triple chocolate pancakes

I've been becoming quite the pancake-freak lately. I've always LOVED shoving my face with pancakes but hated making them. Not to mention, I'd usually burn them and the house would smell like it was on fire somewhere. My mom wasn't a fan. However, over the last few weeks, I've been making pancakes in the morning for breakfast and am starting to love the process of whisking together a few simple ingredients, pouring them on a hot pan, watching them puff up and bubble a bit, and flip them until their sides are golden. It's like therapy but cheaper. I've come up with a basic recipe that I use often. Although really, it's not an actual recipe. It's a just few ingredients that I pour into the bowl, no measuring cups in sight. Somehow they always turn out better when I eyeball it. 

Anyways, lately my blog stats have been plummeting. It's weird and it's driving my insides CRAZY. Yesterday, my stats were only a third of the usual views. When I saw this, I immediately thought "I need to come up with a super awesome recipe. And fast." Plain old pancakes weren't gonna cut it, so obviously, I turned to chocolate… I always turn to chocolate. {seriously, the amount I consumed yesterday? frightening. I had a bad day, ok?} I shut the computer, ran to the kitchen, took out my ingredients, and made pancakes at 11 am. 'Cuz why not. 

These pancakes are pretty basic- eggs, yogurt, a bit of sugar to balance out the chocolate, flour, baking powder, cocoa, some chocolate soy milk, and chocolate chunks. Chocolate x3. For the chocolate chunks I used a combination of two chocolate bars- one I used was like semi-sweet chocolate {it's my new favorite. I munch on it throughout the whole day. NO SHAME.} and a little bit of 70% cocoa. Yup, these pancakes are dark, man. Nothing wimpy going on over here. 

Since I made these at kind of a weird time, I topped them off with whipped cream and my whole family dug in. The combination of the dark, fluffy pancakes and the melty, oozy chocolate is to DIE FOR. A little tip before I forget- the pancakes are super tender and delicate… Like a newborn baby. You know how you get all like scared to touch them in fear that you may, uhh… break them? Kinda like these pancakes. Just be sure to let them get pretty done on one side before you flip them. Otherwise you'll end up with a flippy floppy undone pancake baby, and we don't like flippy floppy pancake babies. Oh and did I mention they're relatively healthy? Yah, triple chocolate pancakes that don't take up your whole day's calorie intake. You're so welcome. 

triple chocolate pancakes {gluten-free}// yields about 12 small pancakes

2 eggs

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. chocolate soy milk

3 tbsp. granulated sugar

3/4 c. gluten free flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. chocolate chunks

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, and soy milk. Stir in the sugar and the rest of the dry ingredients. Pour batter into circles {about 1/8 c. each} onto a greased frying pan over medium heat. Once the pancakes are cooked on one side {about 2 minutes or so}, carefully flip to the other side- continue until batter is finished. Serve with whipped cream, fresh berries, bananas, or peanut butter. 

healthy brownies

Phewwwwww. These last few weeks have been quite the doozy. Our American visitors were here and our teammates who live in Otji just left for the States for *gaaaaasp* 6 months. Yah, that happened. Ooph. I almost {aaaalmost} feel like saying goodbye to two of my BESTFRIENDSINTHEENTIREUNIVERSE for 6 months was harder than saying goodbye to my friends in the states for two years. And I knew those peoples my whole life, saywhat? This confirms that sneaky suspicion of mine that says we're seriously secretly related. Good gracious, I may be like a foot taller, but seriously. We can't go longer than a day without talking to each other. See now why I'm not happy they're gone for 6 months? Which seriously feels like decades… I need chocolate. No seriously. My other friend and I have been dreading this day for months. We knew it'd come, but at the same time we never thought it'd actually happen, ya know? Sure it's not going to be fun {at. all.}, but we'll get through it. BARELY, but it'll happen. Thank GOOOOD we have each other's shoulders to cry on, chocolate to eat, and movies to watch. Yup, that's happening tonight. Mere hours after they left town and we're already whipping out the coping mechanisms of choice. Enter >>> brownies. I figured since we'd probably polish off the whole pan {I made the kid cookies last week because he stayed home from school with a sprained ankle. He ate 9. Don't question his abilities.}, I'd make them somewhat nutritious. I mean, he couldn't care less- he's a teenage boy with the metabolism of a 6 year old human child- but I like knowing that what I eat isn't jam packed of sugar, fat, and empty calories. IIIIIIIIIN fact, I did the math, and if your pan makes 12 decent sized brownies, they're about 110 calories each! Which means it's totally acceptable to eat half the pan. Dewwwwittttt. 

healthy brownies {gluten-free}

1 c. plain yogurt

2 small eggs 

3/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. gluten free all purpose flour

1 c. quick cooking oats 

Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a 6x8 baking pan. Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing. 

maple nut granola

Greetings, earthlings! I'm sure you all are wondering where the heyhey I've been… Or maybe you haven't, I don't know. Either way, I'm heeeeyah now! This last week has been quite the whirlwind. And it's only going to keep going. Our 'merrican visitors are leaving tomorrow, and *le sigh* I am sad to see them go. We had a great week doing a VBS with some cute little kiddies. I won't go into the details, but let's just say it's quite hectic and nothing like the organized VBSes in the States with coordinating snacks and decorations. Umm, no. Yesterday we had a Celebrate Jesus Youth Parade that has been 6 months in the making. All the planning, meetings, and hard work paid off. We had probably a thousand people show up, wonderful worship, prayer, and powerful messages. I was the photographer and WHOO! At the end of the day, it felt like I still had my camera strap around my neck. I also got SUPER sunburned in this dang African sun. On the upside, it will turn into a tan which I was really in desperate need of. 

Next week, we have lots of other things going on {which I can't even think of. I can't even remember what I'm doing tomorrow.} and our American team members {that actually live here.} are going back to the States a week from tomorrow for 6 months. I honestly can't believe they're actually leaving. They'd been talking about leaving for months and months but due to some complications, had to stay up until now. It's going to take some getting used to, that is for sure. We see each other almost every day and they've been such an encouragement to me since the day we got off the plane in Namibia. We're basically like siblings. Seriously, their mom said no friends one day but I was allowed over there because I count as family. It's going to be really difficult, but I'm spending as much time with those two as I can in the next six days and I'm praying for comfort and strength to get through it. I've thought about serenading them with Stay by Rihanna and bringing them cupcakes in hopes of getting them to not leave me. If you can't tell, I'm really super duper not looking forward to next Sunday when I give them the BIGGESTFREAKINGHUGEVER until they get their buns back here on New Years. I told my other friend I'm going to make him fat when they leave because I'm an emotional baker and/or eater and he'll get the good end of that deal. I'm also thinking he'll have to put up with an innumerable amount of tears and chick flicks. I probably won't be blogging for awhile. Life is so crazy.

I'm coming to realize the fact that I'm in Africa for a reason and I want to take advantage of the time I have here. Taking in all the scenes, sounds, and smells {err nah. BO isn't a smell you want to remember.} Of course, I love my blog, but I'm obviously not in Africa to blog about food when I'm around people on a daily basis who will go days without a bite to eat. It seems kinda weird, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'll still blog, but not as often as I used to. I like to have my blog as an escape when I have some down time or am stressed.

On a positive note… GRANOLA. Granola is the shiiiiiz and one of my ultimate comfort foods of choice {see where i'm going with this? yah.} Since our visitors brought us approximately 2353224553 gallons of homemade maple syrup, I figured I'd throw some in granola. 'Cuz why not. The weather here is so granola-worthy. It's winter now and in the mornings and nights, it gets SO COLD. Like 40 degrees cold. Didn't think that could happen in Africa, didya? That's Namibia- anything but stereotypical Africa. Anyways, I made this for breakfast this week because every morning, my mom would set out some granola from the store. But that stuff has lots of weird and unnecessary things in it {corn syrup? really?} and miiiiiiiiiine tastes way better. I'm just sayin'.

maple nut granola

2 c. quick-cooking oats 

1 1/2 c. puffed brown rice cereal

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. dark brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. organic maple syrup

2 tbsp. sunflower oil {or another oil}

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until evenly combined. Spread on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooled, pour into a large jar or plastic container. 

orange strawberry muffins

When I'm asked what I miss most about the US {I get asked this. A lot.}, my number one answer is almost always... the FOOD. I miss Starbucks the most, with Chipotle, McDonald's, Culver's, Subway, and IHOP up there on the list too. Sure, I've become quite the health nut in the last year and a half, but who doesn't love a big bowl of RICE with veggies {mmm carbs. my fave.} or a frappucino with a gallon of whip to top it off? When we were in Cape Town, South Africa with my grandparents in February, we heard there was a McDonald's there. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that was our first stop when we arrived. I put all health aside and downed a chicken sandwich and fries. Oh my word, you guys. That crap mystery meat had never tasted so good in my LIFE. Last week at youth group, my friend told me there was going to be a McDonald's in Windhoek {the capital of Namibia}, just 3 hours away! Yes, you guys. In a couple months, I'll be 3 hours away from a McDonald's. Dangerous if you ask me. Anyways, when he told me this I freaked out, jumped up and down, squealed a little bit, and then put on a straight face and said "Boy. Don't lie to me. This is serious stuff." He wasn't lying. And I'm really excited. Seriously, all we need is a Target and Forever 21, and I am good. to. go.

Anyways, for the next week and a half {errrr something. I seriously have no idea.}, we're having a small group of some 'merrrricans staying in Otji with us! Yay! I love having visitors. I mean, we've only had one so far, but it was wonderful. Something about having people here that you already KNOW from the States is just kind of great. Familiar… Yah, that's probably it. It's so fun being the ones who know what's up and I love showing people what our life is like here. Pictures, words, and blog posts don't do our life in Africa any justice. Not to mention the fact that they bring with them loads of goodies {hello homemade maple syrup. reese's. new TOMS.} I also love having an excuse to bake and try out new recipes. Sometimes I'll make something and it's sitting around for days. But when there's a group of people, whatever I choose to whip up is gone in a matter of minutes. 

As we all know, the weekend is not complete without a good feast of a breakfast. Although breakfast for me is like that prooooobably almost every morning. I'm a freak, but breakfast is really important to me. Since our little team was on a plane for a million hours {weeeee-all. Like 24. Same dif.}, I'm pretty sure they were lacking good food in their bellies. Airplane food is ick. I made sure to have some good muffins made {because duh.} for their breakfast and we also had fruit, yogurt, granola, toast, and hardboiled eggs. I dig it. These muffins are really yummy and fresh and I actually made them gluten free {no one could tell. and I didn't tell anyone. Muahaha.} Oh, a quick little tip! I didn't chop up the strawberries at all and they got kinda… Weird. So just be sure to chop them up a little bit before adding them to the batter. You can use fresh strawberries if you have access to them {sadly, we don't. if only those could be sent with visitors. ha.}, but I used frozen ones. To thaw them, I filled a glass bowl with hot water, set the strawberries in a strainer, and placed the strainer over the hot water while I prepared the rest of the batter. It worked perfectly, just be sure to pat the strawberries dry. I had issues with that and they were slipping and sliding in the batter. Ok, I'm done talking now. I hope you have a happy, muffin-filled weekend!

orange strawberry muffins

2 c. stawberries {fresh or frozen and thawed}

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. freshly grated orange zest

2 eggs

1 c. plain greek yogurt 

1/3 c. honey

1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp. baking powder

3 1/2 c. gluten-free flour

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and orange zest with your fingertips. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, orange sugar, honey, yogurt, and orange juice. Add flour and baking powder and stir until combined. Gently fold in strawberries. Scoop batter into a lined or greased baking tin. Bake for 15-25 minutes. 

peanut butter honey granola

Believe it or not, the last couple days here have been cold. For awhile, it was really nice, staying around the 70's all day, but lately? ahhmahhgahh. The mornings and nights are so frigid my toes want to fall off and my lips turn this super weird purplish color that would NOT make a good lipstick. It's horrible. Last night I slept in long pants and a sweatshirt, with two comforters and two blankets wrapped around me, yet I was still SHIVERING. And I'm in Africa, you say? What the what. This is so weird. My little noggin can't take it any longer. There's still a plus side though… I don't have to go running the second I wake up in the morning. During the summer months, it gets hot really early, so I usually go around 6. But I've been chilling in my jammies for the morning, drink my cup of coffee, watch my Food Network, and go running around 8:30. Even when I went this morning, it was still so cold! My toes were going numb and my face burned a little bit. But I guess that's better than sweating my buns off. 

Another reason why I'm totally digging this weather? Food. Figures, right? When it's cold out, all I want is comfort food. Lentil stew and chicken noodle soup for dinner? Check. Oatmeal, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast? Checkcheckcheck. One of my favorite breakfasts is granola. I haven't made it in forever since I figured out dairy was a part of my skin problems, and I preferred my granola with yogurt. Stubborn am I. However, with all this cold weather, I'm in the mood for something hearty in the morning like peanut butter. Seriously, how bad can it be? Not bad at all, my friend. Not bad at all. 

So I made granola! And I ate granola! A lot of granola! Way too much granola! Seriously, you guys I went into a peanut butter and brown rice cereal induced coma. Yes, I over did it, but I'll just eat a carrot for dinner and the guilt will be no more. Not that there's much to feel guilty about though… This granola is relatively healthy, full of good carbs, protein, fiber, and healthy fats from the peanut butter. It's super chewy and peanut buttery, and not too sweet. As I was mixing the granola, I couldn't keep my fingers out of there and took a bite or two. The granola tastes a little like peanut butter cookie dough! Then as I was baking it, I'd take it from the oven to stir it around and I think every time I did that, I took a chunk or too of granola. And then I took pictures which lead to more munching. I guess what I'm trying to say is… This stuff is madly addicting. No matter how much self control you have, I can almost guarantee you'll go weak at the knees and eat extremely large quantities. For breakfast, you could add it to your cereal with some yogurt and fruit. You could also throw this on top of ice cream or just munch on a handful for an afternoon snack. Either way, if you love peanut butter like I do, I think you will absotootly adore this granola. 

peanut butter honey granola

2 1/2 c. oats

1 1/2 c. brown rice cereal

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. peanuts

In a large bowl, stir all of the ingredients until combined. Pour onto a lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes. 

banana health bread

Just in case you're totally confused at the title "banana health bread", please. Let me fill you in on this greatness. Health bread is a really popular sandwich bread here in Namibia. It's usually a really dark, pretty color {I'm not sure what kind of flour they use} and packed with nuts, seeds, and raisins. My favorite way to eat is with avocado and egg or peanut butter and honey. We love walking to the gas station down the road and buying a loaf of the bread. Almost every gas station in town bakes it fresh daily and the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air is intoxicating. 

I decided to whip up a really hardy version of classic banana bread this weekend and it reminded me exactly of my beloved "hakahana" health bread- hence the name. It's packed with raisins, sunflower seeds, and oats which give it a good amount of protein and fiber. Of course, you don't have to use sunflower seeds and raisins- you could use dried cranberries, apricots, almonds, walnuts, anything! For a balanced breakfast, try spreading some peanut butter or honey on top  of a slice {umm yes.}, have it with a side of fresh fruit, or a hard-boiled egg. It's not too sweet, but it's full of banana and cinnamon flavor which is my FAVORITE. I also made it gluten and dairy free! … Just 'cuz. 

banana health bread// dairy-free, gluten-free 

yields one large loaf + 5 medium-sized muffins

3 large bananas, mashed

1 egg + 2 egg whites

1/3 c. soymilk

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. white rice flour

1 c. gluten-free all purpose flour

1 c. oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 tbsp. baking powder

3/4 c. raisins

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Combine bananas, milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add dry ingredients and fold in raisins and sunflower seeds. Stir until combined. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Pour any excess batter into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool before removing from pan.

oatmeal chocolate chunk bars

My family is sometimes, uhh… Not very understanding when it comes to my baking and blogging. I love my family and thought they deserved something sweet that wasn't gluten, dairy, and sugar free. Because they've had their fair share of muffins, granola bars, and homemade muesli. As I was baking these bars today, literally all 4 of my family members were either yelling at me for not using a recipe, saying they were gonna turn out weird, or asking a million questions a second. I think that I've made enough cookie recipes to know what kind of ratios make what kinds of cookies. Sometimes, people don't get it. At least that's how I feel. As I was in the living room taking pictures {these bars are dang ugly}, adjusting the bars, switching the ISO, and all those blogger-like things, my family was laughing and saying how dumb it was. Umm, ok. My mom freaks out if I don't use a recipe and come up with one by myself. I told her no high class pastry chef goes to allrecipes.com for their recipes. Sure, I love classic desserts, but I think in order to give yourself a name, you have to step out of the "normal" and try new things others maybe wouldn't think of. I guess I'm kind of on my own as far as being a baking blogger goes. They don't get it, but ya know what? They don't need to. I love my food, I love my pictures, and I love my blog. I'll keep on doing it for as long as I live, regardless of what other people think. I'm gonna be honest, I was close to just dumping out the creamed butter and sugar and walking away because I felt so unappreciated and ignored. Guys, I was making you BARS! With sugar! And butter! And flour! No need to go all le freak on moi. Lo and behold, they all loved these bars after sitting there drooling and asking me when they could try a bite as I was taking the pictures. 

While I was watching my Food Network and drinking my cup of coffee this morning, I texted my mom and asked if they could pick up some oats and chocolate at the grocery store because I wanted to make some cookies. She texted back "Yes!!" exclamation points and all, which… is kind of a big deal. It's rare that I suggest a recipe that doesn't have some sort of fruit in it and a "with" or "and" in the title. One of our favorite cookies around here are oatmeal chocolate chip. I was originally planning on making these into cookies, but I have a case of what I'm calling summer-break-ultra-laziness and just pressed the dough into a bar pan. Oh and by the way. This recipe? I made it up. :) These bars are really chewy, soft, and buttery. If you're texture-crazy like me, I think you'll love these. The oats give them a really great texture and the chocolate forms little pockets of melty joy throughout the bars. Seriously, your taste buds are gonna do the harlem shake, electric slide, gangnam style, party rock shuffle all at the same time.  

oatmeal chocolate chunk bars

3/4 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. dark brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 c. wholewheat flour

2 1/2 c. quick-cooking oats

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt 

1 1/2 c. chocolate chunks {or chocolate chips}

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease or line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until combined. Fold in chocolate chunks. Press dough into prepared pan and bake for 15-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool before slicing into squares.