Cake for breakfast? Of course.

It’s a shame that so many cake recipes call for eggs, cream, and loads of sugar, when the same texture – fluffy, moist, flaky, and rich – can be matched sans the heavy ingredients and dangerous boost in blood sugar levels. Sure, there’s room for those kinds of desserts too, but if you’re anything like me and need dessert everyday – that is, require for basal human function –  then it helps to have an arsenal of silhouette-forgiving, vegan dessert recipes on hand.

This vanilla cake recipe is a simple, foundational recipe that can be altered according to your tastes. Like chocolate? Add cocoa powder. Like more texture? Add dried fruit and nuts. Like things bigger? Buy more pans for layering. But what I’ve written here is a mild, flaky cake that is a lot like a soft, light, and slightly sweet bread to be complemented with tea, coffee or almond milk.

I added a personal touch to the cake by baking it over pineapple slices, which add moisture and make for a great presentation. I chose pineapple for its taste, but the diamond-under-the-rough fruit is also packed with immune-boosting vitamin C, promotes healthy gums and teeth, sharpens vision, improves digestion, and alleviates arthritis symptoms.

Pineapple also contains the enzyme bromelain, which helps to break down protein. This knowledge comes in handy after you’ve eaten a hefty meal – chewing on a bit of pineapple can help to make room for dessert, because foregoing dessert is seldom an option. And lucky for you, this recipe cuts to the chase and adorns the top of a vanilla cake with brown-sugar glazed pineapple slices, so you make more room for dessert whilst eating dessert. Pure logic, my friends.

Note: If you want a caramelized effect, use a metal spring-form pan and the brown sugar is a must, since it helps to caramelize the pineapples. I personally like my pineapples to tenderize without becoming too sweet, since I treat this dish more as a “S’pose-I’ll –just-have-this-here-cake-for-breakfast-since-it’s-so-clean-and-healthy” item than a dessert item. For this reason, I use a glass pan and sometimes forego the brown sugar. When I do want the cake for dessert, I warm it up and drizzle with honey for that extra sweetness.

Pineapple Bread Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter + 1/2 tablespoon for coating baking dish
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the bottom and sides of baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle brown sugar on top, evenly across the area of the dish. Skin a pineapple and cut along its width as thin as possible, making 4-6 discs. Place pineapple on the bottom of the baking dish.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using your hands, cut the vegan butter (I like to use Earth Balance) into the dry mixture, using your fingers to create a meal-like texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, except for the almond milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until pasty. Add the almond milk a little at a time until the mixture reaches a thick, but easily spreadable texture.

Carefully spread batter over the pineapple slices in the glass baking dish.

Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

After you remove the cake from the oven, loosen the edges with a knife and let cool down. When cool enough to handle with your bare hands, use a cutting board to help flip the dish over so that the pineapples are exposed.

The result is a light but comforting bread-like cake that has just the right touch of pineapple to keep things interesting. Cut a piece and serve warm with almond milk for dipping or enjoy aside a morning coffee.

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Vegan Pineapple Vanilla Bread Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

My teeth are killing me. Seriously, last night I woke up in the middle of the night to down some Motrin. Italics are necessary for emphasis because I don’t have kids or cats (am badly allergic to the ones that don’t use diapers). So me waking up in the middle of the night is akin to being raised from the dead. What brought me out of my usual nighttime haze? Tougher than usual workouts? Eating someone disagreeable? Watching reality TV right before bed? Nah, I’ve just been using whitening strips on my teeth.

Yes, I know. Whitening strips. Color me “duh.” But I’m getting married soon and decided since we went and hired the fancy photographer and all, I might as well flash him the pearliest whites possible. And my product of choice rated a relatively low hazard rating from the Environmental Working Group’s database. (Though the packaging rates an “I’m somehow recycling as much of this ridiculous over-packaging as possible, so help me God”.) And so, I went ahead with the project.

Now, I have sensitive teeth under the best of circumstances. A vigorous, ahem, “over-brusher,” I’ve done as more damage to my gums than any reader would ever care to hear about someone else’s gums. And the company does warn that “some people may experience sensitivity when using this product – it is temporary and not harmful.” But I didn’t think I’d be able to feel sensitivity from the very roots of my soul.

So for now, the whitening strips are being set aside, and I’m seeking gentler ways to a whiter smile. It turns out Mother Nature has some great alternative to self-inflicted tooth torture. Malic acid is an active ingredient in many sour or tart foods. It also acts as an astringent to buff away stains from coffee, tea and more. Malic acid is found in ripe grapes, so consider snacking on the tart fruits for a whiter smile.

Also, strawberries and baking soda combine to make an excellent tooth whitener. The gang at Health.com recommends combining one ripe strawberry, crushed, with ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Blend the mixture and, using a toothbrush, brush onto your teeth for five minutes. Then brush off with toothpaste and floss to remove any strawberry seeds.

But heed the warning of strawberries. Adina Carrel, DMD, is a Manhattan dentist. As she told Health.com, “this is a fast, cheap way to brighten your smile,” though she urges user to do this just once a week. According to Carrel, “be careful not to use this too often, though, as the acid could damage the enamel on your teeth.”

Image: e3000

The post Teeth Whitening Minus the Fancy Strips? appeared first on EcoSalon.

The next time you take a swig of that cool, minty-fresh mouthwash, read the label.

ACT, one of the top sellers contains ingredients such as sodium saccharin, sorbitol, green dye #3, and yellow dye #5. It’s more bad news for standard mouthwash, which recently was revealed to increase the risk of cancer.

Enter The Natural Dentist, where colors are derived from vegetable juices such as red cabbage, purple carrot, beet, tomato, and annatto.

Instead of sodium lauryl sulfate, a common ingredient that acts as a detergent and produces foam in toothpaste, The Natural Dentist uses a coconut-based ingredient.

Product labels and printed materials are produced with soy ink, which has low VOC levels (volatile organic compounds) that contribute to air pollution; and all products are vegetarian/vegan and have earned the cruelty-free product seal from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Other options include JASON Natural Cosmetics; Dr. Ken’s; and Eco-DenT oral care products.

Now go ahead – rinse and brush with a good conscience!

The post Swish, Gurgle, Splat: the Natural Dentist appeared first on EcoSalon.