Celebrate National S’Mores Day With a better-for-you S’Mores Recipe

1. Gather your ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

2. With an adult’s help, put marshmallows on a stick and toast over a campfire or grill. If it’s raining, try melting them in themicrowave!

3. Place the melty marshmallow on a graham cracker, add a square of chocolate, then top with another graham cracker to make a sandwich. Enjoy—the messier, the better!

“If there’s one thing that’s commonly and incorrectly assumed about vegan baking,” warns Hannah Kaminsky, blogger and author of My Sweet Vegan, “it’s that it can only create joyless, tasteless, ‘health food’ that won’t be as good as dairy- and egg-based baked goods.” The fact of the matter is, though, that vegan baked goods can be really delicious, and are a great alternative to more traditional treats.

Hannah’s blog (http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/) and cookbook are just two resources out of many that have recently begun to push vegan baking into the spotlight. Along with the publication of other books, including Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and The Joy of Vegan Baking, My Sweet Vegan has popularized the notion that vegan treats are tasty, satisfying, and easy to make. Additionally, many grocery stores, coffee shops, and bakeries are beginning to carry vegan baked goods, resulting in a more mainstream acceptance of cookies, cakes, and pastries made without animal products.

In a case similar to many longtime vegans, Hannah learned the techniques of vegan baking through trial and error. “Becoming vegan forced me to start working for my own treats, since no one in my family shared my ideas on a vegan diet, and there were few edible packaged sweets at the time. In dire need of satisfying my sweet tooth, I was on my own to figure things out, and learning the basics of baking simply baking par for the course,” she explains.

Fortunately, with the numerous vegan baking resources that exist today, successful results are almost guaranteed when trying to make your first egg- and dairy-free treats. How to start? Checking out a great vegan cookbook (like one of those mentioned above) is an option, or, veganize a recipe you already have. Hannah says that “cookies in general are the easiest to convert. Typically calling for butter and perhaps one egg, it’s a simple matter of switching the butter out for [non-hydrogenated] margarine, and some ground flaxseeds and water for the egg.”

While vegan baking is the obvious answer for those eschewing all animal products as part of an entire vegan lifestyle, animal-free treats are also an option for people with dairy allergies or those looking to consume less saturated fat or cholesterol. To those who are curious, Hannah suggests, “just give it a shot.” Whatever the reason for cutting out or lowering the amount of animal products you consume, “you shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything.”

Hannah’s Root Beer Float cupcakes are a great treat to make over the weekend with kids, who will enjoy drizzling the cupcakes with chocolate ganache, then topping with thick, vanilla frosting. Get the recipe at http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/float-away/ .

-Marygrace Stergakos, Editorial Intern with KIWI Magazine

Gaining momentum across the country, the raw food movement advocates a diet consisting mostly or completely of whole, uncooked, and often organic foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains and legumes.

Many turn to a raw diet with the belief that it promotes greater health. Raw foodists feel that valuable digestive enzymes, as well as an abundance of nutrients, are destroyed when food is heated above 120 degrees. Additionally, raw foods have the potential to aid in the management of chronic diseases, and promote weight maintenance.

Of course, you don’t have to be a raw foodist to benefit from whole, unprocessed food – try eating raw just once or twice a week. The meal could be as simple as a romaine lettuce and fresh vegetable salad tossed with a raw, pine nut-based Caesar dressing. For something more elaborate, experiment with zucchini “noodles” in a raw tomato sauce.

Raw desserts are also great to try. Rich and satisfying to any sweet tooth, these fruit and nut-based treats pack a nutritional punch not found in traditional desserts. Raw pies work well for those with gluten intolerances, as the crusts and fillings are always wheat free. This strawberry one by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is perfect for summer. Ani Phyo’s raw donut holes are a great option for kids, who can help roll and shape the balls.

Interested in learning more? Check out the Raw Freedom Community, a message board with discussions about raw diets, raw parenting, and eco-friendly living.

-Marygrace Stergakos, Editorial Intern with KIWI Magazine