Sometimes I think I could live off of potatoes and bananas and things to dip them in. Seriously. I eat both pretty much every day and never tire of them. The best.
One of my favorite ways to eat bananas is sliced up, topped with cinnamon, hemp hearts, oodles of nut butter, and/or granola. My sister coined this creation “banachos” and the name just stuck (at least in our circle).
This is less of a recipe and more of an idea. I want you to make banachos with whatever you like to eat bananas with.
Today I was craving some comfort. The past few weeks I’ve felt uneasy, and I can’ quite figure out why.
Perhaps it’s a combination of stress of an 18-credit graduate school load, figuring out my summer practicum, some pressing family issues, or the mundaneness I sometimes feel after working on something (whether it be school work, work work, projects, or applications for practicums) from morning til evening with little relief.
Once I cross one thing off my list, it seems, 6 more pop up.
Yesterday I took a break and got brunch at Mathew’s with my good friend Raag. The outing provided not only a delicious meal and good conversation, but a much needed break, some peace of mind, and a fleeting moment or two of comfort.
But today, I was back on the grind. And today, comfort came in the form of Vegan Strawberry Almond Butter Oatmeal Crumb Bars.
I love a sweet but not-too-sweet breakfasty nibble, filled with oats, nut butters, and sometimes fruit to snack on in the afternoon with tea and to have to pack for snacks during the school week.
I wanted something with a soft bottom, a yummy fruity center, and a scrumptious oatmeal crumb topping. Crumb toppings are one life’s finest pleasures, as far as I’m concerned.
I was trying to decide what to bake when I remembered the clearance frozen strawberries I purchased at the store yesterday, and the idea for a Vegan Strawberry Almond Butter Bar with an oatmeal crumb topping came to me. And just like that, I knew I had to make some.
Don’t you love it when you turn on the oven, throw a bunch of stuff in a bowl, hope for the best, and the result turns out amazing? Same here. And that’s exactly what happened with these Oatmeal Almond Butter Blueberry Pancake Cookies today.
So this blog post is rather spontaneous. To be honest I’m in the middle of a few others that are more intensive in terms of scope and research required (think nutrition and sustainability).
But I’ve done so much grueling brain-sucking work this weekend I decided to take a break and make some cookie muffin things and they turned out so yummy I decided I’m extend said break by snapping a few phone photos (I need to get out my real camera…I’ve just been so damn busy the past few weeks) and toss them (figuratively) on the blog.
The plus of spending so much time on the grind this weekend for work/school is that I suppose I learned a lot. Including that school is hard, I have a lot of self-reflection to do with professional development/relationships, having a working kitchen is very therapeutic to my existance and that people definitely notice dog hair in jam photos. Oops.
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.
Our department has a lunch meeting every Wednesday where first year students sit and eat while a faculty member tells us about their research how they got where they are, and sometimes their life story, etc. it’s a nice time / I’m all about free food.
Delivery options are limited around the Columbia University Medical Center campus. Hence why every single week lunch ends up being one of 3 options: pizza that smells like burnt Chuck E Cheese kitchen grease and is paired with a salad cloaked in sad cold deli meat (and one plain salad, but that goes fast), Dominican food, or on a good day, sandwiches on really strangely delicious fluffy crusty white hoagie bread.
Dominican food days are frequent, and I don’t hate it. The buffet has enough veggie options (salad with avocado, rice, beans) that I can finagle a decent meal out of it.
The star of every Dominican week is, of course, the fried plantains. Sticky sweet gooey goodness, the fried plantains have become a cherished and familiar treat.
It dawned upon me this week that I’ve never actually made plantains at home which considering bananas and potatoes are my favorite foods and plantains are essentially the potato of bananas (as in not sweet and rather starchy), is quite odd. So over the weekend I decided to change this. I picked up some plantains, 3/$1, at my local grocery store.
A kind woman was also picking out plantains when I was sorting through them. I asked her if she had any advice for a new plantain cook, and she told me to wait until the plantains were “soft like sponges.” Noted.
Now onto cooking. I don’t love frying things and my stomach doesn’t love eating large quantities of fried food. Hence why I after doing some googling to confirm it was possible, I opted to bake mine.
I did mine skin-on because the method sounded intriguing to me. You can totally peel them and cube them, coat them in oil and seasonings, and bake them that way (just for a shorter duration, 20-25 minutes until tender rather than 40-45).
If you are curious about the skin-on method as I was, I am happy to report that it totally works. Just take it out of the oven when the foil-wrapped plantain gives to a squeeze.
Next comes topping. I played around with topping these babies. One I coined and ate with melted vegan butter and brown sugar.
Another I drizzled with almond butter, cinnamon, and a dash of sugar. The last I ate with leftover black bean soup and cilantro. I decided they would also taste great with guacamole. All were solid options, and it was a very plantain-filled day.
Speaking of filled, I found plantains quite filling. I plan to keep this in mind since they are a cheap starchy piece of produce aka something I desperately need to befriend.
I hope you give these a try. If you do, please let me know, and let me know how you topped or are them.
Happy plantaining!
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 35-45 minutes
Servings: 2
Topping Ideas:
Happy December 1st to you! And, happy Friday. Can you believe it’s December already? I feel like this year was an insane whirlwind and I cannot believe 2018 is around the corner.
I’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year. A lot of pain, growth, and struggle. But I’ve also seen a lot of kindness come out of friends old and new, and for that I am insanely thankful.
As I try to revive my blog after neglecting it time and time again, I thought I’d re-share a recipe that continues to be a top source of traffic to my site.
Behold, an old delicious favorite: vegan blueberry flax breakfast muffins.
These muffins are originally from my ebook, 40 Easy Vegan Desserts, and were published on the blog in March 2015. In case you weren’t following way back when, I thought I’d repost them because they are a true delight and make a wonderfully nourishing breakfast, snack, or dessert. I fancy them warmed up with a smudge of almond butter, or dunked in almond milk.
I hope you enjoy these! Bake a batch while watching Great British Bake Off (season 4 is now on Netflix!) and enjoy life. 🙂
Have a great weekend! I’ll be finally whipping out the DSLR and doing some new recipe development AND have a product review planned this weekend. Stay #blessed
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 25-35 minutes
Level: Easy
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a cup or bowl, combine almond milk and vinegar and allow to curdle, at least 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, flax seed, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix together well.
4. Add apple sauce, melted coconut oil, sugar and/or maple syrup, almond milk + vinegar mixture to bowl with flour. Mix gently until just combined. Fold in blueberries.
5. Grease or line a 12-tin muffin tray. Fill each spot about 3/4ths of the way full with muffin batter. Place into the oven for 25-35 minutes until puffed, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean upon removal. Allow to cool (or don’t) and enjoy. Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 4 days, and/or freeze.
Another weekend in the books! I found out late last week I still couldn’t move into my apartment (that was supposed to be ready 9/1…WTF) so I went to PA to visit a friend because I figured might as well!
Friday:
Friday I had class pretty much all day. Made better by free coffee and a bagel.
After class, I was hungry and needed a good meal. I didn’t know what I wanted but knew I wanted all of the things. Not having access to a kitchen has been stressful AF these past few weeks.
Anyways, I hacked the salad bar and posted about it on my Insta stories and a lot of people seemed to like the idea so I’m sharing it again here:
I ate this at Whole Foods and was stuffing my face across the table from a super cute guy drinking kombucha and reading like a civilized human. Lol. What can I say I’m a savage.
After that, I visited my friend Joanna in BK for a few hours, then headed to my friend’s apt where I’ve been staying for a few hours of sleep.
Saturday:
Saturday I was up bright and early to visit my friend Amanda in Pennsylvania. We took a lot of the same classes at NYU and she’s basically the best. I was so grateful she let me come visit this weekend.
I nommed on a banana while waiting for the bus. I also redeemed a free drink from some online promo thing from DD.
Naturally, since it said I could select any size, I was super gross and picked the biggest size. #somuchcoffee
I got into Philly around 10:30 and popped my head into Reading Terminal Market. Yum!
My friend graciously picked me up and drove me to her house.
Once we got there, we headed out to her epic garden to gather some goodies. She’s quite the gardener. #goals
Using some fresh tomatoes and cucs, I made a hummus lunch (with some pb for dessert) and we enjoyed the noms while watched Bravo. #perfection
After that we took her doggos on a quick nearby. It was beautiful! PA reminds me a lot of Wisco.
Back at her place, I showered and fell asleep for a few hours. Holy cow a real bed felt so nice.
Post shower/nap, Amanda picked a butternut squash from her garden and started roasting it to make butternut squash black bean burgers.
She also made a farro salad with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, artichoke heart, oil, vinegar, and salt & pepper. Yum!
A movie was next on the agenda. I fell asleep during it on the couch, then went up to bed around 12 and went straight back to sleep.
Sunday:
Sunday I slept til 8 which is super late from me but I think my body really needed the sleep. Breakfast with cinnamon apple oatmeal with almond butter.
We decided to go apple picking at a nearby orchard next, which was fun.
Applesss!!!
Lunch was delicious leftovers with a side of more Bravo.
Now I’m on the mega bus back into the city. Womp womp. Wondering if I can ever move into my apt…at this point I’m so frustrated I can hardly stand it.
Bleh. New York is kinda the worst tbh. I was really apprehensive to move back here and after a lovely weekend in PA am kinda like…what am I doing?
Anyways, I’m going to finish some readings for tm but thanks for stopping by! What’d you do this weekend? Comment below I love to hear from you!
Yum yum yum. Avocado toast. I love to make it! Because I am a millennial and never want to be able to buy a house! I’d rather spend my time creating easy avocado toasts so you can have some easy avocado toast ideas on hand.
Lol. All jokes aside, people who rip on avocado toast can shove it. Sure, it can be overpriced on brunch menus, but isn’t everything? Like people pay $8-20 for an omelet. And eggs are CHEAP AF.
Anyways, here are a few avocado toast ideas for you. I hope you enjoy for a snack or breakfast or for lunch or for whatever!
An old favorite! And so cute and festive for the holidays. The recipe exists on my site here, but basically it’s just bread + avo + pomegranate perils. You can add red pepper flakes if you want too. Add S&P and: Yum!
Yes. Simple and delicious. The nutritional yeast truly kicks it up a major notch. Try it. Trust me. Cheesy, umami goodness. Add S&P, of course. Yum. #vegan
This was better than expected. I had a jar of perserved lemons I had no idea what to do with. Honestly, I’d never even had them before. I opened them up and they tasted like olives. But lemon. It’s weird and wonderful at once.
They are super salty, so naturally they go well on avocado toast. I added radish. You could also do tomatoes. Whatever you want!
Another simple wonderful creation. Simply mash avocado, and sprinkle with everything bagel salt. I get it at Trader Joe’s for $1.99. This salt is a GAME CHANGER. Invest.
I love avocado toast with herbs. It just tastes and feels so right. Cilantro on top makes it like a guac toast (also good). Parsley also tastes SO FRESH. I also like adding nuts for crunch, and something to contrast the savoriness.
In this case, it was Just Beets from Trader Joe’s. Any pop of sweet tanginess (see pomegranate perils above, or sun-dried tomatoes), or juiceness (like tomatoes) will do.
Hope this gave you some ideas! Stay #blessed, y’all.
My very wise sister once said “Pie makes everything better.”
Which is true, for the most part.
I had an incredibly hard past few days, and today I pulled one of these mini pies (the last one) out of the freezer. I made them on the 4th of July and since I didn’t eat them all that day, froze a few to eat over the following weeks.
I do this a lot with baked goods, and it’s awesome. Because you always have fresh-made baked goods on hand. #winning.
These mini berry pies are easy to make and completely vegan. I made them mini by baking them in a muffin tin. You can be as fancy or as unfancy as you’d like with the pie cover.
Personally, I’m not that into pie crust (unless it’s cookie crust or graham crust) so if I hadn’t been making these for something, I may not have been so fancy with the tops. In fact, I probably would have left them topless. Anyways.
These are scrummy little summer bites and fabulous to make with frozen or fresh berries. I used frozen because when I have fresh berries around I usually eat them by the pound + per sitting and rarely have enough left to bake with. I wonder if Mary Berry would approve.
Anyways, you can also watch me make these pies below or on YouTube.on YouTube.on YouTube.on YouTube.
Happy Pie Eating!
Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus time to chill dough
Cook Time: 25-40 minutes
Servings: 6 mini berry pies
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CINNAMON. ROLLS.
Is there anything like ’em? No. There is not. When you’re craving a cinnamon roll, absolutely nothing else will do.
Which is why after craving them like cray for several days in a row, I decided to make some. Now I’m simultaneously #satisfied, and eager to make some more cinnamon roll variations (my friend suggested carrot cake…genius?! yes).
Me being me, I decided to tweak classic cinnamon rolls and put my own lil twist on ’em. I used oat flour because I wanted something not junky tasting (tho I do love a junky cinnamon roll sometimes…just was more in the mood for hearty/substantial/I really love the texture/flavor of oat flour in baking).
Then, for the filling, I used apple sauce + cinnamon + a wee bit of non-dairy butter (tho you could even skip the non-dairy butter).
For icing, I used vanilla coconut yogurt. This was actually because I was out of powdered sugar and too lazy and cheap to buy more at the moment so I opted for yogurt. And you know what? IT WAS AMAZING. Happy accident AF. Tangy, sweet, vanilla-…it was like a shortcut, less intense cream cheese icing. 10/10 would reccomend.
You should make these cinnamon rolls if you are looking for something satisfying, not junky, and different fr breakfast. If you are looking for a classic, more junky, Cinnabon-esque cinnamon roll, this recipe probably isn’t what you want right now. If you want to make cream cheese icing or other icing, be my guest. Either way, get rockin’ and rollin’.
Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 6-8 for proofing
Cook Time: 20-40 minutes
Servings: about 4 small cinnamon rolls
For Filling:
For Icing:
For garnish: