honey wholewheat cranberry nut bread

Happy 2014, wonderful humans! Can you believe 2013 has come and gone? My brain just can't wrap itself around that fact. 2013 was quite the year for me. It was our first full year in Africa, I had some really tough times with friends, I learned a LOT about myself and about other people {they suck. not all of them though.}, I discovered my deep passion for health and fitness, learned a lot about health, fitness, food, and photography, grew much closer to my wonky-tonk family, and expanded my blog considerably. I've had many, many lessons that I know will get me places in 2014. I'm so ready for a fresh new start and to leave the past behind me. Come at me, 2014! Also, thank you to all you lovely people who read my blog each and every witty and weird post. I heart you big time and I hope this new year is full of rainbows and butterflies. 

I'm not really one to make resolutions. Probably because I have a little trouble with keeping them, but I think that's all the more reason to make a few this year, however small they may be. 1) step out of my comfort zone more often and do things I normally wouldn't. 2) DO MORE FOR OTHERS. 3) run longer distances. 4) experiment more with baking vegan/GF. 5) finish 10th grade early. and 6) dedicate more time to my blog and all you lovely people. 

What are some of your resolutions? The most common is probably "eating better, ya da ya da ya da." AMIRIGHT? It's supposed that people lose motivation and are already slacking in their resolutions by the second week of January. So instead of going from the holidays and stuffing yourself to drinking 5 juices a day, I'd like to suggest easing into healthy eating. You're so much more likely to stick with it then! As we all know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And sadly, eating cookies or cake isn't the best way to rev up your metabolism first thing in the morning. I have a solution! MAKE THIS QUICK BREAD. It's super quick and easy, has only a few really basic ingredients, is healthy, and highly adaptable! For this one I used chopped nuts and cranberries, but you could chop up different nuts, use different dried fruit, and throw in some seeds for good measure. The world is at your fingertips. 

honey wholewheat cranberry nut bread

2 1/2 c. wholewheat flour

1 c. quick cooking oats

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. honey

1 2/3 c. milk {I used soy}

3/4 c. chopped nuts

3/4 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk flour, oats, and baking soda. Add honey and milk and stir until combined. Gently fold in nuts and cranberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

vegan banana nut muffins

Christmas is over. It's kind of depressing, isn't it? After all the build up, two days pass, and you just sit there, stuffed with peppermint bark and russian tea cakes, staring at each other as if to say "Now what?" Honestly, this year I was kind of a humbug. It's really hard to get into the Christmas spirit in 90 degree, humid weather and no Christmas carolers to serenade or freaky Santa Clauses to scare little children. While my family made a few batches of Christmas cookies, I personally made NONE. How sad is that? Now that Christmas is over, I'll just look forward to next year and make a resolution to actually get in the jolly spirit. 

 

While I'm off of school for the next week and a half, I have one thing on my to do list: BAKE. And clean out my closet which will be quite the feat. I swear, I clean it and the very next day, it's as if hours of blood, sweat, and tears weren't put into organizing the madness. Kind of worthless, but it's nice for the few hours it lasts. Anyways, I have a short list of about five or six things I want to bake, photograph, and have written up and ready for when I need something to post but have no time because of school. Ah school, why you gotta go ruin my life. I really do feel horrible about how my blog stats are kind of shrinking. But I'm determined to fix that and dedicate more time and work to it. Fate follows focus! So during my break, I'll work my buns off, but it will be very worth it. By the time I was finished baking these muffins and getting them set up and photographed, I felt as if I'd just ran a 5 miler. Africa. So. Hot. Too hot for all this baking and food prop shenanigans but oh well. Food blogger lyfeeeeeee. 

In my last post, I mentioned how I've been wanting to experiment with vegan baking. Also, thank you to everyone who commented on my little rant! Your words meant so much to me and as sappy as it sounds, they really did give me the nudge to keep working ahead for what I want to achieve and not give up so easily. I'm feeling really adventurous in my baking, so that list I'm going to bake my way through? All vegan recipes. Yup. First up, I thought I would go for something simple. If I were to be asked what my favorite muffin is, hands down I would say banana nut. Besides double chocolate chunk, but that's kind of a given. I've made batch upon batch of banana nut muffins, and surprisingly, I think I liked this vegan version the best. I was really surprised at how fluffy they got, even with the absence of eggs or yogurt, not to mention, no processed sugar in the batter! When my mom was trying a bite, she told me they were super good and I needed to make them again, as she proceeded to finish the whole thing! Vegan, delicious, and family approved, I kinda sorta think you need to make these. 

vegan banana walnut muffins

2-3 super ripe bananas, mashed

2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. non-dairy milk 

2 c. wholewheat flour

2 tbsp. ground flax

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and milk. Using a spatula, add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Fold in chopped walnuts and scoop into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan. Recipe yields about 10 medium-sized muffins. 

cinnamon spiced cocoa granola with toasted coconut & almonds

Ok, so before we get fly into chocolate and granola and all this greatness, I have a little bit of wisdom to share. Lame, I know. But bear with me… I reward with food. 

I seriously love walking to and from the gym, especially with the cold, rainy weather we've been having. Those short walks give me time to actually hear myself think {two brothers and a baby in the house. NOIZEEE.}. And the other day, I had this divine revelation… Or as my mother called it an epiphany if you wanna get all fancy-wordy-pants. 

On the way home from the gym, I was going over in my head what I had done for my workout that day. It wasn't much; I didn't do a million reps of a trillion sets of a zillion exercises {if you can do that, I applaud you.} But what I did do, I felt like I did really well and felt super good about it. I'm trying to apply that concept to every aspect of my life. 

To my school {my grades. Ugh.} I get so caught up in the amount of school I have to get done rather than focusing on how good I do. Plus the fact that I'm supposed to be done with 10th grade in March… I can slow down if I need to. To my devotions- it doesn't matter how much time I spend in the Word, but that the time I do spend is good and I learn something from it. You can spend hours upon hours with your nose in the Bible and not get anything out of it. But you can also just spent ten minutes or so reading and in prayer and come away from it feeling refreshed and renewed. To my friends- I seriously have no friends. People just suck and people move to other countries. But I'd rather have ZERO friends than a bunch of crappy ones. To my blog- I really need to work on this. But only posting the recipes that were top notch and with good photos. In the blogging world, you get so caught up in what everyone else is doing. "Oh she posts 6 times a week, so I should too." What works for other people doesn't necessarily work for you. 

What I'm trying to say is… Quality over quantity. Do what you gotta do and do it GOOD even if that means doing a little less or working a little slower. Do whatever it is that helps you to put your best work forward. For the record, tons of work does not mean it's good work. In fact, in the long run, if it's really not done well, you only get behind because you have to go back and fix your careless mistakes. I speak from experience.

Time for granola now! You're rejoicing, I just know it. 

Remember what I was saying about putting my best work forward? Well. This granola here truly is divine and I edited the pictures about 5 different times before they turned out how I wanted them to. Truly the worst thing ever is when you have one heckuva recipe and cruddish photos. 

I made some chocolate granola with toasted coconut sometime back in the yesteryears. Three empty bowls and a chocolaty mouth later, I really regretted not writing down the recipe. Of course, I just got to making it for the blog last week, but better late than never. 

I amped up this recipe by adding cinnamon which adds a nice kick and almonds for extra crunch {and fibahhhh and prahhhtein.} It's fantastic on it's own, but what's really insane is sprinkling it on top of smoothies. Or filling a bowl with half smoothie, half granola. You know how it is. 

cinnamon spiced cocoa granola with toasted coconut & almonds

2 1/2 c. oats {I use quick-cooking}

2 tbsp. flax seeds

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. oil {coconut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.}

5 tbsp. pure maple syrup {or liquid sweetener}

1/2 c. raw almonds, roughly chopped

1/2 c. coconut chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except coconut and almonds. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring through once during the baking time. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Add coconut and almonds to a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes or until just lightly toasted and brown. Stir into granola. Let cool completely before transferring to a container.

honey wholewheat pancakes

I've become newly obsessed with pancakes. I mean… if you follow me on instagram, you know it's not so new. I'm convinced that Sophie can live off of pancakes alone. When it comes to pancakes, I'm kind of a purist and don't like anything too trashed up. I can deal with banana or pumpkin. Maybe some peanut butter or chocolate chips, but that's as crazy as I get. 

In fact, the other night, I was feeling rather, umm… Emotional. And guess what I had for dinner? Pumpkin pancakes with about a quarter cup of peanut butter smothered all up in therrrrrr. I'm not sorry one bit. 

Every Saturday morning when I wake up, the first thing on my mind is pancakes. Like I don't even think about peeing first. Just pancakes. I have to admit, making pancakes in a 90 degree kitchen at 8 in the morning is rather weird. But this weekend, it's been rainy and actually kinda cold. COLD, you guys! Well. 75 degrees. The things Africa does to a person. 

The ideal pancake situation is a rainy Sunday morning, pajamas still on, windows open, glasses still stuck to your face, and coffee cup number two close by. Travel Channel playing in the background- optional. 

Whenever I make pancakes, I make small batches and end up eating at least half the thing. Maybe more.  I made these pancakes Saturday morning, freaked out over how good they were, ate the whole batch, and decided I needed to make them again the next morning to share with you people. 

The second time around, I made them into smaller pancakes and my family actually ended up eating them and totally loving them which, I have to admit, totally surprised me. I was like "WHAT OH MY GOSH!! YOU LIKE THEM??? I'LL MAKE MORE!! GIVE ME TWO MINUTES. I'LL MAKE MORE, OKAY!!" I love when they love what I make. 

They all loved them. My pancake-hating mom even raved about them and said she would order these at a restaurant. So do with that what you wish, but I'm pretty sure that's the best compliment my food has gotten in a long time. These pancakes are simple, nutty, and slightly sweetened from the honey. They're a great recipe to use as base- you could add in some peanut butter, apple chunks, berries, banana, chocolate chips, cinnamon. Put anything in these pancakes, and I guarantee it will be great. 

Oh, let me quickly apologize for these lame photos. But on a lazy Sunday morning when all you want is pancakes in your tummy, food styling isn't really on the mind, ya know? Ok, that's all. Happy December!!

honey wholewheat pancakes 

1 3/4 c. wholewheat flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. oil {I used coconut oil}

2 tbsp. honey

3/4 c. milk

Whisk together flour and baking powder. Add in eggs, oil, honey, and milk. Whisk until combined. Heat a greased pan over medium-high heat. Pour batter onto pan; cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yields about 8 medium pancakes. 

wholewheat pumpkin spice yogurt bundt cake

Once upon a time, it occurred to me that I could easily make my own pumpkin puree. I've seen cubed pumpkin in the produce section since we got here, and was always whining that we didn't have canned pumpkin. Basically, pumpkin has been staring at me straight in the face and I've been without for the last two years because… Why? I don't know. Isn't that sad? Two years pumpkin-less and it could have been easily remedied like a looooong time ago. I'm a little slow. 

Since I had this marvelous pumpkin revelation, I threw a bunch of bags of pumpkin in the cart, boiled it, pureed it in the blender, and BOOM. Pumpkin puree in 20 minutes. I'm happy to have a tub of the stuff ALWAYS in the fridge for last minute situations. It's marvelous and I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat it out of a bowl, sprinkled with cinnamon and an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Oh, you guys, just stopittttt. 

Now that I have pumpkin at my disposal, you better believe I shall pumpkify all the things. I hope you don't mind I'm only a couple months late to the party. We'll have pumpkin recipes up the wazoo through Christmas, I can very much assure you. YAY! (???) Kay, so this cake? It's amazing. I always ALWAYS want sweets in the morning with my coffee {it's hereditary.}, which explains all the breakfast recipes on the blog. Since I'm always craving sweetness, I like having cake, cookies, bars, brownies, whatever available. But I want them to be healthy enough to eat for breakfast and not feel like crud later, know what I'm saying? Yah, you do. 

This cake is super dense, and dare I say it, moist from the large amount of pumpkin puree and plain yogurt. It's not overly sweet, but perfectly spiced and glorious. AND Healthy enough for breakfast! REJOICE. Although it is fantastic for breakfast, I have to say… It's weird eating a pumpkin cake at 7 am in the morning whilst sweating your buns off. It's kinda not right. Like when you're at the gym and about to lose your marbles with excitement because you think you hear rain banging against the roof. And then your friend is like "No, that's just sand." Africa lyfeeeeee. OOOH well, at least I have this cake. 

wholewheat pumpkin spice yogurt bundt cake 

2 c. pureed pumpkin

3/4 c. plain yogurt

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

3/4 c. quick cooking oats

1 1/2 c. wholewheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. mixed spice

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter and flour a bundt pan and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely before flipping out onto a plate. 

coconut almond granola clusters

Oh you guys. This granola took up basically a whole afternoon of my life! Not like I had anything better to do. But I am stubborn and things gotta be what I want it to be. Thats sounds so horrible… Ehhh well. I took pictures in a different spot than I usually do. Those basically sucked, so I wasted forever and a day only to delete them. Then I retook them, edited them, deleted like a 100, uploaded them, and even now I hardly like them. Then I had this post all written up, closed the page because I thought my eyeballs might fall out since I had been sitting in front of the computer, staring at pictures of granola for about two hours. 

It gets even better. When I went back in, HEY LOOK. All my hilarious, witty writing was GONE. Nowhere to be seen! Shoot me in the face and kill all my dreams of unicorns and rainbows, why don't you. I almost cried. Not even kidding. {Hashtag blogger probs.} On top of that, because of all the shooting and reshooting and moving to and fro from different bowls and what not, the granola was so crispy that it kinda lost it's chunkers. UGH. I initially made it for my pre-gym snacks this week, but it didn't even make it to Tuesday.

So yah, this granola has to be a big deal for me to spend hooooooooours relentlessly working on a post. I think I'm becoming a granola expert, not to toot my own horn or anything. But just click on the granola tab on my sidebar and you'll see what I'm talking about. There's pages and pages {and paaaaages} of the stuff.

I am really picky when it comes to the granola I shove in meh face. It has to be crunchy, crispy, super duper sweet, and CLUMPY. I'm a clump-freak. And if you're a fellow clump-freak, this granola is for you. I've made far too many granola recipes that turn out basically like dry oats. That's disgusting and disappointing. So I set out on a journey… A journey to clumpy granola happiness. 

I did my research on granola and I came up with four steps necessary for that chunkage we just love and adore. NUMERO UNO- egg whites. I've never used egg whites in my granola up until now but have seen many recipes using them. The egg whites add crisp and crunch to the granola. We're heading in the right direction, amiright!? Secondly- quick cooking oats. As much as I love the rustic look of those huge rolled oats floating around my cereal bowl, they're not your friend in this situation. Quick cooking oats are smaller and thus will stick together easier than rolled oats would. We want our oats to stick together. Know what I mean?? Neeeeext- low and slow baking. This ensures that the granola gets evenly baked and all golden brown like we love. Last and most importantly- Minimal stirring. We all know I'm the most impatient lady around so this is where I basically have to sit on my hands, eyes glued to the oven, spatula out of reach. We only stir the granola ONCE through the entire baking process because we don't want to break up their happy little friendships that are being built. {Sorry, I'm tired.} Stick to those steps and you, my friend, are on your way to GRANOLA CLUSTER HEAVEEEEEEN. 

coconut almond granola clusters 

2 c. quick cooking oats

1/2 c. coconut flakes

3/4 c. raw almonds, roughly chopped

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 egg white

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

1/2 c. maple syrup or honey

2 tbsp. oil

Preheat oven to 325ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour onto baking sheet, pressing down with a rubber spatula like you would press down granola bars. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly stir around. Press down again and return to oven. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool before breaking into chunks. Store in a jar or airtight container. 

banana oatmeal pancakes

There is one thing I've been learning lately. It basically came out of nowhere, hit me on the head {ahem. figuratively speaking.} and told me I cannot depend on anyone for my own happiness but myself. Happiness is a choice that only you yourself can make. Since moving to Africa, I've seen countless people who literally have nothing. But if you met them, judging by their attitude and their beautiful smiles spanning their face, you wouldn't assume it one bit. If they can be happy when they have nothing, I can be happy too. 

It's been so difficult, finding friends, having friends, and losing friends. Over the last few months, I've learned who my real friends are and aren't. People I thought I would be in relationship with the rest of my life, people I thought would always be there for me, people that I thought I would have fun times and laugh with… They just disappeared and proved to me, all of that was nothing. My life seems to be on this big roller coaster and I can't seem to depend on anyone. I'm learning I can't sit around waiting for that one person I wish would make an effort to make me happy. Because it's not gonna come. 

I'm sharing this not because I want people to feel bad for me or give me sympathy. I like to keep my blog free of negative thoughts, but it's what's up in my life right now. And I know there are people who are going through a similar situation. And if you're one of those people, I want to encourage you because it will get better. We're put in these situations to stretch ourselves and step out of our comfort zones to become the person God wants us to be. My piece of advice is to take your time. Go slow, breathe in the fresh air, and take your time. With everything. When you're taking your time instead of zipping right through life, things seem to get better. It's just how it works. But PLEASE. Don't wait around for people to make you happy. Because as cliche as it sounds, waiting for someone else to make you happy is the best way to be sad. Trust meeeeee, I know. When you let go of all expectations you have of people, your happiness returns and all that sadness just floats away. Let stupid people be stupid people. Don't cling to them. Wait for the ones who are worth your time and don't put you down constantly. You're worth more than that. 

So while I'm waiting for some rad people to come into my life {I know they're out there somewhere!!}, I can make my own kind of happy. Happiness doesn't have to mean having all these things, having a bunch of friends, going out every weekend. It doesn't have to be like that… Trust me, I'm learning. I can find happiness instead in the still of life. Bask in the quiet mornings and lazy afternoons. Whatever that little thing is that brings a glimmer of joy to your soul- do it. I encourage you. Don't wait around for someone else to come around. Make your own kind of happy, whether that be going for a long run, eating a huge slice of chocolate cake in silence, taking a hot bath with some candles, baking a cake for no apparent reason, do some yoga. Whatever it is, go and do it. 

My kind of happy? Starting my morning off with some yoga {in my pajamas, thanyouverymuch} on the porch, making pancakes, sipping my second cup of coffee, and blogging while I take advantage of the beautiful cool breeze that blows through my windows before it turns into sweltering hot African heat. Oh, and staying in my 'jams until noon. Because I have nowhere to go. Nothing to do. But I can still be happy. All I'm gonna say is, thank you Jesus for the carby greatness that is pancakes. 

banana oatmeal pancakes

3-4 bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. ground oat flour

1/2 c. wholewheat flour

1/2 c. quick cooking oats

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth. Scoop onto a greased skillet or frying pan over high heat. Let pancakes cook for about 2-3 minutes before flipping to the other side. Cook until golden brown and crispy. Serve with maple syrup. 

banana bread granola parfait

I'm an absolute freak about breakfast. Like a total, legit fuhhh-reeeeeak. You know those people who couldn't care less about breakfast and are like "OOOOH YERRRRRR, I forgot to eat this morning."?? I'm the absolute farthest from that person that you'll ever meet. I go to bed with breakfast on the mind. I wake up with breakfast on the mind. I workout with breakfast on the mind. It's like some sort of disease I have. OOHHHH WEEEE-AAAALLLL. 

Even though I love it, doesn't mean I get bored though. As we all know, I have the attention span of an ADHD ant, so I need to switch it up quite often. I kind of go through spurts with my breakfasts. One week all I want is oatmeal. The next is smoothies. Sometimes eggs. Toast with peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon. Toast with smashed avocado and fried eggs. I love it all. Espeshhhh granola. My favorite way to eat it is with yogurt, but then I realized that dang dairy is what makes my skin get all wonky-tonk. I didn't totally give up dairy because herrroooo, it's one of my favorite foods ever. But I still eat yogurt about once a week to prevent me from opening the fridge and downing a whole container of it. It could happen. 

Anywho, this parfait is pretty dang simple. Banana bread granola- which totally tastes like banana bread. Ironic, no? It's sweet, chewy, and chunky. Mehhh jam. Layered with plain yogurt and sliced 'nerrnerrs. Now you've got yourself a banana-rama-licious breakfast! Rejoice. DISCLOSURE- Usually when I eat granola and yogurt, I just throw it in a bowl with some fruit. It's never layered and pretty like you see herrrrrr. In fact. After I finished the pictures, I just dumped it in a container to eat for breakfast the next morning. HEHHH. Classy. Oh, P.S. Combining the granola, yogurt, and banana in a bowl and letting it sit in the fridge overnight… NOT a bad idea. Like my beloved overnight oats but with a little more chew to it. Noms. 

banana bread granola 

2 c. oats

1/3 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. mashed banana

1/4 c. honey 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 c. banana chips

1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, stir all ingredients except banana chips and nuts until evenly combined. Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring about 3-4 times until golden brown. Add in banana chips and nuts and transfer to an airtight container or jar. 

Parfait: 

1/2 c. granola

1 large banana, sliced

1/2 c. plain yogurt

In a small bowl or glass, layer half the granola on the bottom of the glass, half the banana, half the yogurt and repeat. 

strawberry muffin bread

I've hardly had any time to EAT lately let alone bake something presentable, jot down recipes, take pictures, and post it on the interwebs. But hey! I did it. At first I thought this bread was gonna be a legit fail. At least looks-wise. I mean, I'm all for "Beauty is what's on the inside" and whatnot, but when it comes to food blogging, I don't care how it tastes, it's gotta look dang good. When I first looked into the oven, the batter was overflowing, forming weird little wrinkles and craters in the bread. Some would say it's ugly. I say to heck with ugly, I think it's attractive {in a I WANT TO EAT YOU kind of way.} It's now summer in these regions, and I've got jumbo, fresh, juicy strawberries up the wazoo!!! What is a wazoo anyway?? Well I got strawberries up it. And I loveeeeee it. Since finding strawberries at the grocery store isn't like finding bars of gold {or costing about that much.} anymore, I thought I'd start some berry bakin'. Fresh strawberry bread? Uh yes. The sweet, fruity, vanilla-y aromas that were lingering about like little berry fairies in the kitchen was enough to make me swoon. And salivate. Sure it looks ugly, but y'all. It tastes fresh and wonderful and just slightly sweet.

strawberry muffin bread

2 large eggs

1 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. maple syrup

6 tbsp. granulated sugar {1/4 c. + 2 tbsp.}

1/2 c. oat flour

1/4 c. gluten free oats

1 1/4 c. gluten free cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. roughly chopped strawberries {about 10-12 strawberries}

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar. Add flours, oats, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until smooth. Fold in strawberries and mix until evenly combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

maple flax cashew butter granola

I am seriously so easily excited, it's kinda odd but a good thing nonetheless. It doesn't take much to perk me up. AT. ALL. Bring me a cup of coffee without asking and we'll be BFFs. Text me in the morning and I'll love you forever. Give me a bar of 70% dark chocolate and I'll dance with endless jubilee. Come over with a tub of ice cream and a chick flick and I'm the happiest camper that ever roamed the lands. I'm not even gonna tell you how excited I got when I was home alone this morning and found Friends was on. Three episodes even! Boomcachowpoooow. Oh and when I found coconut oil at the store? Pretty sure my week was made. Almost two years living in a place where food trends never see the light of day sort of does weird things to a {already weird} person. 

I just got done saying how easy I am to please, but when I found the coconut oil I was thinking "NOOOOOW I just need to find nut butter other than peanut butter." Sure enough, when we were out of town yesterday, scanning the isles of the grocery store for anything awesome or American that we can't find in our little town, I found cashew butter. I'm not even going to tell you how much it cost. Let's just say my dad told me "Merry Christmas!". Which means I probably shouldn't be eating it out of the jar with a spoon like I dooooooes. ANYWAYS. I got really psyched. Last week, coconut oil, and now cashew butter? Winning at life. *fist bump, yo*  Guys, that stuff is fan-freaking-tastic. I want to cover anything and everything with cashew butter. Including my face. MMMM. 

While I'm thinking of ways to use my precious cashew buttahhh other than eating it with a spoon or smothering it on toast, I figured I'd start with granola. Because granola basically is the best breakfast food eeeeeever. I've started making my granola in smaller batches recently because I basically have no self control and if there's an overabundance of the stuff sitting on the counter, I think it my duty to shove it down my face hole. If only granola-eating was an actual paying job, I'd totally be loaded. And then I'd go back and clear off that shelf of fancy-pantsy cashew butter. 

maple flax cashew butter granola

1 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1/3 c. puffed brown rice cereal

2 tbsp. coconut oil

3 tbsp. cashew butter

3 tbsp. organic maple syrup

1/4 c. flax seeds

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven occasionally {about ever 5-6 minutes}, stirring the granola around so that it doesn't burn. Let cool before removing to a jar or plastic container to store. Serve with milk or yogurt and fruit or by itself for an afternoon munchie!

mini peanut butter banana bread pancakes

For some reason, I'm really really really craving SUMMER. Actually, no not some reason. I have a few. For one, it's getting sunny and warm and bright in good 'ol Nam. And to me, that means SUMMER. With my school, I feel like I'm totally running out of steam and kinda half-butting it, if ya know what I mean. I don't really have any consistent time off since the school schedule here is kinda wonky. And since I have no life, it's kinda like I have nothing else better to do. But I'm really feeling like I need a break. A 3 month one. PLEASE. The only solution? SUMMER. I also want to stuff my face with only corn, strawberries, popsicles, and avocado. Dear, SUMMER, I want you. 

So I think you get my gist, I really want summer. What does this have to do with pancakes? Nothing. I just wanted to tell someone about my problems, know what I mean, jelly bean? Sorry I called you jelly bean. I do know for a fact, however, that whatever my problem… Pancakes will solve it. And so will peanut butter. Aside from the obvious chocolate and peanut butter {or my personal favorite: peanut butter and spoon.}, banana and peanut butter are basically soul mates- destined for great things. Like my pie hole. Errr pancake hole. These pancakes are super simple, and taste like banana bread! Peanut butter banana bread that is. Oh also I should mention. I'm totally that weirdo who really strongly dislikes my pancakes sweet. I like them really plain SO there's no added sweetener in this recipe aside from the natural sweetness that the mashed bananas bring. If you're not too fond of the idea, add in a tablespoon or two of honey, maple syrup, stevia, or sugar.

mini peanut butter banana bread pancakes

2 eggs

1/2 c. mashed banana {about 2 small bananas}

3 tbsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1/4 c. oat flour

2 tbsp. wholewheat flour 

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients until combined. Place a greased frying pan over high heat. Scoop batter by two-tablespooonfuls onto greased pan. Let cook for about 2 minutes and flip to the other side until golden brown. Serve warm with extra peanut butter, sliced banana, or maple syrup. 

toasted coconut banana smoothie

The temperatures are rising, and all I want is smoothies. Fresh, cold, icy, refreshing smoothies. Green smoothies, chocolate smoothies, strawberry smoothies, ALL THE SMOOTHIES! I could probably have one for every meal and would totally be a happy camper. 

I've recently become obsessed with toasted coconut. OBSESSED, I tell you. It's crunchy, crispy greatness has been adorning my breakfasts lately and I just can't get enough. You can't get shredded coconut around these parts other than "desiccated coconut" that's basically like snow. 

BLEHHHH. Def not as pretty as these big, chunky flakes I found at a grocery store when we were out of town awhile back. I got a big 'ol bag and it's almost gone. I sad. 

This smoothie is so simple and refreshing. Nothing fancy going on. Just a few bananas, coconut that's been lightly toasted under the broiler, some light coconut milk, ice cubes, and a little dash of cinnamon and vanilla extract for added flavor. Then ya throw it all into a blender and blend it up until all smooth, creamy, and luscious. 

I not only topped the smoothie OFF with the toasted coconut, but it also found its way into the blender. Coconut errrywherrrrrr. It gives the smoothie a little funkalicious texture that I absolutely adore. I also love when the shredded coconut that gets sprinkle atop the smoothie freezes and becomes extra crunchy. 

I'm a crunch freak. Crunch-a-holic. Crunch-o-maniac. Crunch-a-la-don. Sorry,  I'll stop before this gets weird. Errrr… Yah. 

What I'm trying to say is… You need this in your life. 

Have it for breakfast. Have it for a snack. HAVE IT FOR LUNCH! Been there, done that. I won't judge. 

toasted coconut banana smoothie

1/3 c. coconut flakes

2 bananas 

2 c. ice cubes

1/2 c. light coconut milk

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Spread coconut onto a lined cookie sheet. Place under your broiler for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown; set aside. Place all ingredients {save a tablespoon or so of the coconut for topping if desired} in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into two small glasses or one large glass and top with remaining toasted coconut. Serve immediately. 

loaded multigrain muffins

Praise the heavens, I am finally done with that raw thing. I was technically supposed to go until Monday, but decided that if I looked at another leaf of spinach or bowl of hummus, I might cross off health food forever. A girl's gotta have her meat and muffins. I decided that was that on Sunday afternoon when I dug my face into a jumbo bowl of popcorn. Oh, my dearest, how I missed thee. Seriously, if I was stranded on an island and had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my years, it'd be popcorn. No doubt, I cannot quit the stuff. Could be worse, I guess. 

Anyways. I was hit with the baking bug and wanted to whip something up that I could grab for a quick breakfast or after my runs throughout the week. I opened the cupboards to find tons of opened, half-gone bags of nuts and seeds. SO I did what any normal person would do and threw all the stuff 'n things in a muffin. A little piece of advice: no matter what the question, the answer is "Throw it in a muffin." Those words will get ya places in life. 

As the title suggests, these muffins are loaded with all sorts of good carbs, protein, and fiber that are good for those innards of yours. Gotta keeps your innards good and healthy, amiright? They're basically one of those recipes that's like "Open the cupboard and throw every thing your eyeball sees into the bowl." Feel free to switch things up and add different kinds of nuts, seeds, grains, and dried fruit. They make a great snack or quick breakfast on the go. 

With a cup of coffee of course. I've missed my coffee. 8 days was way too long. I think my body learned how to actually function without caffeine during that time and then as soon as I could, I downed two big mugs and was seriously bouncing. off. the walls. BOUNCING. And twirling around the house singing "Augustus Gloop. Augustus Gloop." from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I, in fact, haven't seen in ages. I thought I might be losing my mind. Maybe. 

Anyways, muffins.

loaded multigrain muffins

2-3 bananas, mashed

2 eggs

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. soymilk

1/2 c. ground flax

1/2 c. ground oats/ oat flour

1 c. wholewheat flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. almonds

1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1/4 c. pumpkin seeds

1/3 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease or line a muffin tin; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, honey, soy milk, and banana. Add flour, ground flax, oats, cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until just combined. Fold in nuts, seeds, and raisins. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.