Caramel Walnut Brownies

My niece pointed out on my birthday this weekend that I am now in my "late twenties". Isn't she so nice? But honestly it's not too bad. Late twenties so far has gone on like a great pair of new jeans, and I'm very much okay with that.

So with all the birthday plans this weekend I didn't have time to bake a cake, but I couldn't let my birthday pass without making some chocolatey treat in my honor! I've seen so many recipes for raw vegan brownies floating around my Instagram and they all look soooo delicious, so I decided to give it a try.

These are seriously amazing. I was a little skeptical of how the consistency would be, but they came out so fudgey and gooey I didn't mind one bit that they aren't cakey. Who says you have to have cake on your birthday? Where's the brownie love?!

Raw Caramel Walnut Brownies

Brownies

Adapted from this Deliciously Ella recipe.

1 cup raw pecans

2 cups Medjool dates

4 Tablespoons raw cacao powder

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Dash of Himalayan Pink salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Pulse pecans in your processor until it forms a small pieces that will combine with the dates well. Make sure to take the seeds out of your dates. Ella notes that using Medjool dates is important because they are softer and stickier than other kinds, and this will help hold everything together. Add all the other ingredients to the pecans and blend until it sticks together and forms a ball.

Press the brownies into a small square baking dish lined with parchment or wax paper (I didn't do this and really wish I had when it came time to cut them because they are very gooey!). It helps if your hands are a little wet so they don't stick. (At this point I was really tempted to just eat it all, it's THAT good!) Sprinkle walnuts on top and press them in lightly, since you can't really stir them in. Place in freezer while you make the frosting.

Caramel Frosting

10 pitted Medjool dates

1/2 cup almond milk (you can also use water)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1 tsp maca powder

Pinch of Himalayan Salt

Chopped walnuts

Place all ingredients in your food processor and blend until combined and creamy. This will take a few minutes, and you will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. You can adjust the consistency by adding more or less milk. Be sure to taste it and adjust vanilla, maca, and salt to your liking. Pull the brownies out of the freezer and layer frosting on top. Top with more chopped walnuts. Leave in freezer until set completely, at least two hours. When it's time to serve them up, give them a few minutes at room temp to soften slightly. Store any leftovers in the freezer. This made about 8 medium sized squares.

Can it be my birthday again?

Maca Turmeric Latte

Not being able to drink caffeine can be so sad and lonely. You know those days where you really just need a big fat cup of coffee to keep you going? Or those cold mornings where a warm espresso is there to help lure you out of your cozy bed? Well don't take it for granted that you are able to enjoy those simple pleasures! One cup of caffeinated beverage sends me straight back to bed with a headache like a hangover an a stomach ache to match. I thought I was doomed to be an herbal tea drinker for life, but winter leaves me desperate for some warm creamy drinks that help fulfill that deep dark hole of decaffeinated doom, and I think I've finally perfected a few.

One of the superfoods I've been wanting to try is Maca, as it is a caffeine-free source of energy. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, which makes it a natural mood booster. (This is sounding better than caffeine already!) It has an earthy taste, but it is complemented quite well in this recipe by the spicy turmeric and sweet cinnamon. The combination is a bold flavor for the adventurous palette.

Using aromatic spices like these have tons of health benefits as well. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and cinnamon suppresses appetite. Ginger of course soothes the digestive tract, and cardamom, a relative of both Turmeric and Ginger, is also great for digestion and lowering blood pressure (unlike caffeine). All of these spices are great for overall good health!

Maca Turmeric Latte

2 T raw pecans
1 t maca powder
1/2 t turmeric powder
1/2 t cinnamon
Dash of cardamom
Dash of ginger powder
3 T coconut sugar

Put all ingredients in blender. Add 2 cups hot water and blend on high until combined and creamy. Or use cold water and serve over ice.

Life Changing Bread

I stumbled across the recipe for Life Changing Bread some time ago on Pinterest, and I've made it several times since then. The original recipe was developed by Sarah over at the My New Roots blog, and I highly suggest reading her original blog post, simply because her photos are beautiful, and she provides more information on the ingredients.

I can relate to her love of bread. Like, if I had no self-control I would happily sit down with a sweet loaf of French, or a rustic crunchy baguette, and a stick of butter, and just nom myself into a carb-induced coma.

Part of me deciding to become vegetarian/vegan and eat healthier included reducing the amount of bread I was eating. I knew that I was eating too much bread, so I have made a very conscious effort to cut back. I realize now that it is very much an addiction. Breads, pastries, tortillas... even rice and pasta; they are sneaky. How many slices of bread have you eaten today? How many white carbs take over your meals? It's hard cutting down, but it's necessary. I find that when I get into the habit of eating too many of these things I crave them more. See, addiction.

This loaf of bread is one you can feel good about eating though. It has no flour and is very low in sugar and salt. Plus, it's packed full of nutrient-rich ingredients that are extremely good for your body. It is extremely good topped with avocado and tomato, or with peanut butter and banana. Or Nutella and strawberries, or hummus and bell pepper... or basically anything really!

The Life-Changing Loaf of Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup hazelnuts or almonds
1 ½ cups rolled oats
2 Tbsp chia seeds
4 Tbsp psyllium seed husks (3 Tbsp. if using psyllium husk powder)
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
1 ½ cups water

1. In a bowl combine all dry ingredients, stirring well. Whisk maple syrup, oil and water together in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix very well until everything is completely soaked and dough becomes very thick (if the dough is too thick to stir, add one or two teaspoons of water until the dough is manageable). Spoon into a foil-lined loaf pan and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Let sit out on the counter for at least 2 hours, or all day or overnight. To ensure the dough is ready, it should retain its shape even when you pull the sides of the loaf pan away from it it.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F
3. Place loaf pan in the oven on the middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove bread from loaf pan, place it upside down directly on the rack and bake for another 30-40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing (difficult, but important).
4. Store bread in a tightly sealed container for up to five days. Freezes well too – slice before freezing for quick and easy toast!

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Probably the worst thing ever is not being able to eat solid food. Don't get me wrong, I love my smoothies, but suddenly when I'm not allowed to eat anything else I start dreaming about sushi and burritos and pizza and... I basically turn into Gollum, sitting in the corner of the kitchen stroking a bag of mushrooms saying, "my precioussss."

I had to have minor surgery on my mouth this week, so to avoid crawling into a dark slimy cave I decided to make some noms I could eat without causing too much discomfort. This was the perfect opportunity to try that chocolate avocado pudding that's been haunting my Pinterest feed. Love me some vegan desserts.

So this is basically the easiest pudding I've ever made. And I am going to be anti-American for a second and say that this shit tastes WAY better than Jell-O chocolate pudding. And it is also WAY better for you, seeing as it is completely free of nasty chemicals and artificial sugars and flavors. The avocado provides protein and healthy fats and the cacao packs a powerful superfood punch of antioxidants and energy. I wont tell you that you could eat this for breakfast... but you totally could. Top some oatmeal with it. Sprinkle some granola and berries on top. Put it on top of pancakes, or inside crepes... Okay, I'll stop.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

1 large ripe avocado

1T coconut oil, room temp

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup cacao powder (NOT cocoa powder)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined and creamy.

Garnish with fresh berries or sliced banana.

Serves about 4.

I think I'll go watch Two Towers now, while nomming my preciousss... I mean, my pudding. 

Peanut Butter Cup Vegan Cheesecake

I've been having a ridiculous amount of fun making vegan cheesecakes... nutcakes? Hmm.. we need to coin a term for these beauties. Creamcakes? I dunno, I'll stew on it. (Mmm, stew...)

If you've never made one before, they usually consist of a nut and date crust that is then topped with a cream filling made with soaked cashews and coconut oil/butter. The result is nothing short of genius.
After trying this basic recipe from food blogger Chocolate Covered Katie, I was interested in playing with flavors and textures. Well I may have gotten a bit ambitious when I saw this Create N Plate recipe on Pinterest, but it looked sooo goood. And it is. I adapted it slightly to get more of the peanut butter flavor.

I decided to make them into cupcake size ones so that they would be easier to transport.. because I'm nice and I actually do share my food with other humans. Usually. Not gonna lie though, I thought twice about that gesture with these. 

Cheesecake Crust:

-1 cup dates (about 10 dates) 

-1/2 cup almonds or other nut

-1T PB2

-2T Peanut butter

-Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until it forms a sticky crust. Press into parchment lined 6" springform pan, or cupcake molds in this case, and place in freezer until your filling is ready. You can adjust measurements to get the right consistency. I added the PB2 and Peanut Butter to get the flavor, but you can omit them if you want just a regular crust. 

For the filling on these, I wanted to try to get a creamier texture so I liked that this recipe called for bananas instead of the usual coconut oil. I changed it slightly because I didn't want a strong banana flavor, and after tasting them I think I would omit the banana completely and just use coconut butter. But it's good to know that I can use banana in the base. I also think it would benefit from a little bit of vanilla. 

Filling:

-2 cups raw cashews, soaked for at least two hours in water, then drained

-1 banana

-1/4 cup coconut butter

-3T cacao powder

-2T real maple syrup 

Mix all ingredients in food processor until creamy. Will take about 5 minutes. Spoon and gently press filling onto prepared crust, then place in freezer again for a while until it sets. 

The fun part about this cheesecake recipe? The toppings!! 

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

-1/4 cup plus 2T coconut oil, melted

-1/4 cup cacao powder

-2T agave or maple syrup

-Natural peanut butter

Combine oil, cacao, and sweetener, and spoon enough into mini cupcake molds with liners. Place in freezer until set, about 10 minutes. Drop a bit of peanut butter into the center of each one, then top with more chocolate to cover. Freeze again until set. Store in fridge, and keep cool as the chocolate will melt easily. You can also use the leftover chocolate mixture as a drizzle topping. 

Peanut Butter Sauce

-2T coconut oil, melted

-1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine and drizzle over cakes (or ice cream!).

And there you have it, a delicious Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. No milk, no weird ingredients, just pure love and deliciousness. 

Nom on that my sweet friends!

Amanda

Veggie Spring Rolls

 Thai style... they could be sweet, savory, spicy, bold. They could be well thought out and complex, or just whatever leftover veggies you have in the fridge.

There is a new blog I started following called Plant Based Travelmust say I am quite enjoying following this girl's vegan adventures in Berlin. Food and foreign sights?! Gives me really bad wanderlust, but I love it! A few days ago she posted her first attempt at spring rolls, and it inspired me to not only have them for dinner tonight but to also share a little about how to make your own.

The first thing you want to do is get all your ingredients and chop everything pretty thin. This will help in the rolling process. I like to have some sort of creamy ingredient like avocado, hummus, mango, etc., so it's not all crunchy stuff, but the cool thing about spring rolls is that you can put whatever you want in them!

For assembly, start with a flat work surface to roll on, and have a plate ready to set finished rolls. Run your rice paper circle under water for a few seconds, getting both side wet, then let the excess water drip off. Place your paper on the flat surface, and start laying out all the stuffing ingredients. Remember not to put too much stuff or you will have trouble sealing the ends.

By the time you are done placing the filling, the paper should have gotten soft and a bit stretchy. Start by rolling the bottom up and over the filling, then fold the sides, then just roll that baby up like a newborn in a blanket. These are best eaten immediately, as the paper keeps getting softer and falls apart if left too long. ( One time I tried making spring rolls as a pack out lunch for work and ended up eating them all with a fork because the paper had disintegrated by lunch time.)

These ones took on a sort of Mediterranean flavor, since I didn't have any avocado so I used some hummus. I also put red bell pepper, green onion, shaved carrot, tomato, and some leftover spaghetti squash I needed to use up. But like I said, you can put whatever you want in them. Have fun with it!

I find peanut sauce quite disgusting, but here is my go-to sweet and spicy sauce for when I make spring rolls...

Sweet and Spicy Thai Dipping Sauce:
1 T sriracha or chili sauce
2 T agave
2 T rice vinegar
Mix together, makes one or two servings.

What are your favorite ingredients to put in spring rolls??

Amanda

Banana Chai Smoothie

I'm a bit of a chai snob. Okay, I'm a huge chai snob. I like my chai spicy and bold, not too sweet generally. I find Starbucks chai way too sweet, but Pete's chai very bland. Usually I will brew a cup with a spoonful of honey and a touch of almond milk. Mmm, perfect.

I've been looking for a good chai for a while. Some don't have a strong enough flavor and I end up having to brew 2 or 3 tea bags to taste anything. Some are just laden with cinnamon oil and taste like I brewed a pack of cinnamon gum, bleh.
On my trip to India this past January, I loved going to my brother-in-law's family's house and being greeted by their warm smiles, and hot cups of chai. It was bold, flavorful, not too sweet.. just right. I managed to find a can of loose chai tea in one of the shops, and couldn't wait to bring it home and start brewing! This one has good flavor, but also gets muted by the milk. Maybe I should just skip the milk!? Nah.. that's borderline blasphemy.

Today I had a ripe banana that my mom wouldn't eat (she's one of those crazy people who only eats green bananas... ewww) so I took it and thought, "why not?" and blended it with the cup of chai I had been thinking about all morning, and the result was nothing short of heavenly.

Banana Chai Smoothie:

- 1 ripe banana plus 1 frozen banana

- 1/2 cup brewed chai tea

- splash of almond milk (or other plant based milk)

- dash of cinnamon and ground ginger (optional, to taste)

Blend all together and enjoy! 

It was a nice pick-me-up on this warm and cloudy day. Went perfect with a piece of chocolate on the side! 

What is your favorite brand of chai? 

Amanda