What does “vegan” mean?

There are different kinds of diets you can stick to, depending on your goals. Vegetarian, paleo, keto, Mediterranean, the list goes on. The great thing is that your diet is completely dependant on what you and your body needs. Your body, your rules.

Think of these as a set of rules defining what you can and can’t eat. When you’re going keto, you’re eating a lot of fat and as few carbs as possible. Paleo — no processed foods.

Another one of those guidelines is the vegan diet.

If you follow a vegan diet, that means you only eat plant food. This includes vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Vegans don’t eat anything that comes from an animal, not even diary products or eggs.

Can you snack as a vegan?

Most people think that vegan diets are incredibly restrictive. But while it does limit your options, it doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in delicious snacks sometimes. It requires some creativity. But it’s absolutely possible.

So whether you’re a devout vegan or just want to cut down on the number of animal products you eat, there’s good news. You can, in fact, snack as a vegan.

Some vegan snacks.

Ever have a hankering for something vegan? We’ve got you covered.

Here are some mouth-watering vegan snacks that’ll tide you over till your next meal.

• Frozen grapes
• Seaweed chips
• Spiced nuts
• Dried coconut and dark chocolate
• Peanut butter and banana
• Fruit and nut bars

…and of course, the star of this article, vegan chocolate chip cookies.

How to make vegan chocolate chip cookies.

Who doesn’t love cookies? Answer — no one.

They’re easy to bake, eat, pass around, and carry around too. And the reigning champion of the cookies world is the almighty chocolate chip cookie.

But vegans can rarely sink their teeth into a chocolate chip cookie in peace. This is because cookies are usually made with milk. And milk isn’t vegan.

So, whether you’re a vegan or no one, this vegan chocolate chip recipe should make the vegans in your life very happy.

This recipe requires 10 minutes of prep time, 10 minutes of cook time, and 15 minutes of resting, making this a 35-minute recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, solid but scoop-able 
• 1 and 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (unpacked)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (use vegan chocolate chips if vegan), divided
• Flaky sea salt, optional

Instructions to make vegan chocolate chip cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 190 °C (375 °F).
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
3. Get a large bowl, and whisk coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Keep beating until everything is well combined.
4. Add your coconut milk and applesauce, and whisk the whole thing until it’s well combined. Then set it aside for now.
5. Get a separate bowl and combine your flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk this mixture until it’s well combined.
6. Add these two mixtures together and stir them with a wooden spoon or a very sturdy spatula until they’re well combined. The resulting batter will be very thick.
7. Add 1 and 3/4 cups of your chocolate chip cookies. Fold the chips into the batter.
8. Scoop three tablespoon-sized mounds of dough onto your already prepared cookie sheet. Leave a few inches between each cookie to let it spread.
9. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers have set.
10. Press the remaining chocolate chips on top of warm cookies, and sprinkle with sea salt if you’re using it.
11. Cool your cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
12. Enjoy!

This recipe courtesy of Baker By Nature. Check out their site for more amazing recipes!

Nutrition and calories

It’s not easy to find the nutrition and caloric information for homemade recipes. But you can use the stats for store-bought vegan chocolate chip cookies as a good estimate. (Source.)

• Serving size: 100g
• Energy: 150 calories
• Total fat: 8g
• Carbohydrates: 19g
• Protein: 1g
• Sodium: 180 mg

Other ideas.

So you’ve made vegan chocolate chip cookies. Do you find yourself wanting more? That’s okay — everyone’s got a sweet tooth, some sweeter and toothier than others.

Making chocolate chip cookies vegan was already genius. But let’s take the idea and run with.

Here are X other food ideas you can make with your scrumptious batch of cookies:

1- Cookie sticks.

Let’s start simple. First, you’ll need to bake an extra-large cookie. Then, slice it into strips with a pizza cutter.

What you’ll be left is narrow “sticks” of cookies. You might ask why sticks and not cookies. The answer: easier to dunk in milk!

2- Cookie pizza.

Here’s a cookie that’ll feed a family!

As the name suggests, this is a massive cookie that you eat sliced like a pizza. Making it isn’t all that different from regular cookies. You just have to supersize things.

3- Chocolate chip cookie cake.

Cookies are great. So is cake. The only logical next step is to combine the two for a delicious double-whammy that’ll send your sweet tooth to heaven and back.

Besides, this recipe looks great too. There’s something about seeing a stack of chocolate chip cookies in the shape of a cake that gets your mouth watering…

4- Deep-fried chocolate chip cookie dough.

Do we even have to explain this one? Country fairs are notorious for deep-frying everything under the sun. Not all of those culinary adventures end up tasty. But cookie dough? You’ll be glad you popped it in the fryer.

Just take some delectable balls of cookie dough and deep-fry it. You’ll be left with golden, crispy spheres begging to be popped into your mouth.

Final thoughts.

Some diets feel incredible restrictive when you’re starting out. And the vegan diet is definitely one of them. But with a little culinary maneuvering, you can still enjoy your favorite snacks with a vegan twist.

What is hot dog soup?

At a glance, it’s simply a soup with some wieners popped in. But the actual end product of this recipe is a mix of potatoes, green beans, and sausages that’ll fill your tummy and warm you right up.

Ever wondered why we call those sausages “hot dogs”? It’s all because of someone’s poor spelling. In the early 1900s, a cartoonist at the New York Polo Grounds was distracted by a vendor’s shouting.

“They’re red hot,” yelled the vendor hawking hot dogs. “Get your dachshund sausages while they’re red hot!”

The cartoonist was inspired to put the scene to paper, but there was one problem. He didn’t know how to spell dachshund. So he wrote the words that would cement the name for frankfurters in the public’s mind—“hot dog!”

A century later, hot dogs are a standard part of picnic and camping cuisine worldwide. But what if you’d rather not stuff yourself with the carbs of the hotdog bun? You can still have a filling frankfurter feast, in the form of hot dog soup.

How to make hot dog soup.

It should take you about an hour to prepare this recipe (15 minutes prep + 45 minutes cooking). In these proportions, this soup will yield 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can of chicken broth
• 1 (9 ounce) package frozen green beans
• 1 (16 ounce) package beef frankfurters, cut into bite-size pieces

Preparation instructions

1. Place the onion and margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Slowly cook and stir until the onion is soft.
3. Mix in the potatoes and enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and mix in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, green beans, and frankfurters.
5. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
6. Serve warm!

This soup is best served with sides, like a salad and warm rolls.

Nutrition information

• 394 calories.
• Protein: 12.1g
• Carbohydrates: 28.4g
• Fat: 25.9g
• Cholesterol: 41.1mg
• Sodium: 1385.3mg

Final thoughts

You’re most likely to sink your teeth into a hot dog at a sporting event or a picnic. Even then, it’s most likely to be enveloped in the cloudy softness of a hot dog bun. Don’t let that fool you, though. When in a soup, the wieners can be just as filling and delicious as any other protein.

So give this recipe a spin. And be sure to let us know in the comments if anyone’s surprised to see hot dogs in their soup!

What is Princess chicken?

No, it’s not what you’d call a cowardly female heir to the throne.

Jokes aside, Princess chicken is a Chinese chicken dish made decadently delicious with mushrooms, red bell pepper, cashews, and five-spice powder. 

FYI, five-spice powder is made of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. The magical concoction is designed to cover all the taste bases—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. And the best part is that you can make it home. But we’ll get to that later.

You might ask, why’s this dish called Princess chicken? Here’s a particularly interesting theory we dug up on the internet.

A quick history lesson.

Long ago, in the mystical land of China, a beggar stole a chicken from a farmer. 

(This is just a legend, so don’t think what we say is absolutely true!) 

The farmer saw the thief and chased the vagrant all the way to a nearby riverbank. The quick-witted thief buried the chicken in the mud of the riverbank and scampered off. 

Later that night, when he was certain the farmer had given up, he came back to his hidden stash. The beggar was starving. He impatiently lit a fire and dug up the chicken. It was caked in mud. But our hero, at the verge of collapse from hunger, just popped the chicken on the flame, mud and all. The fire hardened the clay and cooked the bird within. When the beggar cracked open the clay shell, legend has it that the feathers fell right off the flesh. 

Our man knew he had struck gastronomical gold. He began selling this dish in his village. Before long, the Emperor himself came to visit this budding cook. His Highness was so impressed by the chicken that he added the dish to his Imperial menu back in his palace. But of course, you can’t have a dish on the menu that the people call “beggar’s chicken”. So from that day forth, all the cooks at the royal palace learned how to cook this new dish called “Emperor’s chicken”. 

But our story isn’t over yet.

Fast forward a few thousand years.

In the 1950s, Chinese American immigrants brought all kinds of mouth-watering recipes over to the Land of Opportunity. They didn’t just sit on the recipes, though—they experimented. 

One of the subjects of these experiments was our old friend, Emperor chicken. And out of these experiments was born the Empress chicken. A few evolutions later, and here we are at the topic of this article. The pride and joy of any Chinese take-out menu, Princess chicken. 

So what?

All this to say, Princess chicken isn’t a traditional Chinese dish. But at the same time, it’s not completely devoid of Chinese heritage. The dish borrows from its oriental roots and had made itself into a true modern-day dietary delight.

But that’s enough appetizers. Let’s head to the main course.

How to make Princess chicken at home

The Princess chicken recipe has two steps. First, you’ll have to marinate the chicken. Then comes the stir-frying portion. Let’s go over both in that order.

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

• 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• ½ teaspoon 5-spice powder
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1-pound (450g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-size strips)

For the stir-fry:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil (for stir-frying), divided
• 2 thin slices of ginger, divided
• 1/2 medium onion (peeled and chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (or to taste)
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine, sherry, water, or chicken broth (more as needed)
• 3/4 cup cashews
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into thin strips)
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

By now, your kitchen must smell like an herb garden. Let’s move on to the next stage—making the Princess chicken.

 Princess Chicken Preparation Instructions

First, the marinading.

1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry, five-spice powder, and cornstarch.
2. Add the chicken. Make sure you coat all the strips in a layer of the marinade.
3. Cover the bowl and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Next, the stir-frying.

4. Drop 2 tablespoons of the oil in a​ wok or large skillet. Wait for the oil to heat, then add one slice of ginger.
5. Let the ginger brown for 2 or 3 minutes, then remove it and discard. We do this to flavor the oil.
6. Add the chicken. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
7. Remove the chicken to a plate and wipe the wok or pan clean.
8. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the wok or pan.
9. When the oil is hot, add the remaining slice of ginger, let it brown, then remove it. (The same as steps 4 and 5.)
10. Add the onion and stir-fry for 1 minute.
11. Stir in the paprika. Continue cooking the onion for another minute until it begins to soften.
12. Move the onion to the edges of the wok or pan and add the mushrooms to the middle of the pan. To keep the shrooms from drying out, stir in a small amount of rice wine, water, or chicken broth as needed.
13. Stir in the cashews.
14. After a minute, stir in the red bell peppers.
15. Stir-fry for another minute. Your total stir-fry time should be 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan.
16. Stir in the dark soy sauce and sugar.
17. Cook for another minute to heat through, then remove your wok or pan from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
18. Serve over white or brown rice.

And that’s it! An oriental-themed chicken dish fit for a hungry Princess. 

Final thoughts.

The beauty of the recipe is that you’re free to swap other veggies as you like. Got family members who aren’t fans of spice? No worries. You can make your own five-spice powder at home and just use less Szechuan peppercorn. This is a flexible recipe.

Try this bit of culinary Kung Fu in your kitchen. We guarantee your family will love the exotic combination of tastes. And as always, let us know in the comments how your dish turns out!

What is a German Muffin?

Sadly, the internet’s opinion is divided.

All the sources we looked at agree that yes, at least it’s a muffin. That is, it’s an individual-sized baked product. You can play around with this basic formula. For example, you have muffins that are a sort of part-raised flat-bread that is baked and then cooked on a griddle. Or you have the more popular molded sweetbread variant that looks like a cupcake.

But what about the other half of the equation? What’s up with the “German” part? 

We rooted around the internet for an answer. A Reddit user had this to say: It’s fine meatloaf (Leberkäse or Fleischkäse) inside a Berlin-style doughnut (filled with jam and topped with granulated sugar). Sounds fancy—and German! 

That same Redditor goes on to add that if you want to make a German muffin, you can get away with simply using a yeast-based dough, filling it with jam, and topping it with sugar.

 That’s quite a few answers to one question. That’s why we picked one particular recipe we think would be simple, delicious, and check most if not all the boxes that make up a German muffin.

How to make German muffins

Now we’ll be listing the ingredients and instructions on how to make German muffins at home.

Ingredients

• Butter – ¾ cup
• Sugar – ½ cup
• Eggs – 2 
• Rum – 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla – 1 teaspoon
• Milk – 3 tablespoons
• Cinnamon – ½ teaspoon 
• Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
• All-purpose flour – 2 ¼ cups
• Ground almonds – ¼ cup
• Grated orange rind – 1 tablespoon 
• Raisins – ¼ cup (optional)

In addition to these, you’ll need one large mixing bowl, one medium mixing bowl, greased muffin tins, and an oven. 

Preparation instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, rum, vanilla, and milk.
3. Mix cinnamon, baking powder, and flour in a medium bowl.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Gently mix in almonds, orange rind, and raisins.
5. Pour the batter into your greased muffin tins, filling each halfway. 
6. Bake in your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until nicely browned.
7. Serve warm!

Final thoughts.

So that’s a German muffin. Here’s a fun tea-time idea: serve your friends or family this delicious baked goodie, and ask them two things. First, can they guess what it’s called? And second, can they guess what’s in it? It’ll be a challenge, but a tasty one!

Let us know in the comments how your batch of German muffins turns out, and check out WizFoodz for more scrumptious recipes you can make at home.