Alex's Vegan Cupcakes!

FoodSlide_AlexJ
FoodSlide_AlexJ
Recipe

VEGAN CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup vegan margarine (80% fat is best)

1/4 cup  sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

Steps                                             

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. Cream margarine until fluffy.
  3. Add to organic unbleached sugar and blend.
  4. Sift together dry ingredients.
  5. Add to margarine mixture alternately with applesauce, mixing well after each addition.
  6. Stir in vanilla and nuts.
  7. Spoon into 12 cupcake pans sprayed with vegetable pan spray or use paper baking cups.
  8. Bake 15-20 min.

VEGAN BUTTER CREAM ICING

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa poweder

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons of warm-hot water

Steps

  1. Mix cocoa and powdered sugar
  2. Blend in vanilla.
  3. Add in water gradually

Recipe Analysis

This recipe doesn't really tie in culturally to me. However, it does tie in slightly to my family. My family has a small history of having lots of health issues so to have recipes that are as healthy and wholesome as possible is often preferred. This recipe is vegan, which means that it does not rely on the use of animals. Soy milk is a very popular milk alternative for vegans. Margarine is also a popular butter substitute.

The cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt are the most whole foods used in my recipe. Some of the stuff is processed. REAL soy milk is fairly unprocessed and because of this it generally would last only a few days in the refrigerator. Processed soy milk is designed to last about 2 weeks or more.

I chose this recipe mainly because after seeing how terribly we treat animals in the production of meats, I thought against using meat for a dish. Instead, I decided that since it’s a Friday, why not celebrate with some awesome vegan cupcakes! Doing something like this is good to bring attention to issues like animal cruelty.

Analysis

One of the main things that I learned during the course of this unit is that the American food system is fucked. The American food culture revolves around the 'need' (which is more of a want) for convenience. However, when we take a deep analysis of our own behaviors, we realize that our diet is very unhealthy for both ourselves and our environment. If we could take a step back from all of the regulations and red tape and see the system for what it is. We as a country should reevaluate what good food is and what food is actually good for you. I'm sure that if every person in America knew their meat was 90% likely to be washed by ammonia, they wouldn't eat meat and would boycott it. It all begins at home with making conscious choices to eat healthy, wholesome food, and preparing good meals. I'm willing to make these changes but I'm sure a good chunk of America is too stuck in its ways. I could personally begin to make healthier choices when buying food. Yeah, it is easy and cheaper to buy the unhealthy food but it will cost me more in the long run to eat many unhealthy meals as opposed to one or two healthy meals. Although I’m in a lower SES, I do try my best to eat healthy and wholesome food. After watching Food Inc., I’m not even entirely sure if I want to eat meat, knowing how it is processed. 

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