heartyspoonful

"So you have your price. Your soul for a cookie."

- James Patterson

I'm all about easy baking these days. When you wake up at 4:30 in the morning to squeeze in a workout and get back home at 7 in the evening, you know you need a quick recipe to fix a sugar craving. So getting creative is a must!

I'm trying to cut down on refined sugar and incorporating natural sugar into my cooking. Usually, I use bananas and homemade applesauce as a substitute. I think it works perfectly given that I'm not a fan of very sweet treats. If I want something sweeter, I'll use rice malt syrup or maple syrup, but even then, just a little bit. Now my mum understands why we always have very ripe bananas in the pantry. Cannot get enough.


Thumbprint Cookies
Makes 9 cookies

Recipe:

• 2 cups gluten-free oats 
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• Homemade jam (or jam of choice)
• Dark chocolate
• Peanut butter, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In a food processor, pulse the oats until coarsely grounded. Make sure not too refined.

In a medium bowl, mix together oats, bananas and cinnamon. Form round balls and with a small spoon, create a well in the middle.

Scoop in some jam or dark chocolate.  Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.

Cool using a rack. Then drizzle with peanut butter if desired.

Enjoy xx

"Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive."

- Joanne Harri, Chocolat

• 2 medium avocado
• 1/4-1/3 cup nut milk of choice
• 2 tbsp carob powder/cocoa powder
• 3 medjool dates (or more as to your liking)
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• Dash of cinnamon 

 In a food processor or blender, place all ingredients and blend until smooth.

Transfer in glasses and chill before serving.

Top with fresh fruits, coconut yoghurt. Serve and enjoy. 

xx

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."

- Linda Grayson

Imagine this: You're in high school and all your chums are snacking on bars like Special K or Nature Valley or Kasha. Then, there you are, sticking out like a sore thumb because you're snacking on a banana and an apple. Possibly the strangest things you can find in a high school. After much argument with your mother, you finally convinced her to purchase aforementioned snack bars because, as you retorted, they're quite "convenient." As if a banana is that much of a nuisance. After a few weeks of snacking on sugared, artificial and highly processed granola bars, you realised you're craving more whole foods. Get back in there, banana.

These days, there's a cycle in my snacking. Sometimes, I just snack on fresh fruits, bringing with me containers of strawberries, kiwis, pineapples, oranges, etc. Every day, my bag contains a banana. It's the best 10 am snack -- it fills you up, but not enough that you won't want to have lunch in a decent hour. At other times, I do like to reach for vegan snack bars, such as Larabars and Nakd bars. It's all about balance and giving your body what it wants, not about eating what others around you are consuming just because you don't want to feel left out.

In the past week, I bought quinoa puffs out of curiousity. I'm not much of a cereal person for breakfast. Not filling enough. So after much use of Google so search for recipes to inspire my own kitchen experimentation, I came up with my recipe for quinoa puff bars. It helped that I was also going through a chocolately phase. These are easy to make and quite convenient. It doesn't hurt that they're yummy, too!

P.S. I was inspired by Delicious Ella's concoction. 

Quinoa Snack Bars
Makes 8 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 and a half cup quinoa puffs (unflavoured)
• 5 tbsp coconut oil, unmelted
• 4.5 tbsp brown rice syrup *
• 1/4 cup carob powder *
• 2.5 tbsp tahini *
• 1 tsp cinnamon

In  small pot, melt together the coconut oil, brown rice syrup, carob powder, tahini and cinnamon. Make sure that once hot lower the heat so your mixture doesn't burn.  In medium bowl, place quinoa puffs. Once the liquid mixture has completely melted, pour into the quinoa puffs and stir until incorporated.

Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper. Pour the quinoa puff mixture into the loaf pan and freeze for 30 minutes. Slice into bars and enjoy!

*You can also use maple syrup, agave nectar, if you wish. As for the carob powder, you can susbtitute with cocoa powder, but since carob powder has a sweeter taste, use 1/3 cup of cocoa powder instead. If you wish to use any kind of nut butter, you may do so.

xx

"Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort."

- Jane Austen

I seek adventure, truly. I'm a wanderlust at heart. Travelling is the essence of my soul; nothing makes my heart beat as loud as discovering new places and learning about different cultures. My blood gets pumping when I plan a new trip. I can't help but smile when I think of new prospects. Just the idea of setting food on new soils, unknown until that very moment, fires me, my source of energy.

But sometimes, life decides to take a turn and leads you to a dark place, where sorrow is king and hope is a pupper. That's where I am right now... My 25th year on Earth has been the most difficult one yet and I feel like a fish out of water. For once, my strength is being tested and I'm learning just how much I can take before breaking down. But I realised, or at least I'm realising, that we never really know what tomorrow will bring. So I'm hopeful. All my plans are at a halt at the moment. I'm being less selfish and I'm opening my heart to the person who really needs and deserves my undivided attention--my dad.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's song "Home" is one of my favourite songs. They sing (happily) that "home is wherever I'm with you." And I agree, I think home isn't always a tangible thing. It isn't always a place. It can be a state of mind, a feeling. Presently, home is here, where I am, where my dad is, where my family is. I'm trying to forgive myself for ever thinking how unlucky I've been for having my dad be taken ill and have my life plans put on hold. I've selfishly thought that I'm not living up to my potential and chasing my dreams, that my life is over, when there's this wonderful man with me right now whose life has already been sentenced by a doctor.

What do you do when you come to realise that you've unleashed your version of the Hulk? You take some time off work, spend more time with your family, ground yourself, find your centre, cry, laugh, write, read, cook, eat, and just live as simply as you can. De-clutter. Weed out all the painful thoughts, the crippling what-ifs and maybes that rest heavy in your heart. You run and do yoga and meditate. You watch movies, even the bad ones for guilty pleasure. You try something new and expand the limits of your comfort zone.

And did I say cook already? Yes, cook. Simply. Quickly. Even whilst doing something else. And this meal gives you exactly that opportunity because, I'll be honest, I don't have the best attention span. I think too much and if I don't have to, I let my discipline fall down 10 notches. Thus, the easiest lunch has been borne by my personality. Funnily enough. (P.S. You should know that I'm terrible at measuring exactly. I go with the flow in cooking.)

Nourishing Zoodle Bowl
Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 large courgette/zucchini
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/3 cup green peas
• 1/3 cup corn 
• 5 baby tomatoes
• 1 small sweet potato
• Tahini 

Bake sweet potato in a preheated overn at 400C for 50 minutes to an hour, until soft.

Using a spiraliser, make your zuchinni noodles. If using frozen peas and corn, cook as directed. Remember to run through cold water to avoid soggy vegetables. Slice baby tomatoes as desired.

In a salad bowl, throw in the baby spinach, then add the zoodles, mashed baked sweet potato, peas, corn and tomatoes. Drizzle with tahini.

Enjoy!

xx

"I don't have to tell you I love you. I fed you pancakes."

- Kathleen Flinn

I know it's been a while. I've neglected a lot of my interests these past few months due to some personal grievances. But, at last, I decided to dig up some effort from the well in my heart and exercise my love for writing.

Funny thing is I've actually been writing a lot these past two months. Mostly, I write diary-like entries, a bit of, I'll admit it, cheesy poetry, and some unfinished short stories. My brain's been off in so many directions, which is why everything's left undone. Sadly. 

But I digress, so my excuses. One thing that hasn't really changed is my love for pancakes. Mostly just on Sundays. A girl still has to fit in her clothes. Usually, I use buckwheat flour for my pancakes, but I wanted to try a gluten-free all purpose flour. It's my first time using this flour, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I prefer the consistency. Plus, it doesn't have the somewhat stronger taste of buckwheat flour. More for me, I suppose.

Of course, if I feed you pancakes, you know I love you. Well, if I feed you anything at all, really. 

So here goes.

Gluten-Free Pancakes
Serving: 1

Dry Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of cinnamon 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 flaxseed egg (1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp of water)
• 1/2 of a banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup almond milk

In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together all liquid ingredients. Pour wet into dry and mix until incorporated.

Heat a non-stick pan with coconut oil. Cook pancake batter 1/4 cup at a time. Turn pancakes to the other side when bubbles appear. Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruits.

Makes roughly 5 pancakes.

Enjoy

xx

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and comes home to find it."

- George A. Moore

"I live alone, with cats, books, pictures, fresh vegetables to cook, the garden, the hens to feed."

- Jeanette Winterson

 Though I am healthy, with my diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, I continued to suffer from bloating. It's, I believe, one of the most uncomfortable feelings. You just feel heavy all the time and though you work out regularly and eat consciously, it still feels as if you need to lose some extra pounds. The culprit? The bounty of fruits  I have been consuming. The fibrous nature of fruits caused some havoc to my digestive tract. From some research and as adviced by my nutritionist, I am now balancing my daily intake with more vegetables and healthy fats. I have changed my diet for two weeks now and I feel better. I know this will be a journey for me as I cannot get enough fruit, but I know that it is for the best.

As a result, my daily intake has evolved. I no longer have oatmeal with a topful of fruits every single day anymore. Nor do I snack on fruits all day long and eat more after dinner. Mind you, fruits are nutritious, but as the saying goes, too much of anything is bad. When I do have oatmeal for breakfast, I add in grated courgette or carrots and top it with one kind of fruit, such as figs. I also have scrambled tofu or veggie stir-fry. My go-to on a busy morning is mashed avocado with cherry tomatoes and sriracha. I snack daily on mixed nuts and superfoods such as golden berries, goji berries and mulberries. I also make flourless desserts to satisfy a sweet craving. Not too shabby, right?

Without further ado, here's a sample of a savoury breakfast that I now enjoy.

Veggie Breakfast Mix
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 courgettes, sliced
• 1 orange/yellow/red capsicum, diced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 can chick peas, rinsed thoroughly
• 1 cup edamame, soaked
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Coconut oil
• 1 tsp each dried oregano, basil 
• Dash of chili/paprika, optional
• Splash of almond milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt & pepper, to taste

1. In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, heat coconut oil. When hot, add in diced onion. When slightly brown, add capsicum. 
2. As the pepper softens, add both the carrots and the splash of almond milk in order for the carrots to soften and to add some "creamy" flavour. 
3. Next, stir in courgette. When softened, mix in chick peas and edamame. 
4. Add in the dried herbs and apple cider vinegar. Continue to stir. 
5. When all the vegetables are cooked enough, add the spinach and stir until it's wilted. 
6. Enjoy 

Cheers
xx