20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, almond, delicious, dessert, easy, side dish, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Nut Butter-Stuffed Chocolate-Dipped Dates

July 17, 2018July 17, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

These nut butter-stuffed, chocolate-dipped dates are like a 14/10 on the amazing scale. 5 Ingredients. No fancy equipment or oven required. Insanely delicious sweet treat.

All you gotta do is crack open some dates, de-pit them, slather their insides with nut butter, squash a whole nut in there (optional, but recommended), dip in some melted chocolate, and finish with sea salt.

A short chill sesh in the freezer later, you have a treat that’s chewy, crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet, and chocolatey. It hits every desirable snack element in one swoop.

Honestly, the result is far better than it has any right to be. It tastes like a snickers but without any artificialness or sugar overload. They’re actually kind of like a lazy version of my favorite-ever Sunbutter Caramel Date Truffles with Sea Salt.

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dinner, easy, fast, health, healthy, hummus, nutritional yeast, vegan, vegetarian

Easy Pesto Hummus Pasta

July 12, 2018July 12, 2018by Katherine Baker1 Comment

Meet your new favorite quick and super satisfying meal: easy Pesto Hummus Pasta! And guess what? If you’re a hummus lover, it’s probable you have everything you need to make it right now!

This recipe has a multitude of admirable qualities: 1) It comes together very quickly. 2) It’s one of the easiest “home cooked” meals you can make. 3) It’s super customizable based on what’s already in your kitchen. 4) It’s delicious and satisfying!

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20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, delicious, dessert, easy, fruit, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian

Vegan Peanut Butter Fluff

July 7, 2018July 8, 2018by Katherine Baker1 Comment

You know what I adore? Fruit. And sweet graham cracker munchies. Like Teddie Grahams or Trader Joe’s Cinnamon School Book Cookies. Yum. Give me all the sweet (but not too sweet) carbs. And what better to dip all of these carbs in than Vegan Peanut Butter Fluff? Nada, that’s what.

This super easy Vegan Peanut Butter Fluff dip was inspired by fluffy fruit dips from my childhood. I remember raging on fruit and graham crackers with this mysterious white sweet fluffy dip and wondering what the heck it was.

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appetizer, dinner, easy, entertaining, fiesta, healthy, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian, veggie burger

Some Vegan Memorial Day Recipes

May 28, 2018June 26, 2018by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

Happy Memorial Day! It occurred to me recently that I’ve never done a recipe round-up post, so I thought I’d take this holiday opportunity to do one. So here are some Vegan Memorial Day Recipes to bring to a BBQ!

Also, dog parents, be sure to watch your little ones during fire works if they aren’t fanss of them (Millie flips out and tries to hide).

Let me know if you try any of these Vegan Memorial Day recipes and let me know whatcha thing! HMU on insta or twitter.

1. Black Rice Beet Veggie Burgers

With rich umami flavors from black rice, sweetened up with beets, these veggie burgers are an eye-catching main dish.

2. Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

My favorite side ever. Serve with guac, hummus, or almond butter!

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5-ingredients, appetizer, easy, healthy, nutritional yeast, vegan, vegetarian

Easy Everything Bagel Fries

May 18, 2018May 20, 2018by Katherine Baker4 Comments

HECK YEAH it’s another potato post. Potatoes just happen to be my favorite food, and ever since it’s debut, I’ve been obsessed with Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning salt. Hence, today I share with you these easy oven-baked everything bagel fries.

These came about on a Thursday evening as I was trying to use up the last 2 potatoes in a 5-pound bag I had purchased Sunday. A quick math calculation made me realize I average eating about a potato a day. I’m more than okay with this statistic.

Anyways, I was texting with my dear friend Caty about her recent appreciation of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning Salt, and suddenly, my own craving for the stuff set in. Fresh out of avocado (my go-to for an Everything But the Bagel Seasoning Salt), I decided to wedge up my taters and make everything bagel fries in the oven.

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20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, easy, fast, health, healthy, olive oil, pasta, vegan, vegetarian, whole grains

Pasta with Charred Cherry Tomatoes, Broccolini and Vegan Parmesan

February 26, 2018February 27, 2018by Katherine Baker1 Comment

Pastaaaaa. I have been craving pasta for quite some time now. I don’t know why. Probably because carbs = love.

Pasta has always been one of my favorite foods. I grew up with an Italian grandma and her penne arrabiata with charred peppers was the best.thing.ever. It has ruined almost all other pastas I’ve had since. Nothing like what Oma cooked up. Somewhere I have her recipe for her sauce. I can never make it quite like she did though…must be that Italian grandma magic.

I decided to make some pasta with some leftover veggies I got to take home from an event. I roasted up some cauliflower, broccolini, and tomatoes on Friday, and while I was eating them, the deliciousness of the roasted tomatoes just called for pasta.

I was too lazy and hungry to make it at the time, but today I cooked up some whole wheat noodles, paired it with steamed broccoli, a bit of olive oil and lemon juice, salt & pepper, a bunch of Vegan Hemp Parmesan, and the real MVP, the charred tomatoes.

Super simple, very flavorful, and far from over-complicated. The way Italian-inspired food should be, as far as I’m concerned.

Let’s talk pasta for a minute, shall we? At some point society demonized the glorious stuff. The thing is, there is nothing inherently significantly worse about pasta than many other forms of carbohydrates, especially when it’s whole grain.

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5-ingredients, appetizer, easy, fast, healthy, snack, sweet, sweet potato, sweet potatoes, vegan, vegetarian

Cripsy Sweet Potato Wedges with Almond Butter

February 11, 2018February 26, 2018by Katherine Baker3 Comments

Helloooo my favorite snack ever! If you’ve known me for any length of time you probably know that my favorite food on earth is the wonderful sweet potato. Regular. Japanese. Red. Purple. I’ll take ’em all. Carb me.

I am a sweet potato maniac. When I was a kid I would walk around with a baked sweet potato in my hand, eating it as if it were an apple. I was cool. Between that and being the only elementary school kid drinking soy milk (because milk did and does give me the worst gas ever) I had a lot of friends. I promise.

One of my favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes is with almond butter. Something about the nuttiness of almond butter plays so well off the savory sweetness of sweet potatoes.

Lately I’m very into making sweet potato wedges. For years, I pretty much exclusively made baked sweet potatoes and ate them whole. But lately I’m on a wedge kick. Bonus: sweet potato wedges are perfect for dipping, in my case in AB.

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5-ingredients, easy, fast, fruit, healthy, Uncategorized, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Easy Homemade Chia Jam

February 3, 2018February 26, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

I love me a PB&J. Or an almond butter and J. Both are wonderful. And something I feel I appreciate more as an adult than as a child. Anyone else? Okay, maybe just me.

While I’m a nut butter fiend, I also appreciate a scrumptious jam or jelly. The issue, I find, with many at the store is that they’re so darn sweet.

I’m all about desserts, but when it comes to breakfast foods like yogurt, jams, and oatmeals, I’m very turned off but overly sweet things. Hence, I seek out sweetened-with-only-fruit jams (Crofter’s Organic is my favorite brand, and Trader Joe’s has some good options, as well) or I make my own homemade chia jam.

Chia seed jam is the easiest thing ever. All you do is add chopped up fruit, chia seeds, and a hint of lemon juice if you’re feeling fancy. If you want to up the sweetness factor, go ahead and add a tablespoon or two of sugar, honey, or syrup.

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5-ingredients, delicious, dessert, easy, fast, no bake, vegan

Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Bark with Sea Salt

January 9, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

Last night I was cleaning out the fridge/freezer/pantry (party) and started making a bunch of random things to use up odds and ends to help the organization process along.

I whipped up some dark chocolate hazelnut bark with sea salt and was SUPER thrilled with the result. Chocolate + nuts + salt = my favorite. So obviously, I was into this.

It was a spontaneous creation, but so good, and so simple, I decided to snap some phone pics today to put it on the blog in case anyone needs some #inspo for an easy yet impressive homemade chocolate treat.

This is basically a no-recipe recipe. You can use whatever nuts you fancy. Or you can add in some chopped figs/dates if you like. You really can’t mess it up.

No matter what you add, you’ll end up with delicious, rich, chocolate bark. It’s impressive to put on a plate at gatherings (so long as you keep it elevated if you have doggos) and/or bring to a party or dinner. It also takes minimal effort and is perfect for using up odds and ends in your baking pantry.

I hope you make this bark and I hope you love it. Let me know if you do! Tag or DM me on Insta (@katherinebaker4) or leave a comment below.

Peace, love, and salty nutty chocolate!

Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Bark with Sea Salt

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Freezer Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 1-4, depending on how much you like chocolate

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped dark chocolate (or one bag dark chocolate chips) – I used Dark Chocolate Lover’s bar from Trader Joe’s
1 1/2 cups toasted or raw (based on your flavor preference, I used raw) whole or chopped hazelnuts, plus additional handful chopped for topping (about 1 3/4 cup total)
1-2 tablespoon flakey sea salt

Method:

Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
Melt dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl using medium-high heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment until melted. This will take about 90-180 seconds, depending on your microwave.
Stir in 1 1/2 cup hazelnuts. Chop additional handful for garnish and set aside.
Spread mixture over prepared baking pan.
Sprinkle chopped hazelnuts and sea salt over the top of the hazelnut bark.
Place bark in freezer for at least 20 minutes or refrigerator for 60 minutes to set.
Break bark into rough pieces with hands.
Store in refrigerator in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

20 minutes or less, delicious, dessert, easy, fast, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian, whole grains

Easy Vegan Gingerbread People

December 23, 2017December 23, 2017by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

Happiest of holidays to you! Are you ready for some easy vegan gingerbread cookies and/or dog pics? Great! Keep reading.

Finals are over which means it is BAKING SEASON (cue creepy Pillsbury dough-boy laugh). If I am ignoring your calls and texts and have seemingly disappeared into the abyss, assume it is because my hands are covered in (vegan) butter and cookie crumbs until further notice.

As much of a pessimistic Pauly as I can be, I really love the holidays. And the excuse to bake in excess is among the many reasons I relish this season (I also love being cozy, drinking copious amounts of hot chocolate, spending time with fam, and watching The Santa Claus and Home Alone 2).

Presently I’m watching Relationsheep (#Bravofan5ever) as I quickly type up this post. Then it’s back to cleaning, gift wrapping, and doing a bunch of work (non-school related) that I pushed onto the back burner until finals had ended.

But I thought I’d take a pause from my grind to share these easy vegan gingerbread people. These literally took about 10 minutes to throw together, and an additional 8-10 to bake. They were almost too easy making them the perfect cookie to whip up last minute for a gathering, and/or the perfect treat to satisfy a random gingerbread craving (which, personally, I have on occasion).

If you’d like to dress them up with some icing, by all means do your thing. I’m currently digging them plain, paired with a wicked cup of cocoa or a alongside a cold brew iced coffee. Mmmm.

If you don’t want the fuss of rolling out cookie dough, you can certainly bake these in dough balls with a dusting of raw sugar. This is a delicious option and gives the cookies a yummy chewy tummy middle.

I hope you give these cookies a whirl and love them as much as I do! If you make them, tag me on Insta (@katherinebaker4). I’d love to see them IRL!

Many more posts coming your way this weekend/upcoming week! In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of my dog in a Mrs. Claus outfit her grandma bought her from Walgreens. Happiest of holidays to you!

Easy Vegan Gingerbread People

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Servings: 8-10 people, depending on the size of your cookie cuter

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened vegan butter (I like Earth Balance baking sticks)
1 tablespoon ground flax + 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup + 1 additional tablespoon molasses (note: these are molasse-y cookies, since I love the taste of molasses. If you want them a little less molasses-heavy, sub the additional tablespoon for water)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat baking flour (can sub additional all-purpose, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place flax and water in a small bowl and allow to thicken, at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cream together softened butter and brown sugar using an electric mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add molasses and flax egg and mix again.
Combine flours, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together.
Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Form dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for ease of rolling (optional, but highly recommended; you can also pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes if you’re short on time).
Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters as desired. Place shapes on a lined baking sheet. For non-shaped cookies, you can also roll dough into balls, sprinkle with raw sugar, and place onto a lined baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes until just golden. Allow to cool before eating or icing.
Enjoy!

PS – If you want more gingerbread goodness, try this yummy Nutty Gingerbread Granola!