So Many Holiday Treats
When you think about holidays of days gone by, what are the memories you cherish most? I remember skating, skiing, snowshoeing, and tobogganing. I remember reading stories, singing songs, making gingerbread houses, and decorating. But one of my very favorite holiday pastimes was baking cookies and other treats with my mom and my grandma. The key ingredients were butter, eggs, sugar, and white flour. While you can purchase plant-based butter and eggs, they don’t qualify as whole foods. If you are at a loss as to how to navigate the holiday treat world as a whole food plant-based eater, check out So Many Cooks in the Kitchen holiday show it will pave the way to a world of crave-worthy treats.
So, how do you replace the usual ingredients in baking? While not all potential replacements work in every recipe, you can experiment on your own or try some well-tested plant-based offerings. Here are basic guidelines for replacing animal products and highly refined
Sweet Breakfast Bowl
- Milk and buttermilk. This one is easy because there are so many amazing plant-based alternatives, including almond, cashew, hemp, oat, pea, and soy. Read the labels and select unsweetened products. Another option is to make your own nut or seed milk using a cup of nuts and 4 cups of water (you can add a pinch of salt, if desired). To make buttermilk using a plant-milk, simply add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup milk and let stand for about 10 minutes.
- Yogurt. Select a non-dairy cultured yogurt almond, cashew, coconut, oat, and soy all work well. Make your own or buy an unsweetened variety at the market.
- Cream cheese. Cream cheese is easy to make using cashews if you are so inclined. If not, purchase a cashew cream cheese at the market.
- Butter. This one is tough. There are some good quality vegan “butters”, but they tend to be quite processed and are often based on coconut or palm oil. The most healthful option is a nut or seed butter. My favorite is cashew butter. It cannot be used for all applications, but it works well in many cookie recipes. Your finished product will
