Remember the chia seed crackers that we ate at Chocolatree Café just before hiking up 0.6 miles of rocky mountainside?

Here they are in all their glory.

We kicked some major mountain booty that day and I’d like to think the chia seed crackers had something to do with it. After all, the Aztecs and Mayans used chia seeds (known as a “running food”) for hundreds of years to fuel their long journeys!  (source)

As soon as I got home, I knew I had to bust out a version of these in my own kitchen. I was “running” on 3 hours of sleep thanks to a 4am wake-up call and the chocolate I was inhaling wasn’t making me feel any better. The chia crackers came to my rescue!

Endurance Crackers

These Endurance Crackers are extremely light and crispy while providing long-lasting energy. They are also vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free, and oil-free to boot! Feel free to change up the seasonings and spices as you wish. Nutritional info follows.

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Inspired by Chocolatree Café.

Yield: 22 large crackers

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chia seeds*
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup pepita seeds (or pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup water
• 1 large garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp grated sweet onion
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• Herbamare & kelp granules, to taste (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, mix the seeds together. In a small bowl, mix the water, grated garlic, and grated onion. Whisk well. Pour the water mixture onto the seeds and stir until thick and combined. Season with salt, and optional Herbamare and Kelp granules, to taste. Add spices or fresh herbs if you wish.

3. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet with the back of a spoon until it’s less than 1/4 inch thick. Not to worry if a couple parts become too thin, you can just patch them up.

4. Bake at 325F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, slice into crackers, carefully flip onto other side with a spatula. Bake for another 30 minutes, watching closely after about 25 minutes. The bottoms will be lightly golden in colour. Allow to cool completely on the pan. Store in a container or plastic baggy.

Note: See the bottom of this post for where you can purchase chia seeds.

Nutritional Info: (per cracker, makes 22 large crackers): 77 kcals, 6 grams fat, 4 grams carbs, 0 grams sugar, 3 grams fibre, 3 gram protein.

The nutritional stats are impressive, eh?

As I reached for my garlic powder, I thought why not use fresh garlic instead? My mom recently shared a trick with me for mincing garlic: just use a fine grater instead of chopping it. I used my Microplane and it was the perfect consistency for these crackers. Just be careful you don’t saw off the end of your nail like I almost did.

10 seconds flat for fresh garlic!

I also used the same method with the sweet onion.

After grating, I whisked the garlic and onion in a glass with the water (note: I ended up using a full cup of water instead of the 1/2 cup shown here).

Pour the water mixture into the seed mixture and stir well. It will be thick and gel-like in consistency.

Now season as you wish.

I used a mixture of Herbamare, kelp granules, and kosher salt for maximum flavour, but you can really play around with the seasonings any way you like! Add some spices too if you wish. Taste and adjust if necessary.

This picture hates me, clearly.

Spread onto your baking sheet lined with parchment (or a non-stick mat, but you will have to bake them a bit longer). You want to spread the mixture as thin as possible.

After baking for 30 minutes at 325F, remove from the oven and slice crackers with a pizza slicer.

I did a large diamond shape. You can do any size and shape you want, depending on how much ninja power you are looking for!

With a spatula, carefully flip the crackers and bake for another 30 minutes until toasty and golden on the bottom. Mmm.

My new favourite cracker, easily.

Not only are they vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free, nut-free, and sugar free, but they can be made raw if you dehydrate them.

After cooling, they are crispy, chewy, and basically mind blowing ninja fuel perfect for dipping into hummus. Eric said they taste better than the ones at Chocolatree, but he may be biased. I couldn’t get over how light and crispy they are!

The question is: Whose butt do you want to kick this week?

Your boss, tough assignment, killer workout, or midterm exam?

Go make a list of things to butt kick.

Eat these crackers.

Kick some butt, ninja style.

It’s like bird food, but waaaaay better.

Do you ever see a tired bird?

I rest my case.

~~

Many of you ask where you can buy chia seeds. I buy my chia seeds from Canadian online retailer superseeds.ca. I’m still working on the 50 pound bulk order that I ordered for my bakery! If you are looking for an online retailer in the US, try www.chiaseedsdirect.com. I’ve found both of these businesses to have very competitive prices. You can also purchase chia seeds from bulk food stores like Bulk Barn here in Canada or in natural food stores! Update: More readers also told me Costco sells them (in the supplement section) and even Winners and Homesense! Who knew?

There are fancy squares and then there are not-so-fancy squares.

These are the not-so-fancy squares. In fact, they are downright boring, but the beauty is you can dress them up anyway you like. Just like a basic bowl of oatmeal, these squares can be changed up on a whim.

My goal was to make a basic everyday oatmeal square for on-the-go breakfasts or snack attacks. They aren’t super sweet or bursting with chocolate and fancy mix-ins, although, you could make them that way if you wanted too! Filled with flax, chia, and whole grains, it’s functional food at its finest. The nutritional stats are also impressive packing in 7 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protein per large square.

Despite eating half the batch, I actually made these for Eric (remember that guy who loathes oatmeal?). He’s been insanely busy with his new role at work and now spends the better part of his days trapped in meetings without any healthy food on hand.

His options in meetings are usually the following: 1) cookies the size of his face, 2)  pizza, or 3) a muffin the size of his butt (which is cute and perfectly rounded).

While it’s true that he loathes traditional oatmeal, if I bake it up in a square he’s all over it. And by all over it, I mean he needed to slather Earth Balance all over the square before deeming it perfect. Like I said, these can be dressed up any way you want…

On The Glow Basic Oatmeal Squares

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Think of this oatmeal square as basic baked oatmeal that can be dressed up any way you like. Each large square contains a tablespoon of flax and a teaspoon of chia seeds as well as 7 grams of fibre and 6 grams of protein. Feel free to add in nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and other mix-ins as you desire. Just be careful about frozen fruit. When I made a trial with frozen blueberries they became quite soggy. Use fresh blueberries and you should be fine.

Yield: 9 large squares

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups regular rolled oats (not instant oats), divided
• 3 tbsp chia seed
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1.5 cups almond milk (or other milk)
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
• 2 tbsp nut or seed butter
• 1 banana, chopped small
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• Dry sweetener, to taste if you want them a bit sweeter

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8 inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper.

2. In a blender or food processor, blend/process 1 cup of the oats until a flour forms. Or you can just use 1 cup of oat flour.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: oat flour, 1.5 cups rolled oats, chia, flax, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: milk, syrup, nut/seed butter, banana, vanilla until no clumps remain. Add wet to dry and stir until combined. Add dry sweetener to taste if desired. Fold in any nuts or dried fruit that you desire.

4. Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth out. Bake for 35-40 minutes until lightly golden along edge and it springs back slowly when touched. I baked them for 40 minutes, but baking time may vary. Place pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes, carefully remove, and cool on rack before slicing.

Nutritional Info: (per square, makes 9 squares): 228 kcals, 9 grams fat, 110 mg sodium, 33 grams carbs, 7 grams fibre, 13 grams sugar, 6 grams protein.

The first trial I made was with frozen blueberries (above). Unfortunately they made the bars quite soggy (although tasty). Fresh blueberries would probably be a better option, so I will try that in the summer when they are in season. Sadly, that is a long time away…as I sit here watching a snow storm outside my window!

For the second batch, I left out the blueberries to see if I could get the consistency a bit better.

[Notice my hand writing is getting a bit neater? Ok not really, but I’m happy to say I now keep all my recipe trials in one notebook. No more scattered pages all over the house!]

Anywho, mix the dry ingredients together: ground flax, cinnamon, oats + oat flour (I ground up 1 cup of oats), chia seed, baking powder, and a touch of salt.

Then the wet ingredients: pure maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, nut/seed butter, and a chopped banana. Feel free to use another milk, nut/seed butter, and liquid sweetener if desired.

Whisk together in another bowl, making sure to break up the nut/seed butter.

Add the wet to dry and mix well.

I planned on adding chocolate, but discovered that I was all out. How does that even happen?

Pour into an 8 inch square pan lined with two pieces of parchment paper.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, cool, and enjoy! I baked them for 40, but I have a feeling that baking time will vary depending on the brand of oats used. I’ve found that some rolled oats absorb more liquid than others. Just watch it closely after 35 minutes. When it slowly springs back up when you press it, it should be good to go.

These are very soft and fluffy with tiny bites of banana throughout. We found that they are a bit plain on their own, but I still managed to eat 3 in a row just to be sure. I like to slice the square in half and make a jam & sunflower seed butter sandwich.

Note to self: restock chocolate chip supply stat.

Have a wonderful Friday!

My theory is if I drink a lot of smoothies, spring will magically appear. 

So far, outlook not good…(although today was the first dusting of snow we’ve had practically all winter!). This is why I haven’t changed my blog header to a winter theme yet…I need more snow!

This smoothie was made up of frozen blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries (~1 cup) along with almond milk (1.25 cups), chia seeds (2 tbsp), and half a frozen banana.

Followed by a frozen girl.

To warm up, I did this quick at-home power workout using a jump rope and my own body weight for resistance exercises. Kicking it old school!

I did 3 sets of the following exercises:

• 1 minute jumping jacks
• 2 minutes jump rope
• 15 lunges on each leg
• 1 minute jump rope
• 2 sets of 15 squats
• 1 set of 15 push-ups (standard, kneeling, or combo)
• 2 minutes jumping rope
• 1 minute bicycle crunches

I did 3 sets and then some light stretching at the end. The workout took me 35 minutes and went by pretty quick! I also used this stopwatch timer on the internet too.

A few tips:

• Feel free to take rest breaks as needed
• You will hate me for making the jump rope after the lunges (don’t say I didn’t warn you!)
• Only got 10 minutes? Just do 1 set for a quick total body workout
• Want to make it more challenging? Add some hand weights, water bottles, cans, etc
• Want more cardio? Tack on a mile run before and/or after the workout
• Feel free to change up the ab exercises at the end
• Always consult a professional before beginning a new fitness regime

Rosy cheeks ensued! I love interval workouts.

You know, old school moves never get old…especially jumping rope! I don’t know how I used to do that for hours and hours as a child. Must have been all that penny candy I was stuffing my face with. Do you remember how much candy $1 used to buy? 100 PIECES. That $5 allowance went pretty far back in the day.

Chocolate.

PMS.

Mood swings.

Cravings.

Sore boobs.

Tearing up over random TV shows (example: Redemption Inc).

Chocolate.

Uncontrollable yawning.

Random anger.

Healthier chocolate pudding.

I am a woman, hear me roar!

This is the pudding I make when I feel like inhaling a bag of chocolate chips.

It lets me return to my normal self, at least for now…

My chocolate cravings are satisfied and I feel like a million bucks, minus the sore boobs, mood swings, and yawning of course.

I wouldn’t say that it’s for everyone though; if you aren’t into soaked chia seeds (and their slim-factor) you might not like this pudding. You could try adding rolled oats for a chewier texture and do more of a vegan overnight oats recipe if that floats your boat. I added in a couple tablespoons of oats at the last minute.

Top it with a bit of shaved dark chocolate on top…and it’s pretty much my favourite snack going. I also love it heated up with a spoonful of coconut cream stirred in! Want to thicken it up? Mash in a banana just before serving.

Healthy Chocolate Chia Pudding

I make this pudding when I want something indulgent tasting, but don’t feel like eating a ton of sugar. It satisfies and energizes me while letting me get on with my day. I love mixing carob powder and cocoa powder for a more complex chocolate flavour. The carob powder also adds a natural sweetness that I love. If you don’t have carob, I suggest using a bit more cocoa powder and sweetener since it will be less sweet without the carob. Serve cold or heated up!

Adapted from Repair and Recover Chia Pudding

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Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/4 cup to 1 & 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, as needed to thin out
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp carob flour/powder (I buy it at Bulk Barn)
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• Shaved chocolate for garnish (optional)

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients (starting with 1 & 1/4 cup almond milk) until the clumps are gone. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours, until thick or overnight. Stir well, add more milk if desired to achieve the thickness you desire, and serve chilled. Alternatively you can heat in the microwave and serve it warm. It’s nice with a spoonful of coconut cream mixed in or a mashed banana too.

Nutritional Info: (per serving, without shaved chocolate): 197 kcals, 12 grams fat (healthy fat from chia/almond), 26 grams carbs, 15 grams fibre, 9 grams sugar, 8 grams protein.

Also try Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding Parfait.

This morning, I enjoyed heated-up chocolate pudding and a breakfast cookie.

I should be a lot nicer today.

Well, I didn’t end up making the Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, but I did end up making an off-spring!

Meet the carrot cake cookie in breakfast form. I cut down the oil (using applesauce to replace some of it) and amped up the protein, fibre, and healthy fats naturally using ground flax.

In my first version, I used protein powder instead of flax, but the texture was weird and the flavour was off. Ground flax all the way!

I also left them chunky instead of flattening them down. Much better.

The cookies are lightly sweet, with a lovely carrot cake flavour and the texture of a muffin top. I added in a full cup of grated carrots and a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger for a boost of nutrition and an authentic carrot cake flavour. Ginger also aids in digestion as an added bonus.

Eric summed them up nicely, “If I was looking for a healthy cookie, I would be happy with these. If I wanted a regular unhealthy dessert cookie, I might be a bit disappointed. But they are perfect for breakfast or a snack and I like that they taste like a muffin.”

I’m not sure I can add anything to that, so I’ll just give you the recipe! Nutritional info follows.

Oh Mega Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

Like a healthy breakfast muffin in carrot cake cookie form. Coconut oil, maple syrup, and fresh ginger work well to create a nice carrot cake flavour, however if you are without those ingredients you can try subbing in another light tasting oil of your choice, other liquid sweetener, and ground ginger (maybe 1/4 tsp?).

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Adapted from Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies, which was adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Yield: 13 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
• 3/4 cup ground flax
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup regular rolled oats
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 cup lightly packed shredded carrots (use finest grate)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (other liquid sweeteners should work)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 325F and toast the pecans for 10-11 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the batter. In a large bowl, mix together the flax, flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and raisins.

2. Grate the carrots and ginger using the finest grate. In a smaller bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds. You want the oil hot so it doesn’t clump up when adding the cold wet ingredients. Now add in the maple syrup, carrots, applesauce, grated ginger, and vanilla. Stir well.

3. Remove pecans from the oven and add to the dry ingredients. Increase oven temp to 350F. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. The dough will be very sticky, so not to worry.

4. With a spoon, scoop about 13 cookies onto a lined baking sheet. They don’t spread much so you can put them an inch apart. Bake for 14-15 minutes at 350F and allow to cool on baking sheet.

Nutritional info (Per cookie, makes 13 cookies): 186 kcals, 9 grams fat, 24 grams carbs, 5 grams fibre, 10 grams sugar, 4 grams protein. You also get 620 mg Omega-6 and 31 mg Omega-3 fatty acids per cookie thanks to all the flax!

Just a word of caution- the dough is very sticky so don’t be alarmed when you mix it up. It’s easiest to just scoop the dough with a spoon and drop it onto the baking sheet.

They are a lovely cookie for an on-the-go breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. And like Eric says, keep in mind that it’s a healthier cookie and you won’t be disappointed.

Breakfast this morning was a lovely Green Monster with a side of cookie.

Superfood Green Monster

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This Green Monster packs in superfoods like blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, chia seeds, and spinach! For more Green Monster recipes, visit the Green Monster Movement.

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 large handful spinach
• 1 cup + 2-3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Protein powder, or other powder
• Ice, if preferred

1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Add ice if desired.

Nutritional Info (serves 1): 349 kcals, 14 grams fat, 39 grams carbs, 21 grams fibre, 12 grams sugar, 27 grams protein.

Note the hot tea in the background to warm me up!

[Mason glass was picked up in November while visiting Fish’s Eddy in NYC]

I thought I would pass along a couple fun vegan links for you today…

1. Check out the PPK’s Vegan Top 100 of 2011 list

2. VegNews Top 10 Vegan trends of 2011

3. I also wanted to point out that I added some social media icons on the right hand sidebar of my page for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Email Subscribe, and RSS! Sorry it took me so long…I’m a bit slow with figuring out these things! In case anyone else is interested, I used this WordPress Social Media Widget.

Have a great day!

It’s the day after the American Thanksgiving and I’m sure the last thing anyone wants is an energy bar.

However, it’s also Black Friday in the US and I figured maybe you could use some energy after all! There is very little that could pull me out of bed at midnight to enter long, cold line ups for hours on end, but these bars could just about do it.

I actually whipped up these bars because we’re leaving on a vacation tomorrow. I always like to bring some type of energy bar with me when I go away and stash a couple in my purse when we’re out walking around. If I find myself without any vegan options, I have a bar that will hold me over until my next meal.

I’ve never made an energy bar quite like this before. I added protein powder to rev up the protein in these bars, making sure they would give me sustainable energy when out and about. I wasn’t really sure what they would taste like with 1/2 cup of protein powder, but I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome!

I made two batches, on the left, using 1/4 cup protein powder and on the right, using 1/2 cup protein powder.

The bars using 1/2 cup protein powder were a bit more dense and the batter was drier, but otherwise I didn’t notice much of a difference taste-wise. Eric tried the bar on the left and he said he couldn’t even detect the protein powder at all. My suggestion is to use a very mild-tasting protein powder. I loved using Garden of Life Brown Rice Protein Powder as it has a fairly neutral taste and it’s not sweetened. Just make sure whichever protein powder you use, it tastes good because you will taste it in the bars if it has an “off” flavour. Of course, you could also skip the protein powder all together if you prefer.

If you cut 10 bars out of the batch, each bar has about 8 grams of protein when using protein powder such as this one below (17 grams protein per scoop).

These no-bake bars take just 5 minutes to throw together…love that.

I added a very THIN layer of melted chocolate on top of the bars and then chilled them in the freezer for 10 mins.

I also made these nut-free, using the amazing Sunbutter sunflower seed butter! I found it at Whole Foods and it’s almost an exact knock-off of Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter (or maybe TJ’s is a knock-off of this stuff!). Either way, it’s amazing stuff. If you haven’t tried lightly sweetened sunflower seed butter, you really must. It’s ultra drippy and smooth.

Feel free to use any kind of seed or nut butter you prefer, but if it’s not very drippy you will probably have to add a bit more syrup. I also tried the bars (batch #2) using almond butter and it was also good, but I still preferred the sunflower seed butter.

A couple weeks ago, I bought this new Holly Nog (vegan egg nog) that I picked up at Loblaws. It’s just 60 calories per serving and has a simple ingredient list. I’m really impressed by the flavour of this nog…it’s amazing! The only thing it’s lacking is a really creamy texture, but for 60 calories a serving I figured I could work with it to make it into the nog I dreamed it would be…

(click to enlarge)

I blended a half cup of Holly nog, 1/2 cup almond breeze, a frozen banana, nutmeg, and cinnamon and I was absolutely blown away by the outcome. It was exactly the texture I was looking for with the wonderful nog flavour that I love so much!

This is what a picture looks like when the drink is SO good, I can’t even wait to snap the photo!

I can’t control myself around this stuff. A proper photoshoot will likely never happen. This is as good as it gets.

Oh wait, I just remembered I did take a photo of it a couple weeks ago! Here it is…before guzzling!

Creamy Holly Nog Smoothie

Yield: 1 serving

• 1/2 cup Holly nog (or try coconut milk nog)
• 1/2 cup almond breeze
• 1 peeled and frozen banana
• 1/4-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, or to taste

1. Blend and enjoy!

~~~

Updates:

In case some of you didn’t see all my crazy updates/messages/panic attack yesterday, I found a discrepancy in my gluten-free pie crust recipe (thanks to Jesica for letting me know!). I said to pre-bake the crust at 350F and 425F, when it should be 350F and NOT 425F. Please accept my apology! I felt so horrible all day yesterday. The recipe is now updated to reflect 350F. I will be quadruple-checking my recipes from now on…

I’ll be back this weekend with photo clues of where we are travelling…I’m excited to see if some of you will be able to guess it right away. I might have to make it challenging.

Up, up, and away…

If you’re like my family, you probably have some leftover pie after a big holiday meal. Or maybe you don’t because Uncle Joe got up at 2am, cleared the place out, and then blamed it on Scruffy! Poor Scruffy.

The next morning, no one really has the nerve to make the first move on the leftover pie. Some might declare, “Oh I simply couldn’t imagine eating pie right now!” grasping their stomach in embarrassment. Others nod in agreement, secretly wishing they would leave the room so they could have a slice for breakfast.

After my pumpkin pie testing, I was left with a lot of pie. Eric brought a bunch to work last week (frozen, so it wouldn’t turn to mush during his commute), but I was left with almost a full pie calling my name from the fridge. Having a pie in the fridge for no reason is like listening to an annoying, loud ticking clock; it can drive a person crazy after a while! Instead of picking away at it over the course of the week, I thought it would be fun to take the leftover pie and repurpose it into another recipe.

A recipe I could rationally eat for breakfast and not feel like a crazy person…

[Click here for this delicious vegan and gluten-free pumpkin pie recipe!]

Pumpkin Pie in a brunch recipe sounds pretty crazy though, doesn’t it? I know, I know, but trust me on this one. The recipe didn’t turn out super sweet or overpowering for a morning meal. Because I didn’t make my pie filling super sweet, it actually works really well in a baked oatmeal recipe. It’s fluffy and super creamy thanks to the pumpkin filling interspersed throughout. My favourite part is getting a big hunk of pie and crust in the same gooey bite. It’s heaven! And it’s why this makes the perfect holiday brunch recipe.

Here’s how to turn your leftover pie into a brunch recipe your whole family can enjoy….might I say, it’s really easy as pie.

Grab your leftover pie and chop it up to make about two and a half cups. Your family will probably wonder if you’ve gone crazy, but just ignore them! They will see the light soon.

Bite-sized pie is fun…real fun.

I had a feeling that this would be a killer holiday brunch recipe and a great way to use up pie. Bonus points for you if you use my Vegan Pumpkin Pie with a Sweet and Salty Pecan Crust as that’s the version I used. I can hardly contain myself around it. The pecan crust was to die for in this breakfast casserole. Of course, you could use any flavour of pie you want. Apple pie would be really good too!

I mixed up my oatmeal ingredients: rolled oats, almond milk, ground flax, vanilla, spices, maple syrup, and baking powder. Just basic oatmeal stuff!

and then I stirred in my chopped pumpkin pie to make it all chunky and wonderful…

I spread it into a greased casserole dish and then crumbled a bit of pie on top for a “streusel”.

Bake for 30 mins. at 375F.

And just like that, you have a drool-worthy pumpkin pie breakfast casserole to share with the entire family!

Or hide it from your family. Yes, you might want to hide it.

I won’t tell you how crazy good this was. Or even how good it was the next morning eaten cold. Or how good this was as a post-run snack.

I just had a cool idea for this recipe…it would probably be good if you stirred in some leftover canned pumpkin right into the oats before baking! *dies* why did I not think of this earlier? I have pumpkin to use up too. If you are going to stir in some canned pumpkin I would add about half a cup and then adjust the sweetness as desired since the pumpkin will make it a bit less sweet. Please let me know if you try that out!

By the way, I’ve created a page just for my vegan Thanksgiving recipes…you can check it out here. Have a happy, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Be sure to check back this week…I have some surprises up my sleeve!

My Naturopath recently suggested that I increase my protein intake at breakfast after looking at my daily food log and finding that I was coming up short on occasion. Breakfast is usually my meal that’s lowest in protein (lunch and dinner are fine) and he thought that an increase in breakfast protein could help with my energy levels and workout recovery. Knowing that I’m a vegan, he suggested using protein powder as an easy way to sneak in more protein.

I’ve tried all kinds of protein powders and tend to go through phases with them. Sometimes I use them every day for a week and other times I fall off the wagon or just forget to buy it when I run out. I think part of the problem is that I’ve never been able to find one that meets all of my needs. I’m really picky with protein powders! Sometimes they have sneaky artificial sweeteners, too much sugar, taste like dirt, or they just don’t have as much protein per serving as I’m looking for. If I’m going to fork money over for powder, it better be high in protein!

I said I would give his protein-boosting breakfast challenge a try and set out to find the perfect protein powder once again. I remembered Ashley saying that she was really happy with the Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder, so I thought I would give it a try since she gave it rave reviews.

The specs of this protein powder:

• 17 grams of protein per serving (per 1/4 cup scoop)
• Only 80 calories per serving
• Less than 1 gram of sugar per serving
• No fillers, artificial flavours, or synthetics
• USDA Organic
• Probiotic and enzyme blend
• Recyclable container

That is a lot of protein per serving for very few calories!

Ingredient list:

The nutritional profile:

One thing I really like about this protein powder is that there’s no added sugar. I like to be able to control my own sweetener in my smoothies (hello, frozen bananas), so this is a nice change.

What about the taste?

Well, let me just say that it’s pretty earthy, but certainly not the worst protein powder I have tasted (hemp, I’m looking at you).

Don’t expect to add this protein powder into a smoothie without any fruit/sweetener and enjoy the taste. That’s to be expected because there’s no sugar to cover up the taste like in other powders. I would say it’s quite easy to mask the taste with a frozen banana or other fun ingredients. Once I added my normal smoothie ingredients, it was fine!

What I don’t like about this protein powder:

• I’m sure there is iron in this powder, but they don’t report it. As a vegan, this is crucial info for me to know.
• It’s expensive to buy from a natural food store ($40-45), but I found it online from Iherb for $27.97 and you can probably find it cheaper.
• Very slightly chalky and earthy tasting, but again, I don’t think this is a deal breaker for me. It’s much less chalky than some powders I have tried.

I also picked up this Heartland Gold Brown Rice Protein Powder to compare it to the Garden of Life Brand. Compared to Garden of Life, this gives me much more bang for my buck. It has 40 servings per container vs. Garden Of Life’s 28 servings. It’s also about $8 cheaper too.

At less than $1 per 16 grams of protein, I’d say this is a cheap source of protein!

This protein powder has just one ingredient: Organic Compliant, Sprouted, Non-GMO, Brown Rice Protein Concentrate! It’s vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. I think this would be comparable to the popular Sun Warrior Protein Powder as it’s 100% sprouted brown rice.

It’s 80 calories per scoop and 16 grams of protein. It also has 40% of the RDA for iron which is good for me to know as a vegan.

I also love that it’s a Canadian company based out of Toronto. I was not able to find a website for them though! Suspicious…

The cons?

It’s a bit more chalky than the Garden of Life protein powder, but only slightly more chalky. This was me comparing them side by side, mind you. The flavour is still earthy (remember- it’s unsweetened), but it’s less earthy tasting than the Garden Of Life powder. Unlike GOL, it’s not a complete protein source, but as long as I get a balance of protein sources over the day, it shouldn’t be an issue.

I still have yet to find my perfect protein powder, but I think these are two decent options weighing the pros and cons. I will definitely buy them again.

With one scoop of powder you now have a high protein smoothie base of 17 grams of protein. Add some chia seeds and other smoothie ingredients and you have yourself a smoothie that’s 24-25 grams of protein per serving.

As for my energy levels? I’ve noticed that I don’t get as hungry before lunch as I used to and I seem to be more focused and alert in the morning. I think it’s probably a better balance of carbs/protein/fat for my body’s needs.

Are you a protein powder fan? Which ones have you tried and loved or tried and hated?

I know, I know quit it with the pumpkin recipes already! It’s inadvertently turned into Pumpkin Week. I promise to lay off pumpkin after this.

Wait, no I don’t. Who do you think I am here? I can’t make any promises when it comes to pumpkin. I can only promise that I fell in love with this pumpkin pudding and I think you will too. I’ve made it 3 times already and it’s strangely addictive.

I don’t know why, but I haven’t made chia pudding since 2009 or early 2010. I guess I didn’t like it as much as I thought. I think the problem with my original attempt was that I made it too slimy. It was too heavy on the chia seeds (slim factor) and too light on filler ingredients.

Last week while I was busy screwing up perfectly good pumpkin pies with avocado, I decided that I really want to eat an entire bowl of pumpkin pie filling. You know, normal thoughts. If you’ve made the Pumpkin Pie Brownie you probably know how delicious the pumpkin filling is! I could live off that stuff. Or I wish I could live of that stuff.

My goal was to make a pumpkin-based pudding made with chia seeds. I envisioned it very similar to my Vegan Overnight Oats, only without the oats, but with the addition of a vanilla protein powder for some staying power. I also wanted it to taste like pumpkin pie filling, of course.

I Googled ‘Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding’ to see what was already out there. I found recipes by Living Lindsay, Spinach and Yoga, The Non Dairy Queen, Confessions of a Young Woman, Choosing Raw, Edible Perspective, The Challenged Health Nut, and Pure 2 Raw, to name just a handful! Apparently, I’m not the only one who wants to eat a bowl full of pumpkin pie.

After checking out a few recipes I decided to just throw stuff in a bowl and taste test as I went. This recipe is very similar to my Pumpkin Pie Vegan Overnight Oats. It’s not too heavy on the chia seeds and it’s thinner and smoother in consistency than many pudding recipes. I didn’t find this pudding too slimy unlike my previous attempts.

This pudding takes just 5 minutes to throw together. Exactly why I’ve made it 3 times already!

I recommend chilling your can of pumpkin if you can. This just means that your pudding will chill faster after making it. No big deal if you don’t though.

A peek at the ingredients I used:

After mixing:

The pudding thickens slightly in the fridge, but the consistency is still pretty thin compared to “normal” puddings. If you want it thicker you can try using less Almond Milk. Personally, I like more volume.

I’m working on a gluten-free version of my Wedded Bliss Soft Ginger Cookies and made parfaits for Eric and I for dessert. It was such a tasty, light dessert for the Fall season! I love a dessert that doesn’t weigh me down.

You can also try adding raisins or walnuts, or whatever tickles your fancy.

What I like about this recipe is how versatile it is. So far, I’ve had it for breakfast, a snack, and now dessert.

When I start eating this for dinner, I think an intervention might be necessary.

~~

I’m off to finally get my ultrasound results this morning! My doctor was away for a couple weeks, so I haven’t been able to find out the results yet. My food sensitivity testing, which was scheduled early this week, was also rescheduled to next Wednesday. So I’ve been playing the waiting game which is why you haven’t had any updates from me yet.

Anyways, fingers crossed for good results! If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, see this post.

Happy Friday!

A Long Weekend Hangover (LWH): describes the sum of unpleasant physiological and psychological effects following a holiday long weekend, such as Thanksgiving. The LWH is especially hard to recover from if you were drinking red wine like juice, eating Pumpkin Pie Brownies like vegetables, and singing Moves Like Jagger 14 times during a 3 hour drive.

Hangover symptoms may persist for several days after pumpkin pie was last consumed. Scratchy Throat Syndrome (otherwise known as singing Moves Like Jagger 14 times), may require strange green drinks for relief.

Repeat as necessary.

The Long Weekend Hangover may also be present in animals, most notably the cantankerous feline species. Hibernation under dining room tables may result for up to 72 hours. Cat treats, when left on the chair but not hand fed, are encouraged if not essential for total recuperation. Do not disturb feline or Stink Eye may occur.

For complete recovery from LWH, ingesting pumpkin first thing in the morning is necessary or withdrawal symptoms may persist.

Recommended Dosage: Pumpkin Gingerbread in smoothie form until symptoms dissipate or until the next long weekend, whichever comes first.

Prognosis…improved and likely to recover.