru recently sent me a care package including some Raw Guru Supernova Almond Flour and Raw Guru Supernova Raw Almonds, so I thought why not give the bars a buttery almond crust.  They are really good quality almonds from Italy, and they are actually truly raw and unpasturized, which is really hard to find here in the US.  They get toasted in this recipe, but if you are looking for raw almonds for raw recipes, these are awesome!  I actually made some almond butter from them, as well as used some chopped up nuts in the recipe, and the almond flour of course, so they are filled with almond goodness! The crust also doubled as a crunchy topping, so there is plenty of almond goodness to go around.  The flavor paired perfectly with the strawberry rhubarb.

These smelled amazing while baking with the jammy fruit and almond crust toasting as it baked.  I could not wait to try them!  But unfortunately I had to wait until they cooled so that they would cut nice.  That is the downside of being a food blogger sometimes, you can’t just dive right into things.  It is ok though, because it was so worth the wait!  The gooey sweet tart strawberry rhubarb jam was amazing with the rich buttery almond crust!  If you are ready for Spring, whip up a batch of these!  If you can’t find strawberry rhubarb jam, you can use strawberry and they will still be really good.  Lastly, I would like to mention, that Raw Guru has been kind enough to give me a coupon code for you all, to get 10% off of your order.  So if you go on their website, when you are checking out with your items, enter the coupon code: FRAGRANTVANILLA

Vegan Almond Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Bars


Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp filtered water mixed with 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour
• 3/4 cup Raw Guru almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups strawberry rhubarb jam (make sure it is vegan)
• 2/3 cup chopped Raw Guru almonds

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees with the rack set in the center position. Line a 9×9 inch square pan with parchment, and/or grease it with coconut oil.
2. Whisk the coconut oil and sugar together in a bowl with the vanilla and flax mixture until the sugar starts to dissolve. Then add the almond butter and mix until combined.
3. Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, sea salt and stir in until well blended.
4. Spread 2/3 of this mixture over the bottom of the pan, pressing it to the edges with your fingers.  Then spread the jam over that with a spoon or offset spatula. Drop chunks of the remaining dough over that, and sprinkle with the almonds.
5. Place in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes until lightly browned and set.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars.

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There’s nothing quite like a homemade corn bread when there’s a chill in the air. Especially when you’re snowed in with 30 inches of a winter wonderland outside your window…

So, I thought, why not strike up the oven and create a delicious homemade corn bread with a gluten free n’ vegan spin and a touch of sweet n’ savory in each bite.

Sweetness from the amazing Musselman’s Apple Butter…pure bliss to my taste buds.  If you haven’t tasted their apple butter, I surely suggest you run on out and dip that spoon into the jar for an out-of-this-world experience. I usually spread it atop toast, muffins and grilled veggies, but today I thought, why not toss it into my cornbread for an extra sweet kick.

We were creating a homemade chili and my little brain got to thinking…how about a bit of corn bread to serve hot with our bowls of hearty chili.

And I did just that. Hot chili n’ hot cornbread.

There’s a first time for everything and this surely was a baking experiment…

Success at its best.

I kid you not.

You truly must try a bite.

Gluten Free n’ Vegan Cornbread

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
• 1 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup gluten free flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 3 Tbsp. Musselman’s Apple Butter
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup stevia for baking
• Egg substitute for 1 large egg
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. sesame seeds, plus more for topping
• 1/4 tsp. anise seeds, plus more for topping

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place the butter into a cast iron skillet.  Transfer to the hot oven until melted.
• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well to combine.
• Remove hot skillet from the oven; transfer batter into the skillet.  Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds and anise seeds.
• Place into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve warm.
• Enjoy!

Have you ever made cornbread from scratch? If so, I’d love to hear your recipe.

I also wanted to share with all of you a Winter Retreat filled with yoga, private chefs and skiing at Good Commons up in Vermont. 

Click here for information on the Winter Retreat at Good Commons and be sure to give my name, Amie Valpone as your referral when booking!

Garfield is not the only one who LOVES lasagna!

My oldest son Zac is becoming a bit of a foodie. Maybe its because he’s been listening to me for all these years talk about food, or having them help me in the kitchen. Maybe it’s because he’s taking a Food Prep class in high school this year and is enjoying being creative in there. Maybe it’s just because he likes good food. 🙂 Whatever, the reason, it makes me proud to see him enjoying the tastes & flavors of REAL, home-cooked food. Usually, he’s the first to request certain dinners as well, especially when we’ve been in the season of eating out a little more than we should. (I know you’ve all been there!).

Sometimes, it’s a request for chili, sometimes enchiladas, but most of the time, it’s lasagna. Vegan Lasagna to be exact. This recipe by far is his favorite and was so loved by others, it was included on Buzzfeed, much to my kiddos delight. However, sometimes I just get bored with making it the same way and decided to turn this recipe into Easy-to-serve, Roll-ups.

These cute little rolls, didn’t take any longer than it would layering a big pan of traditional lasagna and I loved that each bite, was full of flavor and noodles. Kind of like when you eat from the center of the lasagna pan. 

Here is just how easy this is…….

Start by cooking your noodles of choice in boiling water (add a pinch or two of salt to prevent sticking). Typically, I’d tell you to follow package directions, however, I like to “undercook” them so they are bendable, without ripping. Remember, your noodles will still cook in the oven, so you don’t want them to get mushy.

While those are boiling, go ahead and make your ricotta. I make it nut-free by using Tofu as the base, and then add in lemon juice, nutritional yeast, minced garlic, fresh basil, spices & diced sun dried tomatoes (which you can omit if you prefer).

Set this aside and start cooking your sausage (vegan of course). There are a lot of options to choose from, however, my favorite is by Tofurky. I’m including the link so you can check out the ingredients. This does contain gluten, so make sure you stay away from it if you are Gluten-free or Soy-free. Neat meat replacer could be an option for you if those are on your list of allergens, however, their products contain nuts, which is why it’s always important to READ YOUR LABELS.

Once everything is boiled, blended & sautéed, it’s time to assemble! Pour some sauce into your casserole dish just to make sure the noodles don’t stick. It can be homemade or jarred, but just make sure it’s no-to-low sugar, and made with fresh, organic ingredients for the best flavor.

Lay your noodles out on parchment paper, making sure they don’t touch. Start with a little ricotta, then Daiya mozzarella shreds & fresh spinach.

Top with your minced sausage.

Then a little sauce.

Roll each loaded noodle, 1 by 1 and place in your pan, seam side down. Continue until all your noodles have been used (or you run out of toppings). I tend to be a little frugal on my first couple rolls to make sure I have enough, so if you’re ever over for lasagna rolls, I apologize in advance if you get the “skimpy” roll.

Once all your rolls are in the dish, pour a little extra sauce on top to help the rolls from drying out, then add extra shredded cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until everything is bubbling and melted. Serve with a side salad and some extra steamed veggies. If my Mom served this for you, she’d be sure to include Applesauce ;).

If you’re a pasta lover like myself, you’ll also want to check out Vegetarian Mamma’s vegetarian bolognese, it’s full of veggies & flavor.

If you’re looking for another creative way to eat your lasagna, how about trying my One Pot Lasagna Soup? It’s mm-mm good!

I’d love to hear from you! Be sure to comment below when you make this dish and let me know what you think. And as always, be sure to follow Xander Friendly Foods on Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter for more recipes, health tips & favorite food shares.

This Spaghetti Squash Alfredo is basically magic on a plate. It’s low-carb, gluten free, vegan and SO incredibly satisfying. Make this when you’re craving a cheat meal (but don’t actually want to cheat).

In January, John and I decided to do a two-week overhaul on our diets. Since the aftermath of holiday gluttony left us both craving naughty stuff on a daily basis, we knew something had to be done. So Goop’s annual detox diet came to the rescue with a one week meal plan that eliminates gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, caffeine and alcohol.

The first few days were ROUGH, I’m not gonna lie. But the recipes were vibrant, imaginative and so nutritious that we started to feel great after the initial battle with the cravings wore off. Holiday bloat? Gone. Energy levels? Way up. Jeans? Fitting perfectly, thank you very much.

In fact, we felt so incredible that we decided to shift towards a primarily plant-based style of eating, while limiting things like gluten and refined sugar and incorporating smarter protein choices like organic pasture raised eggs and wild caught seafood on occasion.

Which brings me to this vegan, gluten free, low carb, SO INCREDIBLY SATISFYING Spaghetti Squash Alfredo.

Why you’ll love this vegan Alfredo sauce

This vegan Alfredo sauce features heavily in my meal rotation because I am pretty much always dealing with a serious craving for creamy sauces.

This plant-based “cream” sauce is basically some kind of miracle sent from the angels. It’s completely dairy-free and tastes downright decadent!

Best of all this vegan Alfredo sauce is packed to the brim with good for you ingredients such as:

• cauliflower
• almond milk
• lemon
• garlic
• nutritional yeast
• nutmeg
• vegan butter- my favorite is Miyoko’s cultured coconut butter made from pure ingredients!
• salt

Serve it on top of roasted spaghetti squash (another one of nature’s treasures) that’s been roasted to perfection and your creamy vegan pasta cravings are hereby met.

How to cook spaghetti squash

Spaghetti squash is another one one of those healthier ingredients that totally satisfies a carb craving. I like to halve it and roast it in the oven, and since a raw spaghetti squash can be hard to cut into, I’ll toss the whole squash into the oven as it’s pre-heating for about 10 minutes to par bake it and soften it a bit. When you take it out of the oven and let it cool enough to handle, it will be so much easier to cut in half, and the seeds are easier to scoop out too!

Next I’ll drizzle a bit of olive oil on each half and finish roasting it in a baking dish in a 400 degree oven until the strands are soft and pliable.

One the spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, I remove the strands with a fork and place them in a bowl. I definitely recommend seasoning the spaghetti squash by tossing it with some olive oil, salt and garlic powder, separating the strands as you go.

Tips and variations for making this Spaghetti Squash Alfredo recipe:

• Toss some of the sauce with the spaghetti squash and serve some on top as well for maximum creamy goodness.
• Serve this vegan Alfredo sauce with zucchini noodles or butternut squash noodles instead of spaghetti squash.
• If you want to top this dish with a protein to it more substantial, grilled chicken/veggie chicken strips, shrimp or meatballs/veggie meatballs would all be very tasty!
• Other toppings ideas to jazz up this dish include fresh herbs, chopped cherry tomatoes, toasted breadcrumbs and crushed red pepper.

How far in advance can I make this Spaghetti Squash Alfredo?

This recipe will keep for up to a week in the fridge, which is great if you want to plan ahead and have convenient dinners ready for a busy week.

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If you’re craving pasta dishes:

Vegan Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Beet & Goat Cheese Ravioli

Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms & Sage Butter

Pea Pesto Rotini

Thanks for reading! To keep up with me in the kitchen, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. If you make this Spaghetti Squash Alfredo,

don’t forget to share it using the hashtag #LePetitEats!

This post was originally published on February 9, 2015 and last updated on February 6, 2020.