Ahh the holidays just keep a comin’. Luckily, there are plenty of vegan treats to test out the whole year ’round. Here are some yummies that will warm your soul, regardless of your religious preferences.

Chocolate-Rum Pudding Cake

• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 C plain soy milk
• 1/4 C canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rum extract (or one more tsp vanilla)
• 1/2 C pure maple syrup
• 1/4 C light rum
• 1/2 C boiling water

Boil some water in a teakettle, preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 9-inch round springform cake pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 3/4 C of the sugar, and 1/4 C of the cocoa powder. Add the soy milk, oil, and extracts, and mix into a thick batter. Spread the batter in the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cocoa powder and sugar. Pour 1/2 C boiling water into a glass measuring cup, add the maple syrup and rum to the water, and pour this mixture on top of the cake batter.

Place the cake on a cookie sheet in case of pudding overflow and bake for 30-35 min. Let cool just a bit; while it’s still warm, place the cake on a large plate and release the sides (your plate should have a slight rim to prevent spillage). Throw on a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream if you like and you’ve got yourself one impressive dessert.

From .

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Vegan Hot Chocolate

• 1 C milk (soy, rice, almond… whichever you like)
• 2-3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp warm water

Heat milk on the stove. Get a little hotter than drinkable. Stir a couple of times.

Stir the cocoa and sugar into the warm water in a small container to dissolve sugar. Pour this into the mug of hot milk.

From recipezaar.com

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Vegan Holiday Nog

• 20 oz silken tofu
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 16 oz vanilla soymilk or rice milk
• 1/2 to 1 cup rum or brandy
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• nutmeg

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except nutmeg
blend thoroughly. Serve well chilled and dusted with nutmeg.

From kindplanet.org

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Crunchy Peanut Brittle

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• Pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 cups peanuts [or other nuts]
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 cup water

Spray a 9″ x 13″ rimmed cookie sheet and a spatula with cooking spray. Fill a short glass with cold water and set it next to your stove top.

Mix sugar, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Over medium heat, bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Continue to boil, stirring constantly. Every few minutes, drip some of the boiling sugar mixture into the glass of water. Once it is the texture of taffy–not hard, but not watery (This is called the “soft ball” stage), toss in the peanuts. Continue to mix constantly so the nuts don’t burn. Once this mixture turns a medium brown, turn heat to low. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. BE CAREFUL! Sometimes the mixture foams up, at this point.

Spread onto the greased cookie sheet using your oiled spatula. Work quickly. The layer should be about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick.

Let this cool for about an hour, then break in into pieces.

From UrbanVegan

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Moroccan Spiced Rice Pudding

• 4 C soy milk
• 3.5-5 Tbsp jasmine rice
• 2 Tbsp rice flour
• 1 C turbinado sugar
• 1.25 C ground almonds
• 1/2 handful dried apricots, soaked in orange-flower water to cover
• 1/2 handful raisins, soaked in orange-flower water to cover
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp orange-flower water
• pinch of ground cinnamon, for dusting

Put 3 C of the soy milk in a saucepan, and bring gently to a boil. Add the rice, reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 min., until the rice is tender but still has a bite to it. (Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.) If necessary, add a few Tbsps of water to loosen the mixture.

In a small bowl, mix the rice flour with about 2 Tbsps water- enough to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk to the paste, and stir well. Pour the rice flour mixture into the saucepan with the rice, and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring contstantly. Add the sugar, ground almonds, apricots and raisins, and simmer gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the almond and vanilla extracts and the orange-flower water. Let cool for a few minutes.

Divide the rice pudding among four short, fat drinking glasses, and chill in the fridge over several hours. Dust with ground cinnamon, and serve.

From
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Hazlenut Log (raw)

• 2 C hazelnuts, soaked 6-8 hours and chopped
• 1 C black mission figs, soaked 1 hour
• 1/2 C dates, soaked 1 hour
• 1/4 C raw carob powder
• 1/4 C water (approx.)
• 1 C sesame seeds, soaked 6-8 hours
• 1 C shredded coconut

Process hazelnuts, figs, carob, and water in a food processor usting the “s” blade. Add sesame seeds and mix well. Form into a log and roll in shredded coconut. Refrigerate for 2 hours and then slice.

From

Any time a pregnant woman strays from what is considered “normal” for pregnancy, be it through how much she exercises, or how much she veers away from the Standard American Diet, there will be controversy. Mostly because you’re breaking away from what is viewed as the “traditional” pregnant lifestyle. And out of the kindness of their hearts, they’re concerned about you and the baby.

With that being said, it’s obviously very important to put your child’s safety and health first. And no matter what you choose to do, make sure to consult doctors and midwives and have check-ups regularly to make sure the baby is doing well. And be aware: there are many doctors unfamiliar with the vegan diet, so you may have to fish around for a doctor who understands veganism. Here’s a pretty wild story about a woman overcoming the adversity of several physicians: http://www.vegparadise.com/otherbirds34.html. If you plan on sticking with the vegan or raw vegan diet during pregnancy, consult dietitians that are familiar with these diets so they can help you make sure you’re getting the nutrition you need. And remember: any diet is risky if you aren’t careful.

Here’s a very nice success story about a woman who did the raw vegan diet during pregnancy:
http://www.at-home-with-mama.com/rawpregnancy.html

And this one, written by a woman who has successfully given birth twice as a vegan, lists off what you need to consider, nutritionally: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/veganpregnancy.htm

And here’s a link that contains oodles of other links related specifically to vegan pregnancy, as well as some articles related to other health issues you may encounter http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-pregnancy/index.htm.

A book you might want to purchase which has helped other vegan mothers go through safe, healthy vegan pregnancies is Pregnancy Children and the Vegan Diet. As a pregnant vegan, you will be in the extreme minority, and people may very well ridicule you for your choice, even threaten you- telling you you’re not looking out for your child. Try not to let them get to you. As long as you are being careful, doing your research, and getting check-ups regularly, you are no less safe than a pregnant woman who eats animal products. The difference is the vegan diet is less understood. Eating the freshest, most natural, highly nutritional foods should not be viewed as an unsafe choice for pregnancy. Some day I hope women will be admired for their choice to go through vegan and vegetarian pregnancies.

Here you can find vegan items, books and products that come highly recommended by me, as well as Happy Vegetable promotional items. This store is continually expanding, so check back regularly!

Happy Vegetable promotional items (coming soon)

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prep time: 10 min.

This is sort of a creation of my own based on a few different recipes. I looove pesto. Fresh basil is so wonderful.

• 3 C fresh basil
• 1/2 C sunflower seeds
• 2 cloves garlic
• a dash or two of sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• a little water for desired consistency

Process all ingredients in food processor with “s” blade, and pulse chop several times. Stop to scrape down sides, and repeat until mixture is smooth. Put on your choice of veggies, salad, pasta… whatever tickles your fancy.