Multiple Sclerosis Friendly Recipes

No Tuna Salad

12/30/2018

This recipe doesn't actually taste like tuna but the consistency is similar to tuna salad and can be used the same way. My favorite way to eat this is to cut up and toast MS friendly pita bread in the oven to use as dippers. Whenever I make this recipe, it is pretty much gone immediately. A new family favorite that is not only delicious and healthy but also pretty quick and easy to make.

Vegan No Tuna Salad Recipe
vegan, plant-based, refined-sugar free

Ingredients:

1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
Juice from half a lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp flax oil or extra virgin olive oil
Handful of fresh cilantro
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste (I use about 1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper)
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1-2 dill pickles, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely diced

Instructions:

Add chick peas, lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro, mustard, paprika, salt a pepper to a food processor and process until mixed.
Stir in celery, pickles, and onion.
Chill until ready to use.
Serve as a dip, spread or salad topper.

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Vegan Green Bean Casserole

12/22/2018

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I haven't had green bean casserole in a long time. When I used to eat dairy, I had a tasty homemade version, which was of course full of heavy cream. For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to try to veganize my original recipe. I am sure most chefs would advise to always do a test run before the big day...but I didn't have the time to do that! Luckily, my attempts were successful and it turned out amazing! If I do say so myself (*pat on back :)!

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be made a few days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Just prepare the topping and filling, but don't put into the oven until ready to serve.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole Recipe
vegan, plant-based, refined-sugar free

Ingredients:
Topping:

1 onion, sliced
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 slices of MS friendly bread (no added oils or sugars)
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp almonds
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

Filling:

1 lb frozen green beans
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
3/4 cup MS friendly vegetable broth (no added sugar)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup almonds
1 1/4 cup water

Instructions:
Topping:

Mix together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar, add onion and soak for 1 hour (but can go overnight in refrigerator if necessary). *
Prepare bread crumb topping by blending together bread, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and almonds.**
Remove onions from soaking liquid (save the soaking liquid), add to a large bowl, and coat with flour.
Add 2-3 Tbsp of the soaking liquid to the onions.
Add the prepared bread crumb mixture to the bowl and mix. You might need to add a little more of the soaking liquid to make a sticky mixture.***
Heat oven to 450°F.
Spread breaded onions on a baking sheet and bake for 25 min, flipping them half way through.

Filling:

Add frozen green beans to salted boiling water and boil for 5 min.
Drain water and place cook green beans in an ice bath to stop the cooking.
Add sliced mushrooms and minced garlic to a skillet at medium heat, add a little of the broth to keep from sticking.
Add the soy sauce and cook for 5-10 min.
Add the flour to coat the mushrooms and stir for about a minute.
Then whisk in the white wine, veggie broth, and salt.
Let the mixture reduce for about another 10 min.
In a blender add the almonds and water and blend well to make the almond cream.
Add the almond cream to the mushroom mixture and heat through, then remove from heat.
Add cooked and cooled green beans and 1/4 of the onion mixture to the creamy mushroom sauce.
Place in an oven safe dish and top with the remaining onion mixture (you can also grind up one more slice of bread and coat with a little more bread crumbs).
At this point you can either cover and save to bake till later or bake immediately.
When ready to serve, bake 15-20 min at 450°F till nice and bubbly.

Notes:
*This step helps the bread crumbs stick better to the onions and reduces the pungency of the onions, but if you don't have time you can just quickly soak the onions, and you won't need as much almond milk in that case.

**You don't need to worry about toasting the bread, it will get all toasty in the oven. You also don't need to worry about using old or stale bread, fresh bread will also work.

***I didn't have the patience to individually coat the onion slices, and it was just fine mixing the onions with the prepared bread crumbs in a bowl after soaking. But you can of course hand batter each onion slice if you prefer.

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Healthy Addition to Peanut Butter Toast

12/18/2018

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I know, I know. Peanut butter is sooo out. What can I say, I still like it! It is a good source of protein and it is really versatile; it can be added to savory or sweet dishes. Of course if you prefer, almond or cashew butter are great alternatives. But ALWAYS check labels, especially when they advertise ‘no-stir’, these nut butters typically have added palm oil and other additives. Look for natural nut butters that ONLY contain nuts. If you can only find natural nut butter that has nuts and some salt that is also okay, but seriously, why do manufactures do that? It drives me crazy, all I want is some plain, ground up nuts! Is that so hard?! Okay, sorry, done ranting.

A really easy breakfast is nut butter spread on toast (again check the bread label to avoid added sugar and oils). But it can get a little boring. An easy way to add some variety to your morning PB toast is to just add some berries on top. It really does change it up. You can add sliced strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries or a combination of all three. Add some chia seeds and breakfast is done! It is so simple I feel a little ridiculous adding it as a recipe. But here you go!

Fruit Topped Nut Butter Toast Recipe
vegan, plant-based, refined-sugar free

Ingredients:

1 slice MS friendly bread (whole grain is preferred and without oils or sugar)
1 Tbsp natural nut butter (peanut, almond, or cashew)
Sliced strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries (enough to cover the toast)
1 tsp chia seeds

Instructions:

Toast the bread.
Spread with nut butter.
Top with berries and chia seeds.

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Vegan Sugar Cookies

12/7/2018

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It is not easy to find a sugar cookie recipe that is vegan AND isn’t laden with saturated fat. After many searching efforts I finally came across a recipe that looked promising. The original recipe adds homemade chocolate spread to the inside of the cookies before baking, but I prefer to bake them and ice them with the chocolate spread. This recipe is not only delicious but it is also pretty easy to make and has become a family favorite. You could also roll out the dough to cut shapes out which can be a perfect addition to holiday treats.

Sugar Cookie Recipe
vegan, plant-based, refined-sugar free

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 Tbsp non-dairy milk
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or unsweetened applesauce
1 batch of Homemade Vegan Chocolate Spread

Instructions:

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and raw sugar to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the chocolate spread) to the dry mixture and mix to combine.
It may be necessary to add more milk for the dough to come together.
Roll the dough into small balls and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
Use the palm of your hand to flatten the balls and then place in the freezer for 1 hour. (These can also be stored at this point in the freezer for a month.)
Preheat oven to 325°F and bake cookies for 11 min.
They may not look finished, but let them cool for 10 min and they will firm up.
After cooling add the chocolate spread to the top and enjoy!

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Homemade Vegan Chocolate Spread

12/7/2018

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Growing up, peanut butter was the spread of choice. It wasn’t until I moved to New Zealand that I discovered the wonderfulness of chocolate spreads thanks to my German friends. The problem is that the majority of processed chocolate spreads in the store contain palm oil and/or cocoa butter which is of course a no-no on a low-saturated fat diet.

Luckily, I came across a recipe for making your own healthy, vegan chocolate spread! Not only is it a healthy alternative, it isn’t even difficult to make…oh, and did I mention it tastes divine? All you do is toast the nuts and then process in a food processor! Traditionally, chocolate spreads are made with hazelnuts. You can of course use hazelnuts for this recipe, but, raw hazelnuts are not always easy for me to find; in those cases I used almonds, which work just as well. However, one day when I was really having a chocolate craving, I didn’t have hazelnuts or almonds on hand. I did have walnuts though. So I made the spread with walnuts and it came out to have a very fudgy texture and was absolutely wonderful!

Anyways, the moral to the above spiel is that you don’t have to worry if hazelnuts are hard to find, pretty much any raw nut will do! I’m thinking next time I will try the recipe with pecans… or cashews…oh, or peanuts…Happy experimenting!

Chocolate Spread Recipe
vegan, plant-based, refined-sugar free

Ingredients:

2 cups raw nuts
1 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, best with Dutched cocoa powder
7 Tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
Pinch of salt
1/4 -1/2 cup non-dairy milk*

Instructions:

Roast raw nuts at 400°F for 8 min
Add to food processor and process until a smooth butter forms
Add the rest of the ingredients. Add only ¼ cup of non-dairy milk and process until smooth.

*The mixture will thicken when refrigerated so add some more of the milk for a spreadable mixture and process to mix.
**Can be used on pancakes, cookies, toast, cakes, etc.

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Quick and Easy Homemade Nut Milk

12/2/2018

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It does sound daunting, but making your own almond milk is actually super easy. I have switched entirely to making my own to cut down one more item that is processed. While it is possible to buy almond milk in the store that has only a few additives and simple ingredients like raw nuts and water, these are usually very expensive, and when I learned how easy it actually is to make your own I was hooked!

You can use this recipe to make other types of nut milk like cashew milk, and I have even made walnut milk. I have been wanting to try making peanut milk because I thought that might be an interesting addition to coffee, but I haven't tried it yet. When I do I will of course let you know how it turns out!

To make this recipe you only need raw almonds (or cashews), water and of course your blender. That's really it! It is perfect also for those times when you don't have any non-dairy milk on hand but have the raw nuts. Just remember to use a 1:4 ratio; 1 portion of nuts to 4 portions of water. This recipe makes a lot of milk, I typically halve it unless I plan to do a lot of baking or coffee drinking!

Nut Milk Recipe
vegan, plant-based, sugar-free

Ingredients:

1 cup raw nuts, e.g. almonds or cashews*
4 cups water

Instructions:

Add 1 cup of nuts and 1 cup of water to the blender and blend for 30 sec to 1 min.
Add the remaining 3 cups of water to the mixture and blend again until smooth (another minute).
Done!
If you prefer, you can strain the milk through a cheese cloth if you want and toast the pulp portion for a nice nutty snack, but I don't bother :)

*Note: One of my favorite variations is to use 1/2 cup hemp seeds with 1/2 cup almonds.

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MS Friendly recipes

No Tuna Salad

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Healthy Addition to Peanut Butter Toast

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Homemade Vegan Chocolate Spread

Quick and Easy Homemade Nut Milk

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