Happy Friday! I felt like this work week has gone by so fast - not quite as fast as last week's three day work week, but still quick! I have a feeling that's how the entire month of December is going to feel. I don't know about you guys, but I always get in sweet tooth + baking moods on the weekends - especially in the fall and winter when it gets cooler out. One way that I satisfy it without getting off track with my daily macro and calorie goals? Baking healthy of course! A few of my healthy swaps are using fruit and cinnamon to naturally sweeten baked goods up, using oats instead of white flour, and including sweeteners like maple syrup instead of refined sugar. Today's recipe includes all of those tricks! I first made this apple almond crumble a few months ago. ... [Read More]
vegan recipes
Chocolate Cake Batter Chia Energy Bites {vegan + gf}
Energy bites are a favorite snack in my household. I've even turned my immediate family on the east coast onto energy bites, because I'm always whipping them up when I visit as a healthy snack to have around. And as a big fan of keeping things interesting in the kitchen and in life in general, I'm always coming up with new energy bite combinations. Today I've got a new one to share: chocolate cake batter chia energy bites! Made with oats, plant-based protein powder and chia seeds, these vegan, gluten free bites pack a nutritious punch. They get their cake batter flavor thanks to the combo of cashew butter, cinnamon, vanilla and cocoa, and are sweetened with dates and maple syrup. They're the perfect little bite to hold you over until a meal or give you some quick ... [Read More]
Pumpkin Apple Banana Muffins {vegan}
Packed with apple, pumpkin, banana and cinnamon, and free of refined sugar, these healthy vegan muffins make for a great autumn snack, small breakfast, or guilt-free dessert! One of my favorite September activities is apple picking. But since it's pretty warm and summery feeling in San Diego in September, sometimes I forget that the apple orchards are ready to be visited. A few years we've been too late in the apple picking game and either a.) go when the orchards are pretty picked over, or b.) miss apple picking all together (like last year!). BUT NOT THIS YEAR! Nope, in 2016 I was on high apple picking alert! In the San Diego area, the best area to visit for apple picking is Julian - a cute little town I've talked about before. It's about a 75-minute drive from my house, and it's like ... [Read More]
Cherry Pistachio Energy Balls [vegan, gf]
Hi friends! Today we're talking about nuts and balls! ;-) Everyone has their go-to favorite foods that they're constantly eating, and for me, one of those categories is nuts + nut butters. I usually eat a serving of one on the daily. Healthy fats like nuts keep my belly happy & satisfied. Almond butter and peanut butter are my all-time favorites, and I was pretty into cashews & cashew butter for awhile there. Somehow I tend to forget that I like pistachios too. Recently I was about to whip up a batch of energy balls, and instead of using my go-to nuts of choice, I decided to switch it up and break open a bag of pistachios. ... [Read More]
Portobello Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto [vegan + gluten free]
One great thing about having a food blog is that when I want to look up a favorite recipe or get meal planning inspiration, I often can just look it up on my blog (+ lots of my favorite food blogs!). I tend to put recipes that I constantly make on the blog. After all, this is a place where I share my passion of cooking and baking with all of you lovely people. Every now and then, I realize that there's a longtime favorite meal that I've never posted on here. This happened recently when my husband requested asparagus & mushroom risotto for dinner... and when I tried to look up the recipe, I realized it was yet to be shared. I first started making asparagus & portobello mushroom risotto when I found it in the Skinny Bitch cookbook probably a good 5 years ago. At the time ... [Read More]
Chocolate Cake Batter Hemp Super Smoothie [vegan & gf] + Bob’s Red Mill Giveaway!
Hi friends! How's the weather by you? It's feeling pretty hot in SoCal this week! I realize that hot is a relative term and that some might not consider 82 degrees all that hot, but the California sun is STRONG and I don't have air conditioning in my house... (which is a pretty common thing in SoCal) so it gets toasty! Luckily my house has lots of ceiling fans and I have a pool (which is currently 85 degrees!) to keep me cool, but some tell-tale signs of summer lately have been: a.) the fruit in my fruit basket is ripening in the blink of an eye, b.) I took coconut oil out of my kitchen pantry to bake earlier today and it was complete liquid, c.) my plants need some extra loving to stay alive, and d.) I'm drinking smoothies like it's my job. Oh smoothies, you forever have my heart. ... [Read More]