Gingerbread Pumpkin Vegan Overnight Oats
Recipe slightly adapted from here
The day started off fantastic. With a huuuge bowl of overnight Gingerbread Pumpkin Vegan Overnight Oats. I could not wait to wake up (even if it was at five in the morning) to dig into this bowl. While I was putting everything together I couldn't help but take a couple bites here and there. I had to be careful not to eat it all, because I used the last of my pure pumpkin and I wanted to wake up on my first day with something very special! Special indeed. It was the perfect thing to wake up to. Honestly, I felt so good. I had done my work out, tried very hard to make myself look as decent as possible (my mother warned me that the runner was incredibly cute AND bakes, so of course I wanted to look as good as possible haha. Once I walked upstairs and opened the fridge to that beautiful orange bowl of goodness I knew I was in for a treat. It was spectacular. Honestly, this was the best bowl of overnight oats I've had up to date. I will hands down be making this again as soon as I buy some more pure pumpkin. Honestly having this for breakfast was like having non-sinful pumpkin pie. I changed it just a bit, but oh goodness, I can imagine Angela's version with the banana soft serve would be so fantastic... when I buy the pumpkin I will definitely be trying it with the soft serve! This is definitely one of the best breakfasts I've had and that's hard to say considering most of my breakfasts are usually a 4 1/2 star anyways, yes I'm just that good ;) Kidding... but still.Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup regular rolled oats
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/16th tsp sea salt (aka: a tiny pinch)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
- 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup, to taste
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl mix the oats, chia seeds, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir. Now add coconut milk and whisk. Next add molasses, pumpkin, maple syrup, and vanilla and whisk until fully mixed. Place in fridge for 1.5 hours or overnight.
The other day when I had made my Coriander and Kale Mixed Nut Pesto, I had mentioned that I was going to show you guys what I was using my pesto for. Well, what I ended up using it for was to roll it in a loaf of bread. This bread was utterly delicious. The bread itself was super moist with a little bit of crunch from the pine nuts, and the crust of the bread was definitely crunch-worthy and wholesome. Added with the pesto on the inside, ugh, it made for such a perfect snack, especially dipped in some olive oil. I loved this bread, and what I used half of my loaf of it on were these super simple, delicious and vegan burgers. I had found a recipe for bean burgers last week, and even though I am not a huge fan of beans (excluding green beans) I put it to the test.
Well, these burgers definitely aced the test. I served these to a friend who... certainly isn't a vegan and he really enjoyed it. I enjoyed them so much that on Monday it was my forth day in a row of eating them. I love these burgers. They are so filling and everything that's in these burgers you can feel good about. No preservatives, no animals, healthy fats, deliciousness, crunch, greens, ugh it was so so good. The funny thing is, when the beans are mashed, and with the added greens and everything else you would almost think it's a meat patty with some hidden vegetables, however, you would be quite wrong. This is definitely something I will be making again, as they are perfect to freeze and unthaw on another day, so especially with this job it makes for a simple meal to pack in my lunch
Rainbow Chard Veggie Burger
Recipe slightly adapted from here
Ingredients:- 1 15oz can of black beans, rinsed
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1 bunch chard
- 1 onion, diced finely
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup walnut pieces
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/2 Panko bread crumbs
- Canola oil spray
In a large bowl, mash the black beans. Some larger chunks are okay.
Wash the chard, remove the stalks from the leaves. Finely dice the stalks and chop the leaves, keeping separate. Over medium heat, saute 1/2 cup of the diced stalks in 1 tsp of oil for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chopped leaves and saute an additional 10 minutes, until the leaves wilted. Add to the beans.
Add the second tsp of oil and saute the onion for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add to bean and chard mixture.
Grind the walnuts in a food processor. Some larger chunks are okay, as they will add texture. Add to the bean mixture.
Mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, oregano, and thyme into the bean mixture. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. You want the mixture to clump, not be too wet, and have the burgers to form into firm patties. If needed add the additional bread crumbs.
Take 1/3 cup of the mixture and press into a patty between your hands. Spray a pre-heated skillet, and cook the patties over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, flipping half way through. Patties should brown nicely, do not let them burn.
Spiral Pesto Bread
Recipe taken from here
Ingredients:- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp (1 package) instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 cups flour (I used 2 cups whole wheat + 1/2 cup AP flour)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, extra for garnish
- 1/2-3/4 cup pesto
Proof the yeast: Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water, and let stand for 5-10 minutes until mixture is frothy.
Add in salt, olive oil, 1/4 cup of pine nuts (or extra if you want more texture in your bread) and 2 cups of flour.
Mix the dough by hand. Once the dough is sticking together and slightly tacky turn out onto floured surface and begin kneading it, adding the remaining 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and not sticky. (I used about 2 1/2 cups of flour in total.) Knead for 5-10 minutes until dough is elastic.
Place the dough in a large lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1-1.5 hours until doubled. Check to see if dough is done rising: push into it with two fingers, 1″ deep. If the dough springs back it isn’t done rising, if it essentially stays indented then it is done.
Shape the dough: roll the dough out into approximately a 9″ x 13″ rectangle. Spread the pesto in a thin layer over the dough. You can sprinkle some more pine nuts here if you would like to have more texture. Roll the dough along the short-edge to get a roll that is about 9″ long.
Preheat the oven to 350 ºF, bake for 30-40 minutes until the crust is a golden brown.
Pumpkin Apple SoupRecipe taken from here
For dinner, I had this beautiful aromatic and flavourful soup. I have long been a fan of pumpkin. I can remember back in the day, at Hallowe'en the nanny we had and I would cut some pumpkin and eat it just like that, uncooked. Years and years later I heard you're not supposed to actually eat raw pumpkin, whether that's true or not I'm not sure. Since I had a can of pumpkin open, I figured why not make something that I am going to really enjoy? I decided to do just that, and make this beautiful soup. For starters, the colour, it just feels so healthy to be eating something of that colour. Then you take your first bite and your senses are just so happy. From the cumin, to the pumpkin, to the cinnamon, just everything. This soup was perfect, it was flavourful, had spice, and literally took less than ten minutes to whip together start to finish, I mean really, could it be much simpler? What I loved about this soup is that it didn't feel like winter, no, it reminded me of fall when the weather is first beginning to cool down. Nonetheless, simply divine.Ingredients:
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 4-5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 2 cans (15 ounces) real pumpkin
- 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp lime juice, optional
- Thyme sprigs for garnish
Heat oil in a large pot and cook onions until translucent - about five minutes. Add cinnamon, paprika, and cumin. Stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant (do not burn!). Add all remainng ingredients.
Using a hand blender, carefully puree soup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Garnish dishes with thyme sprigs.
Vegan Coconut, Banana, Pear, Raspberry Jam Bran Muffins
Recipe adapted from here
Yesterday I had made some WONDERFUL Bran Muffins. These are by far the most amazing muffins I have ever tasted. I love, love, love bran so already I knew these were going to be good. I adapted the recipe slightly... okay a little more than slightly, and they were fab, they totally hit the spot... more than one, more than twice, more than three times, more than four times. I made them late in the afternoon... made a half batch, who was I kidding that was certainly not enough. By the end of the night there was one, single, lonely muffin. I might have eaten some of my feelings away since I knew what the next day i.e. today held in store. I think my friend did the same thing. Started with nine muffins, and only one left. Needless to say, I quickly saran wrapped it and hit in my lunch box. I didn't want to risk eating it before work =\. Yup these were vegan, had very little sugar in them, excluding the raspberry jam and the natural sugars from the fruit, loaded with fiber, and were simply out of this world. I ended up using the rest of my wheat bran, so I will have to go buy some more because I am already craving them, this was definitely a perfect pick me up snack though during the day! Ugh... they were so good, it was such a beautiful combination of fruit, and with the ooey-gooey warmed jam in the center oh, it had me singing for more!
Ingredients:- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 cups wheat bran
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 chopped pear
- 1 mashed banana
- 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
- Coconut flakes for garnish
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Whip the flaxseed and water to make your "flax egg".
In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients : flour, wheat bran, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt.
In a small bowl combine the wet: milk, vanilla, banana, oil, flax "egg" mixture. Stir the pears into the wet mixture, then combine wet with dry, stirring until just combined.
Take out your muffin tins and either grease or apply muffin cups. Fill cups halfway with muffin batter. Using a 1/2 tsp, scoop out a dollop of jam (about 1 tsp). Nestle the jam in the batter, then cover the jam with another spoonful of batter.
Bake 15-20 minutes. I took mine out around 18 minutes.
Well it was definitely a successful day. But I sure am glad to be home. What are some work meals that you take to work?
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