P'tit poisson.

It has been an incredibly looooooooooong time since I’ve posted any fish recipes.  Yes, it’s been almost a full year.  At this point last year, I had just begun dabbling with my vegan lifestyle.  However, as I had written a few months ago, I had considered reintegrating fish back into my diet, especially because I knew I wanted to put on weight in a healthy manner, and wanted to hire a personal trainer.  At first I didn’t think fish would be something that I would keep in my diet on a regular basis, but as I started doing more training the more I craved animal rich protein.  I hate to say that, especially since all my recipes are vegan (excluding the fact that I eat Greek yoghurt), but everything is fully vegan.

I can’t deny myself something if my body is craving it however, I did that for quite some time which later developed into an eating disorder and I’m not about to go down that road again.  With that being said, if I crave something, I will eat it, whether it’s good or bad for me, /cough those Mint Chocolate Baileys Cookies, anyone else?!

  

One of my favourite nuts are pistachios, and one of my favourite fish is tilapia, finding a recipe incorporating both of these I knew I had to try it, especially since I was given some pistachios at Christmas that I still hadn’t opened up, since I was waiting for a “special time” to use them, well that special time came for this recipe.  At first I didn’t know how the both of them would meld together but it was amazing!  This is a fish recipes that needs to be the focus of certain restaurant menus.  It was light, refreshing, crunchy, with a little bit of a zing as well as it left you with a feeling of home comfort.  This recipe made me reminisce of the summer, and it is certainly one that will be enjoyed in the summer.  It was a cinch to throw together, took barely any time at all, and the results were fantastic.  Would certainly suggest trying this out, especially if you need a new way to cook your go-to fish.

Pistachio Crusted Tilapia Filets

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of tilapia
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped/crushed pistachios 
• 1 Meyer lemon
• 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and fresh pepper
• 1 bag of baby spinach

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Drizzle a little olive oil in a pot and heat it up on a medium heat.  When the pan is hot, put in the spinach and, pulling the pan off the heat, just toss it and let it wilt.  Add some salt and pepper. Set aside.

Drizzle the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and lay the two pieces of flounder on top. Sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper and then drizzle them with olive oil.  Press in a good coating of the crushed pistachios over each fish.  Don't skimp.  Dot with the butter, squeeze half the lemon over the fish, and bake for 10 minutes.

Put under the broiler briefly, just until the nuts get a little golden and everything is sizzling.  Watch carefully because the nuts will burn very quickly.  Serve the fish over the spinach with wedges of Meyer lemon.

Note:  You can substitute just about any fish, but I think a mild white fish like sole, tilapia, haddock or snapper would work best.  The best way to chop the nuts is in a mini food processor, it will only take 15 seconds or so.

Tropical Island Spinach Salad

Since I had a bed of wilted spinach underneath the tilapia I decided to make a side spinach salad to go along with it.  It was incredibly quick to throw together, and because the fish was reminiscent of the summer I thought I would make a salad that would also send me to that far away land.  This salad was right down my ally of course considering the tropical flavours.  This was also very easy to whip up and is very versatile don’t have any pineapple or oranges?  How about throwing in some mango, banana, coconut or even grapefruit?  The possibilities are endless and it is a great way to get some iron into you!

Ingredients:

• Large handful of spinach ~ 2 cups
• 1 tangelo minneola – chopped and segmented (or any other type of orange you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup of chopped pineapple
• 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 tbsp slivered almonds
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Freshly squeezed lime juice - dressing

Seeing as tilapia is so versatile, how do you like to enjoy it?

Seven Days of Oats a la Sam

Last week I made a post for Five Days of Protein Shakes, with my daily ingestion of protein shakes also comes my daily consumption of oats (as I'm sure you all know by now).  Since I hadn't made an entry for any of these bowls last week I figured I would give you guys seven days of oats a la Sam.  Sit tight and relax, you are about to enjoy :)

Day 1 - Orange and Almond Infused Oats

I have never used orange juice as a split base for my oats, however, I had a lot of oranges left to eat before I left for my trip to British Columbia and I didn't want these precious fruits going to waste so I figured I would experiment.  I mean, it's not too different from water, just that it has a little zing to it.  I wasn't sure what flavours I wanted to go with the orange infusion, but as I was making my oats I just had a lot of ideas flowing through, as to what I've seen orange paired with on prior occasions.  The first bite I took I was a little reluctant as it had sort of an iffy taste to me, I can't really describe what it was, perhaps overkill in orange?  I'm not sure, however, once I took my second and third bite I was definitely smitten by the divinity of this bowl.  There were so many flavours that I used in this bowl, and in unison they all came together very well.  This was a really divine bowl, and it was an excellent way to begin the day.  I'm not a juice drinker, so with the orange infused in the oats it gave my morning ritual a nice little twist.  This is definitely a very versatile bowl and will certainly be enjoyed again - this would certainly be ideal in the summer, perhaps even as overnight oats and have them cold rather than warm.  I loved it, and it was certainly a great way to start a weeks worth of various bowls of oats!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup soy milk + more for topping
• 1 ripened banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Garnish:

• Cacao nibs
• Almond slivers
• Coconut flakes
• 0% fat blackberry Greek yoghurt
• Orange zest
• Maple syrup

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, salt, almond and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, and the rest of your garnishes!

Day 2 - Almond Joy Oats

I’ve never had Almond Joy before, to be honest, I’m not even sure if we get Almond Joy chocolate bars in Canada.  However, I have seen numerous recipes online via my dear fellow bloggers of imitation recipes for this delicious looking and sounding treat.  I am a huge fan of almonds (hello Amaretto, am’I right?), and coconut we all know how in love I am with this beautiful flavor, when mixed together with a ibit of chocolate well, this is amazing.  In this case I cheated a bit, and didn’t use real chocolate since if I don’t have to have chocolate I usually opt to not have it, but carob chips I am seriously very fond of.  I remember this one time I had a friend over, and I was making “chocolate chip cookies” with carob chips instead, had the bagg open and as they were sticking their hand in the bag and gobbling up some chips behind my back they were well quite shocked to be completely honest that the taste wasn't at all what they had expected hahaha.  This oatmeal however, despite the fact that I’ve never eaten an Almond Joy, if I can use my imagination, well I think that this would be neck in neck as to what it would taste like.  This was seriously fantastic, and again, just like many of my breakfast bowls of oats resembles a healthy dessert rather than what's supposed to be a healthy breakfast, thankfully both categories work and my tummy and tastebuds get a treat as well!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Garnish:

• 1 tbsp carob chips
• 1 tbsp slivered almonds
• 1 tbsp coconut flakes
• 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, almond and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, and the rest of your garnishes!

Day 3 - Crunchy Peanut Butter Oatmeal

I have never been one for cereal, especially cereal and milk, gross.  I was always a weird kid when it came to breakfast.  For many years I wouldn't eat breakfast, no way Jose.  Then I started eating breakfast and it wasn't your typical breakfast food, no, I would eat pasta, Mr. Noodles, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, yes I was a weird kid.  This went on for many years.  It's only the past few years, more so when I started going to University did I start to eat like a real person, and would also eat breakfast, nowadays I love it, and is by far my favourite meal of the day, and could hands down eat breakfast meals all day long.  When it comes to cereal, I am still not a fan of cereal and milk together, yes, I will do like I did when I first started incorporating cereal in my diet and have a glass of milk on the side but never together, yuckers.  My current favourite is of no surprise to me since the main flavour is peanut butter.  I eat this cereal when I'm craving something junky but don't want to feel guilty - even though I may eat a lot in one sitting uh oh, oh well, better than a bag of chips.  The other morning when I was making my oats, I knew I wanted peanut butter, then I thought of my wonderful cereal and figured hey why not throw them together in one magical unison?  Well magical unison it was.  This bowl was creamy and full of peanut butter and because of the cereal it had a nice crunchy bite to it as well.  I loved this, and will definitely keep this as a go-to if I'm not feeling motivated to think of something special to make for my breakfast bowl!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup peanut butter cereal crushed
• Handful of peanut butter chipits

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana an peanut butter.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, crushed cereal and peanut butter chipits.

Day 4 - Chai Spiced Banana Oats

Okay, looking at the ingredient list, this definitely wouldn't look like a recipe I would want to make early in the morning, I mean, it looks like the list is as long as The Great Wall of China, but it's not really, there are just a lot of spices.  Chai has got to be my favourite spice combination, it incorporates all the fall flavours that I love so much, and it's just so warming and aromatic.  Especially when paired with oats, it gives you such a warm, home comfort feeling.  This bowl of oats was the perfect thing to wake up to and have for breakfast.  I loved it, and it was certainly a great pick-me up on a day where I certainly wasn't feeling like going to the gym and working out.  This truthfully didn't take any longer than my regular oats that I make, and was certainly worth taking out the few extra spices to add a little zing to my morning.  If you're not a big fan of ginger, I would almost suggest putting a little less than suggested and adding more cinnamon, all depends on how spicy you want it to be (however, with the added coconut, maple syrup and carob chips it adds a hint of sweetness)!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp of cloves
• 1 tbsp flax
• Maple syrup - to garnish
• 1 tbsp carob chips 
• 1 tbsp pecans 
• 1 tbsp flaked coconut

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, flaxseed and vanilla extract to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana an peanut butter.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, maple syrup, carob chips, pecans and flaked coconut.


Day 5 - Blueberries and Cream Oats

Recipe inspired from here

Hmmm, as I mentioned the other day, my mom bought me twelve bags of frozen fruits, and well, the blueberries needed to get gobbled up since out of all fruits, these are basically my least favourite.  However, I've come to appreciate them when it comes to having them with warm oats as they seem to ooze all over the place and create the perfect flavour to oats (Blueberry Cobbler Oatmeal) also when paired with cinnamon and banana (Blueberry Pie Smoothie).  The other day as I was stumbling upon the foodie blogs I came across for a blueberry breakfast that actually looked quite delicious.  At first I was contemplating using raspberries instead of blueberries and thought what the heck I might as well give it a shot.  I'm glad I did.  I'm still not fully converted to blueberries, but I'm beginning to appreciate those little buggers a teeny bit more.  This oatmeal was luxurious, and definitely in the lines of a dessert as opposed to a breakfast (you really do feel like you're doing the body harm when eating this - but you are by no means doing so).  I loved this, and will certainly be trying it again, and perhaps trying it as I initially wanted to with raspberries.  I loved eating this because not only was it so tasty and good for me, it was darn right beautiful to look at, now that's a bonus right?

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + 1 tbsp + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp slivered almonds 

Directions:

In a small pot add blueberries, maple syrup, vanilla and 1 tbsp of coconut milk.  Heat over low heat until the blueberries are heated through - make sure not to boil the coconut milk.

Make your oats as you typically make them.  Then top with your blueberry compote, slivered almonds, additional coconut milk and maple syrup!

Day 6 - Tropical Oats

Do I even need to write a little tidbit for this next bowl?  I really don't think so, and I'm not going to.  Instead I'm going to head downstairs and clean up after my cats, because by now, we all know how amazing tropical flavours are, how well they meld together, and how delightful they are with oats especially for breakfast when the weather isn't as warm as it's going to be for the rest of the day and you want to feel as though you're in the Caribbean somewhere drinking slurping back on a gigantic Pina Colada.  All I'm going to say is, do yourself a favour, and make this - you know what to do.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + 1 tbsp + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp chopped cashews
• 1/4 cup chopped pineapple
• 1/4 cup cubed mango
• 1 heaping tbsp coconut flakes
• 0% fat vanilla Greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, Greek yoghurt, mango, pineapple, cashews, coconut flakes, and hemp seeds.

Day 7 - Strawberry Nutella Oats

Okay, okay, Nutella and strawberries are absolutely amazing.  Clearly I’ve had peanut butter and Nutella are amazing together, as are bananas and Nutella.  As we all know, chocolate and strawberries are matches made in heaven, but with the addition of hazelnuts, holy moly it’s a whole other world.  This oatmeal was incredibly creamy, luxurious, sinful, perfectly sweet, packed full of protein, and was incredibly filling and a perfect way to start a work out.  I made this a few times before I decided that I need to photograph it because this is certainly one bowl that needs to be shared with the rest of you, pure perfection in a bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup coconut milk + more for topping
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 ripe banana
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium sized strawberries – quartered than cut in half
• 1 tbsp Nutella
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds
• 0% fat strawberry Greek yoghurt

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana and Nutella.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional milk, Greek yoghurt, strawberry slices, and hemp seeds.

What are some ideas you use to spruce up your morning oats?

Better late than never right?

Around Christmas is when I had stopped blogging for quite some time.  It's not that I didn't enjoy doing it, it's just I wasn't finding inspiration in the things I was doing.  It was nice not having to think before I was going to eat, or when I made desserts to remember to take pictures beforehand.  I guess when it comes down to it, it was pure laziness.  I was still on the computer, looking at fellow bloggers pages, but I just couldn't bring myself to doing so, instead I was enjoying spending time with friends, being with my family, working out and reading.  I realized though it really was something I missed (hence I'm writing this now).  Despite my lack of inspiration there were still a few goodies I did snap some pictures of.  Unfortunately I didn't photograph all my Christmas baking which is rather unfortunate since I made some really amazing sweets this year.

This Christmas had to be the first Christmas that I didn't go overboard.  I made about eight or nine goodies, which really is not that much, and when I was making them, I wasn't doing full batches.  Thankfully for me, this was good; it gave me enough to pack up for friends as gifts, and it left me with a few for me to snack on.  The recipes I'm going to post were the top favourites of the season (decided on by both me and the people who had tried my baking) - I did however forget to photograph a bark that was the top favourite.  Nevertheless, that's not a big deal as I will surely be making a batch for Easter because it got gobbled down the first two days, it was such a hit!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Recipe taken from here

The first recipe I'm going to post is for something that I had been seeing all over the web.  Back then, just like now, I was really going through a peanut butter kick.  Three quarters of the recipes I made during the holiday season involved peanut butter.  This may not be the traditional holiday flavour, as I usually associate Christmas with shortbread, and peppermint, but not this year, not in my house!  If you are one the fellow pin-a-holics you surely will of seen these cookies - Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites.  If not, basically think of Reece's Peanut Butter Cups sandwiched between two pretzels, dipped in chocolate, and garnished with sprinkles, ahhhh yuuuum!  These were fantastic, especially as they were pretty much bite-sized desserts, so it would allow you to sample more than just one dessert without feeling that "ooooh gosh, I've been such a glutton this Christmas".  Will surely be making these next Christmas, as they were loved by all!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp softened butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar 

Pretzels - 

• 1 bag  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Combine peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl with a fork or whisk, or in a stand mixer.  Add the sugars and mix to combine.  At this point if the filling will roll easily into balls without sticking to your hands you’re ready to go.  If not, add a little more of each sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll (I used about 3/4 cup of each sugar).

Use a teaspoon measure to scoop the filling.  Roll each portion into a small ball, then sandwich them between two whole pretzels.  When all the balls are rolled and successfully sandwiched, stick the whole tray in the freezer for about half an hour.

Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30-second intervals, stirring occasionally until completely melted.  Remove the pretzel sandwiches from the freezer and quickly dip each half-way into the melted chocolate.  Return to the tray and repeat with remaining sandwiches.  When all are dipped, return the tray to the freezer to set up completely.  Store the sandwiches in the refrigerator until serving time.

S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe adapted from here

Since I've begun baking as a vegan, I haven't made any recipes that require butter.  Of course I have a tub of Earth Balance in the fridge, but I usually opt Earth Balance for oil or applesauce, I'm not sure why, it just became sort of habitual.  When I came across a recipe on Angela's blog I figured why not just use Earth Balance, it's Christmas, and I'm not going to be the only one eating these cookies.  Since most people when they think of vegan baking think dull, bland, or just overall gross, I figured why not add in a flavour that they were are familiar with.  

This dough is so quick to throw together, it's a really great melding dough, and obviously you can adapt it as to how you want.  Over the break I used this recipe, well, more than a few times, just a little less than a handful,  they went really quickly.  My favourite way of using this recipe however was for a S'mores version as well a chocolate covered raisin version, between the two I'm not sure which one I preferred more, although I think at the time I was biased to both.  I was deffffffinitely more than obsessed with chocolate covered raisins, and since kicking gelatin from my diet it's been a good almost two years since I've had marshmallows - I wasn't going to allow that to go on longer however.  I drove to our local organic grocery store and bought myself $12.00 vegan marshmallows, my boyfriend definitely thought I was nuts, but it was so incredibly worth it, every single last cent.  

Two summers ago I tried many, many recipes for chocolate chip cookies, trying to find my favourite, this is it.  This is my go-to recipe when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I love it.  Crispy edges, soft gooey centre, yup, it's my favourite type, and the fact that it's so easy to make too, bonus!

Ingredients:

• 7 tbsp Earth Balance + 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or 1/2 cup Earth Balance- see note)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cane sugar (or use white)
• 1 flax egg - (1 tbsp ground flaxed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegan Graham Crackers
• 1 dark chocolate bar
• Vegan marshmallows - chopped (depends on how many dough balls you get)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside.

With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the Earth Balance until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and cane sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Beat in the flax egg.  Beat in the remaining ingredients, excluding the marshmallows and chocolate.

Shape balls of dough and then squish down.  Stuff your flattened dough with chocolate and marshmallow, roll back into a ball and make sure the two ingredients are completely covered, then place on the baking sheet.  

Bake for 10-12 minutes (or up to 14 mins on a Silpat mat). Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack for another 10 minutes.

Yield: 12-14 large cookies.

... as well, I also made S'mores Marshmallows - all I did here was broiled the marshmallows for a few minutes until they got nice a crisp.  I allowed them to cool down, dipped them in melted chocolate than rolled them around in graham crackers.  I'm not sure what was a bigger hit - these or the cookies, they were fantastic, so simple to make and just incredible for a quick dessert!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Marble Fudge

Recipe taken from here

Now, I have never been a fan of fudge.  I have always found it to be far more sweet than necessary.  I mean, when I finish eating a teeny tiny square of fudge I feel like I've simply been eating sugar with a spoon out of a bag and need to head on over to the dentist.  Now, why would I want to eat a dessert that makes me feel like this?

Over the holidays however, I had seen a few recipes for vegan fudge, some with the standard butter and cream base (obviously using vegan substitutes), some using coconut butter, and then some using nuts.  The one with nuts intrigued me very much so, especially because of the addition of peanut butter, I knew I would certainly have to try out a recipe for vegan fudge that was primarily utilizing nuts.

This is not your traditional fudge.  It is not overly sweet, nor does it have the same texture that you get in your standard, cream, butter, and sugar fudge.  I actually really enjoyed this, and it was a heck of a lot easier to make as well since you didn't have to stand over it, nor did you have to use a candy thermometer which is always a plus in my books.  The result was extraordinary and I would certainly make this again.  The only thing you have to watch out for is that you have to keep it refrigerated, because if you keep it at room temperature for too long it almost starts to lose it form and looks as though it's melting.

Chocolate Fudge:

• 1 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt

Peanut Butter Fudge:

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

For chocolate fudge - 

Process the cashews in a food processor until it turns into a dense butter (it should look sort of like play-doh but still be crumbly, no nut pieces though!) Then add cocoa and salt. Blend until combined. Add sweetener of choice, coconut oil and vanilla. Blend until thoroughly combined, it should ball up at this point. Take out and set aside on cutting board or clean countertop.

For peanut butter fudge - 

Process cashews the same way as for the chocolate fudge. Add salt, blend until combined. Add peanut butter, sweetener of choice, coconut oil and vanilla. Process until thoroughly combined.

Rip doughs into 4 large chunks so you have 8. Marble fudge by combining the 8 separate pieces together, and knead until you see it marbling. Shape into a flat rectangle a good inch thick. Chill covered in fridge overnight or at least 3 hours. 

And there you have it, I may be a few months late getting on with this post, for who knows why other than pure laziness but I got it done!  As they say better late than never, and I came through ;)

And now something other than just oats.

Tonight as I went to the gym to play squash with my dad I decided that I was going to wear shorts.  The last time we played, I wore my Lululemon pants and to say the least I thought I was going to pass out.  When I do my weights with my trainer, for the most part I tend to stick with pants because it's only 66 degrees F in the gym and truthfully that's a little too chilly for my bones even after I've been sweating.  Usually it's not a problem, but the past few mornings I've been a little tired and that doesn't seem to help with my body regulation.  Nonetheless the reason for this tangent about nothing really is because of my shorts.  I haven't really looked down at my legs in a while (other than when I'm in the shower) so I haven't really noticed a change in my body.  Today however, I noticed how much personal training has really made a difference.

A few weeks ago, I went and redid my fit test after it had been a month and six days since I'd started my training.  The results to say the least were quite impressive, and definitely gave me the motivation to continue doing what I've been doing.  When I took the test, I was told my legs had gotten 2 inches bigger, yup, I've definitely noticed this, as my jeans are getting a little tighter (which is an awesome feeling).  Speaking of awesome feeling, going to the mall today, trying on some clothes and getting asked by the woman if I'm a size five NOT a zero or double zero, goodbye skinny days!  So, to say the least my physical changes have been really uplifting to me.

Yes, this just sounds like a "praise Sam" post, that's not what I'm going for at all.  It's just that lately, all I've been posting is recipes for variations of shakes and bowls of oatmeal.  When I first started making both of these things items and figuring out ways of adding in the most fats (healthy) and protein that I could possibly do I was a little afraid that this was just going to add in weight gain and not muscle, so I was a little afraid to say the least.  However, not the case.  More calories = much more energy.  More protein = bigger muscles/more muscle repair.  Fat = satisfying/more energy as well.  With that being said, I certainly have not lessened the amount of nutrients going into either of these items, in fact I've been adding much more, and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I love it and it makes me look very forward to waking up to have my oats followed by my post-work out recovery shakes.

lkfj;dslkfjsdlkfj okay, should I just get to it?  I think so.  I promise today will not just be a recipe for a fruity protein shake, or a bowl of oats (however I will be posting my latest and greatest favourite) plus a recipe for a recent meal I made, mmmm!

For starters, this mornings breakfast, holy moly.  As I've recently stated I am hooked on anything with peanut butter, in fact if I could take a peanut butter bath I probably would (should I of maybe not admitted that?  Perhaps.  Oh well.)  Seeing as I've finally stocked up on Nutella, and after making Nutella Oats, I decided that I had to make a peanut butter + Nutella bowl of oats since to me this is reminiscent of my childhood/peanut butter cups!  Yup, this bowl definitely sang peanut butter cups all over it.  So, so, so good.

This morning I woke up pretty early, around eight o'clock (this was early in the sense that, I wasn't working out until eleven, so I wouldn't be eating until ten).  As I was tossing around trying to get back to sleep I noticed that my back and legs were in a lot of pain.  This certainly didn't make me want to jump for joy at the fact that I had training in a bit since I was in a lot of pain, which I assume was from the deadlift's I did yesterday.  I sent my trainer a text and asked her if I could reschedule to tomorrow morning.  I hadn't heard from her, and I decided to still go with my plans to eat the breakfast I was planning, after enjoying each and every bite with utmost satisfaction I decided to text my trainer back and tell her that I would come in.  These oats made me forget my pain.  They gave me so much flippin' energy that I actually hopped out of the door when the time was necessary.  I loved this, and when I don't know what I want to make for breakfast/am craving something incredibly sinful/filling I certainly will not be hesitating to make this bowl of awesome.

Peanut Butter Banana Nutella Oats

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk + more for garnish
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 1 ripe banana + a few slices set aside
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp nutella
• 1 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp peanut butter chips
• Vanilla 0% fat Greek yoghurt

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana, peanut butter and Nutella.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional milk, Greek yoghurt, banana slices, chopped halzenuts and peanut butter chips.

Kale and White Bean Soup


Recipe taken from here

I haven't made soup in a long, long time.  Last week as I was perusing the typical foodie blogosphere I stumbled across a kale and white kidney bean soup.  Seeing as I am incredibly in love with kale, and have recently been a convert (and obsessed) with all things beans I figured why not give it a try.  After reading the directions it gave me even more of a reason to because it was basically chop a little veggies, throw everything into a pot, allow to simmer for an hour, indulge.  And indulge I did.  I had just gobbled down a huuuuuge protein shake and didn't think I'd be hungry for an eternity so the hour wait made it even more appetizing.  By the time the thirty minute mark hit, hunger was no longer a physiological thing, it was completely psychological.  The aromas coming from my kitchen oh, there was no denying how wonderful it smelt, and my brain was definitely wanting some of it.  By the time the twenty minute mark came oh I started taking a few spoonfuls from the pot (anyone want to come over for a meal ;)? - my germs!)

... after waiting, I finally made it down to the eight minute mark, and at this point I didn't care any longer, I was spooning the soup into two bowls, one for me, and one for my friend.  After taking a bite, I decided to add quite a bit of salt, this enhanced the simple flavours even more.  This soup was delectable.  It was so simple, easy to clean, super healthy, and the perfect thing to mix with a shake after an intense work out.  After, seriously gulping down a huge bowl, I couldn't help but take another bowl full.  I loved this.  I'm not sure why, but I added "don't you think this is reminiscent of like a war-time soup?"  I'm not sure what it was, perhaps the simplicity, or the fact that there were beans in the soup, who knows, but that's what it made me think of.

I'd never had white kidney beans before, after thoroughly enjoying this soup, I am definitely a convert and cannot wait to try bean spreads with this particular legume, mmm mmm mmm.  This is seriously such an ideally perfect soup if you don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, or it's incredibly cold out and you want to snuggle up on the couch with a warm bowl of soup, or you just want to indulge in something incredibly healthy and have that hearty comfort food feeling!


Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion - diced
• 2 large garlic cloves - minced
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 8 cups of vegetable broth
• 2 cans of white kidney beans or 3 double handed scoops of dried beans you've cooked yourself
• 1 bunch of kale - deribbed and chopped

Directions:

Pour some olive oil into a large pot over medium heat. 

Add the sliced onion and minced up garlic cloves to the olive oil.  Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.  Add the vegetable broth, salt and pepper.  Add the beans and the kale, and simmer over low heat for at least an hour.

Garnish with parmesan cheese before serving (if you eat this). 

Enjoy :)

They tried to make me go to rehab

I said, no, no, no

... more oats, you got it!

I don't think it's any surprise of to any of you readers who checks on my blog regularly that I love oatmeal, and I love the way you can change up your oats.  I always keep my base the same, but always think of different things to add in.  I never get bored of my oats, and I always look to waking up in the morning to my warm, healthy, hearty, filling, creamy, delicious breakfast bowl.

Since starting my personal training I've tried to vary my breakfasts' a bit different, trying to see if my pre-work out meals could be better for me than my bowl of oats.  I've tried huge protein-packed shakes, toasts/sandwiches topped and stuffed with varieties of nut butters and fruits with Greek yoghurt on the side, but nothing gives me the amount of energy that allows me work through my complete work out the way my oats do.  When I don't have my oats, I start to feel sluggish and hungry about thirty minutes into my work out - not a good thing, especially when you have a trainer by your side and then feeling like you've let them down, not so fun, no.  So with that being said, I'm not going to go against what my body needs, I'm going to listen to what it looks forward to, enjoys, and thrives for and from; oatmeal.

Mango Kiwi Oatmeal

This past week I've seen more than a handful of my Facebook friends (wow that makes me sound like I don't have actual friends), nonetheless, leave for vacation, warm and tropical places - leaving me feeling completely envious.  I mean I can't really complain seeing as this winter has been very warm, and we only really got our first real snowfall last week (yes, I even got to go tobogganing!), but nonetheless, it's always nice to leave home and see the world from a different point of view.  With that being said, I would die to go somewhere tropical, especially seeing as 75% of the fruit I buy weekly are fruits from the tropics, and eating some of these beauties fresh from where they are actually grown instead of exported from a truck would be heavenly.  As I was daydreaming of the palm trees, the beach with the warm water and the sand between toes enjoying some freshly cut tropical fruit I decided why not make a tropical bowl of oats while staring at the snow falling from the sky.

This was definitely a perfect bowl for me to imagine that I'm not in snowy Ontario, and that I'm actually on a beach somewhere far, far away.  This was luxurious, hearty, imaginable, and definitely left me feeling warm inside.  The tropical fruits and the addition of the mango lemon jam was the perfect touch it needed.  This makes me all jittery and anxious inside because I cannot wait for the summer when these fruits are fresh and when I can enjoy these warm piping bowls in the warmer weather (yes, I am sick, I know).


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk + more for garnish
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ripened banana
• 1/2 mango - freshly cut
• 1/2 kiwi - freshly cut
• Coconut flakes - garnish
• Mango lemon jam - garnish
• Handful of hemp seeds - garnish

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional soy milk, mango, kiwi, coconut flakes, hemp seeds and jam.

Nutella Oats

Is it possible for someone not to looooooove Nutella?  I don't know, if that person does however exist, eeeeeeek.  Nutella is pure heaven.  When I was younger I can remember going into the pantry, grabbing the peanut butter and Nutella, going into the utensil drawer and grabbing the teeny teaspoon's and taking bites of both those magical substances together and making "Reece's Peanut Butter Cup on a Spoon", it was heaven, and purely magical.  I loved doing this, and did this for years to come.  I'm not sure when it stopped, but all I know is Nutella stopped being a mandatory item on the grocery list.  The other day however, I was talking to someone about panini's, then daydreaming of PB&J&banana grilled sandwiches, then imagining peanut butter, Nutella and banana grilled sandwiches, oh yes my tastebuds were firing.  With this I realized, that it had been forever since I'd had Nutella, so the next time I went to the grocery store I picked some up.  What did I decide to make?  Oats of course with Nutella, yum, yum, yum... this was fantastic, especially with the added chopped hazelnuts on top.  Will certainly be making this again soon, however, I will certainly be throwing in some peanut butter to make it even more sinful than it already was!  Take a leap, dive in, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 riped banana + a few slices set aside
• 1 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp Nutella
• 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt - to top
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds - to top

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana and Nutella.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with additional milk, Greek yoghurt, banana slices, chopped halzenuts and hemp seeds.

Coconut Date Pecan Oatmeal

Goody goody gumdrooops!  Did I just say that?  Uh yeah I did.  This oatmeal, I can't even begin to describe it.  I'm a sucker for coconut duuuhhhhhh, obviously I looooove bananas since they are in the base of each of my bowls every morning, I love pecans with bananas, but dates?!  Oh I love dates and their sweet caramel selves.  When all these flavours are melded together it is pure heaven in a bowl.  I know I post a lot of recipes for oatmeal, heck this post already has three and I'm not done yet, but this bowl is one of my favourites.  It's a very simple bowl to make, but the flavour pairing is absolutely amazing, ahhhh, I'm definitely in the mood to eat this again if it weren't for the giant bowl I had this morning (recipe below).

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ripened banana + few slices for garnish
• 1 tbsp chopped dates
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp chopped pecans
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Maple syrup to drizzle

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana, dates and 1 tbsp of coconut flakes.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with banana, pecans, remaining 1 tbsp of coconut flakes and maple syrup.

Chocolate Raspberry Oats

Okay, as you all know, I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate, it's why you never fully see recipes containing a lot of chocolate.  You will never see me eating a chocolate bar, or taking spoons from a tub of chocolate ice cream, you may not even see me eating chocolate covered strawberries.  There are a few times when I really do enjoy chocolate however, when it's combined with raspberries/citrus fruits, when it's mixed with hazelnuts (helllooo Nutella)/peanut butter, or wen it's speckled into ooey-gooey cookies, yummy!  Lately, I've been adding cocoa powder into more of my food (I've posted a few oatmeal recipes now), it's still iffy with me, but the benefits of cocoa is something that stands out to me, and it certainly sweetens foods so it's a great alternative sweetener once in a while.  White chocolate of course is a completely different story, since it's not really even chocolate, and I fall weak to the knees when it comes to a great Hershey's Cookies 'n Cream bar, or a white hot chocolate, oh golly gee.

This recipe was so decadent, it wasn't too rich, and the chocolate wasn't overpowering.  This was a great way to start the day because it was the perfect amount of sweet and it made me feel like I was eating this tempting guilt-filled dessert, but instead on the contrary it was good for me, and tasted like heaven in a bowl, yeehaw!


Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup soy milk + additional milk for garnish
• 1/3 cup water
• Dash of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 ripened banana
• 1 tbsp carob chips - to garnish
• Handful of frozen or fresh raspberries - to garnish
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds - to garnish
• 0% vanilla Greek yoghurt - to garnish

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, bring your oats, milk, water, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a boil.  Once your oats have started to boil, mash in your ripened banana, and chocolate.  Keep your oats on the stove until your level of "cooked" oats has been achieved (mine take about 4-5 minutes, I still like them a bit hard).  Top with Greek yoghurt, raspberries, carob chips and hemp seeds.

Enjoy :)