heartyspoonful

"Expect problems and eat them for breakfast."

- Alfred A. Montapert

• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Fruits of choice for topping
• Peanut butter

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, chia seeds, banana, cinnamon and almond milk. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When ready to eat, top with fruits and peanut butter. Heat in the microwave if desired.

Enjoy! xx

"Chocolate is not cheating! After a salty meal, you need a little bit of sweet. This is living, not cheating."

- Ali Landry

• 1 cup spelt flour *
• 1 flax egg or chia egg
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• Pinch of salt 
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted **
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life Foods)
• 8 Oreo cookies (or Oreo-style cookies)
• Splash of almond milk, as needed

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together shredded zucchini, coconut oil, flax egg, white vinegar and sugar.

Pour the dry ingredients with the large ingredients. Don't overmix. If you think the consistency of the batter isn't right enough, add almond milk until desired consistency is achieved.

Pour half of the batter in the pan. Crush 4 Oreo cookies and layer onto the batter. Add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Pour the rest of the batter and repeat with the remaining cookies and chocolate chips.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

* - I used spelt flour only because I had this on hand. I assume whole wheat and all-purpose flour will work as well.
** - Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature so coconut oil won't harden.

Enjoy! xx

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar/coconut  sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp vanilla coconut yoghurt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

If you're using coconut oil, make sure all your other ingredients are at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cake pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together coconut yoghurt, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Once mixed, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Add in raspberries. Make sure not to overmix.

Pour the batter on prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Enjoy! xx

"People have got to learn: if they don't have cookies in the cookie jar, they can't eat cookies."

- Suze Orman

• 1 cup frozen chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp or more almond milk, as needed
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Make sure that all liquid ingredients are at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together chickpea flour, rolled oats, salt, baking soda and chocolate chips.

Add liquid ingredients: coconut oil, maple syrup and almond milk. Mix well together.

Make 12 cookies. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Let cool before serving.

Enjoy! xx

"You are the French to my toast."

• 2 slices of bread of choice (I chose a quinoa sandwich bread) 
• 1/4 cup almond milk 
• Dash of cinnamon 
• Almond butter or peanut butter 
• Jam of choice 
• Coconut oil 

Make a regular nut butter and jam sandwich. If desired, add some banana slices as well.

Next, one a shallow plate or bowl, pour almond milk and whisked in cinnamon. Soak your sandwich until fully covered.

Heat the coconut oil on a pan. Once hot, cook your toast, making sure that you get all sides.

Once cooked, top with fruits like strawberries and banana slices and of course, drizzle lovingly with maple syrup.

Enjoy! xx

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

- Jim Davis

• 2 cups of grated carrots, loosely packed 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or mylk of choice)
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup applesauce 
• 1 tsp lemon juice 

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup raisins or walnuts 

Cashew Frosting:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight 
• 3 tbsp almond milk (add more as needed)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
• 2 tbsp maple syrup 

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add together grated carrots, brown sugar, maple syrup and olive oil. Let stand for a few minutes. In a blender, pulse together applesauce, almond milk, lemon juice and flax seeds. Add to the grated carrots mixture and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the dry mixture with the liquid ingredients. Careful not to overmix. Fold in raisins and walnuts, if using. If you're having difficulty getting all the dry ingredients to mix properly, add a splash of almond milk until desired consistency of the batter is attained.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread consistently. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

Whilst the carrot cake is baking, prepare the cashew frosting. Blend together all cashew frosting ingredients until smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup as desired. Let sit in fridge whilst the carrot cake bakes.

Once the cake is cool, spread the frosting on top. Add as much as you want!

Enjoy! xx

"I think of dieting, then I eat pizza."

- Lara Stone

• 1 1/3 cups wholewheat flour
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a pizza pan with olive oil and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

• Add olive oil and water. Mix until a round dough is formed. If the mixture doesn't combine as well as you would like, add more water. Start with a teaspoon at a time and take it from there. Don't be afraid to use your hands. 

When ready, on a flat surface like a wooden cutting board, knead your dough until the texture is non-tacky and smooth. It usually takes 10 minutes to fully knead your dough to form into a big ball.

• Pizza sauce (I used leftover pasta sauce)
• Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Red onion
• Corn
• Pineapple
• Basil
• Vegan cheese
• Nutritional cheese
• Tofu or tempeh
• Olives
• Zucchini
• Tomatoes
• And I'm sure the list goes on!

Enjoy! xx