I'm Back + Now Have Access to my Original AnnaVeda Blog! Est. 2007

Yes!!!

Today I was overjoyed to learn that I would be able to resume blogging here at AnnaVeda. In honor of this momentous occasion I have baked up a New Vegan Banana Bread with dark chocolate chips and ground flax! I took a nice long run along the River Charles (see below) this evening and feel such clarity regarding the direction in which I am headed. Yoga + Vegan Baking = Smiling Anna!

My DVD Very Good Vegan is once again available direct for $10 PayPal, FREE Shipping. I am considering revamping my Raw/Vegan/Cleanse eBook and/ video so please share your thoughts with me...Thank you for checking this out & stay tuned!

  All inquiries to amfosdes@aol.com

Yoga Alfresco, Yoga Primavera & New Vegan Cookie

From My Yoga Mat Today - The First Crocuses of 2010!!!


I took my Yoga practice OUTSIDE today - it was amazing. I will be practicing outdoors as often as possible and weather permitting now that Spring is in the air!

From my mat flowing through my Ashtanga practice (tried & true, baby), I was able to breathe in clean, fresh New England air, and experience a bright blue sky in each upward dog. It was truly a beautiful day and I am grateful for both the simplicity and efficiency of this practice as well as the weather.

In other news, check out these new Vegan cookies I came up with today - made with almond paste. I said that I was not going to bake anything today but these just happened. I couldn't stop myself.

Try them out, they are incredibly easy and tasty as well. Anyone can bake these cookies!

Always New FREE Vegan Recipes www.AnnaVedaKitchen.com

Anna Maria's Vegan Almond Paste Cookies

1/2 Cup Dairy Free Butter Alternative

1/2 Cup Turbinado Sugar

3/4 Cup Almond Paste

1/2 Cup Agave Nectar

1 Tbsp Ground Flax

3 Tbsp Filtered Water

1 Cup Organic Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup Organic Spelt Flour

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 cookie trays with parchment paper.

Beat the sugar, agave, almond paste, butter alternative, flax, water and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add dry ingredients, scrape down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper - spacing 3 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes, and cool in trays on parchment over wire racks. Enjoy!

Raw Guacamole Wraps!

Raw Guacamole Wraps - Raw Foods Rock!
Yes, you can actually try a raw foods meal.
1- Make fresh Guacamole.
2- Spoon into Romaine Lettuce Leaves
3-Serve and Enjoy!

See, that was so easy! Raw foods do not have to be weird. Also, try one or two raw dishes a week and see how you feel. These were simple and I used a liitle guacamole "kit" that Trader Joe's sells, which made for a quick guac prep. It even included a little sheet with instructions fo those of you who have not yet made fresh guac. This is a nice alternative to guac and chips btw. Give it a whirl!

Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Just because Doug and I needed a treat....and because it is still January here in New England.

The cupcakes have a fluffy banana batter rich with vanilla. The frosting is a thick layer of creamy sweetness with my homemade peanut butter whipped in. These guys did the trick!

Vegan Cookies AnnaVeda Kitchen Update

Vegan Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Coconut Jam Squares

Vegan Soft Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These are exclusive all-new AnnaVeda Kitchen cookie recipes, our oven has been very busy... Again, who needs to add cholesterol and animal products to a cookie? Not us!

In other news, the New AnnaVeda DVD is in the works (Totally New Material) - so stand by for updates at www.AnnaVedaKitchen.com and www.VeryGoodVegan.com. Big News! Very Good Vegan Volume One is now available on Barnes and Noble, Best Buy & Amazon.com.

Also, we have now officially put up a Facebook page under AnnaVeda Kitchen; I am not quite sure how one is to apply Facebook, when a blog is so much more fun...however it seems that folks enjoy networking that way so we are in. I must admit that managing yet another location on the web could potentially take time away from my baking adventures, so I vow to be brief when I post there. Besides, I would much rather be messing around with my KitchenAid than a computer any day. That, and we seem to finally be getting a bit of something called "Summer" and it has been fantastic to actually spend time outdoors, go figure!

Off to photograph the Vegan Chocolate Zuchinni Cake - thanks again for that recipe, Amy!

Vegan Gluten-Free Biscuits

Vegan Gluten-Free Biscuits

These Vegan Gluten-Free biscuits were made using Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Mix, and Hain Gluten Free Baking Powder. I was really pleased with the end result - a nice sweet biscuit - using the recipe on the back of the Arrowhead Mills box - with a touch of agave nectar and soy yogurt. The dough held together nicely and yielded a batch of adorable treats - thanks to these petite cutters my friend Lisa gave me for my birthday.

Staying warm and out of the ice storm today; here is what we have to report: AnnaVeda Kitchen will be in Whole Foods Markets in Rhode Island starting February 2009. There are three stores in the entire state of RI - which will each be carrying our DVD Very Good Vegan Volume One - see http://www.verygoodvegan.com/ for details.

On Friday February 27 we will be at the Waterman Providence Whole Foods Market doing an in-store Vegan Cooking Demo - be sure to stop in and have a snack if you are in the area that evening from 6-9pm! Stay tuned for more updates and in-store events.

Tiny Chocolate Creme Filled Vegan Cookies

These are the same Vegan cookies as the large version I made last week, except I reduced the cookie's diameter to approximately 1.5". The filling - ahh yes, the vanilla creme filling; this time I used my snazzy Mechanical Pastry Bag from Williams-Sonoma and gave the edges of the filling that really neat bakery ribbing. In other news, our color print ad announcing Very Good Vegan Volume One in VegNews magazine is set to hit sometime soon- http://www.vegnews.com/ to visit their awesome site. This is our first Vegan Instructional Cooking DVD that is on sale now on our sites http://www.annaveda.com/, http://www.annavedakitchen.com/, and http://www.verygoodvegan.com/.

There has been a lot of buzz about the Very Good Vegan DVD at local health food shops, and yoga studios. The DVD is also available at shops in Westerly, RI, Stonington, CT, and Mystic, CT - listed on our website. Very Good Vegan Volume One is shipping for free on our sites, spread the word. Yes, we will also gift wrap if you like.