Growing up I was never really a dessert person, my brother on the other hand was obsessed with sweets. As the years have come, I'm the one who is totally enamored and crazy in-love with desserts, where as my brother doesn't even flinch or show any kind of emotion towards dessert (blasphemy I know). If I could get away with eating desserts all day long I would, but we all know that soon enough my pants would stop to fit, I'd start looking like the Michelin mascot, and my health would start to degrade, all things that I'm not interested in.
This morning I decided to treat myself to a little dessert to start the day, okay, okay... my day started many hours ago, but at 12:00 pm, I finally decided to make "breakfast". This isn't really a breakfast, it's more of a snack to "start" my day. This "dessert" was insanely quick to make (especially compared to how it's originally made), was all made in one bowl, very nutritious, and super delicious. I loved it, and absolutely savoured each and every bite. This is such a simple thing to make, and you can easily change the ingredients to meet your tastes' preferences, mmmm.
Microwaved "Apple Crisp"
Recipe taken from here
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-large green apple
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp rolled oats
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Core apple but leave about 1/8” at the bottom to hold in juices, and trim off some peel around the opening. Put raisins in a small (microwave-safe) bowl with 1 tbsp. of water and microwave for 1 minute. Add rolled oats and half of the cinnamon to the raisin/water mix, stir and place in the center of the apple. Drizzle maple syrup around opening and over the entire apple and sprinkle with some more cinnamon.
Microwave for 3-6 minutes, or until the apple is thoroughly tender. Let sit for 3-5 minutes to cool a little (it won’t cool much). Then cut open and enjoy!
This past week I seem to of been drawn to recipes that included raisins. Usually I'm not a huge fan of raisins in my dishes, especially meals (curries with raisins? Yuck... but this week I tried it in a dish and it was wonderful!) Usually I eat raisins by themselves, or in my cookies, but not this week. No, I added them to a ton of recipes and I couldn't get enough of them. They are perfect little specs of yumminess and I think I may have to reconsider my views on raisins in dishes (I don't think I'll ever eat them in carrot cake, but for other dishes I'm willing to try).
Pre-Work Out Banana Fuel
To start off: for my workout fuel I have really, really, really been getting a kick out of this:
Ingredients:
- 1 banana, cut in half
- Topped with
- Gingerbread peanut butter (3 cups of peanuts, + 1 tbsp EVOO + 1 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp ground ginger + 1/4 tsp allspice + 1/8 tsp cardamom + 1 1/2 crystallized ginger)
- Raisins
- Walnuts
- Flaked coconut
- Hazelnut agave nectar
Cut banana in half, add topings, add a generous amount of hazelnut agave nectar. Eat slowly, enjoy, embrace, delight.
Cinnamon Raisin VOO
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1/3 cup oats
- 1/3 cup soy milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tbsp homemade peanut butter (I used the above peanut butter recipe)
Mix all of your ingredients together and allow to sit for a minimum of two hours, or let sit overnight.
Healthified Supreme Chunky Monkey "Ice Cream"
Recipe slightly adapted from here
"Ice cream" for breakfast? Must I say more? I love eating banana soft-serve after a work out, since I can add protein - peanut butter, nuts, chia seeds, etc... and still have a delicious dessert-like snack. I've been in-love with banana soft-serve since I started making them about two years ago. There are so many different versions that you can make, that you should never, ever, ever get sick of it (really, I think I could eat banana soft-serve three times a day and still be marvelled by it's deliciousness with every bite that goes into my mouth). This soft-serve had a whole abundance of deliciousness that I couldn't help but let out a few mmm's here and there.
Ingredients:
- 2 bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen + 1/2 - 1 tbsp of soy milk to make it easier to incorporate
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp walnuts
- 1 tbsp cacao nibs
Place frozen bananas, almond butter, and coconut in your food processor. Pulse until a large mass develops. If the banana isn’t binding, try adding 1-2 tbsp non-dairy milk or allowing the bowl to sit for 1 minute or so to defrost slightly.
Drop ball of soft serve into a large bowl and mix in walnuts and chocolate chunks.
Serve immediately.
Sweet Potato and Walnut Salad
Recipe slightly adapted from here
This is definitely one of my new favourite salads. For the past few months now, at least twice a week I have a sweet potato salad, whether it be with chickpeas, tofu, broccoli, or other veggies, I'm hooked. I've been hoarding sweet potatoes like there's no tomorrow. I'm in love, yes, it certainly is love. When I saw Kelsey's recipe I knew that it was going to be a good one, because, I'm pretty sure she's as hooked on sweet potatoes as I am so I trust her judgment, plus anything that has apple cider vinegar in it is bound to be good, I just love that flavour yum! At first I was going to omit the raisins, since as I mentioned I've never been a fan of having raisins in my dishes, but I'm glad in the end I decided to add them in because it added the perfect chewiness/sweetness to the dish. The only thing I did differently than her was that I added three green onion stalks because they were going bad, other than that exactly the same. This dish will definitely be made again soon, yum! I love dishes where you can make it all in one bowl and just add it to the pan, it takes so little brain-work or concentration and you can continue on with your day and have your dish waiting for you in less than an hour, yipee!
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1/2 large red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 green onion stalks, chopped
- Pinch of cardamom
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Pinch of chili powder
Directions:
Cut sweet potatoes into cubes.
Combine maple syrup, vinegar and spices together. Pour mixture onto sweet potatoes and massage with hands. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees F.
Chop red onion. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle on chopped onion. Place back in the oven and continue cooking for 30 more minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
Place back in bowl and add walnuts and raisins. Toss everything together and serve.
Are you a fan of having raisins in your meals,
or are you someone who prefers to just have raisins in their desserts?
One of the most delicious recipes, I would like to get married with a chef because I like the good food, your blog is one of my favorites
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