Nom Nomin Your Mom

Man do I hate how annoying it is to look at a delicious sounding title, click on the recipe, and it's made of premade crap..  How to make pot roast?  Well you buy seitan and add vegetables, tada.  Thanks but I am "creative" enough on my own to throw those things together.  What I want from a recipe is a real live make up.  How to make the seitan, because when you start from scratch you can inject more pot roasty flavor, how to make the sausage because store bought just ain't so delicious.  I get that some people don't have the time (or skill) to make their own vegan cream cheese or margarine, but seriously, people without time can just sub for the premade stuff.  In honor of my rant, I give you..

Homemade Tofu!

1 Soymilk Maker (consult manufacturer for actual make-up of machine)
1 thermometer thing
1 cup non GMO Soybeans
16 oz water, make it purified
1 tablespoon Epsom salt
1 cup boiling water

Pour the water into the maker, and the soybeans into their slot.  They may not all fit, if not, make the soymilk in batches.  Make the soymilk by pushing the button.  Pour the soymilk into a pot, heat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.  Dissolve the salt in the boiling water, then pour the mixture into the pot of soymilk.  Stir once and let set, you should see the coagulation occur, fight the urge to stir again.  Once the chunks of tofu are obviously separated from the water, drain.  You can tell because the water will not look milky anymore.  I did not have anything fancy on hand so I just drained my tofu using a colander wrapped in natural cheesecloth.  Once the water goes down, fold the cheesecloth over and place a weight on top, the heavier the weight, the firmer the tofu.  Let set for about an hour, the longer, the firmer.  You can also transfer the cheesecloth to a tofu box for an authentic, store bought shape.

I think this would be really interesting to try with almond milk or coconut milk, almost like a panna cotta or a curd, mmm.  Soon to come.

Butternut Squash Soup

Back in Austin and so happy the farmer's market has butternut squash again.  I am about to move to California and miss out on all the Austin fall events :(  While I love California I really loved all the seasonal food available around Austin.  Oh well.  If you're in love with butternut squash like I am this is the bomb diggity, plus is vitamin packed.

Butternut Squash Soup:
1 butternut squash
1 pattypan squash
1 small yellow squash
1 tomato
1/4 white onion
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp chile flakes, optional if like spicy
1 cup soy milk

Cut the butternut squash in half and bake until soft.  Scoop the contents out into a blender.  Remove the skin from the other squashes and toss them in the blender.  Quarter the onion quarter and the tomato and add to the mix.  Pour in all the spices.  Top with soymilk.  Blend until smooth.  Enjoy the intensely delightful flavors of fall, with a touch of summer.  This is a more raw version but I like to heat it before I eat it.

I don't like soupy soup, add more soymilk if you do.

Migas from Heaven

I accidentally created a miga masterpiece while in California.  They do not really have migas where I was at, nor do they have much vegan knowledge but with my Austin brain and California surroundings I made magic.  As a side note, I did not realize how vegan unfriendly Trader Joe's could be.. I was a vegetarian when I had shopped there before but now I realize they don't have vegan cheese, vegan brats, and most of their trader joe brand items have eggs in them :P  It took a real scavenger hunt to find the Daiya for these migas.

Vegan Migas of Yum:
Trader Joe's Cajun Black Beans
1/4 block firm tofu
2 tbsp salsa
4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 green onion stalks
Tortilla chips, preferably leftover from a real Mexican restaurant
1 tbsp taco sauce or taco seasoning mixed with water to make 1 tbsp
1/8 cup Daiya, cheddar

First dice the garlic and layer the bottom of the pan, cook for about a minute on medium before smashing the tofu and placing on top of the garlic, do not stir.  Let these two ingredients cook while you chop the onions and prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Once you can smell the garlic cooking, top with the onions and stir, cook for about another 5 minutes.  Turn the heat up to med-high and add the other ingredients, except the daiya.  Cook for another 5 minutes, then add Daiya, lightly stir until thoroughly melted, then serve.  Eat with tortillas or for some reason pretzel bread with vegan cream cheese and tomato on top pairs well also.

California Delights

I was on a semi-vacation in California and subsequently had all the best fruits of the Earth available to me.  Does that make sense?  Whatevs.  So I made a meal of champions and will now share the secrets of my bliss.

California Breakfast, for vegans:
1/4 block of firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 purple potato, 1 red potato, 1 white potato (just for fun, doesn't matter, 3 small potatoes)
1/2 avocado
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cajun black beans
1 tbsp olive oil, optional
1/4 cup spinach
3 cloves garlic
1/4 onion

So the optional olive oil is for the tofu, for taste but it can be water fried for health.  Marinate the tofu in soy sauce, in a plastic bag.  When ready to use, squish the tofu in the plastic bag until it resembles scrambled tofu.  Dump contents onto hot oiled pan and sautee until brown.  Steam potatoes, garlic and onions for 10 minutes, then add tomatoes and spinach and cook until done.  Pour both on a plate, put black beans and avocado on the side and voila.  But wait there's more.

California fruit plate:
1 peach
5 strawberries
20 blueberries
1/2 banana
1 tbsp almond butter

Slice fruit and plate next to almond butter, enjoy this feast now and the benefits later.

Delicious Duo

Fruit Plate

For California authenticity eat this all with tortillas ;)

Vegan Pesto Pasta

The farmers market created a them, but with such diversity, who's complaining?  I have a lot of nuts I am supposed to someday get around to feeling like making nut milk, but in the mean time they are pine nut replacers.  Tonights replacer, almonds.  The idea came from Tofu 666's twitter and blog.  Although the recipe wasn't included so it was kind of a guess/adapted from Fun and Food Blog.  With a hankering for pasta it was perfect and delicious.

Vegan Pesto Pasta
1/4 cup of blanched almonds (I forgot to blanch, it turned out fine)
1.5 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh parsley
4 tbsp lemon juice
3 large garlic cloves
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegan Parmesan
2 cups pasta
1 cup mixed veggies

I just boiled the almonds for a few minutes and threw them in, my husband was reading the recipe out loud and got things mixed up and left things out, oh well.  I used a blender but a food processor may work better.  Throw all ingredients in the blender except 2 of the 5 tbsp of oil.  Blend until it reaches the consistency of pesto you like, you will likely need to use one of those blender tools that helps push the food down so that it is all processed.  Cook the pasta for 8 minutes and drain.  While pasta is in colander, pour remaining oil and a touch of salt or nusalt in and toss with your fingers.  Add pasta to a large bowl with veggies and pour pesto on top.  Personally this was a lot of pesto for me so I saved some for sandwiches later.

Pesto pasta topped with veggie parmesan

Curry Vegetable Leek Soup

This is delicious.  It was served with the Collard Green Sushi and my husband and I were crying with yumminess.  Yes that's possible.  Here I thought the leeks at the farmer's market were pretty expensive but I have used parts of the two I have for 2 weeks now and there is still the onion part left and going strong. 

Curry Vegetable Leek Soup
About 2 inches of the green part of the leek, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
3 baby carrots, chopped (I used the small ones you get at the farmer's market, not actual baby carrots)
1 cup water
1 collard green leaf
3 sprigs parsley
4 basil leaves
4 small red potatoes
2 tbsp cashews

Boil potatoes and carrots until soft.  Steam/boil leeks and collard green in 1 cup of water.  Add curry powder, parsley and basil.  When everything is cooked thoroughly, pour in the veggies with the water and spoon in the potatoes and carrots.  Blend for about 3 minutes or until completely smooth.  Add cashews and let sit for a bit until ready to serve.  Just before serving blend again to just chop cashews but not liquefy them.  Add a parsley spring to the top for fanciness and to get rid of the huge amount of parsley that you get with one bushel.

Collard Green Sushi

I bought some greens at the farmer's market but since I have never really had collard greens (except canned, once), kale (except the chips), or swiss chard I was at a loss for what to do with them.  It was right after How Do You Roll's birthday where their rolls were half off so I was in the mood for sushi.  I used to make cabbage rolls a lot back in the poor days so the two ideas merged and here we made a masterpiece. 

Collard Green Sushi

4 large, intact collard green leaves (no holes if possible)
.5 cup rice (I used cal rose one time and plain white rice another)
1 cup water
1 tsp vinegar (rice vinegar if you want it sticky, apple cider if you just want the taste)
4 tsp black sesame seeds
4 tbsp vegan cream cheese
.25 of a cucumber cut into small sticks
1 serving of tofu, garlic spiced, grilled and sliced into sticks
2 tsp chili oil (essential, we used our leftovers from How Do You Roll)
4 tsp low sodium soy sauce (you can also use this for dip instead)
.25 cup leeks or green onions, sliced and grilled or raw
4 tbsp cashews (optional, mostly for texture)
2 tsp kale powder or other powdered fishy tasting herb (optional, if you liked fish)

Make the rice and add the vinegar.  Rinse the collard greens and cut the long stem off just up until the part where the leaf starts.  When the rice is nearly done put the collard greens in the pan and close the lid, turn off the heat.  Start preparing the other veggies and grilling the leeks and tofu, you can add others as you prefer but this is all I had on hand.  Once everything is diced, take the collard greens out and put a small layer of rice in the middle area along spine, if there are any holes block it with a leek before laying rice.  Then add tofu, veggies, 1 tbsp cashews, 1 tbsp cream cheese, .5 tsp oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame seeds and .5 tsp kale powder.  Roll lengthwise and stab each side with a toothpick, cut in half and place in the fridge until it's cool enough to eat, I prepare the rest of dinner while they're cooling then they are ready for a side or an appetizer.  You would be surprised at how good these are, the spine of the collard green actually adds to the crunchy veggie factor.  They are really good dipped in soy sauce but you can control your sodium intake better by adding the soy sauce ahead of time.

Spaghetti Squash with Tahini Sauce

In my much poorer days, my favorite meal was pasta with garlic and onions fried in the oil at the top of the tahini, lemon juice and tahini, toppde with Parmesan.  I loved the grainy, creamy but dry texture and it was so filling and delicious.  Of course this was when I was wondering why I am a vegetarian gaining weight.  So now my much healthier version is made with spaghetti squash and I added some more veggies in, now that I can afford them.  I love spaghetti squash because it satisfies your pasta cravings with a vegetable calorie count so I can eat as much as I want, rather than just 2 oz.

Spaghetti squash with Tahini Sauce

1 spaghetti squash
1/4 cup tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped or sliced
1/2 a white onion, chopped 
1 tbsp veggie Parmesan
2 cups mixed veggies
1/4 cup sprouts

Cut the squash in half and bake on 350 for about an hour, or until the top lightly browns and the inside is easy to core.  Take out the seeds and set aside.  In a large bowl add the tahini, lemon juice, onion and garlic then stir.  Pour the hot spaghetti squash on top and let sit so that the onions and garlic are cooked with the heat of the squash.  Steam the vegetables while that sits then combine and add Parmesan.  Top with sprouts and serve.  If you feel this is too much tahini, add more squash, otherwise save the other half for another night.  It is also very good cold.  The picture below was the other half of my spaghetti squash which I scooped out cold and added the tahini, spinach, tomatoes and sprouts for more raw items and an even crunchier texture.

Cold spaghetti squash with raw spinach and tomato.

 

French Veggies!

I am back from France!  I had the time of my life and the food was awesome.  I went to Spain too and the food was even better.  Inspired by my trip I bought cook books in both places and acquired some recipes along the way and now dinner is even more delicious.  One of the inn's I stayed in made such good veggies the meat eaters were asking for the recipe.  It's nothing new but I just never thought of putting the spices together in this way!  I ate this with rice cooked in oil that I had used to sautee an onion in.. it matters OK.

French Vegetables

2 cups mixed vegetables (she used carrots, zucchini, chickpeas, green beans, string beans)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 tsp curry
1 tsp cumin

Cook vegetables in spices on low heat until fully cooked, let the natural juices of the veggies be the liquid so that the flavor isn't diluted.  This should be a mildly spiced dish as are most of the french dishes I tried, yum.

 Yummy vegetables, in France

Here is my own version but tex mexed it with chili verde and corn

Buffalo Wings.. with sauce

My husband and I had snagged some of the buffalo wings when they were available at Iggi's and they were heaven.  They were also soaked in grease and too expensive to eat for breakfast lunch and dinner, waa.  So being as resourceful as I like to think I am, I made my own at home!  They were cheap, way healthier and my husband even says they were better than Iggi's :)

Vegan Buffalo Wings

"Wings"

1 cup of wheat gluten
1 cup of water (or vegetable broth)


Cooking Broth

2 cups of water
.25 cup of nutritional yeast
1 tsp better than bouillon no chicken base
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp dried thyme
.5 tsp white pepper

Stir together wheat gluten and water/broth and knead for 5 minutes.  Pull pieces of seitan off and create whatever sizes and shapes you want although keep in mind they will expand and won't hold complicated shapes well.  Bring broth to a boil in a huge pot.  Place little seitan pieces in bottom of pot being sure they don't overlap.  Cover and simmer for about an hour, stirring every 5 minutes, until broth cooks down.  You can stop here and have naked wings for the healthiest option.  Otherwise pan fry or bake with this coating:

.5 cup flour
.5 tsp paprika
.25 tsp cayenne pepper
.5 tsp salt (or nusalt)
.5 tsp black pepper
.5 cup soy milk

Place soy milk in small bowl and dry ingredients in another.  Dip naked wings in dry ingredients, then soymilk, then dry again.  If you are baking you can combine all of this together and coat once.  Once they are finished cooking they need to be coated in the sauciest of wing sauces, mmmm.

Wing Sauce


3 tbsps Earth Balance
.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
pinch cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp garlic  powder
1/8 tsp liquid aminos
1 tbsp lousiana hot sauce
3 tbsps Sriracha


Whip all these ingredients together and dip the wings in while they're still hot.  If you aren't serving right away give them another dip before serving.  Now just so you don't miss out on anything you gotta make some ranch dip right?  Right.  Or maybe, if you want this for bfast, lunch and dinner you might have stopped a paragraph or two ago..


Vegan Ranch Dip

.5 cup nayonaise
.5 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp onion powder
.25 tsp white pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
.5 cup soymilk (use the rest of your dipping soymilk)



Stir it all together and invite a meat eater to share with you cause they will be amazed and you won't be able to devour this alone!

Ahhhchiote Chicken

Mmm cinco de mayo bliss went down last night.  We recently found Fiesta grocery which is an amazing mexican grocery store that has food from all over the world, dirt cheap.  We're talking African, Indian, German, Irish, you get it.  Everyone must know they also sell Banyan Medium Tofu for $1.09, whhhat?  I digress, they sell achiote sauce here and I distinctly remember my husband whining about never again being able to eat his mom's delicious achiote chicken.  Whine no more little husband.  This could be the most simple recipe ever..

Achiote Tofu

1 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp achiote
1/2 block of tofu

Whip together margarine and sauce.  Slice tofu into small, thin (1/4-1/2 inch) cutlets.  Coat each cutlet in the sauce thoroughly.  Let tofu marinate for as long as you want, but obviously the longer the better.  When you're ready switch on the George Foreman grill and throw on as many cutlets as you can fit and grill for 5-10 minutes then flip and grill another 5 minutes.  I threw some frozen corn on the grill too and topped my tofu with roasted corn, yum.  Then we had white rice for a side but this dish is not too spicy for having mexican rice as a side.
Hey why not give you that recipe too?  This is the authentic version from my husbands mom and not a healthified version.

Mexican Rice

1 cup white rice
2 tbsp oil
1/2 can tomato sauce (the small ones)
1 bouillon cube (tomato or "chicken" flavor)
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 cups hot water

Heat the oil in a medium to large saucepan and pour in the uncooked rice.  Fry the rice until golden brown, this takes a little while so be patient.  Pour in the tomato sauce and the bouillon cube and stir (quickly) until all rice is coated.  Pour hot water on top and bring to a boil.  Place the onion halves in the pot, cover and let simmer 20 minutes or until excess water is gone.  For healthifying purposes, we now skip the frying part and up the rice to bouillon ratio so that it's less salty. 

An un-marinated version

Broccoli Sheez Soup

This is a delicious vegan soup that I thought I would never get to enjoy again!  It is made with the vegan cheese spread below and is a lower fat alternative to the cashew cheese soups.

Broccoli Sheez Soup

3 tbsp Vegan Cheddar Spread
1 cup soymilk
.5 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 tbsp kuzu root (or other thickner)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until broccoli chunks reach desired size (some like them pureed some like them chunky).  Pour contents into saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until desired thickness is reached.  Enjoy with a panera baguette because they are vegan.

Soup with a super healthy spinach/cabbage salad

Vegan Cheddar Spread

I have been craving a good cheese lately so I decided to put my fate into my own hands and make some.  It does have a reminiscent cheddar quality but the texture is that of a spread.  It also tastes a tad like mustard due to the turmeric addition but replacing or removing it next time should eliminate that.  I was inspired by a vegan blogger who mentioned she did not remember cheese as garlic-y or onion-y and yet all the recipes call for it.  I have so far used this sauce to make quesadillas, grilled cheese, and topped my soup with it.  So here goes.

Vegan Cheddar Spread:
6 tbsp Okara
1 Whole Carrot, grilled
6 rounded tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Salt Substitute
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp Kuzu Root Starch
1 tbsp Earth Balance made with olive oil

Toss it all into a blender and process until smooth.  Pour into a small saucepan and heat to boil, then turn down to med-low heat and cook until sauce thickens.  Pour into tupperware and let cool in refrigerator.

Grilled cheese with spinach, tomato and mole seitan

Delicious Vegetable Soup

This soup is hearty and delicious and chocked full of nutrition.  Not sure if I have yet mentioned the switch to veganism in January.  A very easy switch indeed, especially in Austin.  For past recipes, just replace egg with 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce, or egg replacer.  If egg was a main ingredient, as in the best breakfast ever, a slab of seitan roast or some tofu eggs are in order.  First though, soup!  This recipe stemmed from an excess of fresh veggies in the refrigerator and a barage of house guests on my doorstep.  Obviously, when you're in Austin you must go out to eat everyday but I couldn't let good food go bad!  One of the ingredients I needed to use up was okara, the leftover pulp from making soymilk, this can be omitted but adds to the protein and balance of this soup.  Also, I have a recipe for homemade black beans on livestrong.com that are essentially just plain beans with a tad of Adobo seasonings (because the husband snuck some in!). 

Vegetable Soup:
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 small red cabbage, or half a large one, chopped
1/2 of a bell pepper
1/4 of a jalapeno
1/4 of a white onion

Boil carrots and celery in 2 cups of water for about 10 minutes, then add the rest. Remove some of the big chunks of cabbage and set aside.  Pour contents into a blender or food processor with:
1/2 cup okara
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin

Blend until smooth, may take a few minutes.
In a large bowl pour in:
1 cup homemade black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
the cabbage that was set aside
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Mix with your hands, then pour puree on top.  Stir until well mixed.  Let sit until corn is warmed, then eat!  Good cold too.  We spooned some avocado on top and on the second serving added a bit of Sriracha and it was heaven.

Soup with cabbage rolls

Chocolate Banana Pecan Pancakes !!

These vegan pancakes are magic, the best since Kerbey Lane's pumpkin pancakes.  There are 2 versions that are both worth a try even though banana chocolate sounds like it would trump.. it does not.  These are perfect with coffee the toasty pecans will make you cry happy tears.  They are so good they don't need syrup although my husband ate them with some strawberry jam and loved it.  I guess you really have to love food as much as I do for that affect?  Without further ado.

Vegan Chocolate Banana Pecan Pancakes:
1 cup Silk nog
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
1-2 mashed bananas, about .5 cup
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp nusalt, or salt
3 tbsp raw sugar or 1 packet raw stevia
1/3 cup pecan pieces, do not chop too finely

Mix ingredients from Silk to bananas in one bowl and the rest in another bowl.  Pour wet into dry and stir until fully mixed.  Pour onto hot griddle in 1/4 cup increments.  Flip when bubbles form and sides dry but work a large spatula under pancake gingerly since there is no oil in this pancake.  Let cook for another minute and then serve with some vegan margarine on top.  The more well done you let these get the more mouth watering the pecans will be from being toasted.

Vegan Nog Pancakes:
1 cup Silk nog
1 tsp organic vanilla
2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp nusalt, or salt
3 tbsp raw sugar or 1 packet raw stevia
1/8 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg, I would not suggest adding more just because you like it.
1/3 cup pecan pieces, not chopped too finely.

Mix wet ingredients in one bowl and dry in another.  Pour wet into dry and mix until smooth.  Scoop onto hot griddle in 1/4 cup increments, flipping when bubbles form and edges dry.  Cook for another minute.  The more well done these pancakes are cooked the more the pecans will toast and explode outrageous flavor in your mouth.  Do not add too much cinnamon or nutmeg or you will lose the subtlety and possibly mask the pecan flavor. 

Vegan Cupcakes of joy

WARNING, these cupcakes are so good you might try to eat them all in one sitting.  My favorite variations were with raspberry centers and strawberry jelly centers with chocolate chips melted on top.  My husbands were with chocolate chips and peanuts in the center.  They were so good we had them for breakfast.

Vegan Shupcakes

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp nusalt, or salt
.5 cup coconut oil
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp vanilla
.25 cup agave nectar

Pour the vinegar into the milk and let sit until curdled.  In the meantime, mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Pour in liquid coconut oil and then the wet ingredients.  It is important that the coconut oil is mixed before or after the other wet ingredients because the oil will harden if it is mixed with the cold ingredients.  At this point you can either mix in flavor variations or do it right in the cupcake cup so you can try different ones.  I use the mini cupcake maker so I spooned in batter then placed fruit/chocolate/nuts/etc.  on top and pushed them down with a butter knife, stirring a little.  Then I cooked them for 7 minutes.  I frosted some with a mixture of vanilla (.25 tsp), soymilk (1tbsp), and powdered sugar (.5 cup), and others by just melting chocolate chips (2) on top and spreading it around with a butter knife.  Be careful about mixing fruit into the entire batter mixture because when I did this with raspberries it caused the cupcakes not to rise.  Also, the raspberries taste better when they are whole.
Enjoy!

Gourmet Peanut Butter and Jelly

I became vegan for the New Year so my "best breakfast" has changed a bit.  Without giving up any flavor my husband and I have created a vegan masterpiece of a breakfast.  First off, I made some bread in my new breadmaker using King Arthur's All Purpose Unbleached flour.

Breadmaker Bread
3 3/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tbsp Earth Balance Spread Made With Olive Oil
3 tbsp Agave Nectar Light
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Organic Soymilk, Original

Pour the wet ingredients first, then the dry, without mixing.  Be sure to make a well in the flour to pour the yeast so that it does not get wet in preparation.  Set the breadmaker to basic, a light color and a 1.5lb loaf.

Then I used Santa Cruz crunchy peanut butter although any crunchy peanut butter should work.  From the farmer's market I got apple pie jelly, this is important I think.  Generously slather peanut butter on one, thin slice of bread and jelly on another thin slice.  Press them together on a George Foreman grill or panini press and let grill for about 8 minutes.  The liquids should penetrate the bread so that it looks like it got soggy.  It is presumably important that one uses these particular ingredients because the best part of this sandwich is the toasted peanuts and the caramelized jelly and apple chunks.  This alone is bliss but in order to break up the rich flavor of this stupendous, protein filled sandwich, we added a cereal to the routine.
So once again the ingredients are seemingly important although I have not tried another way.  Use Barbara's shredded wheat, which comes in small cakes, 2 per serving.  For a whole serving use 2 cakes, broken up, one banana, sliced thinly, and one cup of unsweetened almond milk.  Less almond milk may be used, the goal is to put just enough so that the wheat soaks up all of the milk.  Once all of the ingredients are assembled in the bowl, stir and wait until the wheat is soft.  Maybe cutting the PB&J at this point.
Now making this entire sandwich and full serving of cereal is too much food for one small woman to consume so my husband and I split it before a run or just cut a slice of bread in half and only use one cake, half a banana, and half the milk. 
Be prepared to mmm out loud because this breakfast is for luxurious champions.