vegan

No Bake Puffed Amaranth Oat Bars

Amaranth has taken the number one spot on my list of favorite breakfast porridge grains/seeds this season, but then I discovered that it comes in this popped/puffed version which is perfect for breakfast on those days when you just want something on the go.  The popping part can get a little tricky but see below for a few tips. This is my new favorite portable food and a way healthier and tastier alternative to commercial granola bars that are loaded with sugar and other additives. 

Ingredients:

1 C Puffed Amaranth
1/4 C Quick Cooking Rolled Oats
1 C Dried prunes & apricots, or whatever dried fruit you have on hand
1/2 C Date Paste (dates + water)
1 Tbsp Flax Seeds
1/2 C Shredded Coconut
Handful of chopped nuts
1/4 C Almond Butter
1/4 C Honey
1/2 tsp Salt

Method:

1. Combine puffed amaranth with oats, salt. coconut, cinnamon, flax seeds, nuts and dried fruit in a bowl.

2. Prepare Date paste with just 5 pitted dates and 3 tbsp water in a blender. Add the paste, almond butter and honey to your dry ingredients and still until ingredients bound well together. 

3. Press mixture firmly into a parchment paper lined glass baking dish, using your hands or the back of a spoon.

4. Let rest for 30 in the fridge for a chewy bar or stick in the dehydrator for a crispy bar. Then let the picnic outings and energy packed noms commence. 

Tips for popped amaranth: 

  • Make sure your pan is hot enough. If the amaranth doesn’t start popping almost immediately, the pan needs to heat longer.
  • Allow for a few test batches. Much like popping popcorn for the first time, it will take a few times to get into your groove. I usually start with 1 tablespoon at a time.
  • Accept the fact that not all of the amaranth will pop. If you wait for the last few grains to pop, inevitably some of your amaranth will be burned. The little unpopped grains are fine and can be eaten as well, so just throw them in the mixing bowl along with the popped ones.

Pumpkin Banana Ice Cream aka Naner Creamy

We are no strangers when it comes to the banana " ice cream." If you missed out on our one-year Bloomiversary Naner Creamy Ice Cream Social here's your chance to catch up. This recipe is perfect for anyone who may want a healthier alternative to refined sugar loaded candies, sweet, and other treats around this time of year. Of course the seasonal obsession is pumpkin so we went with it but you can take the banana base and customize to make your favorite flavor. Instead of pumpkin throw in some strawberries, peanut butter, cocoa powder or even some salted caramel. Enuff' said, this creamy ain't gonna eat it self. Go get yo creamy on.

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Ingredients:

1/2 can pumpkin
3 frozen very ripe bananas
1 tsp pumpkin spice
maple syrup to taste

Method:

Blend the frozen bananas and pumpkin together in a high speed blender or food processor until creamy. You may need to add 2-3 tbsp of water to the mix.  Taste and add some sweetener, like maple syrup, if ya like! Garnish with grandmas granola!

Berry Crumble

This year E entered her tomatoes in the annual Tomato Feastival put on by Tally's finest Turkey Hill Farm. What better better way to sway the judges than with tomatoes in one hand and a berry crisp in the other? Her lil' sungold tomatoes didn't make the cut but participants in the cake walk sure were drooling at this crispy crumble. 

The beauty of a crumble is that is can be served in a bowl—no need to worry about a pie crust breaking before it reaches the plate. Can we just stop and take a second to think about all the amazing flavors that come along with summer.. Mmmmm ALL THE BERRIES.. I digress heres the recipe:

Ingredients:

Filling:
Blueberries
Blackberries
Strawberries
Rasberries
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Juice and/or zest from 1 lemon
 

Crust:
1/2 cup earth balance softened
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 cup gluten free oats
1/2 cup gf flour blend
1/4 cup hazelnut meal
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
 


 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a regular baking or pie dish with cooking oil.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the fruit and arrowroot powder and lemon juice, by hand and toss to coat the fruit. Set the fruit mixture evenly in the baking dish and set aside. 

3. In a large bowl, mix room temp butter with brown sugar then combine, oats, flour, hazelnut, cinnamon, and salt. Break up any lumps of flour or brown sugar.

4. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the fruit. Use spatula or spoon to lightly pack the crisp topping.

5. Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling around the edges.

Raspberry Star Anise Walnut Bars

This perfect crumbly sweet creation is so rich in good flavors you would never think it had so few ingredients. And even better, gluten free, and vegan. These bars are best know for their flavor shock value in the best way. We used anise honey from our honey infusion post, but if you don't want to go the extra mile, maple syrup will do the trick. This loaf can be easily made with gluten as well with any whole grain flour and same goes for the nut situation. We love walnuts because of their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. They are a great source of fatty acids, they help lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, Vit E and B complex groups, manganese, copper, iron, potassium.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup AP Gluten Free Baking Flour or a 1:1 ratio of two types of GF flour
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup star anise infused honey (or maple syrup)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9" baking tin with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the coconut oil and honey or maple syrup until smooth. Add the flour and baking soda and combine. Finally stir in the chopped walnuts and raspberries with yr fav lickable spoon. 

Scoop the batter into the baking tin and pat down until evenly distributed.Bake for approx 30mins.

Remove and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. The bars will be crumbly if not cooled. 

Carrot Cake for the GF-Vegan Sweethearts

Carrot cake might be an all time fave amongst us bloomers, and we are especially fond of it when it is made without loads of sugar, oil, and things that are not, by our standards, wholesome ingredients. However, this recipe is. This recipe was taken out of an old journal filled with college notes passed back in fourth in class amongst friends. Yes, college going on high school. An old friend wrote this recipe out for me when I first started kicking wheat out of my diet, in I think it was a statistics class. Has remained the tried and true in my heart inspired by the deathly boredom of frequency tables and math equations. This cake is sweetened with maple syrup, vegan, flour-less, made with coconut oil and yeah, packed with nutrition from garden carrots, ginger, omega-3s and everything in between. I would even say this cake is healthy enough to eat for breakfast (which we did and totally recommend).

Ingredients:

For the cake: 
3/4 cups brown rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
lotsa cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamon *this is optional, not traditional but definitely delish!
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup of warm water
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cups grated carrots
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 1/4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup of chopped pecans

For the icing:
2 cups raw and soaked cashews
1 cup water
1/2 cup lemon zest
1/2 cup coconut oil
Sweeten with maple syrup to taste

 

Method:

1.  Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

2. In a second bowl mix together oil, water, vanilla, and sweetener.

3. Fold wet mixture into dry and mix until just combined.

4. Grate your carrots and ginger, and then add into the bowl. Add any other remaining dry ingredients to the mixing bowl.

5. Pour into your lightly oil cake pan and pop in the oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.

6. While the cake is baking, whip together your frosting. Just pour all of your frosting ingredients together into a high-speed blender. Scoop out and place in the freezer until your cake is done baking.

7. Take the cake out and let it cool for about 25 to 30 minutes. Slather it with cashew goodness, and eat a large warm slice with a dear friend.


 

 

Raw Avocado Ganache

We totally swoon over the idea of *treat yo self* with jaw-dropping sweet treats that are actually good for you. Therefore, we are dubbing this dessert our (un)official triple R chocolate experience--It’s rich, raw annnnd rewarding! Not to mention the fact that it's incredibly easy to make. The foundation for the recipe includes one of our favoirte ingredients, avocados! They are not only incredibly nutritious and great for your skin, but they also an excellent non-dairy base ingredient for any creamy dessert. Feel free to leave this crust out and prepare as a mousse. Add raw cacao nibs and fruit and/or freeze for a few hours for some purely decadent (but rly) chocolate ice cream.

Ingredients:

For the base

1 ½ cups dried cranberries
1 tbsp almond butter
1.5 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp raw cacao nibs
 ½ tsp sea salt

For the filling

4 avocados
 ½ cup coconut oil
1 cup raw cocoa 
1 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tbsp vanilla 
1 tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Mix all of your base ingredients in a food processor, until consistency is smooth.
2. Press your base into the pie pan, as this will be the crust for the ganache.
3. Add all of the filling ingredients into your food processor, and grind until the consistency becomes smooth (like a pudding).
4. Spread the filling over the crust, and then pop the ganache in the fridge for a few hours to set.
5. Nom out.