breakfast

Recent Vegan Eats: Quarantine Edition 2

May 2, 2020 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Hi friends! Happy weekend to you. I’m back with another ‘recent vegan eats’ post. If you’re new around here, in this mini series, I share some of the things I have eaten and happened to have photographed in the past several weeks.

As with all posts in this series, this entry is not meant to depict an ideal or healthful diet. In fact, it’s worth noting that this isn’t everything I’ve eaten lately; it’s simply what I’ve happened to photograph with my phone. I simply do these posts to provide entertainment and perhaps some new meal and snack inspirations for fellow vegans and/or my part-time or veg-curious friends.

I apologize for the slight slow down in posts the past couple of weeks. It’s a super busy time of the academic year, and a lot of my life has been all over the place which has left me feeling a bit out of sorts.

Anyways, if you’d like to watch me talk in circles about climate change and zoonotic diseases for 17 minutes, check out this Q&A I did with Planet Forward yesterday.

And now back to the eats! I hope you enjoy! Now onto the recent vegan eats: quarantine edition 2!

Homemade bread

I forgot bread in my most recent grocery pick-up order, so I improvised and made this bread, which was really easy and really satisfying. I ate it all over a couple days, with nut butter and syrup pictured above, and with hummus and avocado (below).

Amy’s Vegetable Soup, salad + more homemade bread

I was craving Panera one rainy evening, and so I heated up a can of Amy’s, made a quick side salad (with a random leftover boiled potato), and enjoyed with more fresh home baked bread. It did the trick!

More bread with Thai Curry Hummus and Avocado

I really ate my loaf of bread quickly! This was a scrumptious quick meal: two thick slices of my homemade bread (toasted) with Hope Foods Thai Curry hummus (which is so incredibly flavorful) and avocado. Paired with a nice green side salad for some veg.

Black Bean, sweet potato and corn salad bowl

I whipped up this fun bowl one evening with a bed of rice topped with mixed greens, some roasted sweet potatoes (seasoned with cayenne, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper), some black beans I cooked from dried in the instant pot with a bay leave, oregano, cumin, and cayenne, some Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn, and some random leftover tortilla strips I had from a Trader Joe’s salad kit. Delicious!

Kung Pao Bowl

I had half a bag of Trader Joe’s Kung Pao Tempura Cauliflower in my freezer that I wanted to use up, so I baked it up all crispy and served it over a mix of wild and cauliflower rice, steamed frozen veggies, and some random leftover black beans, which totally ‘don’t go’ with the meal, but I wanted to use them up, and they helped me add in a bit of protein to an otherwise lower-in-protein meal.

And I drizzled the extra Kung Pao sauce and some buffalo sauce all over the top. The result was a bowl full of deliciousness.

This was a nice change of pace. The sweet-sticky spicy tempura cauliflower is truly something I wouldn’t make from scratch on a regular basis, so the crispy florets of joy really made for a special meal.

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Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins

March 22, 2020 by Katherine Baker 2 Comments

Hi everyone! I thought I’d share some non-pandemic-related content on the blog today. I took some time to myself this weekend; I walked the dog, and I baked (these Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins), and I made a delicious black bean potato soup in the Instant Pot. A decent time was had, considering the rapidly-evolving public health crisis we face, as we all grapple with adjusting to our new normals.

There I go again. Even when I try not to talk about it, I somehow circle the conversation back to what’s happening. It’s just hard not to, since it impacts all of us with such gratitude.

But now back to muffins. Specifically, Easy Vegan Banana Oat Muffins that I whipped up with a couple pantry ingredients in a matter of minutes.

It felt really good to bake, and to eat a wholesome, homemade baked good. There is something irreplaceable about home-baked muffins, breads, an desserts, and I hadn’t delighted myself to a wholesome homemade baked good in some time. In fact, the last wholesome thing I made was these Vegan Breakfast Bars back in January.

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Vegan Breakfast Cookies (Gimme! Coffee Inspired)

December 31, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Hi Internet friends! Today we are making Easy Vegan Breakfast Cookies, which are inspired by ‘Vegan Breakfast Bars’ at a coffee shop called Gimme! Coffee.

The last several months have a lot. A lot of change, homesickness, and struggle. But there have also been a couple bright moments in the past couple months.

Notably, a wee micro-chain coffee shop called Gimme! Coffee has brought joy into my life on more than one occasion.

Gimme! has truly excellent iced coffee (strong, but still highly drinkable), as well as a variety of scrumptious vegan baked goods, my favorite being the ‘Vegan Breakfast Bar’.

Basically, the Vegan Breakfast Bar is an oat puck filled with warm spices, dried fruit, and pumpkin seeds. The first time I had it, I started dissecting the ingredients in my brain so I could attempt to make some at home.

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Gluten-Free Vegan Buckwheat Waffles

September 11, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Holy cow! I haven’t posted a recipe in a minute (well, since this epic vegan chocolate pudding recipe a couple of weeks ago). Honestly, I just haven’t been cooking a lot of new or creative things lately during this crazy move/transition time. My days have been busy and my mind has been preoccupied so lately meals and snacks have been reliable, simple, quick-to-prepare old standbys. But I was going through my computer’s desktop and found a folder of photos of these gluten-free vegan buckwheat waffles I took over a month ago (back in Wisco) and remembered I snapped pics with the intention of posting the recipe, but never got around to it!

So here we are! Gluten-free vegan buckwheat waffles. This is my go-to buckwheat waffle recipe. I use a combination of buckwheat and oat flours for these waffles. I have found using only buckwheat flour yields dense, bitter waffles. Oat flour helps make the waffles lighter, fluffier, and my neutral in flavor, while keeping them gluten-free (if that’s important to you).

Applesauce adds moisture and a hint of sweetness. If you don’t have apple sauce, canned pumpkin puree should also work, although the flavor will be a bit less sweet, and a bit more umami. But maybe that’s what you’re into. Savory gluten-free vegan buckwheat waffles with a bowl of veggie chili perhaps? Sign me the frick up!

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The Best Vegan Chocolate Pudding

August 24, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Looking for the best vegan pudding recipe of all times? You’re in the right place. This pudding is 100% vegan, easy to make, naturally sweetened, and contains only a handful of ingredients.

Bonus: this vegan pudding is actually pretty darn good for you! The pudding is rich in protein, calcium, iron, and magnesium, thanks to the tofu and cocoa powder.

This pudding is both nourishing and tastes decadently delicious, making it a perfect anytime treat. Eat it for breakfast with nuts and chopped fruit for some quality fuel, or top it with some coconut whipped cream or non-dairy whipped topping for a luscious dessert.

This pudding is actually a refreshed version of the original “Best Vegan Chocolate Pudding” recipe from yesteryear, which is also featured in my ebook. The main differences: I swapped white sugar for dates, added some salt for a better balanced pudding, and nixed the cornstarch because I don’t find it necessary.

The result: creamy, dreamy, naturally sweetened vegan chocolate pudding.

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Easy Vegan Gluten-Free Blueberry Flax Muffins Video

July 14, 2019 by Katherine Baker 2 Comments

If you didn’t know, the recipe for these Easy Vegan Gluten-Free Blueberry Flax Muffins is by far the most popular recipe on my blog.

Yesterday I decided to film a little “hands only” cooking video of these little blueberry beauties. The original recipe is here, but I will copy/paste it down below as well.

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Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

June 6, 2019 by Katherine Baker 2 Comments

Oh joy! We have Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, which are carby and nourishing and naturally sweet and banana-y to nosh on for breakfast or as an anytime snack! Aka one of my favorite categories of snack foods. Let’s dive right in.

Today I really wanted something banana bread-esque, but I didn’t feel like birthing an entire loaf of banana bread. Because sometimes, you just want something that’s easy to grab and snack on. Enter these Vegan Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, which are naturally gluten-free!.

I’m a big fan of breakfast-y cookies or baked goods, hence my plethora of recipes for this category of foods, including but not limited to these Oatmeal Almond Butter Blueberry Pancake Cookies and Vegan Strawberry Almond Butter Oatmeal Crumb Bars and these Vegan Blueberry Flax Breakfast Muffins (my most popular recipe on my blog!) Yum.

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Vegan Sweet Potato & Apple Baked Oatmeal

January 9, 2019 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Hello my fine friends! Happy 2019 to you. How’s the weather where you’re at? Here in Wisco, after a long weird warm spell, we have returned to our regularly scheduled January-in-the-midwest programming, with highs in the teens and twenties. I woke up this morning wanting something warm and comforting, and birthed this easy, delicious, Vegan Sweet Potato & Apple Baked Oatmeal out of my oven.

Baked oatmeal is a favorite comfort food of mine. I used to love the hot stepping bowls of Baked Oatmeal at Alterra (RIP) in Milwaukee. I’ll spare you my opinions on the current state of the now-Collectivo chain, and delve into the details behind this luscious, wholesome version of baked oatmeal you can easily make at home.

This Vegan Sweet Potato & Apple Baked Oatmeal starts with rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill, but any will do). From there, mashed sweet potato (I used canned Organic pureed sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin would also work) adds an umami depth and richness, complimented with a healthy, hefty dose of cinnamon.

I sweeten the deal with a shredded apple and a couple tablespoons of maple syrup. Baking powder brings the fluffiness, salt provides some balance, and nuts add both crunch and lasting satiety.

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Pumpkin Peanut Butter Granola Bars

October 20, 2018 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

Hello friends! Quick disclaimer: I came up with this recipe in summer and wanted to ‘save it’ for pumpkin season, but re-take better photos. Photos never happened, but here’s the recipe regardless, with a few mediocre pics! I still wanted to share the recipe, because these easy and scrumptious homemade pumpkin peanut butter granola bars are worth whipping up.

Now, if you’re not into pumpkin spice, fear not. These are not pumpkin spice-y. In fact, the pumpkin flavor is pretty subtle.

Rather than act as the main showboat of the recipe, pumpkin acts as a binder for these granola bars and ensures they stay nice and moist and chewy (the way granola bars should be, in my opinion).

When paired with your favorite nut butter (I used peanut, but use whatever suits your fancy), a splash of maple syrup, and a sprinkle of salt, you’ve got a satisfying, sweet-and-savory way to mix up your snack game.

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Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Protein Bars

September 21, 2018 by Katherine Baker 6 Comments

I have a love for sweet carb-y goodness that fuels me up without making me feel sugared out. Something that will appease my sweet truth, but also make me feel like I’ve eaten real food. That’s why I love things like VVegan Banana Bread, Blueberry Flax Muffins, and Chocolate-Dipped Nut-Butter Stuffed Dates. And now these Chewy Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Protein Bars.

These are made with a secret ingredient – chickpeas! Now, before you abandon this post convinced I’ve gone mad, I promise you can’t really taste them. This is not a sweetened hummus bar (though I’d probably be down to eat that too). This is a neutral-based soft baked bar that is packed with protein, fiber, and flavor.

I’ve done the whole bean-based cookie dough thing before, and enjoyed it quite a bit. Only recently did I think “hey, maybe this will taste good baked!” So here we are.

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