Vegan Chocolate Pudding

 

I am usually not the biggest fan of pudding. But this one is…..amazing. The cocoa powder gives the pudding a more bitter flavor than most, but a dash of vanilla and salt balance it out perfectly.

Enough talk, lets get straight to the recipe!

Vegan Chocolate pudding

Makes 3 servings

1 pack silken tofu

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. maple syrup (or more to reach desired sweetness, add in a tablespoon at a time)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until fully combined. Place in bowl and chill for at least one hour. Serve with vegan whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, and vegan marshmallows.

 

Enjoy!

Kinda Sorta Breakfast Cookies

Yowza. Lets just say I got lazy with blogging! I am a junior and ALL of December was go go go 24/7! Nevertheless, the new semester just began and I am still a busy bee but don’t have a lot of major stuff going on till March (SATs for the first time….eeeek!)

So I had a little extra time today to bake with my little sis! Cookies are her favorite, so cookies it was!

Kinda Sorta Breakfast Cookies

9-10 BIG cookies

These cookies are deceptively tasty while actually including some healthful ingredients. The version I made below is more of the dessert version, but I have made these as “breakfast” before, with a few substitutions I will list!

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour *

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar *

1/4 cup soy milk

1 tbsp. chia seeds plus 1/4 cup water, mixed and set aside

2 tbsp. coconut oil *

1/4 cup EACH raisins, chocolate chips, and walnuts

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

*Sub 1/3 cup of flour with your favorite protein powder; reduce the brown sugar to 1/3 cup OR sub in 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup; use 2 tbsp. natural nut butter or 2 tbsp. mashed banana in place of coconut oil.

These are our lovely friends chia seeds. They imitate and egg perfectly to make these cookies vegan. They have protein fiber and omega 3!

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add in the chia mixture, and coconut oil. Finally add in your mix ins. Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball and press down until it resembles a cookie! Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Disney trip + soon to be recipe

I am not good at blogging often! I blame school. Anyway, I recently turned 16 and took a trip to disney! Fun stuff.

So fun! I also have two recipes coming up soon- one of them includes this (yes I realize it’s terribly late)

See Ya!

It’s Almost Halloween Brownie Pie

It is October…which means sweets! But I have to admit, I am not a candy addict. Still, October is an excuse to eat lots of extra sweets. So I decided to make my favorite dessert-with a twist! Brownies are by far one of my favorite desserts! And coconut just takes them over the top. Lets do this!

Coconut Brownie “Pie”

Serves 8

Brownie Layer:

1/4 cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

1/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup Earth Balance (or organic butter)

2 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup WWP flour

Frosting:

2 tbsp. powdered sugar

2 tsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. earth balance

1-3 tbsp. milk to thin out

Top Layer:

1/2-3/4 cup dried coconut shreds

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a microwave or double boiler melt the chocolate chips. Quickly add cocoa powder, milk, pumpkin, and earth balance. Stir until combined. Slowly stir in one egg at a time. Gently fold in brown sugar and flour. Place in a pie pan (glass) and bake for 20- 25 minutes. While the brownie is cooling, mix together frosting. Mix sugar, cocoa, earth balance, and desired amount od milk until you reach desired consistency. Cover cooled brownie with frosting. Add dried coconut shreds completely over the frosting until it is all covered.

These. Are. Perfect. Not too sweet, but definitely sweet enough to satisfy any Halloween craving. The coconut flakes added the most wonderfully satisfying CRUNCH!

Enjoy!

It takes one to know one…

Wowza. While I know my blog isn’t the most popular one on Earth, I am still really passionate about updating it. And then, school happens! Junior year is, hands down the hardest year so far. I am trying to find a balance with all the things I love but, man it is tough! Sometimes cookies are a saving grace…

And sometimes I curl up with something a little more “nutritious”

But I definitely miss blogging! I am working on a schedule where I can blog more often, because I really, really do love it!

Vegan Cheezy Garlic Bread

Sometimes after a looooong day at school, a girl just needs some bread. Am I right, or am I right?

Vegan Cheezy Garlic Bread

*enough for half of one large loaf of bread*

2 TBSP Earth Balance, softened

1 1/2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. oregano + more for garnish

1/2 loaf of fresh french bread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a small bowl, combine Earth Balance, nutritional yeast, minced garlic, garlic salt, and oregano. Spread over half of a loaf of French bread (cut lengthwise). Garnish with extra oregano. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until top is crusty and golden. Serve along with pasta!

If you’re in school, how has your year been so far? What food comforts you after a looooong day?

Coconut Waffles (Or Pancakes!)

I told you guys how I got some products from Swanson Health the other day right? Well, I also received some Spelt Flour and Organic Coconut shreds that I used to make some a-maz-ing waffles. If you don’t have a waffle maker, you can totally make pancakes with them. They are so delicious, you have to make them in some form.

Coconut Waffles or Pancakes

Serves 3 (About 6 waffles)

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup shredded coconut

2 tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract (or coconut!)

1 1/2 cups coconut milk (or any other milk)

Preheat waffle maker or griddle. In a bowl combine flour, coconut, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, and milk. Slowly stir in flour. Follow waffle makers instructions, or make pancakes by lining pan with butter, then using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Flip on other side when the top begins to bubble. Cook on other side for about 2 more minutes. Serve with honey or syrup and additional coconut shreds!

Possible variations: adding almond extract, chocolate chips, almonds, walnuts, cocoa powder, or pineapple.

I actually really loved how the spelt flour made these waffles extra fluffy inside. Mmm! I definitely recommend these!

Where Does the Time Go?!

I can honestly say I miss blogging quite a lot! School started, and man oh man am I swamped. It’s insanity. I really want to continue blogging-and I am!-but I need to work on time management. My grades are going well but I still want to blog somewhere in there too! Right now I’m taking statistics, Pre-Calc, Physics, English, and US History. And for electives, Music and Computer Skills (C.S. is a required class.) In a few months my family is going on vacation for my birthday and I’m soooooo excited to have a break already….

(We are going to Disneyland! I’m stoked )

But until then, I hope to be posting at least one delicious recipe (hopefully more!) every week. I hope some of you guys that do read will stick with me

What are your tips for time management? If you have a blog, how do you juggle work and blogging?

Banana Honey-PB Smoothie (Kid Friendly!)

I’m back! I am finally back from vacation. I had lots of fun but by the end of the trip I did miss my family .  Florida beaches are definitely beautiful though…oh! I saw a dolphin. It was pretty awesome. And a bunch of fish swam around me in the ocean. I was excited . So when I got back I had some wonderful stuff from Swanson Health Products waiting for me! Including this ridiculously good honey:

( Are you interested in getting some free Swanson Health Products goodies to review on your own blog? Then check out the Swanson Health Blog for all the details.)

When I got all of the products, I knew I wanted to use the honey first. I LOVE honey, and I wanted to make something that would highlight it’s flavor! This honey is so good, so I knew I wanted it to be a standout in the recipe.

Banana Honey-PB Smoothie

Makes 2 children’s servings or 1 large serving

1 banana

1 1/2 cups organic soymilk (or any other preferred milk)

2 large handfuls spinach

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2 tablespoons Honey

10-15 ice cubes

Slice banana into four large chunks. Combine all ingredients in a blender until everything is smooth and blended. 

I first intended for this smoothie to be for my brother and sister but after a few sips I was sold.

Don’t worry, I definitely made them another one! This smoothie is not to be missed.

What’s your favorite way to use honey? What is your favorite smoothie recipe?

Vacation.

So I have about one week of vacation left, and while I love vacation, I do miss my family! Anyway, I didn’t want my blog to completely die, so I thought I would pull together a post on how to eat anything you want on vacation without feeling weighed down. I’m visiting my cousin so I guess it’s “easier” this time, but I have stayed in enough hotels to know how crazy eating healthy can sometimes be! These are just a few tips, I know some are basic but they really do make a difference!

Breakfast

So my family goes to Disneyland probably 1-2 times every year. We always bring a BUNCH of stuff to eat because prices are ridiculous. When we go, we always bring Bananas, Peanut Butter, Organic Instant Oatmeal, Apples, Granola Bars (ie. Kind Bars), Organic 100 % Fruit Juice Boxes. We bring A LOT because there are 6 of us and it usually lasts us through the week. It is SO important to eat breakfast on vacation, especially when you are walking around, or being really active all day.

Lunch & Dinner

When you’re on vacation, lunch and dinner is one of those iffy meals. You’re usually out all day and just want to grab something quick. Me too. I totally get it. So when you’re out, just be smarter in the choices you make.

• Get water or unsweetened iced tea instead of soda
• Swap a salad or fruit for chips or fries
• If getting salads or entrees heavy on sauce, ask for the dressing or sauce on the side so you can control the amount you use.
• Ask for a to go box when they bring your food to pack up half for instant portion control. Savor the food you eat, don’t eat all of it just because it is there!

Desserts 

I really have no “restrictions” on dessert I will say, If you are going somewhere new, don’t eat stuff you can get back home. Try the things you can only have there!

Snacks

More Apples, Granola Bars, Baked Pita Chips, 100% Fruit Juice, and of course the occasional treat In Disneyland my treats are churros, pretzels, or Mickey shaped Ice Cream Bars Yum!

Water

Yeah, water. I think it’s the best thing you can do on vacation to keep hydrated! So many times people forget to just drink water! It will keep your energy levels up all day. Bring water bottles or a reuseable water bottle you can bring with you all day.

All in all, it’s important to stay healthy on vacation, but it’s also important to enjoy all of the special food you only get to have on vacation! You should NEVER pass up something because it’s not “healthy”. Enjoy everything you eat and savor all the specialties while you can! I think everything I said is very healthy, but it’s even healthier to recognize that vacation isn’t always about eating perfectly. It’s about finding a balance of your health. Enjoy your vacation!